₦airaland Forum

onlyinJESUS:
is the OP a CALVINIST?

Very likely. Since he says he's "reformed"

REBORN

By: Deji Yesufu

Chris Arnzen is the host of a two-hour radio program called “Iron Sharpens Iron Radio Show” in the United States of America. He is a “reformed” Christian and he brings Christian ministers to share various view points on the Christian life with his listeners. I was drawn to Chris’ program by my friend Joe Reilly in Ireland, who has a penchant for publishing links of Chris’ shows on his Facebook page. You can listen to Chris Arzen on www.ironshapensironradio.com. If you are reformed in thinking like I am, you would enjoy listening to those programs. These days, when I have any free hour – either driving through town or doing some chores – I just listen to a recorded show off that website.

One aspect of Chris’ show that I thoroughly enjoy listening to is hearing people discuss how they came to living faith in Jesus Christ. When Chris has someone appearing on his show for the first time, he usually would ask them to recount their conversion experience. Listening to many of these testimonies has totally redefined my concept of how a person is saved. Someday I would share how I came to know the Lord Jesus myself but this essay would look at how men can be spiritually reborn. I had always, erroneously, held the notion that every person who comes to know Jesus can tell the exact moment their transformation occurred. But listening to Chris’ shows has helped me to redefine that.

Without planning it, about three or four testimonies that I listened to so far on Chris’ show spoke of people who were raised in religious homes and who could not pin point at what time they may have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Today, they are certain of their eternal salvation; their testimony of Christ is sound and the work they do for him is clearly a fruit of a life converted by Christ. Yet these people cannot state when they were converted.

It got me thinking and I realized that if I would be charitable with people, I must not equate my own “Damascus road” sort of conversion with other people. Many people raised in sound religious homes would not have these sort of conversion experiences. Because of these, I am beginning to rethink the whole process of how a man can be saved and I hope to share some of it here.

Please note that Reformed Theology, like any sound biblical thinking should be, is concerned mainly with two things in every preaching. A reformed minister wants to see people who are not converted to Christ come to know him through his preaching. We believe in a Sovereign God who saves people through the preached word. Secondly, a reformed minister wants to see those who are already saved continue steadfast in the faith. These are our primary concerns. We are not concerned about people getting healed in services. If they do get healed, we are thankful to God but those are not our pursuits. Reformed theology does not teach that Christians should seek an experience that leads to speaking in tongues. We are not concerned about people becoming healthy and wealthy, like the Word of Faith cults do. We are simply focused at revealing Christ to all men and trusting that the Lord would reach each man at his spiritual point of need.

The individual who is saved or born again is one who has listened to the Word of God, either once or through a period of time, and has come to understand what the cross of Jesus Christ means personally to him. This individually would have understood the message of the cross as Christ dying for him personally in a substitutionary manner. He would have understood that his sins were placed upon Christ and when Christ died and rose again, Jesus obtained justification for him. And at the moment, he would see Christ as his only Savior before God. Of course, the testimony would vary and the manner of understanding would be different. But the fruit would be the same. The person would know Jesus Christ for himself. He would have an affirmation of the Holy Spirit in his heart that he is a child of God. Hopefully he would have peace of mind. And all of these would yield a fruit of life that would range from loving God and loving his people the church, having a commitment to not displease his Savior, re-arranging his priorities and pursuits in life in such a manner as would glorify God at the end, and having a hope that is steadfast – such as would include looking up to heaven for our eternal salvation.

One must say these things because of the prevalence of too many false testimony of Christianity all around. In the Charismatic Christian tradition that I came from, people would usually put a date and time to when they were converted. And usually it is difficult to fault these claims because these people would, from that moment, join a church and become very religious. Yet, at close observation, one can notice fruits of their lives that are not exactly Christian. There are these vain pursuit for the things of this world, just like any unconverted person wants. There is a palpable fear of death and very low desire to see Christ, even now. The long and short is that these people profess to know God but their thoughts, words and actions tend to deny him. Yet, here am I listening to people in reformed circles who cannot put a date and time to their conversion, but who are living as true pilgrims of Christ in this earth.

Having listened to Chris Arzen long enough, I have come to re-evaluate my pursuits in preaching. I still look forward to seeing people come to Christ. I would still be very glad to hear people tell me of a “Damascus road” sort of conversion. But I think I would be increasingly patient with others who do not have such experiences. I believe now that anywhere the gospel of Christ is preached faithfully and the people under these preaching have come to a settled understanding of the gospel; particularly in regards to what Jesus has done for them personally and they are living out the gospel in practical terms, one could trust that such people are saved.

I am increasingly having to accept this because I realize that the conversion of my own children is likely to take this format. From an early age, I have taken these children to church and taught them the Catechism. They are likely to grow up as well nurtured moral children whose conversion I would not be able to monitor. But if these children can affirm the faith publicly and can state how it applies to them personally, while I see that their priorities in life line up in a manner to pleases the Lord Jesus Christ, I can trust God that they are saved. I have often affirmed that my number one goal in life is to bring my whole family to saving faith in Jesus Christ. It would be a great accomplishment for me if the Lord Jesus Christ grants this desire of my heart.

I thank Chris Arnzen for the great work he is doing with Iron Sharpens Iron Radio and I again urge you to go to that website and listen to the podcasts he has published there for his online listeners.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the books Victor Banjo and Half a Millennium. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/reborn/

Picture inset: Chris Arnzen

Initial state of roads:

A third angle

A second repaired road

Other pictures, closer:

Twitter Handle, @Dwitters, had protested the destruction of roads in Ibadan by Telecommunication companies. That thread was published on Nairaland here:

https://www.nairaland.com/5116657/ibadan-residents-protest-telecom-companies

A few days ago, @Dwitters passed through the same neighborhood roads to find them fixed. He has hereby opened another thread to thank the authorities who endured this happened.

It should be noted that this is about the first time such repairs would occur in Ibadan.

Yakubu Gowon Should Write His Memoirs

By: Deji Yesufu

Seun Akinola of Splash FM, Ibadan, had me at their station last weekend for a recorded interview on my book Victor Banjo. Our discussions quite naturally veered to retired General Yakubu Gowon’s role in the Nigerian Civil War. It was during the preparation for the interview that Seun told me that Gowon had collapsed during the burial ceremony of David Ejoor just this last Friday. Ejoor was the Governor of Midwestern Nigeria when Gowon was head of state of Nigeria. While we discussed, I made the point that it was necessary for Gowon to write his memoirs and give answers to the litany of questions that has come out of his time in government and even after it. Gowon is in his late 80s and if he goes to his grave, like Emeka Ojukwu did, without writing his memoirs, some information on a vital aspect of the Nigerian history may die with him.

I told Seun that when Gowon does write his memoirs, I would like to see a whole chapter of the book dedicated to Victor Banjo. While researching for information for the book I wrote on Banjo, Prof. Olayinka Omigbodun, Banjo’s third child, told me that the Banjo family had invited Gowon and Ojukwu to the dedication of the book A Gift of Sequin: Letters to My Wife. That book was published in 2007, exactly forty years after the death of Victor Banjo. The family felt it was time for the world to catch a glimpse into the mindset of their father and they published all the letters he wrote to their mother wife while he was in prison in Ikot-Epene, present day Akwa Ibom, from March 1966 to July 1967. Yakubu Gowon featured prominently in those letters and the family were hoping that he could come to the book dedication. Ojokwu and Gowon never came.

The questions that remain unanswered, and that Gowon may take to his grave concerning Victor Banjo, will include why Gowon left Banjo in prison when a police report had acquitted Banjo of involvement in the January 15th, 1966 coup in the second half of 1966. Banjo was Gowon’s close friend in the Nigerian army. It was Yakubu Gowon that first informed Banjo of the January 15th coup. They were such pals that when Banjo married in 1957, Gowon was one of the distinguished army officers that attended. One would think that old comradeship would have spurred Gowon to bringing Banjo back into the supreme military council in those dicey months in 1967 before the war. A Banjo mind might have helped quell the eventually resort to war as the nation did in June 1967. Even as late as July 1967, Banjo had still written Gowon and requested that he be released.

Another question that remain unanswered concerning Victor Banjo would be regarding what happened to Banjo’s properties, money and land documents that the army took from his home in the morning of 17th January, 1966, following Banjo’s arrest. Family sources say that Gowon had led a detachment of soldiers to Banjo’s house and these men made away with a family cabinet that housed Banjo’s important documents. Banjo had written to Gowon in 1967, requesting that that cabinet be returned but it was never returned. Following Banjo’s death, his wife learnt that the documents to Banjo’s landed properties, insurance policies and children’s birth certificates were in that cabinet. If the family had had access to those documents, the Banjo family would not have suffered as much as they did when the children were growing up.

I am not saying that Gowon stole those documents. He surely would not have done that. But he certainly should know those who had those documents and should have had them released to the family, especially after Banjo’s wife had written him in 1971 requesting for them.

