₦airaland Forum

striktlymi: This is relative. There is no peg on the amount of wealth a single individual can have. It all depends on what we tag: wealth. For our discourse wealth could simply mean having more than enough material resources which could be in the form of money.

was taught in economics that human wants are insatiable. interpreted by Zikkyy in this case to mean having Bill Gates kind of wealth may not be enough. From the bolded above, can i interpret wealth to mean 'contentment'?

striktlymi: Wealth is basically 'resources'...God gave us these resources and as such, one can attribute the making of wealth to him.

for an individual wealth is having the resources in abundance. i.e. accumulation/storage of resources. I don't think that is God's plan for making the resources available and knowing it will never be enough to go round. I guess that's where charity comes in.

Bidam: How did you know Jesus did not tithe,where you around at the time?

Read the part of my post you highlighted one more time. then come back with your question.

striktlymi: Hey Tobe,
I believe firmly that it is God's wish that every man be wealthy. If it wasn't, he wouldn't have made wealth in the first place. The richest man to have ever lived, in my books, was Adam.

What does it mean to be wealthy then? what amount of cash in the bank (or in assets) is required before a man can say he is wealthy? is there a threshold? i.e. anything above N100,000 or N100million

striktlymi: Hey Tobe,
I believe firmly that it is God's wish that every man be wealthy. If it wasn't, he wouldn't have made wealth in the first place. The richest man to have ever lived, in my books, was Adam.

Can we really say God made wealth? He made the resources available to all men and it is the accumulation of these resources that result in wealth (i think ).

Joagbaje: I’m so inspired by the life of Jesus; during His earthly ministry, it didn’t matter what He faced, the solution was inside Him. He had the transcendent life; He was never ruffled by anything; He walked in the dominion of the Spirit. That’s the same life He’s given us; a life that requires no aid from outside you. Being born again, you’ve already been given everything you’d ever need:

Joagbaje: when a man wants anything, which he feels he has no ability for, he prays to God and expects God to answer. However, that isn’t God’s dream for man. God didn’t create man to be limited or disadvantaged; He didn’t want man to need anything from outside him.

Joagbaje: Like Jesus, you not only have the God-life to the full,you also received the Spirit without measure (John 3:34); thus, all you need is inside you. What are the good things you desire? Bring them forth from within you with your words! What do you want; what do you need; what do you want to see outside?

You people like to confuse sha. if everything you need is within you, what's all the talk about tithe and seed sowing all about then you said the Christian is like Jesus, and we know Jesus did not tithe or sow seed to solve any issue.

Sunny_bobo: Under past administrations, we used to hear of companies closing down their Nigeria operations and relocating to Ghana. Under GEJ, we hear of companies closing down their factories in other countries and relocating to Nigeria.

Who said GEJ is not working?

I don't think it has anything to do with GEJ. They are only closing the Ghana plant. PZ always been in Nigeria. they did not leave. Focusing on Nigeria is not saying they are coming to Nigeria. It's like MTN saying they are closing Ghana operations (for e.g.). PZ Nigeria been contributing over 30/40% of PZ Cussons global revenue for over a decade (don't know the performance for the last three years though. but i want to believe it still not less than 30%)

JMAN05: Did the new god, bring them out of egypt?

That's what they made themselves to believe. Leave the Israelite. They wanted a replacement for Moses (read verse 1). I am not sure they understood the God they were worshipping. Probably because Moses was the link man.

JMAN05: I never said i will use my reasoning to determine. What if God's determines so? Jesus saying that by there fruit you shall know them. Doesnt it mean that knowing them is possible with God's word?

It is possible with the 'bad fruit', i think you can only assume with the 'good fruit'

JMAN05: So your church has no building? What is the origin of a kingdom hall?

Based on your reasoning, my church sinned building one, cos Jesus did not command that we erect buildings. For the origin of kingdom hall, i give you extract from wiki:

A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii.[1] Rutherford's reasoning was that these buildings would be used for preaching the "good news of the Kingdom."[2] Jehovah's Witnesses use Kingdom Halls for the majority of their worship and Bible instruction.

