₦airaland Forum

Oh, I didn't know the other ids were banned. I just didn't want to be talking to different people thinking I'm talking to one. Also I vaguely recall Noetic kinda endorsing something akin to indigenous religion before like one Horus dude. May be my mistake though

Hi, Image. Thanks jare. Is it really impossible for me to pray to 'God the father' directly. It seems as though the father is like a terrible terrible uncompromising entity of power and Jesus is the only one He has a soft spot for and we all have to ask him to put in a good word for us to be saved, apparently from God, the father. That's how it all sounds to me. I pray to God in one form or another almost everyday.

I'll let other people talk about tithing. It's glaringly unbiblical to me, but I'll save my breath. Funny thing is how Christians seem to enjoy complicating everything. If I were Christian, I'd wonder what all the argument were about. Believe Jesus died for you and try to love your neighbour as yourself (even though this is the tallest order ever, it is the striving that matters). Finito. But no. Man naturally gravitates towards his herd mentality and the need for organized religion is overwhelming. Just a thought sha.

Hey, e36991. The thought never crossed my mind, amigo. Besides, with a parachute, I'm A O K.

I used to think this thread was funny but it no longer is o. How can someone believe all these things? I no get energy

Ok, sir! Unfortunately I have to sleep now. Believing is not something you can just do. It's not like frying an egg. I can say the words and not believe squat. I don't want to exasperate you. You're really nice. You don't even know me and you want me to be saved. Lol. Thanks jare.

BTW, I laughed very hard at the folks that are proudly jogging to hell. We'll see about that, lol

Age is really a number. I'm only concerned with that as far as intelligence is concerned and intelligence levels off in the teens. What is left to gain is just experience. I'm blabbing. Love is all that counts. Age is immaterial

I forgot to ask. Are you saying Satan is so powerful that he has the God's blueprints, knows His plans and knows how to sabotage them? If Satan is such a masterful deceiver that the very elect is not safe from him, how can you blame people looking at Christianity from outside in and are so confused that they leave it alone. You think of how Christianity was watered down (or rather dressed up) to fit the pagans of old. Christmas, Easter, almost every Catholic practice (apologies to Catholics) just makes you wonder where the definitive line is, and it is one hell of a thin line. God loves us so freaking much but Satan doesn't let Him save us. And something that always puzzles me. You do realise that God is saving us from Himself. There's nothing in this universe to fear but God, you know.

Ok. Thanks for your insights. At least they are straight forward. I like straight forward very much.

If you say ignorance is no excuse, then I have a problem with God o. That's the biggest entrapment in the history of man. Do you think anyone will choose hell over heaven? Death over everlasting life? Not even serial killers. So everyone wants what Jesus offers or seems to offer. Rejecting it is simply ridiculous. It is like a thirsty desert traveller rejecting water. Now, the only reason why people stick to any religion or reject all of them is that they're not convinced of what they say. This is not a crime to me. You can't program a computer to solve simple algebra and get pissed cuz it doesn't understand partial differential equations. If I don't believe in this or that, frankly, it's God's fault. Some people say if I keep searching I'll get something akin to an epiphany and an overwhelming conviction will replace my skepticism. I hope so. If God didn't bait Adam, why did he put the tree within his reach? Why does He allow Satan all that space? Why not get rid of him? Something just occured to me right now. Could it be that the apple represents free will? They say it is the knowledge of right and wrong. It means that we could be doing 'wrong' but without knowledge of it being wrong. God is ok with that. Adam was naked before but felt ashamed after eating. Only then was it wrong to be naked. We might be mating like animals and God will have no qualms. You realise that someone must have slept with his mother, daughter, sister, aunty etc for the world to get populated so. But now, you won't marry your fourth cousin. You'd go eww. So it is not an act that is sin but perhaps the motive behind it. The bible says Satan wanted to be like God. Jeez. Does he imagine God evolved? Or He was only powerful cuz He sat on a throne and if he could garner the allegiance of enough of God's army, he might take over. It's all so confusing. You have to give me that, Image.

