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Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Kenerd: 4:35am On Dec 11, 2017 |
joseph1013:just 5 major churches oh. I'm stunned... 1 Like |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 6:56am On Dec 11, 2017 |
Kenerd:Amazing, right? If the top five churches generate more revenue than Lagos State, you can imagine that the Nigerian Church is richer than the Nigerian State. It's mind-boggling to imagine the coins that flows through the fingers of the Faith. |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:47pm On Dec 17, 2017 |
Often times, when people say “Rules are Rules”, it is because such a rule appeals to their sentiments. We are all emotional humans filled with biases. This is ok. But it isn’t ok for us to deny that we are actually bias. Let’s just admit it. Let me walk you through what I mean. Try READ THIS POST TO THE END. 1. A woman who wears hijab on her call to bar day won’t be called to bar. 2. Homosexuality is a crime in Nigeria. 3. Women in Saudi Arabia can’t drive unaccompanied in. 4. A Nigerian woman cannot file for Nigerian citizenship for her foreign spouse, but a Nigerian man can do that for his foreign spouse. 5. Gay couples can get married in the UK. 6. In Canada, a man who beats up the wife is required to leave the house for her. An atheist will like the first rule, and defend it saying “Rules are Rules”. But same atheist who is an LGBT right advocate will not remember to say “Rules are Rules” when it comes to 14 years jail sentence for homosexuals in Nigeria. A homophobe will say “Rules are Rules” for the second rule above. But will forget that “Rules are Rules” when considering the fifth rule about gays couples in the UK. A male chauvinist will say “Rules are Rules” for the 3rd and 4th rule. But they won’t say so for the 6th rule. *-*-*-* You see, I don’t take Nigerians seriously when they say “Rules are Rules”, because most often than not, they are just driving a narrative that appeals to their sentiments and biases. Let me tell you what I think about the hijab issues, and some of those rules up there. A. If I were a Muslim lawyer, I will not wear a hijab to my call to bar because “Rules are Rules”. B. If I go to Saudi Arabia, I won’t drive unaccompanied by a male because “Rules are Rules”. C. If I were a homosexual and I lived in Nigeria, I will hide my sexuality in order to avoid 14 years jail sentence because “Rules are Rules”. You see those rules A, B, C, huh? If I find myself in a position to obey any rule, I will obey them to avoid consequences. BUT.... That doesn’t mean I think any of those rules make sense. I think a rule that prevents a girl from being called to bar because she wore hijab is a silly one. One that needs to be reviewed as a matter of urgency. I also think that saying women must drive with male companions is a very stupid rule. I also think that jailing people for their sexuality, when they have caused no harm to third parties is one of the worst cases of insanity. What’s my point? All Rules are Rules. I will obey them when I have to, and fight them from a safe distance, as much as I can, and as much as my strength can carry me. Going to call to bar with a hijab is like making out in a Nigerian market with your same sex partner, because you want to prove a point... your right. You will go down for breaking the law/rule, even though the said law/rule is a stupid one. When I was in Nigeria, my Dad advised me after a distant relative was shot dead by SARS..... for the most flimsy reason. He said “Nkechi, you know you like to fight for your right at all cost. But let me tell you this; if you find a SARS or police officers harassing you and infringing on your right, act the fool, be the fool if that’s all it takes to get out of that situation alive. Then come home, and we will fight from a safe distance. Because he who fights and runs away, lives to fight better another day”. You don’t get involved in a gun battle carrying sticks. You will die a fool. In my opinion, hijab girl was stupid. But I also think that rule is a silly one, which is not inclusive enough for an aspiring diverse society. She could have “stooped to conquer”, take off her hijab for a couple of hours, and get called to bar. With her law degree and first hand experience, she could have been in a better position to fight against this law which she sees as an infringement of her religious rights. - Nkechi Bianze 7 Likes |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:49pm On Dec 18, 2017 |
MISSING FATHER & SON We are told Jesus was a man who was seen by thousands, yet it's not possible to show beyond reasonable doubt that he ever existed. What then, are the chances of showing that his invisible, immaterial dad (who was seen by no one) ever existed? Pretty slim, I'd say. Might explain why no one has ever managed it. 5 Likes |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Kenerd: 11:14pm On Dec 18, 2017 |
