₦airaland Forum

what point are you making olaadegbu

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=144350
Our RCCGs, KICCs and Winners Chapel will not see this, why should they? They are just one man business disguised as churches

Certainly pilgrim runs a church, he is so blind sided to the truth, he is more of a pharisee and a saducee than a christain. He is one of the people who put people in bondage. What a shame

Very good, i think the pastors should more than pay - i see more criminal exploitation within what is called new age christendom of materialism. I don't think or hear about the mosques paying about money and more money

I think i can profile you, you were once jobless during on night of chronic hunger you started hallucinating, during your hallucination you felt God was calling you to do ministry work ( as you bastards all claim). You rented one room some where to set up a church hoping to start collecting tithes and offering (bloody mother fucker). Maybe you should bury a live cow in your so called church - i was told the number of maggots will represent the size of congregation, the size of the congregation, the potential monetary spin. - bloody bastard

i think there is really no point in arguing about this issue, if you believe in the old order then you must obey the 613 laws of moses in leviticus, deutoromony and numbers. You will have to stone adulters to death, you will have to stay indoors on saturday and not on sunday so that you keep the sabbath holy.
You must make animal sacrifices on daily basis :
2 Command the children of Israyl, and say to them; See that you present to Me, at the appointed time, the food for My offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to Me.
3 And you shall say to them; this is the offering made by fire that you are to present to yahweh: two lambs of the first year, without blemish, as a regular burnt offering each day:
4 Sacrifice one lamb in the morning, and the other between the two evenings; the Morning and Evening Tamid.
5 Present with each lamb one-tenth of an ephah; about 2 quarts, of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with one-fourth of a hin; about 1 quart, of pressed olive oil.
6 This is the regular burnt offering instituted at Mount Sinai, as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
See also: Ex 29:38-42 Ps 55:17 Ps 51:17
Rom 12:1 I Kepha 2:5,9 Heb 13:15
You must make vows to God, your husband , father etc:
2 When a man vows a vow to Yahweh, or vows an oath to bind himself to some pledge, he shall not break his word. He must do everything he said he would do.
3 When a young woman, still living in her father’s house, vows a vow to Yahweh, or vows an oath to bind herself to some pledge,
4 And her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she has obligated herself, will stand.
5 But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or pledges, by which she obligated herself, will stand. Yahweh will release her, because her father has forbidden her.
6 If she marries after she makes a vow, or after she utters a rash promise by which she obligates herself,
7 And her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows, or the pledges by which she obligated herself, will stand.
8 But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her, or the rash promise by which she has obligated herself, and Yahweh will release her.
9 But any vow or pledge taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding upon her.
10 If a woman living with her husband makes a vow, or obligates herself by a pledge under oath,
11 And her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges she has obligated herself to, will stand.
12 But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her mouth will stand. Her husband has forbidden them, and Yahweh will release her.
13 Her husband may confirm her vow, or her husband may make it void.
14 But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding upon her. He has confirmed them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them.
15 If he, however, nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he is responsible for her guilt.
16 These are the statutes Yahweh gave Mosheh concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living in his house.

You must purify your self always because you will always be unclean:

