₦airaland Forum

xynerise: Where are earth's other brothers?

The cameras in the satellites orbiting Saturn's moon were focussed to snap photos of earth and the moon. That's why the other planets in the solar system were not in the photo. With a sophisticated telescope on earth you could also take similar photos of saturn on earth's orbit .

The second picture shows part of saturn's giant rings and the earth because it was snapped close to Saturn, one of the giant gaseous planets in the solar system that rotates north to south in a tipsy-turfy manner with spectacular rings made up of dust, icy rocks and debris that glows beautifully.

Ima_eyez: You have not been able to establish the existence of your God, you are talking about his greatness. Believe what you may, but come on! do you have to yap about your religious beliefs on every thread? God is this and God is that! The point is, respect other people's views and beliefs when you comment. Stop pushing your God on everybody period.

That's right. This thread is an astronomical picture that helps us appreciate the size of the earth relative to other objects in the solar system. Saturn pears as a small dot from he earth too.

This is not about the existence of god or not. After all all beliefs about gods and spirits are faith based.

coastal queen: wow, this makes me realise how little we are in God's eyes. with a pinch everyone could be gone. and that includes those that feel they can decide who lives or dies.

Absolutely! But the great mystery is we all form part of the great cosmic stream of which God is part of it too. So while we may appear so small and far from the Father he is ever so close to us.

I think there is misunderstanding here. The law was not about the limit to the age of marriage but about empowering married women to be able to partake in activities such as renouncing citizenship. When you talk about underage marriage you must define it clearly by stating the age of marriage. That law possibly assumed 16years for marriage which legally is not underage. This empowers such women with same rights of adults.

Reminds me of Daniel in the den of lions

The fact remains that these so called truths, scriptures were written by men and women who claim divine inspiration to gain acceptance. Most never had the real authors names attached, others claim the books were by great men of old. Take for instance the Marcion canon - where bishop Marcion, of Sinope considered a heretic and excommunicated by the Catholics in 144AD edited the entire scriptures, claiming the Old Testament God was a demiurge who created the material world but is not the almighty God with good reasons. Such as Old Testament god did not know where Adam and Eve were hiding in the garden, threatened them with death if they to seek knowledge of good and evil thereby wishing them to remain ignorant naked apes in paradise, was a jealous arrogant, angry god, prone to violence, unforgiving harsh lawgiver. Compare this with fatherly merciful god preached by Christ.

Marcion eliminated the old testament, also eliminated the other gospels except Luke. He accepted only Paul letters. So his canon or bible was only edited Luke and Paul's letters. He did not believe Christ was a historical human on earth but a great immortal spirit always, who appeared to men and women from time to time teaching and helping spiritual growth. So no virgin birth or crucifixion or resurrection. These teachings probably existed among some groups of Christians before and after Marcion but were gradually stamped out by the church over four to five centuries.

folowo: The generation of MAMA do not use their body any how like our own now, they try to keep their body pure for their hubby till they get married, but now ours is to taste as many as possible b4 marry. and is not good. may God help us

Just b/c of a few old ones does not mean life is worse now. Life expectancy was much lower then. High death rate and poor health in the community was the bane of the old days.Population growth was slow because of high death rate. On average we live longer and better now, and it has nothing to do with sex.

LBT: If her first son whom I believe had a birth certificate died 22years ago at age 70yrs then she should be 120yrs or almost. 22+70=92 add probability that she lost either pregnancies,lost children or gave birth some yrs after marriage which was the case way back, then add her age.

No evidence of birth certificate of her first son in article noted.

Does she have a church baptismal certificate or confirmation record? Any pictures with the past priests of the church, especially when church was opened newly. The church register can also help with these records to assist us guess her age. I expected lots of great grand children if she over 100. She is probably in her nineties but enjoys old stories.

As her real age can never be verified, she cannot claim any awards for oldest person alive.

