CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

Many people like avoiding discussion on controversial issues in Christian forums quoting Paul's advice to Timothy  in 2Tim. 2:23-26. My view of this verse is that Paul was not telling Timothy to avoid argument but to avoid a particular type of argument which may not be of help to the listeners.
Paul expressly says:

"But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing THOSE THAT OPPOSE THEMSELVES; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." (II Timothy 2:23-26)

The distinction made here by Paul is that there are discussions that emanate from uninformed sources that do not have any biblical basis. Such discussions would be like those that come from people whose minds are already made and not ready to listen to a different thought. Such topics like water baptism, the Sabbath, tithes,the ordination of women, etc. are good but they are endless arguments if the people who start them have cemented presuppositions that are in their own denominational dogma. An SDA would call others who do not worship on Saturday devil worshipers if he/she belongs to such a group. A Branhamist would say that anyone who believes in the Trinity is lost.

However we should know that it is important for us to contend for the faith and give an answer to all those who ask us why and what we believe. When you hear a Christian leader say that he/she never respond to some argument because he/she considers those argument to be foolish, just know that the leader here has reached the point where he/she cannot sustain an argument and it also shows that the leader has run short of ideas. It also shows that the leader's reservoir for knowledge is depleted by lack of consistent reading of the word of God. It show that the leader is drinking from stagnant water. There is  Kiswahili saying that says Debe Shinda halaichi kutika" This means an empty tin container makes noise when touched because its empty.

Another analogy that would describe people who avoid argument or just make noise by calling those who question them as stupid or nonsensical, are those leaders who do not keep abreast with matters of theology and the bible in the light of what the Holy Spirit speaks to us now. A river that makes noise is shallow but the silent part of a river which is silent is DEEP . We have no excuse whatsoever top dismiss anyone who has a different view from ours. If we the truth then let US speak the truth in love.That is what Paul is saying in these words here

  but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing THOSE THAT OPPOSE THEMSELVES; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

So we should not shy away from arguement or debate unless truelly it is not beneficail to those who hear.
Paul

Baptism

Bro John, I appreciate your taking time and reading through my posts and responding accordingly. I assure you I am doing the same. I read everything you write and that is why I respond. However, most of what you responded to, you did it without doing e exegesis. How can you say that Mark 10 35ff is figurative when it clearly points to Jesus death as in Romans 6?
35 [m]James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” 36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 37 They said to Him, “[n]Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
 To be fair, how can you say that the word Baptism in Mark 10 is figurative while Jesus here speaks about His imminent death?  Please read and respond to that and tell us why Jesus promised his disciples to undergo another baptism different from the water baptism? Could you also tell us why Luke writes in Acts as follows,
 1 The first account I [a]composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had [b]by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To [c]these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 [d]Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for [e]what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [f]with the Holy Spirit [g]not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
 John I am sure you did hermeneutics, what do you make of conjunctions of contrast but in the above verse? I asked you to tell us the difference between the baptism of John and that of Jesus and you only said that John's Baptism was not Christian. If it wasn't Christian, why should we continue practicing it? The difference between these two kinds of baptisms is that one uses water as the agent and object into which a sinner is ritually cleansed as it was practiced in the Jewish Religion and stipulated in the Pentateuch. Water baptism just like the shedding of the blood of animals was coming to an end because the perfect baptism was here in the person of Jesus Christ whose blood washes us and cleanses us from all Sin. This is the gospel. Without this blood no one could be saved. Water had flowed in the Jordan river for centuries yet it had never cleansed anyone from sin. People were still sinning and were still under condemnation.

