₦airaland Forum

herlecks:
Are you 'Born Again'? Yes? You Don't Know What That Means!

Man is both spirit and soul! Inseparable! Contrary to wrong teachings about man that he is spirit. No. Man is spirit AND soul. His spirit is his life principle while his soul is the seat of his personality. What part of man receives life at conversion? The spirit! What about the soul? It must stop sinning, save itself willingly from defilement or it still perish. Being born again is a process that begins from the spirit and ends in the soul. Sadly, most of our churches preaches half truth, they zealously emphasise the reception life while they ignore the most important aspect of it all, man's soul! This knowledge that man is both soul and spirit subjects most of our teachings to proper scrutiny. We had actually thought 'man is spirit', which makes salvation instantaneous at conversion, a grievously fatal error. Man's spirit at conversion is regenerated or enlivened, but his soul must be born again. The purpose of regeneration is to transform the soul that it may also be full of the life or character of Christ. Aren't we saved by grace (life received into the spirit) through faith (outworking of that life in man's soul)? We see that if both aren't evident, a man is not saved. The life our spirit had received must transform our soul, the soul must repent, it must receive life! The spirit is begotten, the soul is born of God or is transformed into God's image. It now reflects or mirrors God's beauty. Life is received into the spirit, that life must penetrate the soul, there must be an imprint of Christ's life upon the soul, this is only achieved through submission to the Holy Ghost. This is the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls, the entrance of life into the soul, there must be a renting between the soul and the spirit, life must penetrate the soul and transform the man (1 Peter 1:9). This is why Jesus says if a man is not born of 'water' and of 'spirit' he cannot enter the kingdom, that is, the Spirit must actively use the water (Word of God) to guide us until our self is lost in God and we are completely dominated by Him. This is deeper than just saying some sinner prayer. The man who is born again is one who is transformed into the image of Christ, he is sanctified, he has grown from being a child of God to being a Son of God. This is spiritual maturity, where he walks after the Spirit and is able to discern every move and monitions of the Spirit. Death is the only path to life, this man lives through death. Who is born again? Are you? John 3:5; Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Op, you don't know the meaning of born again either. There are basic truths to consider before you can understand what Jesus meant by born again to Nicodemus :

1. John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

At this time Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, there was nothing like the kingdom of God on earth(no Christianity at that time). So, before one could see the kingdom of God or become a Christian, he must be born again first (if it will take you to crack your brain and think to understand this, please think)

2. This further implies that except the disciples followed Christ to the point where he will be crucified and resurrected, they will never see the kingdom of God.

So, being born again was simply the event of the disciples following Christ which was prophesied by Daniel in the past. These disciples were the born again, they never saw Christianity until Jesus was crucified.

Today, we have the privilege to be in Christianity, therefore we are greater, far better than them.

Jesus says the least person in the kingdom is greater than John the Baptist.
Remember, John the Baptist lived in that era of the disciples who followed Christ, but we are not in that era anymore

Yes, taking the bold step of leaving catholic church is very good, but not on the premise that he want to go to heaven when he die

budaatum:
Basically, individual human subjectivity. Which results in different abilities to read and comprehend.

could this be the reason some people will take first position in a class while others will carry past?

adekolly2003:
pls don't get it wrong as a woman when you marry a man different from your Religion automatically you have to change your religion, except the man agreed for you to practice your religion, though am saying this from Africa perspective

you know, the thing about Africans that will always make make them inferior to modernity?
The man is the one that requested to marry the woman and her religion and the woman agreed. After the marriage, it is the man that will agree for the woman to practice the religion she want.

Isn't that slavery to women?

In summary, human judgement is based on the knowledge of good and evil, but God's judgment isn't so.
God's judgment is based on your Faith only

But why is it that, when a Muslim woman who is married to a Christian man decides to go to mosque the husband will not see it as issue. But when a Christian woman tells her husband i don't want to go to your church, it becomes a problem?

Why are churches competing among themselves for nothing?

Five people just read one parable, each person came up with a total different interpretation,
What is responsible for that?

RefugeGround1:
Why are you so much in pained in a matter that doesn’t concern you and you have no power over to influence ? If you don’t fit into this category you simply pass by. Your opinion is insignificant without weight and your voice is so small, therefore your screams will never be heard. You are young, there are matters too high for you. These matters predates your birth and will out lived your years. So pass by this is not for you. Find something within your league and put your channel your strength there, perhaps your little voice will finally be whispered. For these those who are concern knows what I speak of.

you failed to address the points i raised.