Nothing to bother about. It's bond money, you get it back on your return. Probably applies to students as well.

Billyonaire: Under normal circumstance, each Niger Deltan is supposed to be a billionaire and you know it. We are Nigeria's Benefactor and we have nothing much to show for our magnanimity. This has to stop.

You need to be more realistic in your thinking. You cannot be a billionaire by simply sitting on top of oil and doing nothing. You need to mine it yourself or be involved in oil politics or marketing Agreed, govt needed to develop these areas like any other part of the rural areas of the country, but in reality you cannot be paid billions like that. All you get is basic needs; water, electricity, good roads, schools, hospitals and unemployment benefits. Royalties are not more say 5000 dollars a year in Australia and is taxable. I live in kalgoorlie in Australia, a large gold mining area. That's all the unemployed black aborigines get. The billionaires are rich miners, politicians. That's the way of the world.

Asari has shown he is no better than the politicians in Abuja for he he accepted and lavishing so much while his people are in deprivation. Agreed that's the naija way, but considering the zeal, tribulations thousands dead he ought to have shown more maturity in supporting his people rather than allowing wealth blind him. He is a laughing stock in aso rock and Nigeria, proving babangida right when he says every man has his price.

bad meat: them no even know what it takes to come from the niger delta,we will always fight for our rights

Can you tell us what you got from the fight that left thousands of your people dead? You are happy for Asari to steal your money! Fool!!

HARMY-MY:
To survive in Nigerian their are 5 things involve
1. Is either u are a politician or a Leader
2. Is either u are employed or self employed
3. Is either u are a Boko haram or Militant
4. Is either u ave connection or u are connected
5. Is either u hawk or u beg pple 2 eat

.......so make a choice!

DrugDoc: More grease to your elbow Prince Asari, and the Niger Delta in general. If not for the murderous European colonizers and their African collaborators people like Asari would be billonaires in dollar terms. Instead it is illiterate cow herders and white folks that enjoy the wealth of the Niger Delta.

Really? How many terrorists are billionaires in the United States of America? Do not miss the point here. We are talking about a man who organized terrorism to press home his point about politicians using ND money for themselves. He was offered millions to cooperate with the govt, and he lives a lavish lifestyle leaving his people to suffer. He leaves a trail mantra that says militancy and terrorism pays.

Chinaimporter: [size=18pt]this is really poor.i can build this house in a week and not feel a thing.i hate poor men.they all smell sweaty from too much hard work and trekking [/size]

Yes rich man. But you cannot build this house without the poor men you hate so much. Can your dollar notes and you erect this structure without these poor men doing the physical work?

Learn to be ethical and mature in your thinking.

Good philosophy but most of the teachings of AMORC lack concrete evidence eg reincarnation, aura, life after death, soul, astral travel etc. it's a lifetime of superstition, self criticism, deprivation, secrecy and magical thinking for its members. Be careful if you thinking of membership. Not for those with a family history of mental illness especially.

Weselion: A governor that has time for his people is a governor indeed. It is also necessary to flex with the masses as a leader, at least it shows them you still care.

Rubbish. Better to spend time to plan more poverty alleviation schemes for this group of people rather than helping them roast Corn. Can his wife go shopping regularly in the local market?

It would be difficult for any Christian to answer the questions the poster of this thread has posed because the religion is based on faith, and to say Christ, son of God said things that were not fulfilled would ache their hearts. It is either you say Christ was using words allegorically or that he lied or that he never said those words, never existed etc.

The fact is that in the first century christians were very anxious to see Christ return and punish his enemies particularly following the detruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, around when the gospels were written. Many of the words attributed to christ were composed by the authors of the gospels based on the beliefs held by Christians at that time. Even today many pastors still claim Christ would come soon, 666, the antichrist had come, we are in end times etc.