Witnesses prefer the term "Kingdom Hall" over "church", noting that the term often translated "church" in the Bible refers to the congregation of people rather than a structure

JMAN05: They had an annual ceremony too, the 'christians' brought theirs to blend it up. What could be the intention of someone who has many altrrnatives, yet he chose a pagan route?

Maybe it was pagans blending Christian activities into their practice. I will explain using observations from my growing up days. I had this neighbor who worshipped other gods (i.e. he is not a christian). During Christmas/Easter holidays, the man will purchase his goat and offer the necessary sacrifice to his gods on christmas/easter day, and also prays to his gods. In his thoughts, he is also celebrating christmas/easter.

JMAN05: Look at you saying, "idea of easter". Why not "idea of christ's resurrection"? Will the later not be correct? Easter is never never associated with christ, but a pagan god. What is in your eyes?

replace the word 'easter' with celebration of christ resurrection. There is nothing in my eyes.

JMAN05: I dont know what you mean by early church, the early church i know is the apostles. And i ve never read in the bible that they celebrated easter nor did they use pagan symbols.

Okay, replace the early church with the early days (of the church).

JMAN05: The writers of the encyclopedia no doubt used the easter to refer to the thing Jesus did after his resurrection. (By breaking the loaf). Many use that as a prove of easter. However that is not what Jesus was doing. He rather used it to remind his fellowers that he is the formerly dead messiah.

Even if Jesus was doing something else, it still does not make the other activity pagan.

JMAN05: That during that apostolic days, none of this pagan synbols were involved. It was later that pagan materials came into the ceremony. That could be the meaning cos easter has been there before christ.

I am not aware. Are you saying there was an activity called 'easter'? and the manner of celebration was the same as the easter celebration started by the early church?

JMAN05: Who am i to say so. But you wont think calling it easter or baal will be acceptable to the lord. Do you?

The Lord will decide what is acceptable to him. I know of a footballer in English premiership with a surname that sound like baal (similar pronunciation, though not similar spelling). Are you saying the man can never be a Christian if he does not change his name?

JMAN05: Easter is the name of a pagan god.

Easter is not the name of a pagan god. It is an English term. what i read from the reference you provided is some writer claiming it relates to 'estre' a teutonic goddess.

JMAN05: The symbols are pagan, used in there festivals.

I am not sure of the symbols you referring to here. i will not defend this if the symbols are truly pagan.

JMAN05: The apostasy and blending of paganism with christianity led to their inventing a celebration Jesus never instructed.

I honestly don't understand what you are saying here. From the little reading i did, all i saw was that this celebration started with the early church. There was no talk of blending with paganism. and you are yet to show me how carrying out an activity Jesus never instructed becomes a sin.

JMAN05: Fine, they want to celebrate the reaurrection of christ, what is wrong in just calling it the resurrection of christ?

I read this to mean you have no problem with the idea of celebrating the resurrection of Christ. Your concern has to do with the activities and naming. Okay we focus on your concern then. Thanks.

JMAN05: Why call it easter when that name is pagan?

The name is not pagan. Writers/historians believe the name is related to some pagan god. i will not argue that part cos i don't know.

JMAN05: apart from pagan symbols, why cant they just celebrate it without employing this pagan items?

i can tell you i have never seen an easter egg or rabbit, and am sure some catholics are yet to see one. It will not be right to see everybody as pagan. What i don't know is if the catholic church (being our focus here) makes this a standard for the celebration, or just an activity undertaken by people that chose to? If it is not a standard/requirement, then i will say that people employing pagan items (if truly pagan items are employed)in their celebration are either ignorant or probably do not have Jesus in mind i.e. the focus of the celebration is not Jesus but an opportunity to have a good time. You can then criticize the Church for not doing enough to check the use of 'pagan item' (for church members atleast).

JMAN05: They believe in christianizing paganism.

I don't know where you got this from. Too much emotion in your post. what made you to conclude that they believe in christianizing paganism?

JMAN05: And this is done thru blending the two. For eg, if you do have a thanksgiving ceremony annually, will you call its name baal?

Take it easy. Easter is not the name of a pagan god. 2) i don't find proof to show that the easter was the name of the celebration at inception 3) if it was the anglo-saxons that gave the name easter, what was their intention? to remind themselves of their goddess? or just coincidence?