96 Anyone who touches or eats the carcass of an unclean animal becomes unclean.
Leviticus 11:8,24—
8 their meat you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. they are unclean to you.
24 And by these you will make yourself become unclean: whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean until sunset.
See also: Lev 11 Deut 14
97 Anyone who touches or eats the carcass of a clean animal that dies of itself, or is torn by wild animals becomes unclean.
Leviticus 11:39-40—
39 If an animal you are allowed to eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until sunset.
40 Anyone who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until sunset. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until sunset.
Leviticus 17:15—
Anyone, whether he is a native of your own country or a stranger, who eats anything found dead, or torn by wild animals, he shall both wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until sunset; then he shall be clean.
See also: Ex 22:31 Lev 17:15-16 Deut 14:21
98 Articles that come in contact with sources of uncleanness become unclean.
Leviticus 11:32,34—
32 When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, shall be unclean; whether an item of wood, clothing, skin, or sack, whatever item it is that is used in work, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until sunset; then it shall be clean.
34 any food that could be eaten, but has water on it from such a vessel, is unclean, and any liquid that could be drunk from it is unclean.
Leviticus 15:12—
A clay pot that the man touches must be broken, and any wooden article is to be rinsed with water.
See also: Lev 11:31-38 Lev 7:19 Num 19:15-18
Num 31:19-23
99 Menstruous women are unclean.
Leviticus 15:19-24—
19 when a woman’s flow of blood; niddah, zavah, has ended, she will continue in her impurity for seven days. Anyone who touches her during this time will be unclean until sunset.
20 Anything she lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything she sits on will be unclean.
21 Whoever touches her bed, must wash his clothes, and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until sunset.
22 Whoever touches anything she sits on, must wash his clothes, and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until sunset.
23 Whether it is the bed or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it, he will be unclean until sunset.
24 If a man lies with her, and her monthly flow touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; any bed he lies on will be unclean.
100 Women after childbirth are unclean.
Leviticus 12:2-5—
2 Speak to the children of Israyl, saying; If a woman has conceived, and gives birth to a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her monthly period, she shall be unclean.
3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised.
4 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three more days. She shall not touch any holy thing; qodesh, nor come into any consecrated place; miqqedash, until the days of her purification are over: for a total of forty days.
5 However, if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, fourteen days, as in her monthly period; and she shall continue in the blood of her purification sixty-six more days: for a total of eighty days.
101 Anyone with a spreading skin disease is unclean.
Leviticus 13:2-3—
2 When anyone has a swelling, or a rash, or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease like leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, the priests.
3 The priest shall look at the sore on the skin of the body; and if the hair on the sore has turned white, and the sore appears deeper than the rest of his skin, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him unclean.
See also: Lev 13:2-46 Lev 14:2-32
102 Any clothing contaminated with a spreading disease is unclean.
Leviticus 13:47,50-51—
47 And if any clothing is contaminated with mildew: woolen or linen clothing,
50 The priest is to examine the mildew, and isolate the article in question for seven days.
51 on the seventh day he is to re-examine it, and if the mildew has spread in the clothing, in the woven or knitted material, or in the leather, whatever its use, it is a destructive mildew; the article is unclean.
See also: Lev 13:47-59
103 A house contaminated by a spreading disease is unclean.
Leviticus 14:34,44—
34 When you enter the land of Canaan, which I give you as a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land,
44 Then the priest is to go and examine it again, and if the mildew has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew; the house is unclean.
See also: Lev 14:34-57
104 A man having an abnormal discharge is unclean.
Leviticus 15:2—
Speak to the children of Israyl, and say to them; when any man has a discharge, the discharge is unclean.
See also: Lev 15:2-15
105 Anyone or anything coming into contact with semen becomes unclean.
Leviticus 15:16-18—
16 when any man has an emission of semen, then he shall bathe all his body in water, and he will be unclean until sunset.
17 Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean until sunset.
18 When a man lies with a woman, and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean until sunset.
106 A woman with an abnormal discharge is unclean.
Leviticus 15:19, 25-28—
19 when A woman’s flow of blood; niddah, zavah, has ended, she will continue in her impurity for seven days. Anyone who touches her during this time will be unclean until sunset.
25 When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period; zavah, or has a discharge that continues beyond her period; zavah, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge. She will be unclean just as in the days of her period.
26 Any bed she lies on, while her discharge continues, will be unclean: as her bed is during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, just as during her monthly period.
27 Whoever touches them will be unclean; he must wash his clothes, and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until sunset.
28 When her discharge has finally stopped, she must count off seven clear days; then she will be clean.
107 A human corpse and anyone who touches it is unclean.
Numbers 19:11-14—
11 He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.
12 He must purify himself with the water of the red heifer on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
13 Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of Yahweh. That person shall be cut off from Israyl. He shall remain unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. His uncleanness is still on him.
14 this is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent; anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days,
See also: Num 19:11-16 Num 31:19-20
You have the following duties to your community:

