Jesus and disability: A theological and practical reflection for churches in Nigeria

Women have played significant roles in the development of Christianity in Nigeria, but with little attention given to their roles in historical accounts. Therefore, this research focuses on the roles of women found scattered in some documented history of Christianity in Southwest, Nigeria from 19th century till mid- twentieth century when missionaries came from America and Europe to Nigeria to establish Mainline Churches and in addition assesses their activities in the African Indigenous Churches (AICs) in Nigeria. The paper leaned on Dorcas Akintunde’s assertion that the official history of churches and Christian ministries in Nigeria takes a very little account of the role of women. She observed that the history of Christianity till the mid-twentieth century when Aladura churches (Praying Churches) were founded was basically patriarchal. Having explained these endeavours, the research also makes some recommendations for women activities in contemporary Christianity in Nigeria. The research uses qualitative approach with primary and secondary sources from In-depth Interview (IDI), participant observations and bibliographical and archival search. Women were found out to have served as missionaries, acted in men’s absence, and deployed their professional expertise on the mission fields, founded churches and were actively involved in pulpit ministry. Hence, their roles contributed significantly to the growth of Christianity in southwest Nigeria.

Anointing is a popular concept in most Pentecostal Churches in Nigeria today. It is common to hear sayings such as “falling under anointing”, “transfer of anointing”, “anointing service”, “anointing for favour”, “anointing for sickness”, “anointing for breakthrough”, and many more. There is a wide spread confusion within the Pentecostal movements regarding anointing. There is no common accepted meaning. There is no uniformity in understanding how one may obtain whatever the anointing is, there is even a great disagreement about who really is anointed. The main reason for this misunderstanding in most cases is because everyone is holding to a different interpretation of the Bible. The study examines the concept of anointing from the Biblical perspective in the context of the practice of anointing in contemporary Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. The study adopted the contextual and narrative analytical method to investigate the historical and contemporary contexts of the use of anointing and its practice in the church today. The study shows that spiritual anointing with the Holy Spirit was conferred on Christians by God (2Cor1:21) and they were described as having an unction from God by which they know all things (1 John 2:20, 27) but there was no indication in the Scriptures that anyone can transmit the anointing by any means as it is being practised in the church today.

There are much confusion and controversy in our churches today about the phenomenon known as speaking in tongues. Some claim that the gift of speaking in tongues continues in our time as the Holy Spirit miraculously moves persons to speak in a language they had never learned. Other believers are convinced that the Scriptures leave no room for the continuation of that special gift beyond the founding era of the Apostolic church. To worsen it all pagans abound in such ecstatic utterances and are convinced they are from God. The objective of this paper is to investigate both the use and abuse of speaking in tongues. Historical and exegetical methods were used. Data were gathered through primary and secondary sources. The paper found out that speaking in tongues was miraculously used by God at Pentecost and in the earliest churches in the apostolic era. But there were distinguishing features that marked it out from the psychological phenomenon found among pagans. In our contemporary church in Nigeria, the only way to test the source is by comparison with what God explains in his word about the purpose and occasion for the legitimate manifestation.