Are your traditional myths scriptural?
The answer is no!
Then it shouldn't be among Christians

Are such myths realistic?
The answer is no !
Then there are no place for it this modern day world, period

Wetin all these African churches dey do for Italy again, which Kaine wahalla be dis?

Can't they simply just go to Pakistan and Iran to win souls for Christ, what are they looking for in an already Christian country?

Religious myths are lies, no single scripture to support the primitive beliefs!
They are rooted with popular traditional beliefs and are mostly putting the female gender at disadvantage over the male gender (the ideas are always imbalance in one aspect or the other), which is why they gain acceptance among primitive Africans and are never so in an educated ideal society.

Therefore, they are all lies

Nvestor02:

Firstly, our sins that Jesus died for were that Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God warned them not to eat.

if the said fruit can cause Adam to know good and evil, then the fruit isn't just an ordinary fruit but it may represent something spiritual

That is why God takes them out of paradise and curses them.[/b]

God take them out to prevent them from having access to another fruit called fruit of life. Meaning, if they had eaten that fruit of life, they wouldn't have died with the knowledge of evil they already had. That would have been worst because man would have remain alive committing all sorts of atrocities to the creation with their knowledge of evil.

We are battling with the curse till the time of Jesus, and according to what you are taught, Jesus died for our sins. But the question is, since Jesus has died for our sins, the punishment and the curse that God swore for us shouldn't be there anymore. for example

It is because of Adam and Eve that God has cursed humanity to die; since Jesus has died for us, why are we still dying?

who says we are dying?

1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Death has been defeated

It is because of Adam and Eve that God cursed humanity to have problems with snakes. Since Jesus has died for us, snakes should be our friends by now.

how many snakes you don rear as your friend since?
She bi you won be friends to snakes ni, abi you be Jake the snake

According to what they taught us, it is because of the offence of our four fathers that women go through pains during labour. Since Jesus has died for us, why are we still experiencing that?

don't get it twisted!
God told Eve, i will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception.
That means, sorrow in conception or giving birth had existed before Eve sinned, and the death of Jesus has nothing to do with it, and even if Eve had not sinned she will still experience pains in conception, only that God greatly multiplied it to punish her because she sinned.

I can go on and on about what makes me come to the conclusion that Jesus didn't die for us like the Bible claims.

your conclusion lacks substance

oteneaaron:
Hello folks,

Today, I would like us to have some serious intellectual conversation.

If you are too mentally lazy to read or if you feel that doing any form of research is a waste of time, please avoid this thread.

While I was doing some research into the role indoctrination plays in religion, I stumbled on a research paper by Professor Alyona G. Ayrapetova, doctor of philosophy (PhD) on psychological Sciences, National University of Uzbekistan.

This research paper is titled - INDOCTRINATION AS A MECHANISM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION IN THE PROCESS OF INVOLVEMENT IN DESTRUCTIVE RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS


In this thread, I will be sharing the points I found interesting in the research paper and if possible, share real life examples of specific religious organizations who employ destructive indoctrination as a tool for manipulation.

Here is how the research paper was introduced -



It is all about the mind.

It is all about controlling what you think.

Politics, Religion and Advertising are designed to pass certain information or ideas to your mind.

Why is this serious?

Because you become what you regularly think about.

absolutely true!

And obviously, there are also right doctrines that should be used to emancipate the mind of which for selfish reasons, such doctrines though found in religion, are not portrayed

Thunder001:
Sometimes I wonder if religion is necessary.am a Christian but it pains me why we keep preaching the same bible in different conflicting ways.different opinions on tithe,marriage,etc.why don't we just forget about religion and focus on doing what is right.worship God in your own way.not based on doctrine.

Religion is like a fruit that is very necessary in your diet.
You were suppose to consume the fruit and throw away the shaft, but out of ignorance, most religious people consume both the fruit and the shaft and they got choked.
Who is to blame, the religion or the person?

The purpose of life is LIFE ITSELF!
that you are alive today you must have a purpose and enjoy your life or you will not be fitted into life

...That whosever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Our everlasting life was given to us to replenish this earth, subdue it and multiply. Genesis 1:28.

This is the number one purpose.

Faith or Unbelief cannot be measured by too much prayer or too less prayer

Drjones109:
Please, I heard that Satan is a woman, is it true or false?

On the physical stand point, there is nothing like Satan talkless of it being male or female, we are the achtects of our successes and failures .