JMAN05: And this is done thru blending the two. For eg, if you do have a thanksgiving ceremony annually, will you call its name baal? Can you use a pagan symbol on that occasion? What will even bring the pagan idea into your thought in the first place?

It's quite natural for some people to want to spice up their celebrations. You see that even in modern day marriage ceremonies. But i think we should be able to separate harmless customary activities/practice from idol worship. Don't label everything pagan just because you did not see it in the bible.

DrummaBoy: What I find a bit disturbing in addition to all this is that Christians do not see anything wrong with all of this. It is does that have issues with that they take up issues with. The church has strayed so badly from apostolic doctrine and practice. We must return to them.

Don't know why you are complaining. abi you want camp attendees to stand in the rain? Honestly, i don't think a three kilo auditorium will be adequate as it likely to fill up fast (in the near future), and the church will then have to raise fund for a bigger structure. i would propose a 10/20 kilometre auditorium at this time to save future cost

JMAN05: where do they worship? was it not built? what is the purose of their preaching?

Based on your theory, where they worshipped is not important, what is important is that Christ did not instruct they build a place of worship and the apostles did not build any so as to ensure they don't go against Christ instructions. So why build a kingdom hall if there was no such instruction?

JMAN05: what was it called in verses 4, 5?

Read carefully, it was not just one god. notice the calf were the object of worship.

1- When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

4 -He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

JMAN05: good. will you truly call them disciples of christ? assuming they reject ur counsel.

I will not call them anything. it is not for me to say.

JMAN05: true, all called him disciple when he came newly. none can confidently call him false when he came newly. :but what if Judas had been involving in his criminal act and still teach others the same thing as being 'true', will you confidently call his group true christians?

What if the other disciples knew he was dipping his hand in the money bag. If Christ did not condemn him, they will not. I am sure he was one of those Christ sent out to preach knowing he was a thief, and he did the job (of preaching) quite well. Like i said before, i am not the one to determine who the true christian is.

JMAN05: do you really believe the catholic
encyclopedia and the words of your
monk? why not read them instead of
quoting the comment frm a tv channel.

Have gone through the encyclopedia, and it is not written that easter is of pagan origin. Maybe i don't understand what you meant by origin. i understand origin to mean the beginning of something's existence. I did not read the encyclopedia saying easter celebration was of pagan origin. Why not post your facts here, abi you don't have facts Now kindly provide answers to my question;

what exactly is pagan to you? is it the celebration of Christ resurrection or the manner it is celebrated?

It would be much easier for us to understand each other if you do away with the evasive maneuver. You have not shown you have good intentions, i don't see how you want me to believe you are truly out to correct.

JMAN05: pagans do not worship the almighty God. so if you copy there celebration and allow it to mentain its religious status, is it not paganism is disguise?

True, pagans do not worship the almighty God. i believe that's why they are called pagans. The problem i have with you is that you are yet to show proof that a pagan celebration was not only copied, the "religious status was maintained". or you want me to just accept your word that it was copied? I am not here to fight or argue that it was not copied, all i want is proof from you. To copy would mean the motive behind the celebration was to do something similar to do what pagans were doing. Maybe the early church loved the pagan parties. To copy would also mean that the early church modeled their celebration after a pagan type party. Do you evidence to show that this was the intention (i.e. they were not thinking Christ when they came up with the idea of easter).

JMAN05: now, is it christlike to copy pagans? is it not pagan my brother to not only use pagan name but using pagan symbols for a celebration dedicated to christ?

This is why you need to answer my question so i have a better understanding of concerns. If your concern is the use of pagan name and use of pagan symbols for a celebration dedicated to Christ, it's very likely i will agree with you.

JMAN05: The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us: “A
great many pagan customs, celebrating
the return of spring, gravitated to Easter .
The egg is the emblem of the germinating
life of early spring. . . . The rabbit is a
pagan symbol and has always been an
emblem of fertility.”—(1913), Vol. V, p.
227.

The encyclopedia states that some pagan customs gravitated to Easter, i believe that is telling us Easter was already in place and celebrated long before the introduction of pagan customs to the celebration. It is not the same as saying the celebration is of pagan origin.

