University of Nigeria
Research Publications
MGBEMERE, Maxwell O.
Author
PG/Ph.D/05/39540
The New Testament Religious Intolerance: The Lessons for Contemporary Nigerian Church and Title Society
Social Sciences Faculty
Religion
Department
Date November, 2007
Signature
TITLE PAGE
THE NEW TESTAMENT RELIGIOUS INTOLEUNCE: THE LESSONS FOR CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN CHURCH AND SOCIETY.
A THESIS PRESENTED TO 'THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.
IN PARTIAL FUFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D) IN NEW TESTAMENT.
. 1..* . '3 ' MAXWELL ONYEKAOZUKU MGBEMERE REG. NO- PG/Ph.D/2005/39540
NOVEMBER, 2007. Approval Page
This Dissertation report has been approved for the Department of Religion,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
c, Rev. Prof. E.N. Onwu Date Supervisor
1 ...... Internal Examiner Date External Examiner Date I i
.!, Dr.C.0. ,$. : .- .:.. Head of Department Declaration Page
The Revd. Maxwell Onyekaozuru Mgbernere, a post-graduate student in the Department of ~eli~ionand with the Reg.No PG/Ph.D12005/39540 has satisfactorily completed the requirements for course and research work for the award of the degree of doctor of philosophy in New Testament.
The work embodied in this dissertation report is original and has not been submitted in part or fill1 for any other diploma or degree of this or any other University.
' .. .i..
Rev.Prof. E. N. Onwu Head of ~eparhnent Supervisor Certification Page
I hereby certify that Mgbemere, Maxwell Onyekaozuni with Reg. No
PG/Ph.D/2005/39540 has satisfactorily carried out all the corrections on this
Dissertation Report as suggested by the External Examiner.
Supervisor .,,,.,<,w.%" ,,' ,,',.>, ' .
Dr.C. Head of dep&ent Dedication page
f To his Grace and wife, Most Rev. and Mrs. B.C.I.Okoro (P11.D) JP,
The Archbishop, Owerri Ecclesiastical Province and the Bishop of Orlu
(Ang) Diocese and to my Lord, Rt. Rev. and Mrs. Henry C. Ndukuba, pioneer Bishop of Goinbe Anglican Diocese for the part they played in my theological training and my ordination including things God is doing through them in their various Dioceses. Preface
Religion can be both an integrative and divisive factor in any society.
When the divisive elements of religion are not properly handled and brought under strict control, they create tensions and unrest in a society. Just as in
New Testament society, Nigerian society is also a victim of religious conflicts. It has been observed that the problem of religious intolerance in
Nigeria steins not only froin religious conflicts of Nigerians, but also from the diabolical role of Nigeria's multi-etlxic nature. Whereas in almost all the civilized worlds of Europe and America the government and her citizens have been able to contain the divisive elements of religion, the third world of
Afi-ica and some parts of Asia are yet to find lasting formulae for arresting the situation.
.' ,* .. 4 wf- ,,. < '>, . Religious uproar, incongruity aid disparity in the New Testament led
to riot, division, persecution, imprisonment, dissension and crises, just as we
can see in Nigeria today. This involved existmtial differences in cultural
behaviour, plilosophy of life and certain attitudes and values, the same is
applicable to Nigerian nation. However the religious intolerance witnessed
in this nation had caused great havoc and damage both politically, socially and economically that immediate lasting solution is now seriously needed.
In the New Testament world there were cases of both intra and inter religious intolerance, not only that this is true in Nigeria but also ethnicity and politics have found religion as veritable instrument for achievement of their ends in Nigeria. I11 Nigeria the government and her citizens are, therefore, yet to accept fully both in theory and practice the stark realities of pluralism of religious beliefs and practices. The waves of religious crises and violences in recent years seem to confirm this observation. They spill over the political, 'economic and social spheres of the country's machinery.
The researcher, therefore, presents thirteen chapters in this write up in which the above situation in New Testament and the Nigerian nation are clearly viewed and presented, the lessons derived as well as the formulae or solutions for arresting the situation. In chapter one we discussed the introduction, chapter two treate&tl~e.litmaturereview, chapter three shows
New Testament religious intolerance. In chapter four we discussed religious
crises in Acts ofthe Apostles: exegesis of related texts. Chapter five I _... discussed religious intolerance: the Nigerian experience. Chapter six is on
the spread of religious crises, while chapter seven is on campus religious
disturbances. In chapter eight we discussed eschatology in the thee main religions
in Nigeria: lessons against religious intolerance. We presented causes of
religious intolerance in chapter nine and effects of religious intolerance in b chapter ten. Chapter eleven is on realizing peacefill religious GO-existencein
Nigeria :what must be done? We discussed New Testament solutions in
chapter tweive and concluded with chapter thirteen which is on sumnary
and conclusion. Acknowledgements
The approval of this topic exposed me into making a detailed research work on the available materials which the non approval of this topic should have hindered. I thank all of you involved.
I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Rev. Prof. E.N. Onw, a dual academic giant, who shows versatility in various fields of human
knowledge. Thank you for your patience and understanding shown in
supervising this work mainly on the pains taken to proof read the entire work
and the necessary corrections you made.
I also thank Sir Emma Obi who paid a session's school fees. My
thanks go to his grace, the Most Rev B.C.I.O~O~O,the Archbishop,,. Owem
Ecclesiatical Province and the Lord Bishop of Orlu Diocese, Anglican
Communion for his prayers, financial support and encouragement, thanks for
., ,, .. ." $* 7,' ,, . ' 8 . your wisdom and understanding. I thank the ~rchbisho~'~wife, Nneoma
Dora Okoro for her care and concern, the Lord is your strength.
I hereby express my gratitude and joyful thanks to all my lecturers in
\ the Department of Religion who taught me various courses and encouraged
me in one way or the other, who also made one contribution or the other
towards the success of thls work. These include, Dr. S.O. Onyeidu, Rev. Dr. Agha U.Agha, Dr. Ban. Malachy Okwueze and Dr. Ugwu C.O.Tagbo e.t.c.
I do not forget my amiable wife, Mrs. Amaka Max Mgbemere, who takes good care of me, thanks for typing this work and your support with all your encouragements. My thanks go to all members of Mgbemere family who sponsored me, the clergy of Orlu Anglican Diocese that gave me some books I needed for this work especially Ven G. N. Nweke, a principal lecturer at Alvan Ikoku College of Education Owerri. I also thank all who prayed for my academic breakthrough.1 also thank Sir and Lady G. Asodike and Dr. and Mrs Victor Asodike for their financial support towards this paper.
Above all I thank the triune God who sustained, protected and provided for my school career, to God alone be all glory for ever. Amen.
Mgbemere Maxwell 0.
*, ,, . ..*. .,. ..,. . Department of Religion,
University of Nigeria,
Nsukka. I' ^. .-. NOVEMBER, 2007. Abstract
The religious situation in which the New Testament cllurcll emerged was quite complex, a time of religious unrest. Palestine in the first half of the first century was a meeting place of varied cultural and religious streams.
Judaism was the most prominent religion of the Jews .It had various sects that displayed religious intolerance .The world under Roman rule especially as seen in the dissolution of traditional Greek, Homeric religion and the
rapid growth of, mystery, cults with their promise of meaningful life and individual immorality ended in religious hostility. This situation of change, hstration, fervour and hope was the matrix for the emergence of a
religious community centred on Jesus. This community grew\- . with two centuries into a religious movement of worldwide importance called
Christianity. Hence in various cities of the New Testament world, the New
.,,,...I..?.. *'XJ ' . Testament Christian religion existed alongside with other religions .This resulted to religious tragedy and intolerance due to their beliefs, practices, ways of life and doctrines. The point isvd1en-clear,in the New Testament there were cases of both intra and inter religious intolerance. Nigeria today is also a victim of similar multiple religious background and experiences. The researcher applied basically the hstorical and form critical methods in the treatment of the entire subject. This is based on the information gathered froin the exegesis of scripture mainly the New
Testament literature, write ups by early and modern church fathers.The method of analysis is basically narrative ,descriptive and comparative in style. The researcher also made use of materials relevant for the work gathered from libraries such as publications, journals, newspapers and books available for use.
From the research carried out, it was discovered that the New
Testament religion emerged in a society which was a victim of religious bigotry, intolerance, chaos and anarchy that had for long disturbed the harmony and peaceful co-existence of the entire citizens. Religion can be both an integrative and divisive factor in any society. The yorld of the New
Testament was a pluralistic society. This involved existential differences in cultural behaviour ,philosophy of life and even in certain attitudes and
.<,,..W!.,t. ,,..>? ' . values. Various churches in some cities in the New Testament had inter and intra religious intolerance. This led to religious riots, imprisonment, division, persecution, dissension, destruction of property and lost of life just as we can see in Nigeria today. To arrest the ugly situation prompted by religious intolerance, the New Testament cl~urchleaders used dialope: application of immutable principles of love, prayer and fasting , teaching and practical niainly in the area of' lasting coiiflict resolutions derived from those
I PI-iriciplcsi~lrlic.atcrl al)ovc hr- a pcilcclirl co-cxistcncc of all citizcris because TabIe of Contents
Page Title Page ...... i. . Approval Page...... : ...... rr ... Declaration Page...... nr Certification Page...... iv Dedication Page...... v Preface...... vi Acknowledgements...... ix
Abstract...... ;...... xi Table of Contents...... xiv
Chapter One - Introduction
1.1 Statement of problem ...... 2 1.2 ~urpose'or hm of the study ...... 4 1.3 Research methodology...... 5 1.4 Scope and limitation of study...... 6 1.5 Significance of the study...... 6 1.6 Defhtion of terms...... 7
End Notes \
Chapter Two
",, , ,. ., .WV., i,'. ,..?..v, ,,. . 2.1 Literature Review...... 10
End Notes
Chapter Three Religious Intolerance In Acts Of The Apostles: Exegesis Of Related Texts. Page
Religious uproar at Ephesus( Acts 19: 23-41)...... 46 Religious incongruity between the Hellenists and the Hebrews( Acts 6: 1-6)...... 48 Religious disparity at Iconium and Lystra( Acts 14: 1-18): Priest of Zeus and Herrnes exclaimed, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!"...... 50 Religious bigotry and the Council of Jerusalem: Circumcision-Law issue between the Jew and Gentile believers( Acts 15: 1-21)...... 52 Thessalonica, a city set in uproar as fires of religious squabble burned (Acts 17: 1-9)...... 61 Religious pandemonium stormed Athens as Epicurean and Stoic pl~ilosopherspointed out foreign divinities ( Acts 17: 16-34) ...... 63 Religious confilsion in Jerusalem because of Trophiinus the Ephesian ( Acts 2 1: 27-37)...... 68 Intra religious dissension before the Sanhedrin ( Acts 23: 1-1 0)...... 71 Exegesis of 1Cor. 13:1-13...... 73
End Notes
Chapter Four
., ,. ."q. -9' . \ -1 T New Testament Religious Intolerance
4.1 The Historical Background of New Testament Religiqus Intolerance...... '...... 84 4.2 Sects, and classes within lPales'tinianJudaism and their religious acrimony...... 97 4.3 Religious antipathy between the Jews and Samaritans ( John 4: 7-9, 20-26)...... I11 End Notes
Chapter Five Religious Intolerance: The Nigerian Experience. Causes Page Historical Causes...... 121 Attitude of religious leaders and ethnic antipathy.. ...l24 Fundamental theological differences and the role of the press...... I25 The 0. I. C, Controversy...... I26 The Sharia debate...... I27 The unseen causes: The demons or evil spirits...... l31 Background of the three major Religions in Nigeria.. 136 The pre-independence religious intolerance (1950-1960)...... I42 Post-independence crises after the civil war (1970- 1975)...... 145 Religious Crises After The Civil War (1970-1975). . .I48
End Notes \
Chapter Six
The spread of Religious crises. Page
The Kano Maitatsine Riot (1 8"-29'h Dec,1980) ...... I55 The Zangon- kataf crises Py1992)...... I58 The Funtua Mayhem ( 19 -22ndJanuary,1993)...... 159 Katsina and Bauchi religious crises (20'-22"~ April, 1991)...... 161 Sharia and O.I.C. problems (1976, 1979,2000) ...... 164 Religious crisis in Darnboa (27' March, 2000)...... 17 1 Eastern states Religious Disturbances As A Result Of %aria. (2 8t'1Febuary,2000) ...... I 7 3 Other ininor religoos crises (5" January, 1995 Kano, 11 tll ~ctober,199 1 Kano)...... 17 5 Religious Intolerance Among Gospel Ministers.. ...l77 6.10 Intolerance from African Traditional Religionists.. .181 End Notes
Chapter Seven Campus Religious Disturbances Page Usman Dan Fodio University Crises (3rdMay, 1986).... .188 University of Ibadan religious bigotry (5" May, 1986)... .I88 Religious riot at Kaduna Polytechnic (9" March, 1988).. .I90 Ahmadu Bello University religious conflict (June 1 988). . .I91
End Notes
Chapter Eight
Eschatology in the three main religions in Nigeria: lessons against religious intolerance. Eschatology in Ahcan Traditional Religion...... I96 Eschtology in Islam...... 20 1 New Testament Eschatology: The Chstian perspective.. .202 The lessons against religious intolerance...... 232
End Notes
Chapter Nine
Causes of Religious Intolerance
9.1 Causes of religious intolerance in the New Testament.. . ..245 End Notes
...... 7...'..... * .. Chapter Ten
Effects of Reli~ousIntolerance
,' _..i..
10.1 Effects In The New Testament.. ..:...... 255 " 10.2 Effects on national politics...... 258 10.3 Economic effects ...... 26 1 10.4 Religious effects...... 262 10.5 Social effects...... 263
End Notes Chapter Eleven
Realizing Religious Tolerance In Nigeria: What Must Be Done? Page
Upholding the positive values of religion...... ,268 The need for dialogue...... 270 People and the rule of law...... 280 Government role...... 282 Comparative study of religions...... '...... 284 Implementation of national constitution...... ,284 Other possible ways...... 285 Prayer and fasting in Nigerian's thee main religions...... 286
End Notes.
Chapter Twelve
New Testament Solutions 12.1 Interfaith relations in the bible...... 30 1 '12.2 Violence and peace making in New Testament: No anger and no retaliation...... 303 12.3 Application of Pauline Paraenesis...... 3 07 12.4 Application of imxnuta~ie'principIesof "agape" love: the last straw that will shatter the shackles of religious intolerance in Nigeria (Exegesis of 1 Corinthians 13 :1 -end)...... 311 12.5 The lessons for contemporary Nigerian church and society.. .317
C' End Notes
Chapter Tli irteen
Summary and Conclusion
13.1 Summary...... : ....: ...... 333 13.2 Suggestions...... 335 13.3 Conclusion ...... 337 End Notes
Bibliography INTRODUCTION
Palestine in the first half of the first century was a meeting place of varied cultural and religious streams. The intense religious crises of the Hellenistic world under Roinan rule and the rapid growth of mystery cults ended in religious hostility.' This situation,of change and hstration was the matrix for the emergence of a religious community centred on Jesus. This community grew within two centuries into a religious movement of worldwide importance called Christianity.
Throughout its histay the Christian church of the New Testament has been subject to divisions, heresies, quarrels and wars. No century has passed without religious intolerance display. countless numbers of believers suffered torture and were cruelly dealt with and put to death for their faith in .' ,. **9. .,' ., ..>, . . Jesus. Warned that they would be betrayed and brought before governors and kings, they were stirred to great deeds of heroism and paid the ultimate price rather than deny their Lord .Not1bnlydidthe early church of the New
Testament survive this onslaught, but it increased in strength and by the fourth century was firmly established throughout the Mediterranean world.
The church of Jesus Chst jn Nigeria is, therefore, an extention of New Testament church that started in Jerusalem.
The New Testament society was a pluralistic society just as Nigeria
today with different cultural and religious groups. Pluralism involves
awareness on the part of those affected of the existential differences in
cultural behaviour, philosophy of life and even certain attitudes and values.
It is pertinent to remark that whenever religion primarily employs force
either to win more converts or to elicit obedience from members, its negative
efl'ects seem to outweigh the positive effects of religion. One of these
negative effects of religion is religious intolerance. Nigeria like New
Testament society is a large society with many tribes with different religious
I backgrounds. Therefore, freedom of conscience and religion should be
defended and nurtured wherever it is imperiled. Hence, no religious group
should claim ownership of this country which belongs to all.
1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM . The religious situation in which the ~ew~~estamentemerged was i/ quite complex, a time of religious unrest. The New Testament society l, I' - .. was a victim of religious bigotry, chaos and anarchy that disturbed the
harmony and peaceful co-existence of the entire citizens because
New Testament Chstianity lived along side with other religions.
Religious uproar, incongruity and disparity in.New Testament society led to riot, division, imprisonment, death of some, dissension, party spirit and crises.
Like in the New Testament, violent clashes connected with religion are not unknown in Nigeria. What is distinctive about the recent occurrences connected with religion are their scale, intensity and symmetry. Various Christian denominations, traditionalists and
Islamic groups have been engaging in bitter arguments and disputes. \ In contemporary Nigeria just as in New Testament society, the fact that religious dfferences in a way coincide with the spatial configuration of Nigeria makes religion one central element for the constitution of social differentiation and power relations.
When the steam of religious intolerance spills over the political life of any nation, the consequences are disastrous. This includes national insecurity, distrust, disharmony in socio-political relationship and economic strangulation. However, in a way unlike
I' .- the then New Testament society, the problem with hsnation is that she has become a hopeless hostage to religion and its 'skilhl manipulators. If the principle of religious tolerance anb fieedorn have been clearly stated in the Nigerian Constitution, the problem is in their implementation. From 1950 to date the country has faced waves of
religious intolerance without any meaningful solution.
That the Nigerian nation has not seriously tackled this problem
in its roots will be manifested from the sampled case studies of this
work. How can the positive contributions of different religious
traditions in Nigeria be seriously harnessed for nation- building
which is anchored in the healthy political, social, economic and
cultural life of all Nigerian citizens? How can the tensions generated
by interactions of the three dominant Nigeria religions- Christianity, I Islam and Afiican Traditional Religion be drastically minimized for a
healthy and whole some well-being of the Nigerian citizens?
There have been loss of life, time, money and property with
national instability. In other ~Ortk',how can Nigerians collectively
solve the ever-recurring problem of religious intolerance in the
Nigerian context? The bedrock of,religipus intolerance in this nation
must be unmasked, its root causes, nature and effects on the national
solidarity and unity should be buttressed.
1.2 THE PURPOSE OR AIMS OF THE STUDY The purpose or aims of this study are.
To examine the basic factors that generate religious intolerance.
To make a brief historical survey of this problem both in New Testament and the Nigerian experience.
To show New Testament religious intolerance and the lessons for contemporary Nigerian church and society.
To single out recent cases of religious intolerance in Nigeria for critical analysis in the light of the political tensions these cases created for national unity and social interactions.
To show the causes and effects of intolerance on national unity.
To present ways of achieving peaceful religious co-existence in Nigeria and
To make some positive suggestions and New Testament solutions to this perennial problem of intolerance in a multi-cultural
Nigerian society. t
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
., ,, .,'."T. .i. ,, .,a . . The researcher applied basically the historical and form critical
methods in the treatment of the entire subject. This is based on the
information gathered fiom the e'kegesis of scripture dythe New
Testament literature, write ups by early and modem church fathers.
The method of analysis is basically narrative, descriptive and
com~arativein stvle. The researcher also made use of materials relevant for the work gathered from libraries such as publications,
journals, newspapers, Bible commentaries and books available for use
and infornlation.
1.4 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY
The New Testament contains the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles,
Pauline Epistles, General Epistles and the book of apocalypse, a total of twenty seven books. This work will not treat all religious intolerance contained in most of the New Testament literature but specifically as contained in John chapter four and the book of Acts of the Apostles.
Many nations of the world had witnessed religious crises in various dimensions and do witness it from time to time, however, this wotk is limited to the Nigerian context. This work will not treat the crises within every nook and cranny of ,J$iggqiqn,socie@, hence some instances of religious intolerance within the nation will be given and a lasting solution sought for.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This work answers the question what is religious intol&ance?its New
Testament instances and Nigerian experience. It clearly shows that religion can be both an integrative and divisive factor in any society depending on how religion is handled. It will be an eye-opener to people of all religions in this nation, the extent of its damage and effects on national stability. This work will, therefore, serve as a corrective measure to the menace of religious disputes within this nation. It argues convincingly the validity of New Testament solution as the last straw that will shatter the
I shackles of religious intolerance in this nation.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Religious Intolerance
The means a blind and fixated mental and psychological negative attitude towards religious beliefs and practices that are contrary to ones cherished beliefs and practices. Such negative attitudes exhibit themselves in
., ,' ..(. 4. , . ., * situations whereby leaders or groups in any society blindly refuse to
understand and respect contrary religious views and practices except the
ones they consider to be true. In other words, there is religious intolerance
when any group in a society deliberately and violently sets out to stamp out
what the members subjectively consider to be error in religious thought and
practice. There is religious intolerance when members of the self-acclaimed true religion proclaim in practice that persons they consider to be in error,
have no right to live, no right to legitimate political, social and economic
amenities unless they renounce their error and be converted to the supposed
true religious view and practices.2
In short, there is religious intolerance when political leaders or the
ruling class overtly or covertly collude with some citizens on purely
religious grounds. Under such a situation some citizens are denied their
liberty, that is, liberty of religious beliefs and practices except the authorized
ones. In other words intolerance is a blind refusal to understand and respect
views or positions that are opposed to one's cherished views.' End Notes
1Robert A. Spivey, D. Moody Smith, Anatomv of The New
Testament, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995),p.7.
2~nthonyN.O. Ekwunife, Politics And Religious Intolerance: The
Nigerian Experience, (Enugu: Spiritan Publications, l992), p. 10.
a ax well 0.Mgbemere, Reliaious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Ex~erience,(Owerri: Grace of God Publishers, 2001), p.4. Chapter Two
Literature Review
Chri~ti~itydid not begin its gowth in a religious vacuum in which it found people blankly waiting for something to believe. On the contrary, the new faith in Christ had to fight its way against entrenched religious beliefs that had been in existence for centwies.' An outstandmg example in the New
Testament was the worship of Artemis of Ephesus, an image that reputedly had fallen from heaven. The fanatical devotion given to this local goddess is well illustrated by the shrieking mob who crowded the amphitheater and shouted, "Great is Diana (Artemis) of the Ephesians" (Acts 19:34).
Luke wrote his Gospel to serve as an apologia; a defense of
Christianity. He wanted to correct the wrong impression in the Roman world
.,,, .."(.7. .*.I, ' that Christianity was a dangerous and a subversive movement. The polytheistic Romans, who could always add one more god to their list of
deities, looked on their reksal to worship their deities as a lack of proper recognition for the Emperor and as a distinctly unpatriotic attitude. The refusal of all Christians to participate in such worship precipitated violent persecution. Before this, Christianity was regarded as a sect within Judaism and Christians were accorded the same privileges extended to the Jews by
the Roman government.
However, there came a time when relations between the Jews and
Christians were strained; when riots broke out between the two sects in
places like Antioch in Pisidia and lconium (Acts 14:2, 13: 44-45).Although
Jesus was put to death by the Romans, it was tile Jewish authorities who rejected the claim that He was the Messiah that mounted the first attacks upon the church. Beginning in Jerusalem, followers of the Way were imprisoned and beaten, while others such as Stephen and James were executed. At first the Roinans were unaware of the differences between
Christianity and Judaism, and they regarded Christianity as a Jewish sect .It
was Roman policy to allow freedom of worship to the national religion of
the people they conquered, and for a while Christians were granted the same
rights and privileges as Jews,,In $bet *theNew Testament makes reference to
a number of occasions when Roman officials gave legal protection to
believers and saved them fiom harm. - .-. As the number of Gentile Christians in the church greatly increased,
however, points of difference between the two religions began to emerge.
The church was no longer a Jewish ethnic group, and the process of
separation between synagogue and church was accelerating. Awareness of these developments may well have been broi&t to Nero's attention as a
result of Paul's trial in Rome. The Romans eventually classed Christians as
atheists, because they had no gods,they did not display any idols and they
refused to worship the Roman's gods. Believers came under increasing
suspicion from the populace as they tended to keep themselves separate,
they rehsed to attend the games at the Circus( because they started with a
procession of the gods), it was difficult to trade with them, and they often
withdrew from the normal round of society.
Each week they held secret meeting at which they spoke of another
kingdom; they partook of a communal meal at which they were said to
'dnnk blood and eat flesh', a practice which led to charges of cannibalism
and witchcraft. When finally they refused to offer incense on an altar to the
divine Emperor or to address him as lord, they were regarded as traitors to
Rome. Christianity was declared toke.a,religio illicita- a religion not
recognized by the state, and Christians became outlaws2
During the reign of Emperor Nero local attacks broke out against the r Chrrstians. For the next two and a half centuries the Roman government
attempted to stamp out Christianity, though opposition merely served to
stiffen resistance. By the fourth century the church emerged intact into a period of calm, albeit increasingly swayed by worldly influences.
In 64A.D Emperor Nero capitalizing on the unpopularity of the
Christian movement, set fire on Rome and blamed it on the Christians. Mass
persecution followed as the Christians were unjustly imprisoned and
murdered. In the midst of such attempt to liquidate Christianity, Luke
researched into the true origins of Christianity. After examining all the
documents at his disposal, he came to the conclusion that far fiom being a
dangerous and subversive movement, Christianity was a religion of world
< salvation and that it has something good to offer to humanity.'
Oral and written reports from Corinth pointed out the decadent
situation of the church there (1Cor.1 : 1 1,7: 1). Chloe's people reported orally
to Paul that factions, abuse of the Lord's supper, religious enthusiasm,
litigations and contempt of others have jeopardized the very existence of the
., ,, .. .h in,?' ., . 'I, ' Church in Corinth (1 Cor.1 : lO,6: 11). The letter from Corinth also
emphasized the sexual immorality participation in pagan cultic meals, i\ misunderstanding of spiritual gift and the sesurrection have ruined the once I dynamic congregation (1 Cor.7:1, 16: 4). Nonetheless, Paul indicated that
belonging to the body of Christ has a concrete implication for actions that
Christians may engage in their lives (1 Cor 632-20) since the spirit has set them apart fiom the surrounding world. (1 Cor 63-11) through baptism
(1Cor 12:13) and participation in the Lord's supper.5
In December, 167 B.C, "a desolating sacrilege," an altar'of Zeus,
was erected on the alter of burnt offering in the Temple court, an "a-
bominable offerings which were forbidden by the Mosaic laws" were
affered there (1 Mac. 154; 11 Mac 6 : 5 ). The Temple became a temple of
Olympian Zeus: Jewish worship and offensive pagan rites were substituted
for them! Jews were compelled to partake of the pagan sacrifices on the
monthly celebration of the King's birth day, and were forced to walk in the
procession at the annual feast of the god Dionysus. Possession of a copy of
1. the law was made a capital offense, as was the circumcision of new born
Jewish boys; observance of the Sabbath and of Jewish feasts was prohibited
(1 Macc. l:54-61).
.,,,..."P.\*'....'J ' . The King's reason for these measures was both religious and political.
No doubt he thought that common acceptance of Hellenistic culture would
, give unity to his empire, that the mon&he& zeal of Jews was
unreasonable, and that the Jews were lacking in respect for their King. In
effect he determined to stamp out the Jewish religion7
John Hick, a famous pluralist in a write up argues that all Religions are the same from the phenomenological point of view: He holds that what happens in Christianity is what obtains in other Religions in terns of worship. Hick argues that in worship human beings are coming together to open their minds to a higher reality, which is.taught of as the personal
Creator and Lord of the universe, as making vital moral demands upon the
lives of men and woman. Hick argues further that there is but only one God who is infinite and who exceeds all human attempts to grasp Him in thought,
and that the committed in other great world Religions worship that one God,
but through different overlapping concepts. Therefore, Hick sees the
Christian view which regards other faiths as are& of spiritual darkness in
which there is no salvation, no knowledge of God, and no acceptable
worship of God, as mistaken!
In supporting his view Hick quotes Hans Kung:
A man is to be savedwithin.,,e.. f.,?'.,.,'* the Religion that is made
available to him in his historical situation, hence it is
his right and duty to seek Gadwithin that Religion in
which the hidden God has alreadyfound him. He
proceeds to say that world Religions are the means of
salvation in universal salvation history. He believes that the universe of faith centers upon God, and not upon
any other religion including Christianity. And that various
world Religions have each served as God's means of
revelation to andpoint ofcontact with a different stream
of human life. Hick contends that Christians can claim
Christ as their means of Salvation but should not deny
other points of reported saving acts of God in man. He
continues to say that Christians can say that there is salvation
in Christ, without having to say that there is no salvation
outside Christ.lo
John Hick in another book argues that the grounds by which any religion should make claims of superiority, must be on the basis of an
"examination of the facts," that is some form of empirical data available to all and that such data should depiotdwihility of religion to promote the welfare of humanity better than other Religions. He contends that despite
Christianity's claim to absolute truth and unique validity, it has to transform I' .- human nature for better. Therefore, in Hick's view since other Religions have the same claims of absolutism and superiority and similar weakness and failure to bring about change in humans for better qualifies their equality. In Hick's view Christian uniqueness, superiority and absolutism have led to the destruction of relationships between Christianity and other
Religions. For Hick, the theology of religious pluralism seeks to place other
religions at par with Christianity in the hope of restoring lost relationships
among the great ~e1i~ions.l'
Hick should know that God is not the Author of confusion and
diabolical deception. Reading through Hick the impression that grips one is
a number of questions. Does Hick at all profess any Religion? Did he ever
have encounter of what he refers to as the "divine reality'? Could God be
the Distributor of Religiocs? How does Hick see the fall of mankind, sin
and God's divine plan of redemption? Following Hick's line of argument,
three things stand out clear in his pluralism.
t (a) He is concerned with the social destiny of mankind at the expense
of man's spiritual destiny. -, 0,-. *f* 7,' , . .,,
(b) He is concerned with the restoration of lost relationships among
the world Religions at the expenseI of _.Salvation from sin.
7 (c) He falls victim of his judgment, while he condemns others of any religious superiority, claims and validity, he himself runs the risk of
standing in judgment of Religons and their claims. In as much as one agrees with the social and reconciliational concerns
1 of Rck for man and relationships among Religions, it is necessary to observe that such concerns have only gone to extreme. The concerns are expressed at the expense of more important matters. There is the need to strike a balance. The weakness which Hick sees in all Religions that motivate him to qualify them as equal also abound in his point of view and that disqualifies him from assuming any position to interpret and decide the direction to be followed by others' religious experiences and demands. The point is that the ideas whlch Hick desires to be adopted by people of all faiths is in itself not only distortive and oppressive of others' given religious experiences and demands but heretical and destructive to their faith and religious demands. Therefore, one can observe that in Hick's pluralism lies a clear endorsement of polytheism.
