The Nigerian Christian Abuse the Holy Ghose Fire

(By Adesegun Damazio)

There's somethin about us Nigerian Christians that you can't help but ponder.
We represent a rare breed of hypocritical piety, spiritual respite and most of all, stellar reliance on God. Some have been conditioned to believe that everything good and bad could only have been from God. You hear stories of blood, corruption, violence, kidnapping, wars and still hear some Christians tell you it's the "will of God".

My goodness!

Yes! God asked some people to sell off millions of tonnes of dates (dabino) given to Nigeria by the Saudi Arabian government for the purpose of feeding the IDPs, God triggered armed robbers to shoot down the Zenith Bank branch in Owerri, God motivates ISIS and Boko Haram, it's God's will that you marry a man that beats and squeezes life out of you like tie and dye material.

Yes! God this and God that.

Sometimes, I just wonder what God thinks of us Nigerian Christians, especially when we beseech Him for the silliest and most unintelligent requests.

Killing in the Name of THEIR God

"...[W]ho kills for love of

god kills love, kills god,

Who kills in the name of

god leaves god

without a name..."

Wole Soyinka, Samarkand and Other Markets I Have Known

Religion Without God, by T. M. Luhrmann

THIS Christmas our family will go to church. The service is held in a beautiful old church in the charming town of Walpole, N.H., just over the border from Vermont. The Lord’s Prayer hangs on the wall behind the sanctuary. A lectern rises above the nave to let the pastor look down on his flock. The pews and the side stalls have the stern, pure lineaments suited to the Colonial congregation that once came to church to face God.

Except that this church is Unitarian. Unitarianism emerged in early modern Europe from those who rejected a Trinitarian theology in preference for the doctrine that God was one. By the 19th century, however, the Unitarian church had become a place for intellectuals who were skeptical of belief claims but who wanted to hang on to faith in some manner. Charles Darwin, for example, turned to Unitarians as he struggled with his growing doubt. My mother is the daughter of a Baptist pastor and the black sheep, theologically speaking, of her family. She wants to go to church, but she is not quite sure whether she wants God. The modern Unitarian Universalist Association’s statement of principles does not mention God at all.

Ebola Epidemic: Where are the Faith Healers in Africa?

As the governments of West Africa struggle to contain the spread of the Ebola virus, I am wondering where all the men and women of God who claim they can heal the sick and who conduct faith healing sessions in countries across the region are.

Where are all the continent’s miracle workers now that people desperately need healing; where are the anointed men and women of God now governments urgently need to contain the spread of Ebola? Where are all the pastors and preachers who have built their religious and business empires marketing miracle cure claims to gullible, ignorant desperate folks in cities and villages across Africa over the years? Have their miracle stocks suddenly gone dry? Or don’t they have any miracle package that is compatible with Ebola? What are our faith healers doing now? Can’t they singly or jointly take the spiritual battle against Ebola to affected communities and demonstrate to the world that their God is truly a miracle God?

Where are the T B Joshuas, David Oyedepos, Enoch Adeboyes, Kumuyis of this world and other anointed men and women who claim to be in direct communication with god in matters concerning healing? Why can’t T B Joshua travel down to Sierra Leone or Liberia and cast this ‘demon’ of Ebola into the Ocean once and for all? Why can’t the Nigerian government allow Ebola patients to come to the Synagogue in Lagos so that they can receive their healing from the quaking anointed hands of Prophet T B Joshua or be delivered by the most revered  Enoch Adeboye and David Oyedepo? 

Is There Life After Death?

Is There Life Beyond This One? (Part 1) by Rudolf Okonkwo

After taking off on March 2, 2004, over ten years ago, and travelling 6 billion kilometers, last month a European spacecraft called Rosetta orbited the nucleus of comet 67P otherwise called Churyumor Gerasimenko.

It was the first man-made object to essentially catch a comet, often referred to as the solar system’s most mysterious object. On November 11, 2014, a probe called Philae will self-eject from Rosetta and land on the comet. Philae will drill into the nucleus of the comet and perform tests, beaming the results to Rosetta for onward transmission to earth. In December 2015, the Rosetta, flying along with the comet will come close to the sun at a distance of 111 million miles. 

The data this Rosetta exploration will reveal will help us understand a little bit more about the history of the solar system. Scientists working on the Rosetta may even prove the theory that it was a comet that brought water and, consequently, life, on earth. They hope to answer nagging questions like: Are there other forms of life out there? If there are other forms of life could that change our beliefs and our perceptions of ourselves in this universe? If there are other forms of life in this vast and expanding universe, could that help us understand what form of life we will transform into after death?

"When God Is Not Enough," by Rudolf Okonkwo

In the middle of Lagos- Benin expressway, before the Ore junction, sits a rusty disabled car with a partially burnt-out engine. It has been there for weeks, abandoned by the owner and by the state. There is no light where the car rests, yet thieves have managed to visit at night and extract anything of value in the car. Meanwhile, at their home in FESTAC, a patriarch and his family are preparing to travel to Onitsha. They have packed their luggage and taken them into their Honda Pilot jeep. They pray for God to grant them safe trip. The parents speak in tongues and the children sing choruses. Their neighbors and friends come out and wish them journey mercies. As they drive, they play gospel music and sing more songs and praises. Near the site where the rusty car rests, the patriarch of the family swings the car to avoid a pothole. By the time he regains control of the car, he is face to face with the disabled car. The last thing that comes out of his mouth before the car slams into the abandoned car is, God.

Over two hundred years ago, the French used to attribute everything to God. They revered their leaders as people chosen by God. They worshiped their clergies as men anointed by the Almighty, even as evidence mounted that these men and women of privilege were ruining the lives of the poor French citizens. In a sporadic uprising, the French society yanked off the yoke of ignorance and subservience and kicked out the so-called men and women handpicked by God.

Is Religion Good or Bad?

Plenty of good things are done in the name of religion, and plenty of bad things too. But what is religion, exactly — is it good or bad, in and of itself? Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah offers a generous, surprising view.