JMAN05: I can only say that u are the one brainwashed to the point that you dont trust ur monk.

I don't have a monk.

JMAN05: please also provide a fact to support that the emblems are not pagan and that christ instructed you to celebrate his resurrection.

I am not arguing emblems. If there is proof that the emblem is pagan then it is pagan. That said, i don't need to provide fact to support show that the celebration was Christ instruction. it is not relevant. The celebration is not because there was an express instruction from Christ, i can even celebrate if and when i am happy. What matters is if i have sinned by celebrating Christ resurrection, and i don't see any breach here. If you believe it is sinful kindly provide support.

JMAN05: when did christlike mean paganlike? like i said before, where did any pagan nation worship YHWH with a golden calf? if none used it, why did God bcome angry?

You still don't understand that event. The Israelite were not worshipping God with a golden calf, they were worshipping the golden calf! They were no longer worshipping God! If you having difficulty understanding this fact maybe we can review the event together.

JMAN05: if you employ pagan name and celebration and clone it christian, claiming that as far as it is christians that began that of christ,

It is not just because Christians were the pioneers, the motive/intention also matters, how you celebrate matters. Where we disagree (for now) is whether the idea is acceptable to Christ.

JMAN05: is it not the same as molden calf to represent YHWH and claiming that the pagans never used calf to represent YHWH? or even molden something that look like baal and calling ur own YHWH? will that be reasonable?

It is not the same. the calf did not represent God, the calf was the god.

JMAN05: dont skip my questions.

I am not like you na.

JMAN05: its funny how you byepassed the etimology.

I did not bypass anything useful. I went for the part that provided the most useful information regarding the origin of the celebration of Christ's resurrection. I believe the extract below is what you are referring to:

"The modern English term Easter, cognate with modern German Ostern, developed from the Old English word Ēastre or Ēostre.[nb 2] This is generally held to have originally referred to the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess, Ēostre, a form of the widely attested Indo-European dawn goddess.[nb 3] The evidence for the Anglo-Saxon goddess, however, has not been universally accepted, and some have proposed that Eostre may have meant "the month of opening" or that the name Easter may have arisen from the designation of Easter Week in Latin as in albis"

The above is not telling me when or how the celebration of Christ's resurrection started. Maybe you decode the above and tell me the first set of people that initiated the celebration. From the post above, can you tell if it was the Anglo-saxon that brought the celebration of Christ's resurrection to the Church? Unless you don't understand what you mean by origin of the celebration. Compare that to what I posted earlier (below):

"The first Christians, Jewish and Gentile, were certainly aware of the Hebrew calendar,[nb 4] but there is no direct evidence that they celebrated any specifically Christian annual festivals.[39] Christians of Jewish origin were the first to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Since the date of the resurrection was close the timing of Passover, they likely celebrated the resurrection as a new facet of the Passover festival.[17]

Direct evidence for the Easter festival begins to appear in the mid-2nd century. Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referencing Easter is a mid-2nd-century Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one."

Now compare both extract and tell me which one actually provide info regarding origin. If you have contrary info, kindly paste here and stop saying I should go do some research. Unless you don't really have any fact to back up your claims. if that's the case, there is no way I will believe you are serious. maybe you are here to make fun of others.

JMAN05: do you really believe the catholic encyclopedia and the words of your monk? why not read them instead of quoting the comment of a tv channel.

JMAN05: first, what is the meaning of christian and easter?

I believe this is an attempt to avoid my question. I will provide extract from Wikipedia, if you have anything contrary kindly provide.

"Easter[nb 1] (Old English Ēostre; Latin: Pascha; Greek Πάσχα Paskha, from Hebrew: פֶּסַח‎ Pesaḥ[1]) is a Christian festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament"

The above is probably the view of those celebrating easter, abi you feel you are in a better position to tell them what they are celebrating?

"A Christian (About this sound pronunciation (help·info)) is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. "Christian" derives from the Koine Greek word Christ, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term Messiah"

Now that I have answered your question, kindly respond to mine;

what exactly is pagan to you? is it the celebration of Christ resurrection or the manner it is celebrated

JMAN05: Did christ ask you to celebrate his resurrection or JUST his death?

