YOUR VIEW: THE GLORY IN DIVERSTIY

Did you feel my topic? Like did you feelllll it? If you didn’t feel it, then try pronouncing out loud in your Preacher’s voice. I’m sure you felt it now. The topic sounds like something my church can come up with. I feel very creative right now!

Okay so, from my topic and intro, you should have already guessed what this post is about but if you still don’t know, it’s on RELIGION! A very serious thing in my country 🇳🇬.

I have no qualms with any religion. Honestly, I’m a very versatile person. I can adjust to literally anything. I watch/read any kind of genre; comedy, thriller, romance, biography, even horror (although my eyes would probably be roaming the room if I sense that something scary is about to happen), I listen to lots and lots of artists even those I don’t know 😂 (although Beyonce and Alicia Keys are my gs’ ), I watch any kind of movie; English, Indian, Korean etc. Honestly, as long as you have a good plot, you have really good stuff, you can make me laugh and you have fine faces I can look at, then I gat you! I can probably name a celebrity I have crushed on from every continent. Yes! It’s that bad. I really don’t care about race, skin, accent (I’d die for a British accent) or anything, just make me laugh! Wait! I’m leaving the topic. Sorry 🤪.

Okay, back to the main topic. Religion. So, our guests are going to tell us all about their religions based on my questions. I really wanted to get a Hinduist and a Buddhist but trust me, it wasn’t easy. Most of my friends are Christians, Catholics and Muslims but if you see this and you practice either Hinduism or Buddhism, pleaseeeeee contact me. Imma do another post specially for you!

INTRODUCING OUR BLOG GUESTS

We move…

1. What religion do you practice? Is it as a result of your parents?

O: I am a Christian. I was born into a Catholic home but right now I am a Catholic by choice.

F: I practice Christianity. I think at one point in our lives , we were all pushed into a particular religion by our parents not forcefully but we grew up with the religion and we followed them but now I’m a Christian because I want to be. My parents played a great role in me being a christian but I was able to know by myself why I am a Christian

M: Islam. No, it’s not, I have my conviction.

2. What do you think is the most fundamental aspect(s) of your religion?

F: The most fundamental aspect is knowing the religion and knowing why I practice the religion . It’s very important to know your purpose and understand what you are trying to achieve.

M: Profession of faith: Prayer, Alms, Fasting, Pilgrimage.

O: I would say Faith and Love. Faith in God who created us and Jesus his son who came to die for our sins. Love for God so we can obey his commandments and love our neighbors.

3. What do you think is the most unique aspect of your religion?

M: The mode of prayer.

O: I would say the resurrection of Jesus. We believe that Jesus( the son of God) came down to earth and died for our sins so we can be saved.

F: Simply put God is the most unique aspect of my religion.

4. What makes you a strong believer of your faith?

O: I am a strong believer because personally I have experienced the love of God in my life and I have felt the peace that comes with trusting completely in Him. I’ve been in situations where I know that it couldn’t have been me that made it work. And everyday I still feel that love growing in me. It’s an experience that no one can tell me not to believe it.

F: I have been through some things and God was there for me when I needed help the most. He got me through some tough situations and that builds my faith.

M: My belief in Allah as the one and only God, My belief in the angels, My belief in the holy books, My belief in the prophets, My belief in the day of judgement, My belief in predestination.

5. What are some of your religious traditions? Which do you favour most?

O: Some traditions are receiving Holy communion(which we believe is the Body and Blood of Christ), going for confession and Baptism. I favor receiving Holy communion because I believe it is a commandment from Jesus to do it in memory of him (He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.22.19.NLT)

F: Going to church on sundays, fasting and praying, baptism e.t.c . I favour going to church the most.

M: Praying five times daily, Alms giving, Fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, Pilgrimage to makkah, Most favoured one is “praying five times daily”.

6. What are some of the symbols of your religion and what do they symbolize?

F: I dont think my religion has symbols that they can be identified with like the Catholics and muslims.

M: Crescent and star: The crescent symbolises progress and the star symbolises light and knowledge.

O: The most common symbol is the crucifix. The crucifix is a cross with an image of Christ on it. The crucifix is the symbol of Christianity and reminds everyone of the death and resurrection of Christ. It serves as a reminder of God’s sacrifice of his only Son so that humanity may have salvation.

7. Does your religion provide a guide for your future path?

M: Yes it does.