Yakubu Gowon has other unanswered questions on his plate. The question of his involvement in the killing of General Muritala Mohammed still remains a mystery till today. Lt. Col. Bukar Dimka had stated, after he was arrested in the failed coup of 1976, that he had been in discussions with Gowon at his home London, while he was in exile. Dimka said that Gowon had urged them to go on with the coup. Gowon issued a statement during that period where he denied meeting with Dimka and he stated he never collaborated with any of the coup plotters to overthrow the government of that day. Many fingers were however still pointed at Gowon. Most of the officers that led that coup came from Plateau State, where Gowon hails from. At the time, and because of the pain of the loss of Muritala, the army authorities arrested many officers that had any link with the coup. In fact most of them were executed on barely flimsy charges. Nigeria instituted extradition order on Gowon but the British government rejected it. It became a source of diplomatic row between Nigeria and Britain, with the two countries withdrawing their high commissioners back home. Till this moment, Gowon has not stated in clear terms his involvement with that coup.

Yakubu Gowon is the son of a Northern missionary. He comes from a stock of Christians in Northern Nigeria who had encountered the Christian faith in clearly providential manners. Gowon’s tribe descends from a group called the Isawas. They were an Islamic sect in Kano whose leader, in the mid 19th century, had become a follower of Jesus Christ by merely reading the Bible. Because his preaching were so Christ centered, he suffered martyrdom. But before he was killed, he had told his followers that some people would come from a far country and make his message clearer to them. Many years later, these people met white missionaries. Gowon descends from these gospel centered folks.

This might inform Gowon’s involvement with evangelical works today, especially his Pray Nigeria project. Gowon used to be called a son of a Catechist because his father was a devout Christian and had raised Gowon in that environment. To his credit, Gowon did warn his colleagues in the army against coups. He made it clear to them sometimes in 1954 that if a coup was to occur in Nigeria, there would be no end to coups in the country. It happened just as he said.

It is important that our elder statement document their life history. People like Muhammadu Buhari and Yakubu Gowon are repository of the history of this country and whatever they may have to say about critical moments in our national life is bound to help latter generation make better decisions that could propel this country in the right direction.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/yakubu-gowon-should-write-his-memoirs/

Well said MuttleyLaff and UceeGod

Portrait of a Blessed Man: Romans 4:6-7

By: Deji Yesufu

The leading reason why some of us consider the Prosperity Gospel idolatry is that there is essentially no difference between what a true adherent of this aberrant gospel pursue and what the world pursues. If we were to consider it closely, we would realize that health and money are essentially the quest of the man in the world. The Nigerian musician Olamide sang a song whose lyrics could be translated from Yoruba as following:

I would build houses and buy land

I would have riches and cars

I would prevail over demons and enemies

They would pick up tin cans from here to Portharcourt…

Is there a difference between what Olamide is pursuing in life and what David Oyedepo and Johnson Suleiman teach their adherents to pursue? I do not think so. Recently, Johnson Suleiman joined the league of Nigerian Pastors owning private jets. When he was criticized on the internet for it, he released a video where he said that that was just the beginning. He and members of his church, he said, would be purchasing as much as fifty private jets in the years to come. Their vision in life and those of Olamide, the Lagos gangster rapper, are not any different.

The question that these series, which I have been writing on for week now, is seeking to answer is this: who is a blessed man? What does a blessed person look like? Can we sketch a portrait of a blessed man and compare ourselves to him and see if we indeed look like him in our works of religion? Today, I want to look at a piece of scripture that Paul wrote where he described who a blessed man is. I want to use this scripture to add a few features of who a truly blessed is to the portrait that I would be sketching over a period of time. Let us therefore consider Paul’s words in Romans 4:6-7:

Blessed is the man whose lawless deeds are forgiven,

And whose sins are covered;

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord would not count his sin.

Paul, in these verses of scripture, is quoting David the Psalmist from Psalm 32:1-2. Here David is describing the righteousness that God inputs on men without their having done anything to deserve it. Paul had spoken about Abraham and his being justified by faith; earning a righteousness by faith from God simply because he believed in God (Romans 4:4-5). He therefore adds the concept of a true blessing by saying essentially three things: 1. A man who is blessed is a man whose sins are forgiven. 2. A man who is blessed is a man whose sins are covered. 3. A man who is blessed is a man against whom God would not hold sin.

Many people believe they understand what it means for God to forgive sins. You see religious people do or say something and they mutter under their breadth “God forgive me.” And because they no longer have a troubled conscience they their sins are forgiven. There are others who having come to living faith in Jesus Christ, have sought his face in genuine repentance and faith and can say that their sins are forgiven. This is a truly blessed state. However there is more.

Some people have a wrong view of what salvation through Christ is. They tell you that they understand that their sins are forgiven having come to faith in Christ Jesus. But they are not sure of their eternal state after becoming Christians. They believe that they can commit a certain mortal sin that can take them to hell. Paul shows us that this is not the picture we see from these verses in Romans 4:6-7. We see that while our sins are forgiven, they are also covered. What does covering mean?

I would not claim absolute authority here but I think that it has something to do with unconfessed sins of the Christian. I think that those sins we confess are forgiven. But the ones we forget to confess or even refuse to confess are the ones that are covered. The verse also goes on to say something else: that God would not hold iniquity against these blessed ones. What exactly could all these mean?

Simple. It is saying that the truly blessed man is the man sin can no longer damn. The true blessing of the New Testament is that while God would judge the whole world for their sins, God would not judge Christians by their sins. Rather, God has judged the sins of Christians on Christ Jesus on the cross. Praise the Lord!

The real trouble with the Prosperity Gospel is that it reject genuine blessings in Christ Jesus to pursue mundane things and call such the blessed life. Prosperity Preaching says that Christ died to save us from our sins and to save us from illness and poverty. In adding the concept of illness and poverty to the glorious works of the cross, Prosperity adherents are denied the glory of the true gospel. The glory of the gospel is that Christ redeems sinners from sin ALONE. In doing this, he does a thorough work of redemption such that there is no sin a Christian commits after salvation that can damn him!

It means that Christians cannot lose their salvation. But some will say that a doctrine like this would encourage licentiousness. The person who claims to have received the grace of salvation but uses it as an occasion to continue in sin, have not met the Lord of the cross. Such are false believers heading to an eternity without God without Christ. A true Christian, saved from sin, would not return to it to wallow in that sin.

But the point of this essay is not looking at the sin from the perspective of man but looking at it from the perspective of God. When we get to heaven, some of us may not have on our records such outrageous sins are murder, fornication and adultery. Yet, we would have little sins like gossip, malice, lust and so on in our records. These little sins are sufficient to damn us in hell. Why? Because God would not be judging us by the standard of men but by his holiness. And God is absolutely holy; no man can stand before him.

The only way we shall be able to enter into heaven is for us to have an advocate in Jesus Christ. Our Lord would, at that moment, cover the sins of the elect and remind God, according to his word in Psalm 32:1-2, that there are a people who are genuinely blessed. These ones would not have sin counted against them. Later in the epistle of Romans, Paul tells us that we have been delivered from the law of sin and death and translated into the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2). The former law had sinful man earn eternal death. The present law has men who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, by Christ Jesus, earn eternal life.

This is a truly blessed man and such a person who has a foretaste of this life in Jesus Christ do not spend their lives pursuing mundane things. They are content with little because they have all things. They have eternal life, having been delivered from the life of sin. Those who make Christianity a pursuit of mundane things have not met the Lord of glory. May God give every reader of this piece insight into this true blessed life in Christ. Amen.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/portrait-of-a-blessed-man-romans-46-7/

Attached picture: Deji Yesufu

Reflection on Two Pastors

By: Deji Yesufu

I am a product of my environment and I have been very fortunate to have listened to many seasoned ministers of the gospel throughout my life. These men, and women, have helped shape my thinking and form the foundation on which my Christian walk is built on today. Today, I wish to write about two men who have greatly influenced my Christian thinking but because I would be painting one of them in a negative light, I would not be mentioning either of their names. Instead I would call them my former pastor and my latter pastor – the latter pastor having influenced my thinking after my association with the former pastor.

It was Hank Hanegraaf that wrote the book “Christianity in Crisis”. It is a book that critically analyses the modern Prosperity Gospel and its effect on mainstream Christianity. The fact however is this: the title of that book describes the state of the whole professing Christianity worldwide today. Somebody was telling us on a Whatsapp group chat the other day that a friend was seeking a good church to go to in an area in Ghana and because she did not find one, she had to resort to going to a Jehovah Witnesses meeting. That was the only organized and sane assembly she could identify with – despite its heretic and unorthodox beliefs. That is just an example of the chaotic state Christianity is in the world today. Despite the gloom, however, these two men whom I would be reflecting on today still standout in contrast to the decadence around us.