If you read the gospel of Thomas(a gnostic apocryphal text, not in the bible which contains only the sayings of Jesus) it is written that Christ said that the kingdom of God is not in heaven but within us And that it is spread invisibly across the world. It comes to you when you are redeemed, find it yourself. You are at peace feelings of divinity and perfection in you This is the Christian gnostic view. These ideas indicated that there were many views about Christ who Christ was and his life story. Those that met the agenda of the Catholic Church in the fourth century became the bible gospels. The rest were thrown out. Indeed it is said that there were up to 200 gospels in the second century.

More recently some experts Say that the Christ is a myth representing our own divinity and that he was never an earthy human at any time, but a great spirit who dwells within us and comes manifest to us when we seek knowledge, perfection and divinity.

So the kingdom of God will not come as a literal vast eathly or heavenly empire, but as an individual state of mind. It comes everyday to people. It is your choice to make it come to you before you taste death. The choice is yours.

Son of Man is also in reference to the vision of Daniel (Daniel chapter 7 ) where Daniel wrote that he saw the ancient of days (God) being presented with "one like a son of man" who came with the clouds, approached the throne of God and the ancient of days gave him an everlasting kingdom, glory and dominion over the earth. By calling Himself Son of Man , Christ was claiming a divinity vested on him by God and his pre-earthly existence.

obyrich: what's your obsession with old people and aging? Aint you gonna grow old some day?

Obadia777 must be a small boy! That anthem was composed only in the 70s.

chidindufrank: old mama's brea.st wey don sag finish some go dey like slippers self. If to say na young gals go protest bra-less, e for sweet to watch joor. Anyam achoghi ihu aru o.

Rubbish!! Must everything be pornographed by you?

This issue of excessive tax for market women is also causing problems in Edo state at present as well. I do not support this as the past govts had eliminated taxes for this category of people. The matter should be discussed in the state parliament.

In several verses of the Gospels especially in Mark, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Even before the chief priest during his trial he declared that " ...'you shall see the Son of Man coming in clouds of glory" in response to the question " are you the Christ, the blessed one of Israel?"

It superficially appears to be a show of Jesus' humility, but it has a greater theological significance. What are your views?

killuminati: Omo see enough Akara for inside that bag....na to buy bread bi dat oh

E be like say hunger dey fire your belle...sorry o! Go chop Akara na

mazaje: Many of the writers of the OT do not believe in life after death . . . .Some of them believd in heaven but non of them believed in hell. . . .In the OT when you offend Yahweh he kills you immediately or orders some one to kill you. . .No eternal suffering after you die . . .You violate his commandements and he kills you immediately or send someone to kill you. . . .

That's right. The concepts of hell, heaven, son of God were borrowed from Greek and Egyptian myths.

Mr anony: Why should I try to make the world a better place? Why not squeeze out every bit of sensual enjoyment I can before I go back to sleep?

....because if everyone does that, what would be left for you, your family and your descendants? Besides you have a moral responsibility to look after the finger that feeds you.

manmustwac: ^^^Please explain to me how you can use your five senses to determine what happens after death? Can you you use the same five senses to say what was happening 100 years before you existed? Or why you happened to be born into a Nigerian family that happens to practice christianity instead of a sunni damily that practices islam in Iraq or an Indian family that practices HindU in India or a Thai family that practices Buddhism in Thailand or a Danish family that happens to be atheists in Denmaek?

Very good questions. Over to the religionists

CNN In an exclusive interview with Professor Elaine Pagels, explores the interpretation of the book of revelation of the bible from a research and non-prejudiced viewpoint. Professor Pagels explains that Revelation was written not by apostle john but a Jewish follower of jesus called john who experienced the Roman invasion of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the eruption of mount Vesuvius in 76AD as well as the persecution of Christians by the emperors of Rome, and was dissatisfied by the way Christianity was being practiced by the Gentiles. John of Patmos was probably a Conservative follower of Jesus who saw Christ as a messiah for the Jews and those who worshipped God and Jesus in the true way expressed in the Old Testament.


