Christianity

Commercialisation of Christianity in Nigeria: A Review (Published)

This review investigates the commercialization of Christianity in Nigeria, delving into its historical roots and modern expressions. A booming economy that includes mega-churches, televangelism, religious tourism, and a robust market for faith-based goods and services has resulted from the nexus of faith and commerce. Factors responsible for the commercialization of Christianity and the impacts of commercialization on religious practices, and the larger socio-cultural fabric are critically evaluated in this study. The article examines how some charismatic leaders have shaped the religious-business environment and considers how this has an impact on the genuineness of Christian teachingsin contemporary Nigeria. This review adds to the on-going conversation on how Nigerian religious practices are changing and highlights the intricate interactions that exist between faith and business within the framework of Christianity. This review recommends more investigation into viable ways to promote peaceful coexistence of religion and business in Nigeria’s Christian community.

Keywords: Christianity, Commercialization, Religion., Review, historical

Why Everybody Must Embrace Islam (Published)

People in terms of belief in God, can be divided into three groups, theism atheism and agnosticism. Theism is the belief in at least one deity.[1] Atheism is an absence of belief in the existence of deities.[2].  Agnosticism, is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.[3] The majority of the people in the world are theists that are believers, and few are atheists that are nonbelievers. According to the Pew Research Center’s (2012) global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world’s populations are not affiliated with any religion, while 84% are affiliated with a religion. [4]  This paper will analyze critically the truth about theism and atheism. It will explain why we should believe in one deity, and the superiority of Islam over other Religions. The paper will make a comparative analysis between theism and atheism, Islam and Christianity, and conclude why everybody should be a Muslim. Islam is always viewed as a problem. (Edis. T 2007). Lewis B.E& Churchill B.E (2008) affirmed that the knowledge of Islam is essential and unfortunately the knowledge is rarely available. So the paper will add to the public the knowledge of Islam all people must accept Islam.

Keywords: Belief, Christianity, Islam, Religion., atheism, monotheism, polytheism, theism

Agapate Allēlous . . . (John 13:34-35) Evaluation of Living Out Agapate among Christians in Anambra State (Published)

This work studies how Christians in Anambra state obeys the injunction “love one another.” Anambra state is majorly a Christian state.  Love one another, as I have loved you, is an injunction given by Jesus to his followers (disciples/Christians). The love he means here is sacrificial: selfless love. It is this sacrificial love that will prove to the world that his disciples are authentically his followers. This injunction or commandment to love is part of the farewell discourses of Jesus; this is to show how important it is to his heart. This was the guiding principle of the early Christians, but today the greatest problem is that there are dissensions among Christians. These include political, economic, social and even religious dissensions.The commandment of Jesus seems to have been jettisoned or relegated to the background. This work aims to investigate the genuineness of Christians (disciples) with the injunction of Christ who said: “By this, all men will know that you are my disciples”(v.35) and proffer solutions on how to be genuine Christians. To achieve this, data were collected from primary and secondary sources. To analyze the data so collected the researcher employed the Historical-Critical Method of Exegesis since a biblical text is involved. Through interviews and participant observations, the researcher discovers that there are dissensions among Christians in Anambra state which includes political, social and religious quarrels thereby casting doubts on the authenticity of their Christianity. This implies that the present-day followers of Christ no longer embrace the above divine injunction. The study made the following recommendations among others: Ministers should intensify catechesis to bring their followers back to the basis. Christians are advised to settle their domestic, social, and political disputes among themselves instead of court settlement knowing that they are brothers and sisters in Christ. Significantly, this work will be of immense benefit to all Christians in Anambra State in particular and Christians everywhere in general.

Keywords: Agapate, Allēlous, Christianity, Christians

Cultism in Nigerian Schools, the Psychological and Religious Impacts (Published)

The menace of cultism in Nigerian schools has certainly emerged as one of the main social problems in contemporary Nigeria, with obvious psychological consequences. This paper therefore examines the impact of religion in combating the demented acts of cultism in Nigerian schools, using Islam and Christianity as the basis. Religion dictates to its followers basic values intended to guide people towards living an ideal life-style. In Nigeria, there are two dominant religions: Islam and Christianity. To these writers’ minds the two religions do not condone cultism. The core values of these religions are purity, chastity, honesty, integrity, quality of moderation and humility. After the analysis of the causes and psychological impact of cultism, it then concludes with the submission that the menace of cultism in Nigerian schools can be drastically reduced or eliminated through the internalization and inculcation of the fear of God in the minds of students.