joseph1013:I'll be an ingrate if I fail to acknowledge your efforts from time to time. 3 Likes |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:50pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
ARE YOU RELATED TO JESUS? References to Jesus' siblings are a little hazy in the Bible. The book suggests he had four younger brothers (James, Joseph, Simon & Judas) and an unspecified number of sisters. Of course, if Jesus was the bastard son of God, these siblings were only half brothers and sisters but they were born of his mother and would most likely have grown up knowing Jesus very well indeed. They must have noticed he was a uniquely special person. It is inconceivable that these siblings would have been unaware of the exploits of their older brother; his miracles, his disciples, his multitude of followers, his grisly death and subsequent resurrection. With at least six siblings and given family sizes in the first century, it would be reasonable to expect several thousand people would be able to trace their lineage back to Jesus' family after just a few generations. That would equate to many hundreds of thousands by today. Being related to God would be quite a talking point for any family so knowledge of this prestigious heritage must have passed from generation to generation with enormous pride. But here is the odd thing. It didn't happen. We don't see thousands of people claiming family ties to Jesus. In fact we don't see anyone making such claims. If Jesus was a real person, this is a great mystery. Just as it is a mystery that, despite the miracles, the public challenges to religious authorities and the huge following, not a single contemporary wrote a word about him and he left not the smallest shred of physical evidence of his existence. But if Jesus was a fictional character invented to launch a new religion, this is EXACTLY what we should expect. 11 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:06am On Dec 20, 2017 |
Olatunde Olayinka Ayinde I met a member of Winners' Chapel in Lagos. Fine girl with LLB, BL. Naturally our discussion got to religion. I asked her if it wouldn't be safer, saner and more sensible if the annual Shiloh programme was televised so that only those who live near Otta need travel to the camp while every other person coming from far places such cities in the North, Southeast and South south can watch the proceedings on TV. I reasoned further that this would reduce the volume of travellers on the road and consequently the number of accidents on the road. Miss LLB,BL said Papa had prayed that nobody coming for this Shiloh would be involved in accidents! So it is those who are not coming for Shiloh that would now be involved in accidents, right? She said no o, all she was saying was Shiloh participants would be spared. What happened to other road users was not her business! In fact, she was certain that continuing that conversation beyond that point would lead her to sin! Then it finally dawned on me. Miss LLB,BL may not be a bad person. She had just been indoctrinated to be narrow minded. The victims of such narrow mindedness are empathy, a sense of community and concern for the welfare of fellow men. 10 Likes 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:25pm On Dec 22, 2017 |
THE LEGACY OF JESUS CHRIST Jesus, if he ever lived, was a revolutionary. He preached love and forgiveness, the redistribution of wealth and equal respect for everyone regardless of gender or social standing. And he did this at a time when such ideas would have sounded profoundly outrageous and shocking. But his inspirational message came with strings attached. There were two monster strings. First you had to believe in the thoroughly evil, genocidal Jewish God and second you had to believe you will be subject to judgement when you die and, if you don't pass muster, you'll end up being tortured for ever. Perhaps, at that time, these strings were necessary. Creating a brand new god (or pronouncing there is no god) is fraught with dangers--it is always easier to modify what exists than invent something new from whole cloth. No doubt that is why Muhammad and Joseph Smith followed the same tried and tested formula hundreds/thousands of years later. The idea of an afterlife, in various forms, had been around for millennia by the time Jesus is said to have preached. It had become a deeply entrenched belief. Jesus refined it and turned it into an effective carrot and stick to encourage the superstitious people of the time to follow his new religion. In the end it was the strings and not the central message that had most impact on the world. The real legacy of Jesus is not his message of love and fellowship but the message of the hateful, jealous and vindictive Jewish God. From the Crusades through the Inquisitions to witch burning and suicide bombers, appeasing God and winning a place in Heaven have proved more enticing messages than loving our neighbours. Great pity and, if Jesus was real, this not what he would have hoped for. 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by vision03(m): 4:16pm On Dec 22, 2017 |