I learnt discipline and organization from my former pastor. I use to worry over the fact that some pastors I knew in the past spent too much of their time counseling members of their congregation. Others spent most of their morning hours sleeping. They resume at work and do almost nothing till the close of the day. My former Pastor would resume at his office at 8am and would be in devotion, study and prayers till 1pm, before opening his door for counselling and other church matters. I loved the fact that he never joined the horde of “mighty ministers”. He maintained a simplicity that made him very approachable. All of these coupled with the fact that he studied well enough to deliver original sermons, and not something he heard from somebody else. I have always said to myself that if God grants for me to lead a church, I would imitate this style to the letter. Unfortunately, I do not know my latter pastor well enough to be able to say categorically how he spends his mornings. But coming from a rich Christian tradition like those of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who in his book Preaching and Preachers, a sermon of admonition to young ministers, one can be sure that my latter Pastor also does not “waste his mornings”, as Lloyd-Jones admonished in his book.

I have long discovered that the main trust in the messages of my former and latter pastors are categorically different. My latter pastor has two things he pursues in all his preaching: he wants those who are not Christians to come to saving faith in Christ and he wishes for Christians to continue faithful in Jesus Christ. My latter pastor is thoroughly convinced that false religion abounds in the world and that the greatest problem in the church today are unconverted persons professing to be Christians. My latter pastor labors on gospel themes in all his messages, with the hope that the Holy Spirit may convert the unsaved. My latter Pastor does not work miracles, he does not speak in tongues, and he does not give words of knowledge or wisdom. In fact, my latter pastor is not Pentecostal.

My former pastor, on the other hand, wishes that all Christians would have the good life. That is the main thrust of his messages. He is also concerned that people would be born again but it does not reflect much in his messages. The reason is because my former pastor holds to an erroneous belief that anyone who has said the sinners’ prayer at the altar of a church, is already a Christian – a kind of easy believism that pervades much of Christianity today. Therefore he holds to the notion that anyone who professes to be a Christian is already a Christian. His ministry therefore only builds on these existing facts. In my experience in his church, there have been rude moments when my former pastor had learnt that people who claimed they were Christians were actually not Christians. My former pastor holds to the Pentecostal Arminian belief that Christians can lose their salvation; so that much of the post converted life is spent teaching Christians how to “make heaven”.

My former pastor is the founder and General Overseer of the church he pastors. My latter pastor is an employee of the church he now pastors. Both of them have built the churches they lead to the present status that they presently are – a period that spans more than twenty five year for each of them. Because one is a founder and the other is an employee, their manner of governing the church is different. My former pastor is the chairman of the council of elders in the church. My latter pastor is not even a member of the council of elders. He is answerable to a crop of men that lead the church where he pastors. This allows for my latter pastor to be quite accountable to how he uses his time and church resources, while my former pastor has a lot of liberty in these areas.

My former and latter pastors have two different concepts of what Christian faith is. My former pastor believes that faith is a means to getting whatever you want from God – this comes from his strong Word of Faith background, and as a student of Kenneth Hagin, he has remained faithful to preaching faith in this manner. He believes that with faith you can get riches and find health for your sick bodies. He credit all the progress he has made in life to his faith. My latter pastor does not teach that faith is a means to get things from God. My latter pastor holds that true Christian faith justifies sinners before a holy God. He believes that true saving faith would makes a person holy and calls him to a lifelong walk of sanctification. My latter pastor is heavily critical of the Word of Faith movement. He does not think that all Pentecostals are heretics; he however holds that a lot of false Christianity flourishes in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. My latter pastor credits his progress in life to God and his wonderful sovereignty, and not merely to his faith.

Despite his faulty soteriology, I still think that my former Pastor is a genuine Christian. I have seen him under pressure and I have seen him depend on God and not idols like many Pentecostals do. He may be part of the last bastion of genuine Christians that proceeded out of the Pentecostal movement of the 1980s. Nonetheless, his ministry would be a lot better if he has the grace of mind to hear my latter pastor out and imitate his faith. I consider myself really fortunate to have been under the ministry of these two men. The Bible says: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (Hebrew 13:7).

I have the liberty today to consider the outcome of the lives of these two men and whom I should imitate is abundantly clear to me. I hope it is clear to you too.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/reflection-on-two-pastors/

Charles Darwin’s grave mistake

By Christine Farenhorst

One hundred and thirty-seven years ago, on April 19, 1882, a seventy-three-year-old man died at home in his bed. He was surrounded by his wife and two of his children, all three of whom wept inconsolably. His wife, who had held him against herself the last moments of his earthly strife, gently lowered him onto the bed. She stroked the white beard and closed the glazed eyes.

Even though the family sorrowed, there was also a sense of relief that the patient had finally succumbed to death. The last few weeks had been difficult. Angina attacks precipitated fear. He had refused to eat with his family, preferring to eat in his bedroom alone. He had observed his body with morbid interest, taking notes on what he saw. “Much pain,” he would jot down, or scratch out “dropped down,” after he succumbed to faints.

Tuesday, April 18, 1882, was his penultimate day and the pain began just before midnight. He woke his wife, to tell her that he was dying and she ran for his pills. Together with a servant she also administered brandy. But he was unable to keep it down, and retched miserably. He slept a little but vomited throughout most of the next morning, his body heaving and shuddering in agony.

“If I could but die,” he said repeatedly, intent on present escape and not focused on the fact that he would shortly face the Creator of his heart, the Judge of his soul. He vomited again and blood spewed out, spilling red onto his white and venerable looking beard. “Oh, God,” he cried, and again, “Oh, Lord God.” His pain appeared to be excruciating and lasted until he lost consciousness about a half-hour before he died. And Charles Darwin was no more on the earth he had with human textbook clarity consigned to evolutionary origins.

*****

Charles Darwin, (1809-1882), was the youngest son of an English doctor – one who did not believe in God. His paternal grandfather, an Erasmus Darwin, was also a doctor and an atheist – one who believed in the natural ascent of life and in the kinship of all creatures. Young Charles liked the outdoors. He reveled in collecting shells and bird eggs. Although his father wanted him to become a doctor, like himself and his father before him, Charles had no interest in following their footsteps. He dropped out of medical school, studied theology for a while, and then went on to become a naturalist.

In 1831, when Charles was 22, he was hired as a naturalist aboard a ship called the Beagle and left England for a five-year excursion around the world. During this trip, Darwin was particularly intrigued by the plants and animals on the Galapagos Islands, several hundred miles off the west coast of South America.

Darwin’s conclusions at the end of this trip are well known and have had repercussions around the world. He inferred that all species – the entire plant and animal kingdom – resulted from environmental adaptations over millions of years. In other words, God did not create the world in six days, but the world was the product of millions of years of evolution. In 1859, Darwin published these conclusions in a book entitled, The Origin of Species.

The fact that Darwin stated God did not create things but that they arose through natural processes, and the fact that he promoted the existence of the universe as an accident with no purpose, were both in direct conflict with the Word of God.

*****

Darwin had expressed the wish to be buried in the churchyard in the village of Downe, some sixteen miles south of London, where he had lived and worked most of his married life. He wanted his grave to be next to the graves of three of his children under a great yew tree. But such was the mood of the day – that a fool without clothes could be held up as a king – that one who openly flouted God could be hailed as a saint.

Freethinking friends, wanting to honor the dead atheist, presented the Dean of Westminster with the request that Charles Darwin be buried within that church. Petitions went around and many influential government people signed, indicating that they thought Darwin’s last resting place should be one of glory among other English patriots. The Standard, a newspaper, urging the family to comply with popular feeling, wrote:

“Darwin died as he had lived, in the quiet retirement of the country home which he loved; and the sylvan scenes amidst which he found the simple plants and animals that enabled him to solve the great enigma of the Origin of Species may seem, perhaps to many of his friends, the fittest surroundings for his last resting place.

“But one who has brought such honor to the English name, and whose death is lamented throughout the civilized world, to the temporary neglect of the many burning political and social questions of the day, should not be laid in a comparatively obscure grave. His proper place is amongst those other worthies whose reputations are landmarks in the people’s history, and if it should not clash with his own expressed wishes, or the pious feelings of the family, we owe it to posterity to place his remains in Westminster Abbey, among the illustrious dead who make that noble fame unrivaled in the world.”[1]

Darwin was compared with Newton, foreign tributes to him poured in and in the end the Dean of Westminster acquiesced to the request that the body be laid to rest in the Abbey. Undertakers dispensed tickets of admission to the widely advertised funeral and an expensive coffin was sent to Downe for the body’s repose.

No newspaper paused to consider the fact that burial at Westminster might present a religious obstacle. The Standard said: “True Christians can accept the main scientific facts of Evolution just as they do of Astronomy and Geology, without any prejudice to more ancient and cherished beliefs.”[2]

The Daily News stated: “…. Darwin’s doctrine was quite consistent with strong religious faith and hope.”

