Abstract
This study affirmed the fact that there is the idea of salvation in all religions whether revealed or indigenous. This applies categorically to Christianity and Igbo traditional religion (ITR). The basis for this comparative study of sōteria [salvation] and ụbandu [wholeness] in both Christianity and ITR is to juxtapose the two religions’ intrinsic value and distinctive heritage for wider readership and shared knowledge. The aim of this study is to carry out a critical comparative study of the concepts of sōteria and ụbandu in both Christianity and ITR locating their nexus and point of departure. This study is therefore comparative in approach. The methodology applied to this effect is, firstly, the lexical analysis which involves a critical study of the uses of sōteria in the New Testament Greek Bible. Secondly, in the context of ITR, our discussions on ubandu and sōteria as form and expression of doctrine of salvation call for the application of a phenomenological lens; through this, we used oral interviews as source of primary data. This study discovered that both Christianity and ITR define soteria and ubandu from a physical standpoint to include God’s providence, protection and preservation. It is on eschatological experience of sōteria and ụbandu that both religions have points of nexus and divergences. It deciphers the fact that eschatological experience of sōteria in Christianity is highly dependent on the belief in Jesus and his mediatory role which can be either accepted or refused by humans. Eschatological experience of ubandu in ITR is ancestorhood which is highly dependent on the use of coercive force through the enforcement of omenala [Igbo moral codes] in ensuring its experience on the part of practitioners when they transit to the ancestral world.
Highlights
Salvation is a very important aspect of religion
Our analysis has shown that there is a strong belief in sōteria and ụbandu which is salvation in both Christianity and Igbo traditional religion (ITR)
As we have shown, ancestorhood as eschatological experience of ụbandu in ITR is presently being likened to Christian idea of eschatological salvation through belief in Jesus, to the traditional Igbo religious practitioners, the consequence of not being eschatologically saved through ancestorhood, is the akalogoli, which, as we have discussed, are the dead restless spirits that did not make it to the ancestral homeland
Summary
Salvation is a very important aspect of religion. This stems from the fact that the quest for salvation is at the heart of all religions (Adelakun 2011). This study agrees with Goring (1995:455) that salvation relates to ‘the deliverance of human kind by religious means from sin or evil, the restoration of human beings to their truest state and attainment of eternal blessedness’. This understanding is hung on the belief that all religions strive towards restoring humans to their truest state which leads to eternal blessedness. The usages of sōteria in the New Testament have multifaceted meanings (Marshall 2004)
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