Langdon Gilkey views religious pluralism as a kind of enlightenment
. ,u. .*I. 4 '.I+ that brought about freedom, liberty and equality of Religions, rather than domination of any one religion over the other. He describes religious pluralism as a "dramatic new situation'%whieh forces a new understanding of the interrelationship of Religions. Gilkey sees a connection between religious pluralism and dialogue. Thus he mad? it clear that to be in dialogue is to be driven on a new theological quest- namely, the effort so to interpret one's symbols as neither to exclude nor offend this other.''
One could agree with Gilkey on two issues. First, that religious pluralism is a kind of enlightenment that aims at religious freedom and liberty. Second, that religious pluralism fights against religious domination and suppression. But the question still remains, in what ways are Religions equal and interpreted? And also how does one interpret his symbols without excluding nor offending others? The question is how then comes different
Religions and points of views? One could observe that it is not possible to interpret one's symbols to another of different vantage point without excluding or offending the other. The only probable position may be the call to tolerance.
Religious intolerance is not a hidden problem in Nigeria. The learned, elites, well placed people and scholars have expressed their views on this
., ,I. ..I. 4' ., ..I+ ' . issue which has become a national virus and cancer eating deep into the bone marrow of this nation unchecked. D.Agbese is of the opinion that:
here are today in this couni-tyreligious barons who
operate and enjoy anonymity like the drug barons.
They are the puppeteers who pull the strings that make
their misguided followers engage in atrocities that severely strain the mission of religion as a unrfyingforce in the service
of man and his soul. Through their skilful manipulation of
religions, they have ,succec.ded in casting a long shadow of inter
and intra religious violence on ihis naiion."
Reports of judicial probes into violent religious crises are gathering a lot of dust in the vaults beyond the immediate reach of our memory. Unleashing violence on innocent citizens under the guise of religion is condemnable.
Before the arrival of foreign Religions, each ethic group that
makes up what is now known as Nigeria was under the prop of African
Traditional Religion (A.T.R). Religion then was no problem since it was a
means to an end and not an end in itself. The presence of oriental Religions
in Nigeria thrust a discordant note into this serene religious atmosphere.
Though out the history of their developments, Islam and Christianity have
co-existed in mutual hostility. Though .emerging fiom the same root with
almost identical literature and tenets, their strides for prolytization have
often been marked by violence and intolerance.. .14 I* - .*
Nigeria is a pluralistic state with various Religions, religious beliefs
and doctrines. Each claims to be the best, scholars have views on religious
pluralism. Knitter describes religious pluralism as "a newly experienced reality" caused by knowledge. He observed that the knowledge that is
making religious pluralism a newly experienced reality is not just of other
religious systems and ideas, but also a knowledge of other religious persons.
He says that religious pluralism presents a new perception, which pushes
mankind's cultural consciousness to a simple but profound insight that there
is no one and only way. He maintains that today the universe of meaning
has no center, for Knitter there can never be just one kind of anyhng. And
any person or movement that presents itself as the one and only or the final
word may cause problems. In Knitter's view the one-way road is most likely
the road to destr~ction.'~
While one could agree with Knitter on the need to terminate
sufferings of humanity and promote justice on one hand, on the other hand
$ the finality and supervisory of Christ, which is the real means of terminating
human suffering and promoting justice cannot be denied. The question is
.,,,..a. T.,t..,..3* . whether or not it is the attitude of Christians that cause human suffering and
injustice that needed to be changed? Knitter agues that there can never be
> just one of anything, and if ever, then $uch may likely be the road to
destruction. This argument is ambiguous in two ways. First, does this mean
that even God is not one? What about truth? Secondly, can this mean also
that the pluralistic position is a road to destruction if it sees itself as the only way to terminate human suffering? Or if not, can the pluralistic movement
then leave other movements alone to terminate human sufferings and
injustice in their own way without pluralists having to dictate to any
movement how to go about it?
Daniel B. Clendenin views religious pluralism as the middle line.
between polytheism and atheism. He identified three senses of religious
pluralism. (i) The fact of many Religions throughout the history of mankind
and culture, (ii) The subjective and personal consciousness of the many
and divergent expressions of the sacred in the world, and (iii) An interpretive
theory on how to handle the various competing truth claims made by each
religion. He observed that in third sense all Religions are depicted as equal
and valid ways to God, with non being superior. He argues that at all three
levels religious pluralism forces adherents of all faiths to ask how they are to
relate to their neighbours, wha,profass a different faith from theirs, and how
all Religions can in a sense reflect one true ultimate Reality even when their
basic beliefs are sometimes mutually contra$ct~ry.'~He maintains that
11 - .. r religious pluralism, truth claims, absolutism are dl not new in the history of
the church and throughout the old Testament cultural context. The early
believers confessed that Christ was uniquely normative revelation of ~od."
Clendenin identified seven factors for the new awareness of pluralism: 1 Immigration
2 Technological innovations
3 Renewed and aggressive efforts by Religions to convert people.
4 Scholarly study of Religions.
5 Intellectual shift in the last century.
6 Historical theologcal shift and ,
7 Penetrating questions put to Christian traditional views.
He observed, that one of the reasons why pluralism is so attractive today is that people have asked some pertinent and soul searching questions about the relationship between Chnstianity and world ~eligions.''
Clendenin suggests that Christians should be confident and \ optimistic in God's character and theological modesty concerning their
conclusions. This will serve them well as they proclaim that Jesus Christ is
.c ,P. .WT. .t. 3 . .,a the Way, the Truth and Life. (John 14:6). He concludes by citing John
Calvin:
(1 _.-. We should leave alone what God has lejl hidden, but not
neglect what he has brought into the open, so that we might not
he guilty either of excessive curiosity on the one hand or of
ingratitude on the other.19 A close observation on Clendenin's approach to religious pluralism depicts a high sense of maturity, respect and caution. His description of religious pluralism as a "middle line between polytheism and atheism" is quite striking. One appreciates his optimism and the desire to warn
Christians to be careful in dealing with religious pluralism. But the position he seems to propose of avoiding either excessive curiosity on one hand or of ingratitude on the other does not help matters either. The problem is, how should people handle religious pluralism? Since it is a middle line between polytheism and atheism. The possibility is that, if religious pluralism is not handled properly, it will lead people either to polytheism or atheism and neither of these positions is favourable to Christianity.
The emergence of Christianity and Islam in Nigeria generated
, ,,' 4 ri. .?' , ..I? . violence because of the existing rural, local oi traditional religion of the people, especially as some of the outstanding traditionalists initially refused
to succumb to their preachings. Christianity does not doubt Islam's
closeness to both Judaism and Christianity, but Christianity already had its
own unique structure and cannot succumb easily to Islam's later ideas. In
another vein, Christianity constitutes a thorn in the flesh for hetraditional
I religion of Nigerians, while fican Traditional ~kli~ion(A.T.R.) has many allegations against both Islam and Christianity. This is the jumbled situation of the thee main Religions in Nigeria, which gives occasion for intolerance and fiequent misunderstandings.
According to E.Heinz religious fanaticism is "fienzied partisanship or blind zeal in any cause, whether religious, political or social.. ." He went on to say that three components of fanaticism are enthusiasm, faith and loyalty which collectively manifest extreme narrowness and rigidity of temper.20
The researcher is of the view that it is religious fanaticism that breeds religious discrimination wluch I see as an aspect of religious iqtolerance.
Therefore, it is indisputable to say that religious fanaticism, religious discrimination and their resultant intolerancq are inherent and manifest in each of the major religions in Nigeria. This is where the researcher strongly stand to oppose those who endeavowtoexonerate any of the Religions in
Nigeria fiom the guilt of religious intolerance. Hence it is wrong for Khan to say that Islam has no discrimination of any sort in various aspects of life ,' - .. based on what Quran says that your religion with you, mine with me."
The reseacher quite agrees with him thatfIslamas a religion, stands for peace for all which is based on justice and that Islam believes in the dignity of human person despite his or her colour of skin, language or race. However, it should be pointed out that of all religions in Nigeria, Islam maintains the record of being the most bloody, most controversial and most fanatical. Right from time immemorial, Islamic activities have been
associated with violence as a means of purification and unification of its
followers. Feni Abbas confirmed this by writing that since 1980, religious
crises have in one form or the other re-occurred several times but all in the
~orth.~~There are also sectarian differences in Islamic religion. These are
symbolized by the presence in Lagos of no less than three Cathedral
mosques, three chief Imams; one for orthodox Moslems, one for Ahamadis
and one for the liberal Islamic society." As a result of this there has been
occasional intra religious intolerance among them, a house divided against
itself can never stand.
K.K.Degaya, a prince fiom Arabian Province and former assistant to
many Kings of Arabian jurisprudence, holds Ph.D in Islamic jurisprudence,
. ,,. dWf. .!' s.34- master degree in criminology and Cross-culture constitution, also he bagged
a Ph.D in Computer Allied Machinery. He was an Islamic Militant, Scholar
and a Jihadist and'a Chronic occultist, he wa$ converted and now a Christian
by special intervention of the power of Jesus Christ whom he said met him
face to face when he went to kill Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart in Los
Angeles, California, America. This man made s'ht1i.grevelations about t Islamic religion. He asked the Christian leaders in Northern Nigeria why they put Allah in the Hausa translation of the Bible. He said that Allah is not
rn Hausa word, the Hausa word for God is Ubangiji, this word should have
been used to replace that pollution used for God. Even in Arabic tongue, the
original name for the true God is Al-Tauhid. He said Allah is a principality.
According to Degaya, Allah told his followers in Koran 4 to "fight the
unbelievers and let them know the firmness of your faith." That is the ticket
to fanatism that is exuberated by most of the followers. Koran 8: 17 says, "if
you kill, it is Allah that is killing, you are not killing" (paraphrased).24
The researcher asks, when did God turn Himself to be a murderer, a
confusionist and a blood shedder? This is a diabolical delusion of the highest
order-God forbid! What an abomination? YOU mean to tell me that if you
kill; it is God that is asking you to kill? The only true God opened His
mouth and told Moses to tell His., , pepple,:'thou shall not kill" (Exd. 20:13).
The logos made flesh, God incarnate amplified it better in the New
Testament in Matthew 26:5 1-52 when He, Jesus Christ rebuked Peter as he
I' - .I engaged in violence in defense of the Master he told him: Put up again thy
word into his place;for all they that take the sword shall perish with the I sword. watt 26-52-53). It is, therefore, very clear that God does not delight in the death of
anyone but He desires that all should come to repentance. Why should that
same God now turn around and encourage another group of people to kill
after he has said "thou shall not kill"? In the first message that Allah
delivered to Mohammed his prophet he told him, "write in the name of your
Lord who created man from the clot of blood, who teacheth man what he
knoweth not" (Koran 94 and 96). This clearly shows that it is not the God of
heaven who created man in His own image and breathed into hitn the breath
of life (Gen 2:7), that Mohammed wrote about.
According to Degaya, the first interpretation of the spirit of Allah is in
the world of the living. Al-means deceit, Lah means confusion. When they
say, "Allahu Akbar, La illa hilla lahu," it means "deceit is great, deceit is
great, confusion dominate the earth, deceit take over the earth." Degaya then
called upon all Christians to say "this pollution enter ground." It lwts me .,'.*I..,. , that an evil spirit empowered for destruction is iubstituted for the name of
the True God in the Hausa Bible! "Oh Lord, teach them wisdom, said f ' - _.. ~e~a~a.'"~
Quran says:
fie Christians say Jesus Christ, the son of Mzriam 1 is the Son of God, how they have uttered a destnrctive ihirlg that the heavens and the earth are almost tom asunder.
May Allah kill them because they have gone the ~ayof
unbelievers. Another version of the Quran says that,
may the curse of Allah be upon'them how they have gone in the
way of the unbelievers. (Surat9:30-31).
With this can any person open his mouth and say Moslems and
Christians are worshipping the same God? Arrant lie, blatant false hood. It is a lie fiom the doom of darkness, a grand delusion. Satan has succeeded in penetrating into the ranks and files of Christendop, perpetuating all sorts of doctrines that are against the principles of the simplicity of Christ and His salvation, nullifying the originality of His redemptive mission by fostering
diabolical philosophies that have their root traceable to the pillars of heresy .2"hristians must beware of the doctrines of demons. (1Tirn 4: 1).
. ,#. ."t. .,' , ..3$ Chstians must see to it that no one makes a prey of them by philosophy and
empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental
spirits of the universe and not according'to Christ. For in Christ the whole
fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him,
who is the head of all rule and authority (Col. 2:s-10).
Degaya, before his conversion made it known that amdng other things done by them was sponsoring people who will look for errors in the Bible so as to confbse the people of the earth. e.g. Aimed Deedat, the first author of
Reversed old standard version of the Bible where some importkt things
about the Trinity of God was conspicuously missing. He was paid 120,000
pounds every month by Saudi Arabian ~ovekentfor organizing Jihads
and planting Islamic tenets in nations of the
Degaya revealed in his book that in Nigeria before December 1992,
thirty-two foiled attempts had been made to Islarnise Nigeria and make it a
member of the Islamic Congress (O.l.C). According to him this design when it succeeds, will introduce many states in the Northern part of the
Country to Islamic legal system which will bring consternation and there will eventually be a politico-religious show down which may split the country into various fragments. Insertion of Islamic inscriptions on the
., ,, . .*<. .*' ..>a ' Nigeria currency are all significant steps taken to islamise Nigeria. It is,
therefore, no more strange that it has penetrated the Nigerian constitution
and the ordinance of a strange Kingdom is now binding on all the citizens
of Nigeria. It was inevitable that Sharia would be introduced immediately
they succeed in dragging Nigeria into the abyss of sorrow called
Organisation of Islamic Congress (o.Lc).~~ The Researcher is of the opinion that the above assertions can be clearly seen in Nigeria today, Christians must awake and face the challenges. Concerning Chstianity, there is no gainsaying the fact that it betrays intolerance in one form or the other. To it tolerance wddbe as logically contradictory as intolerance is to the particularistic ~eli~ions.'~
Lending Credence to this fact, H.W.Gensichen pointed out that Christiariity displays a dogmatic exclusiveness which seems to almost disqualify her for participation in meaningful inter-religious dialogue. He said that Rudl~akrish pointedly remarked that Christians are quite ordinary people who, however, unfortunatetly raise most extra ordinary claim. He further said that it should not be denied that the history of Christianity offers examples of intolerance,
arrogance and unjustified religious pride which dventually make us
ashahed.30
.' ,,. .wr. 1,. %'a* The researcher is of the view that those who defend Christianity as a
religion innocent of religious intolerance in Nigeria are wrong and superficial in their statement or ignorant despite-the fact that one of basic
Chstian ethics demand is forgiveness and nonretarliation to offenders. In
Christianity you see people who take holy communion together and yet tear themselves apart, gossip, poison each other, struggle over land, murmur, be in enemity with each other, cause confusion and bow the seed of discord
among their brethren. Hence religious division, dissension, anarchy and
disparity are clearly expressed among Christians, most of them prefer to go
to law courts ar?d settle their disputes than in the Church. On the other hand,
due to lack of conversion genuine repentance and inability to walk in the I spirit in order not to fulfill the desires of the flesh, (Gal 5: 16) most of them
end in being nominal church goers with "head knowledge" of Christ but no
heart revelational knowledge of Christ. These kind of people behave as real
unbelievers and societal heathen.
Cases abound where some split their mother church just for gain to I form their own church, only to answer the founder and overseer, the same
will be both the church secretary, church treasurer and decision making
bbdy. Cold religious wars are reported between some so called men of God
in various churches with their membe.~:s,Denominations engage one another
in quarrels and religious dispute. It is worst in some denominations when
ministers or priests deliberately involve themselves in religious loggerhead, 1, - .. I bigotry and disparity. Some can even plan assassination of their fellow
workers simply because they want one post or the other, see them qumel
over church money and offerings. The question is was it God who called
these ministers or they selfishly called themselves? Hatred and malice are seen to tlie extent that in the same church or denomination people are not
safe. What a religious acrobatic display?
On the part of the Traditional Religion, though it is true that
Christianity and Islam have relegated it to insignificant position in the
country, tlie fact remains that it betrays intolerance as can be seen in its \ reaction to the two foreign dominant religions since their advent to the
country. Its act of intolerance is manifest in the traditional rural societies,
especially in Eastern part of the country where it has remained at
loggerheads with Christianity. For the Islam Religion, Nigerians have
Y clearly seen and noted that the problem of mass murder and destruction of
property worth milliorls of naira in the name of God rests solely in Northern
Nigeria where Moslem extremists make life unbearable for innocent
Nigerian citizens, particularly those fiom Southern part of the country.
.<,,..wt-.P..,*.,> ' . Death and vandalism have become the trade mark of Moslem /' fimdamentalists of Northern Nigeria.
Gordon D. Kadnan made it clear that there are areas of the Christian
faith that motivate and sustain interaction with and sympathy for none
Christian persons and communities. He argues that the Christian moral
imperative to love the enemy (Matt 5:43-47,~uke 6:27-36) demands Christians to turn completely to human suffering and need as the vital
concern. He observed that in the past such an imperative motivated world missionary activity and social work to alleviate human suffering, that
although that broke barriers but also enhanced Cluistian superiority.
Kaufman noted that Christian superiority is rooted in the conviction that they
have a unique and universally valid Gospel needed by all people.3'
Kauhan has raised an important observation of the reason for ! Christian's superiority, because they believe that Christians have a unique
and universally valid Gospel needed by all people, but the problem with
Kauhan is interpretatioii of the love for the enemy, which he said demands
Christians to turn completely to human suffering and need. This view tends
tq shift the imperative to one extreme, that is the social aspect, but human
suffering and need includes both the physical and spiritual, these two ., ,,. .rt. ,*. *',a dimensions of human suffering and need, should be considered together.
Ernst Troeltsch said that history(I of religion-... knows nothing of the
common character of religions, or of their natural upward movements
towards Christianity. That there is sharp distinction betwe& the major
world religions and the National religions of the heathen tribes. He argues
that all these religions conceive of intimhe fusion and reconciliation to Christianity either practically or theoretically. That divine reason always changes in history and manifests itself always in new and pdculiar individualization that make unity impossible. He maintains that there is an element of truth in every Religion, that such is characterized by numerous changes and individual features, he regards the view of absolute validity as subjective evidence of a profound inner experience limited to a particular religion. He ascribes the final pronouncements of the actual absolute validity to ~od.'~
It is true and clear from Troeltsh's vantgge point that there are inherent contradictions in religions which will not allow total fusion and
reconciliation of religions to Christianity and which religious pluralism seems to be ignorant of. The questions one can ask in Troeltsch7s view are whether divine reason changes or progresses? And also whether absolute
.< ,,. .wt. ,?. ., *',* validity can be ascribed to God and yet deny his dealings in the lives of men as being absolute and valid?
That the contumacious religious evils of fanaticism and
fundamentalism must be combated is the essence of the recent homily by
the highest personage in Christendom, Pope Paul 11, in a denunciation of
those who kill in the name of God, he called on Moslems and Chstians to work together in the service of God and man.') '
A.Ekwunife showed how politics and religion are interrelated and the threat of religious intolerance to Nigerian political future in her transition to civil rule based on the past experience of religious intolerance. He also made suggestions which he confirmed as being able to, when fully accepted and implemented, see Nigeria emerge as free and democratic society where worth and dignity of the individual will be respected irrespective of their religious and cultural backgrounds. Then he pointed out that inspite of all his suggestions, it will be an illusion for any one to believe that there will be a time when Nigerians would share the same religious faith and practice, the
same attitudes and values to life. Rather, according to hun, a pluralistic
country like Nigeria should adopt philosophy of "Live and let live" not
minding her religious differences.34
The qualities which are required of Nigerians to succeed as
a Nation are; learning to accbmmodate diflerent points of
view, objectivity in presenting an image of the others
which corresponds to the living facts and the ability to judge Nasser Lof% argued that the most important element of the Moslem view of Christianity is that the Bible lacks authenticity. The Quran is the only book of authentic revealed scripture. Moslems believe that every religious group in the world has had a divine messenger who was a human being. All of these messengers including Jesus taught the same message - submission to the will of God. The Moslems regard all these messengers as great prophets. However, they believe that their messenger, the prophet
Muhammed, was the last of all such messengers and that he perfected all religions and scripture in the Quranic revelation. Although Moslems believe in all revealed scriptures, they follow the ~uranfirst because they believe that it alone contains the authentic teachings given in all former scriptures and because none of the former scriptures exists in original and pure form.
The researcher is of the view that when the Bible and Quran are approached openly and objectivelyjGod will grant to the sincere inquirer knowledge of that which is genuinely His Word and truth and as well the one that lacks authenticity whether the Christian Bible or Moslem Quran. /I - .. Let it be clearly noted that no genuine assurance that the Quran is the word of God can come to any Moslem who retreats fiom considering serious problems both fiom Quran and fiom Islamic traditions which challenge the claim that the Quran is the unaltered word of God. The researcher disagrees with Nasser Lotft that all messengers of various religions taught the same message. They might have taught submission to the will of God in one way or the other but not the same message. When the sacred Books of various religions are compared and contrasted, the obvious point will be that they never taught the same message. Not only Islam, but all other religions claim their own sacred Books to be the only Book of authentic revealed scripture.
Nonetheless, when these Books are read and critical evaluations are made about the authentic teachings of the founders, their claims, deeds done by them, prophetic utterances given, life giving or destruction given in each, prophetic utterances made concerning the past, present and the hture and
t how they were or are or yet to be Ilfilled, sincere inquirer will decide for the most authentic Book that stood and is still standing the test of the time, which can easily fit into each generation past and present.
.,,'...w(.\?.. ."I' . Moslems attempt to discredit the Bible on a number of fronts. These include textual variants and differences in translations found in the ~ible.'~
Even if the Bible has a number of vdanireadings while the Qur'an has none, this in no way proves that the Qur'an is the word of God. If a book was not the word of God in the first place, no amount of faithll transmission would ever make it the word of God. Conversely, if a book in its original form was indeed the word of God, variant readings and copyist errors would not negate the divine authority of its ascertainable teachings- especially when these errors and readings can be identified and when they do not alter the general message and thrust of the book as a whole.
Any religion can claim anything about its founder, however, one point is clear, the supremacy of Jesus over all cannot be denied, His birth turned the history of the world fiom B.C to A.D, again the only empty tomb on earth belongs to Him because death could not hold Him, He laid down His life and took it back and resurrected. In short great indeed, Christians confess, is the mystery of their religion:
Jesus was rnanijksted in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on
in the world, taken up in glory( 1 Tim 3: 16).
This same Jesus will came, hack,again as predicted in Acts 1:9-
11,many prophecies and predictions in the Old and New Testaments have
been fulfilled, others are yet to be fulfilled, those looking for the authenticity
1, - .. of the Scriptures should see it in the llfillrnent of biblical assertions past,
present and future.
It should also be noted that there are other Religions in Nigeria apart
fkom the three main Religions, there are cults and even atheists, however religious intolerance is clearly seen in this nation among the three main
Religions. Both Islam, Christianity including Afhcan Traditional Religion enjoin that we should not injure a fellow human being, that we should love our neighbours and our enemies and leave judgment to God alone.
In 2001 Annze helped arrange John Paul,s visit to a mosque in
Damascus, Syria. Since September; 11,2001 he has also organized numerous high level meetings between Catholics, Jews and major Islamic organizations,including the World,s Muslem league, the World Muslem
Congress and the Organisation of Muslem Conferences. "All these gatherings" he said' "condemned terrorism and encouraged dialogue3, .38
Both Christians and Moslems, he maintained ,must be strong advocates of religious tolerance and freedom. "When engaging in dialogue, people should not discuss dogma on the first daym,hesaid, prompting laughs. Ordinary
people engage in religious dialogue., ,,... "(.every,, ., * ,8 the they talk to a neighbour of a
different faith or play a soccer game with them, Arinze said. Begin with the
practical, he said. "When the heart leads, the head follow^.^'^^
I - .- In Arinze,s view, there is almost no better way to engage Moslems
and people of other faiths than by joining together with them on a
project,such as health clinic or cooperative venture,that improves society.
Whde he strongly rejects what he calls the relativistic belief that all religions are equal, he doesn't think that Catholics should impose their religion on other cultures.The Catholic Church teaches, he said, that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. But like the Vatican, he also believes that the transforming power of Christ can work through other religions.40
Therefore, these religious admonitions do not provide for anger or
provocation as a dispensation. In Nigeria, fanatics have always been quick to
cite provocation as an excuse for violence, arson and murder. Such an
excuse is a voluntary termination of one's religious adherence, a usurpation
of God's fhction as the sole judge and a manifestation of lawlessness. End Notes
1 Meml C.Temey, New Testament Survey, (Grand Rapids;
Wm.B.Eerdmans Publishing Company, 199l),p.21.
2~eoffreyHanks, 70 Great Christians: The Story Of The
Christian Church, ( Kaduna: Evangel Publishers Ltd, 1998), pp. 5-8.
I '~mmanuelN. Onwu, A Critical Introduction To The
Traditions Of Jesus, (Nsukka: AP Express Publishers, 2002), p. 124.
4 J. Hering, The First Epistle Of St Paul To The Corinthians.
(London: Epworth press, l962), p.38.
'w. Meeks, The First Urban Christians: The Social World OF
The A~ostlePaul, (New Naven: Yale, l983),p.98.
!Floyd V.Filson, A New Testament History, (London: SCM
Press Ltd, 1964), p.7. . ,, .-{. ,,. , ..,.. , 7Florence A.Banks, Coins Of Bible Days (U.S.A: The
Macrnillan Company, 1955), p.59.
11 -. "oh Hick, Whatever Path Men Choose Is Mine In Christianity
And Other Religions (Philadelphia: Fortress press, l98O), pp, 174-179. "~olmHick, The Non-Absoluteness Of Christianity In The .6 Myth Of Christian Uniqueness: Toward A Pluralisttic Theology Of
Religions, (New York: Orbis Books, 1987), pp. 17-23.
12LangdonGLkey, Plurality And Its Theological Implications:
In The Myth Of Christian Uniqueness, (Philadelphia: Fortress press,
13Dan Agbese, 'The Long Shadow." Newswatch, May 6", 199l,p.6.
14 , Maxwell Mgbemere, Relinious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Experience,(Owerri: Grace of god publishers, 2001), p.6.
"~aulF. Knitter, No Other Nme?A Critical Survey Of The
Christian Attitudes Towards The World's Religions, (New York: Orbis
Books, l985), pp.2-6.
16 David B. Clendenin, Many Gods. Many Lords: Christianity
.,,<.A.T.V' **>8 ' . Encounters World Religions, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995), pp. 11-1 2.
20~gbemereOp. Cit; p.7. 22~emiAbbas, "Cause Of Religious Crisis In Nigeria," National
Concord, May 8'h, l987,pS.
23~ackMendelson, God. Allah and Juiu,(Boston: Beacon Press, 1 1962), p.111.
24 KKDegaya, The Greatest Encounter 1 With The Highest
Power In The Universe, (Nigera: Rohi Publishers, 1999),pp. 143- 144.
251bid;pp. 145-146
2%id; pp.147-148
27~bid;p.151.
30 H.w.Gensichen, World Community And World Relinions:
Religion h A pluralistic Society.(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1976), p.36.
o or don O. Kaufinan, Religious Diversity. Historical
., ,,. 4.f. .?.. * 2> Consciousness And Christian Theolog In The Myth Of Christian
Uniquesess: Towards A Pluralistic Theologv .Of Religions, (New York:
Orbis Books, 1987), p. 15 , _....
32~rnstTroeltsch, The Place Of Christianity Arnon~The World
Religions, (Philadelphia: Fortress press, 198O),pp. 16-25.
3 3 Mgbemere, Op. Cit; p.9. 34~ntl~onyN.O.Ekwunife, Politics And Religious Intolerance:
The Nigerian Ex~enence.(Enugu: Spiritan Publications, l992),pp.3 5-3 8.
35~ictorChukwulozie, Muslim-Christian Dialogue In Nigeria,
(Ibadan: Day Star press, 15)86), p. 1 1.
'"asser Lofti, Iranian Christian ( Waco Tx: Word
Sook, 1980),p. 1 16.
37Josh McDowell and John Gilchrist, The Islam Debate Vs.
Ahmed Deedat ( San Bernardino: Here's Life Publishers Inc., 1983),p.35.
38Douglas Todd, Hard-Liners Make Interfaith Relations Hard- news,Francis A. Arinze Discusses The Effect Of Religious hndamentalism On Interreligious Dialogue, Christian Centuw,Dec. 12,2001.
39 Ibid; p.2.
40 Ibid; p.2. Chapter Three
Religious Intolerance In Acts Of The Apostles:Exegesis Of Related Texts
Religious intolerance was witnessed in various places in New
Testament. This can be seen in some books of the New Testament but
mainly in Acts of the Apostles.
3.1 Religious Uproar At Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41)
This chapter contains the religious riot that took place at Ephesus.
The most vivid scene of all in Luke's narrative of Paul's Ephesian ministry is the riotous assembly in the great open-air theatre of the city. The local guild of silversmiths, who drew a comfortable income fiom the sale of silver images of the great goddess Artemis set in silver niches, were alarmed for heprospects of their craft at the sight of so many people becoming
Christians as concern for the ~QIIQ.~.,~~the goddess, they called an indignation meeting. The indignation spread to the general public, who ran into the theatre .and staged a pro-Artemis and anti Jewish riot.
1, - .*
The cities of Asia formed a religious league for the promotion and
administration of the cult of Rome and the emperor in the province. Their elected representatives, the Asiarchs, formed the council of the league, which maintained the cult and also acted as a political link between the provincials and the ~m~eror.~Demetrius may have been a maker of silver statues and a temple warden. Artemis was the famous Ephesian goddess of fertility, identified by the Greeks with Artemis. She was a form of the ancient Asian Great other.^ ~einetriusorganized the skilled craftsmen and ordinary workmen in defence of their trade, which has been endangered by
Paul's success in converting inany pagans directly or indirectly throughout the province of Asia. Paul had been preaching to Gentiles against
polytheistic idolatry (Acts 17:29). The temple was one of the "seven
wonders" of the world. The cult of Ephesian Arteinis was in fact widespread. "Great is Artemis" was a ritual acclamation of the goddess.4
The people who opposed Paul were those who worshipped the goddess Artemis (called Diana by the ~oman;). The metal-workers who made images of the goddess t~,se&to.pilgrimsalso opposed him. For a thousand years the people of that district had made sacrifices and gifts to
Artemis, and it was said that pilgrims came from every country in the world
I' - .. to her temple. They worshipped her as the spirit of nature, the "great
mother" who, they believed, gave power to women to have children and to i the fields to produce crops. Her temple was enormous with one thousand
female slaves assisting the priests.5 Demetrius and his men pretended that they objected to Paul because they loved their nation and their religion but
the chief reason was that if people begin to follow Jesus instead of Artemis,
unemployment and loss of profit will follow.
