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In Quest For The True Worship( Periscoping Christianity)- Aare Oyefeso

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By Aare Kola Oyefeso

Today, we will be discussing Christianity and hope our Christian adherents are ready for the Truth which epitomizes the life and teachings of the Messiah who as He said, came to bear witness to the Truth.

Christianity is one religion that could be said without fear or favour to have introduced glamour,grandeur and flavour to the worship of God. Irrespective of whether one is a Christian or not, unless one is hard of hearing would he not be enthralled by Christian’s hyms, songs and all other embelishment that is making Christianity more attractive to the yuppies these days.

We call it embellishment because all these externalities were not in the grand design of the Messiah,who is not on record to have composed neither a hymn nor a song. The business of liberating our soul from this hellish world is far more serious than all the fantasies we have brought into religion.

One pastor had argued with me,the purpose of the hymns essentially is to avoid dozing off by the congregation in Church. But why wouldn’t they snore away, when most of the time in places of worship,we indulge in things that bear little of no relevance to the purpose of coming to worship.

Because of the pomp and pageantry that Christianity is reputed for,a good number opted for this religion in the quest for good social standing, beautiful wedding,colorful birthday celebration and other flimsy things like decent burial and all that.

The latter seems the most abysmal of all reasons of wanting to belong to a religion. When the Messiah said; Let the dead bury the dead in Matthew 8 vs 2I to the lady who told Jesus; Suffer me to go and bury my father and i will follow you. Neither the lady, the disciples nor the world understood the spiritual meaning of that eternal statement.

The Messiah was making it clear to us that only those who are spiritually dead should bother much about the dead. In other words, we have more important work to do towards the liberation of our soul than worrying about the dead. We should bury our deceased no doubt, but not with all the fantasies we have brought into it. Death itself is a solemn affair that reminds the living of their mortality. The Muslims are far better and worthy of emulation in the handling of their departed.

Perhaps,it is within purview to remind us that our body is both a vehicle of expression and a cage for the soul to transverse the earthly field. We are to imagine the position of a bird that has just been freed from its cage. This compares to when our soul is separated from the body at the so-called state of death. Which bird or soul would want to bother about a cage that has been used to imprison it all the while? No soul cares a hoot whatever is done to its body once it has left it. Cremate it, bury it, or use the cadvar to teach medical students, none of these matters to the soul. We hope to dwell further on this in future series.

Meanwhile, it is unquestionable that, in terms of ceremonial worship Christianity stands tall, head and shoulders above some of the religions around.

Christianity in this Country has different sects,such as the Catholics, Methodist,Anglican,as well as other denominations viz; The Redeem Church,Moutain of Fire, Four Square, Latter Rain,Day Star, House of this, House of that and numerous others. They all also have distinct features, but the concept remains the same. It is principally to make us true human beings and upon that, unite us with the Creator. I wouldn’t know of any religion that is set up for a different purpose. If there is,such of course wouldn’t qualify to be a religion.

We may not involve ourselves with the nitty gritty of the differences in the mode of worship of various religions,what is crucial is how far Christianity has remained within the teachings of the Messiah-Jesus Christ who remains and shall ever be, the pillar that sustains Christianity.

Christianity is woven around Jesus who ironically, did not as Prophet Mohammed did, give the world the ceremonial Christianity that has become the order of the day.

Because of this, there is a great difference,a fundamental difference at that, between the Christian religion of history; That is, institutional Christianity and the precepts and practices of Christ Himself.

In the modern Jesus of the Christian church, we find the idea of the imaginative Irenaeus, not the Adept of the Essenes, nor the matchless Reformer of Galilee. The Messiah pitifully is now disfigured under Plato-Philonean mask, not as the Truth bearer with which the disciples perceived Him on the Mount.

It is one of the saddest aspects of religions history that the original Jesus had to disappear into an ecclesiastical Icon.This was a Godsent whose message of Universal Love and Spirituality cannot be pigeonholed into any formalised religion.

Christianity as known and practiced today was not founded by Jesus Christ. It was formulated and given to the world by St. Paul, an educated Jew, who used to be Saul and antagonized Jesus all through the Messiah’s life time.

If Peter who was tacitly appointed by Jesus as His successor had given the world Christianity as Paul did, this religion would have been substantially different from what it is today. We would have had the pure teachings and not the admixture of Judaism and a tinge of the Messiah’s teachings, formulated by Paul.

We couldn’t have expected anything different from Paul, when research showed that he was schooled in the Hebrew law. He-as Saul was also an advanced Judaic scholar. All these might have influenced what Paul gave to the world as Christian Theology. His central idea was based upon the old Judaic system of sacrifice, and that itself has been handed down from time immemorial – a blood stream that has coloured all history

When Christianity as a new religion was founded and given out, it was a little more than allegorical metamorphosis of Judaism. Jesus was now made the sacrificial offering. The Lamb slain for the sin of the world. Thus: The real mission of Jesus, which was to lead his disciples to realize the kingdom of heaven within themselves (as the Messiah said the kingdom of God was at hand) was turned into an unintelligible mystery of God sacrificing His own begotten Son to Himself.