Now concerning water baptism, before the start of Jesus' Ministry, there was a forerunner, one who prepares the way for the Messiah, that was John The Baptist. His duties were;

1. to prepare the way for the Lord, he told people to repent
2. to herald the coming of the messiah the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.
 ²⁴ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. ²⁵ They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the ^[r]Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ John answered them saying, “I baptize ^[s]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. ²⁷ It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
3. to baptize in water and specifically to baptize Jesus.  
^{John 1: 19} This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not ^[q]the Christ.” ²¹ They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” ²³ He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
 
I asked you a question but you did not answer it correctly. You thought I ask questions because I do not know the answers so you asked me to look up them in the Greek lexicons. Any way, Why was Jesus Baptized yet He had no sin to repent? The answer to this question lies in the scripture; 
15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *permitted Him. What does all righteousness here mean? Sound hermeneutics demand that we interpret scripture grammatically. to fulfil all righteousness is part of Jesus' mission here on earth. The English word here All which is your mother tongue is an adjective of quantity and it means all, finality. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines this word as follows

a : the whole amount, quantity, or extent of <needed all the courage they had> <sat up all night> b : as much as possible <spoke in all seriousness>

2: every member or individual component of <all men will go> <all five children were present>

3: the whole number or sum of <all the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles>

ALL as and adjective qualifies the noun Righteousness which the Apostle Paul in Romans 5 describes as follows;

⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man; ^[d]though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified ^[e]by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved ^[f]by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, ^[g]but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

In the above scripture there is no mention of water. The Blood of Jesus is all sufficient. I do not need water to be justified and there is not even a remote reference to water here. Paul goes on to say thus about the Righteousness that Jesus went down to the Jordan to fulfill; 

 ¹⁷ For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

 ¹⁸ So then as through one transgression ^[m]there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness ^[n]there resulted justification of life to all men. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. ^{20 [o]}The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The righteousness that Jesus calls here ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS is this that Paul expounds on here. Scripture must be supported by scripture not Church History. Give us any other view of what this Righteousness is? Now to come back to Mathew 3: 11, one would ask, How did he do it? You said you like the OT, In the Old Testament, I prefer calling it the First Testament, a sheep or animal that was bound for sacrifice, was supposed to die on behalf of the sinner. This ritual started by the sinner placing his hands on the animals head to transfer his sins to the animal. The analogy I am building here is exactly what Jesus did when he went down there to be baptized by John yet he had no sin. At that point in time John wrote



 ²⁹ The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who ^[t]has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ³¹ I did not recognize ^[u]Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing ^[v]in water.” 3 Jesus was Baptized to FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. He took the sins of the world-He did not have sin yet he went to repent, whose sin was he going to repent? Your sin and mine. Why as the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. At this point Jesus assumes the role of the role of the High priest read Hebrews 5
 ¹ For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; ^{2 [a]}he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is ^[b]beset with weakness; ³ and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. ⁴ And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

 ⁵ So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

   “YOU ARE MY SON,
TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”;

 ⁶ just as He says also in another passage,

   “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER
ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” 

Jesus also assumes the role of the Lamb of God and takes up the sins of the world which would be upon him until He sheds His blood on the Cross to render death powerless and secure freedom for us by imputing His righteousness. This act is also a command to us. Jesus said we have to take up our Cross and follow him everyday. Why don't we walk with crosses? Don't you think that the taking up of the cross is more of obedience than just going to dip oneself in water?

Having  Th.M or a Th.D does not make anyone a better bible expositor. There are very many I know who now no longer believe in Jesus. Cornelius Stam was a good student of the bible and you did not show me any false teaching he wrote in his books. You only have a problem with the way he handles matters of water Baptism. There are many Christian denominations that do not baptize in water. The Salvation Army, The Friends (Quakers) AND EVEN the Catholics and Anglicans just sprinkle. Does this make them wrong or Right? The answer to this is, they are neither wrong nor right so long as they believe that the water washed their sins. We saved by Grace through Faith.

Now about being baptized into Moses, you said that this meant that the Israelites were made to follow Moses and believe in him through the cloud and the sea. That was correct, isn't that what Jesus instructed the Disciples? Make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? It more important to become part of the family of God by following God the Father the Son and The Holy Spirit just like the Israelites did with Moses. The Apostle captures this though in the following words from 1Cor.12 

¹² For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. ¹³ For ^[j]by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.  

