doz ideas

While disagreeing with my article titled;  Slavery and Colonialism: the purpose of Christianity , a commentator pointed out that ‘Christianity existed way before British/American slave owners used it for their own twisted advantages.’

Ikenga - Igbo Deity I was born into a Christian family (Methodist) while my secondary education was at a Methodist college.  As you can see, I was brought up as a Methodist. Though my father practised Christianity it was not the religion of his father.  My grandfather practised Ome N’ala Igbo (Igbo traditional religion). Then, why didn’t my father and his generation follow the religion of their fathers?  The answer is simply that the British colonialists asked them not to.  The British brainwashed them into believing that any religion other than Christianity was and is still – idol worshipping.

Uncle :  NZE! Happy Father’s Day in advance! Papa :  What does that mean? Uncle :  A day Christians set aside to celebrate fathers.

Son : Papa; the way by which you worship your God can only be characterised as idol worshipping. Papa : How do you think we worship Chineke? Son : You worship your God by bowing down to idols.

Uncle : Chief; are you in the house? Papa : Please don't call me Chief. I am NZE .  Uncle : Oh! I thought they both mean title holders?

Uncle : But our Ome N'ala Igbo (Igbo Traditional Religion) is very similar to Judaism, the religion of the Jews. So, in some ways, IGBO must be related to the Jews.

PAPA : So what did Paul teach the Greeks about God that they didn’t already know? UNCLE : Please ask our Born Again, the Pastor, and the General Overseer…

SON : Papa; you know that I love you very much. You have done so much for me in this life that I will forever remain grateful. But there is one final favour that I need from you.

Africans and Igbo people of west Africa in particular, believe that Owls are satanic birds. The main reason why they have this belief, in my opinion, is because Owls operate at nights. Moreover, the sight of a bird that can turn its neck 270 degrees, can be very scary.

courtesy of iStock Every August is a period when the Igbo people (Nigeria) of West Africa have their most important celebration - the New Yam Festival, known as Iri-Ji or Ike-Ji in the Igbo language. Ji means Yam in English. And before the exploits of Christianity, the new yam festival was the “Christmas of Igbo people”.

Mark Twain wrote: “If you pick a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between dog and man.” It’s not only a dog that behaves in this manner. An African (Igbo) proverb states; that a fowl does not forget the man who plucked her feathers during the rainy season.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and president Buhari But The More We Pray The More Things Worsen In Africa When some people are asked to pray to God for their needs, and other people don’t pray to God for their needs, yet their needs are supplied, confirms the adage: "as you make your bed, so you must lie on it." The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, advised Christians in Nigeria to pray fervently for peaceful elections next year (2019). Mr Archbishop, in your country, United Kingdom (UK), do you pray fervently for peaceful elections? The answer is no. Then, why do you do think that prayer will guarantee peaceful elections in Nigeria when peaceful elections are conducted in the UK without prayers?

[Well] there are those verses even some of the most literal readers of the Bible ignore because they are just too inconvenient. Take Luke 18:22: "Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." No Christian will ever follow this injunction. It is too inconvenient.

The Face Of Christianity - Intimidation And Slavery When Donald Trump was elected president of the USA, many Christians in Africa, and particularly in Nigeria, saw in Trump the reincarnation of their Jesus. They started trumpeting how ‘the Donald’ has ordered that prayers must be said before official functions are carried out at the white house. How he has started early morning devotion at the white house; etc.

I briefly found myself in a Church after many years. And it was exactly at the time the Pastor was delivering his sermon. The pastor was a vibrant young man, his eloquence was remarkable. But what particularly drew my attention was the theme of his sermon – “putting the right peg in the right hole”. In summary, he argued that if you don’t do the right thing, don’t expect God to answer your prayers. In other words; “heaven helps those who help themselves”.

Forgive and Forget! We are often required to forgive our offenders and equally forget their injuries to us. Well, we can forgive and forget depending on the injury caused. If the body/flesh was injured, there is the possibility that we would forgive and forget if the injury was a genuine accident. Such as playground injuries or other injuries which were unintentional. The Mind tends to forget these types of injuries.

Matthew 15: 22-24 22. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23. Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24. He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Besides, "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." -John 1:11 From the above bible verses, it is perceptible that Jesus was sent for Israel. But the children of Israel rejected him.

It is my opinion that the payment of a tenth (tithe) or more is very essential in order to support charitable organizations, which include Churches, etc. But there must be accountability. Our society needs charities to complement governments in the provision of social amenities, and most especially in the care of the less privileged. For instance, I attended a secondary school that was set up by the Methodist Church. During that period, also, most of the schools in Nigeria were established by Churches, such as Catholic, Anglican, Baptist and etc.

Tithe plainly means tenth. “The tenth part of agricultural produce or personal income set apart as an offering to God or for works of mercy, or the same amount regarded as an obligation or tax for the support of the church, priesthood…” – Dictionary definition. Incidentally, Jesus was not recorded anywhere in the Bible to have paid tithes, neither did He collect tithes nor condemn tithing. Perhaps, the reason Jesus didn’t collect tithes was because he wasn’t a Levite. And maybe the reason he didn't condemn tithing was because he did not come to abolish the law of Moses - Matthew 5:17. Then, why do the present day Pastors, who claim to be following the footsteps of Jesus and themselves not Levites, collect tithes?

It was hurricane Harvey, followed by hurricane Irma, and on its way is hurricane Jose, all originating from Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Ocean is synonymous with transatlantic slave trade. The route African slaves were shipped to the Americas. We learnt from history that European slave traders threw into Atlantic Ocean those slaves who fell ill, and thus were weak to make the forced journey to the Americas.