checkout this site --- the reason we are created. .mission of man on earth http://promaila..co.ke/2017/12/mission-of-man-on-earth.html?m=1 |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by nairanigger(m): 6:53pm On Dec 22, 2017 |
Nice article but I will not go as far as disputing the existence of God because it is just too evident to suggest otherwise. But let's leave that for another debate. First time I'm meeting a like mind, I believe in God but religion and holy books(generally)? Hell no! |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:07am On Dec 25, 2017 |
MERRY CHRISTMAS! Every Christmas, I repeat this post for the sake of the new readers. Long, but insightful. ![]() Whenever you say Jesus is the reason for the season, you need to be reminded of some historical facts. The history of Christmas is very long & tortuous but I'll try & present an abridged version here. Of course, I expect everybody to know that the origin of Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity but in case you didn't know, your ignorance should be cleared by the time you finish reading this. What you're about to read may be something you've never heard before. To start with, why December 25? The day Jesus was born (if he ever was born) is not known. That's strange! Almost all persons who have a wide impact on the world have known birthdays. The census reported in Luke (the one requiring Joseph & Mary to travel to Bethlehem) actually never took place and the story of an astronomical event ('Star in the East') reported in Matthew as to have happened around then is yet to be verified by scientists. There was a Roman pagan celebration of the birthday of Mythra, the Sun God. This celebration took place on December 25. When the Roman Emperors forced the whole world to become Christians ('Catholicism'), they needed to accommodate everybody into the church. One way of doing that was to inculcate some of their customs into the church. Since the Christians at that time associated Jesus with the 'Sun of Righteousness' mentioned in Malachi 4:2, Emperor Constantine drew a parallel between the two 'Suns' (Mythra, the pagan Sun & Jesus, the Christian Sun) and decreed that December 25 should be used to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. As an aside, every time you go to church on Sun-day morning, you're testifying to Mythra, the pagan Sun god. Before then, Jehovah was worshipped on Saturday while the Sun God was worshipped on Sun-day. Because of the implications on the religion, some early Christians didn't like the idea that Christmas was a pagan invention. So they invented an alternative theory. 1st century anonymous work said the world was created on March 28. Iraenus (a 1st century historian) plagiarized that & said Jesus must have been crucified on March 25 & if so, he equated the equinox (March 25) with the conception of Jesus. This made so many early Christians BELIEVE (what can't belief achieve?) that Mary must have been impregnated by the Holy Ghost on March 25. And if someone got pregnant on March 25, then she must have given birth on December 25, i.e., 9 months after. But this attempt is funny. How can you just base your belief on someone else's conjecture? And if the Son of God wasn't conceived through natural means, how are you sure that the pregnancy went the natural way of 9 months? Jesus could've spent 15 months or 3 months in her mother's womb: you can never know. The caroling was a Christian conversion of the pagan Koliada. The gift-giving spree is reminiscent of an earlier Roman pagan celebration of Saturnalia. The Yule (or Yuletide) is the name of an indigenous midwinter festival celebrated by ancient Germanic peoples. The Christmas tree is a direct importation of the pagan tree worship which was tied to the Thor god. Father Christmas & Santa Claus are fictional figures but even though the idea of the former predated the latter, they later became unified into a single personality. Santa Claus is the anglicized form of 'Sinterklass' which simply meant Saint Nicholas in Dutch. St. Nicholas was a Greek bishop who was noted for taking care of children and rewarding the well-behaved ones with gifts. Even though the St. Nicholas Day (a feast of giving in its own right) is still celebrated on December 6, the St. Nicholas concept (called 'Santa Claus') was superimposed on the preexisting Father Christmas as a means of further Christianizing a pagan celebration of December 25. All these pagan origins made a section of the 17th century church to frown on Christmas. In addition, they discovered that no saint celebrated their birthday in the Bible (in fact, Job & Jeremiah cursed their birthdays) and every birthday celebrated in the Bible (Pharaoh's in Genesis 40 & Herod's in Mark 6) was marred by an evil consequence. Called the 'Puritans' (an essentially reformationist Protestant movement), they campaigned against the pagan & unbiblical celebration called Christmas. In fact, they were the ones ruling the English