Paul was prevented from entering the theatre. Alexander, a local Jew,
tried to address the mob, perhaps in order to dissociate the Jewish
community from the objects of the popular resentment. But the mob, in no
mood to make fine distinctions, howled him down, and kept up for two
hours the cry, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians"! At last the town clerk,
greatly agitated lest the Roman authorities should lay severe penalties on the
C city for this riotous behaviour, persuaded them to be quiet and go home,
telling them that if they had any complaint against these men they should lay
it before the authorities in the proper manner- a real religious intolerance.
3.2 Religious Incongruity Between The Hellenists And The Hebrews.
(Acts 6: 1-6). .$ ,,.. .*<. ,!. ., ...> ' .
As the Church grew, it began to encounter the problems of an
t Institution. No nation has ever had greater sense of responsibility for the less
1, # .. Fortunate ( Hoi polloi) brethren than the Jews. In the Synagogue there was a
routine custom. Two collectors went round the market and the private
houses every Friday morning and made a collection for the needy partly in
money and partly in goods. Later in the day this was distributed! Those who were temporarily in need received enough to enable them to carry on; and those who were permanently unable to support themselves received enough for fourteen meals, that is, enough for two meals a day for the ensuing week. The fund froin which this distribution was made was called the kuppah or Basket. In addition to this a house-to-house collection was made daily for those in pressing need. This was called the Tamllui or
It is clear that the Christian Church had taken over this custom. But amidst the Jews themselves there was a cleavage. In the Christian
Church, there were two kinds of the Jews. There were the Jerusalem and the
Palestinian Jews who spoke Aramaic, the descendant of the ancestral language, and prided themselves that there was no foreign admixture in their lives. There were Jews from foreign countries who had come up for
. ,,. ."{. 7,. 'S* Pentecost and made the great discovery of Christ. Many of these had been
away from Palestine for generations; they had forgotten their Hebrew and
spoke only reek. The natural consequence' was that the spiritually snobbish 1. Aramaic speaking Jews looked down on the foreign Jews. This contempt
affected the daily distribution of alms and there was a complaint that the
widows of the Greek-speaking Jews were being neglected. The Apostles felt they ought not to get themselves mixed up in a matter like this; so the seven
deacons were chosen to straighten out the situation.
3.3 Religious Disparity At Iconium And Lystra (Acts 14: 1-20): Priest of Zeus And Hermes exclaimed, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!"
Paul and Bamabas went to Iconiurn about ninety miles from Antioch.
As usual they began in the Synagogue. h almost every principal place, a
colony of Jews and a Synagogue were found. Here among their own nation,
and in accordance with the customs of the Synagogue, they spoke and first
declared the gospel. The result seemed uniformly to reach some Jews, and a
number of the devout Greeks who attended the Synagogue to learn more of
God. This formed the nucleus of the Church. At Iconiurn a great multitude
both of the Jews and the Greeks believed*' Nonetheless, the Jews stirred up
the mob, what was proposed in Iconium was nothing other than a lynching. ., ,.-4 "<.3.. ., ..,a . Paul and Barnabas were under the threat of mob violence fiom the excitable 1 Phrygian crowds stirred up by the Jews. The preachings of Paul and
Barnabas led to the conversion of many in this city, both of Jews and 1 Greeks. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their
minds against the brethren. So they remained for a long time, speaking
boldly for the Lord. Who bore witness to the word of hsgrace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. The people of the city were divided, a great religious disparity followed, some sided with Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to molest them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaoilia and to the surrounding country; and there they preached the gospel (Acts 14:2-6).
There was a man who sat in Lystra who had no power in his feet. He had been a cripple from his birth and he had never walked. Paul saw that he had faith that he could be cured and said to him in a loud voice, "stand up straight on your feet." He leaped up and kept walking about. When the crowd saw what Paul had done they exclaimed in the Lycaonian dialect,
"The gods have taken the form of men and have come dohto us." They called Barnabas Zeus; and Paul they called Hermes because he was the
. ,, .wf.,,' ,#,a . * leader in speaking. The less educated or no re credulous heathen at this time still believed that the gods were in the habit of visiting the earth in human form. 1t was in the neighbouring Country of Phrygia that Jupiter and
Mercury were said to have paid a visit to the virtuous peasants Baucis and
Philemon, and to have been entertained by t11em.~ I
Paul's speech at Lystra and its effect; unlike all the other speeches in I - 52 - I
Acts except (Act 17:22-3 1) this is directed to pagans. It is a short polemic
against idolatry, speaking of the revelation of the one true God. It is on the
usual lines of Jewish and Christian propaganda towards polytheists. The
speakers shared the same feelings as their audience and perhaps by
implication were quite unllke impassible deity. Good news, the gospel, is
that now there is no longer any excuse for idblatry, since the true God has
revealed Himself, turn, therefore, to the living God. Jupiter, whom the
heathens took for their chief god and Mercury was feigned to be the
messenger of their gods, and therefore, represented with wings; as also the
interpreter of the gods. Which caused their applying of his nbeto Paul.
The temple of Jupiter whom they took for the patron of their city was in the
t suburbs. The apostles rent their cloths as they wanted to sacrifice an oxen for
them, a sign of their greatest detestation of and sorrow for such
aborninati~ns.'~The visit to Lystrar ,, was abruptly. . cut short by a visit from
Jews of Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, who stirred up a religious riot in
which Paul, so recently acclaimed as the messenger of the immortals, was
manhandled and cast out of the city as "dead. - 31 When he revived by God's
miraculous intervention, they went on to the neighbouring city of Derbe. I
3.4Religious bigotry And The Council of Jerusalem: Circumcision - law issue between the Jew and Gentile believers. (Acts 15:l-21). The influx of Gentiles into the churchproduced a problem which had to be solved. The mental background of the Jew was founded on the fact that he belongs to the chosen people. In effect they believed not only were the Jews the peculiar possession of God but also that God was the peculiar possession of the Jews. The problem was this, before a gentile became a member of the Christian church, was it necessary that he should be circumcised and take upon himself the law of ~bses?In other words, must the Gentile before he becomes a Christian fnst become a Jew? Or can a
Christian be received into the church as such?
The strict Jew could have no intercourse with a Gentile. He could not have him as guest nor be his guest. He would not, as far as possible, even do business with him. So then, even if Gentiles were allowed into the church, how far could Jews of those days and Gentiles associate in the ordinary social life of the church?!h%ese were the problems which had to
be solved. The solution was not easy. But in the end the church took the decision that there should be no difference between Jew and Gentile at all. ,I * -4.
b Chapter fifteen of Acts tells of die council of Jerusalem whose decisions were the charter of fieedoin for the Gentile. The issue centred on whether
Gentile must be circumcised and keep the law or not before being fully admitted into the church. It was Paul who gave the law its true stand before s Christ came. Let us see the place for law and circumcision in Paul before
giving detailed explanation of the decision taken by the Church on the issue.
For Paul;
(1) The law Reveals Sin
It is the law that makes people aware of sin (Rom.7:7). Sin as a
state of radical wrongness cannot be perceived as such until there
is a specific command whch is either broken or is a means of
revealing a hitherto unrecognized attitude. It increased not latent
sin, but actual transgression. (Rom ch.7)
2. The law Points Forward To Christ.
The book of the law, the Pentateuch, is as much tradition as
command, and as such is prophetic of faith; this is the point of Paul's
Abraham argument in Gal.3 and Rorn 4. In Rorn. 3 :3 1, before
. ,, 4 wq. %*' (08 introducing Abraham and after showing that people are justified by
faith and not by works of the law, he asks, "Do we then overthrow the
law by this faith"? By no means! On the co&ary, we uphold the law.
He meant that the law itself says just what be said. In it too faith is the
way to God's acceptance, so the Pauline teaching is no innovation but
rather celebrates the fulfillment of the ancient promise we see that in I 2Cor.3:12-17 the Mosaic covenant can point to Christ when read or heard by those who turn to Him and His Spirit. It is Israel's mistake to hear through a veil. $
3 The law Is Temporary
In Gal 3 Paul argues that justification always is by faith, and
that the coming of the law centuries after the promise to Abraham
did not nullifjr the faith promise character of the covenant (Gal
3: 19). Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till
the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made. The
law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by
faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a
custodian. Some parts of this passage suggest that the law was a
temporary hindrance to be removed, but on the whole it indicates a
positive preparation for Christ and the llfillment of the promise. . ,, ..<..7.,,41+ ' Christ's coming enables people to escape from the custodian and
emerge as sons and daughters (v.26), it could also represent the divine
,( - .. preservation until that corning. This would mean that the law had a
strictly temporary but divinely given function of preparing people for
Clrist and for faith, perhaps in the sense of exposing transgressions
and so the need for life (Gal 3:22) I
i 4 The Law Is A Power From Which People Are Delivered.
This is very clear in Gal. Ch 5. It is particularly clear in Galatians
(2: 19,3:13,4:5,8-10,2 1-3 1, 5: 1,18). These passages suggest that to persist
in living under the law in the new day ?f faith and freedom is anachronistic
bondage.
In Romans according to Paul Christians have died to the law and are set
free (Rorn 7:l-6). When Paul says, "for Christ is the end of the law, that
everyone who has faith may be justified"(Rom 10:4), he does not mean that
Christ brings the law to a termination, but to a fulfillment. The law finds its
7- true meaning and goal in Christ who shows that it is not for justification but
to provide a pattern of life. No one can serve two Masters, for Paul, serving
Christ means fieedom fiom the rule of the law.
5 The Law Causes Sin. ' 4 -1- "'
The law causes sin and dbes not just expose it. It is difficult to
avoid this conclusion from Romans ch. 7._ . Our sinful passion are aroused by t P the law (Rorn 7:5), and sin finding opportunity in the commandment
w-rought in Paul all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead.
Paul was alife apart fiom the law, but when the commandment came, sin I revived and he died. He said that the same commandtlnent which promised life proved to be death to him. For sin finding opportunity in the command,
deceived him and by it killed him (Rom 7%-11). By making a concrete I command, the law draws to the surface latent rebelliousness and its initial
transgression. At all events, it is clear from Romans Ch.7 that the law as a
regime is unable to deliver people fiom sin and can even make things worse.
Cluist on the contrary can deliver all.
4 The Law Is Irrelevant To Salvation.
What matters is not wlietlier someone is circumcised and so
committed to the law, but whether that person has faith and therefore life in v- Christ(Ga6:25, Rom 3:30,4: I), "for neither circumcision counts for
anything, nor uncircumcision, but keeping the comnandments of God"
(1Cor 7:19). This is similar to the statement in Gal 6: 15 :that neither
circumcision counts for anr;th.lgtror uncircumcision but a new creation." In
first Corintlians, keeping the commandment is what matters, in Galatians it
is a new creation. It is un-Jewish to separate circumcision from the I - .. commandments of which it is both part and sign. The context is not about
the law but about being at the law's disposal, keeping God's commandments
means doing what God wants,being at His disposal without reservation. Paul
in his epistle to the Romans also said: Circumcision indeed is of value ifyou obey the law;
but ifyuu break the law; your circumcision becomes
urtcircumcision. So, ifa man who is uncircumcised
keeps the precepts of the law, will iot his undrcumcision
he regarded as circumcision? Then those who are
physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you
who have the written code and circumcision but,break the law.
fir he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true
circumcision some thing external and physical. He is a Jew
who is une inwardly and real circumcision is a matter of the
heart, spiritual and not Literal. His praise is not from men but
from God"(Rom 2:25-29)
Paul, jherefore, maintained that, for by grace you have been saved, through faith; and this is not your own doing;Ms.the gift of God-not because of
works, lest any man should boastW(Eph2:8-9)
Now back to our discussion concernhg itii admission of Gentile into the Church. The dispute was sharp; the word rendered dissension suggests a state of strife and disunity. The coming of the Spirit upon the Gentiles was the sure proof of their acceptance by God, equally with the original disciples. The cleansing of Gentiles fi-om heathen defilement which in the
Judaiser's view, would be effected by circumcision and obedience to the law is performed by God in granting them the gift of faith. This implied antithesis of faith to law is one of the closest approximations of Lucan to
Pauline thought. If faith takes the place of law in this respect, then the law is an unnecessary yoke.
The "yoke of the law" was a familiar Jewish phrase, but in the sense of an obligation that was at the same tune a blessing and a privilege. For
Luke it is a burden too heavy for the Jews and intolerable to Gentiles who
are "cleansed by faith" and saved by grace.I3 To impose the law on Gentile
converts would be to challenge God's acceptance of them on equal terms with the original disciples, demonstrated in the gift of the Spirit and the cleansing of their hearts by faith. Since the Jews have been unable to bear the yoke of the law; salvation fo~:.has for. the Gentiles will be by faith.
Luke maintained that the law had been "an intolerable" burden to everyone.
Peter placed both.Jew and Gentiles on an equality saying, he made it clear ,# - ." that we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we (Jews) are f saved, just as they (Gentiles ) are. Peter's experience said James showed, I that God's purpose in this age is to take from the Gentiles a people for I Himself. (Amos 9: 11-1 2). The main conclusion is the confirmation of the liberty of the Gentiles already revealed as Jarnestput it; "It is my judgment therefore, that we should not make it dificult for the Gentiles who are turning to God ( Acts 15: 19). The answer is that Gentile believers in the area most affected (Cilicia and Syria) were to be asked to abstain ikom practices wlzich were repugnant and scandalous to the Jews because of the constant reading of such legal prohibitions as those of Lev. 11 and 17. Such wise restraint would go far to diminish friction between brethren and would remove obstacles to the spread of the gospel,'4
The requirements for table fellowship are reduced to four essentials: abstention fiom pollutions of idols, i.e eating meat which had been offered in an idol temple before being sold in the market, and a fortiori- participation in pagan cultic meals. Abstention fiom unchastity, abstention fiom what is strangled and fiom blood i.e. fiom meat that had not been
. , 4 w. ,' "+ killed in the prescribed fashion. When Barnabas and Silas read the letter and
confirmed it personally, a great cloud was lifted fiom the minds and hearts
of the believers in Antioch and this relief opeiied the way for renewed
labours in which many gifted brethren taught and preached the word. In
summary, as more and more uncircumcised believers entered the Church, t the fears of Judaizing Christians increased, for the Kingdom rejected by the majority of the Jews, was fast being peopled by converted ~entiles.This
seemed contrary to the special promises and covenants of the Old Testament
and Judaizers believed thai the only remedy was to campaign for the ,- circumcision of all Gentile converts, so that they might belong to the
assembly of Isreal. On the other hand, Paul and Barnabas were assured by
God's revelations in a new age that the Church was universal and spiritual
and in no wise to be subjected to the legalistic requirements of Judaism. Men
from Judea were teaching in Syrian Antioch that circumcision and keeping
6 the law were necessary to salvation and the resultant distress was acute. The
leaders thought it necessary to act quickly in order to avoid a division which
.5 could cut the Church into two branches?
3.5 Thessalonica, A City Set In Uproar As Fires Of Religious Squabble Burned (Acts 17:l-9).
Thessalonica was the seat of the proconsul of the province and ., 3,. .st. ,?. . * ' was the capital of the second district of Macedonia. Here Paul was once in a
city with a considerable Jewish population and there was an opportunity to
open his mission in the synagogue: ~he'~reachin~was concentrated on the r theme that Jesus is the Messiah, and that the apparent scandal of His death
and His resurrection were proved £?om scripture to have been divinely
ordained. Paul's preaching converted many of the Gentile adherents of the synagogue, and some influential woinen. l'l~epersecution at Thessalonica, accordiilg to l ,{kc, was initiated by Jews, jealous because of the conversion of the ilu~r~eror~sfi-i~~ge of God-fearing acillerei~tsof tlieir synagogue. The
.ICW 1lc1.t-collecled a ~~obuf'l~oolipa~ls- the rabble of the market place and set the city in great religious uproar. 'T'l~ecity autliorities-Greek politarchai a word not found ill classic litcrat~ire,but attested epigraphically in this sense in a nunlber of Macedwiau cities. 'I'l~essalonicawas governed by a board of five ~iiagistratesso named in the Augusta~i~ge.'"liese men who have t t~r~~edtlic world upside down- Greek anastatoo suggests subversive revol~~tior~aryagitation; there was some evidence of militant Jewisli
Mcssia~~ismill a r111111bcrof places tllrougl~outtlik empire about this time.
Perllaps the strange ~netllodsadopted by the jealous and antagonistic
~ekwere due to tlie fact that believing ladies ill liigli places would
iutluence autllority ill favour of t'l~e~ltr-istianChurch ratlier than against it. It
seemed as if the Jews could only get a hearing by producing a riot, of which
the politarclls had to take cognizance. The accusatioil included; the
, - .I. inissionaries were notorious distt~rbersof the peace, tlieir propaganda was
contrary to tlic decrees of Caesar adthat they proclaimed another king one
called Jesus. It was well that Paul was hidden and was not there to answer in
person for even the breath of suspicion of any subversive propaganda against tl~eeriiperor could be fatal. Jaso~iworrltl proba1)ly be a well- known Jewisli citizeri who corrld riot be tricd on tlie gi-orrrd of I)aidqsmessage, br~tcould
co~lsiderablea~nouiit. I-le may liad pro~iiisedthat Paul would keep away fiom
the city durirlg the followi~iginontl~s (I Tlicss.2: 17- 18). 'fliose they said,
"wlio are upsetting the civilized world lime ar-rived liere" (A.V. "these nieri wlio liave timed tlie world upside down"). The Jews had riot the sliglitest tloubt that Cliristiariity was a supredy effective tliiiig. T.R. clover quoted with delight the saying of the cliild who remarked that tlie New Testament
i c~~dedwith revolrrt io~is,when Cliristianity really goes into action it must cause a revolutio~iboth in the life of the individual and in tlie life of
. ,<..wt. \!. *'a* 3.6 Religious Parrdemonium Stornred Athens As Epicurean And Stoic Philosophers Pointed out Foreigri Divinities (Acts 17: 16-34),
When Paul fled fiom Beroea becairse the Jews of Tliessaloilica ,# - ., learned that tlie word of God was proclait~iedby Paul there, they went there,
stirred up arid iricitcd tlie crowds, religious co~nniotioriresulted, (Acts
17: 13). E3y t11c help of brethren Paul escaped arid went to Athens. Athens had
long siricc lefi beliirid licr great days of action but she was tlie greatest wivcrsity town ill the then world to wllicli men seeking learning went to.
Shc was ;I city of'tliariy gods. It was said that there wcre more statues of the
1 X it was easicr to meet a god tllnn a il~i~l~.
Atlic~~srepresented the Greek pliilosopllical world. Provoked, literally
9, . . '"stirred up to filly. I hc approach to Geutiles began in an unusual way wit11 disputations ill tlic 111arketp1;icc. Paul e~lco~oitcr.edEpicurean and Stoic
Philosoplier.~.'T'lic Ilpicurcan with their inaterialistic out look based on the atorr~ictheory of L3criiocrit~qdenied divine providence (all things coming into being :slid passing away tliroligl~praely fortrritor~sconibinatioris of atolns) arid i~~ir~iortality.'I'lle Epicureans did generally deny that the world was ~iiatkor that it is gvvcrrictl by God; ;IS also that tlierc wcre ariy rewards or pmlislllllents f'or iiwl af er death, lioldi~igr~otl~ing to be good but what
., ,, ."t. ,!. 5 *'a? ' . was so to their senses. 7hcy believed that everything happened by chance.
'T'licy believed that death was the end of all. They believed also that the gods were rerwte fiom the world arid did ~idtcare. ?'hey believed that pleasure
l3llically tlierc was little practical differcncc between the Epicurean
qr~estof p1eits111-c and the Stoic aim of living in accordance with nature. The Stoics bclicved t liat everytliiiig was (hd. God was fiery Spirit. That Spirit gt-cw tldl iri ~iiatterbut it W:IS ill cverytliirig. What gave lncri life was that a little spark of that Spirit dwelt irr tlicrri arid wlicn tlicy died it retunied to
(inti. 'IIicy bcIievct1 that cvcrytlii~igthat Ii;i1qxridd was the will of God and il~crd(~rc:riirrst bc :icccpted witliol~tresentment. They believed that very oftcn tlic worlcl disintcgmt.ctl in a cor~llagrntionand started all ovcr again on thc saw cyclc ofevci~ts.~~'Rotliobjects were to bc acliieved by a severe self- srrllicicircy aid dct;icliiricrit liorn ortliriary passions. It would probably be tlic
Epic~rrcar~part of Paul's adicrice wlio mocked st his teaching about the rcsr~r~~ectioriof tlic dcad (Ariastasis), arid perhaps also who contcmptiiously
called l~i~iiil 'Ll)abbler-." P;i111's speech was dcsigried to appeal more pocverfidly to tl~eStoics with tlicir belief in an immanent divine reason pervading tlic cosii~os,rnaintairiing the order of nature arid the moral law which is iuatle known to the conseimce:The object of the wise rnan nccorcling to tl~cirsystem, was to livc ill accortlaiicc with tlic divinc law oxprcssed in tlic ruiiversal order of nature. "Babblers," literally seed-picker, - .*.. a word descriptive of a bird picking up grain, then applied to a scavenger atid so to one wlio picks up and retails second-liand scraps of knowledge.
Wliat a iieglect ard let-down to Paul's religiom assertions, disdairi of Paul's
I-eligior~sfaith, rrlockery of Pad's religious affiliation. With inherent doctri~icsof thc Ilpicrlrean and Stoic 1'11ilosoplie1-s,we can 11ow see why they
said: "Wl~atwo~lld this babbler say'?" Otl~crssaid, ''He seem to bc a
pleacllcr of' liwign divi~litics"l~ccalrsc he preached Jesus and the
r-cs~r~.rcctio~i.(Acts 17: 1 8) I;ro~nCtirysosto~ri orlwards commentator-s have
gcncr;~llysqposed hat "rcsim-cctio~i"was tmderstood to be a goddess, and
tliis is more likely than tl~cidea oS"gotisV was suggested by allusions by
Paul to Jesus, the father and the Spirit.
'T'huy took I'ard to tlic Arcopagus (the Gr.eck for Mars' Hill). It was the
name both of the Id1 and the court that met on it. The court wab very select. y It dealt with cases of homicide and had the oversigllt ofpubfic morals.
1,uke gives a dramatic picture oS Paul cxpouriding his teaching to this
ancierlt and vcncr-able court, wliicli llad acquired such great prestige under
the empire that Ciccro ascribed to it the govern~ncntoftlie Athenian state
.<,, ."T. .P. ..I* ' . (De Natura Deorirni, I 1, XX 1 X,74). Luke thinks of this as a trial for
disturl~ingthe peace with subvcrsivc religious teacliing. Pad was brought for
trial before the court wllic11 e~~lbodicsthe nmt ilricie~ltand revered traditions p I of Atllcuiati religion arid culture; and the Atllenian Philosopliers with their
craving for rlovelty.
Luke liad perhaps read about the existence at Athens of altars to c~~ik~iown(ieul~ria~ncd) deities, and bi~iltthis speecll round the idea of a dcdicatiori to the cuiknow~iGod, wlwm Greek paganism worshipped in ig11or:illce and WIIO is revealed to Cliristians. "You worship as u~ik~lowri."
'J'lie irlscriptiorl is a witl~cssto the Atllenians that they are ibmorarit of God.
'I'l~cyol~glit to have known 1 ii~ri,since all Inell are dependent upon Him for life and Iicnltli. Yet they seek to worship IIim. Even though they are ignorant of who He is. I'aul pointed it old to then1 whom they should seek. Me told
tl~nitile tnic rlsc ol'tlieir pllilosopliy to improve their k~iowledgeof
natural tl~ings,to beget in them by it an admiration of the ~odof nature; for
as fi-onl l lim, SO 01.Him are all tliings. Alt11or1gli God Himself is
ii~corpomal.yct the things 1 le made are palpable, and did they seek as they
or~glit,they ~riiglitfi~ld out n great deal of God by the creatures, in which His
ivistlon~,powcl-, a~lcigood~iess ore ~nanifested.Paul told them Illat the times
of this ignorance God winked.at.;. but ww. com~na~ldsall men every where to
~*epent.Some ~llocked,the I~picrireanswl~oln Pad had spoken against in his
doctrine of the rcstu-rcction from the dead aod jridgnelit to come. Others I - .I. $ said, "we Iiear thee again of'tliis lnatter," it is thouglit the Stoics, who did
not think the reslrr-rection to be impossible, but did acknowledge rewards and
pr~uisll~~~e~~tsirl the world to come. Certain men claw to Paul and believed
nlnolig the wllicli was Dioriysii~sthe Areopagite and a wornan named Damaris with others.
3.7Religious Confbsion In Jerusalein Because Of Trophimus The Ephesian (Acts 2 1:27-40).
It was the time of Pentecost. Jews were present in Jerusalem from all
over the world and certain Jews fiorn Asia were there, who no doubt knew how effective Paul's work in Asia had been. They had seen Paul in tlie city with Trophimus, whom they very likely hew. The business of the vow had taken Paul frequently into tlie Temple courts and these Asian Jews assumed that Paul had taken Trophimus into the Temple along with him. The Jews of
the dispersion were especially sensitive to any betrayal or weakening of the
Mosaic system by which they were distinguished from their pagan
nejghbours. They were, therefore, the great opponents of Stephen and of
Paul (Acts 6: 10- 1 1,9:29). Paul was accused of teaching against the covenant ., ,, A*!. ,,' ~ ..,a ' . people of Israel, the law and the Temple. For Gentile to go beyond the
barrier fencing off the court of the Gentiles from the inner parts of the , .. Temple was a capital offence.
Trophimus was a Gentile and for a Gentile to enter the Temple was a
terrible thing. Gentiles could enter the court of the Gentiles but between that
court and the court of the women, there was a barrier and intg that barrier there were inset tablets an inscription that made it clear that no man of alien race is to enter within the halustrade and fence that went round the Temple, and if anyone is taken in the act, let him know that he has himself to blame for the penalty of death that follows. Even the Romans took this so seriously that they allowed the Jews to carryout the death penalty for this crime.
The military tribune cormlanded the auxiliary cohort which with a cavalry squadron, garrisoned Jerusalem. The barracks were in the fortress of
Antonia overlooking the Temple area and linked with the oute,r court by steps. To intervene in the case of riots in the Temple would be part of the cohort's regular duty and could be put into affect rapidly. The Asian ~ew accused Paul of destroying the law defiling the Temple. They initiated a movement to lynch him. In the north-west corner of the Temple area stood the castle of Antonia, built by Herod the Great. At the great festivals, when
. , 4 7%. .'C the atmosphere was tough, it was garrisoned by a cohort of one thousand men. Rome insisted on civil order and a riot was unforgivable sin both for the populace who staged it and the co&tmider who allowed it. The
commander heard what was going on and came down with his troops. Paul
was arrested and chained by each ann to two soldiers. In the confusion the
commander was able to extract no coherent charge from the excited mob and Paul was actually carried through the seething mob into the barracks. There
was never a time when Paul was near death than this and it was the impartial justice of Rome which saved lis life.
As solders were struggling towards the steps to reach the sanctuary of
their own barracks, Paul made an amazing request to be allowed to address
the furious religious mob. The captain was amazed to hear the accents of
cultured Greek coming horn Paul whom the crowd were out to lynch.
Somewhere about A.D.54, an Egyptian had led a band of desperate men out
to the Mount of Olives with a promise that he could make the walls of the
city fall down before him. The Romans dealt swiftly and efficiently with his
followers but he himself had escaped and the captain had thought that Paul
was this revolutionary Egyptian come back. His followers had been dagger-
behers, violent nationalists who were deliberate assassins. They concealed
daggers in their cloaks, mixed withhe mob and struck as they could. But
when Paul stated his credentials, the captain knew that whatever else he was,
he was no revolutionary thug; and so he ,allowed - .." him to speak. When Paul turned to speak he made a gesture for silence, and almost miraculously,
complete silence fell on that roaring mob, for the mass of the,people were
following, shouting "kill him, away with him!" Nothing in all the New
Testament so shows the force of Paul's personality a$ this silence that' he commanded from the mob who could have lynched him with their religious dissension, hatred and intolerance. He them made his defence.
38 Intra Religious Dissension Before i'he Sanhedrin (Acts23:l-10).
The situation was delicate and the atmosphere tense, and Paul owed his life under God's providences to the protection afforded by Rome to a citizen as yet uncondemned by its tribunals. Internal dissensions as well as methods both corrupt and violent had robbed the Sanhedrin of much of its
ancient prestige. The president was the vile Ananias whose unscrupulous
t intrigues maintained him in power fiom A.D. 47 to 58, despite many
accusations against him. He was assassinated by Zealots in ~.~.66.~'
The purpose of Paul's address to tlle Sanhedrin was to demonstrate
that Christianity is continuous with the best traditions of Judaism. In
his Christian faith Paul was not a traitor to Pharisaism; on the contrary
that faith is the fulfillment of tli&'Gess&nic hope and of the beliefs of
his native Pharisaism about the resurrection of the dead. The high
priest representssadducee Judaism w$h wbch Christianity has
nothmg in common. Paul's faith was a fulfillment of Pl~arisaism.
For Paul to say "Brethren" was to put himself on an equal footing
with the court; for the normal beginning when addressing the Sanhedrin was, "nllcrs of tlic people arid elders of Israel." Whc~tlic high priest ordered Paul
10 t)c strrlck, lie lii~nsclfwas Irarisgr-essingthe law. So Paul called him a
~vIiitc-\v;~~li~d~vall.it was i~ideed;I C~~ITICto speak evil of a ruler of the
~~coplc(1isoc.f 22:28) I\aul k~iuwpcr fcctly well that Ananias was liigli priest.
13ut lic was ~ioivrior~sas a ~IIIII~~,;I tliicl; a rapacious robber and a quisling iri tlw ROII~~II~SC~V~CC. r'ad tlicri 111x1~a clai111that lie knew wodd set tlie
Sa~iliedti~ias~.uidcr. In tlic Sa~iIie(iri~itliere were Pharisees and Sadducees wlitrsc helids sverc opposed lo cadi otlier, just as the researcher had sliown
'I'lic Plwisccs 1)clicvcd iri tlic rriiiiutiac ol'tlic oral law; the Sadducees
;icceptcd only I lie written law. 'I'lrc 131iarisecstxlievcd ill predest illation; tlle
Sadducees believed in Gee-will. 'I'lic Pliarisecs believed in angels and spirits; heSadducees did ~iot.Above all the Pliarisees believed in the resurrection of tlic dead; tlic Sadducees did+.not:+%inlsaid as a Pharisee, it was for the hop of rcstlrrcctio~ifrom tllc dcad lie was on trial. As a result the Sanhedrin
was split ill two; slid in the violerit argunlc~~tthat followed Paul was nearly , .-. torn in picces. To save him fi.0111this religious violcncc, the conirnander had
6 to take hi111 back 10 the barracks again. 'The Pharisaic scribes admitted the
possibility that a spirit might liavc spoken to Paul. This religious violent
uproar explained why Paul would not for tlie firtr~resubmit to Jewish jurisdiction. 'Tlic court ricarly beca~nctlic scene of a lyriclli~lg.The rescue of
Paul by Rolrinrls from the fury of tlic Sanhedrin was to bc the prelude to his
jourrley to Rorllc. i
Ihcgesis ol' 1 Car 13 : 1- 13.1'1iis will liclp us understand the real qualities
of God's agape-lovc. Gross disordcrs witllin the Corinthian churcll include
pride, I~~xrlry,avasicc, discord, lust, division, dissension, scliism, anarchy
religious intolcraricc ctc. Tllcir pride discovcred itsclf in thcir parties and
t'ac~ious.Pat11 tolcl tlicm to tnakc up tlieir diffcrenccs. F-Tc dcscribcd them
with "Scliis~na~a"wllicli is tlic word for "rcnts in a gannc~lt."Tlie Corinthian
T
cliurcl~was ill clarlgcr of bccomirlg as rrrlsiglltly as a ton1 gar~ncntjustas can
be secn today ill Nigcriati scligious intolerance among adherents of same
religion acid otlier religions. If all rcligiolis prcacll love, the problem lies in
its practical application. "Positivol.yy~lovebears ic eitlicr covers or endures
all tliiiigs. Love crcciits others with good int&olis, or never loses faith."17
The abscncc of love car1 bc conpmsatcd by, no otlier quality, liowcvcr , - ... spectacular, bc it spiritual gifts or religious zcal. Its characteristics
tle~ria~idctcrnal corit inuance wllcr~t11c cart11 bound qualities havc forever
ceased.