It wasn’t just the newspapers which blew Darwin’s trumpet. Ministers praised the dead man as well. Canon Prothero, Queen Victoria’s chaplain, said on the pulpit, that Darwin had pursued the truth and in him had lived “… that charity which is the essence of the true spirit of Christ.”[3] The canon at Westminster Abbey, an Alfred Barry, echoed the queen’s chaplain’s sentiment by saying that Darwin’s theory of natural selection was “by no means alien to the Christian religion.”[4] At St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, another minister lauded Darwin for the patience and care in which he had recorded minute facts. In this way he had brought about a revolution in modern thought and shed high distinction on English science.[5]

The funeral was not attended by either Queen Victoria or Gladstone, her Prime Minister. Neither had expressed an appreciation for Origin of Species. But thousands of others did attend. Judges, Parliament members, the Lord Mayor of London, ambassadors, scientists and a great many people from the ordinary homes and hearths of London. Multitudes entered the Abbey, all handing in their funeral tickets at the door. After these had all settled in their pews, the doors opened to those who had no tickets. These people filled the less desirable seats in the northwest side of the Abbey.

At noon Canon Prothero entered with the choir as they jubilantly sang “I am the resurrection.” The family, flanking the coffin, which was draped in black velvet and covered with white blossoms, followed. A specially composed hymn was sung after a Bible lesson. The words of the hymn came from Proverbs: “Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and getteth understanding.”

Darwin’s funeral service

It is not entirely strange to suppose that the devil occupied one of the pews of Westminster that day. He for one was well aware that Darwin had said, “If God had planted the knowledge of His existence in humans, all would possess it.”[6] He also knew Darwin had said that “the plain language of the New Testament seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my father, brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine.”[7] And the devil must have slapped his knees in mirth thinking about Darwin’s public confession: “I am sorry to have to inform you that I do not believe in the Bible as a divine revelation, and therefore not in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.”[8]

In the end, Darwin’s coffin was lowered underneath Newton’s monument as the choir rendered another selection, “His body is buried in peace, but his name liveth evermore.” People were awed at the solemnity of the moment. The mourners filed out. Darwin had been interred as a symbol of English success in the field of science – that is to say, he had put forward the thought that man was just an animal – an accident of cosmic evolution with no ultimate purpose.

*****

Society would never be the same. Although Darwin only put a framework to what many people were already thinking, and to what itching ears were desirous of hearing, the consequences of what he contributed were severe.

Racism was rampant in the thinking among early evolutionists. Ernst Haeckel, (1834-1919), the great proponent of Darwin’s theory in Germany, wrote:

“The mental life of savages rises little above that of the higher mammals, especially the apes, with which they are genealogically connected… Their intelligence moves within the narrowest bounds, and one can no more (or no less) speak of their reason than of that of the more intelligent animals… These lower races (such as the Veddahs or Australian negroes) are psychologically nearer to the mammals (apes or dogs) than to civilized Europeans; we must, therefore, assign a totally different value to their lives.”[9]

The idea that white people were superior led to the practice of eugenics – a campaign to improve humankind through selective breeding. James Perloff, in his book Tornado in a Junkyard, writes:

“…In Britain, Charles Darwin’s son Leonard became president of the Eugenics Education Society. In the U.S., the movement caught fire in the early twentieth century. By 1935, 35 states had enacted laws requiring the sexual isolation and sterilization of ‘unfit’ people – including the retarded, the ‘feeble-minded’, chronic criminals, and even epileptics. Proposed legislation targeted tuberculosis sufferers, alcoholics, the blind and homeless. About 70,000 Americans were involuntarily sterilized before the practice was stopped.”[10]

Nietzsche, (1844-1900), was influenced by Darwin’s theory. He denounced Christianity and declared: “God is dead.” He then advanced the idea of the “superman” and a “master race.” This idea was taken over by Hitler, (1889-1945), who consequently killed his millions insanely believing that Darwin’s theory of evolution justified and sanctified his cruel actions.

Hitler was not the only madman Darwin influenced. Karl Marx, (1818-1883), viewed Darwin’s work as a basis in natural science for the class struggle throughout history.[11] He actually wanted to dedicate his Communist book, Das Kapital, to Darwin, but Darwin refused the “honor.”

Stalin, (1879-1953), as well, who began his studies as a theology student, changed his thinking after he was exposed to the theory of evolution. In a book, published in 1940, Landmarks in the Life of Stalin, this change is recorded by the author Yaroslavsky in these words:

‘“At a very early age, while still a pupil in the ecclesiastical school, Comrade Stalin developed a critical mind and revolutionary sentiments. He began to read Darwin and became an atheist. G. Glurdjidze, a boyhood friend of Stalin’s relates:

“I began to speak of God. Joseph heard me out, and after a moment’s silence said: ‘You know they are fooling us, there is no God…’

“I was astonished at these words. I had never heard anything like it before. ‘How can you say so, SoSo?’ I exclaimed.

“‘I’ll lend you a book to read; it will show you that the world and all living things are quite different from what you imagine, and all this talk about God is sheer nonsense,’ Joseph said.

“‘What book is that?’ I enquired.

“‘Darwin, You must read it,’ Joseph impressed on me.’”[12]

Joseph Stalin also killed his millions.

The Chinese leader, Mao Tse-tung, (1893-1976), regarded Darwin as a teaching influence in his life. Calling Darwin the founder of Chinese scientific socialism, Mao was responsible for the death of millions of people.

Andrew Carnegie, (1835-1919), and John D. Rockefeller, (1839-1937), were also Darwinists. They were both ruthless businessmen who practiced “survival of the fittest” in their business dealings. Carnegie said:

“When I, along with three or four of my boon companions, was in this stage of doubt about theology, including the supernatural element, and indeed the whole scheme of salvation through vicarious atonement and all the fabric built upon it, I came fortunately upon Darwin’s and Spencer’s works… I remember that light came as a flood and all was clear. Not only had I got rid of theology and the supernatural, but I had found the truth of evolution. ‘All is well since all grows better’ became my motto, my true source of comfort.”[13]

Rockefeller financed the preaching of Harry Emerson Fosdick’s radio ministry. He brazenly accepted evolution and downgraded the Bible into mythology.[14]

*****

So Charles Darwin rests beneath the cold cement of Westminster Abbey. Or does he? Is his eternal soul at peace? Well aware of the tenets of Christianity, he knew that his ideas would destroy the faith of millions. He referred to Origin of Species as “my accursed book.” There was considerable trauma associated with his writing of the final draft. In the year leading up to publication he was rarely able to write for more than 20 minutes at a time without stomach pains, and he finished the proof on October 1, 1859, in between fits of vomiting.[15]

Ten days before the proofs were bound he wrote to his friend J.D. Hooker,

“I have been very bad lately; having had an awful ‘crisis’ one leg swelled like elephantiasis – eyes almost closed up – covered with a rash and fiery boils: but they tell me it will surely do me much good. – it was like living in Hell!”

His modern biographers talk of Darwin’s self-doubt, his nagging, gnawing fear that “I … have devoted my life to a phantasy.”[16] It is not surprising that Darwin was subject to a “gnawing” fear nor the fact that he admitted that, in the dead of night, terror would strike him with painful force when he thought of the possibility of an afterlife. And so his body lies in Westminster Abbey – a grave mistake – an unwise decision.

And what, after all, is true wisdom? Is it not the fear of the Lord? May God grant that the eyes of many hearts may be enlightened. Let voices not be afraid to cry out loudly without fear that evolution is a hoax and that it literally hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Edmund Clowney’s hymn, “Vast the Immensity” is a witness to God’s wisdom and creation.

Vast the immensity, mirror of majesty,
Galaxies spread in a curtain of light:
Lord, Your eternity rises in mystery
There where no eye can see, infinite height!

Sounds Your creative word, forming both star and bird,
Shaping the cosmos to win Your delight;
Order from chaos springs, form that your wisdom brings,
Guiding created things, infinite might!

Who can Your wisdom scan? Who comprehend Your plan?
How can the mind of man Your truth embrace?
Here does Your Word disclose more than Your power shows,
Love that to Calv’ry goes, infinite grace!

Triune Your majesty, triune Your love to me,
Fixed from eternity in heav’n above.
Father, what mystery, in Your infinity
You gave Your Son for me, infinite love!

END NOTES

1 Desmond and Moore, The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist, Warner Books,1991, page 668.
2 Ibid, page 670
3 Ibid, page 671
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid, page 251.
7 Ibid, page 623.
8 Ibid, page 634-5.
9 Perloff, Tornado in a Junkyard, Refuge Books, 1999, page 220.
10 Ibid, page 221.
11 bid, page 225.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid, page 226.
14 Ibid.
15 Creation, Ex Nihilo, Vol. 17 No 4. September-November 1995, ‘Darwin’s Mystery Illness, by Russell Grigg, page 29.
16 Ibid.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/1505609702848568/posts/2091443287598537/

Link by Daddy Freeze:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ch-OFS2Ng

Link provided initially by MuttleyLaff

Redeemed Pastors, their Daughter and an Abortion

By: Deji Yesufu

Daddy Freeze, leader of the Free the Sheeple Movement, published a video on YouTube on 31st of March, 2019. In the video, Freeze has a couple before him who have been prevented from having peace in their matrimonial home because the parent of the wife are against their being together.