171 Every male 20 years old and above must give half a shekel to The House of yahweh annually.
Exodus 30:12-16—
12 when you take the census of the children of israyl, to count them, each one must pay yahweh a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.
13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary; about 1/5 ounce. The half-shekel is an offering to Yahweh.
14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, being twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to Yahweh.
15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than half a shekel; giving an offering to Yahweh to make atonement for yourselves.
16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israyl, and shall appoint it for the service of the Tabernacle of Meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israyl in front of Yahweh, to make atonement for yourselves.
172 Listen to and Obey Yahweh’s Anointed Servant, the Overseer of The House of Yahweh.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19—
15 yahweh your father will raise up for you a prophet, like me, from the midst of your own brothers. him you must listen to.
16 For this is what you asked of Yahweh at Horeb, on the day you gathered together, saying: Let us not hear the voice of Yahweh our Father, nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.
17 Then Yahweh said to me: What they have spoken is the truth.
18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He will tell them everything I command Him.
19 Whoever will not listen to My words, which He speaks in My Name, I will judge him for it.
173 The king must be appointed by Yahweh.
Deuteronomy 17:15—
Then be sure you set a king over you whom yahweh your father chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. He must not be a foreigner who is not your brother.
174 Listen to and Obey Yahweh’s Anointed Priests (The Body of Elders of The House of Yahweh under the direction of the Overseer of The House of Yahweh).
Deuteronomy 17:9-11—
9 Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in office at that time. Ask for their decision, and they will give you the sentence of judgment.
10 You must act according to the sentence they pronounce for you at the place Yahweh chooses. Be careful to do all they order you to do.
11 according to the law they teach you, you shall do, and according to the decisions they give you, you shall do. You must not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left from the sentence they pronounce for you.
See also: Deut 17:8-13
175 Speak the truth when testifying in a lawsuit or an investigation.
Exodus 23:2—
Do not follow the crowd in doing evil. when you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.
176 The priests and their assistants must be chosen by Yahweh.
Deuteronomy 16:18—
you must appoint judges and officers in all the cities Yahweh your Father gives you, from each of your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
See also: Ex 18:19-26 Deut 1:13-17 Acts 1:20-26 Acts 6:1-7
177 The Priests of The House of Yahweh, chosen by Yahweh, must judge the people impartially according to Yahweh’s Laws.
Leviticus 19:15—
Do not pervert judgment: You shall not show partiality to the poor, nor honor to the person of the great. in righteousness you shall judge your brother fairly.
See also: Is 11:3-4 Yech 44:23-24
178 Whoever is aware of sin or of evidence in a case must speak up and testify.
Leviticus 5:1—
if a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge, to testify regarding something he has seen, or knows about: he will be held responsible;
179 The testimony of witnesses shall be examined thoroughly by the Priests.
Deuteronomy 13:14—
then you must inquire, probe, and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proven that such an abomination was committed among you.
See also: Deut 19:18
180 False witnesses shall be judged according to the Law.
Deuteronomy 19:19—
Then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. In this way you must purge the evil from among you.
See also: Matt 7:1-5
181 When a person is found murdered, and the murderer is unknown, the prescribed procedure must be performed.
Deuteronomy 21:1-9—
1 If anyone is found slain, lying in a field in the land Yahweh your Father is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
2 Then your elders and your judges shall go out, and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring cities.
3 Then the elders of the city nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked, and which has not pulled with a yoke;
4 And lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted, and where there is a flowing stream. There, in the valley, they are to break the heifer’s neck.
5 The priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for Yahweh your Father has chosen them to minister, and to pronounce blessings in the Name of Yahweh, and to decide all cases of controversy and assault.
6 Then all the elders of the city nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer, whose neck was broken in the valley,
7 And they shall declare: Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.


You have the following duties to your fellow men:


194 Stolen property must be returned to its owner.
Leviticus 6:2-5—
2 If a person sins and commits a trespass against Yahweh, by lying to his brother about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has deceived and extorted from his brother,
3 Or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, or vows falsely; in any one of these things a man may do: sinning;
4 Then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen; or the thing which he has deceitfully obtained, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found:
5 For all he has vowed falsely about, he shall restore its full value, adding one-fifth more to it, and giving it to whomever it belongs on the day of his trespass offering.
195 The poor must be taken care of according to Yahweh’s Laws.
Deuteronomy 15:8,11—
8 But you must be openhanded to him, and willingly lend him enough of whatever he needs.
11 But the poor will never cease from the land. Therefore I command you, saying: You shall open wide your hand to your poor and needy brother in your land.
See also: Lev 25:35-36
196 When a Hebrew slave goes free the owner must give him gifts.
Deuteronomy 15:12-14,18—
12 If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, sells himself to you, or is sold to you, and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must let him go free from you.
13 And when he is released from you, you must not let him go away empty-handed;
14 You must supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. what yahweh has blessed you with, you are to give him.
18 It must not seem like a hardship to you when you set him free from you, for he has been worth twice as much as that of a hired hand these six years. Then Yahweh your Father will bless you in all that you do.
See also: Lev 25:39-42 Ex 21:2-6
197 Loans to brothers must be without interest.
Exodus 22:25—
if you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.
198 Loans to a foreigner may be with interest.
Deuteronomy 23:20—
you may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your brother you must not charge interest, so that Yahweh your Father may bless you in all that you set your hand to do, in the land you are entering to possess.
199 Restore a pledge for a loan to its owner if he needs it.
Deuteronomy 24:12-13—
12 If the man is poor, you must not hold his cloak; security, overnight.
13 You must, in this case, return his cloak to him before the sun goes down, so he may sleep in his own garment. Then he will bless you, and it shall be accounted to you as righteousness in front of Yahweh your Father.
200 Pay the hired worker his wages at the agreed time.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15—
14 Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the strangers living in your cities.
15 pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise, he just might cry out to Yahweh against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
201 Permit the poor to eat of the produce of the vineyard or the standing grain.
Deuteronomy 23:24-25—
24 when you enter into your brother’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you please, but you must not put any in any container.
25 When you enter into your brother’s standing grain, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.
202 Help a stranger who has a fallen animal.
Exodus 23:5—
if you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying under its burden, and you might refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
203 Help a brother who has a fallen animal.
Deuteronomy 22:4—
You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen on the road, and ignore it. be sure to help it get to its feet.
204 Lost property must be restored to its owner.
Deuteronomy 22:1—
You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep straying away, and ignore it. be sure to take it back to your brother.
See also: Deut 22:1-3 Ex 23:4
205 Those who sin must be corrected.
Leviticus 19:17—
You shall not hate your brother or your sister in your heart. Rebuke your brother or your sister frankly, so you will not share in his or her guilt.
206 Love your neighbor, whether a brother or an enemy, as yourself.
Leviticus 19:18—
Do not seek revenge nor bear a grudge against one of your own people; but you shall love your brother or your sister as yourself. I am Yahweh.
207 Love the stranger and the new convert among you.
Leviticus 19:34—
The stranger living with you must be treated as one of your native-born, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt, I am Yahweh.
See also: Deut 10:19
208 Use only honest weights and measures.
Leviticus 19:36—
you shall have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah; a dry measure, and an honest hin; a liquid measure. I am Yahweh your Father Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;


You have the following responsibilities to your slaves, employees, workers etc:

232 Hebrew slaves must be treated according to the special laws for them.
Exodus 21:2-6—
2 if you buy a hebrew slave, he may serve you for six years. but in the seventh year he shall go out free without paying anything.
3 If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go out with him.
4 If his owner has given him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her owner, and the man shall go out by himself.
5 But if the servant plainly says; I love my owner, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,
6 Then his owner shall bring him to the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost, and pierce his ear through with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.
See also: Deut 15:12-18 Lev 25:39-43
See also: Reconsidering Yahweh’s Laws of Slavery and Marriage Obligations
233 The owner, or his son, may marry his Hebrew maidservant.
Exodus 21:8-9—
8 if she does not please her owner, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to strangers, because he has broken faith with her.
9 If he has betrothed her to his son, he shall grant her the rights of a daughter.
234 If the owner, or his son, does not marry his Hebrew maidservant, he must allow her father to redeem her.
Exodus 21:8—
if she does not please her owner, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to strangers, because he has broken faith with her.
235 The regulation of the foreign slaves.
Leviticus 25:44-46—
44 Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
45 You may also buy some of the sojourners living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.
46 you may take them as an inheritance to will to your children after you; they shall be your permanent slaves. But your brothers, the children of Israyl, you shall not rule over one another ruthlessly.

I fully understand your write up, Nigerian politicians and uniformed personnels are pathetically a hopeless bunch of idiots that should not be in charge of anything related to country governance. You go to other countries of the world and you see a near perfect system. It is just the shame of a nation

Pastor Adeboye's private jet
By Ebenezer Obadare

MEDIA reports that the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has purchased a private jet worth almost N4 billion (different news sources have quoted different figures) for its General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, have provoked a minor public storm. I am of the opinion that the matter ought to be utilized as an opportunity to bring to the table and open up for discussion broader issues centering on the relationship between religion and society in Nigeria.

In proceeding, I think it is only fair that I declare my bona fides: I am, of course, hardly a believer, but as a student of society, especially its postcolonial African type, I take religion very seriously; and like many African public intellectuals, especially those of a humanistic temperament, I am genuinely alarmed at the way in which Pentecostal Christianity has run riot in Nigeria. If religiosity in general comes with the capacity to numb the intellect, the brand of Christianity that has been on the ascendance in our country for the past decade and more fosters a certain incuriousness that borders on total intellectual surrender. Beyond this piece therefore, my project is to see how we might begin to advance the cause of intellectual skepticism in our country, with the ultimate aim of reclaiming the public sphere of critical deliberation, and our common understanding of public morality, from the forces of religious superstition.