3.9 The Exegesis of I Corinthians 13: I -end. 'I'l~iswill Ilc take11verse by verse.
'llic gift of tonguc (glossolalia) on wliicli the Corintliians so much valucd tlie~~isclves,is me~~tior~cdfirst bccause it was the prorni~lcntsub-ject in this wliole discussiorl. The toligues of angels (allgelon) are the languages wliicli angels use. A mode of expression equivalent to "all languages human or divine." Paul rneant to say that the gilt of tongucs in its liigliest
co~iccivablccxtc~t without love is notliing. Love is far more excellent than
the gift of tongucs which triany of tlic Corinthians liad, or coveted, or
boasted in, desyisi~igthose who liad it not ''Without love I am become, ie
the lncrc wmt of love has recluced me, notwitl~sta~~dirrgthe gill in question,
.to a level with sorrndilig brass; not a musical instru~rieritmade of brass,
wl~icliIlas solix dignity about it, but to a piece of clattering brass which .<,,... WT. ,%. ., ,.>t . . makes a scllseless ~ioise;or at least expressive of all rnusical instruments.
Tinkling (alalazo~i),properly clarlging, expressive of the loud shrill noise
I' . ( ~nadcby t hc cymbal.
Verse 2 rI 7 licre are tliree gifts rcfcr-red to liere, propliecy (propheteia), the word of k~iowlcdgc(11111stcria) and ~liiraclcs.'I'lie rmdcrsta~idingor appreliension
~~f~iiystcrics:11d 1101 tile posscssioli ~f'kriowlcclgeiri its distinctive sense was the r-csrrlt of the gift ol'propliccy. Mystcries arc secret tlli~igsuncliscoverable by hu~iia~ireason, wlii~liclivillc r~vclatio~ialo~ic can make kno,wn. The gift of prophecy is !he gilt ol'rcvelatio~~by wliicll sucli mysteries are co~nmunicatcd.Par11 intended to say that tlioi~ghlie was the recipient of all the rcvclatious wllicli God cvcr dcsigncd to make concerning the plan of salvation slid tlie Ici~igdomof God, without love lie would be nothing ie wort liless.
Verse 3
All outward acts of beuefice~iceare of no avail without love (agape).
A Inan may givc away his wliolc estate, or sacrifice himself, and be in no .,,,... "<.,I. *'a* sense the gainer. The original word (psolnizo) here wed, literally means, to f'ccd by ~norsels.It is geucrally followed by two accusatives, to feed a person
,I -.*. with so~rictlling.t lcrc tlic accusative of the perso11 is otnittccl, so that the passage stnnils; "though 1 Seed out my property" ie distribute it in food. And though 1 givc rny body to bc I~ut~icd,ie lhougli 1 make tlic ~riostpainful sacrifice of~liyselfwithout love I gait1 notlli~ig.No actions, no sufferings are srrl'licicnt to wtitlc any soul to lwave~lrrnless they proceed from true love to
God and a tlcsisc to obcy and please i Iinl in what we do.'"
Verse 4
I ,ow is pticnt (~nakrotllr~lneo)and kind (Cllreste~retai),Love is not
jealous (zeloo) or I)oasfid (pxpcreuetai), love is slow to be soused to
rescr~triierit.11 patiently bears with provocation, and is not quick to assert its
rights or rese~itill1 injury. It is kind, ie it is inclined to perform good oflices,
is good natured. Tllc word (zeloo) liere used may express any wrong feeling
absolved ill view of the good of others, riot only envy, but Iiatred, emulation,
I and the like. It vaunts not itself (perperenetai), this i~icludesall forms of the
desire to gain the applause of otliers, 1,ove doe? tiot seek to will admiration
;md applause. It is not puffed up i.e conceited. Imve is modest and humble.
Love is kid. Orige~iId it that this means that love is sweet to all, love .<,,..."<.,I. 3 *'># . . knows no envy, love is no blaggart, it is not inflated with its ow11
i~nportmce;it does not beliave gracelessly and love does not insist upon its
Verse 5
Imve is not arrogant (ascliemoneo). It does ~iotact unbecomingly or Iler own, it is 11ot easily p-ovokctl ic it is not iluick telr~pcredor does not s~~fir-itself to t)c roused to I-esel~i~licrlt,therefore it tllinks 110 evil plans nor devices cvil. It docs 11ot attrihtc cvil ~ilotivesto otlicrs and is not s~~spicious.
It does not 1;iy the cvil wllicli it sr~tTtm to tllc charge of the wrorig doer, imtcad of being rescttthl it is forgiving. Love docs not store up (logizeshtai) the ~neinor-yof ;my wrong it has received. 2 1
\
Verse 6
I ,we docs 11ot rejoice at wrolig (adikia) but rejoices in the truth
(iilctllcia). It rqjoices lwt in iniquity ie iri ;~nytliiligwllicl~ is not conformed to thc stand;ird of right. 'The word is wdly translated unrighteousness; but this is ~ioito be liriiited to inj~~sticq,I,i~~.i~i.cl,wdes.all fosriis of rrioral evil. Love does ~otrejoice in urlr-ightcousliess, but it re.joices together- with (sugchairei)
Verse 7
l-mcalways protects (stego), lio~~lthe basic meaning to cover or roof over, two ~~sagcsenicrge ic to protect that wliicll is covered and in so doing, io l)e;-11-or chi-c wll;lt clcsccr~tlsrrporl it . I ,ovc bears a11 things. 'l'llis may t eitl~ernlem, t)eilrs ill silerlcc all arllloyarlces and troubles, or covers up all things (as stet;:) may Ilavt: either ~r~ea~ling), in the sense of coiicealing or cucusirlg the filults of otllcrs, instc;~dof gladly disclosing tllcm.
I:r~rtl~er-,lovc belicvcs all tllir~gs,is [lot suspicious but readily credits wllat meri say in their own tlcfe~lce.1,ove llopes all things, it endures all things. ?'he wold "l~upoinenos"is propet-ly a military word and means to
Verse 8
I,ovc never lids ic it eridurcs hr ever. Whetller tliere be prophecies they sllall f;d ie be donc away with. The gift shall cease to be necessary and tllerefore shall not be continued. Be it tongues ic the gifl of tongues shall
.<,,. .wt. ,,. . *'A6 ' . cease. Ikit kllowledge, it sld var~isllaway ie ceases to exist, but love
, - ... Verse 9 and 10
Prrescllt ki~owletlgcand pr-oplrecy are only fi-agrnenta~y.They are partial or irrq~erl'ectand theselbre srlited only to an imperfect state of esistc~icc.7'11~ rc~clat ions gantccl to the proplicts imparted mere gli~rlpses of ilic ~nystcricsof God; wllen tliosc myster-ics stad disclosed in the fdl light ol'lie;~\c~twliat mcd tl~c~iof'tllose glilnpscs'? 111 God's iiriiriediate prcsc~~cc,pr'opl~cts. ccstalic speccli and lilriitcd untlerstar~tliiigare alike rc~~tlcrcd~cdrl~~da~lt. Note tlic fbrcc of'"kr~targetlicsoritai" will pass away, to reudcr r~selcssaid iliopcrativc.
Verse 1 I
Wile11 1 was n child; as opposed to one of mature age, I spoke as a cldtl. I rlnderstood as a child, 1 f'elt adacted as a child. I tliought as a child ie my Iangr~agc,feelings, arid tliorlgllts were all cllildisli. The words
"phroneo and logizo~nai,"l~owevcr-, are so coi-nprehensive that the two clauses lllily be re~~dercd,"I had the opir~ionsof a cliild and I rcaso~~cdas a cl~ild."Wllen 1 became a Inall, I put away cl~ildishthings ie my finner
0111. pr-csent knowledge is i~nperfect,for we now see through a glass.
'I'lie clearest rcvelatirm of'tilc tlli~igsof Got1 in words is as all e~ligna,when
co~ilpareclto sight. But tlm I'acc to face ie 110 longer tllrough a inirror, but irrmlcdiatcly. Now I know it1 part ie irnpcrf'cctly, but the11 shall 1 know even
;IS I atti Ictlowr~ie pcr~Sc'cctly.
WII;I~T\nd wisl~csto itrlprcss upon the Corinthians is that the gifts in wllicli they so niucli pritlctl tlielnsclvcs were small matters compared to what is ill 1cse1vc lhr the pcoplc of C;od. Now I know "ginosko," then shall I
. 33 . ow'Li~s~~~, IC krlow frdly or rccog~iize personally as it were by sight.
Verse 13
So f;iitli, hope, lovc abides or remains '(menei), tlie Greek verb is singidar although tlie subject is plural, i~idicatingthe indissoluble unity of tllcse virtrlcs: 'I'lle grcatcst of tllcse is love, 1.m~is the root of the other two.
1.m~believes a11 tliirlgs, hopes all things, faith and hope are purely human,
.<*. .wl 7,. ., * ,2 lovc is divine. Ile stresses lovc s absolute s'uprelnacy. Great as faith and
Iiope are, love is still greater. Faith without love is cold, arid hope without
love is grim. I.me is the fire wllicl~ki~ldic-s.faith ar~d it is the light which
tlirlis hopc into certni~lt~.~'(mni de ~licrleipistis, elpis, agape, ta tria tauta,
~ricizor~clc toittoti e agapc) ic so Iilitll, hope, low abide; these tllrec, but the greatest of these is love ( 1 Cor- 13 : 13RSV) 2 Mat tlicw Lhk, I'gk's Co111ltie11tai-y011 'I'he Bible. (Great Britain:
'l'lio~llasNclso~~ Atid Sons Ltd, 1 %2), 11.9 17
5 Jolll~1 largreaves, A G ~~ideTo Acts (Britain: Latimer 'I'send And
C:rmp:irly Ltcl, 1 OC)O), p. 1 70. t
6William h-clay, Tlie DiliIv Study Bible: The Acts Of The Apostles,
,(Nuw Dcllli: fkkl~aI'sitr!ess Pvt. Ltd, 2003), p.5 1 .
7 Ibicl; p.5 1 .a,, .w3..*' . . X 1.3.W. Jollnsorl, The People's New Testament (Arkansas: Gospel
Ligllt Publislii~igC'olnpa~iy, N.D), p.477.
0 J.R. Uu~i~ttielow,A C'~I~~IT~CII~&~-O~'IIe 1IoIy Bible (New York:
Mac~nillaiiPub1 isliing Co~npany,1 936), p.837.
I0 Matthew I'oolc, A Comtr~c~rtacyOn 'Tlie kloly Bible; Tlie New
Tcstanie11t, Vol. 3 ((ircat Britain: Couricr International Ltd, 1090), p.431. 11Guthrie, Op.Cit.p.991
12~arclay,Op. Cit; p. 1 12.
atth thew Black, Peak's Commentarv On The Bible, (Great Britain:
Thomas Nelson And Sons Ltd, 1962), p.908.
14~.~.Gruce, The International Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, l986), p. 1294.
lS1bid;p. 12%.
'"lack, Op. Cit; p.995.
17~a.clay,Op. Cit; p.128.
"lbid; p.130.
191bid;p. 130.
20~bid;p.130
"~ruce,Op. Cit; p.1306.
"D. Guthrie, The New Bible Commentary Revised (London: Billing
And Sons Limited, 1970),p. 1068. 1/
23 Matthew Poole, A Commentary On The Bib1e:The New Testament (\
,# - .. Vo1.3( Great Britain: Courier International Ltd, l99O),p.585.
gu bid; p.586. i
25~illiamBarclay, The Daily Study Bible: The Letters To The Corinthians( New Delhi: Rekha Printers Pvt Ltd, 2003),pp.119-121.
26 Ibid; p. 122.
Ibid; p. 126. Chapter Four
New Testament Religious Intolerance
4.1 The Historical Background of The New Testament Religious Intolerance.
(a) The Historical Background: 175 B.C-A.D.30 In the first half of the second century B.C; Judaism underwent a serious crisis. The outcome of that crisis shaped,the setting for the emergence of the church. Old Testament and the Jewish heritage was the dominant background factor in the origin and growth of the Christian movement. The issue at stake was the role that Hellenistic civilization and culture played among the Jews.
When the Persian king Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian empire in
539B.C; he gave permission for the captive Jews in Babylon to return
to Palestine. Only a courageous did so (Eua ch. 1). For the next
two hundred years this small group, and fellow Jews who had not been in captivity led a rather obscure life, mainly in and near Jerusalem. Even , .. before these Jews returned fiom exile, Greek wares and culture had begun to make their way into Palestine. When Alexander the Great .
invaded the Near East and took over Palestine, the impact of Greek culture increased. Alexander died in 323B.C. after a brief but spectacular career. His leading generals divided his empire. And by 275B.C.three main Kingdoms, all Hellenistic in leadership had emerged.' Of direct sibgificant for Palestine were the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt and the seleucid empire, which centered in Syria and extended from Asia minor eastward to Parthia and Bactria.
\ Palestine came under the Ptolemaic dynasty. But the Seleucid rulers, whose capital city was Antioch in Syria, schemed to annex Palestine. In
2 l7B.C. this was attempted by Antiochus 111 (223-187B.C.), but he was
soundly defeated at Raphia by Ptolemy V (203-181~.~.).~ bout
200B.C. or 198B.C; however, at Paneas, near the foot of Mt. Hermon in
Northern Palestine, he decisively defeated Ptolemy v, and Palestine became linked with the Seleucid kingdom (Ant. Xl 1 .3.3).3Antiochus
111 gave the Jews official permission to live according to their ancestral
., ,,. .w7. ,P. .~S'l* . . laws (Ant.Xl1.3.4). Probably by his time and certainly not later than
Seleucus iv (187-175B.C.), there emerged the Jewish group called the
Hasidim or Hasideans, the "pious" or "godly" ones (l~acc.2:42).~They
were earnestly loyal in observing the Mosaic law and diligent in .
applying it to Jewish life. Probably the Hasidim movement developed in
reaction to the tendency of some Jews to neglect the Mosiac law and accept Hellenistic ways of life.'
Both Antiochus 11 1 and Seleucus 1V, as Hellenistic rulers, naturally dealt mainly with the Greek- speaking and hellenistically inclined leaders of the Jews. Certainly the Jewish high priest, as titular head of the Jews, carried on oficial dealings with the king, and in the king's eyes was a political appointee. Seleucus 1V assumed authority to confiscate hdsin 1 the Temple treasury in Jerusalem. This treasury, considered by Jews a sacred place under divine protection and priestly management, served as a lund of "safe-deposit vault" not only for temple funds but also for
assets of individual Jews. On one occasion when the king needed money for military and governmental expenses, he apparently, according to a legend clouded story, tried to seize some of these funds but somehow was prevented (1 1Macc. Ch.3).
' .<,*.. 4 wc. .!. ., (b) Antiochus Epiphanes And The Jews.
Under Antiochus 1V Epiphanes (1 75-1 63 B.C ) the question of Jewish , - .- acceptance of Greek culture reached a crisis. Traces of Greek influence in
Palestine date back to the seventh century B.c.~They increased after the conquest by Alexander the Great. Both the Ptolemies and the Seleucids were Greek in origin and cultural interests. Under the Ptolemies the Hebrew language had fallen into such disuse among the Jews in Egypt
that by the middle of the third century B.C. it was necessary to translate
tJie Pentateuch into Greek for use in Jewish worship and teaching and the
translation of the other Old Testament books was completed not much
more than a century later.7Greek had become the native language of Jews
in Egypt, and it gave access to Greek ways of tho&@ and life.'
A similar openness to Hellenistic culture developed among the Jews
of Palestine. There, however, the development was less extensive; it
occurred chiefly among the rich aristocratic circles, especially the priestly
. leaders at Jerusalem. It involved, not only use of the Greek language and
social contacts with Gentiles but also some toleration of Greek gods
recognized in Hellenistic society, business and government. Many
influential Jewish leaders were ready to be thus broad- minded. To do
., ,,< .wc. 79. .. so, they thought would advance the pestige'aad welfare of their people.
t It was at the request of such Jews that Antiochus Epiphanes took the
,I - .. steps that provoked the Maccabean rebellion. The Jewish Leader in this
move was the priest Jason. By an offer of a total of four hundred and
forty talents he induced the king to appoint him to replace Onias 11 1 as
high priest (1 1Mac. 43). To the King this was a financially profitable and politically justified move. However, to Jews loyal to the ancestral customs, it was an outrage for a pagan king thus to depose God's hidl
Jason took a still more fateful step. He promised the king an additional one hundred and fifty talents for permission to establish a s gymnasium and a body of youth for it, and to enroll the men of Jerusalem ie; selected Hellenistically interested Jews there as citizens of Antioch
(I lMac 419). The king assented and Jason shifted his countrymen over to the Greek way of life. (I lMac.4:lO). If Jason could buy the high priesthood, another Hellenistic minded Jewish priest could outbid him and obtain the office by the king's appointment.
This is what Menelaus did, out bidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver (1 lmac4:24); he then dro& Jason'fkom office and Jason took
refuge in Ammon. Menelaus stole gold vessels fiom the Temple to give as gifts and sell 'for h~ds,and arranged for the deposed highpriest Onias
1 11, who was in refuge at Antioch in Syria, to be murdered; but by clever scheming he escaped punishment by the king for such acts (1 lmac.4:23-
50).
In 168 and 169 B.C, Antiochus Epiphanes made expeditions against Egypt, in an attempt to add it to Syria each time he visited Jerusalem.
While in Egypt on his second expedition, a rurnour that he had died
* reached Jason in Ammon. Jason believed it, with a thousand men he
marched to Jerusalem to regain the high priesthood, but was defeated by
Menelaus (1 1 mac. 55-7). Word of the fighting reached the king. He had
just been ordered out of Egypt by the Roman legate Popilius Laens,
whose presence and blunt action showed Roman influence being
extended into that region. Raging inwardly at this humiliating rebuff
more than at the supposed revolt in Palestine, he returned to Jerusalem,
took the city, killed great numbers of men, women, and children, entered n (. the Temple, confiscated with Menelaus' approval the holy vessels and
offerings he foutid there and left Philip, a Phrygian, to govern the
Jerusalem area (I I rnac. 5: 1 1-23). Later the king sent to Palestine a chief
collector of tribute (Imac 1: 2!9;.4 lmac. 5:24). He built a strongly
fortified citadel in the city of David on the western hill of Jerusalem, and
garrisoned it with lawless men, Syrian troops and others loyal to the king 1, .*.
P but indifferent to the Mosaic law.
< Hot religious intolerance stepped in, because only then did Antiochus
Epiplianes took steps to end the ancestral Jewish worship at Jerusalem. 1 macc. 1: 41-42 asserts that then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, and that each should give up his customs. This sounds like a program of complete religious and cultural unification. But
11 macc 6: 1 knows only of the king's attempt, through an Athenian emissary to force the Jews of Palestine to give up the ancestral law.
(c) A Desolating Sacrilege
In Dec. 167B.C."a desolating sacrilege" an alter to Zeus, was erected on the altar of burnt offering in the Temple court and abominable offerings which were forbidden by the Mosiac laws were offered there
(lmacc. 1:54; 1 mach 65). The Temple becatne a temple of Olympian
Zeus; Jewish worship and sacrifices were prohibited and offensive pagan rites were substituted for them. Jews were compelled to partake of the pagan sacrifices on the monthly celebration of the king's birthday, and were forced to walk in the procession at the annual feast of the god
.<,q..kt*,*. *'a# ' Dionysus. Possession of a copy of the law was made a capital offense, as
i was the circumcision of new - born Jewish boys, observance of the
Sabbath and of Jewish feasts were prahibited (lmacc. 1: 54-61).
He thought that common acceptance of Hellenistic culture would give
unity to his empire, that the monotheistic zeal of Jews was unreasonable,
and that the Jews were lacking in respect for their king. He was not a religious reformer, he was an egotistical, exasperated king who faced troubles all over his empire and finally detennined to end by ruthless
force what lie considered the sei~selessbickering and rebellious acts of
the Jews. In effect he detennined to stamp out the Jewish religion in
angered disparity, at least in ~alestine."
Numerous Jews, undoubtedly mainly Hasidiin, offered courageous t and stubborn resistance. They knew that they faced a life-and-death struggle
to preserve their ancestral faith. 11Maccabees gives examples of stirring
heroism; Eleazar, an aged scribe in high position who died rather than eat
swine's flesh and a mother and seven sons who in a similar situation were
tortured and martyred (1 1macc.6: 18 to 7: 14). 1 Maccabees tells of no
specific heroes except the Maccabees whom it was written to glorifl, but it
reports that many in Israel stood firm and chose to die rather than to be
defiled by food or to profane tli~,holy,.ca;venant. Women who had their
children circumcised in defiance of the king's decree were put to death
(I Macc. 1 :60-63), what a religious antipathy? , - .*.
(d) The Maccabean Revolt
The king's decree required a pagan altar to be set up in each town. His
Officers were to force the Jews of the town to offer pagan sacrifices on it. They came to Modein and assembled the men of the city. Among them were the priest, Mattathias and his five sons (John, Simon, Judas, Eleazar and
Jonathan). Since it was an influential family, the king's officers asked
Mattathias to be the first to offer the pagan sacrifice and promised him special honour and rewards froin the king. Mattathias boldly refused. He and
his sons were determined to live by the covenant of their fathers; they would not desert the law and the ordinances." Other Jews were not so brave.
One stepped forward to offer the required sacrifice. Mattatlias incensed by this apostasy rushed upon him and killed him upon the altar. Perhaps 1
Maccabees with grim irony means that Mattathias, who burned with zeal for the law, did offer a sacrifice-not the one the king required, but the renegade
Jew! Then he and his sons fled to the hills (lmacc. 2:l-28).
This overt act lighted the flame of active revolt. Many loyal Jews with
.< ,, .d. ,t. , < .># , . their families and livestock went down to the wildemess to join the rebel
movement. The king's officers pursued the fugitiyes and found them hiding
in wildemess caves: On the Sabbath Day,the pursuers confkonted one group
of fugitives and demanded that they surrender. The trapped group refused,
and since to fight would be work and the law prohibited work on the
Sabbath, they were slain. When Mattathias and his sons heard of this, they decided that during the war the prohibition of work on the Sabbath must be interpreted to permit self-defense (1 macc. 2:29-4 1)
The king's officers were resisted not only by Mattathias and his sons and fiends, but also by the Hasideans, mighty wamors of Israel and by other fugitives. The Hasideans were thus ancestors not only of the Pharisees and Essenes but also as their militant action showed, of the later Zealot party, which refused to accept the rule of ~01ne.l~These hasideans organized an army and attacked lawless men including Jews who had given up the practice of their ancestral religion. The group led by Mattathias tore down pagan altars, circumcised uncircunsed Jewish boys (as should have been done on the eight day; Lev. 12:3) and hunted down the arrogant men who were carrying out the king's decree. This was both revolt against the king and civil war among the Jews (lmacc. 2:42-48)
When Mattathias worn b)'nior of guerrilla warfare, saw death
approaching, he gave his sons final instructions. Disregarding their age
ranking, he urged them to look to Simov for- wise.- counsel and follow Judas
in military action (lmacc. 2:65). For the next few years Judas was the active
leader of the religious revolt. He showed remarkably ability to strike sudden
blows that disorganized disciplined annies; by unexpected attacks he defeated forces many times as large as his poor'ly armed troops.
(e) The Fight For Religious Freedom
When Judas assumed active leadership of the revolt against the king, the
situation looked almost hopeless. Judas had neither numbers nor arms to
risk open battle with a large Syrian army. Fortunately for him he did not
have to do so. At first, it appears the king thought a small force could
crush the rebels. But he ald his leaders were taught better by the sudden,
repeated and smashing blows struck by Jews. For'such tactics, it seemed
Judas received the title Maccabeus. It probably means "the hammer" and
recalled his sudden striking power especially in his early days of guerrilla
warfare. From Judas the name Maccabee then passed on to other
members of his fanily; they were called the Maccabees. The family was
also referred to as the Hasmoneans, from the name of a family ancestor,
according to Josephus (Ant .X 1 1.6.1). ., ,,.."~%,!~..*'~*' .
Mer Judas defeated Gorgias at Emmaus and Lysias at Beth-nu,
Lysias returned to Antioch to raise a lager- army... and renew the
campaign. In this interim, Judas and his brothers led the army to
Jerusalem; they rebuilt the Temple, removed the defiled stones of the
altar of burnt offering, built a new altar of unhewed stones, and made new vessels for the Temple ministry and sacrificial rites. On the morning of the twenty-fifth of Chislev, three years to the day, we are told, after
Antiochus had profaned the Temple and offered pagan sacrifice on the altar, sacrifice was resumed on the new altar (Dec.164 B.C.).The Jewish feast of Hanukkah or Dedication celebrated annually thereafter (lmacc
4:59), is still an important annual festival in Jewish life (John 10:22).
Much of Palestine was not under the control of Judas. He and lis brothers next moved to rescue groups of Jews who wanted to remain true to their ancestral faith but found themselves among Gentiles or hostile
Jews. Judas, Jonathan and Simon led forces to Tduinea and Galilee to rescue hard-pressed fellow Jews, whom they led back safely to Mount
Zion (1Macc. Ch.5). When, however, Joseph and Azariah, left to guard
Jenisalem,rashly undertook to take the city of Jamina, Gorgias, stationed there with Syrian troops routed them. To the writer of linaccabees tlis
.,,,.. "*II,,....', ' . was inevitable; only the Maccabean family would God bless with victory
(1Macc 5:62) All this time the citadel in Jerusalem was still in the hands of the king's gamson. Judas held the Temple &ea and Mount Zion, but
Antiochus held the citadel.
Antiochus Epiphanes met a reverse in Persia and on his way home fell
sick and died. Before his death lie directed that his young son Antiochus should become king when old enough, and in the meantime his hend
Philip was to rule. When the news of Antiochus' death reached Antioch, his general Lysias, who was in charge of the young son, proclaimed him king with the lime Antiochus V Eupator (1 63-162B.C.). This left Lysias as the actual ruler. He continued preparations to renew the war with the
Jews (1 Macc. 6: 1 - 17). t Judas besieged the citadel at Jerusalem, but some of the Syrians there and some Jews who sided with the king, escaped and went to the king and demanded decisive action to crush the army of Judas. In the resulting major expedition Judas was killed. The young king and Lysias went to
Jerusalem and took over Mount Zion. They besieged the Temple itself so strongly built that it was a real fortress; its defenders were hard pressed.
Beth-Zur, which the forces of Judas had captured earlier, had to be given back to the king's army (1~~~~:6:1-890).')
At this critical time news reached Lysias that Philip returned fiom
Persia with the armies of the deceased Aritiochus Epiphanes, intended rule as regent, as the dead ruler had appointed. Lysias had to return to
Antioch immediately or lose his position. So he induced the young king and the other commanders to make peace with the Jews and give them fieedom to practice their religion as their law prescribed (lmacc. 6: 5 1-63,
1 IMac. Ch. I I .) The weakness of the Seleucid rulers and strife between contending aspirants for the Seleucid throne enabled the Maccabees to advance the Jewish cause.
The grant of religious fieedom to the Jews marked the end of the first main period in the Maccabean struggle. Threatened with the loss of religious fieedom and with the extinction of their faith and worship, the
Jews had fought against ovenvhelining odds and vindicated their right to worship God according to their law. But the Maccabees did not stop there. They considered the religious freedom precarious as long as the
Seleucids ruled Palestine, so they enlarged their original aim to include political fi-eedoin. When religion becomes the problem of a nation it affects both political, economic and social life of the citizens. What a
struggle for religious freedom by the Jews? Lost of life, Lost of ., ,,. ."F. ,#'.*ax8 money, Lost of Temple, Lost of freedom of worship can be seen in the
above struggle due to religious intolerance and bigotry.
4.2 Sects, Parties And Classes Within Palestinian Judaism And
Their Religious Acrimony.
The Jews shared a common history and a common revelation recorded in scripture; by and large they shared a basic loyalty to Jewish institutions home, Temple and Synagogue, they observed the same festivals. \ But not all Jews understood their faith and duty in the same way. The differences led to the formation of parties or sects, which shaped the Judaism
Jesus knew. To be sure, not all Jews belonged to one of these parties. Most of them belonged to no special group; they were content to practice their ancestral religion without sectarian connection. Moreover, no one of these
sects was clearly normative and obviously destined to be the Judaism of future centuries. Looking back we can see that the Pharisees had the vitality
and the way of life that would mark the Judaism of later centu~ies.'~
The Sadducees
They were the priestly party. The high priest, the leading religious minister of Judaism and the presiding officer of the Sanhedrirn was
., 36. ."t...?' . *.a* ' one of their number. They were in control of the religious life of Judaism.
Their leaders lived mainly in and near Jerusalem, the key city of their people, though as a group their outlook was shaped somewhat by rural homes and land holdings. They had social standing; the Sadducees or at least
their dominant portion belonged to the aristocratic upper level of society.15
To them the Romans through the high priesthood entrusted the routine political supremacy ( a fact some Jews held against them). Conservative in
their views, they seemed to be the solid members of the ongoing coimunity.