Book Of Revelation: 'Visions, Prophecy And Politics'
March 07, 201211:

Revelations
Visions, Prophecy, And Politics In The Book Of Revelation
by Elaine H. Pagels
Hardcover, 246 pages purchase




In her new book Revelations: Visions, Prophecy and Politics in the Book of Revelation, Princeton University religious professor Elaine Pagels places the Book of Revelation in its historical context and explores where the book's apocalyptic vision of the end of the world comes from.

"The Book of Revelation fascinates me because it's very different than anything else you find in the New Testament," Pagels tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. "There's no moral sermons or ethical ideas or edifying things. It's all visions. That's why it appeals so much to artists and musicians and poets throughout the century."

Pagels says the Book of Revelation's author, who calls himself John, was likely a refugee whose home in Jerusalem had been leveled by the Romans in response to a Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire.

"I don't think we understand this book until we understand that it's wartime literature," she says. "It comes out of that war, and it comes out of people who have been destroyed by war."

Other images in Revelation — which include bright red beasts with seven heads, and dragons, monsters and cosmic eruptions — were likely influenced by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which buried and destroyed the city of Pompeii, she says.

"Most people think John was writing at about the year 90 in the first century. That would be 60 years after the death of Jesus, and the eruption of Vesuvius happened in the year 79," she says. "Much of what we find in the Book of Revelation couched in the fantastic imagery are descriptions of events that for John were very close — the war in Jerusalem, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the Roman Emperors who were ruling at the time. ... It seems as though [John] reacted to that, saying, 'Jesus is coming and he is going to destroy all of this.' It was John's conviction that the destruction of Jerusalem was the beginning of the end of time that Jesus had predicted."

Many of the images in the book, she says, are thinly disguised metaphors for images associated with the ruling powers in Rome. The great scarlet beast with seven heads and seven crowns, for example, may represent the emperors from the dynasty of Julius Caesar, says Pagels. And the name of the beast — which is not named but is represented by the numbers 666 — may refer to Emperor Nero.

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"This is a reference to the technique of calculating numbers and letters," she says, "so that you can take anyone's name and have a numerical value of each letter, and you add them up or multiply them in complicated ways, and you find out what the name is. ... John would have wanted his readers to understand that that number, which is couched in a mysterious code, would be understood to his readers as the name of one of those emperors who destroyed his people."

Shortly after John wrote the Book of Revelation, Christians fearing persecution from the Romans seized on his message, seeing it as a way of deliverance from evil. For the past 2000 years, Christians have been reading Revelation as if it applies to conflicts and struggles in their own time, says Pagels.

"If you read it as John intended, you think, 'God is on our side; we of course are on the side of good,' " she says. "Now we could be Lutherans fighting against the Catholic Church, we could be Catholics fighting against Lutherans. ... What I found so remarkable is the way that people on both sides of a conflict could read that same book against each other."

In the Civil War, she says, Northerners were reading John's prophecies as God's judgments for America's sins of slavery.

" 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' resounds with all of those imageries of the Book of Revelation," she says. "People in the South, in the Confederacy, were also using the Book of Revelation, seeing the war as the battle of Armageddon at the end times, and using it against the North. And that's the way it was read in World War II. That's even the way it was read in the war in Iraq."

Enlarge image
Elaine Pagels has been called one of the world's most important writers and thinkers on religion and history. She won the National Book Award for her book The Gnostic Gospels. She is also the author of Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas.

Jerry Bauer/Courtesy of the author
Interview Highlights

On other books of revelation, now known as the Gnostic Gospels


"One of the surprises that I found when I started to work on the Book of Revelation is that there is not only one. That is, most people think there is one Book of Revelation because there's only one in the canon, but I discovered that this was one of an outpouring that Jews were writing; Greeks who followed the Greek gods were writing many books of revelation. The Book of Ezra, for example, is another revelation written by a Jewish prophet — not a follower of Jesus — but very similar to John's in many ways and very grieved about the Roman Empire and concerned about the question of God's justice."

