Tosin Akande replies Charly Boy on his Open Letter To God

Charly Boy

Dear fans and followers of SHOWBIZPLUS, kindly read below for a concerned young Nigeria's reply to Charly Boy's open letter to God.

'Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord...'- Isaiah 1:18

I read with so much joy, your open letter to God. I was fascinated. Please know, I have followed you since 1988 when I delighted in watching the video of your '1990' album at regular interludes on the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA and only came in contact with you for the first time in 1999 when I came to 2, Ajidagan, to leave an Invitation Card for you and your crew, to attend the-then Ink Awards- arguably the first Nigerian youth-oriented awards, at the National Arts Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos; suffice to say that you did not attend and neither did you send representatives. Nonetheless, my respect for you never changed.

The above is not the crux of this piece but in a way, it describes my long-time adoration for the man- Charly Boy- somewhat a paradox; for the man, Charly Boy. As you can see from the opening scriptures above, God wants us to do the kind of thing you have done via the open letter- reasoning with Him and you know what? He's still inviting us to a tete-a-tete with him- What a privilege we have in this God! Thus, no reasonable person of the Christian faith will vilify you, except such is not aware of bible provisions. Accordingly, you are in order!

Be that as it may, again, I repeat, joyful was my reaction to the letter to God by you and as one with the Christian faith, I will attempt to answer you to the best of my ability, with the fullest assurances that I will not mutter the words; 'God works in mysterious ways' even when I acknowledge the veracity of the statement. By giving that end-warning or better-still, end-note in your open letter that 'God works in mysterious ways' will not adequately address your curiosity, you have indicated preference for a deeper and robust understanding of who God is and this is what should be the pre-occupation of mainstream Christians but regrettably, they have shied away from it, giving bigotry its un-deserved place in the scheme of things. I tell you, never in human history has falsehood got so much victims through religions than now. Lord, have mercy! hence, like God Himself is doing right now in heaven, I commend your open letter to Him. You have always been special, anyway!

I have identified exactly 33 issues in your letter and I set them forth with scriptural references and where possible, with the aid of simple logic and reasoning. Please read on Sir;

Issue 1: I PUT IT TO YOU THAT YOU BELIEVE IN GOD!

Am I standing the head right on the tail? Have I gone bunkers? Have I began by attacking the very thing you disapprove of or rightly put, the very thing you are perceived to disapprove of? The opening remarks of your letter shows clearly that you are neither an atheist nor are you an agnostic hence you believe in the superiority of God over yourself- a mere mortal. That for me, is even the basis of my joy and the reason I am joining issues with you. It takes the Spirit of God in a man to write as you wrote in your opening paragraphs.

In it, you even claimed to be one of His sons.

You wrote: '...please, don't get pissed with me because there is no way on Earth that I can stand your vex as one of your authentic sons.'

For a man to claim sonship with God, he must be filled with the Holy Spirit, according to Romans 8:14. I do not flatter you! The fact of your letter shows an inner yearning for the Spirit of God and again, the word of God in this regard is certain.

Proverbs 8:17;

I love them that love Me and those who seek Me, early, shall find Me.

Therefore, what you have done by writing that open letter is laden with enough positive assurances from God Himself.

Still on that opening remark of yours, you accepted your nothingness before Him; what else do you think delights this Almighty God?

James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 agree on the same subject of humility before God so as far as I am concerned, you are, by the letter you wrote, openly acknowledging God just the same way a nominal Christian or muslim or any other religious adherent will acknowledge Him. In other words, there is no alarm yet over the writing; no contrary thing so far.

ISSUE 2: YOU GAVE THANKS AS WE DO TOO!

Smarting from your surrender to God, you wrote:

'First of all, I wanna thank you for all you have given me...'