Their name is often thought to be derived from the Zadok
who was the leading priest in David's time ( 1 kings 1:32), As the
aristocratic party in power, linked wit11 Rome in the rule of PaLestine, they
were exposed to Hellenistic influences which their foreign rulers promoted
and they became more worldly than befitted their priestly position. As their
political authority grew, their religious devotion waned, and the author of 1
tnaccabees regarded them as renegades and traitors to the heritage of their
fathers (lmacc. 1. :15) They exercised a widespread influence in politics and
religion. They were educated, represented the sophisticated, urban class
which was centred in Jerusale~ri.'~
Their religious outlook was conservative; as Acts 23:s reports, here they
. ,,.."~.\*~3 ,*l.t had religious dissension with the Pharisees, they did not join the Pharisees in
faith in the resurrection of the body or hold that angels and spirits had an
active role in human life. Their emphasiswas an 'tile Pentateuch, which gave
the regulations for their priestly ministry; they gave less authority to other
writings. They had an oral tradition but they did not accept the Pharisees'
oral tradition, which for Pharisees was equally authoritative with the scripture itself. This was a deep cleavage between the two goups, which often led to religious disparity and division.17
In the arrest and trial of Jesus, the Sadducees and especially the high priest played the main part (Mark 1 1 :27, 14:1,53; 15:I), and in the earliest days of the church it was the Sadducees who started the persecution of
Jesus' followers (Acts 4:' 1). The reason is clear. As long as Jesus was in
Galilee, He did not directly threaten their leadership and prestige. But as soon as he came to Jerusalem and presumed to interfere in the Temple management by driving the profiteering sellers of animals and birds from the outer court (Mark 1 1: 15-1 8), He challenged the position of the
Sadducees and they determined to put Him out of the way. Similarly, when
Peter and John healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple and thus caused an excited crowd together, the Sadducees again saw their control
of the Temple threatened and .acted ,. .w7.,t to*.St imprison the disciples in their intolerance (Acts 3: 1-4:3). They fought whate;er struck at their Temple control and priestly prestige.
I - .I
The Pharisee
Of the origin and the antecedents of the Pharisees there is no record. It is
commonly surmised that they were the successors of those who in earlier generations were called the Hasideans (that is the Pious) in distinction from their worldly and indifferent country men. The group probably arose prior to and during the Maccabean uprising in reaction to the hellenizing process which the Seleucid rulers attempted to impose on the ~ews.'~
This sect, highly respected by the people was not numerous; but their influence was much larger than small numbers might suggest. They held no
lucrative position; they served their cause without thought of financial profit or personal advantage. Josephus said that in Herod's day it numbered above six thousand (Any. XV11.2.4). Their concern was to Wher the knowledge and practice of tlie law. For this purpose the Synagogue was their \ chef instrument, they had obtained a considerable proportion of the seventy
seats in the ruling Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, and this gave them influence in national affairs, but their main influence was through the Synagogues found
. ,,. ."I. ,*. ,(.$.- ' . in every Jewish community. This in itself gave them widespread influence for although the Sadducee influence was centered chiefly in the Temple at
Jerusalem, the Pharisees could exercise direct influence wherever there was
In teaching and practicing the law, they had to decide how to apply the
ancient law in their day. To do this, they developed a.continually adapted oral traditiorl (the tradition of the elders of Mark 7:3). In their view this tradition was given when the law was given to Moses, and it had been
handed down faithfully fiom the fathers, so it was as authoritative as the
written law.20This in effect gave the oral tradition more importance than the
written law, and this was a chief point of difference not only between the
Pharisees and the Sadducees but also between the Pharisees and Jesus, who
radically down graded this oral tradition and considered it atmerely human
tradition (Mark 7:6-8).
In distinguishing the Pharisees from the Sadducees the following are
noted:-
(b) The Pharisees held the doctrine of foreordination and considered it consistent with the fiee will of man. The Sadducees denied that history was
divinely controlled insisting on the individual's freedom to direct his own
.,,..*I..,. ...I, . .
life and history. I
(c) The Pharisees believed in the immortality of the Soul as well as the resurrection of the body. They held that-r&n are rewarded or punished in the
fbture life according as they lived virtuously or viciously in this life. The
Sadducees derided these beliefs.
(d) The Pharisees had highly developed views of angels and demons but the Sadducees rejected them. (Acts 23:8).
"' The Pharisees recognized as the supreme authority in religion the written Hebrew Scripture and oral tradition. The Sadducees accepted only scripture and rejected all beliefs and practices not taught in the old
~estament.21
Rabbi Kaufinann pointed out that the Pharisees could be classified
under the following:
(a) The wait-a-little Pharisee-who always had an excuse for putting off doing a good deed.
(b) The "bruised or bleeding" Pharisee, who in order to avoid looking at a woman, shut his eyes and stumbled against the wall so as to bruise himself and bleed.
( c ), The "shoulder" Pharisee who wears as it were, his good deeds upon his shoulders where all can be seen.
.<,, .W?..?. <.a* ' (d) The "Lump-backed" Pliarisee who walked about stooped over in mock humility. , - .. (e) The "ever-reckoning" Pharisee who was continually counting his
good deeds to balance them against his bad deeds. (0 The "God-fearing" Pharisee who stood in awe and dread of God. 'g) The "God-loving" or "born" Pharisee was a true son of Abraham and a genuine
A number of passages in the Gospels reflect the serious clash
between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus rejected the oral tradition
' of the Pharisees. He thereby struck at their entire system of
teaching and practice, and inevitably brought on an open break
with the essential Pharisaic positioh.
Jesus never tolerated their religious deviation and denounced them
tkus:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For
you are like whitewashed tombs which outwardly
appear beautiful but within they are full of dead
\ men 's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly
appear righteous to men, but within you are full of
hypocrisy and.iniquitp(Matt 23t27-28). Woe to you,
blind guides, who say, ''Vany one swears by the temple,
it is nothing; but fany one swears by the gold of the ,# - .a Temple, he is bound by his oath, " You blind fool, for
which is greater, the gold or the Temple that has made
the gold sacred?(uatt 23: 16-1 7).
The religious intolerance shown by Jesus against the scribes add Pharisees was as a result of their false teaching, falsehood, character assassination, full of hypocrisy, they almost made God's word null and void and Jesus withstood them.
THE ZEALOTS
This name describes a group of Jews so zealous for their people's hdependence and so certain that God wanted them to be fiee fiom foreign control that they were ready to die rather than submit to Roman rule. It is not certain when this group emerged as a distinct sect. Josephus suggests that it occurred when the Romans took a census of Palestine in
A.~A~(AI~~.XV1 1 1.1.1'6). Jewish resentment against Roman rule was a
constant fact. It flared into rebel.G~tion.i*A.D.6and found continual expression among Palestinian Jews in the first century. Such rebel spirits held that if God's people would rise in resistace against the foreign - ... oppressor, God would support them and enable them to defeat pagan enemy:
all of God's people on this view should give every possible resistance to the enemy and should refuse to pay them tribute. Jesus faced this view point when asked about paying taxes to
Caesar (Mark 12:13-1 7), His answer permitted payment of taxes to Rome and so was bound to alienate Zealot Jews. The Zealot question could not escape Jesus7 attention, one of the twelve, He chose was called ''Simon who was called the Zealot" (Mark 3: 1 8, Matt 1O:4). The word "cananaean"
transliterates the Aramaic word for "Zealot .7723
In religious beliefs they agreed with the Pharisees, and in spirit they revived the zeal shown by Mattathias and his sons during the
Maccabean uprising. They armed themselves with concealed daggers and were called Sicarri (Latin word for dagger), that is the Assassins (Acts
2 1:38). That Jesus had a Zealot in His apostolic band (Luke 6: 15; Acts 1: 13)
as well as another who had been a former tax collector for the hated
R~mans,is an illuminating commentary upon the breath of His appeal to persons of the most diverse backgrounds, a display of religious tolerance. .<,,....r.*..,..,> . .
The Essenes
This group was never mentioned in the new Testament, and its origin
is no where clearly described. The Essenes probably emerged from the
Hasidim or Hasideans (pious ones) active in Maccabean days. They may have opposed the Maccabeans as not belonging to the priestly fainily that was entitled by law to the priestly leadership. Or they may have been repelled because the Maccabees combined political, military, and religious leadership in one inan and became increasingly secularized by adopting
Hellenistic ways of life. Since Joseplius (Ant.X 11 1S.9) mentioned the
Essenes first in the time of the Maccabean leader Jonathan (160-1 42 B.C.), before Maccabean rulers became so obviously secular, it was probably the combination of politica1,inilitary and religious leadership in one man that initially repelled the priestly nucleus of the Essenes, and led them to withdraw into a separated and ascetic life.24
The Qumran Sect
Our Understanding of the Essenes will be greatly affected by the view we
. 0, .*<. 3,. ., <#,, . take of the ancient ascetic group that lived at Qwnran, near the northwest shore of the Dead The ruins there point to a withdrawal sect; the manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls) and othk qbjects found in some dozen
nearby caves testify that the group settled there half of the second century
B.C. and finally left the site about ~.~.66.~~
Features of the Dead Sea Scrolls recall w11at.Josephus and Philo have told us of the ancient Essenes, and Qumran is just where Pliny the Elder would
lead us to look for their home (Josephus, war 11.8.2-1 3, Ant.Xl11.5.9). In his Natural History (v. 15) he locates their residence near the Dead Sea north of En-gedi; this is just where Qumran lies. Josephus said that the Essenes lived by themselves, but "many of them dwelt in every city" (War 11.8.4)
The Qumran sect was an Essene-type sect and it may be better to say that it
was a prominent Essene center or the chief Essene center.27
The sect was a withdrawal sect. Even its members who lived in every city did not live in normal fellowship with other Jews, in their religious
intolerance they kept to their own group and discipline. We call them a
withdrawal sect rather than a monastic sect. The withdrawal was a reaction
partly against the ruling priestly class, the Maccabean priesthood, and partly
against the unsatisfactory religious and moral conditions among the Jews.
Those Jews who saw no danger.lpd,.r,&sed to act in repentance and self
discipline were regarded by these earnest-minded ascetics as "children of
darkness" and the sect was at least as hostile to them as to the ~entiles.~'
,# -.. Obviously the Qumran sect did not represent ndrmal Judaism. The life of
withdrawal, the ascetic tendency, and the apocalyptic teaching were not
characteristic of most Jews. But these people thought themselves the true
Israel, the "children of light," the only Jews really ready for the impending judgment of ~od.~~
'THE HERODIANS
They were neither religious nor political party. The term denotes an attitude and an outlook and refers to Jews of influence and standing who supported the Herodian rule, and hence that of the Romans, by whose authority the Herodian dynasty was maintained. In such allegiance they were definitely in the minority for most Palestinian Jews were strongly opposed to that regime.
In the Gospels they were mentioned as enemies of Jesus, once in Galilee
(Mk 3:6) and again at Jerusalem (Matt. 22: 16; Mk. 12:13). On the latter occasion they combined with the Pharisees in seeking to entangle Jesus with
the question of whether or not it., was ,,. ..t. .,lawful , ,.J> to pay taxes to Caesar. In asking this question they expected that whatever answer Jesus would give, He would have to commit Hiinself as favouring either nationalism or
, - .I. subtnission to a foreign power. In His reply, however, Jesus eluded the trap which they had set for Him. THE COMMON PEOPLE
The great majority of Palestinials Jews were unaffiliated with any of the sects and groups previously mentioned. These multitudes were known as the people of the land (am ha-ares). In the earlier books of the old Testament, this term meant merely the common people as distinct from nilers and aristocrats. After the return from the exile, the phrase was sharpened to designate those Palestinians whose Judaism was mixed or suspect, and with whom the inore scrupolous Jews could not intermarry (Ezra 9: 1-2, Neh.
10:30-31).
In the New Testament times the term came to mean specifically all those who, either through ignorance or indifference, failed to observe the
Mosaic law in all its ramifications. The religious antipathy of the pharisaic
elite for the common pe~ple.fin~s,~.e~ressionin John 7:49, where the
designation "this crowd" is applied with scornful contempt to the ignorant masses who do not know the law. So deep-seated was the pharisee's disdain , - ... for the people of the land, whom he regarded as immoral and irreligious, that
he avoided as far as possible all contact with them.
According to rabbinical law they were not to be summoned as witnesses, nor their testimony admitted in court. No secret was to be entrusted to them nor should one of them be appointed guardian of an orphan. A Pharisee could not eat with an "am-ha-ares." And marriage between the two classes was condemned in terms of abli~rrence.'~Jesus was friendly with this class and freely associated with them. Though the Pharisees regarded them as wortliless outcasts, He was sympathetic towards their plight and referred to them as "sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36). AS a result of Jesus taking their part, and his own neglect to observe the minutiae of pharisaic rules eg, Mk 7: 1-5, Lk 6: 1-5, 1 1: 37-47>He was regarded with religious animosity by tlie religious leaders of His day.
4.3 RELIGlOUS ANTIPATHY BETWEEN THE JEWS AND THE SAMARITANS (JOHN 4: 7-9,20-26)
.,,, 4 "7. ,?. , ' . The Samaritans were a half-caste people who owed their origin to the mingling of the remnant left behind when Samaria fell in 722 B.C. with the
foreign conquerors. Their worship in consequence became contaminated by idolatry (2kings 17:28-41 and c.f "ye worship ye know not what John
4:22). They did their best to interfere with the rebuilding of Jerusalem when tlie Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity3' when the Jews wished to be offensive to Jesus they called Hiin "a Samaritan" (John 8:48). Jesus on the contrary made a Samaritan the hero of one of His parables (Luke 10: 33-
37). This encounter with a Samaritan woman was one of the most significant incidents in His earthly ministry.
There was age- long dispute between Jews and Samaritans about the proper place for worshipping God! Was it Jerusalem as the Jews believed or
Mount Geriziin where the Samaritans worshipped? C.K. Barreth pointed it out that the woinan was surprised by Jesus7 request because conversion with t a woman was regarded as undesirable in a Rabbi and also on account of the tension between Jews and Samaritans and above all Jews in their religious
intolerance do not use vessels with Samaritans because the ceremonial purity of Samaritan could not be relied on.32 F.F. Bruce is of the same view when he made it clear that in rabbinical literature specific prohibitions
.,,,...T.". "a* ' exclude virtually all contact between the two parties. Such regulations may lie behind John's statement here (Greek, synchraomai means "use together with" eg pots and pans), accordingly NEB renders: "Jews and Samaritans, it
should be noted, do not use vessels in c~mmon."'~
Our Fathers worshipped on this mountain (verse 20) ie Gerizim,
which was sacred to the Samaritan. This was the place where, according to the Samaritan text of Deut 125, God has chosen to put His name. Some one with prophetic insight can now solve the age-old problem, but the question is
irrelevant here, worship will, henceforward, be offered to God in every place (Ma1 1: 11) tluougl~Christ. The salvation which Jesus Himself a Jew,
had come to bring was therefore of the Jews (v.22). In Paul's words; to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the
worship and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race
t according to the flesh is the Christ (Rom 9:4-5, RSV).
The place where God and man are united is neither Zion nor Gerizim, but tlle person of Jesus. God is Spirit recalls the anti anthropomorphic propaganda of botll Jews and Philosophers, but can be understood here only in tenns of the use of Spirit in the Gospel as a whole (Jh 663).God is the source of life, and Himself inspires the true worship which he seeks, worship
in truth means worship tlroug~~<@q. o11p true way of access to God, without
the medium of the sacrifices or priesthood, which were ordained till Christ
died on the cross. When the veil was rent, and the way into the holiest made
I . manifest by Christ's death, then, and not till then, men worshipped in
truth.34Before Christ they worstlipped through types, shadows, figure and
emblems. Mer Cllrist they worshipped in truth. Spirit is opposed to flesh,
truth to shadow. Spirit in short is heart-service contrasted with lip worship and formal devotion. Truth is the ftdl light of the Christian dispensation contrasted with the twilight of the law of ~oses.)~Truth (vs 23,24) points not simply to an alternative preferable to Gerizim and Jerusalem but to
God's faithfulness in fulfilling in Cluist that to which Jerusalem and
Gerizim pointed.
For the study of New Testament history, it is essential to know the political background. The earlier Maccabearl movement in Seleucid times, the Roman rule of the Mediterranean area, the Roman and Herodian role in
Palestine, the Nabetean activity to the itmediate east and south, and the
Parthian threat on the east and northeast gave the setting for the rise and westward spread of the Christ faith amidst conflicts, no political ruler of the
first Christian generation shared that t
Nonetheless, more important is the religious setting of the emerging
.<,,. .wf. ,?. . ' . Christian religion. Few priestly leaders of the Jews thew in their lot with the disciples of Christ (Acts 6:7).Christianity did not take its rise or draw its
strength &om the ruling classes, instead the rulilg class clashed with
Christians often. But it was deeply rooted in vital religious currents of the
first century.
The religious situation in Palestine demands ow first attention. In that sliiall lard tlic sitiratioli was quite cotiiplex. I have already sliow~ithat
I~alestiuein the first lialf of the first ceritrrry was a meeting place of varied cirltr~ral;itid ~digiousstreanis. Natrlrally, .Irrdaisrn was by far the rriost
t pro~i~i~ielitfactor; this was tlie solid resrilt of tile Maccabea~irevolt. But
Greek laoguage, arcliitecture, culture, the Roman arid J-Terodian proinotioii of
its Iiol~lelalid.Still otlrer Near Eastcr-11trends (eg, Iranian influe~ice)brought sy ~icrctistic crrrr-ents into the land.
Tlie Jews varied in their react1011fo tile presetice of Gentile culture atid religioti ill tlieil- Iio~nclalid.As in tlic days wlien the Maccabcan revolt was brewing, tllcre were Jews, sotne of the most eager were priests ready to adapt or sacrifice their aacestral faitli to Greco-Roman culture and its religious aspects. Others were passive, content to avoid gentile cotitacts as
.,,,... "(.','...'> ' . inucli as possiblc. Others reacted with fiery resista~iceto invading influe~ices.'Iliese Sews, precisely because the pagan itlfluence were so plain aid pcrvasivc, put incrcascti stress or1 the pr%ctices(circmcision, the
Sabbath, food laws.) that separated tllcln from the Gentiles; they actively opposed every forcigri influence tliat tlireate~iedthe purity and penr~anence of their aricestral faitli. - 110-
One tlling is clcar. If it1 tllc days of' Jesus the Jew clung to his atwxtrai faith, it was not because he was too remote from the Gentile world to know any aite~~iativcto Juilaism . '['he Jew wlio remained loyal to his i1111~rifcdhit11 did SO by clioice a11d imt by merely yielding to environmental
1 pressure. I lis faith was undcl- visible, vigorous challenge even in Palestine itself*..lust as the Jews who were dispersed in Gentile lands saw almost daily the signs and practices oTpag;m cults, so the Jews in Palestine inevitably ci1111cinto licqient corltact with pcrsotls and places that represented Greco-
Rornarl culture arid religion. I I lrucst Wright, Floyd V. I4soii, ~I'I~cJcst~ni~isterHistorical Atlas To
'I'lic-- . Ljiblq. (I mdorl: Tllc Wcsttilinstcr I'rcss, 1956),p.48.
2 C;l;mvill Ilowney, A. I-listov Of Ai~tiochI11 Syria, (1'1-inceto~i:
I J~iivcrsi~yI'ress, 196 l), p.34.
'J. 7'liackcray, Joscplius: The Mali And l'lie I-listoriari (Israel: Jewish
ltlstitutc Of Kcligion Press, 1929), p.70.
"~.O.~.~csterle~,A I-listw Of Israel, Vu,(Oxford: Claretidon
r9rc.s~~1932)~ p.315.
5 Victor 'C'cl~crikover,I Iellc~li~cCivilizatio~i A~ld 'Tlie Jews, (I1.S.A:
The .lewisli T'r~blicatiorl Society Of America, 1959), pp. 125-196.
7R.1-I.Charles, Apoc~yplia Arld E'seudepiuapl~aOf The Old
.,,,..",.,,.,Z.># . .
--'I'esta~i~er~t-3 Vol 2--1 1 (Oxford: Clarendon, 19 l3), pp. 83- 122.
X Victor A. Tcllerikover, AIcxandcr Ftlks, G2usYapvrorum
J~tdaicari~~u,Vol. -1lJJ.S.A: I Iar-vati Unit;ersity Press, 1957), pp. 1 - 1 1 1.
9 Floyd V. Filson, A New Testament History (London: SCM Press Ltd,
1965), p.5.
I0 Ibid; p.7. t 11IOid;p.8
13. ll~id;1). I2
I?Ovid R. Sellers, 'flic Citadel Of' Ijetli-Zur (I1.S.A: 1)resbyter-ran
Cllirlrcll, 1933), p.26.
1 .I J.W.L,iglltlcy, Jewish Sects AdParties ill ?.lie Time Of Jesus
(1mdo11:'T'hc IJpwortl~Press, 1925), p.6 I .
"~.ouisI:i~lkelsteili, Tlie Plmisccs Vd1 (U.S.A:Tlie Jewish
I'rhlicst iorl Society, 1 WO),pj1.8O-83.
10 Smi~el3 N. Nwigwe,&i I~itroductio~iTo 'r'lle New 'Testanlent
[3&~1d(I:I lugu: Rabboni Publisliers Iriteniatiotial, 1 998),p.26
17 Filson, Op.Cit; p.49.
"~wi~we,Op, Cit; p.24.
I 0 Filson, Up. Cit; p.50.
20 I lerbcrty Dnnby, The Misli~~d~(Oxford: Clarendon Rress, 1 933), .<,".... T.b..,<.?> ' .
p. 146.
"~wigwc,Op. Cit; p.25
, - .I. 22~abbiKaufi~iam Kolller, The Jewish Elicyclo~ediaVol. IX (New
York: Frmk A~idWagrialls. Co, lgO5), p.665.
2'0scar Coll~nati~i,The State 111 Tile New Testanent, (Phidelphia:
Clm-les Scribller's Sons, 1 956), pp.8-23. ~ford:Basil I3lackwel1,
'"I1.II.llowley. 'l'hc Zadokite Fragments Aid Tlie Dead Sea Scrolls
(Osfiml: 13asil 13lackweli, 1952), 11.6 I .
27 I,ucetta Muwry, Il1e Dcad Sea Scrolls And T11c Early Church
(Chicago: IJrlive~xityI'ress, 1962), 11.24
2X I;ilsorl, Op.Cit; p.54
2 ') Ibitf; 11.55
N I Ncvigwe, Op. Cit; p.29.
" R.v.G. Taskcr, Tyidalc Ncw Testament Comluentaries (Michigan:
William 13.Eerd1i1ansI'itblisliing Conipa~iy,1986), p.79.
l~attllcwBlack, Peak's Ccm~rie~ltary011 '1'11~ Bible (Great Brita :
'l'hotrias Nelson Arid Sons Ltd,J,962), p349.
71 -- P.F.Rruce, The I~itcr~latior~alBible Col~l~r~e~~taly(Grand Rapids :
Zor~dc~-v:inl)ddishi~lg louse, 1986), p. 1 240,. 1, - .-. 34 J.C. Tlylc, Expository Thouglits 011Jolltl VolJ (Great Britain:
1 lazcll Watsorl And Vhey L,iinited, 1987)p. 225.
'51bid,l~.225.
30I?. Wilso~i,New Tcsta111e11tA~~ocrvhpa Vol. 1 : Gospels And Related - 1LU -
Writings (England: The Westminster Press, 1963), pp.437-444. Chapter Five
Religious Intolerance: The Nigerian Experience
Causes In Nigeria 5.1 Historical Causes
Islam and Clistianity rnet in Nigeria after they had fought each other for centuries in Asia, North Afi-ica, the Middle East and Southern Europe.
The present friction between the adherents of the two Religions in Nigeria could be a cany-over of centuries of mutual bitterness. But there is no doubt that local inter- ethnic ill-feeling in Nigeria, and the manner of the spread of
Islam and of the introduction of Christianity to the country have greatly exacerbated this bitterness. Islam was introduced into what is now known as
Nigeria by Berbers who occupied the Southern hges of the Saliara desert, acting as intermediaries in the trans-Sahara trade between Nigeria and .
Northern Africa (North Ahca and-Sudan) :It firs! reached Bomo in the eleventh century and the seven Hausa states in the fourteenth century, spreading gradually first among tlie ruling classes, then to the people in the - ... Urban areas and finally to the country-side."
The reformist revolution or Jihad led by Shelu Usman Danfodio at
f the beginning of the eighteenth century was primarily designed to eiirninate oppression and enforce Islamic discipline in the Hausa-Fulani communities.
Subsequently many military expeditions were undertaken by Emirates sharing borders with non-Moslem area of middle Benue regions ostensibly to convert the inhabitants into Islam. Some of these expeditions such as the one carried out against the Tivs by the Emir of Bauchi in 1850 ended merely with the agreement of the Tivs to pay tribute to the Emir. Other wars were actually designed to stop one ethnic community from colonizing another as in the case of Muris invasion of Tiv-land to prevent a subjugation of the
Jukuns. Since Christianity later found most of its adherents from these and other non-Moslerns areas, the present strongly anti-Moslem attitude of some
Northern Christians may be traced to these historical antecedents."
By the time of the imposition of the British rule over the old Northern
'~igeriain 1903, over 90% of the people living above the 1 parallel of longitude had become M~slem~..~It~is.aemarkablethat even in these area
there were and still are a few die-hard adherents of traditional Afiican
religions called. Maguzawa who, by their seemingly most original ascent 1, - .. could be the original Hausas, with no blood relations with Fulanis.To the
northern Moslems, the traditional African worshipper is Arne ie a Pagan
which is a term associated with disdain. Eventually, when Christianity was
introduced it became a fashion for some Moslems who are unaware of the Quranic distinction between idolators and people of the Book, to refer to all non-Moslems including Clvistians as arna (plural for arne).I2
According to Rev Wambutda, unlike Islam, Christianity, though also of oriental origin, was mainly brought to Nigeria by a non-African colonizing power, Great Britain, which saw its efforts to convert Nigerians into Christianity as part of its civilizing mission. Naturally it insisted on instant conversion rather than the gradual and more time- consuming process adopted by 1sain.l3Moreover, Professor Page reminds us
that the missionaries who brought Christianity to Africa believkd that the
potential equality of all men before God did not mean that their black
converts could be trusted to be responsible Christians on the European
model. Thus, as early as 1864, Henry Townsend, the pioneer of Missionary
work in Abeokuta, opposed the appointment of Ajayi Crowder as a bishop ., ,,. .kt, ,?' (.It ' . on the ground that Africans themselves had recognized that Europeans had
been entrusted with special talents to be used for the good of Africans. By
, * .I. the time of Crowder's death in 1891, Africans were steadily elbowed out of
the higher ofices in both the church and the statk in West ~frica.'~
The result of the instant conversion of the Afiican into a new religion
was a sudden break from his culture. This coupled with the impression created by the colonial masters that the new culture was necessarily superior, members of the first generation of Nigerian Christians should look down upon their Moslem compatriots and those adhering to traditional Afiican religions who are referred to as "Yayan duhu" or children of darkness in
keeping with the tradition of Jolm's Gospel. Indeed in their evangelization
and proselytization efforts, the Christian missionaries convinced their
converts that Islam was fi-~ghtful,false, evil and associated with
backwardness and that the Moslem had to be rescued for Christ.
5.2 Attitude Of Religious Leaders And Ethnic Antipathy.
The negative attitude of some of the religious Leaders is unfortunate since it is only through them that tolerance and peaceful coexistence
between Mosleins and Christians can be promoted. Religious Leaders . ,'. 4'7. ll' ..'C ' . should not stir up religious intolerance secretly 'or through sermon and yet
pretend to be peacemakers in the public. Inter-religious ill-feeling is often
1, ., intensified by ethnic hostility in a situation where the adherents of
Christianity and Islam are also members of two mutually hostile ethnic
groups. There seems to be a general agreement that the Kafanchan religious
riot was aggravated by the ill-feelings harboured by the original natives of Kafanchan against the local Hausa-Fulani settlers.
5.3 Fundamental Theological Differences And The Role Of The Press.
i
(a) Not only does Christianity reject Mohammed as a prophet, it believes very strongly that the way of Christ is the only way to salvation. Other ways
includiilg the way of Islam are shifting sands. The belief is finn in every
Clzristian that everyone without Christ is a stranger from the covenants of
promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Eph 2:12).
(b) Islam while recognizing Jesus as one of the Prophets of Allah, regards
itself as the perfecting of all religions. It admits that Christianity, Judaism
and Islam are revealed religions, but to a Moslem, Islam is the final and
most perfect of all religions. Jesus Hiinself is interpreted to have said that
there would be another messenger after Him. "I have many things to say
. ,# 4 wt, ,,. < ., 6. , . unto you, but you cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of
truth comes He will guide you into all truth" (John 16: 12) The Quran
revealed that Prophet Muhammed is the spiiit of truth about whoin Jesus had
foretold (Quuan 6 1 :6). This is falsehood.
(c ) The Q~uanrejects the concept of Trinity when it says. "0 people of
the Book, exceed not the limit in your religion, and say not of God any thing - I.." but the truth. Verily, the Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mariarn, was only a messenger and His word which He sent down to Mary and say not, they are three.. ." (Quran 4: 17 1-172).
(d) Ariotlier issue in which Islani differs from Cluistianity and which caused controversy even at the time of Muhamned is that of the crucifixion of Jesus as an atonement for the sins of mankind. The Quran says that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified. (Quran 26: 43-8).This also is falsehood. s
Beside the above four fiuldamental differences between the two religions another source of intolerance is that both religions are proselytizing-seeking new converts from the adherents of each other. The two religions are, therefore, in a continuous competition for adherents.
Certain sections of the press have recently been singularly mischievous and irresponsible in their reporting atdw~smmentson religious issues. Reports on
the Kafanchan riots were highly exaggerated. Statements made by religious leaders on religious issues are quoted out of,context. These kinds of reports 1, - .- and comments inflame passions and promote religious ill-feeling and intolerance.
5.4The O.I.C. Controversy. The researcher has clearly shown the O.I.C. controversy in chapter
Six of this paper and still maintain that the alleged enrolment of the entire citizens of Nigeria as members of OIC smacks off religious intolerance and imperils the future political, peace and stability of this country.