Keywords: Christianity, Cultism, Islam, Religion and School.

The Pokot Worldview as an Impediment to the Spread of Christianity among the Pokot People (Published)

Christian missionaries established the first mission work among the Pokot people of West Pokot County in 1931 when the Anglican Bible Churchman’s Missionary Society (BCMS) set up a mission centre at Kacheliba. They, however, encountered a lot of resistance and non- response from the Pokot people. To date, the bulk of the Pokot people are still conservative to their traditional lifestyle and reluctant to open up to change and new ideas. This paper examines the Pokot worldview as a challenge to the spread of Christianity among the Pokot people. In so doing, the author seeks to establish ways through which evangelization could be done to make the Pokot people embrace change in order to utilize development opportunities that come with it. A descriptive design was employed for the study. Purposive, snowball and random sampling methods were used to select the respondents. The study was guided by the structural functionalism theory by David Merton of 1910. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the collected data which was obtained through questionnaires and oral interviews. The study established that the Pokot community is much acculturated and the people are strongly bound together by their tribal customs; majority of whom prefer their traditional lifestyle to modernity.

Keywords: Acculturation, Christianity, Pokot community, Pokot worldview

Polygamy and Christianity in Africa (Published)

Whereas it is believed erroneously among many people that Polygamy implies the art of a man being married to more than one wife, the true definition of polygamy implies the idea of a man being married to more than one wife (Polygamy) or a woman being married to more than one man at the same time (Polyandry), or more than one man being married to more than one woman all at the same time which is communal marriage. It is the intention of this paper to examine Polygamy especially, which is the idea of a man being married to more than one wife concurrently at the same time. I shall, however, use the word ‘Polygamy’ because of its popular usage in spite of the fact that I am aware that the right word is Polygamy.

Keywords: Africa, Christianity, Polygamy

A Misrepresentation of the Theology of Satan in Nigerian Religious Leadership (Published)

This article examines the nature of Satan through the various names that he is called. It also looks at the role religious leaders in Nigeria play in propagating wrong ideologies about Satan. The methodology adopted consists of the theological approach to some Biblical passages, using Reader Response hermeneutical principles to examine the different names of Satan. The result shows that Satan is more than an excuse for people to do wrong and Church leaders in Nigeria need to teach a more holistic message on who Satan is.

Keywords: Christianity, Church, Leadership, Satan, Wasteful Prayers, responsibility

CHURCH OF GOD AND THE EDUCATED ELITE: THE CASE OF IDAKHO COMMUNITY KENYA, 1919-1953 (Published)

The basic aim of this research is to investigate the role of the Church of God educated elite in the social transformation among the Idakho of Kakamega County in Kenya. It is based on the analysis of local written sources, oral sources and archival materials. With the establishment of Christianity in Idakho, Church of God Missionaries quickly realized that in order for Christianity to gain acceptance there was need for social transformation among the Idakho. Their culture had to be transformed through imparting western cultural attributes to the converts in an attempt to undermine their culture. Consequently Church of God missionaries employed a secular policy through the provision of education as an approach to reinforce evangelization and to win converts. The church’s secular policy led to the emergence of pioneer teacher evangelists and educated elite which had comparatively well paid jobs as professional teachers, clerks, local administrators and members of the local councils. These pioneer educated elite and their children consolidated their social and economic power, both in the church and the Kenyan Government and used their leadership positions to harness economic influence in Idakho.

Keywords: Christianity, Church of God, Educated Elite, Education, Idakho

Christianity as a Tool for the Democratization Process in Nigeria (Review Completed - Accepted)

Our major concern in this paper is to periscope Christianity as a tool for the democratization process in Nigeria. We specifically looked at the extent to which Nigeria’s experience of democracy has a far cry for the ideals of democracy. Some literatures on the subject mater were reviewed, while data for analysis is from the secondary sources. The paper reviewed that, they are factors militating against the success of democracy in Nigeria spanning from disregards for the rule of law, political instability, lack of sincerity on the part of the ruling party, lack of true Christians in politics etc. The paper further expound the role of Christianity in promoting democracy; as Christianity cultivate moral and social political habit, inculcate respect for human right in the citizen, fulfills its social ethnical mission in the political arena. The paper recommends that Christians should take it upon themselves as a responsibility to fast and pray for the actualization of our democratic values in Nigeria. The paper draws a conclusion that, the role of Christianity in promoting democracy is essentially considered imperative because of the underlying truth that it can help facilitate development and social order.

Keywords: Christianity, Democratization, Nigeria