The parent do not want their daughter, a Christian, to be married to a Muslim. The Muslim man, in the said video, had met this girl in Lagos and she “fell pregnant” for him. When she visited her parent again in Ibadan, her mother immediately noticed that she must be pregnant. The lady, about 23 years old at that time, did not deny it. When she was further queried by her parent, she revealed whom she had been with. As at this time, they were not married. The parent of the girl were unhappy but nothing more was said about the matter.

The husband continues the narration: one day the parent took the girl to a clinic – ostensibly to check on the well-being of the baby. The girl was given an injection and she became unconscious. She woke up and found herself in a pool of her own blood. She knew immediately that her child had been removed. Fortunately for her, she was not killed; although the abortion led to her losing a great deal of blood. When her boyfriend then, now her husband, was informed, he passed out. This couple eventually came to terms with their loss and pleaded with the lady’s parent that they should be allowed to start their own family.

The lady’s parent refused. On one occasion, when the lady fled her home, and was staying with this guy, the parent of the lady brought law enforcement agents to his house and had him arrested. During one of the many interrogations he endured, which was often accompanied with much beating, one of his interrogators advised them to seal the union in a court of law. Soon after this, they were married and are today blessed with a baby girl. Yet the parent of this girl are against the marriage. Their grouse? They are both Redeemed Pastors here in Ibadan and would not allow their daughter to be married to a Muslim.

The saddest part of this story was how all the parties involved in it belittled the matter of the abortion committed. Even Daddy Freeze, the convener of the program, felt that the issue of abortion should not be over flogged. For me, that is where my discussion on this matter must start from. I am not sure what the laws of Nigeria say about abortion, but the laws of God regard abortion as murder and if anyone should know anything about the laws of God, it should be pastors in a so called church. If they do not know this, it is in order to question the kind of calling these pastors claim to have. A child, made in the image of God, regardless of whose child it is, has been killed. Murder has occurred and the parents of this girl ought to be repenting before God or they would one day stand to answer to their deeds on the Day of Judgment.

In this day that all kinds of sins have been belittled and called mild names, God still regard abortion as killing and the worst part is that the person killed in this matter is a vulnerable child, growing in the safest part of the world – its mother’s womb. I do also hope that the Redeemed Church would call these pastors and have this matter examined. In my estimation this singular act, if true, has rendered this people’s ministry null and void and this couple ought to be disqualified from whatever ministry they may claim to be carrying out for God.

This story also reveal to those of us who are Christian parent the need to bring up our children in the way of the Lord. Our children, from the earliest age, must know their boundaries. They must know right from wrong. A Christian girl, from the earliest of age, must understand that she cannot be in a relationship with a Muslim. Daddy Freeze claims that there is no law in the Bible that says that a Christian cannot marry a Muslim; yet there is 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says that we cannot be unequally yoked with unbelievers. A Christian cannot marry a Muslim. And I understand that even true Muslims do not marry Christians.

A child, from the earliest age must understand these boundaries and they must know that no matter how much they may be in love with another person, sex is only permitted in the confines of marriage. Besides other things that it could lead to, sex outside marriage beclouds right judgment and it is the root of the problem for this couple. Even though one blames the parents of this lady for committing abortion, there is still the biblical place of a parent granting permission for their children before they are married. But when sex, and subsequently pregnancy comes in, sound decisions cannot be made.

More importantly, the fundamental problem that I see in this whole story is the playing out of mere religion. Neither of the parties in this story is genuinely committed to the religion that they practice and because of this, religion should not be the basis for judging the persons involved in the drama. The parent of the girl, that would readily commit murder because they are shielding their child from a Muslim man, are not Christians. They are unbelievers who ought to come to know whom the God of the Bible is. Similarly, neither the girl nor the man are sincerely committed to the tenets of their repective religions. For this reason, I think this matter should be judged purely on natural justice. The couple, who are legally married today, should be allowed by the girl’s family to continue as married people. The family of the girl should bless the choice that their daughter has made and pray that her home succeed.

The enormity of this matter weighs heavily on me even as I raise two children in a supposedly Christian home. Whatever my children would hold as values by the time they are eighteen years of age, would determine whether or not I have succeeded as a parent in raising up godly seeds. If my children grow up to make such flagrant moral mistakes as this lady has made, I should blame myself first. My number one duty as a Christian parent is to reveal the person of the Lord Jesus Christ to my children. They must know him for themselves before they become adults. The other day my son, who is five years old now, told me that he could not remove the cardigan he wore to day care because I had clearly told him not to do so. Children who are properly brought up would have the laws of their parents etched upon their hearts and these laws would guide them through life.

It is however still not enough that children are guided by the rules of religion. A child may know all the laws of the Bible and keep them, and still not be a Christian. If by the grace of God a child is converted, the laws that were external would now become internalized. Such a child would no longer be guided by the parents alone; now he or she would have the counsel of the Holy Spirit to guide them through life.

A person can be a pastor in a church for many years, he may be able to speak in tongues; indeed the Bible says that some would even work miracles, yet they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the fruit of a person’s life that reveals whether or not they are Christians. The parent of this girl ought to be brought to the place of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The girl and her husband should be permitted to live their lives in peace. This girl would also need to understand the Christian gospel and find genuine faith in Christ Jesus. Hopefully she would be able to influence her husband to know the Lord also.

As the drama play out, those of us who are genuinely concerned about the state of religion in Nigeria should continue to uphold the light of the truth of God’s word. I also think that we should remember to pray for all the persons involved in this drama; that the Lord Jesus may shine his light of truth and redemption on all who are involved. Amen.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/redeemed-pastors-their-daughter-and-an-abortion/

MuttleyLaff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqF3sYOHoEg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h-heosCy2o


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxHjyOzT6Qg

Here are clips as promised
Dont be fooled by the titles, he is still a believer, and that matters a great deal lot.
Just pay attention to every word as he narrates the politics, seedy deals, settlements, ambitions, deceptions, treacheries, disillusionments etcetera

Ok

MuttleyLaff:
I will asap paste the clips of how Naija churches roll in the bed with the establishment.

Uploaded on Facebook. Reactions are very interesting. On the other hand, it seen these things do not shock Nigerians anymore

MuttleyLaff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8ch-OFS2Ng
You need to have one quiet nice day to watch the above YouTube clips, you'll be doing a SMH whilst your ears get full
I changed the clips for this one, if you havent got a strong liver, please dont watch it. It is a very emotional clip.
The original clips I was going to offer are a two part full of seedy deals scandals between church and establishment etcetera

Thanks MuttleyLaff. I'll be watching it right away

The first installment from last week:

Portrait of a Blessed Man: Oyedepo as Case Study

By: Deji Yesufu

During the course of the past week, an online news medium published a story saying that David Oyedepo, the presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Churches, worldwide, had opened a new housing estate. The photo, which is attached to this article, showed a smiling Oyedepo with pictures of the housing estate that had scores of houses already finished, waiting for their lucky occupants to have them. As of the time of writing this article, David Oyedepo is said to be the third richest pastor in the world. He is clearly the richest pastor in Africa and his wealth continues to increase. Some have tried to estimate his riches to be no less than $150B; however David Oyedepo waves such reports away. He states confidently that he is a lot wealthier than those reports state. David Oyedepo, some would say, is a picture of a blessed man.

Concluded:

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/portrait-of-a-blessed-man-oyedepo-as-case-study/

Portrait of a Blessed Man: Response to Pastor Keji Ajayi

By: Deji Yesufu

A friend who read the first part of this series, subtitled “A Case Study of David Oyedepo”, came to the conclusion that I was a disciple of Sunday Adelaja. He felt that for me to have called Oyedepo cursed and not blessed, I must have been listening to a lot of Adelaja’s sermons. So he sent me a Whatsapp voice recording by one Pastor Keji Ajayi. In this recording, Mr. Ajayi was of the opinion that Sunday Adelaja was instigating rebellion in the body of Christ. He said that no one should condemn the ministry of men like Enoch Adeboye, David Oyedepo, Daniel Olukoya or W. F. Kumuyi. He gave the impression that these men were sacred vessels that should not be toyed with. He said he understood that there are so many things wrong with the way ministry is being run in Nigeria but he is still of the opinion that Adelaja ought not to be bringing these men to the public arena and washing the church’s dirty linen in public. He said this is causing many young people to be emboldened to condemn these men too and soon enough there would be anarchy in the churches in Nigeria, if the situation is left unchecked.