No need for him to. Just as he did not say I should not celebrate his resurrection. What I consider is if I have sinned by celebrating his resurrection. Have I? if you believe I have, kindly provide scriptures that shows celebrating Christ resurrection is a sin. That's all you need to do, really.

JMAN05: since this pagan word easter has been before Jesus, why didnt it appear on the scripture?

The word cannot be pagan. unless you are saying the Anglo-saxons or greeks (whatever the source of the word) being pagan at some point in their history can never be Christians or acceptable to Christ because their ancestors were once pagan. Its a good thing you are not God. If you say the name also referred to a god or goddess worshipped by pagans, I might accept. And please don't go the route of saying why was it not in the bible, that's not sound reasoning.

If you have scriptural facts to back up your claim regarding the celebration of easter or Christmas, please provide. we cannot work with sentiments, assumptions or we conclude this is your personal view. my other understanding of your position would be that you have been brainwashed to hold this view.

JMAN05: Did the apostles have a place of worship?

They did not build one and did not advise that you build one. So why build a kingdom hall?

JMAN05: why does rejoicing with a golden calf which you believe represented God offend God?

are you imitating christians or pagans?

What has rejoicing with a golden calf to do with celebrating Christ resurrection or birth? Do you know of anybody rejoicing with a golden calf? What gave you the impression I believed that the golden calf represented God?

If you are referring to the what the Israelite did in the desert, they were not worshipping God through the calf, they were actually worshipping the golden calf not God. Go and read your bible very well.

JMAN05: Thanks. if you see someone who smokes indian hemp and encouraged his congregation to do the same. and he claims to be a christian. what will you do? will you preach to him so as to alert him of his mistake or will you close your mouth so that he will not say you are condemning him?

what if you see a religious group of those you claim they are christians who say that wearing makeup is wrong or that marrying many wives is correct, what will you do if you see them?

What I will do?

I will gladly share my view/understanding of the scriptures with them. I will not go the route of calling them satan's deciples.

JMAN05: Christ knows his people and the bible serves as a measuring metre with which we identify the true christians. so we have the capacity to identify them.

Just as the other disciples believed Judas was one of them. Afterall he exhibited the fruits of a true disciple. There's no way you can speak for anybody, you can only assume.

JMAN05: the bible never mentioned the name of the true religion, but there fruit helps us a lot. and it is only loving to alert your friend if you see that his actions are not according to God's word.

Please practice the bolded. You also need to be careful unless you believe you are infallible as well.

JMAN05: and i ask you to trace the origin of easter.

I got this extract from wikipedia:

"The first Christians, Jewish and Gentile, were certainly aware of the Hebrew calendar,[nb 4] but there is no direct evidence that they celebrated any specifically Christian annual festivals.[39] Christians of Jewish origin were the first to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Since the date of the resurrection was close the timing of Passover, they likely celebrated the resurrection as a new facet of the Passover festival."

am not aware of any other origin of easter. you have information you want to share

JMAN05: if it was a pagan celebration, why should you copy pagan doctrine and allow it to still have a religious position. is that not idolatry?

am not aware the celebration was pagan. i still don't understand how the celebration of Christ resurrection became a pagan doctrine. Is there something you are not telling me

JMAN05: If you want to celebrate your savior, why must you copy pagan custom and clone it christian?

Please clarify. what exactly is pagan? is it the celebration of Christ resurrection or the manner it is celebrated?

JMAN05: Did Christ or his apostles tell you to celebrate it? what is the meaning of christian in the first place?

Did Jesus tell you to build a kingdom hall?

You are avoiding my question. How does rejoicing over the birth of Christ becomes a sin? provide scriptures please.

JMAN05: imitate the step outlined in the bible not imitating pagans.

By rejoicing or celebrating the birth of Christ, i am imitating pagans are you saying pagans celebrated the birth of Christ?

JMAN05: I said before that christian as we here it today is just a claim and the society is bound to recognise and address you based on your claim,......

So why are you having difficulty accepting Chukwudi's claim that he is a Christian?

JMAN05: .....but Christ knows his people and they are not in support of false claims by people.

Good. This what i have been looking forward to reading. You are not in a position to determine/decide who the Christian is. It is truly Christ that knows his people, so don't condemn.

nora544: I read also that Adeboye want to build more churches because the people should only walk 5 minutes to the next church.