You even acknowledge that God gave you all your accomplishments- a good home, privileged up-bringing, lovely children etc. Bros, try come closer and lemme tell you stuffs...Some Christians with over 40, 50 years Christian experience, as against Christ experience, go to church with such thankful void in them. They are so vague, vain and empty. They say they are self-made, never in the attitude of gratitude to God for all they have; and here you are- a perceived free-thinker, giving thanks so freely as though you are in a contest with Don Moen over who praises God better! From all indications, I guess you have been hiding your pentecostal status from us but for how long will you hide? Why not come out and declare publicly for Jesus! lol...

ISSUE 3: HARD WORK IS NOT ENOUGH

You drew my ire a little when you reminded God in your Intro that you have worked hard to get to where you are.

You wrote:

'...but shey You also know that I have worked hard for all that I have today...'

Though, I relaxed when you added, 'with the talent you blessed me with. Infact, BABA, you built me for the...'

At that point, I could heave a sigh of relief. Bros, you see, before the God whom you have deferred to in your intro, nothing counts except His grace and mercies by which you got all those good things of life you mentioned- the kids, the privileged upbringing etc. You know what? He said it in His word.

Romans 9:15-16;

'For He saith unto Moses; I will have mercies unto who I will have mercies. I will show compassion unto whom I show compassion so it is not of He who wills or runs, it is of the Lord that shows mercies.'

Besides, I want to pose some questions to you:

1. Do you think making it big in life is as a scientific matter and not of God's special grace?

2. If it is scientific, then, as a rule, everyone who works hard must make it big like you or even far beyond you?

3. But you have lived long enough, I am so sure, to know that there are people who worked so hard yet gat nothing to show for it; not so?

So where do we place your hardwork in the face of all these?

Permit me to add that our hardwork, at best, puts us in a better position than the lazy glutton who would not want to work at all. The bible says those ones should not even eat! See 2 Thessalonians 3:10.

Thankfully, it has no such condemnation for those who work how much less, hard workers yet by hardwork alone shall no man have the pure mercies of God- the type you enjoyed and alluded to in your opening paragraph. Hence, whatever we have is purely by His grace and nothing more.

Nothing trips me more than your last sentence where you agreed that he built you. How I wish I were more humble towards God than you are!

Bros, your second paragraph is in order- very much in order. In it, you admit you are confused yet you apparently trust that He will remedy the situation, having also accepted He is Alpha and Omega and indeed, He will illuminate your eye of understanding. Please, keep your trust in Him.

Now to your very thought-provoking questions;

1.

ISSUE 4/ QUESTION 1: WHAT WILL BE THE END OF NON-CHRISTIANS?

I do not intend to play Mr. Know All. According to Jesus in John 16:13, knowing all is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, if I say I know with certainty that God will destroy them, I cannot tell you with certainty that God will refrain His mercies from them. For me, this understanding of God is defining. He is so merciful. In the bible, ask Prophet Jonah; in contemporary Nigeria, ask Pastor Tunde Bakare- I think both guys know better, the subject of the mercies of God. Did Jonah lie to the people of Nineveh? No! Pastor Bakare could not have lied on the Obasanjo prophecy of 1999 yet...Uncle Charley, please permit me to stop here for now, on this topic; we may continue at private levels.

ISSUE 5/ SUB-QUESTION 2: CATHOLICS AND NON-CATHOLICS

You wrote: 'What will happen to the 5.6 billion who are not Catholics?'

By this, you seem to have potentially concluded that only Catholics will make heaven. Is that your proposition? if it is, that is very untrue. In fact, the Protestants stand the issue right on its head by affirming that only those who are born-again in the words of Jesus would make heaven. The process of water-baptism and the confession of Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour etc are central to this issue but I have a rather radical opinion which accomodates that of the Pentecostals yet a little more than it, based on the same bible. For example, did the thief on the cross with Jesus receive baptism before Jesus sanctified him as heaven-bound? Lots more! However, this can be subject for another day.

ISSUE 6/ SUB- QUESTION 3: The Era instead of Area?

In one of your sub-questions, you wrote: 'Why should they suffer if they were raised in an area which did not expose them to the one true religion?'

My instincts tell me that you meant to write Era in that sentence instead of Area and that will be all for that. Area might also be used but in my humble view, Era would have served your interest better in context. Please feed me back on your exact intent.

