trekkie:

i am not here for religious arguement but as a practising christian i can't help but wonder at all these talk of atheism
please don't misunderstand me i would love to hear that you have decided to accept jesus but if you don't, it's your choice
it's very easy to talk flippantly about god when you are young, strong and healthy.
i do respect that your experiences with religion are valid and have moulded your views about God
but reserve a corner of your mind to give God the benefit of doubt after all, its his children that are badly behaved and not He himself innit?
how would you feel if you are maligned because of the behaviour of your children even after you have made every effort to teach them the right way to behave?

I think you are misunderstanding the whole concept of atheism, it is not christians, muslims, hindu whatever that anyone has a problem with. It is the whole concept of god altogether and the resulting religions

.

Iyineda:

I know I probably shouldn't be replying to this thread because it doesn't concern me but whatever. . .

I was born in  Nigeria. I was raised in a Christian (Anglican) home. I currently live abroad. And I am agnostic. Not an atheist but agnostic.

And I am one of those who strongly believe that religion/dogma is destroying society, especially in Nigeria.

The first person I told about this was my mom, when I was in my late teens. Now, my aunts and grandmother are aware about me and all believe I'm going through a phase. Oh they couldn't be more wrong.

I think the thread should be renamed to include agnostics, but wow telling your mother? I wouldn't dream of doing that or letting my family be aware of my atheism, I would be rebuked, prayed for and so on. I really do envy you

@ JayFK,
If you grew up in the midst of your family in Nigeria, then you cant hide you non belief from them because they expect you to go to church regularly or atleast on sundays, pray and fast with the church and family, do morning devotions with the family, attend the church on the last day of the year etc. Infact I had problem with one of my bank managers because i just refused to cooperate and pray with them every morning before start of business as I dont believe in the efficacy of prayer so why do i as an adult deceive myself?
You just cant hide your unbelief if you reside in Nigeria except you want to pretend and that I think is even worse because you are more or less a hypocrite.
I stopped going to church in 1996 when I was in secondary school, without the mentor of anyone but just pure objective reasoning. My family all know my stand, they have fought with me to try and reconvert me earlier, but have now left me alone to live my life the way that suits me.

Uyi Iredia:

my mistake 

*1 >>> and the university health center (as we dub it) as well >>> btw the health center serves both the students and the church members >>> it offers occasional free medical checkups to students & church members

*2 >>> and i will be naive to disagree >>> although, i still await the universities they will never build

I never said they had to build universities to be the only way to serve the nation.

Uyi Iredia:

*3 >>> then we are even

*4 >>> last time i perused it (b4 entering the school) it was never open >>> i guess he is the 'life chancellor' till an occasion arises that'll cause a change

I guess after going through the document, it only says the funds will be used for the for the benefit of the university which is quite vague. I guess it may be considered a non profit but I'm still skeptical of this since I don't even see churches as being non profit.

thehomer:

I never said they had to build universities to be the only way to serve the nation.*1


I guess after going through the document, it only says the funds will be used for the for the benefit of the university which is quite vague. I guess it may be considered a non profit but I'm still skeptical of this since I don't even see churches as being non profit.*2

*1 >>> neither did i imply that it is a must they build universities

*2 >>> they are always corrupt elements in a church (or any system for that matter), who hijack the good intentions of the church, for their own selfish purpose >>> i suspect they also persist in Winner's church >>> note also that in reckoning a money:value returns of a private university C.U is the best >>> most private universities i've heard of collect fees ranging from ^500,000 - ^4,000,000 per session >>> the highest fee (which certainly is for engineering courses) goes for 4 ^450,000 >>> i hope that assuages your skepticism

Uyi Iredia:

*1 >>> neither did i imply that it is a must they build universities

This is what you said:

Uyi Iredia:

*2 >>> and i will be naive to disagree >>> although, i still await the universities they will never build

Which implies that you expect them to build universities.

Uyi Iredia:

*2 >>> they are always corrupt elements in a church (or any system for that matter), who hijack the good intentions of the church, for their own selfish purpose >>> i suspect they also persist in Winner's church >>> note also that in reckoning a money:value returns of a private university C.U is the best >>> most private universities i've heard of collect fees ranging from ^500,000 - ^4,000,000 per session >>> the highest fee (which certainly is for engineering courses) goes for 4 ^450,000 >>> i hope that assuages your skepticism

No it doesn't. It won't till they regularly post public financial statements.

thehomer:

This is what you said:

Which implies that you expect them to build universities.
*1
No it doesn't. It won't till they regularly post public financial statements.*2

*1 >>> so what ! >>> even if your inference is correct_it isn't >>> that i expect them to build does not mean that they must build universities (or that I want it that way) >>> on the contrary, i doubt that they would build universities and my comment was based on that

*2 >>> then expect to wait forever >>> because C.U is a sole proprietorship *one of the cons of the university*

Uyi Iredia:

*1 >>> so what ! >>> even if your inference is correct_it isn't >>> that i expect them to build does not mean that they must build universities (or that I want it that way) >>> on the contrary, i doubt that they would build universities and my comment was based on that

*2 >>> then expect to wait forever >>> because C.U is a sole proprietorship *one of the cons of the university*

Ok then.

