WHAT IS TRUE RELIGION?

There is a worrisome phenomenon amongst the sons of Adam today especially in Nigeria, and that is true religion. What is religion? The meaning of this concept means differently to many people. To some, religion mens th worship of the Surpreme being, the author and finisher of all cretions Who demands faithfulness in service and worship. All mortals shall return to Him on the day of judgement.
He is God Almighty. While, others dispute His existence by arguing that universe is a product of evolution. May be this explains the divergent religious practices amongst mankind. So many things are considered as religious acts in Nigeria including killing anybody who differ with your faith. The killing and looting of the properties of any person of opposite faith is regarded as one of the highest
forms of religious obligations in contemporary society. Sometimes artifical crisis situations are created for hunting of the sons and daughters of mankind with ochestrated zeal and fanfare. Road blocks are mounted on the high ways where fellow human beings are compel to recite article of faith depending on the one in control, failure to comply, means the victim will be slaughter with shouting of "Allah wah akbar" or "In Jesus Name".

Or on the alternative, the house of a so called non believer is surrounded, the entire family is completely burnt down with innocent children crying in excruciating trauma to death under the supervision of a jubilating religious or ethnic army. Or under the watchful eyes of the victims their properties are looted, then their women and daughters raped to death by overzealous young men taking turns. While the men after all these atrocities may be slaughter one after the other. All these are celebrated acts considered as religious believing that it will catapult them automatically into eternity. The Muslims and Christians especially in Northern Nigeria cannot claim ignorance of these new short cut to paradise. Anybody who share contrary opinion to shading innocent blood and dare express such is considered an enemy worthy of death. Such Muslims will declare fatawah while the Christians call him enemy of Christ, un quote. Recently, a group of ethnic chauvinists on one of the indigenous social networks declared me an enemy of Plateau and by extension their christ and called on members of their group to raze down my house with my entire family because of my opinions and stand against organised injustice against fellow human beings.

This is how bad our new religious practices have gone. Personally, I have tested the goodness of Almighty God, having survived an ambushed by three men armed with AK-47, who rained bullets on my car, so many assassination and kidnapping attempts including exclusions and deprivations, Iam no longer afraid of death. I want to assure all that I will not leave this earth planet early than it is ordained by my God therefore no weapon fashion against me shall prosper. I will continue to fight against injustice, blood letting, criticise bad leadership, oppose inequality, campaign against corruption, preach and promote peaceful existence, resist religious and ethnic manipulations, above all continue to pray for a better society. If this is against your own religion then we may not have common grounds to meet even before God. 

Sincerely can we claim that what is happening has justification from the Holy Books? I have preoccupied myself with reading the Holy Bible and translated Quran and Hadith to discover the origin of these attrocities perpetuated in the name of religion but Iam yet to find one. Can anybody assist me with relevant verses from either the Bible or Quran to help me form a different opinion? What verse of the Holy Books support discrimination, nepotism, corruption, or even leadership failure? Who created Heaven and earth and everything that is in it? Who created the Muslims, Christians and traditionalist? My Bible told me that Almighty God created all these and finally created man in His image and likeness. And that all human beings are from common origin through Adam. Where do we find these new religious practices that preach hatred instead of love, kill fellow human beings instead of leading them to salvation, dispense injustice instead of justice, discriminates instead equity?    

Sadly, we have even indoctrinated our innocent children into these negative traditions which made them potential time landmines. Was this the original plan of God for man on earth? I seek to differ in answering this questions. As a Christian, I have a burden of carrying the cross of Christ, which requires me to love my neighbour like my self. While preaching, Our Lord Jesus Christ, said blessed are the peace makers for they shall be call children of God, but not blessed are those who kill others for they shall inherit the kingdom of God. The Holy Quran states that leave in peace with non muslims until they aggress you and seek to prevent you from doing your religion. When you declare jihad on non Muslims without justification who has stop you from practising your religion? In any case, is jihad self defence in Islamic jurisprudence or an attack? In my considered view jihad is self defence, when you are attacked and prevented from practicing your religion then the reaction may be a holy battle to regain religious freedom. Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, (peace be upon him) utilised jihad as a wepon of self defence against those who attcked Muslims or conspired against the religion. When he and his followers were forced out of Mecca to Medina on hijira, he declared jihad against them to established freedom of worship of true God. There were christians in Medina living under Islamic rule with their rights and privileges guaranteed. So where are we comming from with these destructive practices? Will killing of each others in the name of religion add value to the kingdom of God?

We have lost our sense of worship and fall victims to manipulations of politics. All these bad practices are political tendencies but not religion. It is politics that has rivalry, competition, hatred and get it at all cost as integral components in Nigeria. For God is Spirit and all those who worhip him must wohip him in truth and in spirit. No true belielieve in Almighty God will hate another human being.
Our worship places have been hijacked for worship of money, the rich dominates and dictates with questional wealth while the poor are mere servants of manipulations. Ethnicity is the vehicle of the crusade while corruption is the fuel driving the machine of hatred and extremism. No wonder, Karl Max argued that religion is the opium of the people.

We have done sufficient harm to ourslves, let reasoning prevail so that we can build a better society for the generations yet unborn. But if killing of each others, corruption, injustice, hatred, discrimination, looting, inequality etc is the religious practices, then I will remain the enemy of this so called Christianity and will prefer hell instead of their heaven. As a mortal, Iam not perfect but will die with my finger up against evil.
May God show us the way to true worship in Jesus Name. Amen.