I felt sorry for Mr. Keji Ajayi and I thought I should leave a word of response for him in my column for this weekend. I would begin with a story: a few years ago I read a book called “Churches that Abuse” by Ronald M. Enroth. That book chronicled the things some church goers had experienced in the name of going to Pentecostal Churches in America. I then thought to begin to write a Nigerian version of that book but I could not continue. The few case studies of what Nigerians are experiencing in the hands of pastors in this country is not only heart rending, it is mind boggling. Mr. Ajayi mentions one popular Pastor on Lagos Ibadan expressway and says that the man is a sacred cow that should not be touched by criticism. Yet the stories I heard about this same Nigerian G.O, how he has a child out of wedlock, how he has used this same child as sacrifice to bring signs and wonders to his ministry, and how the city he has built there on the expressway has become a den of robbers, etc, is something else. Another one of the aforementioned pastors was sharing a girlfriend with a friend of mine many years ago. The said lady would later be married off to a pastor in the ministry and rumour has it that Mr. G.O still has “access”. I dropped the project. As much as I would wish to publish the story, I do not have the resources for legal battles they would conjure. Let the deceived continue to be deceived.

But that is not the sorry thing about these churches that person like me and Adelaja criticize. The sorriest thing about them is that the message that they preach is not Christian. Unfortunately, this is where Sunday Adelaja and myself would part. Pastor Adelaja would criticize these pastors mostly on the PRACTICES in their churches. I criticize them on the message they preach. This is why I could call David Oyedepo cursed. Oyedepo is not cursed because he has a private jet, or because he is the richest pastor in Africa, or because he built a city called Canaan Land. No. Oyedepo is cursed because he does not preach the Christian gospel. He preaches another gospel – he preaches a gospel of health and wealth. Which is not a gospel of Christ and anyone who preaches such a gospel, according to Galatians 1:6-9, is cursed. He is not a Christian; he is heading to an eternity without God and without Christ. David Oyedepo’s situation is peculiar, while the other pastors would need to be examined one after the other to come to a conclusion on them. And the reason why it is so important that one rings this alarm bells is simply this: if you believe the message that Oyedepo preaches, if you think Oyedepo is a Christian, you are very likely not a Christian yourself. You are very likely heading to an eternity without Christ and without God.

Having established this point, let me move to the matter of rancour in the body of Christ because of the things Adelaja, Yesufu and others are preaching. Once I did a series on conflict in the churches. In that series, I examined two scenarios from Acts 15 and showed how Apostles debated the matter of circumcision. It should be noted that despite the conclusion of that meeting, the Judaizers still continued to preach Jesus plus circumcision as a way to eternal life. Also in that passage, Paul and Barnabas had very disagreement. The Bible records that the disagreement was so sharp – over the matter of whether or not to take John Mark along with them for the second Missionary journey, after Mark had abandoned them in the first journey. In that series, I came to this conclusion that Jesus Christ is the author of some conflicts in the church. He creates them. He births them. And he coordinates them all so that it would bring glory and honor to his name.

Those who are in doubt of this fact would need to examine the emergence of the Protestant churches in the 16th century. If church was supposed to be all niceties and no debate, we would all still be bowing to the Roman Catholic Mary and be heading to a deceptive purgatory. But the Protestant fathers withstood the heresies of their day by calling the churches to a sufficient scriptures. It created conflict. It caused wars. But by the close of the day, there was toleration and liberty to practice one’s religion.

I am also concerned about persons who carrying this message of the reformation beyond even what was intended. I am particularly not comfortable hearing anyone criticize Pastor Kumuyi. Of all the Pentecostal pastors in this country, I think that man stands out. But unfortunately he has not been able to distinguish his ministry from the ministry of his charlatan friends and I am not surprised that when the tsunami came, it has dragged his own name in the mud. I also think that Pastor Sunday Adelaja is taking things too far. One of the easiest things to do is to state what is wrong; but it is even more difficult to show people what is right. And Pastor Adelaja is not helping his ministry with the kind of allegations trailing his personal life. Those who would enter into this reformation work must come with clean hands. If anything keeps me above board concerning moral matters, it is the fact that I have also criticized others. If I fall today, I would be mince meat for many.

Let me conclude by drawing an analogy from the scriptures that Pastor Ajayi used himself. It is the parable of the wheat and the tares. Christ calls us to allow them all to grow. There would come a time of judgement when God would sort the wheat from the tares. Just as we have the wheat and the tares in Pentecostal ministry, we also have them in those in the reformation circle. With time the false would be weeded and the true would remain.

Let me help Pastor Ajayi put his recorded message in perspective. I believe that Christ is able to protect both his honor and the honor of people truly serving him in the body of Christ. He does not need you, sir, to help him do it. There is one thing that concerns our Lord above even his honor and that thing, I believe, is the matter of the gospel in the world today. While the churches wine and dine; build cathedral and buy jets; and flaunt riches in the eyes of the world; millions flock into hell without Christ and without God. God wishes that the church grasp the true Christian gospel and then preach this. This is what would save sinners. Men would not be saved until they hear the gospel. If what you preach is not the gospel, it is a righteous thing for God to ensure that every battle is fought to rid that message of falsehood until the truth remain, because it is that truth that would save sinners. Or else all we would have is Pharisees making proselytes and turning them to be twice the son of hell that they are.

If you find me criticize Oyedepo, Adeboye or Olukoya, know that it is not because what they do; it is because of what they preach. And when the true gospel is lived and preached by our pastors, ultimately they would begin to do what is right. They would carry Christ out honoring actions in the nations that men would behold their good works and glorify our God in heaven. If all men condemn you, you may wish to look at yourself carefully to be sure that you are actually not condemned by God too.

Deji Yesufu is author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2069415186468014&id=1505609702848568

This road is at Iwo Rd. Linking the Lagos Ibadan express way.

This is a link road from Anifalaje, Akobo, to Ojoo/Iwo Rd. Express. It was a beautiful and well constructed road until telecommunication companies came to it with their cables.

The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who's from South West Nigeria has been tagged to the tweets, Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has been called into too, and the attention of the incoming Governor has been sought too.

There is nowhere in the world this sort of nonsense is done.

"Save our roads in Ibadan." Residents cry.

A thread commenced on Twitter by @Dwitters showed how neighborhood roads were destroyed by telecoms company who dig up these roads, put network cables in them but refuse to place the tar back.

Some of these roads are beginning to deteriorate, firming gulleys in the process.

The State Government had spent a lot of resources to rehabilitate those roads before the elections, only for these companies, with active connivance of LGA officials, to destroy them.

The people of Oyo State are saying "enough is enough!!!"

CrescentMoon:
An angelic man visited me in a dream. Before him, two others claimed to be angels but they failed my tests (I asked them random questions). When I was satisfied the last man was an angel, I asked him how to test spirits and he led me to 1John 4:2. I was very excited. Then I asked for his name and he told me. I know what that character is well known for in the Bible and I asked for his gift. He touched my head and said "done". I forgot to ask for every other things I wished for in this life. Then he said, "Your have been given a new name which is " - - ". I googled that name and didn't find any meaning for it except that it's a surname in Indonesian language. I connected Indonesians on Facebook who bear the surname to tell me the meaning. None of them granted the request. What do you think, bro?

MuttleyLaff has met his match in mysticism

The Joshua Iginla Matter

By: Deji Yesufu

It is no longer news that another Pentecostal Pastor has bitten the dust regarding moral matters in the conduct of his ministry. Joshua Iginla, a leading Charismatic/Pentecostal Pastor in Abuja, Nigeria, some weeks ago, made an open confession in his church about engaging in extramarital affairs. Some individuals had been blackmailing Mr. Iginla, threatening to expose his sordid lifestyle – so he made the open confession to evade blackmail. But that was not all. Iginla, in his confession, succeeded in blaming his wife for his moral failure. He claimed that his wife had gotten pregnant for another man and had brought an “unholy child” into their home. He said the frustrations he was under as a result of his wife’s actions led him to also father a child out of wedlock. Following the confession, he has now put an end to his marriage.

After his confession, the media was again inundated with yet another story on the Iginlas. Pastor Iginla, while narrating his story in church, left out the fact that he had long been married to his baby mama – a South African “Prophetess”- who was expecting their second child. Mrs. Iginla, who resides in far away United States, also published a video on social media where she sought to wash herself clean by blaming “Stella” (who is Mr. Iginla’s baby mama). Mrs. Iginla said, among other things, that Stella had requested that she share her husband with her. And that if she does not agree to this, she would collect her husband from her. Somehow, as Mrs. Iginla would have us believe, Stella has now succeeded in her plans.

My grouse with this whole Joshua Iginla magana is not with the sordid stories that are emanating from the home of a leader of a Christian organization. For me, scandals is the norm in Pentecostal churches. In the decade that we are completing, the Nigerian church has been immersed in more than enough stories of sexual scandals from these new generation churches, such that no one is surprised by them anymore. When Ese Walters revealed her sexual philandering with Biodun Fatoyinbo of COZA, the nation had more than enough to talk about. But Mr. Fatoyinbo wisely left everyone hanging by simply stating that he would give a “robust response” to his accuser. It is six years now and he has said nothing. Mrs. Oyakhilome, wife of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, filed for divorce some years ago. She stated in her written statement to the courts that her husband was having unholy relations with female pastors in the church. The divorce came and went, and the church returned to business.