ISSUE 7/ SUB-QUESTION 4: What happened to the people who died prior to the organised religion or concept of YOU, default eternal damnation?

At any rate, the answer to your question if God will punish them, having not lived in an Era which did not expose them to the one, true religion, will not be in the affirmative. I say this from my personal understanding of the bible which is not sacrosanct. I warn. However, thrice in the Book of Revelation which is an expose on the last days, the Bible mentioned salvation and good works for the basis of determination for heaven-bound and hell-condemned persons.

It follows logically therefore, that, in answer to your very brilliant question and for the category of people you advocated (never mind that Jesus is our Chief Advocate), salvation will not be used as a yardstick for them but good works for the obvious reason that they did not hear the gospel before they died otherwise God will be asking for the impossible and with Him all things are possible so the only possibility is for Him to exclude salvation as the basis for such long-dead ones. Nothing else will be fair. Ignore church doctrines!

By implication, it will be a little tougher for contemporary Christians for the fact that we have been privileged to hear the gospel. We have seen salvation and from those passages I cited in the Book of Revelation, salvation alone, will not be the only deciding factor for our era; though, it will count significantly, good works, being the other factor. I am not fabricating on morality. These are the words of the Lord Himself as written in the Bible. I already explained this in my new book- LET'S PAULse A LITTLE! You may get a copy Sir.

ISSUE 8/ SUB-QUESTION 5: Why is it acceptable to join a religion created by a single man?

Christianity is not a religion and if it is, it is not created by a man- if Jesus was meant to be the man. Jesus was half-man, half-spirit in His make-up. This is common knowledge and we all know the story behind His conception and birth unlike Man whose spirit essence is constantly watered-down by hi dominant flesh. As it is often said: We are a spirit. We live in a body and we have a soul! Evidently, Jesus cannot be described as a man as you might have depicted in your open letter to God.

Therefore to say that King James is that one man who started Christianity is fallacious! Of course, the issues in Christianity pre-dated him!

ISSUE 9/ SUB-QUESTION 6: How do we know if You sent them or if it meets your approval?

Of all the Prophets known to Islam and Christianty, only Jesus Christ boasted that He was the Way, the Truth and Life. According to Him, no one will come to God the Father except through Him. That's one sure way to know, Uncle Charles as it admits of no mystery which you have earlier warned of, remember?!

No doubt, Jesus made a lot of profound statements that cannot be ignored. Have you tried applying any of them? For instance, he said in John 14:19 that the rest of the world may not see Him but those who are His will see Him. He also said because He lives, we shall live also. This is why if any one Christian says he has seen Jesus, two things- it is either true or he is lying. I will never rule out the incidence of truth in such statements because it is already guaranteed in His word. Besides, sometime in 2004, I had the privilege of seeing His bust in my room and He spoke to me- very briefly. I'll never forget. However, it is no big deal because that is one reality of one of His several promises to us. Basically, you will see Him if He wishes that you do. The experience of Apostle Paul in the bible is very instructive!

ISSUE 10/ SUB-QUESTION 7: How do we know that any religion is approved by your person?

Still from the words of Jesus, by their fruits, you shall know them. Twice, this was mentioned in the same passage- Matthew 7: 16 and Matthew 7:20. Nothing else underscores the importance of this method of hindsight than the double mentions it got from Jesus in one fell swoop!

Besides, if you have the Holy Spirit which He Himself promised and which has now come to us, there will be some witnessing in your soul, part of which is what led, I believe, to your open letter to the Almighty God. Bros Charles, kindly accept my Congratulations! Your Spirit-man is alive and it's searching for true identity! please, yield to Him!

ISSUE 11/ SUB-QUESTION 8: Why is it acceptable for religions to evolve?

You are so accurate about your take on the evolution of religions and as you cited in the later question, several factors have altered it especially man-made. The evolution in the name of modernity is not acceptable to God but the world can go on, inventing. The bible says in 2 Timothy 2:19 that nonetheless, the foundation of God stands sure- it remains pure; never adulterated! Uncle Charles, forget all the religious fightings, church doctrines, hype and packaging, God knows those that are His. mtchew!