 This is what the scripture says and Brother John, tell us if the scriptures I have tried to expound are heretical. Do not just say that because Christians have been practising water baptism from time long ago then it is mandatory for every believer to be baptized in water. I get baptized everyday in my house every morning and sometime in the evening.

The bottom line here is all the practices that preceded Jesus came to an end after the death of Jesus on the Cross. Water baptism was John's baptism meant for repentance but on the cross we get perfect redemption from sin. It is my prayer that you will see what God is speaking us now. If Martin Luther would have been contended with the way theology was being taught and practised in the Catholic Church, the issue of salvation by Grace through faith would not have been known.

Now you proudly say that this hyperdispensational teaching you hold was invented in America and Britain in the late 19th century, I'm just stating facts. I think my home country (USA) exports a lot of bad products to the rest of the world, including poor theology like hyperdispensationalism and the prosperity gospel. theology was made

You display arrogance and meaningless pride. What the Church in Africa now knows about God was not brought by Americans and the Europeans. Please know that African knew God. What did not know was how to read and write but when we knew how to, we read the bible and interpret it in the African context. Read Adeyemo, Okot P'bitek,Titie Tenou and John S Mbiti. You should also try and do some study on why there was a rise of  African Independent Churches. When all is said and done, you are my brother in the Lord. Let our discussion be fro the glory of God.

God bless you. If you are in Nairobi, I will make a point of meeting you so that we could touch ground. Our God is great.

What is the place of water Baptism today? A scriptural exposition

John Fredrick Evans,
I feel you are treating this issue as personal or an attack to your faith. Scripture as you, other Christian leaders and I know, must be interpreted accordingly and we should not read into scripture. Don't you feel that what you are saying is more sectarian? No one says water baptism is unchristian, what we are saying is that water baptism is not for us and it is not a command for us Christians. Water Baptism is not an act of obedience either because Jesus never asked us to get baptized in water. The fact that your wife feels that not being baptized in water is "unchristian", does not make it Christian because it is not. It was and still is a Jewish practice that ended with John the Baptists who was given that mandate while Jesus' Baptism was the baptism of fire and Spirit.Those Christians who had stuck to this Baptism as in Acts 19: 1were later shown the real Baptism.

 ¹ It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. ² He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether ^[a]there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” ⁴ Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized ^[b]in the name of the Lord Jesus.
It is evident that these people were not again taken into the water because the bible say here that by the laying on of hands, they were all baptized in the name of Jesus.

In addition to that, Baptism per Se, real baptism, that Jesus preached is contained in these verses here

Mark 10:38 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" and But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!

Jesus is talking about true spiritual baptism to be joined with him in his death and Resurrection and John you would agree with me here that the word Baptizo  translated to mean immerse does not in any way refer to water alone and here does not mean water and has nothing to do with water. I would like to say that from my own study of the Greek version of the bible, the word Baptizoβαπτίζω is from two Greek words βαπτω  meaning dip or dye  and  ζω,  ζω here being a short form of ζαω which translated means eternal life and therefore this results into a compound noun βαπτίζω meaning dip life or dip live like our English word dip fry. So if we are diplifed into Jesus, we become new creatures, the old has gone and behold everything is new.

If we take the picture of dying, when a piece of cloth has been dipped into the dye, it becomes or takes on the nature of or the characteristics of the dye in which it is dipped. Most clothes made from Cotton are white originally but when dyed they become blue or black or yellow depending on the colour of the dye. The analogy here is that when a sinner is DIPPED INTO LIFE who is Jesus Christ, he takes on the nature of Jesus Christ who now indwells him/her from the time of conversion to the end of time.

The problem with church History is that what particular people wanted the scripture to say, they went on straight and translated it to give their own opinion and not what the Bible say itself. These include Charles T. Russel of the Jehovah's Witnesses and may others. It has led to false practices (viz, sprinkling or christening, pouring or effusion), leaving the impression that people may have optional forms of "baptism." 