Nigerian Pentecostal churches are places where scandals thrive. That a pastor in these churches is involved in sexual sins is not a big deal. It is simply stated that the minister “fell” and it is the duty of the church to cover him up and ensure that he is restored to ministry again. There is no discipline and where there is one it turns out to be a pat on the back. Nigerian Pentecostal churches have a low view of holiness and do not give premium to leaders being examples to followers in moral matters. It is the reason why in such churches all sort of sordid things go on there. It is simple: the things that these churches give premium to are prosperity and miracles. And somehow they understand that a high moral standard in church would not affect these things that they seek after. So there are manifestations of all kinds of demonic activities in their midst.

Sometime in the early part of 2018, an American minister by the name Art Azurdia, came out openly to the board of elders in his church that he had been involved in moral failure twice in his ministry. The second one was what led to his confession but he also made it clear to the church that there had been another occasion, some ten years earlier. While the church board considered what they would do to him, Pastor Azurdia wrote an open letter to the church board, members of his church and to the whole Christian community around the world. He affirmed publicly what he had told his elders in private. He then resigned his job as a pastor. He requested that all his retirement benefits be withheld from him. He explained that he needed to leave town to go along with his wife to attend to some family needs. In short, he disqualified himself from ministry. The church has since moved on. The story of Art Azurdia and his response to his own moral failure is what one would refer to as true repentance. He might have lost his ministry but he surely has returned to a relationship with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The leading reason why there are few Art Azurdias in Nigerian Pentecostal churches is because many Pentecostal Pastors have no relationship with Jesus Christ. To say it succinctly: many of these Pastors are not Christians. They have no changed life; they are not born again; they are sinners heading to an eternity without God without Christ. My argument against Pentecostalism has been that very few Pentecostal churches still preach a Christian gospel. And where there is no gospel message preached there can be no conversion of sinners. It is the gospel that saves sinners. When men understand why Jesus Christ lived and died and rose again; when they understand that Christ died to save them from their own sins (and not salvation from sin AND sickness and poverty); when people see the crucified Christ in the gospel they hear; it is then they would turn to God in genuine repentance and find sincere faith in God. Pentecostal churches, particularly those that have been taken over by the Word of Faith heresy, would preach all kinds of warped message and call it the gospel. Then they would give an altar call. People who have not understood their state as sinners would come out, “give their lives to Christ” and then begin a journey into a false Christian profession. With time they would receive some experience with speaking with tongues. Those that have some education would be invited to leadership positions and ministry begins.

There has been no conversion experience that is definite and that show one leaving a life of sin to a life of godliness. There has been no careful discipleship in the word of God. There has been no process of learning to deal with one’s own lust and personal iniquity – to the point of mastering one’s own sins. There are no examples in ministry for these men to imitate. Rather the preponderance of tithes and offering makes ministry attractive for these men and with time they come into leadership position and all kinds of hell break loose. The kind of evil works going on in these churches in the name of “ministry” cannot be described. Only eternity would reveal them. Those who have young daughters would do well to warn them against going to Nigerian new generation churches. Except you want to breed a sex slave under your roof.

What has piqued me the most about the Joshua Iginla matter is not the fact that the man fell; that is really not news. The number of Pentecostal pastors still “standing” in Nigeria can be counted on a person’s fingers. What is most annoying about the Iginla matter is that people think it is not a big deal. Our sense of moral outrage has been so lowered in this country that nothing shocks us anymore. Even as I write, Mr. Iginla is still doing ministry. What a shame.

There is little that is worse than a Pastor, who ought to be teaching moral standards and exemplifying them through his own practical life, to be found having failed in morals and to also be making efforts to cover his tracks in the process. It is evil. It is worse than armed robbery. It is a betrayal of people’s trust. And quite naturally, as we saw in Azurdia’s case, such a person ought to willingly resign his ministry. If he has truly shown repentance and has exhibited such fruits, his church may consider him for reinstatement. But he ought not to continue to preach to people. What exactly would he be saying?

In Nigeria, he very well can continue to preach because morality is not the message our pastors teach anymore. They do not live nor do they have any moral sense left in them. Besides, the church is their own. They built it. “It is my ministry” and no one dare take it away from them. They do not have anyone overseeing their work. They are accountable to no one. This is the making of Joshua Iginla and the days to come will reveal more and more of these sordid matters in Nigerian Pentecostal churches.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

http://mouthpiece.com.ng/the-joshua-iginla-matter/

“How Pius Are You?”

By: Deji Yesufu

Last week Wednesday, 13th March 2019, students and lecturers of the University of Ibadan had a processional walk in memory of the Prof. Pius Adesanmi who died in a plane crash in Ethiopia on the 9th of March this year. Pius Adesanmi had a Masters Degree in French from the University of Ibadan and he had since developed friendship with a number of people at the university. He was billed for a conference at the university this June; unfortunately the cold hands of death has cut short those plans now.

The procession began at the university’s general car park by the school’s main gate. Students, lecturers and well wishers, numbering about four hundred, walked from the car park to the Faculty of Arts – where Pius had obtained his degree. The procession later moved on to the Institute of African Studies, where a candle light walk was held in his memory. At the Faculty of Arts, people who knew Pius Adesanmi, spoke glowingly about his person. Students read from his essays and lecturers eulogized him. One particular statement, made by Prof. Remi Raji, a very close friend of Pius Adesanmi, forms the heading of my article today. Remi Raji, after giving a glowing tribute on Adesanmi, stating among other things that with the death of Pius Adesanmi a library has been burnt down, he went on to admonish his listeners by asking the question: “how Pius are you?”

Remi Raji made this statement to show in one hand that Pius Adesanmi was such an accomplished academic that other people could measure their own life accomplishment by his. At only 47 years of age, Pius’ works stood at a staggering height with other literary geniuses in the world. Thus Remi Raji asked “how Pius are you?” to remind us that we also could pursue great heights in life and accomplish great things.

Despite economic challenges that Pius Adesanmi had to grapple with while he was an undergraduate at the University of Ilorin (in one article, Pius wrote about how his mother sold her jewelleries so he could buy a required textbook for school), yet he came out with a first class degree in French. If a student would be “Pius” in life, he should never allow his economic circumstances deter his educational pursuit. One may not make a first class but one can achieve something worthwhile regardless of one’s economic circumstances. Those who claim not to be able to get an education because they lack resources are not being “Pius” at all. If a Pius Adesanmi can emerge from school at a point of near penury, everyone of us can get an education and emerge with good results. “How Pius Are You?”

At a memorial gathering held for Pius Adesanmi in Abuja, one of the people that attended was the ignominious Dino Melaye. The organizers of the event even allowed him to speak! Is it that no one realized how Pius Adesanmi castigated wasteful and unthoughtful politicians like Dino Melaye? Would Pius Adesanmi have supported a politician who spends all of his free law making time displaying his wealth on social media? There is nothing “Pius” about Dino Melaye and the organizers should have known that Pius Adesanmi would never have wished to be associated with folks like Dino.

Pius Adesanmi maintained a truism that Nigerian politicians are against the Nigerian masses getting quality education because they that if the people’s minds get enlightened they would not be available to be used as political thugs nor would they fall for the peanuts they give them at polling booths. Pius Adesanmi sought for Nigerians youths to get quality education; he believed that there was no greater wealth a person could possess than to have an enlightened mind. Pius spoke often about his father who was a secondary school principal and who taught him to read books that expanded his mind even as a child. Nigerian students would be “Pius” if they spent less time watching television and more time reading books that would enlighten their minds. “How Pius are Nigerian students?”

The kindness and generosity of Pius Adesanmi has been testified to by many Nigerians. Pius came from a middle class family who had to endure the economic crunch instilled on Nigerians by the corrupt military administrations that led Nigeria in his growing days. Because he knew what it means to be poor, he was quite generous with his resources, talents and time. Many have spoken of how he encouraged them to pursue further education in their fields of study. On the night of the memorial held at University of Ibadan, I met Mrs. Olutope Amudipe who told me that she reached Pius Adesanmi through Facebook inbox and he had encouraged her to pursue a Masters Degree at the African Studies. She eventually settled for Traditional African Medicine as a course and is almost completing her studies now. She never met him; they were billed to meet for the first time in June before the cold hands of death put an end to it all.

Since his death, so many people have published screenshots of their private conversations with Pius Adesanmi. At some point I began to wonder if the man had nothing else to do than counselling people online. Yet, he was a full time Professor with Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. There he was the head of their African Studies unit. He was an editor with Saharareporters and other online news portals. And he kept being guest to hundreds of conferences around the world. One of which he was attending when he perished in a plane crash. Most people who knew Pius Adesanmi said he was always in a hurry. It was as if he knew his time was short; he sort to do so many things at the short time available for him. How Pius are we all in the use of our time? Do we realize that we would not be alive forever? One day would come and we would be dead. Would the world have anything to read about us? Shall we still be speaking through our letters, articles and books, even as Pius Adesanmi is doing today? How “Pius” are we really are?