Let me ask you this. To you, Jesus Christ is God, right? Or Son of God. Or something divine. He had the capacity to sin but hadn't and that thus makes him the perfect sacrifice. If he had sinned, what would happen? God will send another chunk of Himself or Jesus would die and be born of another woman for another try or what? Against who is he sinning? I'm not blaspheming, trust me. I can't help what I think. Also, do you think God can sin? If God killed us all, did He sin?

Poster is funny. It is when they impress you that is supposed to be news, not when they fall your hand. Asides this, I don't wanna see two men getting it on

It's only funny films (and some tasteful spoofs) that I can watch again. I rarely ever watch a film twice within three years. Coming to America is a good one. The Ladykillers is another. Finding Nemo. Maltese Falcon. You Don't Mess With the Zohan. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Bonfire of the Vanities. Osmosis Jones. Films like these.

I'm afraid I'll have to shamelessly agree with you there.

So ignorance is not an excuse in God's sight too, right? So if God has a problem with wearing contact lenses and you have no idea, you have committee sin? Let me tell you what I think sin is. God doesn't want us to fornicate it seems. Fornicate till thy kingdom come, it doesn't affect God an iota. Before he created us, there could possibly be nothing like fornication. So it is just a rule that he created. So there's nothing like sin in a totalitarian way. It is flexible. Sin as far as God is concerned is just an exercise of the free will He gave us to deviate from His wishes. As an analogy, an executioner is not a criminal even though he has probably killed more people than anyone. No sin is inherited. If Adam was perfect, he'd not be able to sin. It'll be as impossible as water spontaneously turning into lead. There has to be some external factor. You said it is possible for Jesus to have been tempted. How can you even harbor such a paradox in your head? It reminds me of the book, 1984. Satan is not in competition with God. He is not akin to Hades and God, Zeus. He has zero power over God at all. But I'll allow you to humour me for the sake of conversation. Jesus needs to be tempted. Do you think he'd wake up one day and decide to upset God's plan? He has free will too. He can decide to want to have sex or hurt someone. You or someone said he bypassed the evil gene by not having a father. Adam had no father or mother. He was God's prototype. Maybe God is not very good at creating. I'd expect the first creation to at least do ok. But no. Let me take it from another angle. Jesus is supposed to restore us back to the relationship Adam had with God in heaven, right? If Adam fell for any other reason from his free will, it is reasonable to believe that we can still sin in heaven after we die and are admitted into it. If you assume that this is impossible, then you should see my point. It is not inconceivable that man was meant to fall. That that was God's plan from the beginning to spurt out all the drama that this world is. It must be boring if we all lived happily forever after like hippies in heaven, don't you think? Hell, Jesus, Satan, Muhammad, suicide bombings, Gandhi, the holocaust, Israel and George Bush makes the world very exciting indeed.

I'll leave the atonement/sacrifice thing but I'll just say God is literally bloodthirsty o. Have you come across mythology of other civilizations and observe the stunning similarities and need for a saviour and pure sacrifice? Even in Africa, a 'god' will demand a virgin sacrifice. Maybe they believe in original sin too, you know?

Sir, Image. Ca va?

I did not mean many faiths are beseeching ME directly. They're just beseeching. Inasmuch as I accept Jesus as a holy man who would never lie and I trust him and believe in him. I do not believe he is divine at all and most importantly I do not accept everything the gospel writers say (or what people say they said) as FACT. There were literally thousands of gospels flying around for literally hundreds of years before some wiseguys decide to formulate a formula for all of us to believe in. And even then, they weren't unanimously in agreement. Also in my opinion, water gets purer towards the spring source. It is thus impossible, in my opinion, to understand Jesus and his message increasingly as time passes. In other words, the disciples can easily be schooled by a contemporary Christian with the many twists and turns that Christianity has taken now and that is just wrong. I've always wondered why the bible can never speak plainly about anything. Matters are always subject to debate by scholars, etc. The phrase 'Byzantine argument' arose from such pointless arguments. Being a believer in anything is unique na, lol. It remains to be seen if Jesus said he's the ONLY way to God. I don't know if he said any such thing. On a comic note, do you suppose God of the bible talks with more confidence than any god of other religions? I do not think the deities of other religions necessarily have to be exclusive. Any idea of God that is singular is real and right to me. In other words, just because you don't call God, Jehovah doesn't make your perception fake or non-existent. I'll reply your next post

This thread is just hilarious, I swear!