So, what are the issues that, I suggest, demand our attention? The first critical issue, to my mind, is what both the decision of the Redeemed hierarchy to purchase a private jet, and the Redeemed Church itself as an institution, tell us about both the Nigerian state, and the state of things in Nigeria. For the truth of the matter is that in its practices and dynamics, the Redeemed Church itself has become an expression of the Nigerian state. In the current configuration, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Adeboye, operates more or less like a megaphone of the state, and these days, it is no coincidence that he is more likely to be seen mixing it with the political elite (governors, ministers, the vice president, the president), than with ordinary members of the Nigerian public. Such is the social proximity between the Redeemed Church and the state elite that the Redeemed Christian Church of God has virtually become the Redeemed Christian Church of State. Pastor Adeboye, in a dynamic that works quite well for the state and serves the ends of holders of political power, attends their (office holders') birthday ceremonies, blesses their respective families, and, at the end of each year, unfailingly prophesies positive things for the country they so spectacularly misgovern.

How has it come to this? How did we arrive at a situation where a man who was (and in some quarters, still is) widely respected for his personal austerity and moral courage, has now become the handmaiden of political power? And why does he now acquiesce in a decision to buy a N4billion private jet in a country with 80 percent youth unemployment, and where the majority of the population (including most of his own congregation) continues to wallows in absolute immiseration?

Part of the answer-and this is my second point- has to be found in the evolution and transformation of Nigerian Christianity in general, and the Redeemed Church in particular. I think it is fair to say that both are actually imbricated, and that to a large extent, the transformation of the RCCG from a backstreet church to a global brand (yes, brand) mirrors key developments in the evolution of Nigerian Christianity. The crucial milestones in the development of the Redeemed Church, and the important role played in it by the mathematician-turned-pastor, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, are now available in the public domain, so I will not allow it to detain me here. For the sake of clarity and because of its centrality to the argument I am trying to make here, I want to highlight the (Redeemed) Church's passage through three distinct, though quite inseparable, moments.

The first was the early period when the Church was literally under the spell of the austere pietism of its founder, the Reverend Josiah Akindayomi. During that period, the Redeemed Church, with its emphasis on a rigorous, no frills personal regime for its members, was very similar to what the Deeper Life Bible Church was- and still largely is. The unflattering apothegm, Ijo Elekun (literally, the church of the grieving) is recalled here as a testament to the perceived doctrinal severity of this early period. This image was to change with the ascendance of Pastor Adeboye in 1981- and the Church's rapid transition into a new era. The significance of Pastor Adeboye's ascendance lay in the departure from this somber model and the development of a new, less abstemious, theological outlook for the Church. We now live in a critical third moment in which that model has apparently triumphed.

The problem of course is that in taking its message to the world, the Redeemed Church has also, almost predictably, taken in a considerable part of the world. Today's Redeemed Church, with more than 6,000 parishes worldwide, is no doubt a successful religious brand, but like all brands, it has had to forge all sorts of shabby accommodations with corporatist 'sponsors' and 'the rulers of this world'. This is why, today, it has become difficult separating the leaf of the Church, from the soap of the world it was established, and still purports to, transform. Obvious material success, and a fatal conflation of ethos with corporations and politicians means that the Church that redefined Biblical economics (at least in this part of the world), is now in clear danger of being consumed by its creation.

But this is not just a problem that is unique to the Redeemed Church alone, and it is imperative- my final point- that we properly understand the broader formation in which the Adeboyes and Oyedepos of this world, and other members of what, elsewhere, I have described as a 'theocratic class', are produced by, and themselves reproduce, the logic (and illogics) of the postcolonial Nigerian state.

Because space is at a premium, I will flag this issue by posing a single question: Where did the RCCG get the money (N4b) to buy a private jet? Partly, no doubt, from the sale of the Redeemed 'franchise' and the fruits of its amorous affair with the state elite. And where does state money in Nigeria come from? Oil of course. So, the point is that the material preservation and sustenance of the political elite and the theocratic class in Nigeria are traceable to the same source, and to the extent that oil extraction in Nigeria is subtended by the logic of plunder, the (Redeemed) Church in Nigeria is directly implicated in it. It partly explains why the religious elite (with a few distinguished exceptions) is loathe to antagonize the state, and it comes as no surprise that, as in the current instance, the leading lights of the Pentecostal class, have adopted one of the worst aspects of the political elite's rampant consumerism.

