₦airaland Forum

Victornezzar:
Dat man is ju no I'mst using dat school 2 enrich himself
am a student tho......left last year
d system is so bad
any small dey would call 4 church gathering
And d staffs ehn......dose people re very rude especially d exams nd records department
And dey inhabit cows in the school
And d man can lie for Africa ehn.......
dat wen dey gave birth 2 him.....3 cows came 2 visit him nd dey wer lafin......nd a bright sun shone around d world

lol, my Belle oooh

Victornezzar:
Dat man is ju no I'mst using dat school 2 enrich himself
am a student tho......left last year
d system is so bad
any small dey would call 4 church gathering
And d staffs ehn......dose people re very rude especially d exams nd records department
And dey inhabit cows in the school
And d man can lie for Africa ehn.......
dat wen dey gave birth 2 him.....3 cows came 2 visit him nd dey wer lafin......nd a bright sun shone around d world

lol, my Belle oooh

magnificently written

Martinez19:
okay, I will. Will 6:00pm today be fine?

ok

Martinez19:
a christian with questions.

Good morning, I don't have answers to all the questions you might be plagued with but I would like to have an intellectually discerning conversation with you, contact me on 07039419526...whatsapp only

since when Is execution a sacrifice? crucifixion is as legal as any form of death sentence, the only sacrifice is the supposed fact that he was innocent of the crime yet substituted himself in our place. sacrifice is a ritual, crucifixion/execution is not a ritual

Unable to join the group

I naturally would not comment on this but it's alarming what 'unintelligent' christianity does to reason. Let's face it, most of what we preach will make christ cry. Jesus christ took care of your salvation from start to finish, your additional effort( works) is not required. One of the most misquoted and least understood passage of the bible is the ' work out your salvation with FEAR and TREMBLING'. Philippians 2:12. It is uses to support the notion that salvation can be obtained, maintained and retained by self-effort, what the bible calls (works)It’s also used to augment the logic that one can lose one’s salvation. Which is really strange considering that Paul the apostle of grace is being quoted in support of salvation by self-effort. He’ll probably flip in his grave! He almost lost his life severally for preaching salvation by grace. It was his point of radical departure from the Jewish faith. At the beginning, the early Church struggled to separate Christianity from Judaism. It’s why Paul was summoned to the council meeting at Jerusalem; at which a resolution was passed that non-Jewish converts must abstain from eating meat with blood. (Acts 21:15-25) That is actually a command under the Law of Moses. (Leviticus 17:12, Deuteronomy 12:23) The Jewish converts were told “all follow the Law of Moses seriously.” (Acts 21:20) But Paul in his epistle to the Galatians called that a “crazy” observance. Not exactly a phrase you’d expect from an apostle but he had a point: “Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new life in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:2-3) The Message translation is not that genteel: “How did this new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?” (Galatians 3:3-5 MSG) Then Paul continues his challenge: “Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?” (Galatians 3:6 MSG)
It’s of course unimaginable that the man who wrote all of the above can then be quoted as advocating salvation by works and self-effort. He can’t say one thing in his letter to the Galatians and make a 180degree volte-face in his letter to the Philippians. Therefore “working out your salvation with fear and trembling” CANNOT mean working hard to make heaven, or working hard to make heaven by moral striving. Something must be wrong in such interpretation of this text.
Well it turns out something IS wrong in our reading of the text. And it arises from taking the text out of its textual setting. We’re not quoting the FULL text! When we look at the full text we’ll discover that Paul is actually saying EXACTLY the same thing in this letter as in his letter to the Galatians: that salvation by self-effort is preposterous. The mistake comes from reading Philippians. 2:12 in isolation. That’s truncation. The full text is Philippians 2: 12 AND Philippians. 2:13: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 KJV) Essentially therefore, we’re able to work out our salvation BECAUSE God is working in us to make us willing and able to do his good pleasure. The system is rigged, we’re not doing the work out, God is the enabler! We can do nothing without him. (John 15:5) Essentially therefore we can’t please God without God helping us to please him. That’s what Philippians 2:12-13 is saying. This accords with an earlier statement made by Paul in the same letter: “And I am certain that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT) The Amplified translation is even better: “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that he Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ (right up to the time of His return), developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.” (Philippians 1:6 Amp) It is God doing the work, we’re just working out what he’s working.Bearing in mind Philippians 1:6, the only logical interpretation of Philippians 2:12-13 is that we should work out outwardly what God is doing inwardly in us, in humility and deep reverence for God. We’re not working to avoid going to hell, or lose our salvation, or Paul would contradict himself severally. The same Paul had already told us in his letter to the Ephesians that we have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13) In other words, our salvation is a done deal. Here’s what he wrote: “Once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation) you found yourselves home free – signed, sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first instalment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Therefore our salvation is not in doubt. It is signed, sealed and delivered. The word of God said so.The problem many have is understanding the King James translation of the Bible. It can be very confusing if you lack appreciation of Shakespearean English. The King James Bible was published in 1611. People go to school to learn to read Shakespeare for the simple reason it’s ancient English. King James Bible requires no less study. It’s not a text the modern man can easily grasp. Just like Chaucer or other classical literature. It was actually translated using four sources– Masoretic Text, Textus Receptus, Vulgate and Septuagint. The English of the 17th century had expressions like “evil concupiscence”, “superfluity of naughtiness.”Here’s the New Living Translation of Philippians 2:12-13. It gives us better understanding of what Paul was writing about. It’s modern text: “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:12-13 NLT)The Message translation is even better: “What I’m getting at friends is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up better. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13 MSG) IN OTHER WORDS THIS PASSAGE IS ABOUT PASSION AND REVERENCE FOR GOD, NOT FEAR OF GOING TO HELL. “Working out your salvation” is about dynamic responsiveness to the Holy Spirit. How hell got into all this one truly has to wonder! We seem to read the passage as, “Work out your salvation in the fear of going to hell!”
The belief we can earn salvation by our own effort is called the heresy of pelagianism. It is named after the British monk Pelagius (354-420 AD). St. Augustine would counter the heresy with the doctrine of grace. We cannot earn our salvation by our moral striving. And we must stop alleging Paul preached this doctrine. Not if we don’t want Paul to scowl at us from heaven! Dynamic responsiveness to the Holy Spirit. That’s the new deal! And that’s how you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. GRACE, GRACE and GRACE