The "one baptism" of Eph. 4:5 refers to salvation the baptism that wrought by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit who is our Anointing. So linguistically the root meaning of the word is being dipped into the TRIUNE GOD, an action I do not know how it works because it has remained a mystery even one song writer wrote that he did not know how the Spirit convicts and leads men unto repentance". This is the one Baptism that saves. Whether an individual Christian finds water to be important for his/her life without having undergone this one baptism that saves, his/her effort has come to naught. Because the waters of the Jordan could not save all the sinners who went down there until Jesus Shed His blood on the Cross. It is not the ORDINANCES OF CHRISTIANITY THAT bring us together, it is what Paul wrote 

 ¹ Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, ³ being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

 ⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore ^[a]it says,

   “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES,
AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”

 ⁹ (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what ^[b]does it mean except that He also ^[c]had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) ¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the ^[d]saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the ^[e]knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature ^[f]which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ^{14 [g]}As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness ^[h]in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but ^[i]speaking the truth in love, ^[j]we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together ^[k]by what every joint supplies, according to the ^[l]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

The same thought flows in Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become [a]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [b]in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old [c]self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be [d]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is [e]freed from sin.
Definitely here there is no mention of water. I do not believe this baptism in into death here has anything to do with symbols or the so called outward signs you are talking about. The essence of being born again is what the bible calls baptism into Jesus Christ.
I would like to draw your attention to another scripture in the book of Acts you wrongly said supports water Baptism, in Acts 19: 1ff
1 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether [a]there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized [b]in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.

Here in the verses we have just read above, there is clear contrast of the two baptisms, the Baptism of John and the Baptism in the Name of Jesus. The former was in water for repentance while then later has faith in Jesus and being baptized in the name of Jesus. John please let us engage in this matter with sobriety and we should not allow our denominational prejudices or id·i·o·syn·cra·sies to influence the way we look at scripture.
I will respond to the issue of the Kingdom when I get your response. Thanks

why Jesus is the answer

Friends,

Following debate on Alsababu and the Islamic law, I am forced to reflect on the main reasons as why Jesus Came in the first place. The Sharia law is not new. It never started with Prophet Mohamed(s.a.w) because it was there in the Laws of Hammurabi and other ssimilar codes of law which were created in several nearby civilizations, including the earlier Mesopotamian examples of  Ur-Nammu's code, Laws of Eshnunna, and Code of Lipit-Ishtar, and the later Hittite code of laws. Special mention is the Ten commandments given to the Children Of Israel through Moses. One story in the Bible is about Achan retold by fightthegiant.com

The next morning, the Lord helped Joshua discover the guilty man by having the leader of each tribe come before Joshua. The Bible tells us, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23) The people came forward and it was discovered that the goods were in Achan’s tent. The Lord commanded that Achan and all that belonged to him be burned. So Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan, his sons and daughters, oxen, donkeys and all that belonged to him into a valley. The children of Israel stoned them and burned them with fire.

This and many other incidences show that men were killed or punished thoroughly when caught in a crime. Stealing, murder, rape etc have never stopped so the issue of saying that men are jailed for stealing horses but so that horses are not stolen does not hold water in this case. Jesus came in time in History and changed things- the law brought death but Jesus brings life. Once Jesus was asked what should be done to an adulterer, He never opposed the law but just said whoever has not sinned should be the first to throw the stone. None dared. When the woman came face to face with Jesus the Son of God,

Read for yourself

 ¹ But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, ⁴ they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” ⁶ They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. ⁷ But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. ¹⁰ Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, ^[a]Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

Jesus forgave the woman and a new dimension came in. If one sins, do not kill him/her, forgive. The person will sin no more but if you eye for an eye, sin will continue to persist and it continued even during the time of Jesus. But in Jesus, thieves like Zacheus and the one who was crucified with him forgiveness was granted by the merciful Jesus Son of the living God. He forgave sin because He was God.