ISSUE 12/ SUB-QUESTION 9: There are cultural changes to religion over time; are these changes authorised by You?

I have answered this in the preceding question, Sir but just to add a little more, God does not approve of all Man has done, lately to compound things. All He ever wanted was a relationship so it started in the garden of Eden and by extension, Israel, as a simple relationship; it got to Greece and became philosophy; it got to Rome and it became religion; it got to Europe and it became a tradition; it got to America and it became an enterprise and as a friend once said to me, it got to Africa and it became fraud!

2.

ISSUE 13/ SUB-QUESTION 10: PERFECT GOD AND IMPERFECT HUMANS

He is a very jealous God. 32 times that was mentioned of Him throughout the bible. No point hiding this fact of God from you and the others who have been asking the same question in their minds. This is why He is the Supreme Being; the All-knowing, All-powerful and Omni-present God so He gives all of His creations one deficiency or the other so that He might fill the void hence those superlative terms of His description. Therefore, our kind of people cannot operate independently; we have to depend on Him for some things. Proverbs 3:5 says;

'Trust in the Lord in all your ways and lean not on your own understanding.'

Moreover, when Apostle Paul caught this revelation, in 2 Corinthians 12:9, he had this to say of God.

'But He said to me; My grace is sufficient for My power is made perfect in weakness.'

That's why on such days that our kind of people are weak, we can ask Him for strength and as He put it in His word, it comes to us. This should explain the perfect God and the imperfect persons dichotomy you raised, bros. So easy!

ISSUE 14/ SUB-QUESTION 11: YOUR IMAGE/ LIKENESS:

Yes but this is only as far as some physical attributes like eyes, nose, legs, hands, mouth, back etc. God will never negotiate His awesomeness.

Isaiah 42:8: 'I am the Lord, that is My name and My glory will I not give to another neither My praise to graven images.'

This suggests that His glory nay His perfection will He never share. Whatever makes Him God, He will never share with anyone. Even the devil knows this hence his dialogue with Eve in the very first book of Genesis. Almighty God!

You wrote: For me, BABA, I'm sorry. I don't get it' and I hope now, you get it Sir? Permit me to say that I admire your reverence for God and I tell you all these are what He's looking for in His vessels. The rate at which you are going, are you sure you aint gonna get a call soon?

ISSUE 15/ SUB-QUESTION 12: SATAN'S IMMEDIATE DESTRUCTION

ISSUE 16/ SUB-QUESTION 13: WHY IS SATAN ALLOWED TO TEMPT US ANYHOWLY?

Satan is allowed to tempt us anyhowly (as you put it in your open letter) because it is only a natural consequence of your sonship with God. Remember, you averred in your intro that you are one of God's sons? Satan's attacks- constant attacks are a natural consequence of that just as it is natural for police cops to be after criminals or suspects. It is his own assignment but we have overcome, already; only follow biblical principles and you are on your way to victory over him in any attack. You are not immuned from him; do not mind Pastors or Christians who tell you otherwise; surely, he will come that's what the bible even teaches but it also said that our victory in Christ s assured so relax!

ISSUE 17/ SUB-QUESTION 14: IS IT FAIR?

Yes it is fair in as much as God 'suffered' His only son- Jesus to be tempted of the devil, it is no big deal for us to be tempted by him too. The four books of the gospel recorded him tempting Jesus but like I said to you earlier from the bible, whenever he comes around us, the sure grace of God will be sufficient for us.

ISSUE 18/ SUB-QUESTION 15: WHY DID YOU CREATE HELL?

I'll answer this by quoting a sentence in your open letter. You wrote:

'When I see some human beings, I definitely know that there is no way they can be your creation; say who die?'