kalindaminda:
Actually it is different. Do some research. He's the most controversial president in US history. And he's in the educated part of America. His wife was even having difficulty finding a private school in D.C. to accept their son

. Is he controversial? Yes, would they have been such amount of security if HELLary was to be sworn in? Yes.

kalindaminda:
So why his so different than previous inaugurations?

it's not different, it's the standard system. He is the president of AMERICA for f**ks sake.

kalindaminda:
Damn he's so scared of his own citizens

I don't blame him, Americans hate him

. The security measures is not because he is scared but because at the moment, that's the biggest fish in America and by extension, the world.

Mtcheew, call the soilders and send KAI joor

I rather think it unfortunate that some people are so keen on been rulers over people that don't want their rulership. Anyways, I hope when someone gets voted out in 2019 he leaves in peace.

jeffizy:
[color=#004400] E-money is using the E.
He'll mail it to you later. [/color]

frenchwine:
Hold fast to that which you have. A guy who would renege on your agreement cannot be trusted with your virginity, nay marriage
If the sexual moves were coming from you, then fair enough.

. Like for real?, if she had wanted the sex and he said no, then she has the pass to flare up is fair enough? No my friend, under no circumstance is it fair, they had an agreement and if they want to call it void, they should sit like adults(which I hope they are) and talk, not him setting the scene for such an act, that's a breach of contract and unethical

waternogetenemy:
if we are one nigeria, must IVM beg Lagos?

. Hian, all this olodo people, since when does a business proposal becomes begging?

Chai, see neck!!!

gurunlocker:
I agree with both observations...

. Seconded

prettythicksme:
WTf is dis?someone should pls explain this for cos i am not understanding.

. There was a country ni eeh oooo.