5.5 The Sharia Debate.
The Islamic Sharia Law is one of the factors that have fuelled the the embers of inter-religious conflict in Nigeria. The basis of the Jihad was the establishment of an Islamic state based on the ~liaria.'~Inthe 1950's the
Sharia issue was debated and contested very seriously.'6 as Moslems began to nurse the feeling that Sharia, a divine law had become subservient to
British laws of justice, whch they viewed as having their origin in the
Christian religion. As a sequel to this debate, a step toward introducing the
Sharia law into the Nigerian legal-, ..wf., system. .a,,. was taken in 1960 with its jurisdiction restricted to Islamic personal law, apparently in recognition of the religious plurality of the then Northern ~i~eria.'~
1' - .-
The Sharia debate came into the open in the Constituent Assembly of
1977-78. The level of bitterness generated by the debate between Christians and Moslems was described by Bala Dan Abu thus; At the constituent Assembly in 1977, Sharia was the nzain
,source of bitter division anzong members ... , Moslenzs staged
a walk-out protest against the resolution for the non-inclusion
of the Sharia in federal court of Appeal in the con~titution.'~
$ Moslems also see a full implementation of Sharia as a means of solidifying unity among Moslems, transforming the educational system to reflect Islamic ideals, and fighting vigorously against secularism in political and daily life. Moslems absolutely reject the idea of secularity. The Moslem position is that .a secular state is a negation of the Sharia and by extension , inimical to the development and aspiration of Islam. Kukah quoted Alhaji
Abubakar Gumi as saying that "a secular state is an atheistic state."19 Thus,
Moslems would prefer to refer to the country as a multi-religious, rather than
secular state. Jan H. Boer, a Christian, agrees with the Moslems on this point
when he said that "secularism tends to suck the lifeblood out of . rf. ,?' ' . ~~irituality.'"~
Furthermore, Moslems complain tllat, -Nigeria .. as a state is Christian
oriented and Moslems are marginalized. During the 1 977\l988 Constituent
Assembly, protagonists of Sharia such as Lateef Adegbite, Awalu Yadudu, a
legal practitioner, Abdulkadir Orire, Grand Khadi of Kwara State among
others argued that diplomatic relations with the Vaticah (a Christian state), use of the Gregorian calendar, the adoption of Saturday and Sunday as work fiee days, the use of cross on public hospitals and ambulances and the celebration of the first day in January, are Christian practices imposed on
~oslems.~'Thus Sharia was an attempt to create a Moslem counter-balance wl~chwould provide for Moslem identity. There is also a moral dimension
to the demand for Sharia by Moslems. Some Moslem Leaders claimed that
Nigeria was morally bankrupt, and Sharia would correct such evils as
corruption and sexual promiscuity, and also improve the life of Moslems
because Sharia promotes social justice.22 Moslems argue that Sharia has
nothing to do with non-Moslems, therefore, non Moslems have notlhg to
fear. The majority of Mosleins are united on the matter of Sharia, only a few
feel that the establishment of complete Sharia is impossible in a multi-
religious society such as Nigeria.
. ,,..wt- \?' On the other hand Christians argue that Sharia is unconstitutional. A
Christian writing in the punch said "under the new democratic dispensation
,I - .. and based on the constitution, Sharia is illegal, while its application is
inh~man.'"~This view held by most Clvistians is based on section 10 of the
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wlzicl~states: "the
Government of the Federation or of any state shall not adopt any religion as a state reli&~~n."~~Thus, Cluistians see Nigeria as a secular state where individuals are free to practice their religion without interference by the state. Cluistians argue that the aim of Sharia is not religious but political.
This point is straightened by the fact that Sharia is mostly contested within the political sphere and not legal or civil sphere. A~ldso Sharia, as seen but
Christians, is an indication of the essentialist nature of Tslatn and Mosletns to take control and subjugate non-Moslems to a second class citizenship."
Christians also argue on the religious implications of Sharia .There
-will be no more conversion from Islam to Christianity, as this will attract the death sentence on any Moslem that accepts the gospel. Furthermore, preaching of the gospel is prohibited in the Moslem community. On the legal implications, Christians argue that Sharia courts will never be favourable to
Christians. Educationally, Cluistian children would be denied religious and
moral instruction in public schools .an& scholarship. Since Christians and
Moslems live together, there is no way the implementation of Sharia would
not affect Christians. This is one of the fears exercised by the people of Jos, ,# - . which helped in fuelling the inter-religious conflict that engulfed the town
and environs. Indeed the relationship between Christians and Moslems in
Northern Nigeria has been tense since the introduction of Sharia Islamic law
in twelve northern states. This is made even worse by-inflammatory utterances made by eminent Nigerians fiom the North. Prominent among such persons are Major General Mohammadu Buhari, a former head of state, aid hledDatti, President of the Supreme Islamic Council. Close to the
Jos conflicts, Buhari, apart fioin calling on Moslems not to vote for a
Christian in any election, also said it was his desire tlmt Sharia law be operated in all the states of the federation.26
On his part, Ahned Datti said at a press conference in Kaduna that
"the i~itroductionof Sharia in the North was not only imperative but
was non-negotiable77 .27 Sharia was also a factor in the Jos inter-
religious conflicts.The researcher is of the view that Sharia should not
be made a national affair binding 011 all. It may only be allowed to
Moslems but not on any Christian no matter how near or far fiom
Moslem dominated area the Clu-istian may be. . ,, .-7. .,. (.? 2 ' . t
5.6 The Unseen Causes: The demon or evil spirits.
In the New Testament daimon and di&onion always refer to spiritual
beings hostile to God and men.2sBeelzebul is their prince (mk 3:22) so that
they may be regarded as his agents. In the Gospels there are lnany references
to people possessed by demons. A variety of effects resulted, quch as dumbness (Lk 1 1: 14), epilepsy (Mk 9: 17), a refusal to wear clothe and a living among the tombs (Lk 8:27). In I Cor 10:20, Paul is concerned with
idol worship, and regards idols as in reality demons. The preachings of Paul
against these idols in Acts of the Apostles caused religious disparity like in
Ephesus and Iconium etc. Demons are also in charge of false doctrines.
"Now the spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart fiom the
faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, through the
pretensions of liars whose coilsciences are seared.. ." (lTim 4:l-2).
Clzristians see the teachings of Islamic religion and A£iican traditional
religion that are against the biblical doctrines as doctrines of demons and
will never bow to such teachings. Islamic religion also sees the teachings of
Christian beliefs that are against their Quranic doctrines as false and
de'honic and will not accept them. The researcher sees this statement as
falsehood. No wonder the religmsbigotiy 'md intolerance between them.
Paul said: for we are not contending againstjesh and blood but against
the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers
of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places " (Eph 6: 12)
If people in different religions are not carehl and vigilant, these unseen 1 forces can use them to cause religious squabble that can lead to the death of some people. When Satan wanted to use Peter to tell Jesus that He will not suffer in Jerusalem, Jesus knew that it was not Peter himself that made the utterance but a force, and He said, "get behind me Satan." People for instance have been surprised with what has been happening at "Bermuda rhiangle," any ship or aircraft that passes that region disappears. Dr. Kleham
Degaya one time Islamic Militant Scholar an occultic now converted as a
Christian arid Evangelist said:
I was progranzmed to be born in Bermuda Triangle because
the island is one of the citadels of Satanic wickedness. It serves , as a channel to the domain of Lucifer. It is one of the junctions
that serve as a connecting base to Satan 'sjnal station of
relaxation afier his to-ing andfio-ing. That is why this Island
is very dangerous.Ii is.me. of the.channels he passes through
lo enler inlo his abode- known in zhe Satanic world as
the "Master's ladder, " where he climbs to the arena where he
,I - ... accuses men before God every day. This Island is also where
the powers of darkness conjure strength and extract energy for
evil every day. Since the Island is stationed in the midst of the
active channels thal is of great signrJicance to Satan and his kingdonz of nzzschief anyihiilg that crosses to that region is a
properly of the devil. A4y being born there implied that from
cradle to the grave,I was going to remain a physical yet
spiritual anrbassador of destruction on earth.29
The three main religions in this nation believe that evil spirits exist and are wicked in their oppressions, members, therefore, pust not allow these evil forces to use them directly or indirectly in their various religious groups to cause anarchy, damage, intolerance, dissension or destruction in this nation.
Just as people may not know what has been going on at Bermuda Triangle except from the spiritual as Degaya explained, likewise people may not know that evil forces can use them to cause religious havoc all in the name of God just as Saul of Tarsus did before his conversion in Acts ch.9.
The researcher is of the view that the causes of religious intolerance in - ,I %."I..,' , I.$, I . Nigeria include; misunderstanding of God and forcefully preaching the misunderstood concepts, attachment to material things and quest for power, prestige and superiority. Included in tl,e ciuses are mixing of religion with politics and political ambition, unrestrained proliferation of Sects from different parts of the world and preaching in Nigeria with no guidelines from existing religions. Misunderstanding of the essence of religion is one of the causes.
At the centre of every religion is a force or spiritual beings that are worshipped. If these gods or God worshiped tolerate each other, it is only
logical that their worshippers will tolerate each other. But this is not so.
These gods or God do not tolerate each other eg Exodus 20:3 says, "You
shall have no other gods beside me." Therefore, their worshippers even in
Nigeria do not tolerate each other. In Nigeria, a secular State, there is
freedom of worship. Many deities are worshipped and each claims a
measure of total superiority over the others. Consequently, there is religious
intolerance among the worshippers. At the back of religious intolerance in
Nigeria in recent times is the struggle for survival. Meinbersl~ipdrive is in
desperation and without discipline because the more members you have
means more cash flow and this in turn means more pay for the priests and
staff of the various religious grm.q~:-Dootrinal differences brought about by
change, religious politics and human pl~ilosoplueshave contributed to
religious intolerance in Nigeria. Other causes include; shallow knowledge of 0 - .". the nature of God, pride and selfish interest, lack of open inindedness in
matters of religion, unnecessary suspicion , differences in the orientation of
religions, avarice, failure to realize freedom of worship in Nigeria, fanatism
and lack of understanding of the societal roles of religion. 5.7Background of the three major Religions in Nigeria.
African Traditional Religion (A.T.R.)
This is the original traditional or indigenous Religion of Afiican people including Nigeria, handed down froin one generation to another. It is a Religion that has no written literature yet it is written everywhere for those who can see and read. It is largely written in the people's myth, folklores, in songs and dances, in the liturgies, shrines, in proverbs and pithy sayings. It is
! a Religion founded by the forefathers. It is the product and experiences of our fore fathers. They formed religious ideas, they formulated religious beliefs, they observed religious ceremonies and rituals, they held proverbs
&d myths which carried religious meanings and they had regulations and customs which safeguarded tldife.of.the.individual and his community.
John Mbiti made it clear that:
Wherever an African is, there his religion is. He carries it - .* to thejeld where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new
crop, he takes it with him to the beer party or to attend a
funeral ceremony and If he is educated he takes religion with
him fo fhe examinafion room at school or in the university. yhe is apolitician, he takes it to the house of representatives.'
African Traditional Religion was there before the advent of
Christianity and Islam to the South and to the North respectively. This religion is found with its cultural, ethnic or tribal peculiarities among every
ethnic group in Nigeria, but the fact remains that the number of followers of
this religion are now relatively reduced by influence of the foreign religions
(Christianity and Isla~n)which coupled with Western civilization unleashed
heavy attacks an the fabric of Nigerian traditions and culture especially
among the Igbo ethnic group, thereby rendering the traditional religion
seemingly insignificant in Nigeria.
\
, CHRISTIANITY
Cllristianity is a religion whieh.has its germ from the mother religion
called Judaism. In Judaism people who taught the oral law are called
Rabbis and Scribes and those who kept the rules strictly were called 1, - .. Pharisees. After the time of Jesus, the work of the Rabbis continued. Their
teaching is collected in the great Jewish book called the ~almud.~The belief
in God in Judaism was not the outcome of reflection but of revelation,
through a particular event, the Exodus of Israel form Egypt. Christianity with its genn from Judaism is a religion based on the life and teachings of
Jesus Christ, therefore, it is Christo-Centric.
-r The Cluistian faith began with the mission of Jesus of Nazareth, an
event that could be understood only in the context of the history of Israel and
communicated only by means of the literary and thought patterns of the first
century Mediterranean world.13Christianity began with Jesus' ministry to
Israel, however, with His death and reports of His resurrection
appearance, faith quickly spread beyond the ethnic, geographic and religious
bounds of Judaism in Israel. The idea in Cluistiarlity is that when somebody
slaps you on one cheek, then turn the other cheek for hiin to slap again. Jesus 5 said:
Rut if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him
the otlw also; and fany one would sue you and take
.& ,,..., i. d' ..,, ' . your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and ifany one
forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.('Matt 6-39- 41). I' - .*
This portrays the idea of tolerance, accommodation and peaceful co-
existence with each other. The process of Christianity began in earnest in
Nigeria in the 1 91hcentury with varied pattern. Ogbu Kalu made it clear that the Christianization of Nigeria started from the coastal parts to inland parts of southern Nigeria and spread to the Northem Nigeria where
Cluistianization was impeded by successful establishment of Islam in that part of the country before the advent of the ~nissionaries.~This is why
Christianity predominates the Sout11a-n part of Nigeria, however, today it has spread across the entire nation.
t ISLAM
Islam also took roots from Judaism. It was founded in the 7t11century
(670A.D) by Muhammed. Its adherents are called Moslems in their Holy
Book (Quran 22:78). Literally Islam means submission to the will of Allah, while Moslem means one who submits to Allah's wi1L5 Moslems believe
things contained in Quran, to them Allah is the Creator and Ruler of all
things and Muhammed is the. propl!et. .. . .$ ..,,of Allah. Islam was not firmly
established in Hausaland until during the reigns of Muhammed Rumfa of 1
Kano and Ibrahim Maje of Katsina in fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Later \ \ I' - .. a situation arose where pagan practices were syncretised with Islamic
rituals. This led to adulteration of Islam in both Hausa Land and Bomo
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The rulers became
oppressors, corrupt and self-indulgent, thereby violating the ha ria.^ Usrnan Dan Fodio spear-headed the Jihad at the beginning of the 19" century, which welded Hausa States together unlike before when they were antagonistic to each other. The jihad led to Southward islamization of
Nigeria in areas like Nupe land, Ilorin, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ijebuode and
Lagos where Hausa Moslems from North settled to preach Islam and teach
Quranic exegesis and allied subjects to the people. Other areas are Agbede
and Auchi where their Obas have remained Moslems till today. 0.Kalu
noted that the jihad had enonnous impact on Nigerian political culture by
not only through the establishment of a coherent Islamic State, pre-empting
the lines of future geographical division of the Country, but also innovating
efficient administrative and judiciary systems, conducting a beneficient
literacy campaign and bringing religion into the center of Nigerian
development. Today the Islamic religion has spread across the nati~n.~
Nonetheless, the situation sirrounding the establishment of Islam led . ,, . .-f. .I' , . .r, to the entrenchment of some statements which portray violence in the Quran:
Then when fhe sacred months have passed, slay the
idolaters, wherever you indthern, and fake [hem
captive and besiege thent and prepare for them each
ambush. (Sura IX:5). 1
This is a pure statement against the traditionalists. Another quotation that portrays violence is:
Fight against those who bdieve not in Allah nor in
/he last day, who prohibit not what Allah and his apostles
have prohibited, and who refuse allegiance to the true
fairh from among those who have received the Book,
until they pay tribute out of hand. (Sura IX: 29).
Such statements reflected the background of Islam from the religions before it. From such uncompromising ideas Utlunan Dan Fodio drew his aim and support for the famous jihad of 1804. We can then see the bone of contention as we have pointed out already in this paper. The emergence of
Christianity and Islam in Nigeria generated violence because of the existing rural, local or traditional religion of the people, especially as some of the outstanding traditionalists initially refused to succumb to their preaching.
Cllristianity has its unique structure.md.teachings, hence cannot succumb to
Islam's religious doctrines. In another vein, Christianity constitutes a thorn in the flesh for the traditional religion of Nigerians, while A.T.R. has many
,# - .*. allegations against both Islam and Christianity. This is the jumbled situation of the three main Religions in Nigeria, which gives occasion for intolerance and frequent misunderstandings. 5.8 The Pre-Independence Religious Intolerance (1950-1960).
A historical survey into the relationship between politics and religion in pre-independence Nigeria will enable us to understand and appreciate the roots of the religious crises. Historians of religion in Nigeria agree that between the 13" and 15" centuries, Islam had taken root in most parts of the area that came to be known as northern ~i~eria.~Professor E.A. Ayandele made it clear that it was about this period too, approximately about 1472 that the Christian religion was making in roads into this territory through the bights of Beninand ~iafi-a.9
However, for the spread of the Moslein religion, it was not until the
Jihad of Usman Dan Fodio (1754-1 8 17) that Islam assumed prominence in the political and religious history of the country. Usman Dan Fodio was a
Fulani Moslem scholar. He was a member of the Qadiriyya sect of Islam.
. ,q. .-(.,?. %',> Having gained mastery of Moslem law, rhetoric and classical Islamic
history, he often lamented the lukewarm practice of Islam by the Hausa rulers. Me eventually called for a Jihad (Holy War) to purge the Land of such Lax Moslems. By 1804, the Jihad had commenced and after some initial setbacks, lie was able to conquer most of the Hausa States. He gave flags to the fourteen war chiefs - all Fulani but one, who marched on and conquered the Hausa forces.1° AAer the defeat of the Hausa states, the standard bearers of Usman Dan Fodio's army became the Emirs (or rulers) of Hausa land and to this day, the descendants of these leaders occupy the thrones of the northern emirates, all owing allegiance to the Sokoto
Caliphate.
The interesting thing to note here is that what started as a search for religious purification soon became a search for a political kingdom.
However, since religion was the basis for the establishment of the caliphate, the hegemony of the ruling class (Hausa-Fulani) has been prefixed on the veneer of the Islamic religion. Significantly Islam has remained the focal veneer for the legitimacy of the northern ruling class and consequently, its politicians have always prided themselves as soldiers for the defense of that faith. Thus, since the Usman Dan Fodio Jihad, cl&ming the fear of God,
being a Bawan Allah (God's servant). a" A,, trust *.at in Ikon Allah (the will of God), are prerequisites and major aspects of political and economic survival within the northern ruling class. ' '
1,. -
Even political parties in the then north was founded on the basis of
religious commitment. For example, the Northern People's Congress
(NPC), a conservative party which was led by the emirate ruling class, had Islam as its rallying point. The same was true of the Northern Elements
Progressive Union (NEPU). Even though NEPU had most of the radicals as their members, they still presented themselves as the standard bearers of
Islam. The third party, the Non-Moslem League (NML), had religion as its basis precisely because it was constituted by the class non-Moslem, its aim being to resist and protest against Moslem domination. As noted by Mathew
Kukah, when this Hausa-Fulani ruling class engage in political activities they do so within the limits of the concept of power in Hausa (Islamic)
society, a concept guided by a hierarchically stratified society with the Emir
at the top. And because the Emirs themselves are also religious leaders, they
preside over both religious and political activities.12
Thus, it was not accidental that by 1951, after the general election, the
Sarduana of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, who was also the president of the
Northern People's Congress, beme the premier of the Northern Region.
What emerged, along with the political development was that the religious
ideas of the caliphate became incarnate with the ruling party, the NPC, and I' - .- its political manifesto. When, therefore, by the late 1950's the Southern
Regions of Nigeria were speaking and agitating for independence, the ruling
class in northern Nigeria were looking forward to a handover of power to
the heirs of Anglo-Fulani hegemony. For them independence meant Islam as its rallying point. The same was true of the Northern Elements
Progressive Union (NEPU). Even though NEPU had most of the radicals as their members, they still presented tliemselves as the standard bearers of
Islam. The third party, the Non-Moslem League (NML), had religion as its basis precisely because it was constituted by the glass non-Moslem, its aim being to resist and protest against Moslem domination. As noted by Mathew
Kukah, when this Hausa-Fulani ruling class engage in political activities they do so with the limits of the concept of power in Hausa (Islamic)
society, a concept guided by a hierarchically stratified society with the Emir
at the top. And because the Emirs themselves are also religious leaders, they
preside over both religious and political activities."
Thus, it was not accidental that by 1951, after the general election, the
Sarduana of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, who was also the president of the
Northern People's Congress, be~mthe premier of the Northern Region.
What emerged, along with the political development was that the religious
ideas of the caliphate became incarnate within the ruling party, the NPC, and - . its political manifesto. When, therefore, by the late 1950's the Southern
Regions of Nigeria were speaking and agitating for independence, the ruling
class in northern Nigeria were looking forward to a handover of power to I the heirs of Anglo-Fulani hegemony. For them independence meant freedom from the rule of non-Moslems and the establishment of an ideal
Moslem state.13 Their hope seemed to have been achieved when Alhaji
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a member of the NPC, became the first Prime
Minister of the federation. The Prime Minister saw himself as a Moslem who must first and foremost owe allegiance to the Sokoto Caliphate.
What emerged on the political arena after independence was that most of the political leadership from the north were Moslems while those who were elected fiom the South were mostly Christians. Definitely, because of the diversity in world-views and operative values there occurred constant
conflicts among the politicians as they competed for the achievement and protection of their interests. The first major conflict arose on the issue of the
Sharia Court for Nigeria.
5.9 Post Independence Crises(l960-1966)
Religious crises in Nigeria both in the pre-independence period and between 1960 and 1966 were for the most part at the level of a cold war, characterized by external mutual respect butjnternal spite and disaffection.
The mutual respect stemmed fiom the fact that none of the Religions really knew the strength of the other. Thus the mutual tolerance was merely out of fear of the other and not any genuine respect. Each one respected the other from a distance and never dared to overstep its bounds.
1
In 1961, the Sarduana of Sokoto formed the Jainaatu Nasril Islam
(JNI), an Islamic movement charged with the special responsibility of propagating Islam. It was thought by some people to be the religious wing of the NPC.'~However; some of the activities of the JNI were not acceptable to other Moslems, especially those who did not belong to the
NPC. In 1964, the reformed Tijaniyya (another lslamic Movement) was
founded by Sheikh Ibrahim Niass. This group innovated the crossing of
arms (kablu) during prayers as opposed to hands on the side (sadlu). The
Tijaniyya sect was, for all practical purposes, the religious wing of the
NEPU political party and it was often used as a vehicle for WPU's political
protests.15It had strong supporters in Kano and the Sokoto Emirate.
.<,,...<..?'..>* ' Both the NPC and the ruling class in the north resented the activities
of the Tijaniyya group. Thus when the crossing of arms at prayers was
outlawed, it was' seen and interpreted as the outlawing of the Tijaniyya sect.
The outlaw order was resisted by the Tijaniyya group. From this time
onwards the hostility between NEPUITijaniyy a and NPCIJNI (Qadiriyya)
intensified. It was this hostility that gave birth to the intra-religious crises \ within the Moslem religion in the country.!6
However, when on 15" January, 1966, a coup was executed which resulted in the killing of Ahaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahaji
Ahrnadu Bellow, this was interpreted as a Christian coup against Islam. The suspicion of the reason for the coup was even heightened by the fact that not even one Easterner (the East is predominantly Christian) was detained or I killed. The Moslem north's anger was even more intensified by the fact that an Easterner, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi, was made the Head of State.
The Moslem saw the coup as an assault on Islam. Both NEPUITijaniyya
and NPCIQadiriyya closed ranks to face a common enemy. They declared a jihad and rejected the rule of a non-Moslem. They staged a counter - coup
that led to the events that resulted in a civil war (1967-1970), which was
fought with intense bitterness and vengeance. Even though many writers
and coinmentators have tried.t~..ague.,thatthe civil war was not a religious
war, the position of this work is that it was a fo~mof religious crises. If
nothing else, the war itself was fought with religious emotions. A.G. Nwedo
(I - . seems to share this view when he wrote:
When Independence actually came in 1960, it was a .
karriage of convenience from the religious point of view, because with the Southerners politics was politics md had no religious undertone, but with the Moslem North,
there Is no separation of politics from religion. Therefore,
beneath the external sat isfaction and ju bilation at the time
lay some serious anxiety and mutual distrust between Moslems
and non-Moslems causing some tension which well-wishers
hoped would ease ofwith time. But it did not ease 08In fact it
erupted into what some people took as tribal rebellion and
others regarded as a-fundamental religious conjlict ... 17
The Moslems had never given up their quest for an Islamic
State. Hence they saw tlie civil war as an opportunity to conquer, convert, or humiliate the "infidel" to subjection once and for all. The Arab world backed the northern cause which for them was the cause of Islam. On the other hand, the Christians in the "Biafran" territory believed that they were fighting and resisting Moslem sxpansionism. It was utterances like these, whether fiom Moslems or from Christians that made people to conclude that the civil war was not free of religious undertones. . .
5.10 Religious Crises After The War( 1970-1975).
The first five years after the civil war were declared the period of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Despite the attempted reconciliation, the religious face of the civil war persisted even after the war had ended. It continued in the fonn of a religious cold war.
Following the military successes that the North registered in the civil
War, Moslems as never before began to affitheir spiritual identity and to flex their political and economic muscles for thk propagation of the Islamic faith. The government policy to take over voluntary agency, schools and hospitals (most of which were Christian) was definitely not pro-Christian.
Christians themselves saw it as a calculated attempt by the Moslem backed government to ensure that no Christian influence was exercised in schools.
However, what was surprising was that while the mission schools in the
South were being taken over by government, the Quranic schools in the
North, were being fhded and preserved by government.
The flexing of political muscles by Moslems was further reflected in
. ,, . ."1. .?. .'5 ' . the tilting of the federal government might in favour of the Moslem North. A typical example was in the distribution of Federal government appointments and the ~oslem'insistencethat they canno6accept a non-Moslem as president. The late Sheikh Abubakar Guni, a prominent Moslem scholar is quoted to have said:
Once you are a Moslem you cannot accept to choose a non Moslenz ... So $we want Nigeria to be good country ...
we have to follow one faith. I don't think we can accept
a Christian to be our leader unlesk we are forced.18
This was the logic of reasoning that produced Alhaji Shehu Shagari as the civilian president during the Second Republic. End Notes
' C. S.Momo11, Enweribe Onwuha and Tijani El Miskin, Nigerian
Studies In Religious Intolerance Volume 1V: Philosophy Tolerance
Volume 1V: Philosophv Of Religious Tolerance Of Relit$ouss.( lbadan:
John west Printing Division,l989),p.7.
4Maxwell 0.Mgbemere, Religious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Experience ( Owerri: Grace of God Publishers, 200 1), p.4 1.
6~atthewH. Kukah; Religion. Politics And Power In Northern Nigeria( Ibadan: Spectrum Books, 1994), p. 115.
7Utendo N. Adarnu,Sharia: The Social- Political ~m~licationFor Christians In Nigeria( Abuja: CAN Media, nd.), p .3.
'~alaDan Abu, "Politics Of Sharia," Newswatch, October 24, . ,, 4 ws. .?. . 1988,pp. 9-16.
'%ukah. Op. Cit. 228. -. 11Jah H.Boer, Nigerian's Decades Of Blood( Bellevite: Essence Publishing, 2003), pp. 14- 15.
12~bu,Op. Cit. p.19. 13Musa Gaiya, "The Complexity Of The Sharia Debate In Nigeria," TCNN Research Bulletin,September 2004, pp. 20-43.
t 14 Emeka Okoh,Sharia A Menace To The Society," The Punch, October 10,2002, p.35.
15Section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. 16~budulkadirTayob, "The Demand For Sharia In &can Democratisation Process: Pitfalls Or Opportunites?" Presented at the Conference on Comparative Perspective on Sharia in Nigeria at Jos, January 2004, p. 10.
17steppOffi and M. Adeyi, "Bloodbath On The Plateau," TeJ Ma~azine,September 24,2001, pp. 24-28.
''~oseaNash, "Tazare: The Road To Hell" Apex Magazine, January 2002, pp. 16-27.
''J .~.~ou~las,New Bible Dictionary Second Edition( England: Tyndale House Publishers, 1980), p.278.
2klehatn Degaya,Tlle Great Encounter 1 With The Highest Power In The Universe( Owerri: The Rohi Publishers,l999),pp. 28-29.
2' ~ohnS . Mbiti, A£iican Religions And Philosophy (London:
Heinemann Educational Books, 1969),,p. 1
a avid A. Brown, A Guide To Religions (Britain: The Bath Press,
2001),p.119 . l1 .. . 23Rober A. Spivey, Anatomy Of The New Testament (London:
Epworth Press, 1995), pp. 1-7.
240gb~U. Kalu, Dialorme As An Antidote. (Ibadan: University Press, 25 I.A.B. Balogun, Utilizing Reli~onsFor Peaceful United And
Promess In Nigeria. (Nigeria: University Of Ilorin, 198l), p. 17.
26~id,pp.30-32
27 Kalu, 0p.Cit; pp.7-8.
28~ictorChukwulozie, Moslern- Christian Dialogue In Nigeria
(Ibadan; Day Star Press 1986), p.27
29E.A.Ayandele, The Missionary hactOn Modem Nigeria. 1882-
1914: A Political And Social Analysis (Ibadan : University Press, 1974),p. 1
30~.~.~kafor,New Strategies For Curbing Ethnic And Religious
Conflicts In Nigeria (Enu y : Fourth Dimension Pulishers, 1997), p. 156.
bid,^. 156
32~atthewH.Kukah, Religion. Politics And Power In Northern
Nigeria (lbadan : Spectrum Books, 1994),p.9.
"~erern~Hinds, A Draft ,C.oq$iQtion For Nigeria: Comments On The
Religious Aspects In The Northern Nigerian Press, 1975-78 (Unpublished
Paper), p. 115.
340kafor,Op. Cit, p.158.
35~axwel~O.Mgbemere, Reliaious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Experience (Owerri: Grace Of God ~ublishcks,2001), p. 16. I
36~bid.p. 16. 37~.~.~wedo,Christianity Among Us : Its Continued Survival (Aba:
Nigerian Printer, 1990), pp. 17-18.
38 Okafor, @.City p. 182s Chapter Six
The Spread of Religious Crises i
6.1 The Kano - Maitatsine Riot( 18th-29thDee, 1980).
According to Paul Lubeck, the Maitatsine phenomenon arose as a response to the collapse of the moral base on which traditional
Islamic society had been founded. On the debris, Kano State sought to erect a semi-industrial capitalist base, whose failures produced the circumstances under which the Maitatsine movement arose.'
What could be said, therefore, is that the Maitatsine riot did not only wear a I religious character, it was also a social upheaval initiated by the oppressed group of society, otherwise known as the ~alakawas.'The people were disoriented with both the religious and social systems. In their riot they killed both Moslems and Christiwg:'Thi? first of the series of the Maitatsine riot was the Kano riot on 18" -29" Dec, 1980.
\ - .. The December 1980 Kano riot, because of its bloody nature and level of
destruction, has come to be referred to as the first religious and bloody riot
in contemporary Nigeria. However, according to the report of the Tribunal
of Enquiry set up after the 1980 riot, prior to the outbreak in Kano, there had been over thlrty violent incidents of religious riots in the northern states3
But these were nothing compared to the December 1980 event. The central figure in the 1980 saga, Alhaji Mul~ammaduMarwa, who came to be known as Maitatsine had a long history in Kano. The name Maitatsine has its origin from his abusive sermons. The name means the one who continues to curse.4
As far back as 1962, Marwa founded a group which preached against all the
indices of modernization such as television, r&o, watches, cars, bicycles.
The group believed that any Moslem who reads any book besides the Qu'ran
is a pagan. They referred to rich Moslems as ~nbelievers.~Because of his
intransigence, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi, ordered his arrest and
prosecution. He served a three Month jail term and was deported to his
hometown in Cameroon. When in 1980, therefore, Maitatasine resurfaced in
\ Kano, the stronghold of the Tijaniyya movement, it was certain that he had
come, if not for a revenge, at least to wage a war of purification of Islam.
Maitatsine and his group settled in an enclave in Kano called Yan
Awaki. From their enclave they launched attacks on all those they
I' - .-. considered pagans and infidels. These include both Moslems and Christians.