Some people are just intrinsically evil and therefore fit for only the hottest part of hell. Besides, if you remember the lyrics of your colleague, Majek Fashek some years back about the coming of the Holy Spirit when there will be no more sorrows, no more weeping, no more dying, no more pains...he was referring to the time when all demonic forces would have been rounded up in the hell fire. He sure caught the inspiration for that song from the book of Revelation in the bible.

'ISSUE 19/ SUB-QUESTION 16: CHRISTIANS, BIBLE AND STATE LAWS

Even Jesus did not flaunt Himself over John the Baptist. He said suffer it to be so for now. More persuasively, during the time of Jesus, He subjected Himself to the laws of the Roman State. Bros Chrales, you see those who have it hardly shout. Therefore, it is no big deal for Christians who see the 'truth' and 'grace' (you wrote law but no longer is it law) from the divine perspective yet bow to the laws of the State drafted by mere mortals like you and I. God can be that humble and tolerant O!

ISSUE 20/ SUB-QUESTION 17: WHICH OF THE BIBLE VERSION IS CORRECT?

Of all your questions, this is my favorite and I'll not hesitate to answer you as the Holy Spirit has been telling me in recent years!

The best version of the bible is not King James; the best version  of the bible is not the New King James; neither is it the Amplified which could amplify your confusion more. The best version of the bible is the Rhema- the Spoken Version which throws more light on all the written versions. Not many people argue that God is a living God. It only follows that if He is living, He must be speaking! Therefore, seeking the voice behind each verse is the best bet for any serious Christian in this age. If we ever have a chance to meet, I can give you proven examples of what most people never see in the bible that God, by revelation has shown and I say this with all the humility I can muster. Please, henceforth, be no more confused over this issue.

3.

ISSUE 21/ SUB-QUESTION 18; WHY DOES GOD WANT OUR PRAISE?

I'll give a pocket-mention of my knowledge of all Spirits here. God is a Spirit and every spirit demands worship and praise. Even Jesus- as meek as He appears, He queried the ingratitude of the other nine lepers He healed. He expressed reservations that only one came and He gave him wholesome healing. Sir, as humans, we are condemned to give praise only to the right Spirit which is that of God. This has been proven over time with the passage of human history yet the option of challenging it is open to you, Bros Charles!

ISSUE 22, SUB-QUESTION 19: CAN'T WE THANK GOD, ANYHOW?

You are free to express gratitude to Him anyhow, anywhere and anytime. There is no law forbidding thanksgiving to God in your toilet, bathroom or in your car. On a closer scrutiny, you have no problem with giving thanks to God, your problem is the Church. Church is merely encouraged because of the presupposed advantage of corporate worship as God does not joke with His people. see Exodus 32:9; regrettably, very recent events are making persons like you and maybe me too, to question the church but never to question God; He remains Lord over all.

ISSUE 23/ SUB-QUESTION 20: WHY ONLY HUMANS FOR PRAISE?

This surprised me a little.

However, if praise is best felt by the word of mouth, it can be reasonably concluded that only humans praise God but if we can also praise with body language, then, we can argue that not only humans praise God. Advanced personal research reveals that we are not the only ones that praise God. Of one thing, I am sure, God communicates with all His non-human creatures so He might be getting their praises even in higher doses than we think we can give Him. Bros, that's a sanctimonious approach there from you. Obviously, you are not being fair to the animals. Are you sure of what the lion says when it roars? Are you sure of what the horse says when it brays? Are you sure of what the cattle says when it moos? Are you sure you the goat isn't singing a tune from Tope Alabi when it bleats?

Moreover, I believe that not only living things praise God, even non-living things have praise sessions. It might interest you that the centrifugal force of wind, to some, is praise-session from it and its dust' even the Seas, the mountains! He's an awesome God so let's approach Him from that angle maybe we will fear Him more and attract more of His mercies.

ISSUE 24/ SUB-QUESTION 21: WILL YOU PUNISH ME FOR MY QUESTIONS?

Truth be told: you have credits in heavens for these questions. He said in His word:

Matthew 7:7; 'Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.'

Isaiah 45:11; 'Ask me of things to come...'