It really hurts @ op. Family is supposed to make life easier, help you get through shits, make you feel whole but in this part of the world, reverse is usually the case, am going through some of the same shits and yes, the only solution is leaving,being independent and in our society, till you graduate from a higher institution, you are considered not an adult, am so sick of all this junk mentalities.
And NO, you are not a bad son, they can shove their opinions down their throat, respect them for that's what you owe them till you get your own roof and 'life'

wonderful question by the way and Yes, God is a politician, a business man, a military personnel, a scientist,and the one most people know, a compassionate. You see Christians make this mistake of seeing Jehovah as a one-dimensional person when in fact there are five personages from the scriptures. The first book of the bible tells us that He is a creator, innovator, scientist and He read out his CV for us in JOB 38. The second personage of God is the compassionate God, he clothes, feeds, heals, forgives,protects and guides us, you see, christians know and like this side of him a lot. Then you have Him as a businessman or investor (matthew 25 vs 14-30) the talents in that parable is not singing, dancing and the like, its a monetary unit. Today it would have been called parable of the dollar, that is the God you deal with as a businessman or woman. A fourth is the military commander, the Lord of host, of whom it is written that he cometh from Edom with dyed garment from bozrah, soaked with the blood of the enemy as he declares the day of the Lord(isaiah 63) He is the Angel
in 2 Kings 19:35 and Isaiah 37:36, the one who
took out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one
night. Then finally we have God the Government
He’s the potentate and King who
administrates the universe and all of Heaven.
It is in his capacity as government we refer to
him as King of kings and Lord of lords, and it
is on the basis of his might and power that
every knee must bow. (Philippians 2:10) thank you

duduspace:
What exactly do you disagree with? He has already said the "matured" son is entirely responsible for his actions.

Are you

1. Implying that environment and upbringing have no effect in influencing a child's behaviour in adulthood ?

or

2. Just disagreeing because well, you have nothing better to do?

Sorry, I almost fell into the same trap of something I've accused others of on this forum (thinking in binary), feel free to add any other reasons for your disagreement as option 3, then we can take it on from there.

. I am disagreeing because yes,his fathers act has nothing to do with him beating his meat at a public park, neither does environmental whatever

patriotic9jaboy:
Even though there is hunger in the land, this is uncalled for. she might end up putting herself in trouble if any one dies as a result of food poisoning. people are dying in kogi for eating mere amala and this ignorant lady is looking for cheap fame. smh

. I wonder why some people find a problem in every solution

When two elephants fight................

whitebeard:
Why radio..I mean hello..we have phones."21st" century

. May sense not pass you by this year again,and your name na whitebeard oh

Johncuppa:
@Sainthud, I, personally, I'm not in any way condemning or discrediting the Church. But I'm of opinion that God is navigating another path, probably, leading to the next revival which might not be through any movement, neither from any pulpit nor through any man of God but God Himself raising for Himself- living stones from every denomination for the manifestation of the sons and the building of the Kingdom of God through influence- #ministryofinfluence from every walk of life. And as a result, God is putting this craving and hunger in us. Shalom!