Not a bad idea. I really think they should go ahead and build more.

jaymichael: Seriously, this empire building in "modern day" Christianity really baffle me. #JUST MY THOUGH#

You might be closer to the truth than you think. it's no longer about money, but a desire to dominate. I think the G.O's objective is to build the world largest church (probably the only church). You should see the camp as the church version of the Vatican city.

frosbel: Can Adeboye ensure that there is not ONE needy person among his church members before he embarks on this multi-billion naira project to build a 3-km Long Church Auditorium.

Why you dey worry ya self if the man want to build a 100 kilometre auditorium, let him go ahead joor. Na their money. or you don't want comfort for attendees at the periodic camp events people should be able to relax when they attend camp events.

frosbel: This is madness, .....

Maybe, but it's their right jor.

JMAN05: sory for you. easter was never invented nor did it originate with christians. even the name easter is pagan. read the work of a catholic scholar: DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE - Calmet, p. 363. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Vol
5, pp. 225-227.

you did not address my concern. Are you now saying pagans been celebrating Christ's resurrection? cos the Easter celebration I know being celebrated by Christians has to do with Christ's resurrection. Or the Catholics told you they are celebrating something else

anyways, if pagans (and I don't mean Catholics) been celebrating Christ's resurrection after Christ I think it's a step in the right direction, meaning there's hope for them.

JMAN05: @op. no one asked you to celebrate easter, easter was there before christ came.......

Are you saying peeps been celebrating Christ's death/resurrection long before Christ came can you provide some facts to back up this claim, cos some of us are not aware.

JMAN05: .......i suppose nor did christ tell you to celebrate his birth.

Did Christ say it was a sin to celebrate his birth? it's probably men like you that labeled the celebration a sin?

JMAN05: that you call yourself christian doesnt mean that christ recognize you as such. by there fruit we know the true christians, there conduct and teachings.

Mr. JMAN05, what is the fruit you expect of a true Christian?

this is one reason i stated in my first post that even criminals can (by their actions) show they are doing the will of God. Not all pagans/criminals celebrate christmas, easter. That is not to say they are Christians. Criminals also go to church, speak in tongue, pays tithe, sing hallelujah to the Lord, help the needy. Criminals can pastor a church and teach the bible (preaching against celebrations like easter, Christmas e.t.c since that's what people like you want to hear), and that will not make them Christians.

acidosis™:
Makes no sense..

How can a Criminal do the Will of God?

My post was meant for somebody that focus on the physical. It is not what people see you do that makes you a Christian. Even criminals can carry out similar acts.

enilove: You are not a Christian by participation in easter or christmas but by doing the will and commandment of God.

True. you are not a Christian by participating in easter or christmas, you are still not a Christian by observing the Lord's supper just as it was done in the bible. Even criminals can exhibit or do the will and commandment of God if they want to.

peteregwu: ......if everybody is rich in the church, who do you think will take care of the church toilets, sweep the church or make it clean. sometimes the rich finds it so difficult to do some dirty work in the church,........

Alwaystrue: When you understand the principle for what you are doing, it will not be an offence to you to tithe as it helps the work of the ministry along with other forms of giving to others. Loving one's neighbour covers everyone, family, friends, poor & needy, ministers of the gospel like those in your local church & in missions who I believe you love as well and deserve wages.

what exactly is the principle in tithing? All I see here is talk about love. Is love the principle? Maybe the principle is actually the motivation for carrying out the act of tithing (i.e. Love, as indicated in your post above). Please stop confusing your target poster or audience. If tithing is an act of love, it cannot be taught as a practice for others to follow. You cannot begin to quantify love (i.e. 10% love), that maybe the reason the apostles did not teach tithe. People should express their love as much as they can (as they are led by the spirit). If it by giving 10% or 50% of their income to their church to further the gospel its all good. Teaching people % loving or giving is wrong.

Bidam: I tithe based on the understanding of what the Holy Spirit taught me that it is a spiritual principle.

Sure your learning was from the Holy Spirit? Check the source very well o!