Parliament & they outlawed Christmas for these reasons. As they were the colonial masters of America ('New England'), Christmas was similarly outlawed over there. Even though, political dynamics restored Christmas to Christianity later (18th century onwards), such puritan sects still exist today. Examples are the Jehovah Witnesses & the Deeper Life Bible Church who don't celebrate Christmas for the same reasons. But some of those Christian sects go to church on Sunday. As I said earlier, worshipping Jehovah on Sunday has exactly the same origin as celebrating Jesus' birth at Christmas: so why they have problems with Christmas & not Sunday services is still a mystery. Anyway, Christmas is now approaching the status it started from — a non-Christian significance. The progressive secularization of the festival is obvious in the songs: some are outright religious songs (e.g., 'Silent Night', 'Hark! The Herald Angel Sing') while others are purely secular (e.g., 'Jingle Bells', 'Days of Christmas'). There have been campaigns in the US to convert the greeting, 'Merry Xmas', to 'Happy Holidays'. The Philadelphia State outlawed Christmas carol in schools. Christmas is increasingly becoming more of a secular celebration than religious. Nigeria is one of many countries where Christmas is a public holiday. How that happened is well-represented in the picture above. I'm sure seeing that picture will make you love Xmas as an African. Enough said! And FYI, in case you think it's the whole world that's celebrating the 'born-in-a-manger' story, you need to read this. Christmas is NOT a public holiday in many countries like Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Comoros, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, & Yemen. Countries like Somalia & Brunei have even banned Christmas celebrations with anybody doing something as simple as wearing a Santa Claus hat to spend 5 years in jail. Of course, that's how intolerant Muslim-dominated countries can be to foreign ideologies compared to Christian-dominated countries. Countries like Japan, where Christians are a tiny minority, widely celebrate Christmas purely for the exotic cultural & secular significance. Thanks for your time Merry Xmas (sorry, Happy Holidays) to you all! [/b] 11 Likes 3 Shares |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:54am On Dec 27, 2017 |
WE ARE ALL IDIOTS SOMETIMES Sometimes atheists are rude when talking to theists. That is wrong and unnecessary, and I do not condone it. However, I understand it. The arguments theists use to justify their beliefs are typically so poor that the least thought reveals their flaws. But theists focus singlemindedly on defending their beliefs and not on rejecting failed arguments. That's why they miss fatal flaws. It is this that drives atheists to distraction--sometimes to the point of declaring the theist an idiot. I suspect the real reason atheists stoop so low is that they have been there. They were once theists and they have defended bad arguments. But once they stopped defending arguments and began challenging them, everything clicked into place and they soon realised how simple it is to see through the nonsense. I'll bet, at some point, almost every new atheist called themselves an idiot for not seeing the blindingly obvious. So there is no need for us to call theists idiots--when eventually their lights go on, they will do that for themselves. 9 Likes 4 Shares |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Elparaiso(m): 11:55am On Dec 27, 2017 |
joseph1013: ![]() ![]() TL;DR Theists are idiots |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 1:09pm On Dec 27, 2017 |
Elparaiso:Finally decided to find out what TL;DR means. LOL |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 1:10pm On Dec 27, 2017 |
Elparaiso:Finally decided to find out what TL;DR means. LOL |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Elparaiso(m): 3:08pm On Dec 27, 2017 |
joseph1013: LOL. That was a nice article. Thanks for the laugh too. |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:37pm On Dec 28, 2017 |
HOW DO WE GROUND MORALITY? Recently a theist asked me how we ground morality. He asked, "What is the standard that is seemingly absolute and universal? Theists propose God as the anchor. If you disagree, what is the grounding of objective morality?" Here is my answer. I agree there is a sense in which morality is absolute but no hypothetical supernatural being is required for this to be true. Think of morality as something we have to discover--in the same way that the speed of light is absolute, but we didn't know what it was until we discovered it. Morality references the effect of our behaviour on other humans (or other sentient beings). Actions that harm others are said to be immoral and those that benefit others (or do not harm them) are said to be moral or morally neutral. There are some actions that are clearly objectively immoral. For example, seizing a random person and lopping off his head is objectively immoral. But