On why the Book of Revelation has been so controversial

"One reason why the book is so contested is that people who saw its prophecies against the Roman Empire suggesting that the empire was going to be destroyed by God realized that those prophecies had failed. What happened instead is that the Roman emperors become actually Christians, and the Roman Empire became a Christian empire — that is, completely contrary to what the prophecy said. So some people would have said, 'The prophecy failed, so let's leave that in the dust the way we leave other prophecies that fail.' Other people said, 'Wait a minute, that is not what it really means.' If you interpret these images differently, and they open themselves to a very wide range of reading, then you could say, 'Well, the prophecies are being fulfilled in a totally different way.' "

On the Book of Revelation's authorship


"John apparently was not only a Jewish prophet, but he was a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, who of course had been crucified about 60 years earlier. But they say that Jesus had prophesied that the end of the world was coming, and it seemed as though Jesus' prophecy had simply failed. What John saw 60 years after the death of Jesus was that the Roman Empire was going stronger than ever, and I think he responded to the enormous power of Rome, which you can see in the buildings and the monuments and the architecture and the armies, which he would have seen stationed throughout those provinces. ...

"It's the response of one of the followers of Jesus, who was last seen on Earth crucified and in a horrible way tortured by the Romans. ... And his follower John sees that Jesus is enthroned in heaven and returning as the ruler of the world. It's almost like a perfect retaliation for what he sees as the execution of Jesus."

On the images in the Book of Revelation

"One of them is an image of an enormous, bright-red beast with seven heads with crowns on its head — a violent, threatening, raging monster. Another is a giant LovePeddler called the LovePeddler of Babylon who sits on the back of one of these dragons with seven heads, and she's drinking from a golden cup the blood of innocent people who have been killed. Then there's another image of Jesus coming forth from the sky and starting the battle of Armageddon, which ends in heaps and heaps of corpses at the end of the book."

On what the Book of Revelation says about the new world

"It's striking that the author sees nothing of the present world surviving except the people who are dead come back to life in this new world. But the new world as he sees it will be on Earth, will be a new Jerusalem full of the glory of God."

On the followers of Jesus

"The earliest followers of Jesus were all Jewish, and they don't seem to have imagined that they would ever diverge from their adherence to their tradition. It was just that they had found the Messiah of Israel. It's the Apostle Paul who decided that Jesus had offered a message for non-Jews and opened it up for the salvation of the entire world. As John sees it, yes, gentiles will eventually be included in the blessings brought by Jesus, just as the Hebrew Bible says all the gentile nations will be blessed through Abraham, but for John the focus is on Israel and the Jewish people."

On various interpretations of the Book of Revelation

"Many Christians assume John is a Christian, he's a follower of Jesus, it's a Christian book, and when the catastrophic events of the end times happen, everyone will have to be converted to Christianity. What I discovered, and it was surprising working on this, was in a sense you could say Christianity hadn't been invented yet. That is, the idea of a new movement that was quite separate from Judaism and its obvious successor the way Christians see it

To listen to the interview in which prof Pagels explains the book of revelation. Click here

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/07/148125942/the-book-of-revelation-visions-prophecy-politics

It is well worth the mb spent to listen to Prof Pagels.

The Jehovah’s Witness’ had a leader that was also considered “a Christ.” That leader being Charles Tazze Russell who founded the sect in 1870. When he was dissatisfied with Christianity as it was, he organized his first bible study class. Six years later, in 1876, he elected himself “pastor.” In 1879 he sold his interest in a clothing firm and began printing “The Watchtower” semi-monthly. By 1884, his “Zion’s Watchtower and Bible Society,” was incorporated in Pennsylvania and in 1908, he moved his headquarters from Pittsburgh, PA to Brooklyn, NY. Russell claimed to be the seventh angel mentioned in the book or Revelation. He said that the other six were men. He predicted the end of the world several times! 1874, 1876, 1914, 1916, and 1918, each time stating that word came to him from the creator whom he called Jehovah.

