Jesus declares clearly that he had come not to destroy but to fulfill the older books. Thus in Mathew we read :

" Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill . For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law , till all be fulfilled " (Mathew 5 :17- 18)

From this it is evident that the mission of Jesus was to restore the Mosaic teaching ,  but the New Testament as we have it today teaches that the Mosaic teachings we abrogated completely by Jesus. The teachings of Jesus must have been reproduction of the teaching of Moses ,except for what the Scribes and Pharisees had themselves added to it. But the New Testament seeks to correct not only what the Scribes and Pharisees had invented  but also what Moses and subsequent Prophets had taught in their time. This position is contradictory. One part of the New Testament teaches one thing , another part quotes another. When such a book contradicts itself in such a manner the book shall be presumed to be to various authors.

The books of the New Testament are said to have been dictated by the disciples of Jesus ,and we cannot say that the disciples were not sane. The great disciples of Prophets always possess a high degree of sanity. We must, therefore , conclude that the disciples did not dictate the writing of such a book .They talked as they went about. Those who heard them passed on the substance of what they heard to others. When these others sat down  to record what they had heard, they added many of their own thoughts. The result was the New Testament as we know it today , a bundle of contradictions.

Jesus Never formulated Articles of Faith

Jesus did not formulate any Articles of Faith. The attitude of the Christian teachers is that you must not question the teachings of the Church , but must simply have faith in the God of the Church ; to my mind , these teachings are more of mysterious. The Christian beliefs formulated by St. Paul are unreasonable and repugnant to the conscience of man, such beliefs cannot expect any reasonable allegiance from the advanced nations of the world  as it is a religion of primitive people. The whole of modern Christian doctrines was not formulated by Jesus, but by  St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans where he laid the foundation of modern Christian doctrines and based his exposition on the heathen practices of his days.

The first weakness of Christianity may be likened to when a  young man confronted with basic problems relating to reconciling of his every day affairs with the claim of religion.  Christianity is dualism which regards the world as sinful and seeks to turn its back to the reality of life projecting its hope into a future world. As a result , it creates a Sunday attitude towards religion which has no place in the rest of the secular week.

Therefore , Christianity based on the dogma formulated by the Fathers ceases to exist in the land of culture and advancement. These have treated man as a child and have fed men with many a credulity ; but when the child matures in intelligence and judgement , he begin to query things in the light of reason and culture. That is why education is alienating the human  mind from the Church.

In the matter of culture and civilisation , a few of the Nigerians who have wither seen the Western World from a distance or coloured lens owing to certain pre-conceived notions and an acute sense of insecurity have been taken by the artificial achievement glamour of the Western Civilisation. Some of them have been so overwhelmingly impressed by the West, that they look upon it as  the apogee of man's creative achievements and they erroneously conclude that these achievements are due to Christian Civilisation .  But , as a matter of fact, Christianity has  proved an irreconcilable enemy of human advancement. It crushed science as long as it had the power to do so and it would do the same today if the modern world allow it. The modern progress in the West should not be taken as man's faith in  the church dogma : the West should no progress as long as it was in the grip of Christianity .

It is opposed to new ways of human progress and persecuted those who sought after truth. Christianity is irreconcilable with modern ideas of democracy and equality of man and many of of the so-called Christian states practice racial pride and even the South African Apartheid policy is stated by the Dutch  Reformed Church as directly derived from the Biblical revelation. The doctrine of atonement that Adam fell a prey to sin  and punished the whole human race because of this means that God's  judgement cannot be satisfied  by any repentant act of men. Therefore , He decided that His son  should die on the Cross and then raised him the third day and took him into heaven. This doctrine of representative suffering or vicarious suffering  is repugnant to my sense of reasoning.

The Christian faith deals only with the spiritual side of life and offers no solution to the material side. For instance , it offers no solution to industrial relations, family life , nor does  it advocate any economic doctrine. Christianity has no social philosophy although there are some  Christians who call themselves Christian Socialist.

The message of Christianity is that the Law is a curse . If the Law is a curse , then all that it ordains or prohibits must also be a curse. Christianity no doubt preaches love , but Christian nations decline to act upon that teaching. If they had taken this teaching to heart, Europe  should have presented a spectacle of perfect peace and not one of constant  conflict  and wars. Christianity - having declared the Law to be a curse - cannot put forward any definite programme. For , whatever the programme , it will be a part of the Law and hence a curse. Its enforcement will bring no relief to mankind but will only increase their misery. Christian nations appear to believe that Divine Law,  however brief and simple is a curse. But laws made by man however complex are blessings. The result  is that for want of anything better , whatever a successful and dominant Christian nation strives after is described as the Christian ideal , whatever philosophy may at any time be in the ascendance is called Christian philosophy and whichever social system becomes prevalent or popular is called the Christian system. If at any time Great Britain is predominant . it is the victory of Christian Socialism . If Germany comes to the fore, it is also the victory of Christian  Socialism and if the United States of America wins the race for ascendancy , it  equally is the triumph of  Christian Socialism.