When informed that government was planning to call them to order, through
police action, they launched an attack on Kano city. With the use of swords,
arrows, dane guns etc they killed thousands of people in the city (approximately 4179) and destroyed property worth millions of naira. It took the combined effort of the police, army and airforce to bring the situation under control. The leader of the group himself was killed and many fled to
In response to the situation, President Shagari set up the Justice
Aruagolu Commision to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the riot, apportion blame to the culprits; and proffer solutions to the problem of
religious riots. Whatever were the findings and the solutions recommended,
the implementation did not take immediate effect. Rather the Resident
ended up establishing an Islamic Mairs Board as a means of solving the
problem of religious fanaticism among Moslems. The Kano 19b0 riots were
seen as an intra-religious conflict. This was why in the wake of these riots,
many Moslem leaders suggested various ways of calling Alhaji Gumi to
. ,I. .-1. d' .I.- order, arguing that the Maitatsine rioters were the soldiers of Alhaji ~umi.~
Despite the intra-religious character of the crisis, Christians who were 1 0 - . victims of the riots objected to government's way of handling be matter.
They objected specifically to the establishment of the Islamic Mairs Board
which they saw as a subtle way of enhancing the privileged position of Islam
in the country. I 6.2 The Zangon-Kataf Crisis( May 1992).
The Zango-Kataf riot started like a co~nmunalriot but turned into a
Moslem-Christian conflict. The Emir of Zaria always appoints district heads
for the Kataf people. The appointees are always Moslems who share no
common linguistic, cultural, or religious bond with the Kataf people who are
mostly Christians. This practice has always irked the political sensibilities of
the Kataf.
However, the May 1992 riot was ignited by the relocation of a market
ordered by Mr.Ayoke, the Local Government Council Chairman. The order
was opposed by Alhaji Mato, the uncle of Daboilere, the Governer of
Kaduna State. Mr. Ayoke was a Kataf Christian and Mato a Hausa-Fulani
Moslem. One might say that the Zango-Kataf riot was one of the series of
codiontations between the two co~~fiesin the southern pxi of
Kaduna.They fought over farm lands, markets and over supremacy several
times in the past. But the May Fiasco which-. had more religious undertones
- was the bloodiest of all the conflicts in the community.
Farms, homes, people, churches, mosques, vehicles e.t.c. were
destroyed and more than two hundred people killed. Bulus Kaneiyock, the secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Zaria lost his life.
Again three clergymen, a popular Artist with the federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria in Kaduna, six policemen (two of them Inspectors) were reported to have been lulled in the crisis.7 Weapons like matchets, daggers, bows and arrows were fieely used and as the crisis escalated out of the tiny Zango-
Kataf town, guns of varying sophistication were used.
6.3 The Funtua Mayhem( 19'~-22"~January, 1993)
It was a week of wailing and loud lamentation in Funtua, a commercial town on the Southern up of Katsina State. From 19' to 22"
January 1993, death stalked the town's people by day and hunted them down by night.There was death by bullets, death by fanatical swords and poisoned arrows, death by Quranic verses, inserted daggers and death by bwning. In those days of anger, the commonest sights on the streets of . ,,. ."{.\?' .?-a ' Funtua were the carcasses of burnt vehicles. For once, humamblood flowed more fieely on the streets of Funtua than did water fiom taps!
The trouble started at about 3p.m. in Tudun Wada quarters on
Tuesday lgthJan. 1993. Two Almajirais (younger beggars) belonging to two
Mallarns in the area had a quarrel and resorted to fisticuffs. One of the boys belonged to a Kalakato (Maitatsine) Mallam, the other did not. To separate
the squabbling boys, the non-Maitatsine Mallam reportedly caned the two of
them.The Maitatsine Almajiri, however, felt cheated and reported to his own
Mallam that a "Kaffir" Mallam had beaten lhfor his own boy. The
Maitatsines call other Moslems "KaErs" or unbelievers. Thereafter; the
Maitatsine Mallam sent some of lis big Almajirais, youths of about 18years
to demand an explanation from the other Mallam. Not convinced that the
man was a just arbiter in the dispute, the riot started. From there on, the
Maitatsines unleashed a reign of terror on the residents of the area.
The two units of policeinen drafted to the scene were chased away by
the fanatics in the fracas. The police admitted that five police men and five
civilians were wounded, while the windscreens and doors of the abandoned
police vehicle were shattered and its tyres mutilated. The carnage and
destruction angered the townspeo&.~ho,fonned themselves into vigilantes.
Because most of the Maitatsine fellowers were known to them, the vigdantes
went fiom house to,house to drag out the surviving fanatics.Wherever they l1 - . found the fanatics, they killed them and buried them in shalloi graves.
Alternatively, they threw their corpses down dry wells. They went to the
house of one of the fanatics leaders in B.C.J. Area and killed all his
followers that had gone there for refuge.9They also set the house on fire. An eye witness said that one of the Mallarns pretended to be chopping firewood when the vigilantes were passing. His neighbour pointed him out and he was burnt to ashes with the firewood he had chopped.
The Mallam in Tudun Wada who started the trouble, however, < escaped but the vigilantes destroyed his house. Another was said to have hid himself and two wives inside a dry well. dug in his bedroom. Unfortunately
for him, the children he left in the house pointed out his hiding place to save
their own souls. When the vigilantes threatened to rain stones and burn
firewood on them, the fanatics came out of the well and the Mallam was
Killed, and thrown back into the well. His children and wives were handed
over to the police.
6.4 Katsina And Bauchi Religious Disturbance( 20~~-22'~April 1991).
.,a,. .wl. \?' , , .,* ' . The Katsina religious riot was an anti-government protest. Although it
Started in 1991, its genesis could be traced to a publication in the December
1990 edition of Fun Times, a Daily Times ~f.Nigeriapublication.10 In an
opinion poll, the magazine asked its readers if they would many a known
prostitute turned "Born Again?" This question was based on one article
written by one Orlando Emmat~uelAttando, who tied to probe the origin of prostitution and the factors that led people into it. The basic message in the write-up was that people can at any point in time leave prostitution and still lead a decent 1ife.He mentioned the case of Mary Magdalene who was a prostitute but gave up the act as soon as she accepted Christ, backing it up with quotations from the Holy Bible. He also turned to the Holy Quran and asserted that prophet Muhammed had an affair with a woman of easy virtue and later married her.
With this offensive publication, Mallam Yahaya Yakubu, a 35years- old Islamic teacher who had been having a running political battle with the
Christian Governor of Katsina State, Col John Madaki, saw it as an
opportunity to call for an Islamic revolution. Through his preaching at the
premises of the Katsina central Mosque, he called on Moslems to defy anti-
Islamic laws, reject non- Moslem rule and return to the true path. He
instigated the attack on the Daily Times office during the Ramadan fasting. ral..rl..1.,..?, ' . El-Zak Zaky led over 2,000 shiite Moslem fundamentalists to protest in
Katsina just to give a helping hand to Yahaya's cause. The Katsina riot
0 .. appeared to have sent distressing signals to other'parts of the country. As the
Katsina group was rioting some Moslems marched peacefully through the
major streets to Yola, Capital of Gongola state, chanting Islamic slogans in
solidarity with yahaya.ll The Daily Times office in Katsina was vandalized and copies of the Times burnt. A day later, the riot spread to other cities,
such as Sokoto and Kaduna.
The riot also spread out to Bauchi and other parts of Bauchi State.
Between April 20'~-22"~,199 1, tlie uprising took place at Tafawa Balewa
and then spread like wild £ire leaving liundreds of people dead. This was an
inter-religious conflict. The problem centred around the leadership of lere
District Council (Tafawa Balewa Council ). The Tayiawa, who are the
majority and also Christians felt that they were denied responsible positions
in the council by the Emir of Bauchi whose responsibility it is to appoint
district heads. Often it was non-natives and mostly Fulani who were
appointed. The Tayiawa people were not happy with Fuiani hegemony and
had to revolt under the leadership of Gonto Mwari.
A night before the uprising, 20" April 1991, Moslems and Christians . ,..,* ' . clashed over the use of an abattoir in Tafawa Balewa town in Southern
Bauchi. The Moslem butchers disapproved of the Christian butchers of the
Semaya tribe who were slaughtering pigs &I the'ibattoir. The abattoir had
three sections, one for the T7ala Moslems, one for the other Moslems, and
tlie other for Christians. The Moslems, mostly Fulanis protested the
desecration of the abattoir. This generated a lot of controversy which led to physical combat between Moslems and Christians. The Tayiawa Christians used the occasion of this conflict to vent their vengeance on the l%ani
Moslems. The riot saw the destruction of many churches and Mosques. The lives that were lost included the Tayawa District Police officer. This riot was so fierce that most religious conflict analysts seemed to agree that it was more of a war than a riot. In fact, there was a massive destruction of property worth millions of naira. l2
6.5 Sharia And 0.1.C. Problems( 1976,1986,27*' January 2000).
The Sharia issue is as old as Islam itself in Nigeria. It was the aim of
Usman Dan Fodio to implement it in the Northern emirates in order to reform what was perceived as the lax practice of Islam among the rulers.13A similar opinion was shared by Ibrahim Sulaiman when he argued that the jihad was meant to make the word of -Allah.wpreme, to bring unbelief and tyranny to naught, to bring dignity and honour to Moslems and save them
from the humiliation of having to live under the influence of an unIslamic
Since the days of the Usman Dan Fodio jihad, therefore, Moslems
have never given up their desire for the establishment of the Sharia court and
an ideal Islamic state. During the colonial days, Britain insisted on the separation of the
Sharia court which deals with personal status and family law fiom a civil court which deals with criminal law and is applicable to all Nigerians. But since independence fiom British rule, Moslems have been making fiantic efforts to install Sllaria rule in the co~ntry.'~The Sharia controversy raged fiercely during the drafting of the constitution in 1976. There was an attempt by some members of the drafting committee to have provisions of the Sharia
written into the laws providing for the supreme court of Nigeria. This was
strongly resisted by other members on the grounds that the Sharia applies to
Moslems alone where as the country's supreme court should adjudicate
among all citizens irrespective of their religion.'"
The debate and disagreement was so vehement that it had to be settled
~tha compromise. Provisions were eventually made in the 1979
Constitution for the establishment. . . ,of. ., both, .It Sharia courts and Customary
Court of Appeal at the state level for those states that desired them.17 From 1 the above views, it is clear then that the Sharia crises was more of a political I I - ." issue than a religious problem. Religion was only being used as a foil.
One of the interesting and significant aspects of the ~hhacrisis
during the constituent Assembly is that it introduced some new dimensions to religious conflicts in Nigeria. Unlike in the civil war, where religion was hiding under politics, with the Sharia, politics was now hiding under religion. Also with the Sharia debate, religious conflict now moved fiom the level of cold war and war of words to the level of confrontation. Wlethe debate on the Sliaria was on the floor of the constituent Assembly, Moslems outside sought to enforce their argument by engaging in threats and riots to support the idea that if the Sharia was not accepted they were going to make the country ungovernable. The Moslem Students Society (MSS) for example demonstrated at Ahrnadu Bello University, pleading with the Assembly men to stop opposition to Sharia or take full responsibility for putting the entire
nation in chaos." In April 1979, protesters took to the streets in Zaria and
Kaduna with such banners as: "No Sharia, No peace; No Sharia, No
Constitution; No Sharia, No Moslem; No Moslem, No ~i~eria"'~
From what has been said so far about Sharia issue, two co~~clwsions
.,,I.**?.,?' ..,& ' could be reached namely;
1. That the Sharia debate has both religious and political implications.
On the religious grounds, it sought for the:.estalishrnent of an Islamic
State, where an ideal Islamic religion could be practiced. On the political
grounds, the defenders and opposers used the debate to gab a political
following as the defenders of Islam or the protectors of Christianity from Islamic domination.
2. That the Sharia issue is a major source of uneasiness in the Nigeria
body policy. It was this Sharia debate that set the stage for the prevalent
I religio-political conditions that existed at the time that Alhaji Shehu Shagari
became the president during the second republic.
Ten years after the controversy had passed; the 1978 scene surfaced
again in 1988. This time the debate was so hot that it almost tore the
Assembly and the nation apart. The Babangida administration had to halt the
debate calling it a "no go area" for the Assembly membersZ0Throughout 1 the period of military government, it was all debate but no implementation
of Sharia law. Military rule ended with multi-party elections in 1999. Soon
thereafter, on 27" January,2000, Ahmed Sani Yerima, the Governor of
Zmfi-a State, officially announced that Shaira legislation would be extended
from personal law to all aspects of life including criminal cases. The ..,,-.. r. ,t. ,,,a ' . initiative taken by Zamfara spread to ten other northern States in the next
two years.Alhaji Ahamed Sani Yerima, the first state Governor to introduce
Sharia said:
Sharia is the law ordained by Allah to govern our lives as
individuals and commurlity,and which we should strive
to establish ... It is Sharia therefore, that makes the
I idenlily ofa rnoslem 's inner belie$ Without Sharia,
his intan(he1iej will not eiiher be tnre or not conzplete." \
The O.I.C. Controversy
OIC stands for Organisation of Islamic Countries. The organization was formed when heads of states and government of Islamic countries met in Rabat, Morocco fiom 2~"~to25th September 1969. In fairness to Nigerian
Moslems, Nigeria had maintained an "observer status' since its formation.
According to Danjuma Byang, Nigeria had participated in forming this
However, many Nigerians were shocked when on January 12', 1986 a
national Daily, the Guardian newspaper alerted the nation that Nigeria had
applied and had been admitted into the O.I.C. Apart fiom the Sharia debate
no issue had generated such a sefidus''60~cfbetween Moslems and
Christians in Nigeria as the OIC controversy. Some Moslem apologists
sought to justify the govement's actio,~,while- ,,. the rest of Nigerians,
Christians and no11 Cluistians called for the uncon&tional withdrawal of the
country from the organization. In a recent call to revisit the OIC issue,
Ahmed Ibrahim argued that there are several African nations where
t Christians are in a majority but which are members of the O.I.C. He said that Christianity has not been wiped out in Uganda, Mozambique, Togo,
Cameroon, Gabon, Benin, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and other &can countries that are members of the 0.1.c.'~On their part, Christians argued that the clandestine manner of taking Nigeria into the O.I.C. was a step in the process of Islamising the country. Rev Dr. James U. Ukaegbu stressed this view when he said that the present government has tended to bend L toward Islam in the aim of satisfying Arab countries and in doing that their
aim is to proclaim Nigeria as an Islamic country.24
The up-shot of this alleged deal is that it has divided Nigerian political
citizens into two major religious camps, Islam and Christianity. While the
adherents of the former tried to throw some light on the benefits of
membership, the latter saw the venture as an attempt to Islamize the whole
nation. When the news of Nigeria7s~a~ssioninto O.I.C. entered the ears
! of Nigerians, the then Chief of General staff, Ebitu Ukiwe was asked what
happened? He made it clear that he was unaware. J. Odey said: I) _ , The 0.1.C. issue is an acid test of president Babangida k wisdom
und comnzitment, to the cause of Nigeria 's political stability
unity and peace... Anybody in Nigeria who cannot yet
understand that with the possible exception of the Nigerian civil war, there is no other issue that has so far threatened the
peace, unity and stability of this country more than the OK
issue is either dishonest or a
Some of the objectives of the organization include :
To promote Islamic solidarity among members.
To co-ordinate efforts for the safeguard of the holy places and support
the struggle of the people of Palestine and help them to regain their
right and liberate their lands.
To strengthen the struggle of all Moslem peoples with views to
safeguarding their dignity, independence and national right.
The pro-OIC positions are:
A That the OIC was an international organization and since Nigeria is
a member of most internationak-organization,her membership of
01C was in order.
B That membership of OIC would also .advance the practice of Islam I/ _ _ C That prevailing customs and practices rooted in Nigeria's
Christian colonial heritage give pre-eminence to Christianity over slam.^"
I Tnen the anti-OIC group also made the following points:
1. That joining OIC is not one of the five pillars of Islam.
2. That Nigeria's membership of OIC foment religious segregation, strife and discrimination.
3. That they can settle for Moslems joining OIC at individual and organizatio~lallevels, but they wouldn't settle for Nigeria's joining at governmental level."
Wliile Cliristia~iscalled for unconditional withdrawal from the OIC,
Moslem members recommended a stay-put stand. The view of the researcher is that the alleged enrolment of the entire citizens of Nigeria as members of 01C smacks off religious intolerance and imperils the future political, peace and stability of this country, noting that Nigeria is a pluralistic state.
6.6 Religious Crises,IUDamboa( 27thMarch, 2000).
On March 27u',2000, residents of Damboa town woke up like any I, other people eager to set about how to &ahtheir daily income. However, as early as 7:30am sigis that all would not be alright were already palpable in the air. The bone of contention was a parcel of land where a church belonging to the living faith denomination was sited. Giving the genesis of the incident, the council's Chairman, Mallani
Lawan Alhaji Kabu told Governor Mala Kachalla who visited the town four days after that it had to do with the controversy trailing the siting of a church
in the largely Moslem - dominated vicinity. 2?t'he land was said to have been originally rented and later sold to one Samson Mustapha, an ex-staff of the council who later relocated to the neighbouring Chibok near Damboa after the latter was excised. Mustapha rented it to the living faith church as a pastorage, but rather than using it for the purpose, the church started using it as a full - fledged church. The Chairman blamed the church's new pastor,
Mr Olusiji Olusesan Caleb, who he said turned deaf ears to all entreaties for him to stop work on the construction of the Church.
At the end of the day, property worth millions of naira were either damaged or looted. They included,the.,pdice station located in the area, two churches, three bear parlours, hundreds of bicycles parked at the police
station for safe-keeping, as well as the louvres of the police barracks which
11 - .- were smashed. One Mr. Felix Ibe, a father of six lost his five shops, three
personal residential houses and all he had worked for, 6.7 Eastern States' Religious Disturbances As A Result Of Sharia . ( 2tlthFebuary, 2000)
The crisis over the Sharia legal system which occurred in Kaduna on
Febuary 2 1 ", 2000 constituted a national problem. The carnage and devastation resulting fiom the disturbances in Kaduna made the president,
Olusegun Obasanjo, to visit the city and what lie saw made him lament that he could not believe that Nigerians were capable of such barbarism against one anot~ier.'~On getting the bad news of what happened in Kaduna State how Iybos were massacred in the riot, Aba indegenes responded. The riot which started on Monday February 28th,2000in Aba was a fall out of the previous week in Kaduna, this riot left many people dead. The riot later spread to other Eastern States i~~cludingTmo, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom.
Dotun Oladipo in Newswatch reported that youths in Aba were said to have taken to the streets chanting war songs when a luxury bus loaded with corpses of Tgbo traders returned ~fbt~~Kaduna. The traders were said to have been stopped by Islamic fundamentalists who killed all the occupants of the bus except.the driver who was ordered to return home with the I' . .. corpses." The sight of the corpses of the dead traders provoked men who immediately decided on a reprisal attack led by the dreaded "Bakassi men" the traders went in search of Moslems fiom the Northern part of the country residing in Aba. Some of them were caught and killed.
For instance, at Asa road in Aba, eight corpses were seen on the street.
So also were several others seen on Ariaria-Faulks road and Milverton road.
Vehicles coining into and leaving Aba were stopped and thoroughly searched. Besides, two mosques-one on Asa road and the other on hospital road were burnt. One of the riots devastated the Mosque near main market at
Onitsha, Anambra State, some items including money seen in that Mosque were looted and it was bmt down even today tliey are yet to rebuild the
Mosque, while many were wounded mainly the Moslems, others fled for their dear 1ives.While the Aba religious riot was going on, the news of the killing of the traders spread to other eastern states. Protest broke out simultaneously in several towns including Uinuahia, the Abia state capital.
Reports put the death toll in the city at 29. In Owem, the Imo State capital, two persons were killed, soldiers were ~tderedfiom their camp to protect the
Moslems at "haHausa" in Owem along Douglas road, the soldiers were
seen there for many days well armed. The crises+. later spread to Port-
Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo.
As the news of the reprisal killing spread to the Northern States, panic again griped the residents. The situation in Kano was so tense that Tgbo traders in the ancient city hurriedly locked up their shops to forestall any trouble. Major luxury bus transporters such as C.N. Okoli and P.N.Emerah who ply the Kano-Eastern routes ordered their buses withdrawn fiom kano.
Many of the non-natives took refuge in military and police barracks in the city.Even in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital where there has been no mention of the introduction of the Sliaria legal system, tension continued to mount high in anticipation of a clash between Christians and Moslems. The police were put on red alert as a result of a death sentence pronounced on
Okenna Nduka, an Igbo trader, by a group known as the Moslem brothers,
Nduka's offence was that he allegedly desecrated the name of Mohammed.
There was panic movement out of the state by Igbos. The state government also banned all forms of open air preaching in the state till further notice.
Plateau state took similar measures when open air preaching was
. ,, . .-7. \,' ., , banned. Abuja, the nation's seat of power was not left out on the panic
measures taken by worried residents. Hamzat Ahned, the Federal capital
territory Coinrnissioner of police was overheard telling some of his friends
that he had spent two nights trying to persuade religious and political leaders
in the federal capital to prevent any outburst of tension.
6.8 Other Minor Religious Crises( sthJan, 1995 Kano, 11" October 1991 Kano) One of the most recent shockers was an event in Kano city on 5' Jan,
1995. In this old popular city, a Christian by name Gideon Akaluka was beheaded for mishandling part of the Quran. The culprit was arrested and detained for the indecent act. But that was not enough for the Moslems who went ahead and removed the man from where he was being legally handled and beheaded him. As if that was not enough, his head was paraded along the streets.
The Kano 1 1" October, 1991 religious riot was a case of an inter- religious conflict. A group of Moslem youths attacked people in Sabongari and the Fagge area of the metropolis. The attack was a protest against the religious crusade organized by the state chapter of CAN with a German
Christian preacher, Relnhard Bonke in attendande.
What oEended the Moslem youths most was what they saw as anti-
. , . \' .>). Moslem policy in the state earlier in the year, they had asked for permission to invite a Moslem fundamentalist preacher to Kano but the government refused. When, therefore, permission was g&ed to Christians to invite the preacher from Germany, they interpreted it as an anti-Moslem policy.
Other noted religious disturbances include; burning of churches in
Kano on October 1982; the Jimeta uprising on 27LhFeb. 1984; the Gombe riot on 29" April, 1985; the Ilorin disturbance on March 1986 because of
Clvistian procession on a palm Sunday which took place through a Moslem do~ninatedarea of Iloriri. This palm Sunday processio~iangered the Moslems
and they attacked the Christians. There are many others unmentioned here.
However the most recent one occurred in Kano on 19" April, 2007 in which soldiers killed more tlian twenty-five Kano militants. No fewer than 25 militants were short dead in Kano in a bloody encounter with soldiers on
Wednesday 19" April, 2007. The conflict said to have been provoked by the fundamentalists suspected to be behind the killing of a renowned Islamic
cleric and attacks on police station in the ancient city, however, left eight of
the soldiers wounded.29
6.9 Religious Intolerance Among Gospel Ministers.
. ,+.4.5. 71. , % !a While few were called by God to serve i" His vineyard, many called
themselves with various ulterior motives, and of course by their hits in the
churches they have served or are serving, you shall know them. Today in
Nigeria many "Men of God" fill every nook and cranny of ow society.
The researcher wants to make it clear that what we really need now in this
nation among ministers of the gospel is "Holy men of God." In 1 lfings 4:9 the Shunammite rich woman gave good testimony of Elisha the prophet when she made it clear to her husband, "Behold now, I perceive that this is
"a holy man of God", who is continually passing our way," She did not say hsis a "Man of God," She said this is "a holy man of God." Until Churches today have holy men of God they cannot make the much needed impact in the society because as the church goes, so goes the world.
The bone of contention sometimes can be ministerial envy, greediness, hatred, covetousness and malice. When the center cannot hold among gospel ministers who should show example to their sheep, then who says that things will not fall apart among the led members, hence, division, anarchy, blackmail, backbiting, slander, gossip, enernity can be seen flourishing in many churches today, ministers tearing themselves apart. That
God uses a minister who has paid the price more than the others in various areas of human endeavour even make some to ekytheir fellow colleagues
. ,, 4 ,c. .,. , . "a and end in scandalizing them instead of working themselves up to meet the
I needs of the hour. Those void of charisma, powehl utterance, unction and anointing for ninistry sometimes go to juju priests or herbalist for power, of course they think that charm and magic power can replace the anointing of the Holy Spirit as a substitute for emptiness, The quest for promotion, power, material acquisition among ministers tlzese days is really alarming. Little misunderstanding in some denominations led some to open their own Churches in the name of founder and overseer. Those who have arrived are the '%ig shots" who go on big
cars, who have material possessions, this to some is now success in the
ministry. Is it then surprising that some left the standard word of God and
preach prosperity message without holiness and obedience to God's word.
Obadiah 1: 17 still tells them, "Upon Mount Zion there shall be deliverance
and holiness, then the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions."
When ministers who should show example live in anarchy and
enemity with each other, what irnpact will they make on the congregation?
Of course lrke begets like.
On the other hand as we have pointed out already in this work, when
ministers struggle for power, ~liui-'c%'l'Gd,' pdm trees, bread hit, mango,
pear, baptismal fowls and goats, offerings and donations made in the
Church, the question is, Is this why they were called into the ministry to be
gluttons thereby turn their bellies to be their gods? their glory is now in their
shame, with minds set on earthly things (Phi1.3:19). Among the ministers;
who wants to be posted to the rural areas? Who wants to go to stations where
there will be no big envelopes and good handshakes to the pastor? Why should there be classifications anlong ministers concerning worldly things?
Has the altar of Jehova, the Bethel of God been turned to demonic shrine, the babel of Satan? Ministers must be careful lest barren altars will be the badge of their unctionless intellectualism. Some denominations will not like others to establish their own churches in areas tvhere they are already. There have been denominational cold war still going on today in various places.
Intolerance can also be seen in these denominations among members. Some
who say they are "born again' look down on others they consider to be in
the darkness without the light of the gospel. This has divided churches and
families. Some call others unbelievers, yet they are members of the same
church. Some times some Christians who are in a good position to help their
immediate faily members do refuse on the ground that such is not a born
again Christian, if he or she wants me to help, such must first be born again
and as well change his or her own denomination to mine then I will help. . , . 7 ,+ Such behaviour is unbiblical. Jesus came to seek and find the lost (Luke
19:10) Today, it is a clear fact that when people of different denominations
I) - . or religions come together in an office, dep'artrnent, school, church, market,
business, coiiununity, politics etc religious cold war and intolerance will not
be lacking. They may not have open conf?ontation due to religion but
silently the cold war will be on. This is the true situation of things in this nation today. On the other hand, there are clashes with open confrolitation in certain issues as a result of religious intolerance.
6.10 Intolerance From African Traditional Religionists.
One woiiders if Afncan traditional religion is forgotten here.
Christianity and Islam were both introduced and established in Nigeria
\. amidst the people's traditional religion. They are both foreign religions and
Aficans have, after some occasions of resistance, become tolerant. In some
areas, however, there is no cordiality between Christians and traditionalists.
For example intolerauce is still shown by some church authorities. The
issues of masquerades, ceremonies, medcine, some rituals and rites of
passage etc have been areas of controversy. In the Southeastern region of
Nigeria, the "masquerade cult" is regarded as a secret society. Christians
mostly regard masquerades as supemtitio~s~md at times diabolical, while the
traditionalists, especially among the Igbos, regard some masquerades as
personifying the ancestors or representing one spirit or the other.32 11 - ...
The seasons of these masquerades are usually regarded as sacred but
many Christians would always behave in a way that would negate this
sacredness. In some communities it is the traditionalists who use the masquerades to harass Clmstians and interrupt the normal worshipping system. Examples are the AkatakpdOmaba seasons of Orba, Ede-Oballa,
Ibagwa,Ovoko and Obollo in the Nsukka area; and the violent Odo masquerade period of the Ojebeogene community. In 1994 Omaba masquerades and supporters attacked members of the Block Rosary Crusade in a town called Obukpa. The leader of the masquerade group attacked the
Catholic priest in charge of the parish (who was on a peace mission) and gave him a cut on the nose. Also a Catholic priest was attacked in his parish 1 house in Aji, a town in Igbo Eze North LGA by an overzealous masquerade.
In the same vein the Christians in Ede-Oballa near Nsukka are under very hot fire because of the mesmerizing attack on them by the Oriokpa Omaba
But why should Christians frown at the traditional masquerades?
However the answer is that the.traditianal masquerades are accompanied by
sacrifices and certain rituals, and they impose their interest over and above
that of Christians during the masquerade periods. For instance in I) > . Amandugba cormunity in Isu LGA of Imo state, any night h which their
"Ogho" masquerade will be going into his abode according to their belief no
woman will be expected to come out through out the night or to be seen
outside whether a Christian or not, and if kybreaks this rule, the following day or during their August meeting such must pay fine or be isolated.
Whatever the case may be, there should actually be tolerance and co- existence since both systems are bound to prevad now and even in some distant future. We should bear in mind that the future of the tr'aditional religion of the people is not coinpletely bleak. Even some of the highly placed clergymen have parents or relations still practicing traditional religion regardless of their preacliings to them.
Another area of clash wluch needs mention is the controversy in title talung. Prominent among these title is the Ozo title among the Igbo. It is so controversial that many Christians are losing their chances of title taking because their denomination does not permit the rituals and ceremonies involved in it. Ozo title holders are not priests of any shrine nor are they bound to worship any divinity. Rather they are men who, by their
. ,r. ..l. .I' > .'a achievement, position, and reputation in the community, could merit some
sort of elevation. The non-Christians who take the title most oRen lord it
over their Clnistian counter parts wlm are testricted. In some areas when a
Christian breaks through and takes the title without clarification he is banned
from participating in the "sacraments" especially the Holy communion a
serious case of intolerance. In Orlu Anglican Diocese recently, some Nze title holders were told to publicly denounce their title in the church before the entire congregation before they were made Knights of Saint Christopher.
Some did and were made Knights, others refused bluntly and were not made
Knights.
Onah made it clear that the Ozo title taking situation became so serious and disuniting in Eke in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State in 1953 that the Archbishop of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province had to be
alerted. Archbishop Heerey had to step in, studied the situation, and took
action.He then erected a huge crucifix in the centre of the Nkwo Eke market,
directly opposite the central shrine called Onu-hi Eke where title were
usually taken. From that time, all Christians who were qualified to take
the Ozo title were expected to take the title in front of the crucifix instead of
getting involved in some sacrifices before the shrine.34On the other hand
some parish priests and pastors ,iu:e;i.Segnex~~ornmunicating their parishioners
for one trivial and pardonable offence or the other. These are, therefore,
some situations of religious intolerance, it is not a myth but a reality in
I) - .. Nigeria. I End Notes
'~aulLubeck, Islam And Urban ~abohrIn Northern Nigeria: The
Makine. Of A Moslem Working Class (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1986), p.309.
'~.u.~kafor,New Strategies For Curbing Ethnic And Religious
Conflicts In Nigeria (Enugu: Forth Dimension Publishers, 1997) p. 164.
a at thew H.Kukah, Religion. Politics And Power In Northern Nigeria
(Ibadan: Spectrwn BooksJ 994), p.20 1.
