When you examine some of the teachings of Christ, you will consequently be forced to believe that Christ was a radical

Nathan Uzorma Protus

Dear Prof, I recently developed interest in your column in The Sun newspaper. I was severely in pain from my waist to my thighs; the pain, however, resisted every medical prescription and treatment and I walked by bending due to the severe pain. As a result of this, I ordered your oil and applied same as you instructed, the good news is that I have been relieved of the pain as I no longer walk like that. My movement is easy now. Sir, carry on with the good work and remain blessed.”

– Mr. E.O. Ekpenyong, 08036145127

Please sir, publish this testimony but not with my contact. I was in business without having anything to show for it. My neighbour was using charms in getting all my customers to the extent that he openly confronted me over a little misunderstanding that he was going to send me out of business. The following day, as I opened my shop, I saw fresh blood on almost all my goods. Starting from that day, I began to see hell. I consulted so many spiritualists but none of them was able to help me. I went to a popular TV preacher here in Lagos, he gave me water and oil. I prayed as he instructed me but the problem continued. When I finally contacted you and ordered three bottles of your oil, and carried out the instructions, I saw the glory of God. I started seeing miracles around me. My customers that he hypnotized started patronizing me again. My goods no longer stay more than two weeks in my shop. Things have turned around for good and I am very glad to tell you this. God has blessed me and my neighbour that is responsible is having the same problem that brought me to you…God bless you sir.”

– Anonymous

When the prayer was not answered due to the fact that He was praying contrary to divine will and what was ordained of Him, “He prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat beams like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” Luke 22:42-44. As a natural man, He prayed expecting an answer from God but was disappointed at last hence He queried God while on the cross thus, “Father, why has thou forsaken me?” The question here appears to point to the very fact that He did not know why He was forsaken, which may imply that He may have had a secret agreement with the Supreme Father that at a point He was going to be assisted, maybe to escape the death.

Such agreement may have been responsible for the motivation He had. He expected that the agreement was to be kept but when He was disappointed, He consequently made an inquiry, which answer He did not immediately get. This is the drama of the Gods and we must learn to bear with it. I am merely applying mental logic here, His actions here smack of that of an “unwilling” redeemer. This is the result of his free will. Is the above action sinful? Think about it! Alivin Platinga, a great scholar of free will theodicy, in a sort of response to the argument put up by J.L. Mackie on the possibility of God using His supreme will to influence ones positive and negative actions, he argues that the reality of liberty is precisely the ability to do not only good, but also bad. It is evident hitherto that anyone who cannot do good, can also not do bad and vice versa.

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When you examine some of the teachings of Christ, you will consequently be forced to believe that Christ was a radical. Now hear Him, “…and whoever says to his brother, raca, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” Matt 5:22. Now, in Matt 15:28 Christ is quoted to have said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Christ here again called a fellow human a little dog. Christ, who spoke against cursing, practiced same in Matt 23. He officially disliked the socially and highly respected Jewish religious leaders, to the extent that every word He used on them was a curse, woe unto you blind leaders, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, etc.

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He called Cleopas and his friend “fools” on the road to Amaus, at the same time He called a particular rich man rejoicing over the yield of his farm product fool. How do you reconcile this with his injunction that “who ever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire”? Think about it!

Let it be emphasized here that I am not judging my Saviour but an attempt is made here to exhume the esoteric meanings of such exoteric expressions. Christ is perfect and whatever He did is here considered as a pointer to higher learning; but man has misunderstood him and has created the confusion that is in turn fighting us back.

It is this incomprehensible and undecodable personality that I (The Reformer) have profoundly accepted to exhume His human nature, to find fault is easy but to do better is usually difficulty. As a mortal, I stand very neutral to any allegation raised against Him, as the load I attempt to lift up here is certainly heavier than my shoulders, but merely touching it justifies why I am a scholar. I must at this point say without fear of contradiction that Christ is the Saviour of the world and that I am saved through His blood.

By this assertion, however, I have via my faith in Him escaped from the wrath of God which is to come. Therefore, if the process of arriving at what I may consider to be “error” does not justify your faith and belief, I do not deserve to be crucified; hence I am merely applying the principles of logic. There is a serious argument that Christ did not go to school yet no proper explanation has been given by theologians regarding the 18 lost years of Christ.

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When a woman caught in adultery was brought to him for proper execution of justice, the Bible reported that Christ wrote something on the ground, the art of writing depicts the mark of an educated person. Who then taught Christ the art of writing as a man? By whichever means He got the knowledge, justifies the principles of formal education, thus I affirm Christ was educated.

His reaction to the woman caught in adultery bamboozled them, He said, “let any of you who is without sin cast the first stone on her,” certainly this is a profound spiritual philosophy.

In our present-day society, a boy of 12 years of age is both finishing his primary school yet Christ at this age was found in the holy temple answering and asking advanced questions, he went to the extent of teaching the chief priest and doctors of the law. I want to infer here that the issues raised and debated upon were not only religious, but other branches of learning. In all of the branches of learning, our Lord, showed his unmistakable authority. I wish to note here that Jesus is the Savior of the world. He was a sinner who never sinned.

Yes, the Son of God became the son of man in order that the children of men might become the sons of God. Jesus became sin that we, his children, might be justified through his death on the cross. The Bible says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that we, being dead to sins, should live unto “righteousness…” I pet 2: 24.

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