YES, I WATCHED THE INTERVIEW WITH DR ABEL DAMINA
First, I must confess that it's always a joyful thing for me to listen to people who are theologically sound. Their theological intelligence helps to boost my spiritual understanding. You can't argue doctrine with a person who understands theology. And that's because while you may only be able to provide physical proofs, he'd provide written proofs. And as long as you can't exactly provide a written proof, people can say your proofs were routed through another means that is not God, even though that's not true.
The dictionary defines theology as:
- An organized method of interpreting spiritual works and beliefs into practical form
- The study of God, a god, or gods; and of the truthfulness of religion in general.
While doctrine is defined as:
- A belief or tenet, especially about philosophical or theological matters.
This means that a theologian has taken time to study the bible and verified the truthfulness of what is written, and then he uses that truth as a basis for everything he does as touching that religion. Again, for this reason, a man who is only spiritually sound cannot win a debate against a man who is doctrinally sound. He may have signs and wonders to show, but not written proofs. I've watched alot of unnecessary debates between Dr Abel Damina and other preachers, and it's always centred around results and what is written.
Ofcourse, there's a balance to all of these, but neither parties have been "matured" enough to create the balance. For the record, it was a great interview and I learnt so much, except that he didn't balance some necessary points that were raised. Also, he missed opportunities to prove to the world that he's a spiritual man by delving into controversial matters in the way that he did. The way he spoke about Pastor Jerry and the NSPPD slogan would certain invite strife within the body of Christ. A spiritual man knows better to give a gentle answer in other to drive away strife. Ofcourse, I have no doubt that the podcast touched many lives across the globe, I was also touched, but imagine the many more that would have been touched if he was just silent about matters that could stir up conflict. Even when one of the hosts tried to explain what the slogan actually means to them, he still insisted that it was wrong. If I who is a human being understands what Pastor Jerry means by that statement, is it God that would not understand? Again, he should have been silent about that matter during that podcast.
I love how he spoke about diverse religions and why they exist, and particularly how we all serve one God. It made it so easy for other religions to finally accept Christ. The Muslim lady among the hosts was so touched by it, I literally sensed it from where I was watching from. I've even adopted that intelligence into my messages, thanks to Dr Abel Damina for that. It was at that same point that he talked about Jesus and God not being a Christian, the prophets were not Christians, neither was the early disciples. Christianity was a name coined by natural people in Antioch. They noticed the transformation in those who followed Christ and concluded that they were Christ-like, what we call Christians today. Those who believed in God where simply called believers, and that is still valid till today. Again, that made sense, and it would be a great tool for evangelism. The church isn't for "Christians", it's for those who believe in Jesus and wants to have a relationship with Him. So whether you choose to bear the name or not, I'm more interested in you having a relationship with Jesus.
If I'm to rate the interview, I'd score him 70%, because of the strife he created and the balance he didn't establish in some critical areas. Speaking of balance, when one of the hosts mentioned that those who practice some of the "acclaimed false doctrines" testify that they get results, Dr Abel Damina clearly said "Just because they got result doesn't mean they practiced the truth, and that we identify truth by truth not by result".
Let's think about, can a man receive anything if it wasn't given to him from above? No way! Moreover, in John 8:32, Jesus was very clear about the liberating power of truth when He said "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free". Truth would always liberate, and we'd all agree that liberation can only be confirmed when there is a result. Remember that Jesus also calls Himself The Truth, and according to scriptures, God validated Him by miracles, signs and wonders.
I totally understand what Dr Abel Damina was trying to do, but that's a matter he would have approached spiritually, not just theologically. If they got results, then there must be an explanation to it, and the explanation is still within the boundaries of scriptures.
I also noticed He was trying to finetune God, meanwhile, God is God, unquestionably so. If God killed people yet still declares that He's The Righteous One, you'd be wasting your time trying to define His righteousness to please man. A printer cannot ask a manufacturer while the laser in it was eliminated. Saying that God didn't approve the fire that Elijah called isn't correct, the bible already told us that God confirms the words of His servants and performs the counsel of His messengers. Elijah specifically said "If I be a man of God, let fire come down...". That means you can't talk about that matter without involving God. In fact, if you read through the scriptures, you'd discover that God doesn't joke with His servants. When God promised to send a prophet who would speak calmly to the children of Israel, He specifically warned them about the punishment that would come to them if they do not obey his words. Instead of attempting to make God appear as a nice and good God, just preach exactly what the Bible says about Him. You can't tell your Creator how to behave. Instead of advising Him, learn His ways and rest. God is love, and He's still love after flooding the earth.
A kingdom cannot be divided against itself. How is it that Elijah corporated with Satan to destroy people? Saying that a man of God can unknowingly corporate with Satan to do miracles in a church is not acceptable. I've heard rumors of how men use dark magic to run a church, but you can't compare that to a church where Jesus is honored and obviously glorified.
Speaking of tithes and other givings, I've since realized from scriptures that anything that is not done out of love and personal willingness is not love. The moment God begins to make demands of us, then He has become a tax Master, something that didn't exactly work for Him in the Old Testament. God wants a spiritual and truthful relationship now, and that's what Jesus came to show us. It is out of the beauty of our relationship with Him that we give, even our all. Dr Abel Damina was also correct when he talked about this, except that he presented it with strife instead of love. Let everything we do be done with love, without strife.
He said many other things that I hope to dissect in the following days, especially the part where he talked about God becoming Jesus. I'd touch that tomorrow, so watch this space.
I hope this has brought enlightenment to someone.
Remain ever blessed, in Jesus precious name!
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