there are many things that are not so clear. For example, is it moral to fight a war to save people from genocide or is it moral to add fluoride to drinking water? There are hundreds of examples of moral dilemmas like this. There is also the problem of unintended consequences. Some behaviours may be intended to have beneficial consequences but turn out to do more harm than good. In reality, it is hard to find an objective answer to many moral questions because we don't have enough data, or enough computing power. This is why morality is something we have to learn. As a species, we have done quite well over the past 3,000 years. We've learnt a lot and, broadly, our laws, conventions and behaviours have hugely improved over this time (with a few exceptions). Interestingly, religions have a tendency to hold us back by claiming objective moral laws come from an Iron Age god and, therefore, cannot be changed--leaving us stuck with morality we have outgrown. Islam is the best example of this. Christianity was like this too for most of its existence but has become more flexible over the past 200 years or so. Since morality is something that has to be learned, it is crucial that we learn and change. We have changed but we still have room to improve. Religion just gets in the way. We need reason and science to make progress--not superstition. 7 Likes 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:59pm On Dec 29, 2017 |
WHAT IF? If there was a god and prayer worked, churches would be our most useful institutions. They could systematically rid the world of its problems: poverty, unemployment, hurricanes, wars, killer diseases, earthquakes, global warming, drought and much more. They would surely earn their tax-exempt status. Churches would deliver heaven on earth. They would transform the world for the better. We would live longer, healthier and happier lives. But none of these things happen. People in churches fervently pray and the world carries on regardless. Churches are an irrelevant sideshow to the real job of making a better world. But why are millions of people praying to get a spouse or a pay rise instead of praying to rid the world of malaria? Or is there no benevolent sky daddy helping his devoted children? 5 Likes 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 8:42pm On Dec 30, 2017 |
TIME TO GROW UP Humans have progressed to the stage where we can travel to the most distant place on Earth in less than a day. We can hold a conversation with people on the far side of the world. We can identify the components of atoms and we can study objects billions of light-years away. Yet still most of us continue to believe the stories our species invented in its infancy, when we understood little about our planet and less about the cosmos--a time when a day's travel would take you to the next village. We believe, in our billions, that the universe was made by an invisible man in a few days. We believe this despite near-certain evidence that it is not true. And we believe that when we die and our bodies decompose, we will be magically restored and will live forever. How long does it take for a species to grow up? 8 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:38pm On Dec 31, 2017 |
WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG? The what-if-you're-wrong argument is still regularly wheeled out by theists. We've all heard it--they say it costs nothing to believe and, if you're right, you stand to gain eternal benefits. But if you don't believe, you take the chance of eternal torture. Is it worth the risk? When I hear this argument, I ask how many ways are there to be wrong? If you are a protestant, you may be wrong because you are not a Catholic. If you are a Lutheran you may be wrong because you are not a Baptist. If you are a Christian you may be wrong because you are not a Muslim. If you believe in the God of Abraham, you may be wrong because you don't believe in Odin or any of several thousand other gods that may have prepared an unpleasant afterlife for you. With thousands of gods, tens of thousands of religions and denominations, the odds of anyone being right are a few hundred thousand to one. So a believer's odds of getting to heaven are barely better than mine. But there is another issue here. The issue of honesty. Theists often present this argument as the real reason they believe. So ask them if they will stop believing in their god now that they know their reason for believing is flawed. If they will not they are not only logically challenged, they are dishonest too. 4 Likes 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Elparaiso(m): 1:18pm On Dec 31, 2017 |
joseph1013: I love this paragraph because it reminds me of what I ask my Christian colleagues(We don't have Muslims at my place of work). "With all the rules and regulations governing the life of a Christian, would you still choose to be a Christian if the concept of hell was removed?" If there was no eternal punishment awaiting "unbelievers", would we still have "believers"? 1 Like |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by adepeter2027(m): 1:46pm On Dec 31, 2017 |