As we mourn the untimely death of Prof. Pius Adesanmi we should realize that everyone of us can be a lot more productive with our time as Pius Adesanmi was. We can pursue knowledge and seek to enlighten the minds of people around us, particularly children to whom the future of this country belong – as Pius Adesanmi did. We can detest the sought of warped politics in Nigeria that Pius Adesanmi condemned all his life. We can choose to be good citizens and paint a good picture of Nigeria in the diaspora as Pius Adesanmi did. We all can be “Pius” in our own right.

May the memory of Pius Adesanmi remain blessed in the hearts of all who knew him. Amen.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He may be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

Source: http://mouthpiece.com.ng/how-pius-are-you/

UceeGod, I though this was your personal testimony. I'll return to it after church. Very powerful...

Until I meet MuttleyLaff in person I'll probably always be in awe of his wisdom - even when he disagrees with me.

This picture was gleaned from Facebook. Photographer is unknown. Yet picture speaks a million words.

Would you caption the photo?

I think "Sweet Mother" does.

UceeGod:
Postmodernism has creeped into the Church. Christians no longer keep to the Word for direction. It's even evident from the responses here.

Thank you

MuttleyLaff:
"Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children;
and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you."
- Genesis 3:16

"¹⁰When Jesus had lifted himself up, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her,
Woman, where are those your accusers? has no man condemned you?
¹¹She said, No man, Lord.
And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more."
- John 8:10-11

https://vimeo.com/11058446
Watch this "Called and Gifted" testimony video clip

VBCampaign, I don’t agree with what you say and though it feels like a kick in the stomach, I still, will defend to the death, your right to say all the ill-informed, quasi-misogynist and male chauvinism views, posted up here.

Joyce, Paula and Juanita arent exactly poster women in leading roles, I agree but I see you are still caught up in the latter part of Genesis 3:16 pitfall and forgotten to accept the truth and/or admit the existence of John 8:10-11


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf0WTUAM_Rk
I wonder how God felt when Mary laid her hands on Him, cleaned His bum etcetera. Even went to the extent of sleeping on her chest and suckle at her bosoms

I'll view the video and revert

Why Women Should Not Be Pastors

By: Deji Yesufu

A recent discussion on social media led to a focus on the question of whether or not women should be pastors in our day. As I engaged a particular lady on the question, two words emerged that I needed a dictionary to find out what exactly they meant. They are: misogynist and patriarchal. A misogynist is a person who despises or is strongly prejudiced against women. Patriarchal, on the other hand, is a system of government run only by men. So, quite naturally, I was called a misogynist and the Bible, from which I was taking my authority from, was labelled patriarchal. When a debate is reduced to such fundamental definitions and the other side is unable to see that they just may be wrong, it is better to call an end to the discussion. While I have ended the debate on social media, I thought I could express my thoughts clearly here in my column.

While it is OK for anyone to refer to me as misogynist, I would humbly state that I am not. I do not despise nor am I prejudiced against women. I had a lovely mother and I am married to the most beautiful woman on earth. I have a daughter whom I am hoping to train up to be the most powerful woman on earth. But no matter how powerful my daughter becomes, she would still remain a woman and that is a lesson I hope I would drum into her as I train her up into adult life. The other misconception that must be put aright is that the Bible is not patriarchal. The Bible is the word of God. Indeed the extent to which Christians and the congregations they belong to hold the Bible as inspired and inerrant, is the extent to which they would understand the peculiar place of the woman in the world that God made.

Let me state it up front that I hold that a woman cannot be a Pastor solely because the Bible teaches this. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, 1 Timothy 2:11-12, and 1 Timothy 3:2 are scriptures that speaks expressly to the issue: women cannot exercise authority over men; women cannot teach men in church; women should be silent in church; a woman cannot be “husband of one wife” – only men can be that; etc. These are biblical and authoritative statements and in a world where the inspiration of the Bible had not be attacked, such a statement would be obeyed and not argued with. Besides, it is certainly in the spirit of these words that led Christ to elect men, and not women, as his disciples. The argument that the system of Christ’s day was patriarchal would certainly not hold water because in that case every other command of the scriptures can be wished away in the name of the culture of those days. We do ourselves a lot of good by simply obeying biblical commands and not debating them.

Then there is the fact that even nature dictates this. The family is the smallest unit of a society. Most people are agreed that the man is the head of a family and that a family functions best when a man leads it. On the other hand, the church is a conglomerate of families; gathered together to worship Jesus Christ. If the man leads the family, why would anyone expect that a woman would lead a conglomeration of families? It would clearly be out of place and even nature would abhor it. The matter of women seeking to lead churches in pastoral ministry is a reflection of the decadence in society that is creeping into the church. When men have failed to be men in their homes and have relinquished their responsibilities to their wives, it is no surprise that the women are seeking positions in church too.

In other cases, when churches have become a place of stardom, women would also be also seeking to enter into the limelight - to become celebrity pastors too. If pastoral ministry consisted of the weight of responsibility that it ought to be, women would not dare to be pastors. The fact of the matter is that God who made the man and the woman, designed them for certain roles. The man provides for his home. The woman gives birth to children. Would anyone suggest that a man should come forward and give birth to a child? If this is not practical, then it should equally be impractical to ask women to lead churches as pastors. It is just not the role that the creator has made them to occupy.

Then there is the matter of authority. As the leader of the home, a man comes into society with a sense of responsibility that is equipped with a God given authority. It is a similar authority that a man brings to pastoral ministry. A pastor’s primary duty is to preach the gospel and he should declare this message with authority. He should reel out God’s holy standards to men and demand that they believe the gospel as well as repent of their sins. This is no mean task. In the days of Jesus, it was said that he spoke with authority – an authority that the Pharisees lacked. It is clear that when gospel content begin to diminish on the pulpit and preaching becomes an “appeal” or a “suggestion” and not a declaration, it quickly becomes an all comers affairs.

When matters that are serious are to be discussed in a normal family, members tell themselves that these matter cannot be resolved outside the father’s presence. The same goes with preaching: the father, the Pastor, the man, must be the person declaring the counsel of God to a conglomerate of families in the churches. When the gospel has lost its power, it quickly becomes an all comers affair. This is why women can very easily be suggested as pastors. In the days when gospel preaching came with paying a heavy price; if by preaching a message one risked being incarcerated, the wheat would long have been separated from the chaff. Women would never have found pastoral work attractive.

In my meditation into women in ministry, I find one person that stands out. She is the woman missionary to Calabar, Nigeria, in the late 19th century – Mary Slessor. The biography of this woman records that she had an exceptional ministry in her lifetime. She brought the gospel to communities in present day Cross River State and helped establish social reforms – one which ended the killing of twins in that part of the country. Does Mary Slessor put to nought my argument in this piece? I do not think so.

I think that Mary Slessor was an exception in the work of God, rather than the norm. I think that eternity would show that Ms. Slessor was called into that ministry when men failed to take up the task – and the task must be done; even if God would raise up stones to do it. Another thing that I see in her case is that Ms. Slessor remained a man in a sense since she never did get married. I am convinced that a married woman, that is bearing children, has her ministry already cut out for her: to help her husband in family life and to take care of her children. She is to endeavour to raise those children up to godly seeds. Working to ensure that the boys become responsible men in society and the girls responsible wives to their husbands. A woman who is married has no business in pastoral ministry. The mere fact that Ms. Slessor never married freed her to the evangelistic work that she did in Calabar. Lastly, I think in a sense Mary Slessor was an evangelist and not a pastor. Her biography records that she often set out to break new frontiers for the gospel in those days – while the men she had trained carried out the work of pastoring the congregations gathered.

I am convinced that the quest for women to be pastors today is not unconnected with the vain glory that pastoral ministry comes with in our day. It is just like politicians who do everything to get into political office. This happens because the gains of office far outweighs the responsibilities of office. Very few people realize the enormous responsibility that comes with pastoring the souls of men. They do not realize that pastors would give account, before God, of every soul that passed through their ministry. They do not realize that God would hold many men responsibly for the eternal ruin of many who ought to have been taught the way of salvation but had spent most of their ministry doing frivolous things. If women realize that God has created certain gender for certain roles, they would not be seeking to be pastors. The waterloo of many in the eternal state would be doing things that God never called them to do.

I am thoroughly convinced both by the testimony of the Bible and by the witness of nature that women are not crafted by God to be pastors. Therefore women should not be pastors. Those that are already pastors have the opportunity this day to repent and to find some other useful thing to use their lives for. Those of you going to women-led churches, you would do well to find a truly Bible believing church to go to – for thine eternal soul sake.

Deji Yesufu is the author of the book Victor Banjo. He can be reached on newdejix@gmail.com

Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2035147543228112&id=1505609702848568