. @johncuppa, I tell people the church is operating a centripetal model
instead of God’s intended centrifugal model.
It’s aberrant! With a centripetal model
resources are concentrated inside the church
and not enough resources directed outward.
We’re obsessed with the priestly model of the
Old Testament. So we consign ministry work
to pastors. Why we call them “ministers”.
God’s plan for priesthood in the New
Testament is radically different from the
concept of priesthood in the Old Testament.
To be a priest in the Old Testament you had
to be a descendant of Levi. It was DNA based.
(Exodus 40:15) The order of priesthood in the
New Testament is the Order of Melchizedek.
You don’t need to descend from Aaron or
Levi. By the New Testament order, priests
aren’t limited to the temple. Otherwise we
would all be in the temple in Jerusalem now.
Jesus was himself from the tribe of Judah. He
didn’t qualify as a priest under the Old
Testament rule. (Hebrews 7:11-22) Only one
or two of Jesus’ 12 disciples was a Levite. The
people he appointed as priests didn’t qualify
by Old Testament rules. Jesus appointed
ordinary folk to the priesthood –
businessmen, civil servants, tax agents,
political activists, radicals. The appointment of
ordinary folk into priesthood served to signify
God’s intention for the Church – the Order of
Melchizedek. Melchizedek was a priest-king in
the Old Testament to whom Abraham paid
tithe. (Genesis 14:18–20) Melchizedek as
“priest-king” represents the merger of the
sacred and the secular. That is God’s intention
for Christianity.
Christianity is the hyphenation of the sacred
and the secular. We are priest-doctors, priest-
artists, priest-programmers etc. Old
Testament ministers were restricted to the
temple, but New Testament ministers
function in and out of the temple. The gifts of
the Spirit are supposed to function in and out
of the church. We carry the Holy Spirit
everywhere. (1 Corinthians 12) All Christians
are ministers of the gospel. The Spirit of God
is INSIDE us and we carry the extraordinary
capacities of God. God’s design is for the
congregants to do the work of the ministry,
not the pastor. A church is a training ground.
A pastor is a personnel development manager
deploying people to the world to do ministry
work. “And He (Jesus) gave some to be
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers for the
equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Our sphere of operation is the world, not the
church. We are the salt of the earth, not the
salt of the church. (Matthew 5:13) We are
called to make disciples of all NATIONS.
(Matthew 28:19) The world is our theatre of
operation. Have you heard about the
Clapham Group? It’s a 19th century group of
Christians comprising clergymen and laymen.
Politicians, philanthropists, economists,
clergy, bankers, social activists and a
mathematician made up the Clapham Group.
William Wilberforce was a prominent member
of the Clapham Group. The Clapham group
founded Freetown, Sierra Leone for the
settlement of ex-slaves after the abolition of
slave trade. The Clapham Group influenced
culture, politics, civilization, business, finance,
education, philanthropy. The Clapham Group
founded the Church Missionary Society (CMS)
and CMS Grammar School, Lagos. The
Clapham Group caught the revelation of the
dimensions of God’s vision. In the process
they found purpose for their lives.
Christians are sometimes so caught up in the
mundane acts of religion they can’t see the
dimensions of God’s vision. Seek ye first the
Kingdom and His righteousness, all other
things shall be added unto you. (Matthew
6:33) Like the Clapham Group, you need to
catch a revelation of the dimensions of God’s
vision. Then you can disciple nations. You
cannot develop a capacity for God’s big vision
if you don’t have a revelation of the
dimensions of the Christian faith. Christians
ought to be critically involved in governance,
politics and the economy. Christians ought to
influence culture and determine perspectives
through media. It’s nation discipling. When
Christians abandon the critical spheres of
society, it’s a lack of understanding of God’s
grand vision.
We’re not religionists, we’re a nation. God’s
vision is discipleship of nations not petty
fights against witches and wizards. Stop living
in fear of what should be afraid of you. You
can’t appropriate God’s vision with a
grasshopper mentality. Such a vision will be
too large for you. As long as the Israelites of
old saw themselves as grasshoppers they
could never imagine confronting nations.
(Numbers 13:33) We know from the Israelites’
story that even miracles are not enough for
paradigm shift. They saw incredible miracles,
but… God has capacitated you to think in
grand scales. Stop thinking small. Use your
imagination! Abraham never saw himself as
small. He didn’t see himself as just the head
of a family unit. He saw himself as a nation.
Because he saw himself as a nation, Abraham
had a trained private army. Only nations have
armies. (Genesis 14:14) Because he saw
himself as a nation, Abraham made alliances
with kings. That’s how he was able to rescue
Lot. Self-image determines pursuit. See
yourself as God sees you. If you can’t grasp
God’s grand vision for your life you will not
accomplish great dreams. Enlarge your vision.
Enlarge the place of your tent; let the curtains
of your habitations be stretched out. Fear not. With minds like yours @ the forefront of this message,it is only a matter of time before the gospel leaves the pulpit unto every mouth!