I’m becoming more comfortable with this aspect of my identity. I’m trying to include the “health benefits” of religion. For example, I found a great community of like-minded people on NL.
With that in mind, religion is obsolete. It’s why I’m such a proud and happy atheist. If others want to conclude that I have a first-class ticket to hell, so be it. :-

Who knew there were so "many" atheists in Nigeria? I'm not alone!!!!!

Hello Nigerian atheists!!!!

Hello, I'm a non Nigerian atheist. May I join the club?.

P.S. Please let's be reasonable and stop bashing each other. Freedom of creed (including no creed at all), is a human right, and a constitutional right in many countries. The belief vs. unbelief debate is a waste of time because no one on each side will be "converted".

Alcofrybas:

Hello, I'm a non Nigerian atheist. May I join the club?.

P.S. Please let's be reasonable and stop bashing each other. Freedom of creed (including no creed at all), is a human right, and a constitutional right in many countries. The belief vs. unbelief debate is a waste of time because no one on each side will be "converted".

This is not quite true as you can see on this page. It is not quite a waste of time. People do sometimes change their minds.

.

I hope one day being an atheist will become mandatory for leading politicians.
http://richarddawkins.net/letters/converts

To think atheism is a respecter of freedom of religion

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope one day being an atheist will become mandatory for leading politicians.
http://richarddawkins.net/letters/converts

To think atheism is a respecter of freedom of religion

Thanks for sharing vedaxcool, very interesting website.

^^^^
No you should actually thank this guy:

thehomer:

This is not quite true as you can see on this page. It is not quite a waste of time. People do sometimes change their minds.

funny, the atheist man that required leading politicians being atheist, did not jolt your "humanist"brain.

My gurl broke up with me sometime ago; all because I told her who I really was, AN ATHEIST!!!  As far as she's concerned, I'm heading straight to hell and she doesn't want to be part of it. I can understand her plight. It was really painful to watch her leave but there's no way I'm going back to being religious or even pretend to be, Hell No! I wont do it for anyone! My eyes are open now (Enough thanks to Richard Dawkins and the rest)! I'd rather reason than just go on believing in faith! As for my parents, they'll literally have my head if they knew, lol! I'm really glad to be out of Nigeria sha! Pretty sure if I'd told them, they wont have let me leave the country!!!

vedaxcool:

^^^^
No you should actually thank this guy:
funny, the atheist man that required leading politicians being atheist, did not jolt your "humanist"brain.

From Richard Dawkins perspective is understandable if unrealistic. The actions of someone in a position of incredible power and influence should not be motivated in any way by unsubstantiated claims, fairy tales, and out right lies. In Dawkins opinion all religions fall into one or more these categories.

On this point I would agree with him. I do not want authority figures such as politicians basing their actions on the claims of Christianity, Judaism, or Islam(to name a few) anymore than I would on the existence of Santa Claus, Leprechauns, and magic.

tony_runo:

My gurl broke up with me sometime ago; all because I told her who I really was, AN ATHEIST!!!  As far as she's concerned, I'm heading straight to hell and she doesn't want to be part of it. I can understand her plight. It was really painful to watch her leave but there's no way I'm going back to being religious or even pretend to be, Hell No! I wont do it for anyone!  My eyes are open now (Enough thanks to Richard Dawkins and the rest)! I'd rather reason than just go on believing in faith! As for my parents, they'll literally have my head if they knew, lol! I'm really glad to be out of Nigeria sha! Pretty sure if I'd told them, they wont have let me leave the country!!!

All I can say is stay strong. It is hard living in a world where you are punished for rejecting ignorance, fairy tales, and lies. However, if the demographics of Europe, America and even Japan are any indication, with progress comes positive cultural changes. Remember that not long ago, most of their ancestors too believed in magic, witches, and some established religion. Now the ranks of serious believers(the likes of which are exploding Africa and other impoverished regions) are shrinking.

Keep the faith unfaith.

Just registering my name. I'm agnostic actually. Nice one guys.

Hey, born and bred nigerian atheist reporting.

Aaaaannndddd again, why isn't there a section for those who do not have any belief in the g word?

Meh...

i'm one