A Pictorial Tribute to late President Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi

5th April, 2012 shall be a day that shall have an indelible mark to many Malawians including myself. It was the day that the President of Malawi, Professor Bingu wa Mutharika died. Personally, I felt the sadness that I have never felt before when I learned that the President had collapsed at around 11.15am the same day. It was a shock to many!

It is thus with that sadness that I present this pictorial tribute in honour of the late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika. As any person born through Adam, any human (including you and me) have weaknesses but nevertheless Bingu wa Mutharika shall remain a hero to me and indeed will be remembered as a great son of Africa. There are several reasons why Bingu shall always remain a hero to me and I guess even to other Malawians and Africans in general.

I find the life of Bingu wa Mutharika as a President (from 2004-2012) to be very inspiring. Bingu wa Mutharika inculcated in Malawians the spirit of self-sufficiency and self-confidence. This he demonstrated through the so many development projects that he initiated in the spirit of having a Malawi that is not perpetually donor dependent. His argument has always been that Malawi has been 'independent' from colonialism since 1964 (2012 marks 48 years of 'independence'). However, Malawi has perpetually remained one of the poorest countries in the world yet Malawi is rich in several natural resources such as fertile land, fresh water and indeed untapped mineral resources.

It is against this background that the late President always promoted home-grown policies as a way of taking Malawi out of the quagmire of poverty. He thus initiated several tangible development projects that saw poverty levels decline from 60% in 2004 to 40% in 2010. I now present some pictures capturing some of the development projects initiated by the Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika through his 'home-grown policies':






Coupled with good rains, Malawi has witnessed a highly successful fertilizer subsidy programme from 2004 that has made Malawi food-sufficient.





By creating diplomatic relations with China under Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawi has witnessed tangible Chinese funded development projects including the magnificent Parliament Building in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi




After waiting for over 40 years, the people of the 'remote' district of Chitipa finally are also now having a tarmac road courtesy of Bingu's development agenda.









The Malawi University of Science and Technology now under construction is also brainchild of the late Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika.




Late Bingu wa Mutharika demystified the myth that Malawi had no mineral resources. Kayelekera uranium mine, opened during the Bingu's presidency, was the first significant international mining investment in Malawi

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Malawians - are you tired of computer viruses?

Fellow Malawians!

Are you tired of computer viruses on your computer? Its time to make a switch to Ubuntu Linux, a free and open source operating system that can completely change your computing experience:

1. Ubuntu Linux is free (no need to buy it or use pirated ('stolen' software)).


2. Ubuntu Linux is user-friendly just as Microsoft Windows.


3. You 'forget' about computer viruses when you use Ubuntu Linux.


4. Malawi as a country in general can save a lot of the much needed forex if people can switch to Linux (its free software and no need to buy expensive anti-viruses which unnecessarily increases our already bloated import bill)


5. Companies and other institutions can substantially save on their IT budget if they can switch to Ubuntu Linux (its free software and no need to buy expensive anti-viruses)


6. Installation is easy and you can do side by side installation with Microsoft Windows so that you can try Ubuntu Linux while still having your Microsoft Windows intact.

You can get your free copy of Ubuntu Linux (in Blantyre) by calling on 01988998, 0991451553, 0884188893, 0999111736, 0888585707. You may also contact any member of the Blantyre Free and Open Source Users group - http://groups.google.com/group/blantyrefossusers

Also feel free to share your copy of Ubuntu Linux with all. Its not illegal to do so because this is free and open source software.

Please help to spread this word by letting as many people as possible to know about this.

Yours in Service,

Bennett

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 3)

I remain convinced that Scripture says that there is one God, the Father (1 Cor 8:6, John 17:3, 1 John 5:20) and Jesus is the Son of God (John 3:16, Col 1:1-20, Hebrews 1:1-9, etc). Jesus has a God whom He said is the “only true God” – John 17:3

I find the key to understanding this, is simply understanding the word “Elohim” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim) in Hebrew or “Theos” in Greek from which the English word “God” is translated from.
This crumbles the “trinity puzzle”.

I find what the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist church believed in to be biblical based. In my opinion, their views of who God is, were scriptural. I have done extensive search of scripture and so far I have found the Bible to be not contradictory. (If the Bible were a computer program, I could say that it runs perfectly with neither compile-time nor run-time errors.). As such, I can confidently say that I am a non-trinitarian seventh-day Adventist just as the founders of the seventh-day Adventist church were. The shift in our beliefs came not because of “new light” but because of other reasons which history
documents very well.

It is always well documented that in 325AD the Trinity was formulated by the Nicene Council and in 364AD the Council of Laodicea changed the Sabbath to Sunday in honour of the “holy Trinity”- The Douay Catholic Catechism of 1649 http://biblelight.net/DouayCat.htm page 143
states

“Q. What is Sunday, or the Lord's Day in general?
A. It is a day dedicated by the Apostles to the honour of the most holy Trinity, and in memory that Christ our Lord arose from the dead upon Sunday, sent down the holy Ghost on a Sunday, &c. and therefore is called the Lord's Day. It is also called Sunday from the old Roman denomination of Dies Solis, the day of the sun, to which it was sacred.”