This stands logic on its head and it was a gross insult to the sublime idealism of Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Mankind that Jesus preached all through, even on the cross under a most excruciating pain.

The clean, noble gracious life, teachings and deeds of Jesus offered to the world something sui generis in nature. Regretfully, almost from the day of His departure, that His spiritual mission and teachings began to undergo the usual corruptions, misrepresentation and bastardisation. The Messiah was not understood even by His intimate disciples and later His very name was seized by a corrupt priesthood and utilized as an instrument of self-aggrandizement.

According to the most authentic sources, Jesus was a Jew,son of Mary and Joseph who was a member of the Essene Brotherhood. We cannot gloss over the immaculate conception. Every Christian must believe it although it doesn’t add and neither does it deprecate the Messiah especially His teachings, which have stood the test of time and because of its pristine nature shall ever be, being the TRUTH.

William Cullen Bryant once said; Truth though crushed to earth shall rise again.Were in not, the same priestly class particularly,the Roman Empire thorough its Procurator Pontius Pilate who with a feeble protest ordered the crucifixion of Jesus wouldn’t be recognizing Christianity 320 years after. By the year 380 AD, Emperor Theododius 1 of the same Roman Empire applied a stamp of authority on Christianity and made it the official state religion through the Theodosius Edict regarded as the Thessalonica- being the final word on the controversies within the earthly Churches of that era in Rome. What a great wonder!

One can go on and on the memory lane about Christianity, but the real interest should be in the teachings of the Messiah and for us to determine it by ourselves as to how well we are in tune with the Messiah’s precepts. On this, there are two basical things that exemplified the teachings of Jesus.

They are;

(1) The vital importance of Love without which there can be neither peace nor religion.

(2) The immanence of the Kingdom of God,which is to be found only within man himself.

Being of pure heart and noble purpose, impelled by great love,he at once set to work by healing the sick and preaching the good news of the presence of the Kingdom of God in all human beings

It is recorded that Jesus resurfaced about the age of 30, having disappeared from the record at the age of 12, after he met the Sages in Heliopolis. Investigation also revealed different heresies on the whereabouts of Jesus during those 18 whooping formative years of His, but it serves no purpose to indulge in unnecessary controversies, which help not our course, and neither diminish nor improve the status of the Messiah. Honey called by any name shall ever remain as sweet.

What helps our present cause is what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God is at hand. That the Kingdom of God is not a far-off thing to be realized only after death. Jesus also insisted that people should immediately depart from the ways of sins by loving one another.

But alas! His message was but poorly received and meagerly understood even by His direct disciples, much less the multitudes. They weren’t prepared for such lofty utopianism and refined perception. Least of all could they understand the main point in it; That the Kingdom of God was a present reality to be accessed while in flesh and blood.

This has always been the dilemma of mankind. Even today,among the so-called enlightened in the world,very few if at all,can grasp that sublime idea of entering the Kingdom of God alive.

Generally,we could imagine a heaven to which people may go after death,but when told we can pierce the dark veil and enter that kingdom now while in the body,in full possession of the senses,they hesitate. Most of the non-illumined often set such idea aside as an overwrought imagination

Yet, this is the very heart and soul of the teachings of the Messiah when He said; If you want to commune with your God, offer not repetitive prayers as the Pharisees do,but you enter thy innermost closet. What is entering the innermost closet beside TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION.?

We can not go straight into Transcendental Meditation without bringing out the core teachings of the Messiah. We will find them in His numerous parables which gracefully have been left intact perhaps because the hidden meanings were not. fully grasped.

We will be taking some of the Messiah’s teachings next week for us to imagine how much we are conforming or derailing. Thereafter, we will discuss Transcendental Meditation, which is only the True Worship in details.

 

Aare Kola Oyefeso, a Businessman writes from Lagos

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Fuel Subsidy Removal: FG, Labour Meeting Ends in Deadlock

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Talks between the Federal Government and organised labour over the removal of fuel subsidy ended in a deadlock on Wednesday as they failed to reach a consensus following the hike in petrol pump prices to over N700 from N195 per litre by oil marketers.

The hours-long meeting which was held at the Presidential Villa was to, among other things, prevent a labour crisis following the recent increase in the petrol pump price occasioned by the discontinuance of petroleum subsidy.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited said it had adjusted the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit to reflect the market realities. The agency, however, failed to state the new prices of petrol.

However, several retails outlets sold the product between 600 and N800 in Lagos, Abuja , Ogun and some other states.

The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, pointed out that the hike in the cost of PMS would trigger galloping inflation in the country, stressing that some outlets in the South-East were currently dispensing the product at N1,200/l.

Ukadike stated, “Once NNPCL retail stations have adjusted their pumps to reflect the new price, there is nothing you can do about it; that is the new price. As I speak with you, all of them are now selling at the new prices. The situation is so bad, that somewhere in Ebonyi State our members informed us that it is now N1,200/litre.

