“Welcoming One Another” (Romans 14-15): A Paradigm for Mutual Cooperation Among Christians in Nigeria (Published)
Decades of discussions have occurred over whether Romans 14–15 is directed to any particular circumstance in the Roman community, as it contains arguments similar to those found in 1 Corinthians 8-10. Some scholars feel it is a generic admonition, while others say it is a reply to the Roman community’s particular predicament. The concept of mutuality fits within the setting of Romans, and the chapters (Rom 14–15) speak of Paul’s exhortations from the preceding chapters (Rom.12–13) being applied contextually. In Nigerian churches/Christianity, the scenario of separation and categorization found in the Roman Church exists. Certain Christians have been labeled as “weak” or “strong” as a result of this; ethnicity and other factors are most likely to blame. As a result, the negative effects exceeded the favorable effects among Christians over the last few decades. This paper examines Paul’s style for eliciting mutual collaboration (brother/sister metaphor), arguing that if Christians read, comprehend, and embrace Paul’s call to welcome one another in Romans 14 –15, the walls of division will fall and mutual cooperation will ensue.
Keywords: Christians, Paradigm, another, mutual, welcome
Feet Washing (John 13:1-17) as a Paradigm for Christian Leadership in Nigeria (Published)
The washing of the feet is unique to the Gospel of John. In John 13:1-17, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Scholars have offered numerous interpretations of this pericope in their efforts to provide a better understanding of the pericope. However, putting together the grammatical, literary, philosophical, and theological analysis of some interpretations can be difficult because they do not fully capture the Johannine presentation of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper. This piqued our interest, and we decided to contribute to the ongoing debate about whether Christians should wash their feet today. This article contends that the Johannine hupodeigma (see v. 15) implies more than an example for imitation, but rather a concrete and fundamental sign of Jesus’ perfect form of love by which Jesus victoriously conquers the world, completes the mission, and offers a part in his life for ‘his own’, thus challenging them to foster servant leadership. The Historical-Critical method is used in this article, with diachronic and synchronic approaches. It addresses literary issues in the text such as delimitation, textual analysis, and an examination of the text’s remote and immediate contexts. The importance of this work lies in the fact that it will add to the existing literature on John 13:1-17 and open up new avenues for future research on the subject.
Citation: Jatau P.D. (2023) Feet Washing (John 13:1-17) as a Paradigm for Christian Leadership in Nigeria, Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.11, No.4, pp.1-31
Keywords: Christians, Leadership, Nigeria, Paradigm, feet washing