* Dr. Obadare is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, United States

I now know why the black race can never be successful, he has black moral values, black value system a very dark and sinister approach of doing thing.
N4B will have built a world class primary health system for nigeria, a N4B investment into redeemers university will have put at least one nigerian university into global reckoning. A N4B investment in agriculture will alleviate and reduce the food insecurity of the country. But what did a black man do? He bought himself a Jet to fly to where? and for what purposes? I really wonder. People like this make me thing Michael Jackson was right to bleach his skin, but the likes of Obama give me a lot of hope. Very shameful and disgraceful purchase

She should please say in the marriage but outsource the pussy sucking to me

Please tell your sister to visit me for appropriate counselling

I like to believe your brain was on a long vacation that is why you cant recall the likes of OBJ, Atiku, James Ibori going to redeem camp before and during the third term saga, seeking the endorsement of a fellow thief

He is a MASSIVE ROGUE he still hasn't return Sheraton's hotel N34M paid to him as tithe

I have always suspected RCCG was fake, ever since he started praying for OBJ's third term and fraternize with the likes of James Ibori and Atiku. Ever since they made tithe paying a do or die affair - they even tell members to dance to the altar to show that they have paid their tithes like the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I dont see any difference between the thieving men of GOD and Nigerian politicians - they wine and dine together. I respect Tunde Bakare only - he said from the beginning of OBJs regime that ' he is not the messiah we are looking for' . Do you see him Tunde Bakare mingle with politicians? do you hear of politicians going to him for blessings? He will not bless them but curse them and tell them the truth that the others cannot say. Bunch of Criminals

Why wont you pay tithe or where will the money come from. Even Fela Kuti said 'na pastor's house na im they fine pass and na dem dey do bad things pass thru Jesus Christ our Lord Amen ! Amen! Amen'

Redeemed Church Acquires N4bn Aircraft

The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has acquired a new aircraft for N4 billion ($28 million).
The aircraft, a Gulfstream 4XP, with number 707EA, arrived Lagos from Bahamas last Sunday.
Industry insiders said the Gulfstream 4XP is a transatlantic aircraft that has the capacity of about 15 passengers depending on the configuration.
The church acquired the aircraft years after the General Overseer of Living Faith Worldwide, a.k.a. Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, acquired a Challenger aircraft, with number D6640, which was parked a few meters away from Adeboye’s Gulfstream when THISDAY visited the airside of General Aviation Terminal (GAT) yesterday.
A pilot told THISDAY that the aircraft and many others privately owned by Nigerians are not registered with Nigerian code “N” because “they usually say that they chattered it for a while whenever they are questioned. You know Bishop Oyedepo of Winners has been operating this aircraft (pointing to the Challenger) for some time, but it has remained in foreign registration number.”
THIDAY also learnt that Oyedepo has ordered for another aircraft bigger than the one acquired by Adeboye.
By 2.00 pm yesterday, officials who looked like engineers were seen inspecting the aircraft, which was allowed to rev for hours.
Besides buying the aircraft, a lot of money would be spent in maintaining it and paying the crew, in addition to the landing and parking charges.
Unlike a commercial aircraft which is always in the air, the private jet will spend more time on the ground and must be checked before taking off.
An aeronautical engineer with one of the airlines said besides the mandatory checks, much money would not be spent on its maintenance for now “because it is a new aircraft, but you know that there are rotables which are time-bound parts which are changed regularly.
“The same with refitting parts. These are parts that are changed after every 12 or 15 calendar months whether you are flying or not. So, acquiring a private aircraft means that you are ready to be spending money to keep it going.”
Expressing surprise on the purchase, a former official of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), who craved anonymity, said with the present global economic recession, it was shocking that anyone, even a business man could spend such money on a private aircraft.
He said: “This is unbelievable. You know the amount of poverty in this land, which I know is widespread. How can he acquire such aircraft when he knows that members of his church are suffering?
“Look, even the Pope does not have a private jet. I am a Catholic. It is true that Catholic is the richest church in the world in terms of artefacts but the Pope flies Alitalia. How can the Pope tell the church that he wants a private jet?”
Since 1999, many Nigerians have acquired private aircraft.

Has he returned the N34M stolen from sheraton or he is still seating on it claiming it is his own. The receiver of stolen goods is also a thief

Good luck to you