On the spiritual stand point of view Satan is any religion order than Christianity(the religion established by Jesus Christ) as Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

So, the spiritual contest is between Jesus(the founder of the Christian religion) and other religions which he described as thief because they can't give eternal life, they are the real Satan.

postmann:
Your postulation has no scriptural backing but one conceived from deception.

which of my postulation? Be specific

So was CHRIST also referring to the Jews alone when HE was telling them about Mercy, justice and faith?

no!
Mercy, justice and faith is for everyone

You can as well imply from your own deduction that CHRUST wasn't referring to christians, just Jews.

as a matter of fact, nobody was a Christian: meaning, there was nothing like Christianity on earth as at the time Jesus was talking to the Pharisees over this issue.
So why will you then think that Jesus was also talking to Christians?
If you think like that you are only assuming. And that assumption isn't correct because there was nothing like Christianity at that time.

Like when HE put the law straight about one man one wife, or when he emphasised on adultery of the heart or murder by just hating your brother. HE wasn't referring to you in all those scriptures, HE was referring to the Jews alone.

when you read scriptures look at it this way, that he was talking to a set of people who existed at the time he was talking. Not that he was talking to you and me who live today.
However, if you choose to practice monogamy today, you are doing it not because you saw it in the bible that Jesus intitututed it. You are doing it because you have seen that monogamy is better than polygamy.
The same thing applies to thou shall not kill.
You will not kill not because you saw it written in the bible thou shall not kill. But rather, you will not kill because you know that killing is bad.

Imagine, just like the way you saw Jesus encouraging the Pharisees to tithe, assuming he also encouraged them to kill, will you now kill because you saw Jesus encouraging the Pharisees to do so?

You must understand that justice, mercy and faith is most important irrespective of religion. That's why jesus Christ put it first to the Pharisees over tithing

Use your brain and think over this

LoveJesus87:
Mat 23:23
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things."

Jesus was talking to the Pharisees here, not Christians.
You are a Christian what's your business with tithing?

Tithing was a Law to the Pharisees and the Jews, not a law to the gentiles.

It's like prostrating before elders is a law to the Yoruba culture and Christ will encourage the yorubas to obey their law because he is law abiding. but he will never compel an igbo man to prostrate, because it is not a law to the igbo culture. That is how Jesus saw tithing.

He will encourage the Jews to tithe because he want them to be law abiding. But he will never never compel the gentiles to tithe because tithing isn't their thing.

So why are Christians today killing themselves over a law that is not their own?
Even the current day Jews or Israelites don't tithe anymore

LoveJesus87:
And you expect me to answer you No naw. I have work to do. If Malachi 3 vs 8-10 can't help you, then whoever attempts to reply you on this subject is only wasting precious time.

Have a good day

if anyone quote Malachi to you this current dispensation he is a thief.
Malachi is old testament and under the old covenant for that matter

postmann:
Mat 23:23
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things."

you are not getting it!
Jesus was talking to the Pharisees here, not Christians.
You are a Christian what's your business with tithing?

Tithing was a Law to the Pharisees and the Jews, not a law to the gentiles.

Not all laws are important as the scripture suggest. But what is important is justice, mercy and faith.

It's like prostrating before elders is a law to the Yoruba culture and Christ will encourage the yorubas to obey their law because he is law abiding. but he will never compel an igbo man to prostrate, because it is not a law to the igbo culture. That is how Jesus saw tithing.

He will encourage the Jews to tithe because he want them to be law abiding. But he will never never compel the gentiles to tithe because tithing isn't their thing.

So why are Christians today killing themselves over a law that is not their own?
Even the current day Jews don't tithe anymore

That tithing is less important than Justice, mercy and faith doesn't render it abolished. You should tithe, says CHRIST.

you can't compel me to tithe I'm not a jew.
If i do tithe because i saw the Jews practicing the law in the bible, then I'm most ignorant

postmann:
Everything you said was on point except returning tithes. That's plain dumb.

what is dumb is when people refuse to understand that there is time for everything.
There was time for the old covenant when tithing was practiced by the Jews and God wasn't against it. But the moment Christ established the new covenant tithing seized to exist just like sacrificing of animals seized to exist.

If one is giving to the church no wahalla.
But when a pastor is quoting old testament saying that you should tithe then he is playing on your intelligence, you don't know

LoveJesus87:
leaving the church may not be evil in the sight of the Lord as there are much other genuine churches u can fellowship. But asking for tithe back is acute ignorance. Since tithe is paid to God and not man or church, you are directly asking God to give u ur money back. No. Its not an advice

hmm!

Tithe is paid to God and spent by God?