O: Yes it does. The bible for instance is the best life guide for me. It has every thing to say for every situation, feeling, or emotion I’m going through and I hope to build my life on the words of the Scriptures.

F: Yes my religion provides a great path for my future because my religion taught be practical values and ways of doing particulat things in order to stay true to yourself and still reach your goal.

8. How does your faith handle societal issues such as premarital sex, intermarriage, teen pregnancy and divorce?

O: Honestly speaking. It frowns on them because they are against the commandments. They handle them with prayers and continuous teachings of the Bible expects from us as Christians.

F: It’s not something that’s supported generally but everyone deals with in their own way

M: Premarital sex is unlawful according to Islamic jurisprudence. Therefore, an individual that has four witnesses that testified and saw him/her committing the crime would be given 100 lashes.

• My answer to this would be a verse that clearly tackles the act from the holy Quran where almighty Allah said: “Do not marry idolatresses (al mushrikāt) till they believe; and certainly a believing maid is better than an idolatress even though she would please you; and do not marry idolaters (al Mushrikīn) till they believe (hata yūminū), and certainly a believing slave is better than an idolater, even though he would please you. These invite to the Fire, and Allah invites to the Garden and to forgiveness by His grace, and makes clear His revelations to mankind so that they may remember.”
• Teen pregnancy; the lady would be allowed to be delivered of the baby, would nuture the baby for two years, after which would face the consequence of fornication.
• Rape; this is unlawful in accordance to Islamic ruling. Therefore,the judgement for it is that, for an unmarried folk that commits it would be given 100 lashes while a married folk that commits it would be stoned to death.
• Divorce; According to the Quran, marriage is intended to be unbounded in time, as indicated by its characterization as a “firm bond” and by the rules governing divorce.The relationship between the spouses should ideally be based on love and important decisions concerning both spouses should be made by mutual consent. When marital harmony cannot be attained, the Quran allows and even advises the spouses to bring the marriage to an end, although this decision is not to be taken lightly, and the community is called upon to intervene by appointing arbiters from the two families to attempt a reconciliation.

9. Do you have any type of scripture or literature that you read and follow? When were they written?

F: Yes we do. The Bible. It was written around the 1200 BC.

M: The holy Quran.
It was verbally revealed by Allah to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril), gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death.

O: Yes, It is called The Bible and The Christian Bible has two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the original Hebrew Bible, the sacred scriptures of the Jewish faith, written at different times between about 1200 and 165 BC. The New Testament books were written by Christians in the first century AD.

10. Do you pray? If so, how do you pray?

M: Yes, I do pray.
I pray five times daily. Each prayer has the same mode that involves; standing, prostrating,bowing and finally sitting at the end.

O: Yes I pray. I am learning that prayer Is a personal conversation between you and God. It is an intimate thing and it’s about opening up your hearts and soul and letting God in to all your requests, thanksgivings and confessions. The Bible says pray at all times(1 Thessalonians.5:17) so I try to move past morning and evening prayers to praying at every single moment of the day. Prayer for me is now an ongoing continous inimate conversation with God. (So I’m praying right now lol).

F: I pray in different ways. You can kneel down or as you are going about your daily activities you can pray in your spirit. It’s something that can be done at any time and in any way.

11. What is your view on same sex marriages or homosexuals?

O: My personal view is that they should be accepted and treated with Love. Because just shouting at them and telling them that what they feel is wrong and they will go to hell is actually against Jesus’ teaching of love. With continuous prayers, acts of love, support and sharing of the gospel I feel they will also come to terms with the Scriptures and realize that that’s not what God wants for them. When you become born in Christ. The old passes away. You become a new creation. The only way to lead them to that new creation is through love not Judgment.

F: I dont support same sex marriage but I’m not homophobic. I dont hate gay people. People often think that because you dont support such, you hate the people and that’s not it. Not supporting it is different from hating the people involved

M: I personally don’t buy the idea of same sex marriage because aside from the fact that it’s not appropriate, sorry to say but I find it disgusting as well. Finally, the Almighty is the best of planners and he has designed humanity in the best of ways, it’s left to us not to become transgressors on any path we find ourselves.

12. How do you feel about other religions?

F: I feel everyone is entitled to their religion even though I practice my own I still respect others.

M: Just like my religion preaches peace in all spheres of life. To me is my religion and to every other person is to their religion. Therefore, I don’t hold anything against anyone practicing any other religion because I find myself blessed and I pray every other individual gets to be blessed just like me. All I can do right now is give thanks.