Thus , Christianity is the ally of the successful and the victorious , so that whatever system becomes prevalent ,it means  the spread of the Christian civilisation. At one time , for instance , the prohibition of divorce was a characteristic of Christianity. Today divorce is dearly prized among the protestant  nations. their faith is thus like a wax model which may be moulded into any desired shape ; there is no danger of its breaking apart. Christianity as a religion , therefore , never  had and never will have a programme for the welfare of mankind.

Its doctrine paralyze the intellect and it is based on mysteries and miracles. Its adherents must not question the teaching of the church but must accept the faith. In prayer , the Christian beg God through Jesus Christ to grant them worldly favours.

Christian Rituals

The rituals of Christianity varies from sect to sect .The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Church rituals are different from the Anglican Church rituals or the the Cherubim and Serphim Movement of Nigeria.

There are other sects, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Christian Science , the Rosicrucians and the Moral Rearmament whose rituals are fundamentally different from the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant.

The Church

For half a century after the death of Christ there was little organisation in the Christian Movement. The earliest converts saw no necessity for organisation ,for they regarded this world as a temporary thing which speedily and with the Second Coming of their Lord (Christ) . But Christ did not appear, and the Christians gradually had to adjust  themselves to the practical fact that since hundred s of years  might elapse before the Second Coming , it was essential to develop  a definite Church organisation. This led to the setting up of the present Modern Church.

The Rituals

The service of worship in the early churches was plain  and simple consisting of prayer , the reading of the scriptures, hymns  and preaching. Gradually , however , the service was transformed into beautiful and significant ceremony . The simple commemoration of the last supper became liturgical rite suffused with spiritual symbolism and central in the life of  the Church. The Mass and Baptism became an important sacrament of purification. Other elements added to the rituals were the generation of the Saints , Penance and Confession.

During early Christendom , the believer worshipped God and sought salvation mainly through his won efforts. Following the growth of Church organization and the crystallization of its dogmas , the Church now constitute the indispensable intermediary between God and man and the Pope claims that his pronouncements are infallible.

The Christian rituals consists of singing accompanied by other forms of music and the burning of incense especially  among the Catholics in order to create a sort of rapture in the mind.

Monasticism and Celibacy Way of Life to the Christian 

Christianity is rather un-worldly. Jesus Christ is reported have told the people :

" If a man come to me, and hate not his father ,and mother , and wife , and children, and brethren  and sisters yea , and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14 : 33)

Again

" Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all  that he hath, he cannot be my disciple". (Luke 14: 33)

" When a man told him that he would follow him but he should be, allowed to go and bury his dead father , Jesus said " Follow me ; and let the dead bury the dead " (Mathew 8 :22 )

He also said  :

" Think not of the morrow, for the morrow will take care of itself  'He even told his disciples to make themselves 'eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake ". Mathew 19 : 12()

The outcome of such teachings can only be disastrous to mankind and lead to the production of stunted and contorted hypocrites , instead of full - grown  human beings.

Islam keeps a healthy balance between this world and the next. It says that the spirit cannot grow by crushing the body. Human instincts are not intrinsically bad .They must not be killed but wisely controlled and channelled . This world has a meaning and purpose and it is only by leading a normal and fruitful life in the world and by appreciating and enjoying the beautiful gifts of God that man can move forward to the other world. Islam favours  the middle path . The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) declared that there was no mockery in Islam. The motto of Islam is summed up in the expression of the Qur'an :

" Our Lord , grant us well being in this world and well being in the  Hereafter. " (Holy Qur'an 2 : 201)

" And of the bounty of thy Lord on (thee) be thy discourse " .(Holy Qur'an  43: 11)

" And neglect  not thy portion of this world " (Holy Qur'an 28: 77 )

" Say; Who hath forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of God ,which He hath produced for His servants". (Holy Qur'an 7 : 32 )

While on the one hand Christianity favours monasticism , on the other, it nowhere seems to have prohibited the three gateways  to most crimes and sins -wine , gambling and improper display of physical attention. Wine , in fact , forms a necessary element of the Eucharist or the Holy Communion and the first miracle of Jesus as reported in St. John's Gospel , that Jesus converted water into wine.

It is Islam which totally prohibits and condemns these master evils.

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Source : "The Myth of  the Cross "

 (ICRA) 

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