Mummytoo:
Good morning nlanders

Happy Sunday to u all

I'm eager to know if its wrong to confront a pastor, because all my life I hate going pastors for anything, something happened on Monday, I didn't know who else to talk to ....so I went to the alter to pray and met with my pastor, I explained what happened between my husband and I and he settled the matter sweetly . I was so happy to have peace and joy back in my marriage till yesterday (Saturday) pastor called me out of that plenty congregation and told d church everything including what my husband has been hiding for years, he even added more things that didn't even happen to the story😂. I was just quiet and respectful since I wasn't expecting him to behave like that.

He prayed for me and I just left, he started getting angry that I can't even praise for my healing me or dancing round, I was just shocked at everything happening I left to the backyard and later went in again.

Immediately I got home I told my husband how he's image has been tarnished in church for what he didn't do, we had a misunderstanding and pastor said he flogged me (that didn't happen)

Is it wrong to confront him....
Coz I will act like I'm going to testify and correct that wrong impression he said about my husband

Just one time experience with pastor is killing me like this

maddam, simply leave the church he is not a pastor. But before you go, request that he should return all the tithe and offering you have been paying him since you started coming to the church. If he refuse to give you back your money don't worry, just let it be and go, God will judge.

MrPresident1:
You are a fool

cc Paxonel

He should go to court if he is not satisfied

In order words, your statement is like someone asking scientists to prove the existence of natural selection without quoting from Charles Dawin's book THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES?

Who does that?

Dtruthspeaker:
Every reasonable person knows that that was not the time to fight, for The Lord was not fighting then.

But as Revelation shows, He is coming with His Own Sword and the time to fight has started.

Obviously the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" is a joke.

And as I said yet you refuse to take any devil to your house to give them meat and drink and bed, therefore you are an hypocrite.

who is then a devil?

phemmyfour:
Did His disciples "see all these things" in their generation? Certainly not.

are you saying that Jesus lied when he told them that his generation(meaning their generation) will not pass till all these things be fulfilled?

They were not in a generation that had the ability to destroy all of mankind.

there is no where in Matthew 24 that was mentioned destruction of all mankind what are you saying?
You are going out of the context of that scripture

Jesus said of the final, end-time generation,

lies!
Where did he say that in Matthew 24,?

"And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved" (Matthew 24:22).

you are not getting it!
unless those days were shortened what days was that?
Ofcourse it was the days before Jesus crucifixion and resurrection.

Now get it straight!
Daniel prophesied the coming of the Messiah which the Jews were expecting to come and deliver them from captivity at that time(unknown to the Jews, the Messiah was to be crucified which marks the last day. ie the last of the old covenant and the beginning of a new covenant in Christ).So,last day or end time in that scripture isn't referring to the end of the world in the real sense, though the disciples thought the world was going to end, but it wasn't so.Rather, Jesus was about to be crucified.
In that prophecy Daniel mentioned abomination of desolation which Jesus made reference to in Matthew 24:15
This abomination of desolation prophsied by Daniel was what Jesus described as the great tribulation and according to the book of Daniel the tribulation was suppose to last for a period of 18 months. But when the Messiah finally came to be crucified, it was shortened to 6 or 7 months or there about.

The great tribulation was just a period of suffering of disciples in the wilderness, there after Jesus was crucified and it ended.
Remember they abandoned all they had to follow Jesus into the wilderness without food and water.
Sometimes Jesus will have to perform miracle of five loaves and two fish's to provide food for them. It was a terrible period for them and if the period wasn't shortened, they would have died.

Clearly the weapons of that day were not sufficient to bring this prophecy to pass.

weapon?

Although Christ's disciples did see wars, famines, plagues and persecutions, and some even lived to see the destruction of Jerusalem several decades later, these were not the total fulfillment of Jesus Christ's words. They were not the prophesied global events that would directly lead to Jesus Christ's return

you are saying things out of the bible.
bible never mentioned any global event!
All the events mentioned in Matthew 24 were just signs of the coming of the Jewish Messiah which happened within that small geographic region of the ancient Jerusalem of bible days and nothing more

Dtruthspeaker:
2 Chronicles 19:2. Clearly says we can not love those who God hates!

that was what Peter thought when he wanted to fight those who wanted toycapture Christ for his crucifixion. But Christ told him to shield his sword.

My guy, you are not boko haram, you are practicing Christianity.
If you go and hate someone and fights him simply because he hates God you are on your own

phemmyfour:
Rubbish

Even Jesus didn't refer to the day he was crucified as end times day

Mt 24:2

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age

and to you didn't bother to read the whole of that chapter 24 to see how Jesus answered his disciples who asked him the question?