Reviewed by: The Bible and Disability: A Commentary ed. by Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong Kirsty Jones sarah j. melcher, mikeal c. parsons, and amos yong (eds.), The Bible and Disability: A Commentary (Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability; Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017). Pp. xi + 498. Paper $59.95. The Bible and Disability: A Commentary is a welcome addition to Baylor University Press's series entitled Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability, with a lineup of veritable experts in the field. Covering a huge amount of material, the volume "addresses both disability and non-disability imagery in each book on a case-by-case basis" (p. 94). For biblical scholars, the book issues an invitation to consider familiar and forgotten texts anew, with honest and sensitive exegesis. The authors remain grounded in more traditional academic biblical scholarship while at the same time engaging broader, critical questions about disability. None of the chapters falls prey to the desire to redeem or sugar-coat a problematic text. This is most refreshing and speaks well of the exegesis in the book. Despite the range [End Page 759] of perspectives of the various authors, the book has overall cohesion and Melcher, Parsons, and Yong are to be commended for masterful editing. Many of the authors choose to look at how embodiment and impairment are part of being fully human. Some chapters could use a little more nuance to avoid falling into an overly simplistic, facile presentation of disability, but on the whole the emphasis on embodiment is a helpful, unifying theme throughout the book. Authors do not only focus on figures with disabilities and disability language but also consider broader questions of embodiment, the senses, creation, and empowerment. Authors grapple with significant themes of disability studies and introduce core concepts that are generally well explained for a nonspecialist audience (though an index of key terms might be helpful). Repeatedly, authors refer to the difference between disability and impairment, explaining these concepts and applying them to texts. This divide, however, is somewhat out of vogue in disability studies today, and it would be interesting to see what the ancient texts have to say that might support or refute the move away from this system. In general, the integration of disability and biblical studies gives a useful heuristic lens for exegesis of texts. The authors use multiple approaches and refer to multiple disciplines with great ease and success. It is a difficult task to discuss Hebrew and Greek grammar, versions and authorship, source criticism and contemporary legislation, disability poetry and anecdotes in adjacent sentences, but the authors do so with success. The articles in the collection are the following: Sarah J. Melcher, "Genesis and Exodus"; David Tabb Stewart, "Leviticus–Deuteronomy"; Jeremy Schipper, "Joshua–Second Kings"; Kerry H. Wynn, "First and Second Chronicles–Esther"; Sarah J. Melcher, "Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes"; Jennifer L. Koosed, "Psalms, Lamentations, and Song of Songs"; J. Blake Couey, "Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Twelve"; Candida R. Moss, "Mark and Matthew"; David F. Watson, "Luke–Acts"; Jaime Clark-Soles, "John, First–Third John, and Revelation"; Arthur J. Dewey and Anna C. Miller, "Paul"; and Martin C. Albl, "Hebrews and the Catholic Letters." In her commentary on Genesis and Exodus, Melcher looks at creation in the image of God and the foundation of the nation through males and females with disability. Setting the tone for the book, she undertakes a striking exposition of how being imago dei underscores the divine–human relationship with implications for disability and identity. Noting that language about disability is often used to refer to things other than disabled people's actual experiences, Schipper looks at how disability is used in a narrative framework, the link between disability and divine punishment, "disability as a deviation from the norm" (p. 94), and disability as a structuring device. Schipper is keenly aware of normate biases and highlights how nondisability is assigned to characters even when the text does not evidence this (a common normate tendency). Schipper must also be commended for helpfully integrating rabbinic sources into his chapter and reminding readers of the myriad traditions of reading these central texts. Koosed's analysis of Lamentations...

The compassionate-love Jesus feels moves him to solve the problems of the suffering. Hence, everything Jesus thought, said, or did in his mission to salvage humankind was motivated by compassionate love. Jesus demonstrated that his mission-mandate should be done on the platform of genuine compassionate love. That is why, in the gospels, he was described as always being moved by compassion. Jesus demonstrated that his followers are to carry on the mission-mandate of the church in compassionate love. But in this era, the church has undergone a paradigm shift from this model of Jesus’ compassion. The problem of the church being less compassionate is hindering the contemporary church from achieving mission-desired goals. Consequently, this article studies the concept of compassion as an underlying theme in the gospel of Matthew and its implications for the mission-mandate of the church in Nigeria. Through the application of the redaction-criticism method of doing biblical exegesis, the study found that the church in Nigeria lacks the model of compassion which Jesus exemplified.

This paper is titled: “Teaching for Life- Transformation in Titus 2:1-15 As Core Duty of Pastoral Ministry, and Its Implications for the Contemporary Church in Nigeria” The paper affirms that one of the core duties of the Christian minister is to engage in the systematic teaching of church members with the goal of keeping them growing unto maturity in Christ. God has instituted the church in the world as the only redeeming agency through which sinners will experience redemption from the destructive power of Satan, sin and death. The mysterious but powerful influence of the Church has, for several centuries, been the only means for sinners to personally submit to God’s offer of love for salvation, thereby, to experience eternal salvation and moral transformation leading to eternal joy and peace. This requires simple obedience by accepting God’s love through faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It continuously enhances the opportunity for the demonstration of God’s sovereignty and love to save sinful humanity to the utmost. To pursue the objectives of this paper, the writer has highlighted some of the essential attributes of the church in relation to the duties of Christian ministers. Such attributes which distinguish the church from other human organizations include: being the “Ark” of safety, a political agency, an instrument of social reform, a receptive audience, and the kingdom of God on earth. Others are being: the “salt and light of the world”; the “body” and flock of Jesus Christ; the assembly of the redeemed sinner turned saints; the bride of Christ; and the royal priest, the holy nation. Also, the paper has examined the nature of the roles of Christian ministers as the visible representatives of Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd and head of the church. As submitted by Paul, leadership is instituted in the church to provide members with opportunities of being equipped for the work of service, and thereby, to grow unto maturity in Christ. Further, this writer embarked on the exegetical study of chapter two of the Epistle to Titus (Tit. 2:1-15), where the text has indicated that one of the core duties of a Christian minister is to teach sound doctrine to the various groups in the church. The study has also shown that whereas Titus was the church pastor, he needed to empower other people in the church who, in turn, would become mature and help to effectively teach others. Besides, the study has clearly revealed that the moral and spiritual lifestyle of the Christian minister will make his teaching/preaching to ‘carry’ sufficient weight, which will aid the effectiveness of pastoral ministry.