In short, I do not believe in the trinity because I find no scriptural basis for this doctrine and historical evidence shows how it was formulated by a council of men in 325 AD Firstly, I believe that all ‘new knowledge’ has to be tried and tested if it conforms to what Scripture alone says (“Sola Scriptura”). And personally, I find the trinity doctrine not conforming to scripture.

It is a historical fact that the verse 1 John 5:7 is controversial. One can read more about this verse on many websites such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma_Johanneum: And I quote

“In translations containing the clause, such as the King James Version, 1 John 5:7–8 reads as follows
(with the Comma in bold print):
5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and thesethree agree in one."

”The resulting passage is often viewed as an explicit reference to the Trinity of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It does not appear in the older Greek manuscripts, nor in the passage as quoted by many of the early Church Fathers. The words apparently crept into the Latin text of the New Testament during the Early Middle Ages, "[possibly] as one of those medieval glosses but were then written into the text itself by a careless copyist. Erasmus omitted them from his first edition; but when a storm of protest arose because the omission seemed to threaten the doctrine of the Trinity, he put them back in the third and later editions, whence they also came into the Textus Receptus, 'the received text'."” {end quote}

You may also read more on http://www.kjv-only.com/doug/1john5_7.html on how this verse was sneaked into Scripture.

Revelation 22:18 warns us

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:”

Historical evidence is there on how people have vainly tried to add to scripture, however we thank God that all this is quite exposed.

In my opinion, we are have different understandings when we say “Jesus is God”. For me, when I say Jesus is God, I mean he is God in nature (Phil 2:6), being the Son of God and it pleased the Father that all his fullness should dwell on him (Col. 1:17). The Bible is consistent that the Father is greater than Jesus our Lord. And the Father is the only true God (“God the Person whose name is Yahweh”). In fact, it is our Lord Jesus in John 17:3 that proclaims that and this is eternal life. We also know that the Father, who is true God is also the God of our Lord Jesus (Rev 3:12).
Unlike the Father, our Lord Jesus does not know some things. For example, our Lord Jesus does not know when the “last day” will be. To quote Mark 12:32 and Matthew 24:36, notice what our Lord Jesus
says:

“But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son,
but the Father.”

“But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

So I should guess, unless our Lord Jesus was lying (which I certainly believe cannot be the case). So the “all knowing attribute” does not hold. I hope the trinity doctrine still holds on this. There are some things only the Father knows and Jesus said the Father is the only true God. I will say once again, the key to understanding the word “God” is by simply understanding the Hebrew word “Elohim” or the Greek word “Theos” . By saying that the Father is the only true God (John 17:3, 1 Cor 8:6, 1 John 5:20), that does not mean that Jesus is a “false God”, after all Jesus never said that He is God. If anything he always said that He is the Son of God. Remember what he said to Peter. Remember also how Satan tempted him – “If you are the Son of God…?.
Colossians 1:16

“16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created THROUGH him and for him.”

Notice that God created the worlds THROUGH Jesus. Paul emphasizes again this point in Hebrews 1:1-2

“1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and THROUGH whom he made the universe.”

I hope we all get the meaning of “THROUGH”. In short God created the worlds THROUGH Jesus, our Lord. No one disputes that. Even John 1:3 says

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”.

Notice again “THROUGH”.

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 2)

Firstly, I take note that it seems that the trinity doctrine is formulated to find a spatial hierarchy between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So many a time, I am asked “where do I place Jesus and the Holy Spirit”. In my opinion, a doctrine should not be about placing what or where. Rather, it should be about what the Bible says and most importantly, what our Lord Jesus said about himself, God, angels etc

Secondly, I would like to specifically respond to some verses which some claim that they support trinity and how I understand them.

1 Tim 3:16 talks of the mystery of godliness "God" manifest in the flesh. Different versions render that verse differently. In fact, there is very big debate that originally there was “He” not the word “God” . Check the online parallel Bible (http://bible.cc) which lists different versions of a particular verse. Check also the commentary below it that talks about this verse being tampered with. Another example of a verse that is also tampered with is 1 John 5:7. So I feel that we can not base an argument on a verse that “was tampered with”. Nevertheless, Jesus, the Son of God is the express image of God - Hebrews 1:3 (KJV)

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”

. You will agree with me that if X is an image of Y, it does not mean that X=Y? In Jesus, we see the character of God

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;”

Col 1:19 (KJV). But Jesus and the Father are different beings and the Father is the only true God as per what Jesus said in John 17:3. Also check what John says in 1 John 4:1-2 (KJV) -

“ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”.

Notice what the apostle says – we have to acknowledge that JESUS CHRIST (not God) came in the FLESH.