Lol, all the phones I've used, at the times I've used them, were awesome. I can't imagine using any one of them now though. Eww eww

In my small experience, if you like a woman, tell her. If she likes you, it won't bother her and she'd be delighted, touched etc and things will kick off. If she goes 'eewwww' you're strike three, out forever. Diamond rings won't win her over. Either way, you know where you stand and you'll sleep better at night.

You wan marry somebody ni, Spikie? Marriage vows are not the problem jare. It is the vowers, lol. I won't make a vow I won't keep. How many women don't cross their fingers when it comes to the , for poorer part?

IBB and Jonathan are the only sensible options here. IBB won't have many supporters but he's the most capable. Whether he'll have Nigeria's interest at heart remains to be seen so why take the chance? Jonathan then seems the next best option. Dele is just a punk. As is Okotie. Pat is refined, I think, but it takes a lot of guile to rule this here country. He doesn't seem to have plenty of that.

You guys are saying the same things. It's hilarious.

Image. Believing is not something one can force himself to do. You either do or you don't. I find it hard to believe God will balance my hereafter on the vagaries of my mind. If Jesus has paid for every one's sins there'd be no need for judgement at all. I don't think God ought to be in need of anyone's acknowledgement.

Aww, Image. I'm touched. Really I am. There're many faiths beseeching also. With even less confusing doctrines. The fact the gospel writers reckon so much with the old testament sef makes me shiver. But that's digressing. Let me answer you one post at a time.

Let me clarify first that I'm not part Christian or something. I believe in say only ten percent of the bible. That even only means I agree with those parts and not some knee-weak conviction. I believe in the truths of some other holy books. The Eden story is more or less the same in Islam but Muslims say every man is born sinless. He can only be influenced by his parents and surroundings. He is responsible for his conduct only once he attains maturity and anything before then matters not. I'm comfortable with that. To me sin is nothing but going against God's will. Simple. If God ordained that we ought to slap our parents in the morning and sleep with our sisters, those would be good deeds. If He says we should never show affection, it would be sin to do so. It is that simple to me. Then if you say Adam was created perfect, it would be impossible for him to sin. Simply impossible. It is impossible for Jesus to sin, is it not? For Adam to sin at all shows free will is the only thing responsible for sin and nothing more. Nothing like original sin. Every man is responsible for himself. The blood sacrifice of the Jews is not exactly meant for atonement but I don't wanna digress. I believe God is not incapable of simply forgiving someone. He can do so if He wants. Ask for forgiveness and you get it. Which kinda creepy justice is only moved to punish sin and never reward righteousness. You gave examples of children naturally behaving naughty. Well, you the parent bother to teach them morals. Why do you bother? Is it not cuz you want what's best for them. I'm sure you'd give your life to save your family from certain death. Even atheists with no hope of a hereafter would do so. Even animals will do so. If we were not also inherently good, every society would be anarchist. We tend to do evil, yes. But we also tend to do good. You have a conscience whether you're a Christian, Muslim, Hindu or whatever. So Adam messed up on his behalf. I'm responsible for my behalf. The only thing he might have denied me is Eden. On to the next one.

Not as much as you fellas apparently. Carry on

De nada, e36991. It's another day already, lol.

Nuclearboy. Perfection! Though my thoughts can be said to go deeper but your take summarizes it perfectly. Good is not good or bad. He just is. What He wills is what is good. That's why John 3.16 gives me the creeps. The world consists of drug dealers and terrorists and child abusers etc and most of these people won't repent. Even about God being just. It might not be in the same way we think of it. I believe God will do what He says He'll do but what He'll might seem unfair to us. I like the farm animal example. Who says it's fair to kill them for food? The nicest human will gorge a steak like a beast without even the least bit remorse. Imagine how we must look compared to God. Especially as we deserve more than just gorging.