There is no doubt that churches are proliferating in Nigerian cities and church-going has become a popular culture. Mostly male, pastors are sacrosanct and unaccountable, just as their living standards far outweigh those of their members. In their domination of the contemporary Church in Nigeria, male pastors reproduce and use popular but subjective social images of women to apprehend female pastors. In terms of publicity, printed posters are the most prolific media churches employ. Yet, on these same posters, male pastors differentiate themselves and subordinate female pastors by using graphic principles of layout and visual placement of women's pictures vis-à-vis theirs. That the Church is male-dominated is clearly not in question. This paper interrogates how this domination is played out and the roles women are playing in re-presenting themselves in dominated church spaces. Using data from fieldwork, this paper analyses the image of women in Nigerian church posters, the vast collection of practices built around religious domination and the roles female pastors are playing in re-representing women in the Nigerian religious space.

Attempts at engaging the fallen world with the gospel of the Kingdom have exposed Christ-followers to the world’s pull to ignore God. This becomes more challenging when the strategy is mostly centripetal―bringing the world into ‘our church,’ rather than centrifugal―taking the Church to the world. Churches make every effort to fix the gospel message into different religio-cultural and ideological orientations of “members.” The resulting ecclesiological discomfort is palpable in the acts of worship, politics, and day-to-day ‘secular’ lives of the people, where the impact of the church is expected to be felt. This study examines how the contemporary church may confront the identified discomforts resulting from how it engages its world. Using biblical and missiological principles as well as observable trends among churches in Nigeria, the writer posits that dwelling largely on centripetal mechanism of missions is creating ecclesiological malaise in Nigeria and that balancing with a disciple-making movement-based centrifugal mechanism is more suitable for effective missions in a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-ideological nation like Nigeria.

This paper titled, “Dynamics of Congregational Worship in Hebrews 10:19-25 and Its Relevance to the Contemporary Church in Nigeria,” discusses the benefits of the Christ-event (sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension) to acceptable worship. God deserves to be worshipped and honored as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Congregational worship is an avenue for believers in Jesus Christ to appreciate God for the past blessings received, as well as presenting their requests to God in anticipation of future blessings. With the veil in the temple torn into two during the death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, a new way of good access has been opened to believers in Jesus Chris, as he had secured opportunity for believers with the privilege of always drawing nearer with new confidence to the throne of grace in order to enjoy the benefits of approaching God. Unfortunately, today, in Nigeria as in some other countries, congregational worship no longer seems to be spontaneous and passionate as it should be, because worship has lost its value or flavors. In some churches, worship is seen only as ritualistic, obligatory and lacking in dynamic value. Such experiences of spiritual dryness should not continue; else congregational worship will remain a fluke. To achieve the goal of this paper, the writer has examined the goals of Christian worship, especially, corporate or congregational worship. He had also embarked on an exegetical study of Hebrews 10:19-25 by exploring the meaning of some Greek words and phrases in their historical contexts. In the process, the opinions of some biblical scholars were also examined and presented. Lastly, the writer drew some inferences from the exegetical study of Hebrews 10:19-25, from where he presented the benefits of congregational worship, to serve as recommendations for contemporary churches.