Recent events in the Church have generated social fervor about the lifestyles of men of the robe and the governance structure of the Church in Nigeria, in particular the Pentecostal hue. This is as expected because the funding profile of the Church is primarily derived from contributions from congregants. There is a lot of angst out there because Nigerians are experiencing economic hardship. This provides some of the context for the public backlash. However we risk throwing out the baby with the bathwater if our passion becomes a raging flood that sweeps away reason and structural facts. Are there excesses in the church? No doubt. The eco-system is imperfect for the simple reason that Pastors are men afterall. And the operations of some snake oil merchants have only served to compound issues. There are now magicians in robes, economic opportunists in cassocks, ecclesiastical predators in surplices and charlatans in collars. But there are also genuine men of God and ministries, thousands upon thousands of them. The spectrum of the Church in Nigeria consists of orthodox churches, evangelicals, pentecostal institutional and pentecostal independents. Methodist Church is orthodox, ECWA is evangelical, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Deeper Life Bible Church and the Assemblies of God are pentecostal institutional, whilst Daystar Christian Centre is a pentecostal independent. The Orthodox Church establishment laid the foundation for modern Nigeria. They are the offshoots of missionary work. They educated the people we now refer to as the founding fathers of the federation. They established the first set of hospitals and schools in Nigeria. Methodist Boys’ High School, Baptist Academy and Our Lady of Apostles Grammar School are well known examples of schools established by missionaries. It was the Church that educated the first set of civil servants in Nigeria. And the Church has always been at the nexus of cultural re- orientation in Nigeria. Who can ever forget the work of Mary Slessor, the diminutive nurse who fought against the barbaric culture of the killing of twins? And so when we chant about the “labour of our heroes past,” we must not forget that some of these heroes are the missionaries and the orthodox establishments. Now we do not know why but clearly, God raised a generational stream of young men and women to build on the foundational work of the orthodox churches. The work began with the establishment of the Scripture Union (S.U or C.U – Christian Union) in primary and secondary schools. From that movement emerged the generation of those who now head the Pentecostal institutional churches today, in particular the unassuming Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the self effacing Pastor William F. Kumuyi. Incidentally both attended The Apostolic Faith before fate directed their trajectories. Both are very well educated. Pastor Adeboye has a PhD in Applied Mathematics whilst Pastor Kumuyi has a first class honours degree in Mathematics. At the time of their ascendance, the “faith movement” was taking root in America and this spawned the ministries of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Bishop David Oyedepo and Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor. We must also note the great work of a little known Englishman who settled in Ile Ife, the late Pa Elton. He would be responsible for the mentoring of the next ministerial generation and the establishment of Pentecostal doctrine in Nigeria. However something major took place in the early 80s. A then unknown medical student at the University of Lagos was ordained a Pastor by the Assemblies of God Church. This was an extremely radical event 30 years ago. His name is Dr. Tunde Joda of the Christ Chapel fame. He was a product and proponent of the Faith Movement and was highly influenced by the ministries of Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin and Kenneth Copeland. He opened the door for his generation and made God exciting to young people. That was a generational advent and invariably members of that generation became Pastors. Because of the educational background of the generation, the Pentecostal movement acquired sophistication. The emergent Pastors are generally creative in approach, aggressive, uninhibited and resourceful. Many emerged through the “model parish” structure of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Dr. Tony Rapu would prove pivotal to that structure though there is evidence to the effect that Pastor Tunde Bakare was perhaps the first model parish Pastor. That was before he went on to found the Latter Rain Assembly. Some in that generation are now in full time ministry but many maintain a dualism – they work as professional managers and entrepreneurs whilst running the churches on a full term basis. (Some are in government). And so we arrived at a literal prophetic era in Nigeria church history – the era of the order of priest-kings technically known as the Order of Melchizedek. All Christians belong to this Order but these young Pastors in dual callings typify the Order. Most are successful in their secular callings and it would be uncharitable to assume that they went into ministry for money. Most do not collect salaries from their churches. Instead they contribute. These emergent Pastors signified a generational move of God. The generation is noted for “speaking in tongues” – a peculiar glossolalia dating back to Pentecost. They are thus referred to as “Pentecostals”. (In modern parlance, the term “Pentecostal” has come to signify exuberant loud worship and gifted oratory). They redefined what a man of God is and till today, the redefinition presents a challenge to society. So aggressive are members of this Pentecostal movement that in a strange twist of fate, they exported Christianity back to the UK. And they have established churches in Ukraine, Ireland, America and more. Nigeria as a nation has no social security system. The absence of social net is why individuals take care of the economic needs of their parents in old age. This familial approach to social security leaves huge swaths of needy citizens unattended to. Into this void has stepped the Church. The Church complements the efforts of some State governments who clearly cannot cope with the deluge of developmental challenges facing Nigeria. And the Pentecostal generation has acquitted itself wonderfully at this task. Let’s be more particular. Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, a man of grace runs The Fountain of Life Church. It has a hospital, an orphanage, a school for the indigent and orphans and a vocational farm. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, the founder of Trinity House supports indigent students with scholarships. His Lydia Grace Foundation supports the rehabilitation of lower class prostitutes, among so many other initiatives. Pastor Tony Rapu, the Pastor of This Present House runs one of the most successful drug rehabilitation programmes through the Freedom Foundation network. Pastor Poju Oyemade organises a hugely successful bi-annual youth empowerment seminar called The Platform. Rev. Sam Adeyemi, a gentleman of the robe runs Daystar Christian Centre. His Church has a community impact programme and has renovated 5 State schools, among so many other programmes. He is particularly noted for leadership training. Pastor Paul Adefarasin of the House on the Rock Church hosts an annual cultural impact programme called The Experience. It is a major engagement platform for youths through music. The City of David, a Redeemed Church parish runs a most successful soccer academy and acclaimed football club, COD United FC. These are just a few examples of what these particular ministries are engaged in and space will not permit us to name the works of so many other ministries. Many church ministries run schools, hospitals, orphanages, sex worker rehabilitation programmes, drug rehabilitation programmes, community development programmes and youth development programmes. By the time we scale up to the network of Redeemed Christian Church of God and the like, the exponential value of Church ministries becomes staggering in proportion. The Catholic Church is responsible for the establishment of a post graduate university, the Pan African University. That university has taken up a major responsibility for skill development in the private sector. The Church also founded Loyola Jesuit Secondary School. Even the much maligned Bishop David Oyedepo founded two universities! No other Nigerian, living or dead has accomplished such feat as far as we know. Invariably almost every church has bent its back to carry the burden of the State and it’s a huge burden. A wholesale condemnation of the Church is not helpful. The Church through its programs saves Nigeria from the consequences of its dereliction in governance. Perhaps there is a need for a compendium of the good works by churches that is accessible to the general public. The Church essentially aggregates resources to create a social security net for Nigeria. Otherwise we will have more drug addicts, prostitutes, orphans, hapless widows and certainly more crime. We will also have less kids in school, less young men acquiring trade skills, less micro-financing of small businesses, and less value orientation and instruction for our youths. At the heart of the ongoing debate is the nature of church economics. Why do people give to churches in such huge figures? Why would a Pastor take money from the poor? To the man looking from the outside those giving ten percent of their salaries are either gullible or hypnotized. But the notion of giving is a fundamental of the Christian faith. Jesus said, “Give and it shall be given unto you”. Apostle Paul wrote, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor 9: 6 – 7). Giving in Christianity is predicated on the principle of sowing and reaping. And giving is a socio-economic ladder according to Christian doctrine. It is also proof of love for God. It is within this context that we can understand why the poor give to churches. The poor man’s faith teaches him to give his way out of poverty, though we must admit that the role of industry is sometimes neglected in teachings. There are perversions of the doctrine of giving but that does not make the doctrine any less fundamental. Now, unlike some religions, Christianity runs an economic commonwealth when it comes to institutional development and building programs. Everyone contributes to the commonwealth. And the value of a gift before God is relative to deprivation. That would seem heartless to the outsider and some will consider it exploitative, but the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath is a wonderful illustration of the dynamics of giving to a man of God (or church ministry) in an economic downturn. And the parable of the widow’s mite establishes the principle of relative deprivation as a measure of value. That said, it must be mentioned that the Church has oft times operated with a silo mentality. There has to be better engagement between the Church and civil society. In addition, a peer-to-peer review system must be instituted. If the Pastors judge themselves they will escape condemnation. Some advocate state interference in religious affairs. Regulating the Church sounds okay in theory but it can prove a very dangerous idea in a tri-religious society like Nigeria. Not with all the goings on. And we may have a peculiar situation of a man of different faith sitting in judgment over Christian economics without doctrinal understanding and vice versa. We must not rush us into dangerous territory. As we shall soon discover, this obviously targeted regulation will create inconsistencies and challenges as we seek to apply it across all religious boards. But the Church has to recognize that society has significantly altered, and for many Nigerians it is the one true institution. This is my humble contribution to the ongoing debate.

Amelian:
It's a choice.. If one has the money and feels he wants to. Appreciate his wife to be more... Why not? No money is too much for bride price on a woman, one calls his wife, better half and mother of his kids..

. You mean better quarter?

This resemble nollywood, the rich guy is a bad sombori while the poor guy later get money...

You die with am oh...even your husband no go gree Bleep you