O: Every religion has their different beliefs and every religion and belief should be respected whether you are in agreement or not.

13. What do you think will happen to non-believers of your religion after death?

M: I would leave the fate of non-believers after death to Allah (The king of the day of judgement). I am in no position to think of what becomes of them after death.

F: Hell is a place of torment for unbelievers. The final place of eternal torment for unbelievers is the lake of fire but they will not be sent there by God until his final act of judgment known as the Great White Throne judgment. That will be a time of bodily, spiritual torment.

O: Honestly, all I know is that God is merciful and his ways are not our ways neither are his thoughts our thoughts. So whatever happens on that day. To God be the glory.

14. How does your religion conflict with science?

O: Since my religion is basically about faith in so many unexplainable things( creating a world out of nothing, walking on water, parting a sea, raising the dead back to life, eating bread but believing it is actually the body of Christ and so many moreee), Scientists must think are stupid 😂. There are so many theories that have come up on how the world was created and explanations for turning water into wine and so many more. But that’s all: theories and explanations. They haven’t been able to create a living person because they can’t. It’s unexplainable. It’s beyond human understanding and it’s wonderful. Scientists still don’t get that.

F: There are a lot of unanswered things when it comes to this particular question. All I know is that I will continue to stand by what I believe.

M: Islam agrees that doing science is an act of religious merit, even a collective duty of the Muslim community. There are around 750 verses in the Quran dealing with natural phenomena. Many verses of the Quran ask mankind to study nature, and this has been interpreted to mean an encouragement for scientific inquiry,and the investigation of the truth. Therefore, there is no inherent conflict between Islam and science.

15. Do you feel being religious and spiritual is different?

F: Being religious is relating or believing in a religion and being spiritual is relating to a religious belief so you I dont think there is much difference . Your religion can be different but it will still be backed up by your spirituality.

M: yeah,in my opinion they’re two different things.Though there is a common relationship between religiosity and spirituality as a means or relationship channels between the human and the Divine. But both do not lead necessarily to the Divine. The value of religion gets its illumination to show us that we are not perfect beings and we need a Savior. By against spirituality sheds light on the world of the mind because the human being is not only material but also has a mind and a soul. We realize that the spiritual world exists. It is for this reason that the essence of religion reconciles man belongs to the physical world with the spirit world. Thus spirituality is a bridge between these two worlds.

O: Yes I do. Being spiritually strong is something we should all strive for. For instance since the beginning of this lockdown we haven’t been able to go to church but is that supposed to reduce our faith? No. Because it’s a personal thing. But religious people that don’t understand that God is in them and they are the church not the brick and motar church will have a problem. But people that are spiritual and understand that God is always present in us anywhere, anyday, anytime won’t have a problem with their spiritual life. It’s not just by obeying laws and going to church.It’s personal faith and belief.

16. People invest time and energy into developing their career, their bodies and relationships but often neglect the spiritual part of their lives. How do you actively pursue spiritual growth?

M: This is an interesting one because honestly I haven’t attained piety. Therefore,what I do to pursue spiritual growth are;I listen to religious lectures by learned religious leaders, I meditate a lot, I interact with people of different faith. Most importantly, I pray to the almighty to keep me on the right path, guide my steps and shouldn’t let me go astray.

F: I try to make sure that in what ever I do, I remember my religion and what it has shaped me to be. I make sure to do what is expected of me as a Christian and that includes drawing nearer to who I believe in by praying, reading my bible , evangelism and other things that are expected of me.

O: Well first you have to pray to God to guide you in your journey and give you strength and hunger to want to continuously grow spiritually because you can’t do it by human might. Then consistency is extremely important. Even if it’s just an hour everyday that you set aside for your growth. You have to consistently look forward to that hour and gradually with the spirit leadings the hours will grow. You have to pray for the holy spirit to teach you and lead you all the way because he is the spirit of truth and he is our helper.

That’s it guyssss, I hope you learnt something. I definitely did, I’m hearing some of these stuff for the first time! There is glory in serving one God in diverse and beautiful ways.

If you want to get to know the guests better, their social media handles are down below⬇️

Odufa- IG: @dufah_
SC: @odufah

Fola- IG – @mikunnn.m
SC – @fmafe12
Twitter- @fola_mafe

Muhammad- Instagram : @kcvlb_
Twitter : @jibolaamida.

I really really hope you enjoyed it! See you whenever ❤️