Elparaiso:lol So what was his/her response? |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Elparaiso(m): 1:54pm On Dec 31, 2017 |
adepeter2027: I've asked a lot of people and there have been two types of answers so far. 1. Person claims to have transcended the fear of hell and is now in a loving relationship with God. So without hell, they would remain in Christianity. You know, the BS you should expect from a typical BSer. 2. Silence or stuttering. These ones know the truth, they know they've been bound by something. 2 Likes |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by adepeter2027(m): 2:08pm On Dec 31, 2017 |
Elparaiso:Lol Funny set of people |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 3:21pm On Jan 01, 2018 |
Olajide Abiola HAPPY NEW YEAR, BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS ALIKE. BECAUSE AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, WE ARE ALL HUMANS WITH NEEDS AND WANTS. 3 Likes 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 7:10pm On Jan 07, 2018 |
Nwobodo Fortune Chukwuemeka There's something to be said for an Omniscient God credited with the words "And God regretted" twice. There's something to be said for a God who made man with freewill only to regret that freewill didn't make them do his will and then allegedly end that world to restart another one that seems very much like the one he ended all those years ago. Is this his third regret? Does the one who knows the end from the beginning still make mistakes and regret it subsequently like mortal men? What then is omniscience because right now, it doesn't sound so special... 6 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Elparaiso(m): 7:17pm On Jan 07, 2018 |
There is something to be said about how hilarious the introductory sentence is. ![]() I never really thought about it. |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by Nobody: 10:39pm On Jan 07, 2018 |
joseph1013: I wonder... |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:01pm On Jan 09, 2018 |
Nwobodo Fortune Chukwuemeka Of humans and common ancestors... The chimpanzee and man share a common ancestor from about 6 million years ago. The earliest ancestor for man that we have found fossil evidence of is called Ardi. Ardipithecus ramidus in full. Evidence shows she existed about 4 million years ago. Ardi is someway between a transition from ancient apes to modern man. The pelvis is better suited to tree climbing than walking, the cranium (brain) size is smaller (300ml vs 1500ml now) and the arm to body length is increased (for climbing). It also had a more ape like jaw (prognathism) than modern man. Over time, these features evolved and Ardi gave rise to Australopithecus afarensis, which we have fossil evidence of one called Lucy (fossil dated at 3 million years ago). Lucy is similar to Ardi in terms of features, just a bit closer in features to man than ape. (eg cranium / brain size of about 450g) Then after Lucy, we have hundreds of fossil bones we have found. So many different species of ancient man. The younger the fossils were, the less they looked like ancient apes and the more they looked like modern man. Like a gradual seamless transition. As recently as a million years ago, Homo habilis gave rise to Homo erectus and 200,000 years ago, Homo erectus gave rise to Homo sapiens (modern man), Denisovans, Neanderthalensis, Floresiensis and maybe even other species that we don't know existed yet because we simply haven't found fossil evidence of their existence yet. As recently as 50,000 years ago, at least 4 human species lived on earth. All other human species are extinct now though and all we have left of them are their bones in the form of fossils to tell us that they once lived on earth and parts of their DNA (especially neanderthals) infused in ours to show that they still live, somehow through us. It's beautiful to think that 1-4% of human DNA is Neanderthal DNA remains intertwined with ours, a souvenir we carry on from an extinct sub specie. When selection pressures create the urgent need, Homo sapiens may yet become another species. Until then, all we can do is sit back, relax and enjoy the wonder that is the diversity of evolution. 3 Likes 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 5:00am On Jan 11, 2018 |
HOW CAN ANYONE TAKE CHRISTIANITY SERIOUSLY? It boggles the mind. Christianity relies upon two bodies of scripture. The Old Testament and the New. Look at the Old Testament and you find God apparently orders raped virgin girls to marry their rapists. And God demands that unruly children, gay people and brides who do not bleed on their wedding night should be stoned to death. Move on to the New Testament and you find God promising that believers can drink poison without being harmed and can heal sick people just by laying their hands on them. It says whatever you pray for will be done for you and it tells us that long dead people got out of their graves and walked through the city... Really, how can grown men and women take this seriously? How can anyone read nonsense like this and say, "Yep, that's me. I'm a Christian"? Why is it not excruciatingly embarrassing to admit that? Please tell us. 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 9:14am On Jan 11, 2018 |