To summerize everything about that Matthew 24, read verse 32

Matthew 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Matthew 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things(the disciples who asked him the question actually saw those things happening), know that it is near, even at the doors.
Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

The emboldened tells you that all what he told them have already been fulfilled in that generation of the disciples who asked him the question.

To buttress my point

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Immediately after Christ was crucified there was darkness and earthquake, so what are we talking?

Dtruthspeaker:
In Christianity we hate evil and evil doers because we can not love what God hates
2 Chronicles 19:2. And God hates evil people Psalm 5:5

Only a devil and a fool will love an evil person.

No one even does it neither do they allows an evil person near their house not to talk of loving them, so you are a lying hypocrite when say by mouth that you love your fellow man and yet you do not let him come close to you nor your house for you know that he shall do you evil if you let him close.

scriptures didn't ask you to hate evil doers. Rather it ask you to hate evil.

Deception is in all religions alike :
Christianity, Islam, Atheism, Buhdaism, Judaism, Jehovah witness(big deceivers), Harekrishina, Grail messages(in the light of lies), African and non African traditional religions, etc.

Please follow Christ, he will never deceive you

Let me quickly say this! Anyone practicing religion or he does not practice religion and he hates another fellow man, then he is not doing truthfully

MrMxyptlk:
Basically, christianity says, you've never hurt anyone but you dont believe Jesus is the way so you'll still suffer

no!
Christianity says if you don't believe in Jesus you will die, not that you will suffer.

There many people who believes in Christ that are suffering. Suffering isn't a function of your religious or non religious inclination

, but he's killed lots,

you can't question him for killing, that's why he is God.
As he choses to create at will, so he choses to kill at will.
It's like a man who chose to construct his house at will, then at some point he decides to destroy the house at will. Who will question him?
His property is his property, he can choose to do it anyhow he want because he is superior to the property, there is nothing like justice or injustice here.

but he makes heaven cause he says "God, forgive me".

it's human character to forgive too when people says please forgive me, so?

The concept of inherited sin(Adam's sin sucks more). Let's simplify this(Christians reading this are already saying you can't simplify the things of God, but oh well, I'll proceed eitherways). I'll use my life as an example, My mom is a teacher. When I was in grade 2, my class teacher then had a daughter who was in Grade 5. My mom was her daughter's Math teacher and she was mad at my mom cause my mom refused to alter her daughter's grades to make them much better. She, in her annoyance took it out on me and my grades. On first listen and even subsequent listen, everyone will say "Na, that was wrong". But that exactly is what God is doing to us all.

no!
You are very wrong, that is not what God is doing.
Understand the concept of inherited sin from Adam and Eve, it is like nature!
You deplete the ozone layer in one region, other people suffers the effect in another region.
You refuse to send your 5 years old child to school today, she suffers the consequences in the future. She wasn't the one that decides not to send herself to school when she was 5 years old.
Now, that isn't God's fault that she is suffering the consequences.

In this world, we cannot live a isolated life, we need each other.
So, is the illustration you gave about your mum and your teacher who chooses put it on your grades

I never "chose" to eat any forbidden fruit but here I am, suffering from someone else's decision to sin.

the question you should ask is, what is your role in the life?
Your role is to bring solution to problems!
They eat forbidden fruits and brought death, then you should follow Christ who brings life, that's the only solution. Romans 5:12

Again, Christians say their God is omniscient. "He knew us and all about us before we were formed in our mother's womb". That I'll like to expand further to say, he knew how we'll end our lives too. Then why create someone being 100% certain that he/she would end up in hell? And if he doesn't know how we'll end up, is he really Omniscient?

a farmer who sow his seeds in an open field don't he knows that while men slept, it is possible an enemy will come and sow bad seeds along with his good seeds in the same field ? Matthew 13:24

Ofcourse he knows!
But he expect you to use your brain and bring solution

If my child steals a piece of meat from the pot and I decide to kill that child, y'all will definitely say "Fam, that's an overkill". But I live in sin(probably not even harming others, just ignorant about christ), then I die and burn "FOREVER". Honestly, that's unfair.

what is unfair is you deliberately refusing to look up to Christ for your salvation.

Romans 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Just say the word that's all

"Jacob I loved, Esau I hate"

if Jacob was faithful and Esau wasn't what do you expect, that he will love both equally?

If you have two children, one is doing well and the other is not, to be sincere to yourself will you love them equally?

Hence, all are called few are chosen

"All are called, few are CHOSEN"

yes

"I'll have mercy on whom I chose to have mercy on"
This is someone who loves us all equally?

you have to realize that life is not a straight line graph.
But you must plot your way to the right course, God will not do that for you because you have your free will