Jagem and Abu, people do not steal because they are Hungry, people steal because of the sinful nature of the heart of man. Even in Sudan where they could not have food. People steal because of the sinful nature. Many friends on this forum will tell you they went to school with children from very rich families but still they could steal under wears. It was not because they lacked but because they led by their deceitful hearts. Jeremiah 17:

 ⁹ “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
¹⁰ “I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the ^[e]mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the ^[f]results of his deeds.
¹¹ “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in ^[g]the end he will be a fool.”

Therefore let the world know that it is only in Jesus that people cannot steal. Even when Hungry or in want. They will never steal.

Read the following from the Bible; where else would you find this about the source crime? read from this compilation of wonderful quotes from the bible about the so of sin

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.

Ecclesiastes 9:3 This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

Mark 7:20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 

 I am always happy to quote extensively from the bible than speak my own mind on such things as these. Let us know that the only place we can get Life, peace, forgiveness and love is in JESUS Christ of Nazareth The Son of God who does not treat us as we deserve. It is only in Christianity that we talk of grace. Where else? Nowhere, Religion does not give us life. It does not forgive us.

This is what Religion does to a hungry child according to Shariah law

http://www.google.co.ke/imgres?q=pictures+of+a+boy+stole+bread+and+his+arm+was+cut&u

So I appeal to those who have no hope to come to Jesus Christ who does not only give hope but transforms an individual and gives him/her life everlasting. I remember stealing food, maize corbs from people's shambas, breaking into people's cars in Eldoret, pickpocketing in Eldoret town, and most of my friends with whom I walked are now dead courtesy of the police Bonoko. If you want to proof what I am saying ask anyone who has lived in Eldoret Langas who knows me and they will tell you who I was. The greatest pickpockets in Eldoret were my Friends when I was a junior learning in primary School. Most of them Dead. Some were very dangerous that every end month they were arrested because they could cause havoc in Eldoret town If I were under Sharia Law, I would not be here now. But Jesus is Lord!!!!

Paul

I would like with the illumination by The Holy Spirit to attempt to answer the questions you raised here.

What is religion?
Your first question does not have a definite definition for there exists as many definitions as there are scholars of religion and theology in the world.Some have defined religion as a set beliefs in supernatural beings and practices associated with such beliefes. This kind of definitions stem from the pressuposition of the scholar who looks at the subject of religion from his/her perspective of being a member of one of the great religions of the world i.e Hinduism, Zoarastianism, Islam and others.
Like the Wikipedia defines it as

a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values.^[1] Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.

The above definition fits all the religions I have mentioned above and this is only those groups that qualify to be religions. Chritianity however falls short of this definition because it is not a religion. Christianity does not have cultural systems of its own because it was born in a culture and wherever Chritianity has gone as a faith, it has blended with the cultures rejecting all those cultures that are sinful and accepting those that are not. For example the chritianity practiced in Africa is different from that parcticed in Asia and Europe. Many local cultures were incooperated into it when they did not go against the Bible. The bible is always the yardstick used to measure which cultures are to be accepted or rejeceted. Circumcision was a practice among very many communities in Africa and the bible does not prohibit this practice.I will address this issue under a different topic.

Chritianity does not have belief systems per se; Athough the early church fathers penned down soeme creeds which tried to make the substance of our faith clear, it does not boil down to a set of beliefs. Belief in the existance of God, in Jesus Christ and in all that is contained in the aposltles' creed does not refer to a set of beliefs. Our belief is one; one faith, one Lord and one Baptism.

Another thing that sets Chritianity apart is that it does not derive morality ethics and religious law or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. Instead, a christian way of life and all that pertains to spirituality is from the Bible and the ever present Triune God in the person of the Holy Spirit. No other source can govern the life of the Christian above the two authorities I have mentioned above.

From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion, it is defined as

a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

The practice of religious  beliefs;ritualobservanceoffaith.