Are you guys saying that hell and death will be cast into the lake of fire and then cease to exist along with the inhabitants? I thought hell and the lake of fire are the same thing. And so what if it's not an eternity but merely a billion years? That doesn't make it fair?

una dey do romance?

The virus is the external element introduced. As I inferred, the trouble does not emanate from the software itself. You follow? So man cannot be blamed for being misled.

Na wa o. Only God is good? I think only God is absolutely good for other reasons though. If He kills everyone of us, I wouldn't consider it evil. He can do as He pleases, but that is for another time. Have you ever wondered why ever did God even put the doggone Tree of Knowledge in Eden? Perhaps to tempt us? A thing we often accuse the devil of doing? I'm not saying something or the other, I just like to keep an open mind and not run away with an idea of God as I wish it to be. I don't think evil emanated or was born by man. I think God knows what evil is or He created the concept. People like to say things like He is absolute love. How can you be such a thing without a subject? I mean you can't be a killer if there's absolutely nothing to kill. How can God be absolute love in our eyes when the creation of man is new by God's time? He knows and knew about evil or He created it. What is the use of freewill when there is nothing like evil. What I'm trying to say is Adam is responsible for Adam and I am responsible for me and you you. There is no original sin. We already have a concept of good and evil in out psyche. That's why we have a conscience. Everyone makes his own choices and is not influenced by any bug in the software or virus. Also, good is good. If God is allergic to evil, He ought to be drawn by good too. I'd die for my siblings. I'd kill anyone who would harm them. I am not all good. I am not all evil. I'm a mixture of both as is every human. In some, the good is winning and in some the good is losing. God is good. Do you suppose an eternity in hell is fair or just? Even Hitler doesn't deserve that. Whatever Heaven is too, no one merits it. Yes o. I am itching very well and I don't mind deeper waters. I dunno if you can answer all my questions though. But I'd appreciate if you can try

@OP. Our views on this do not matter. It's your future wife that you need to talk to. I would feel bad if I got someone a diamond ring and she dumps it in a drawer. If you don't want the ring, tell her. It's just symbolic and it doesn't really anybody from anything so your trapped phobia is childish, sorry.

Why don't they just merge with one of the existing service providers already. Infrastructure modifications should not be too big a hitch na. This must be draining for their subscribers

I'd have sworn I saw this thread before. How come is it only two pages long?

Funny people. Nothing funnier than opinionated people

I forgot. Good is good. As evil is evil. I dunno about standards but if you want an answer, I'd say take your pick. God's or man's. It makes no difference to me. Atheists can be as good as any born again Christian or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu.

Actually I like a little humour. Some people think it means I'm not taking things seriously but surely not you. So, by all means, be my guest.

I think your software analogy is faulty because a bug is either there from the beginning or some external element introduced it. In the case of Eve and Adam, they just sinned, pure and simple. In any case, if I were to accept that analogy, what does Jesus' coming achieve? It doesn't change our nature an iota. I'm skeptical about the born again brouhaha but no one won't concede that even a born again person can sin. All they'll say is, 'he won't remain perpetually in sin' or some other back door explanation. So Jesus didn't come to fix us. He just came to sort of give us a secret passage to God, no? I'll leave my misgivings about this for later. So unlike fixing a bug in a software which will make all subsequent outputs perfect, the same cannot be said of man. A born again man and woman can birth a murderer.

I assume you're coming back later to address my itches (I only require scratching by the way, thank you) but you just raised something that bothers me. There's such a thing as being selfless. There's such a thing as a selfless gift. It is said that the best deed is one that the right hand does without the left hand's knowledge. Don't you think there's something wrong with the picture when God demands acknowledgment for his son giving his life away? How is it a selfless gift? Who would choose hell over heaven? It's not my fault that I don't believe Jesus died for me. How can God possibly hold it against me that I cannot comprehend and accept something with the limited brain He gave me? It's crazy! If He really died for my sins, I ought to be forgiven whether I ask for forgiveness or not, whether I acknowledge the sacrifice or not.