In addition :

He divorced his wife because of disputes over her request for more editorial powers in his watchtower. And books
- Russell claimed pyramid of Giza in Egypt was built and designed by Jews to keep secret p prophesies
- he also claimed as far back as 1890s that Jews good and bad relationship status with God is cyclical, that God is now in good favour with the jews,and they return to Jerusalem to claim land of Palestine and encouraging they practice Judaism
-claimed that second coming of Christ occurred in 1874.
- predicted climate change as evidence of time of the end

Horus: Jehovah Witness’ had a Fake Christ. The Jehovah’s Witness’ had a leader that was also considered “a Christ.” That leader being Charles Tazzil Russell who founded the sect in 1870. When he was dissatisfied with Christianity as it was, he organized his first bible study class. Six years later, in 1876, he elected himself  “pastor.” In 1879 he sold his interest in a clothing firm and began printing “The Watchtower” semi-monthly. By 1884, his “Zion’s Watchtower and Bible Society,” was incorporated in Pennsylvania and in 1908, he moved his headquarters from Pittsburgh, PA to Brooklyn, NY. Russell claimed to be the seventh angel mentioned in the book or Revelation. He said that the other six were men. He predicted the end of the world several times! 1874, 1876, 1914, 1916, and 1918, each time stating that word came to him from the creator whom he called Jehovah.

Absolutely correct!! In addition :

He divorced his wife because of disputes over her request for more editorial powers in his watchtower. And books
- Russell claimed pyramid of Giza in Egypt was built and designed by Jews to keep secret p prophesies
- he also claimed as far back as 1890s that Jews good and bad relationship status with God is cyclical, that God is now in good favour with the jews,and they return to Jerusalem to claim land of Palestine and encouraging they practice Judaism
-claimed that second coming of Christ occurred in 1874.
- predicted climate change as evidence of time of the end

Undispu3rd: Hmmm!



It will be my interest to enlighten you a little about the original name of GOD.

*Psalms-83:18 KJV "That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, are the most high over all the earth"

*Exodus-6:3 KJV "And I appeared unto abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them"

*Psalms-68:4 KJV "Sing unto God , sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the Heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him"

From the above Biblical quotations from the famous King james Version, would you not rather think otherwise about the true Divine name of God? How can you worship what has no name?! for God indeed does has a name.

the scripture says "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32 KJV

Why is God's name a Latinized form of a Hebrew name? Why not Yoruba, Hausa or isoko name? Can't you see that that name is the name of a god worshipped by a people called Jews? They only claim theirs is the true God because they had links with Roman Empire. Think again!!

Undispu3rd: If it is true that they claimed what you stated above, then it is a GOOD NEWS! Do you know why? Because they see it in their Bible and being dellingent and obedient Bible scholar they believed every word of the Devine inspired scripture.

Let us examine the quote.
         
          *Where is the some thousands "One hundred and fourteen thousand" Rev.14:1

          *Where do they come from and what can they do that others cant? Rev.14:3
         
          *What is their credential? Rev.14:4,5

          *Aha where then are the rest christians? Rev.14:6,7

What happens to the animals after death? For Ecclesiastes says for God is showing man that they are beasts.

italo: What does this mean? Does it mean that all "churches" are practising imperfect doctrine of Christ?

But Christ has no imperfect doctrine. Christ's doctrine is perfect. So if you are not following the perfect doctrine of Christ, then you are following the doctrine of man or of the devil.

So who is following Christ's perfect doctrine in this world, Plappville?

Please tell me.

The doctrine of Christ being son of God, virgin birth, death, ascending into heaven are very alien to the Jews. These concepts were Greeco-roman myths woven into a religion of the Jews.