My preferd definition;religion is all efforts, practices, understandings,interpretations and beliefs that the human beings has put in the Pursuit of the supernatural or God. While Christianity is all that a Supernatural, Allknowing, omnicient, immutable and omnipotent God has done in pursuit of Man and His creation. In this definition, God takes the initiative of revealing Himself to man Hebrews 1: 1-5

¹ God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ^{2 [a]}in these last days has spoken to us ^[b]in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the ^[c]world. ^{3 [d]}And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and ^[e]upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

In religion no one dies for another, in Christianity many died for others startting with the first animal that died in Genesis 3:20-21 to provide clothing for the sinful naked man
 Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
The many sacrifices that started in the Garden, note that the skin must have come form an animal or animals and it is good who took the initive of shedding blood of the animal(s) to cover man's nakedness brought about by sin and this chain of redandant sacrifices were brought to a perfect end in the grand fianale of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ  on a Hill far away on a rugged cross at geographical location outside the city of Jerusalem called the place of the skull- or Golgotha.This single historical fact makes Chritianity unique.

Christianity does not possess any specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects, instead Christianity is based on the Bible and the triune God. Any church councils that sat and deliberated on contetious issues or issues that had been interpreted differently and seemed to bring disunity among believers were instituted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and they used the Bible as a yardstick. Any deliberations that are not backed by the 66 books of the Bible, are not accepted as beacons of doctrine and they remain dogmas of that particular denomination. An example of what I am saying here is, the Catholic Church has many practices and rituals that are dedicated to the worship of Mary the Mother of Jesus Christ. The rest of the Christian denominations do not accept this teaching so it becomes a Roman Catholic dogma practiced by Catholics only and this is not Christian but catholicism because it is not backed by scripture.

How is faith, belief and religion related?
Faith is also defined differently by different people, I personally prefer the biblical definition thus In Hebrews 11

¹ Now faith is the ^[a]assurance of things ^[b]hoped for, the ^[c]conviction of things not seen. ² For by it the men of old ^[d]gained approval.  ³ By faith we understand that the ^[e]worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. ⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying ^[f]about his gifts, and through ^[g]faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

The above definition is exclussive of what the world Religions have as to what faith entails. Here is where though someone is dead, he/she still speaks. This is unique to Christianity only.

How does spirituality and religiosity differ? What do they share?
Spirituality according to me refers to how an individual believer leads his/her life depending on the choices the individual has made in life. These choices include whether to get saved or not, whether to obey God's word in one's life, whether to surrender fully or partially to God's will and many others. On the other hand, Religiousity according to me refers to an individual's life style lived under religious code of conduct. This life is generally from without in that one is compelled by his/her religion to observe some things and the person may not have chosen to obey the rules. Such include the observance of special days, the ten commandments,not eating certain kinds of food, not touching some things etc.

Is there anything called African religion? If yes then what is it?
We do not have a single entity that can be referd to as "African religion" because given the definitions above, Africa is a vast continent with varied cultures and lifestyles that have been largely affected by the environment in which a particular community lives. We may rightly say as JS Mbiti rightly stated that we have African Religions and Philosophies. Among the people of Kenya for Example, the Maasai's belief system is not the same as that of the Luo's because the two communities, although both are nilotic, have two different culrures and beliefs concerning their origin,life after death,God, love and Marriage, morality and etc. This applies to all peoples of Africa.So when you talk about African Religion, you would be refering only to one of a type among the many.

Why do we say God of Israel for those who are Christians?

Most Chritians like to use this phrase and indeed it is a beloved phrase even for me because my Mom WHO GREATLY INFLUENCED me to make a choice of what I beleive in now, used whenever she paryed a deep paryer. She could start by, the God of Abraham, the God of Issaac the God of Jacob, the maker of heaven and Earth the creator of the Universe, These phrases have been used to single out The true God we worship because there are indeed many gods some with capital (God)letters and some with small (god) letters. The God of Islam is not the same God of Christianity, but there could be some relationship between the concept of God among African communities and that of the Bible. This is a topic that needs a deeper treatment. So to answer your Question, We say the God Israel meaning the God of Jacob, the one who delivered the Israelites from Bondage. This is to directly address the God of Christianity.
I hope I have answered your questions to the best of my knowledge. May God bless you as you continue to seek His face.
Paul