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| An isolated place of worship |
Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.
20. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21. Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
22. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.
23. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.
24. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
John 4:19-24
The Nigerian constitution is section 38 (1) state and I quote: "Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance."
There is liberty of association and worship as stated above, so also must the liberty of others to their rights guaranteed and must be respected. I am a christian and very much concerned about the duty that every christian must perform called evangelism. The bubble commanded the we (Christians) to preach the gospel to all nations. But in doing this as Christians, we must be mindful of the discomfort we tend to cause others.
This menace is not coming from Christians alone. And something need to be done, and fast too. For the purpose of comfort and rights of citizens, industrial/commercial areas are separated from residential areas. Today, I think the need to add places of worship to the category of "industrial/commercial" is expedient. The industrial areas are located away from the residential areas because of their level of noise, waste products among other things. The places of worship can compete favourably with most industries in the area of east generation and noise pollution! Why not we bundle them all and shipping them off to the industrial layouts and estates?
The argument of the churches, mosques and temples as non profit organisations seem porous now more than ever. Since they can now compete in all facets including finances, the should be made to have their kind of layouts where they can Bea each others nuisance.
To the very religious, this could amount to blasphemy until you own a permanent residence near the permanent site of a mega church, mostly the new generation Pentecostals with state of the arts musical set they tune so loud during all-night prayer sessions. On the other hand, you could imagine being near a mosque with their blaring horn speakers up there in the minaret blaring their prayers 5 times daily everyday of the week. You don't have to experience it to appreciate the hell it is to those constrained to bear such because there is no proper regulation of these activities. If people can bear to leave their homes to the the industrial estates to earn brewad for their bodies, going same distance to places of worship where the soul is fed won't be too much to do for those who really believe in what they do in these places of worship. Let us take a cue from the isolation of monasteries and convents as of old.
This is the era of change and it will be a huge relief if the religious houses are regulated to minimise these effects people suffer to the barest minimum. In this light, I suggest relocating places of worship to areas they can cluster and wear each other out in their world. Should any wish to remain within residential area, such must be bound by law to keep its noise miffed and waste managed properly.
The society is not fair or just if it cannot listen enough to hear her dumb, see for hear blind nor speak for the minority that the buzz of the majority continually drown.
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