It's January again. Don't pay a dime to anyone in the name of first fruit offering. Take your money to the bank, open a savings account with it, and start saving. Every month, don't take your tithe to church, save it in that account. At the end of the year, if you so wish, collect your money. That's your capital for a new business venture. That's how "god blesses" people to start their own businesses. Receive freedom from bondage. Begin your journey to financial freedom and a chance to create your own wealth. Don't pay for another person's extravagant lifestyle, private jet, side chic allowance... Don't grow someone else's business. Start yours. Beautifully written by Olatunde Olayinka Ayinde 6 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: My Thoughts And Questions About Religion by joseph1013: 12:46pm On Jan 13, 2018 |
Olufunke Philips 3 years ago the #CharlieHebdo shooting happened in France and led to a lot of couched pro-terrorism comments and statements. I wrote this then and it is still relevant now. This week we mourn for our brothers and sisters lost in the Benue incidents, it grieves my heart to see human life reduced to a tussle about land, cows or even religious sanctity. When I was in Coventry, I had a housemate that was a British Muslim. His name was Tariq. This guy gave me the first Dan Brown book I read 'The Da Vinci Code'. I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn't wait to read the next book. After I read it, Tariq asked for my thoughts. I told him I enjoyed the book. He wanted to know if that was all I had to say about the book. I smiled and shrugged. He then went into a lengthy and one sided conversation about how messed up Christianity was. Jesus was a plonker, a self-servicer, blah, blah, blah. Did I not see how Dan Brown exposed all the lies the church brainwash their followers with? The Pope was occultic. Jesus was a mere mortal. I mean, dude was even shacking up with a hooker. After this diatribe, he asked me how I could still claim to be a christian after reading the book. I smiled and told him "It was a lovely book. Very vivid." And that was it. Fast forward to some weeks later. A group of us,Tariq inclusive were having a conversation about race and religion. My friend Dele made a remark about radical Muslims bombing people and the promise of virgins in paradise and Tariq flipped out. When I say flipped out, I actually mean went crazy. He got so upset and started cursing and swearing at us. He said we were animals. Infidels. Stupid. How could we dare talk about Islam. We didn't understand anything. We deserved to die for being so stupid. That's why the bombings won't stop. Until people learn to respect Islam, attacks won't stop. We were all fuckers and pigs etc etc etc. And he went up to his room slamming the door. For about five minutes after he left, nobody had moved an inch. That's how shocking the tirade was. You see, this was not a random person. This was our friend. Going crazy because someone said something about Muslim terrorists. ---------------------------------------------------------------- This is for the people that say "I'm not justifying the killings in France but they shouldn't have published......." Sorry to inform you but you ARE justifying it already with that 'BUT' in your statement. Nothing justifies it. Nothing. It's not like I wasn't pained when Tariq was ranting about Jesus and Christianity. I was. Very annoyed in fact. I just didn't let it show. But at no time did the thought cross my mind that he needed to be killed because he called Jesus a love-vendor. I didn't think of getting a gun and blowing his head off because he blasphemed about Christianity. Why didn't I? Because apart from being a Christian then,I am also a RATIONAL THINKING human being and my common sense trumps my feelings of attachment to a religion. You are not a normal person if at the back of your mind you think the Charlie Hebdo staff got what was coming to them. Check yourself, you might be a latent terrorist just waiting to explode. You have a right to your religion. They have freedom of speech. But above all, the right to live trumps all your religious bullshit. Especially in a country where it isn't a crime to blaspheme. There are countries where blasphemy is a crime. Relocate there and knock yourself out. Let normal people reside with normal people. Go and look for your kind. If you have zero chill and can't tolerate people talking smack about your god that you need to go to the extent of getting a gun and blowing their heads off, you need help. You are no different from Boko Haram. 18 Likes 11 Shares |
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