Bidam: What chuka is pointing out to you is that with grace we keep the law by overcoming sin and that's what Apostle Paul teaches.The difference between us and the OT saint who couldn't is the HOLY SPIRIT shared abroad in our hearts,hence we are able to fulfill the law which is LOVE cos God is LOVE..CHIKENA!!!

You think you get it, but you don't. you keep going back to the law even after you claimed to have received grace. @ the bolded bit in your post above, that is not what ichuka is saying. The purpose of the law is not in the keeping. read the post below again..

i.chuka:
The law came to judge man's sin. The law was established because man has sin. You never see God keeping the law because there is simply no possibility for God to transgress the law. Hence, no law is put upon Him....

i.chuka:
And God did not tell Adam not to covet and not to steal. Why would Adam need to covet? Why would Adam need to steal? God had already given everything on the earth to him. The Ten Commandments were not given to Adam because Adam had no need of them. Rather, the law was specifically given to the Israelites because it showed fleshly man his inward condition and his sin within. If no Nigerian had ever stolen, there would be no need for a clause in NIGERIAN law concerning stealing. Because man steals, there is a clause in the law which says that one should not steal. Hence, the law exists because of sin. When man sinned, the law came in.................

Bidam, you don't need/or use grace or holy spirit to keep the law. The man in Mark 10:17-22 was able to keep the law. even Christ was impressed.

MostHigh: By tendering Justice with Mercy john 8:11

So, the solution to stopping the "evil lurking behind the soul that fulfills the law on its own" is by tendering justice with mercy (a.k.a balancing the law)

I think this is an attempt to confuse me

pet_saint: Fulfilling the law is actually great Then Jesus beholding him loved him Mr 10:17-21, but evil can still lurk behind the soul that fulfills the law on its own.

The solution is to balance the law, with the will of God.....

ijawkid: We need actions not just talks.......

Its not likely you will ever see any action. So you have to manage the talk.

pet_saint: In fulfilling, Jesus wants us to see the essence or reason for the law rather than the text of the law alone.

This part i can understand but...

pet_saint: The solution is to balance the law, with the will of God made known to us through the word of God and confirmed by the holy spirit.

....how do you balance the law (with the will of God)?

Antivirus92: Why is north struggling to gain back power come next election?

....and did you consider the fact that the people in the North will vote for a northern candidate irrespective of the platform (political party)? If Buhari contest for presidency under APGA today, he will get at least 95% of his people vote.

Antivirus92: yes it is not a good thinking. We are "nigerians" and we know the nigerian politics. Days are gone when we say dont mind the party vote the best candidate. There is nothing like good candidate, they are all shapened by their party. Why is north struggling to gain back power come next election? Is the person in power not a nigerian? Is he not better than those blood-thirsty ibb,abacha,buhari,gowon ?let every region have its own party and let that party govern them. Regional government is the best in nig and i think regional party is the first party towards achieving it.

That's national level. This is an election for Anambra people. The contestants are brothers.

Antivirus92: Days are gone when we say dont mind the party vote the best candidate. There is nothing like good candidate, they are all shapened by their party.

To an extent, yes. But i don't believe it applies to every individual, and the extent to the which the party can influence varies with individuals. It's not like Ngige will force Anambra people to change their name to Abdullahi or babatunde, your concern should be the governor supporting his party with state fund, and this applies to all political parties.

pro01: You dey mind them? Anambra women my ass. Ngige would have his AWO ass dusted, we don't want him and his gang of anti-Igbo bigots in Anambra government house.

Andy Uba, Soludo, or anyone else (or any other party) for that matter would be fine.

Antivirus92: abum nwa idemili just like ngige. I love ngige but seriously he needs to change his party. Some hypocrites may say his party doesnt matter but really it matters! I would rather cast my vote into the river niger than to vote acn.

This is not good thinking. You should be looking at the best man for the job and not the party. You people should not allow your hatred for the people across the Niger rob you of your progress. assess the candidates and not the party, if Ngige is the best man for the job let the people of Anambra support him, if it is soludo they should do same. Oshiomole in Edo could have contested under PDP in his first outing if there was vacancy at the time, but he is successful today under ACN (APC) because the people of the state did not consider the party. Don't allow sentiment/hatred affect your reasoning.