Since yesterday, I have been inundated with messages from my beloved Muslim followers, who I appreciate so much, after I politely explained to one Abdulmallik Mohammed that Christians and Muslims must love and respect each other, but should never deceive each other that we worship the same God, because we do not. 

The simple reason is that Quran 17:111 says that God does not have a Son, meanwhile in Matthew 3:17, God Himself spoke from heaven and said “This (Christ) is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Since both statements are contradictory, it is very clear that the same God could not have inspired both statements, because God is not the Author of confusion.

I only wrote what I wrote because Abdulmallik wanted to compel me to say amen to an Islamic prayer, and I politely explained to him that I ONLY say amen to prayers in Christ’s Name, and he took offence. To all my Muslim followers and fans who took offence, I regret the offence, but I have no apologies to make.

We have to be careful in Nigeria about people who insist on religious compromise as a way of achieving peaceful religious coexistence. Once we water down our faiths to please our neighbour, our faith is no longer sacred. It becomes like fashion. Something that changes over time. We may end up with Chrislam, something that is neither Christianity or Islam. God forbid!

Galatians 1:8 says, “Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse!”

Every Christian who believes the popular line that Christians are worshipping the same God with Muslims, should meditate on the above verse. Both Scripture and the Quran do not ask us to FORGET our differences. Rather, they ask us to UNDERSTAND our differences. Harmony does not mean uniformity. It means that we agree to disagree without being disagreeable. 

Now, this does not mean that Muslims are bad. No. I know many Muslims who are better behaved than many Christians. I know Nigerian Christians would not like to hear what I am about to say, but my experience living in the North (Sokoto and Kebbi, where my late dad was a judge, and later a justice) is that Northern Nigerian Muslims tend to be more honest than Southern Nigerian Christians.

However, what I am saying is that Muslims have their religion and we have ours. We should not try to force our religion down their throats, and neither should we accept that their religion should be forced down our throats. 

For the avoidance of doubt, Christianity as a faith believes that Christ came to Earth physically, was killed, was resurrected by God, and is the Only Way to God, since He is the propitiation for the original sin of Adam. 

If you believe in another way, then I love you as a human being, because God loves all human beings. But please, don’t mistake my love for acceptance of your religion. To quote quran 2:256 (Al-Baqara), “There is no compulsion in religion”. 

Reno Omokri

 

Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.

Burna Boy And Rema Get 2020 MTV EMA Nominations 

MTV today announced nominations for the “2020 MTV EMAs, and Nigerian singers Burna Boy and Rema have been nominated for the Best African Act.

BET Awards 2020 winner and Grammy nominee, Burna Boy has once again been nominated in the Best African Act, a category he won in 2019. Other African singers in the category include, Master KG, Kabza de Small and DJ Maphorisa (South Africa), Sheebah (Uganda), Gaz Mawete (Democratic Republic of The Congo and Rema (Nigeria).

Commenting on the announcement, Monde Twala, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ViacomCBS Networks Africa, said “The 2020 MTV EMAs is one of the biggest entertainment stages in the world and this year’s African nominees are undoubtedly making their presence felt globally. This affirms our commitment to ensuring that we continue to celebrate our diverse talent on international platforms. Congratulations to all our African nominees on this achievement.”

Global star Burna Boy commenting on his nomination added, “A big thank you to my MTV family for nominating me again for this award and to my fans all over the world for listening to and supporting my music.“

On the international scene, Lady Gaga is in the lead with seven nods, including “Best Artist,” “Best Pop,” and “Best Video” for her duet with Ariana Grande, “Rain On Me,” which also secured a position in the “Best Song” and “Best Collaboration” categories. BTS and Justin Bieber each received five nods, within categories including “Biggest Fans” and “Best Pop.”

The nominations include three new categories: “Best Latin,” “Video for Good” and “Best Virtual Live.” The “Best Local Act” category returns, with nominations including: Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B for “Best US Act,” Justin Bieber and The Weeknd for “Best Canadian Act” and Dua Lipa for “Best UK & Ireland Act,” and more.

Marking the 27th edition of one of the biggest nights in global music, the “2020 MTV EMAs” will unite fans at home with the world’s hottest names in music. Details on performers and presenters will be announced soon.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/10/burna-boy-rema-others-bag-2020-mtv-ema-nominations/