“We thought the President would remove the subsidy through a seamless means because the source of this petrol is the NNPCL. They are the ones subsidising petroleum products, they are the people who use their revenue to subsidise this product.’’

The IPMAN spokesperson expressed worry over the rate of increase in inflation and hardship that would come as a result of the latest hike in petrol price.

“This hike in petrol price will definitely lead to galloping inflation and will worsen the hardship already being faced by the Nigerian masses. It is not something to cheer about. It came as a surprise and in the coming days, we will see the very harsh ripple effects,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Ukadike has called on the Federal Government and the NNPCL to give other marketers the opportunity to start importing petrol in order to create competition in the sector.

“The NNPCL is importing and has not given people the opportunity to join them in importing so as to see whether private sector operators can import the product cheaper or not. So there is no competition. In a deregulated regime, there must be competition, everyone with capacity should be allowed to import,” the IPMAN official stated.

When asked whether other marketers could resume imports since the government had finally deregulated petrol prices, Ukadike replied, “Marketers can import, but let me tell you some of the factors militating against this. The first is that there won’t be availability of dollars.

“You will source your dollar from the parallel market and if you are not careful in doing this, and you go into the importation of petroleum products, you might not ‘come out of it alive’ at the end of the day.

“So what we are saying is that those advantages that NNPCL has, should be shared with other major importers of petroleum products. If it is through crude buy-back, they should let us know so that independent players such as IPMAN members can come together and be able to use it in the buy-back model.’’

He added, “For independent marketers, the most important thing is that there should be availability of petroleum products, and the government should open up the space for importers and investors to come in.”

NNPCL, the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria for several years running, confirmed the hike in petrol price in a statement and a new pricing template released to marketers nationwide.

But the move has sparked a groundswell of anger across the nation with the Nigeria Labour Congress demanding an immediate reversal of the decision.

The union also said it would hold an emergency meeting on Friday on the fuel price increase which had triggered hoarding and scarcity across the country with attendant rise in transport fares, goods and services.

The fuel price hike by the oil firm is coming 72 hours after President Bola Tinubu declared in his inaugural address on Monday that the subsidy regime had ended.

To pacify the growing anger over the situation, the FG hastily summoned some labour leaders to a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday evening.

The meeting had in attendance the NLC President, Joe Ajaero and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Festus Osifo, former NLC President and immediate past governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar, Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, and others, however, ended in a deadlock as the labour and government teams failed to reach a consensus.

Speaking at the end of the meeting, Joe Ajaero, said “As far as labour is concerned, we didn’t have a consensus in this meeting.”

He faulted the NNPCL over an official release published hours earlier reviewing the petrol pump price in its filling stations nationwide.

He said the move puts the labour unions in a difficult position on the negational table.

“That’s the principle of negotiation. You don’t put the partner, ask them to negotiate under gunpoint. The prayer of the NLC is that we go back to the status quo, negotiate, think of alternatives and all the effects and how to manage the effects this action is going to have on the people. If it is an action that must take off.

“The subsidy provision has been made up to the end of June. And before then, conscious people, labour management, and the government should be able to think of what will happen at the end of June. You don’t start it before the time,” Ajaero said.

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Breaking: Founder, DAAR Communications, Raymond Dokpesi is Dead

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By Eric Elezuo

The Founder of DAAR Communications, owners of the foremost radio and television stations in Nigeria, Raypower and African Independent Television (AIT), High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, is dead.

Reliable sources said the High Chief died while exercising on a treadmill on Monday afternoon.

The source said Dopkesi suffered a stroke some weeks ago.

Details soon…

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I Stand on Rule of Law, with Our Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, PDP, Says Dele Momodu

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By Eric Elezuo

Frontline journalist and Director of Strategic Communications of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Council in the just concluded Presidential election, Chief Dele Momodu, had said that he remains a loyal member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and will always stand on the side of rule of law, and with the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Momodu made the revelations in a statement he signed himself, noting that the last election, which brought Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to power, was savagely manipulated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He praised the steps Atiku, and the presidential candidate of the Labour candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, have taken in seeking legal redress.

The statement in details:

I STAND ON RULE OF LAW

My position on the state of our country NIGERIA is simple and straightforward. I’m a loyal member of PDP who owes absolute allegiance to Nigeria and its Rule of Law. My political party PDP and others passionately hold the view that the last Presidential election was savagely manipulated by the ruling party APC and the cases are already in courts. Nothing will make me abandon my party on the altar of convenience and profit. Win or lose, I will continue to stand on this principle without any malice or prejudice against those who think otherwise. Democracy is a game of choice and I’m resolutely standing by our candidate, the former Vice President ALHAJI ATIKU ABUBAKAR (GCON) who has taken the honorable and peaceful step of going to court to seek redress. This is the only way we can deepen our hard earned Democracy. Sacrifice is not always convenient but painful.

I salute and respect The Wazirin Adamawa and others like my dear friend and Brother, former Governor Peter Obi, the Labor Party Presidential candidate, for promoting the best tenets of Democracy in Nigeria and I’m willing to encourage them rather than discourage their onerous quests…

CHIEF DELE MOMODU

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