The culture of the contemporary time is undoubtedly a technologically and scientifically based culture. Now and again, we witness a growing dynamism characterized by societal sophistication leading to an excessive emphasis on rationality with a distinct lack of faith. There seems to be a paradigm shift in the notion, understanding, and practice of religion today as it is gradually being eased out in many parts of the world. Religion, once a ‘teacher’, is now a ‘student’ contending for a seat in the ‘classroom of human affairs’. In the face of these social changes, the Catholic Church has remained a sign and a sacrament to the world. It is the moral voice that refuses to conform to worldly standards. Its mission has consistently remained the same, following the eternal plan of the Father, that the Church on earth is missionary by its very nature and has its origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit. If the mission of the Church in the world is to attain full realization, evangelization must constitute its truest and deepest identity.The church in Nigeria in union with the Universal Church has that important mission of spreading the gospel of Christ. Like any other institution, the Nigerian church faces multi-dimensional and multi-faceted challenges such as religious tensions, ethnic conflicts, insecurity and poor governance, youth underdevelopment and unemployment, syncretism, hedonism and so on. However, its growing receptiveness to the gospel of Christ as laid by the early evangelizers has provided a veritable roadmap for attaining the Church’s overall mission: the salvation of souls. This presentation seeks to underscore the prospects and challenges of doing missionary work in contemporary Nigerian society with particular reference to the proclamation and propagation of the Christian faith to guarantee its steady growth and future expansion. This paper shall as well proffer some practical recommendations which can aid the Nigerian church maintain its relevance and identity amidst conflicting values and societal sophistication.

What, if any, is a Christian theological perspective on disability? Studies of disability in a theological perspective have both epistemological and ethical implications. Theology can inform society's understanding of disability by arguing that an inclusive concept of humanity must guide law and politics. However, people with disabilities experience discrimination in many contexts and have often been treated as objects of charity and healing rather than as subjects with equal rights. Theology and the Church also form disabling barriers and mechanisms that need to be identified and changed. From a disability studies perspective, a medical understanding of disability has been criticised for not focusing on disabling structures in society and the built environment. In this article, I argue that theology and the Church ought to be challenged for insufficient understanding of disability in light of a notion of human diversity that includes disability as a human condition. This article argues that disability as a hermeneutical perspective can develop new theological insights. However, being both a human experience and condition, disability needs to be further explored as a source of theological reflections on anthropology and the image of God as trinity.

The article shows how the Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, captures the use of sports, especially, football, as an instrument of evangelisation in her award-winning novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003). This is through the character, Father Amadi, a Catholic priest, as he plays football with the poor boys in and around the University chaplaincy where he works. The paper then examines the significance of Father Amadi’s particular brand of Football evangelisation to the contemporary Church in Africa, especially, the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria in which Adichie grew up.

Prophecy, prophet(s) and prophesying were usual religious and spiritual phenomena in ancient Israel which do pose challenges for the contemporary church. Sending of divine messages or revelation to the covenant people through the chosen spokespersons were part of deity and human transactions. The violent and crazy act of the prophet in the course of relating the messages of the divine has posed certain apprehensions and was often a source of fear in the people. Such manner of display by prophets is often done as a way to authenticate and make their oracles look as though they are original. The methodology employed in this brief study is an exegetical word study of key concepts and words as used in biblical texts and its applicability in African Initiated Churches. The researcher additionally employed a comparative approach on Ancient Israel and African Initiated Churches. The study discovered that in biblical times, ecstatic prophecy at times involved violence, crazy displays and emotional outbursts. Similarly, among the African Initiated Churches such practices are still employed with all the privileges and dangers attached to them. In the process of receiving or/and delivering divine messages, a state of ecstasy might be expressed by the recipients of the messages.

A Critical Examination of Paul's Use of Old Testament in Romans 9:23-29: Its Implications for the Contemporary Churches in Nigeria

Ecumenism is a paramount trend in the contemporary church due to the geometrical level of division in Christendom which is contrary to Christ`s plan for the church. Scholars over the years have struggled over the attempt at solving the problem of division. Another school of thought see it as a futile exercise as it may not be addressing the real issue of the schism. The question one may ask is, Why? Does it mean that ecumenism has not really addressed the mission that caused the division in the first place? And what can we do to really bring about unity if we really want it? Can the recent thrust for unity of the Christian churches in Nigeria be based on conformists` or nonconformists` views on ecumenism? In this work, attempt will be made to do a critical historical, biblical-theological, as well as a missiological evaluation of the schisms and ecumenism in the history of the church. Attempt will also be made to suggest possible solutions to actualizing the desired unity within the church of Christ. Therefore, this paper concludes, among others, that there is need for Interdenominational conferences of the conformists and the non-conformists to share their beliefs frequently based on Bible alone until all denominations agree.