I can hear God whispering to me to tell you to keep asking; in the process, more revelation and Kingdom matters will be committed into your hands. Nice one, Bros Charly!

4.

ISSUE 25/ SUB-QUESTION 22: WHY CONTEMPT FOR THOSE QUESTIONING RELIGION?

Ignorance. Those who do that are religious bigots. Check well, those doing the asking are loved by God, provided they are not asking out of blasphemy especially for the Holy Spirit while those claiming to fight for God are in-consequential. See Jesus' words on Mary and Martha. If you ask in line with HIs directive that we do so, you are, in the process, taking the needful which no man can take away from you. Nothing more!

ISSUE 26/ SUB-QUESTION23:

ISSUE 27/ SUB-QUESTION 24: WHY IS THERE RELIGIOUS CONFLICT?

Again, ignorance!

ISSUE 28/ SUB-QUESTION 25: THOSE WHO BELIEVE AND THOSE WHO DO NOT?

The human eye cannot tell those who believe from those who do not just as the hood does not make the monk. Never be too trusting, Uncle Charly; do not be religiously oppressed. That they are in church or mosque does not make them any better than an infidel! However, God is not deceived neither is he mocked!

ISSUE 29/ SUB-QUESTION 26: IMPERFECT EARTH AND UNIVERSE

I answered this in Issue 13/ 10 above...He retains His perfect nature in all these imperfections!

ISSUE 30/ SUB-QUESTION 27: WHY SO MUCH 'BEEF' AND 'GOBEE':

He Himself lamented creating these things in Genesis 6:6;

'And it repented the Lord that He had made Man on the earth and it grieved Him at His heart.'

Even the Almighty God felt the same way you are now feeling thousands of years back. Aint you great to be on the same frequency of thought with the Almighty Father?

5.

ISSUE 31/ SUB-QUESTION 28: COUNTER-ACCUSATION OF HELL

Don't mind them...John 4:24 is apt for them. 2 Timothy 2:19 is also very instructive. God knows those that are His. Galatians 6:7 has it that He is not mocked so be not swayed or deceived by their holy postures! Do they know as much as God to determine the fate of others? Who could have predicted that the thief will make paradise with Jesus that last hour? Uncle, shun them; shun their hell-threats too! In fact, let them go to hell!

ISSUE 32/ SUB-QUESTION 29: OTHER RELIGIONS?

You need not go far. Col 2:8 is good for you, Uncle!

ISSUE 33/ SUB-QUESTION 30: WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND, O LORD?

Uncle Charly, Ecclesiastes 12:13 is all you need to read to understand life and living. I quote it for your pleasure:

'The summary of the whole matter; fear God and keep His commandments for this is the whole duty of Man.' (italics, mine)

True, there are more detailed requirements, this is generic enough to make one heaven-bound, out of God's mercies.

And as I readily did for Jubril Martins High School-  my alma mater, I hope I have been able to convince you but not to confuse you Sir, that your open letter to God is desirable and will only usher you onto new horizons with your Maker- the one you continually regarded as BABA throughout your question paper- I refuse to see it as a mere essay. Never mind, God delights in your exam! I have set mine and am still setting to get more revelation from on high. When you start getting yours, it will amaze you the kind of experiences you will get on a regular basis. All I have written here-in are to the best of my ability but let me warn you in advance that when God starts to visit you, you will not be able to hide the joy that oozes from within- the kind I have everyday about Him.

I condemn you not. I see your writing as an effort at spiritual development. Mind you, according to 1 Corinthians 12:13, your constant address of Him as BABA in the letter is proof of the fact that you have the Spirit of God! only develop the right passion for Him; obviously, He loves you enough not just to have those lovely kids and the successes you have recorded but also to allow you write such a thought-provoking piece. He sure loves you!

And for this special reason Uncle Charles, once again, accept my heart-felt Congratulations!

Tosin AKANDE is the author of Let's Paulse A Little! and PRO of the Christian Writers Association of Nigeria, CWAN- Lagos State chapter.

salvationtosin@yahoo.com