Coming to John 10:30, you will see the story that is unfolding in John 10 culminates in the Jews misinterpreting Jesus statement –

“I and my Father are one”

to mean that Jesus is claiming that he is God. Jesus emphatically refutes that in verse 36 – “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? Jesus is saying do you say that I have blasphemed because I am saying that I am the SON OF GOD? In fact he says the famous verse in verse 34 “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” In other words, if God called “mere men” gods what is wrong with being called the “Son of God”? (Jesus quoting Psalm 82). By the way, the name God is translated from Hebrew “Elohim” and Greek “Theos” and is not exclusive. You may google the word “Elohim” for a greater exposition of this word or check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elohim. In addition to that, if we read John 17:11 (NIV) –

“ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” Notice that “they be one as we are one”

Clearly this oneness is unity in purpose “not that the Father is Jesus and Jesus is the Father”.


About Hebrew 1:8, check the verse that follows Hebrews 1:9 (KJV) –

“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

In verse 9, “God, even thy God”. It is clear that this Jesus as God has a God. In other words, Jesus has a God, that only true God which he talked of John 17:3. This is also talked of in 1 Cor. 8:6. The Apostle John also writes in 1 John 5:20 –

“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” Notice “He is the true God and eternal life”

. Its not difficult to understand how how Jesus being God has a God once you understand the word “Elohim” and its usage. Jesus is Elohim but God the Father, who is the God of Jesus, is the Almighty Elohim. Remember, the quote Jesus used in John 10:34

“You are gods”

On the name Emmanuel, yes through Jesus, God is with us. Even today, by giving a child the name “Emmanuel”, we do not mean that, that child is “God”, that we express our prayer that through the child, we are reminded that God is with us. By the way, there is no any place in the New Testament where Jesus is actually being called by people as “Emmanuel”. He is called Jehushua in Hebrew or Jesus in Greek.


About Isaiah 9:6 Jesus is indeed Mighty Elohim or God. I have already explained the use of Elohim above. Also note that it is not saying “Almighty God”. On everlasting Father, I should ask this question: In the trinity doctrine, Jesus is the “Second person of the Trinity”, and the Father is the “first person of the Trinity”. Now I should ask, is Jesus the Father of himself as you would like it to imply I guess. On John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father. Did He pray to himself?. Surely, the everlasting Father should mean something else. In my opinion, Adam is our father being the person from which the whole human race came from. But Jesus, with authority from God, created everything including humanity. Hebrews 1:2 says

” Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”.

Jesus can rightfully be called our Father. He is everlasting because he was with God in the beginning – John 1:1 and he will always be there.


About John 14:14 check what Jesus says in the preceding verse 13: -

“13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”

. Christ does everything to the glory of God. Also check verse 28: -

“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”

Jesus is saying that the Father is greater than him. Do we need to add anything here? Remember Christ said on John 17:3 –

“1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

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Why I am a 'non-trinitarian' Seventh-Day Adventist (Part 1)

I am Seventh-Day Adventist, but I do not believe in the "trinity" because in my understanding, just as the Adventist pioneers believed, the Bible does not say that God is a "trinity". In this post, and subsequent two posts, I will post my thoughts on what the Bible says who God is.

Firstly, I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). But what does the Bible say who God is? A trinity? The following Bible verses show who God is.

Consider the following verses:

John 17:1-3 (NIV)

1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Notice what our Lord Jesus says who the true God is in
verse 3). Clearly it is the Father.
1 Corinthians 8:6 (KJV)

But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”

Again the Apostle Paul is clearly saying that the Father is
the only God and Jesus is our Lord.
1 John 5:20 (KJV)

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Notice what John is saying of the true God. Who is the true God and eternal life mentioned in this verse? Clearly, it is the Father.

This theme of who God is constantly shown to light in the Bible. The following is a book by book presentation of verses which show who God is, in addition to the three verses given above.

From the Book of John

John 1:18 (KJV)

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” The Bible is saying that no man has seen God, but God has revealed himself through Jesus.

John 20: 17 (NIV)

“Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Notice “My God”. Why does our Lord Jesus have a God?

From the Book of 1 John

1 John 4:1-3 (Who is the anti-christ?)

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that
does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

1 John 4:12 (No one has seen God)

“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1 John 4:15 (What are we to confess?)

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.”

1 John 5:20 (Who is the true God and eternal life mentioned in this verse?)

“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

From the Book of 2 John

2 John 1:3 (Notice God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ)

“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.”

From the Book of Jude
Jude 1:4 (KJV) (Notice that certain men “deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ”)

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

From the Book of Revelation

Rev 1:1 (Notice the opening of the Book of Revelation)
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.”

Rev 3:12 – (Notice “My God”. Why does Jesus have a God?)

“Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.”

Rev 4 and Rev 5 (Notice the “One who sits on the throne”, the Lamb who opens the scroll which is in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Notice what Rev 5:13 says

“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

Rev 7:10-17 (Notice “Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb”. Notice also God is on the throne and the Lamb is in the midst of the throne).
And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Rev 22:1 (notice the throne of God and the Lamb)

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb”

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