4~lizabetl~Isichei, "Assessment Of Maitatsine Religious Crisis 1980,"
Journal Of Religions In mca. Vol. Xvii, 1987, p. 194
5~bid;p. 196.
'~uka;Op.Cit, p.201
7Maxwell 0. Mgbemere, Religious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Experience (Owem: Grace Of GdPublishers, 2001), p.20.
8 N. Chudi, "How Religious Fanatics Unleashed Terror," African
I Concord Vol. 7 No. 98, 6thFeb, 1993. p.14 . I _.I 'lbid; p. 16.
I 10Okafor, 0p.Cit. p.177.
"~ojiAkinrinade, Wale Oladepo and Chris Uroh, "Religious Fanatics
On Rampage In Bauchi State, Kill, Maim and Destroy Property, Newswatch, May 6, 1991, p.17.
12Victor Omuabor, "The Fury Past: A Catalogue Of Nigeria's
Religious Revolts," African Concord, 28" October, 1991, pp.38-39.
13victorChukwulozie, Moslem - Christian Dialogue In Nigeria
(Ibadan: Day Star Press, l986), p. 173.
14 Ibrahim Sulaiman, The Islamic State And The Challen~eOf History
(London: Masel, 1987), p.4.
150kafor,Op. Cit, p. 161
16Chukwulozie, Op.Cit., p.28
17The Constitution Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria,' 1979 ch. Vii.
I8Clarke And Linder, Islam In Modem Nigeria (Kaiser: Gunewold,
1984), pp.24-26.
lgOkafor,0p.Cit;p. 162.
20 Toyin Falola, Violence $I Nm:The Crisis Of Religious Politics
And Secular Ideologies (Rochester: Ivp, l998),p.92.
21Alhaji Ahmed Sani Yerima, "Mss And The Challenge Facing The
I) - . Moslem Umma" New Nigerian, Febuary3,2003, pp. 18-20
t 22Danjiuna Byang, Sharia In Nigeria: A Christian Pemective (Jos:
Challenge Publications, 1985), p.66.
23~ukah,Op. C.t; p.198. 24 James. U. Ukaegbu, "Interview," Todav7sChallenge, No 4, 1990, p.4
2S~gbe~nere,Op.Cit, p.25
26 Ibid; p.26
28Mohammed Abubakar, "Why Religious Crisis Erupted In Damboa,"
The Guardian, April 15,2000, p.37.
29 Desmond Mgboh, "Soldiers kill 25 Kano Militants" Daily Sun ,20&
April, 2007, p.4.
30President Olusebpn Obasanjo, "There Will Be No Sacred Cows," , Newswatch, 13~March, 2000, p.22.
bemer mere, Op. Cit; p.36.
35~yrilO.Imo "Christian- Moslem Relations In Jos, Plateau State i l, Nigeria," Mandyeng: Journal Of Central Nigeria, Early Rains, 200 1, pp.98- I' . . 113.
'"bid; pp.98-113. Chapter Seven
Campus Religious Disturbances
7.1 Usinan Dan Fodo University Crisis (3rdMay ,1986)
On 3" May, 1986, the students7 Union organized a gala night to commemorate the achievements of Nana Asaman, the daughter of Usman
Dan Fodio. Among the events scheduled for the night was a Miss Nana
Beauty Contest. For the Moslem students society (mss), it was absolute abomination to associate the name of Nana, a virtuous woman well clad in her time, with the parade of nude girls in the name of beauty contest.
A group of Moslem students stormed the scene of the festivities in a bid to put to an end the abomination. They attempted to confiscate the stereo
.,,,...I..)',.'.) ' sets. As a result of resistance from the organizers, fighting ensured. Broken bottles, sticks and other available objects were used fieely during which inany students sustained serious injuries.' On 6thMay, 1986, the Vice
Chancellor, whose office was set ablaze by the fighting students imposed a
i dust to dawn curfew on the campus.
7.2 University Of Ibadan Religious Bigotry (5thMay, 1986). On the night of Monday, 5" May 1986, at the Unversity of Ibadan, the statue of the risen Chst was burnt by an unknown arsonist. The statue was carved in 1954 by Ben Enwonwu and for years served as a reminder to
Christians on campus that Cllrist who came and died for slnfUl man has arisen.There were speculations as to who the arsonists were. It was generally
suspected that the Moslem students had done it It was even being suspected that the vandalism was backed by some highly placed academics in the institution.
However, whether the culprit will ever be known or not, one thing was certain, religious intolerance had reared its ugly head at the nation's
I premier centre of learning. The act did not only show that emotions and
feelings had overpowered reason but that Islam and Christianity were no
longer at ease. The Christians protested to the Federal Government but there
* ,, , .-8. .n. , .,4- was no positive response except the usual rhetoric of warning to "the
disgruntled elements and enemies of peace who take the law into their own
hands.772On 18"' July, 1986, the Moslem students society demonstrated on
campus, leaving behind evidence of their march and destruction on the
offices and halls of residence. Inscriptions such as "cross must give way to
the mosque," we do not worship idol" were written.' This demonstration and the inscription only confirmed the earlier suspicion of who had destroyed the cross.
7.3 Religious Riot In Kaduna Polytechnic (91h March, 1988).
The Kaduna crisis began in the college of Education Wafanchan about
300 kilometres fiotn Kaduna and spread to Kaduna, Zaria, funtua, Kano,
etc.Friday 6' March, 1987 was the eventfill day. During the Federation of
Christian Students (FCS) annual fellowship celebration, a preacher and a
convert from Islam, Bello Abubakar, from Kano State in his preaching made
comparisons between passages in the Quran and the Bible. Although he was
preaching to a predominantly Christian students audience of the college, it
dawned on hun that he had more hostile students than concerned listeners
when a Moslem student, Hajiyya Aisha ~mad,walked up to him, and
seized the microphone from him. The preacher saw a surge of students
mainly of the Izala group, accuae&,he preacher of defaming Islam, insulting
their holy prophet, and distorting Quranic passages to justlfy his cn~ersion.~ 1 /
The conflict degenerated into a hll-scale riot between Moslems and
Christians, homes, churches, business, houses, hotels, and people were set
ablaze. The houses of the student Affairs officer were burnt down. The state Governor intervened by asking the Moslems to respect Islamic provisions for peaceful co-existence. On 9thMarch, 1988, violence broke out among students in Kaduna Polyteclulic. The issue was that of building a chapel for the Christian students on the campus. The Moslem students went on the rampage and destroyed the chapel that had been built. They argued that it had been cited near a makeshift mosque.
7.4 Ahmadu Bello University Religious Crisis (June 1988).
In 1988, during the students' union elections in Ahmadu Rello
University, violence erupted when it turned out that a Cluistian candidate would win the elections. Prior to the elections, one of the campaign slogans popularly used by the Christian candidate, one w. Stephen, was, "A vote for Steve is a vote for ~hrist." The implication of such a slogan was that the campaign for votes in the students' union elections was being done on the
,I .*'.." 1, basis of religion. Many were wounded in the crisis. Some escaped for their dear lives.
It would appear fiom the records of the religious riots that the
Moslems are always on the offensive. But it must be mentioned that
Moslems are often provoked into violent action by offensive preachings by some Christian Evangelists. This brand of preachers are mainly from the new Christian Pentecostal movements. It is noteworthy that the period of the emergence of the new Christian Pentecostal movements coincided with the period when Moslem Christian confrontations became fierce. This seems to
< suggest that there is a direct link between fundamentalism, Pentecostalism
arid Evangelistic movements and Moslem-Clnistian conflicts. The identities
of the churches that were burnt by Moslems during the Kano October 1982
crisis seem to support tlzis assumption. The burning of Christian churches in
October 1982 in Kano is an example of an inter-religious crisis in Nigeria.
This was the first open and violent religious conflict between Christians and
Moslems. The action of the Moslems was probably fuelled by the laying of
the foundation for a Chnstian church near a mosque in Kano. As noted by
6 Matthew Kukah, the violence was targeted at Christians.
The churches that were destroyed included; Chnst Redemption church
. , .5 ,' It in Burma Road; tlie church of the Lord (Aladura) in Burma Road;
Pentecostal church of Clvist in festin Road; Cherubim and Seraphim
movement in Freeman Street; Eternal Sacid Order of Cherubim and
Seraphim in Sina Giwa Road; Cherubim and Seraphim in Sanusi Road;
Igbala Apostolic church in Wealthhead Road and Chstian church of Light The pentecostalist fundamentalists are groups of Cllristians who object to the teachings of the mainstream Christian churches. They insist on the reading of the Bible; the identification of Christianity with the fundamentalist version of it, a negative evaluation of the modern world; a militant attitude towards modernism; and a call for a separation from non- believers. From the description one can see that Christian fundamentalists are very much like Moslem fundamentalists in their religious attitude. The
Pentecostal fundamentalists seek to spread their message through crusades, I revivals and workshops. When these public crusades and revivals are organized in a predominantly Moslem territory, the Mosleins resent them because they violate their Sharia law that forbids Christians fiom public preachmg in a Moslem environment. The insistence of Cllristians on their right to profess and practice their religion anywhere often results in confrontation. A typical examplemf such a confrontation was the Ilorin episode during the Christian Palm Sunday procession.
I I' - . Sometimes this brand of Christians would organize their crusades
directly near the Mosque just to ensure that the Moslems will hear the
Christian message whether they like it or not. Surely, this type of blatant
insensitivity to others' religious sensibility constitutes an act of provocation. lntra-Christian conflicts occur in the fonn of doctrinal debates and scramble for converts. Frictions have also resulted from the struggle for the leadership and membership of Clvistian Association of Nigeria (CAN). sometimes the
Pentecostal and fundamentalist-groups feel that the mainstream churches are too compro~nisingin matters of faith and politics.
What we can deduce from this historical documentation and the analytical study of religious conflicts in Nigeria is that some if not all politically motivated riots have religious overtones while some if not all , religiously motivated crises have political implications. End Notes
1Maxwell 0. Mgbernere, Religious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Experience, (Owerri: Grace of God ~ublisllers:200 l), p.27.
2~.~.~kafor,New Strategies For Curbing Ethnic And Religious
Conflicts 111 Nigeria, (Enugu: Forth Dimension Publishers, 1997), p. 173.
b bid; p. 174
41bid; p. 174
bemer mere, Op. Cit; p.30
6Matthew H.Kukah, Religion. Politics And Power In Northern
Nigeria, (Ibadan: Spectrum Books, 1994),p.9.
7~ovemor'sOffice, Report Of The Committee Aopointed To
Investigate Religious Disturbances (Kano: Govenunent Press, 1982), p. 13. Chapter Eight
Eschatology In The Three Main Religions In Nigeria: Lessons
Against Religious Intolerance.
8.1 Eschatology In African Traditional Religion.
E.B. Idowu is of the opinion that man's final destiny involves the question of what becomes of man after the present life, he maintains that every religion has to face this eschatological question and the matter of man's final destiny is divided up naturally under the two headings of death and after life, the latter of wlich involves a look at the idea of judgement.' It is the belief of the Yoruba for instance that sooner or later, everyone must die. Death is the inevitable conclusion to man's earthly existence. The
Nigerian, like other Africans in their African Traditional Religion, regards death as unnatural in the sense that man was originally intended to inherit immortality here.2
What becomes of inan after death? This,"againis a question which has
haunted every religion all down the ages. Mer death, what? is a poser on
the face of life itself. And all Religions, each in its own way and according
to its conception of the essential constitution of life, has found an answer. Death is not the end of life. It is only a means whereby tl~epresent earthly existence is changed for another. After death, therefore, man passes into a
"life beyond." This is of more vital importance than the present life.
Whatever is done in the present life, therefore, must be done with due regard to this great future. It is on account of after life that we treat today hospitality, that we make a good use of the present and do not abuse it.3
Quarcoopome is also of the opinion that a person's character can influence his destiny for the worse if the person is of bad character. Thus tl~eneed to make one's destiny successfid is by cultivating a good character?
No medicine or chann can alter the day of death. What is incumbent on every man is to live in such a way that he would be ready for the life beyond death. Inlasogie pointed out that this raises the question of judgment after death. Following the performance of the fimeral. ceremony, the spirit of the deceased is ushered into the presence: &the Supreme Being for judgment while the presence of an unusual suffering in the life of a man may be regarded as suffer+g for sin in some cases, yet this is nothing compared , .- with the final judgment for the one found gulty.5The extent to which the
final impartial judgment of God is dreaded is enslrined in a Yoruba saying
which Idowu translates thus:
Lying does not debar one from becoming rich, covenant breaking does not debar one from reaching old-age, but
the day of sleeping (death) there awaits troub~e.~
On the basis of God's verdict, the deceased is either assigned to the "Good
Heaven" or to the "Potsherd Heaven." The "good heaven" is generally
considered to be located above the sky. Heaven is somehow like this world
but fiee from all the limitations, decay and changes of this world. As Idowu
expresses it, for the Nigerians life in Heaven is,a larger and freer copy of this
one, minus all the earthly sorrows and toils, with amenities for peacefd
enjoyment coiisiderably enhanced. The choicest benefit for getting to heaven
is that they (the deceased ) will become, re-united with their relatives and
associates who have gone bef~re.~The reference to a union with one's
relatives is worth noting here in view of the belief in the i~idissolubleunion
between the living and the dead members of the family. Paninder finds this
same enthusiastic anticipation of:azreunioii to be prominent in the Ibo
concept of heaven. There is a strong belief that "when a Inan dies," writes
Paninder, "all his spirit relatives crowd around him to welcome lim to the I' . . land of the spirits."
"Potsherd heaven," unlike the "good heaven," the wicked inan is sent
to the Potsherd heaven where he is to suffer eternally for his sins. Farrow t describes this as a hot, barren place like a pottery-kilo, heated with charcoal and heaped up with broken earthenware and of course no water.9The Edos describe it as a place that is full of palin kernel shells which forever make the wicked uncomfortable as they pierce him wherever he turns!1° Mbiti studied the co~ceptof death in two coirununities, the Ndebele and the
Abaluyia as case studies for dealing with the cause and meaning of death among most African people. Einefie Ikenga Metuh, studied this concept among the 1~b0.l'The conclusion of Mbiti is what is important here.
It is clear that people view death paradoxically: it
is a scparation but not annihilation, the deadperson
is suddenly cut off-from the human society and yet the
corporate group clings to him. This is shown through
the elaborate funeral rites, as well us other n~ethods
of keeping in con tact with the departed ... 12
* ,. ..1 .1' !* The Ibo knew that death is an inevitability and say "Onwuamadike" ie death does not know a strongman. "Onwukamike" ie death is stronger than me, yet he pleadingly asks death not to 'kill-hiinand says "Onwuegbulem" ie death donot kill me arid "Onwukwe" ie if death agrees etc. this is so because \ Igbo religion is world affirming and the Igbo does not want to die because the spirit world is often thought of as a place of unrest and at other times as a place of happiness depending on how the deceased has been buried and the proper and expensive rites performed for him.'"
t One of the factors which makes Olodumare an urgent reality to the
Yoruba is His impartial judgment. The real orthodox belief of the Yoruba on the matter of aRer - life, however, is that there is a definite place, other than
this earth, where the deceased go. The general name for the place is "Orun,"
the original meaning of which appears to be "the face of and hence the
"abode of the Deity." Orun in a general sense thus means heaven or paradise
where Olodumare and the Orisa dwell. l4 With reference to after life, the
Yoruba speak of two 0ru.11. The first one is Orun Rere, Orun FunfUn, Orun
Baba Eni-Good Onln, White Orun, Our father's Orun, and the second is
Orun Buburu (buruku), Orun Apaadi-Bad Orun, of potsherd. ,This is a
celestial rubbish -heap, like the midden- heap of every village, where broken
pots are thrown or it may be comp%exto a,kiln where there are charred
fragments of pots, hot and The deceased are allocated to either of the
two places by the decidwg factor of judgment by Olodumare. It is their
strong conviction that sinners will not go unpunished and that judgment
attends every form of sin. However, the judgment which the Yoruba fears
most is the one which awaits every person, first at the end of life on earth,
involving the agony of dying, and then in after-life when the final verdict of Olodumare will be known. The Avenger will avenge, he cannot but avenge;
IIe who queries will query, lie cannot but query. This is the oracle's declaration for Orunmila who gave strict warning to his clddren, male and female? When the person reaches after - life, there he faces the final judgment. He has now to give an account of how he has used his earthly life, particularly with reference to his character. The judgment is before
Olodumare although it is sometimes said that it will take place before
Obatala, which comes to the same thing, since Obatala is only a deputy of
' 3 , ' 4' Olodumare. Obatala is only a deputy of Olodurnare. 1 ~k;f I *'h" All wc do on earth, we shall account for kneeling in
heaven. We shall state our case at the feet of Olodumare.
Thus a person is allocated a place in the good Omn, the
$ Orun of the fathers, or consigned to the Omn of
potsherds qccpcdzng to ihe verdict of Olodumare. This is the -final destiny. '
In conclusion, the Yoruba think that the wicked man suffers endless
I' . . wretchedness in his Orun. Life there appears dreary and not even up to the
standard of the worst on this earth. The righteous will enjoy in the good
8.2 Eschatology in Islam Moslems believe that God will judge the world. On that day the
Angels will bring everyone for judgment. Their deeds will be weighed in the scales. Those who pass the test will be admitted to paradise; those who fail will be sent to hell (Quran 18:49, 17.13-15)'' Muhmed lived and preached in a town where trade was the main business of life, and the Quran often refers to God as if He were a great Merchant, keeping accounts with men: whoever has done the smallest weight of good, shall see it; whoever has done the smallest weight of evil, shall see it (Quran 99.7-8;39.10;2;245).
Islam teaches that every person is responsible for his own behaviour and his
own punishment. Moslems believe that if Moslems commit great sins and
die unrepentant, they will go to he11.I9 Kenneth Boa is also of the opinion
that the Moslems believe that there will be a day of death and after life judgment, a resurrection of the dead and a heaven and hell." Each man's
deeds whether good or evil will'be5\i;ei&ted on a pair of balances to
determine his destiny. Heaven is a place of sensuous delight and
gratification. Soldiers who die in a holy wg:(Jihad) are assured of entrance
into heaven.
8.3 New Testament Eschatology: The Christian Perspective.
The doctrine of the last things is not something that is peculiar to the Christian religion. People ask, will the generations of men come and go in ,, endless succession and finally sink into oblivion? Buddhism has its Nirvana,
Mohammedanism its sensual paradise, Hinduism has their happy hunting grounds. The belief that the soul of man survives his death is so nearly universal that we have no reliable record of a tribe or nation or religion in whch it does not prevail. It may manifest itself in the conviction that the dead are still hovering around and near at hand as in ancestor worship.21
It is only in the Christian religion that the doctrine of the last things receives greater precision and carries with it an assurance that is divine. This name eschatology is based on those passages of scripture that speak of "the last days" (eschatai hernerai, Isa. 2:2, Mic. 4: I), "the last time" (eschatos ton cl~rono~~,1Pet 1 :20) and "the last hour" (eschate hora, 1John 2: 18).22
Under the term eschatology, the Lutheran dogmatician Abraham Calovius
, , . .. 7' 8.. (16 12-1686) of Wittenberg dealt with the topics of death, resurrection, judgment and consummation.
W.Manson defined eschato1ogy"as tkt area of Cluistian doctrine concerned with the final destiny of human kind and the world. According to him, this discipline focuses on the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, the second coming of Christ and tile new heaven and the new earth, the general judgment at the end of time and the From Greek eschatos,-'last,' eschatoloby refers to the "doctrine of the last things."
To some the biblical expressions of eschatological hope beyond death have been dismissed as dependent on now obsolete cultural conditions and on a limited knowledge of natural processes. Hans Schwartz posed a challenge, if the Christian faith has any value at all, it must consist mainly of
an ethical attitude that transforms the unjust and cold structures of modern
life, so why bother with any last things if there is so much to do in the
immediate future?25
Here the researcher will show what New Testament eschatology is all
about, Jesus eschatological debate from views of scholars and the lessons
derived from this concept against religious intolerance. A theological
concept that has no solution to a socio-cultural problem is dry and
* , .. . "a ' unnecessary for the society. How far is this representation a socio-
cultural and political blessing'? This paper will not treat all the future
eschatological events found in New Testament but will discuss specifically
the second coiniug of Christ (1Thess 4: 13-1B), the resurrection of the dead
(Corl5: 12-1 9) and coming of the lawless one (1 1 Thess 2: 1-12).
Chnstianity from the beginning exhibits an essenial bipolarity. Oscar Cullmann pointed out that what specifically characterizes New Testament eschatoloby is an underlying tension between the "already" and t11e"not yetv-between what the believer already enjoys and what he does not yet possess.26Jurgen Molhnann considered God's promises the only reason for eschatological hope.27
Is The New Testament Eschatological?
To tlle dabate raised by Arland J. Hultgren whether the New
Testament is eschatological, Edwatd Sch~eizerpointed out that the gospel of Mark sets forth an imminent eschatological perspective. The parousia of the son of man is expected (Mark 8:38, 13: 26) and the kingdom of God is to
come with power (mark 9: l).lRThe gospel of Matthew shares the view of
an imminent expectation. Moreover, it portrays the final judgment scene
when all the nations will be @eked Before the son of man, who will
separate those sheep from the goats (Matt 25:31-46) Those on the right side
will inherit the kingdom prepared for I>them; _ . while those on the left side will
be sent into eternal punishment.
The gospel of Luke entertains the possibility of a delay of the parousia
before the coming of the son of man and other end-time events (Luke 19:1 1, 9:27) but His corning and His exercising of authority in a final judgment are certain.29Paul declared that not all his readers will die before the coming of the Lord. In first Thessalonians and first corikhians, the Apostle portrays the end of all things, including the coming of the Lord, the resurrection of the dead, ultimately the triumph of God who will be all in all ( 1 Thess 4:
13-18, I Cor. 1 5). Moreover, with Paul there is not only the future
eschatological view, the "not yet," but also the "already" of the new age
inaugurated on Easter. Whoever is in Christ is a new creature already ( 2Cor
5: 17)."'
The fourth Gospel has its own kind of eschatology, on one hand it
preserves the futuristic view, as in the other Gospels, it speaks of the coming
of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, a final judgment and life in a future
eternal kingdom, (John: 1-3, 5:25, 12:48, 21 :22-23) On the other hand it sets
forth a "present eschatologjl" as 'well in.which it is said that those '
who believe in Jesus have eternal life already. (John 3:36, 5:24, 10:28).
Hence eschatology is a major ingredientI .. sand the core of New Testament
thought.
The New Testament eschatology looks back to the coming of Christ
which had been predicted by the Old Testament prophets now fulfilled and \ affirms we are in the last days now. However, New Testament eschatology also looks forward to a final consuinination yet to come and hence it says the
last day is still coming (the day of the Lord), the final age has not yet
arrived. Granted that New Testament eschatolagy both looks back and points
forward, what is the relationship between these two aspects of its
eschatology? According to A. Hoekema, the relation between these two
eschatological stages is that the blessings of the present age are the pledge
and guarantee of greater blessings to co~ne.~'
The Eschatological Character Of Jesus' First Coming
Tncarnation as a theological term expresses the revelation of God in
the flesh. God the Creator appeared to man in the person of Jesus ~hrist.~~
The Word became Flesh (John 1: 14). The revelation of God in the Son
marks the eschatological dawn that brings salvation within the reach of all
,. ..l. .?' !* and leading to the final consummation of the Age. In this regard Hahn says,
"Mission is the church's service," made possible by the coming of Christ
and the dawning of the eschatolo~cal~even~of salvation.33
God's goal for creation is reached in Christ. God and humanity live in I harmony in the person of Christ. Perin referred to the words of Bultmann I that according to the New Testament, Jesus Chst is' the "Eschatological Event," the action of God by wlicli God has set an end to the old world. In the preaching of the Christian church, the "Eschatological Event" will ever again become present and does become present ever and again in faith.34
The content of the goal which Christ attained for us by His eschatological incarnation, ciucifixion and resurrection can be nothing other than the covenant: I shall be your God and you shall be my people, hence, the recoi~ciliation.~~Jesus did this by destroying our hostility and reconciled us to Himself while we were still His enemies (Rom 5: 10) md by holding ow misdeeds against us no longer (2 Cor 5: 19). This is the eschaton, the realization of the covenant." From this perspective, the atonement can never mean less than the realization of the eschaton, when God no longer holds our sins against us, when there is peace between ourselves and God, and when
He has made us His friends, then He is our God and we are His people.
. ,' .*8..7'
Indeed, God made Hml one with the sinfblness of inanlund, although
He was innocent. So that in Him we might be made one with the goodness I' - . of God (2 Cor 5: 21) Clvist bought us freedom from the curse of the law by becoming for our sakes an accursed thing. The purpose of it all was that the blessing of Abraham should in Jesus Clvist be extended to the Gentiles (Gal
3: 13-14). God's use of the mode is a disclosure of His mercy which allows - LVY -
His wrath against our sin to descend upon Christ. Mact, had not the eschaton first been realized in this way, it could never have been realized in any other, since here was done for us what we could never do for ourselves.37
In a way the eschanton has already been achieved and we have received our first installment, the Holy spirit. He is, therefore, an eschatological gift in the fullest sense, but only the first part, a guarantee that the balance has still to be paid. (Eph 4:30,Eph 1:13-14) Jesus, the eschatos, is Himself present and at work in and through the Holy spirit during the interim, it is clear that the interim is fully eschatological, so is the work done by Jesus in and through the Holy spirit during this time. We can also see the eschatological nature of gospel proclamation. The Holy Spirit now causes the church to proclaim tlie gospel, the church is the proclamation's agent, the
* , 8... 3) goodnews as the proclamation's content and faith as the proclamation's purpose.38The issue that is debated is whether Jesus of Nazareth can be thought to have had an eschatological worldview. The two sides of the
debate have been pressed with great force over tlie decades and the debate
has intensified in recent years.
An Eschatological Jesus
I The person who gets credit for formulating and popularizing the first credible picture of Jesus as an eschatological prophet was the German New
Testament scholar, Johannes Weiss. Weiss made clear what he called "the completely apocalyptic and eschatological character of Jesus's idea of the
Kingdom." By "apocalyptic" he meant those features of Jesus' proclamation that refer to a coming universal destruction of the present world, final judgment, annihilation of the condemned and eternal bliss for those who will be savedaJ9
Weiss reacted strongly against the views of GermantLiberal theology of his day, including those of his father-in-law Albrecht Ritschl. For Ritschl and others of the time, the Christian religion was concerned primarily with
religious experience, of which Jesus was the great Teacher and Exarnplar, when Jesus spoke of the lungdo~~of'Godthey thought, He was speaking of
something subjective, inward or spiritual or a supreme ethical ideal within a
human community on earth.4u I, _ .
Against these views, Weiss argued on exegetical grounds a different
view. He made it quite clear that the kingdom of God is a radically super
worldly entity which stands in diametric opposition to thisworld. This is to say that there can be no tdk of an innenvorldly development of the kingdom of God in the mind of Jesus. He maintained that Jesus sensed the imminence 1 of the kingdom of God and even declared that it was dawning, no one except
God Himself can bring the kingdom about. When the kingdom comes in its
Mlness, God will destroy this old world, which the devil seeks to rule and will create a new world. Weiss then pointed out that the kingdom of God as
Jesus thought of it is always the objective Messiannic kingdom, which one has a share or as a treasure which comes down form heaven.41
Albert Schweitzer was one of the first to grasp the si@cance of the work of Weiss and to popularize it.42The views of Weiss came to be widespread by the middle of the twentieth century with Rudolf Bultmann and his followers. Bultmann praised Weiss, saying that his dews concerning the proclamation of Jesus have "prevailed triumphantly" over those of His critics. He maintained the viewsof*Weissthat the dominant concept of
Jesus' message is the kingdom of God. Jesus proclaimed its immediate impending irruption now already making itself felt. The kingdom of God is I4 ? .- an eschatological concept. It means the regime of God which will destroy the present course of the world, wipe out all the contra-divine Satanic power under which the present world groans and thereby terminating all pain and
1 sorrow, bring in salvation for the people of God which awaits the fulfillment of the prophets' promise. The coming of the kingdom is a miraculous event which will be brought by God alone without the help of men.43
$ In a sense, however, what Bultmann gave with one hand, he took back with the other in his hermeneutical propm of demythologizing. In that program he looked for a deeper meaning of the mythological preaching of
Jesus, and that is to be open to God's future which is really imminent for every one of us. 44 A momentary but highly significant challenge to the view that Jesus was a Prophet of an eschatological kingdom was heard from a
British contemporary of Bultman, C.H. Dodd. Dodd coined a new term,
which he called "realized eschatology." He maintained that when Jesus
proclaimed the kingdom, he was not speaking of a future reality but of a power at work in the present. As he put it; the eschaton has moved from the future to the present, from the sphere of expectation into that of realized
* ,. ."5. 7,. , ''la experience, the proclamation of the kingdom represents the ministry of Jesus
as "realized eschatology," that is to say the impact upon this world of the power of the world to come in a series of events, unprecedented and
wepeatable now in actual process, centred in the words and deeds of ~esus.~'
Dodd was explicit in saying that for Jesus, the kingdom is not a future I reality to be consummated, it is a reality present already in His ministry. To
be sure God's kingdom is transcendent above this world in heaven as well,
but it is not a future reality that is on its way to transform the resent. Any
interpretation of the lungdom as a fbtre reality must be created to be the
t account of early Christian proclamation, not to ~esus.~~
The work of Dodd did not carry the day in the works of major
scholars who were his contemporaries, but he had posed a challenge that
could not be ignored. The result was that major scholars began to see the
possibility of an "already" and "not yet" schema in the preaching of Jesus.
That is to say that kingdom of God was present reality in the words and
deeds of Jesus, as Dodd insisted, but the kmgdom is also a future
expectation awaiting its consummation as in the work of Weiss and his
successors. That was the view point argued in the works of scholars such as
Joachitn, Jeremias, Werner Kummel, Nonnan Pemn and Gunther , ,, ,.
in his rendition of the hgdom in Jesus7proclamahon. Here we take.
,I I . Bornkamm's Jesus of Nazareth as representative. For Bornkmn, the
kingdom in the proclamation of Jesus means on the one hand God's future
and victory, overcoming the powers of the devil, a shift from this aeon to
the next, Jesus' rnessagc he says, is closely allied to the apocalyptic, cosmic expectations of His play.48
However, 011 the other hand, already in His ministry Jesus could speak of the kingdom as present, for Jesus' preaching and works are the signs and announcement of the coming kingdom, ie the kingdom is dawning in the ministry of Jesus, but its hlfillment lies in the hture, beyond the present course of history. When pressed to speak of Jesus' vocation, Bornkamrn's
'L verdict was that Jesus was primarily "a Prophet of the coming kingdom of
The legacy of those who discerned an eschatological Jesus earlier continues into the present generation of New Testament scholars such as
E.P. Sanders, John Meier, N.T. Wright and Jurgen ~ecker.?For Sanders
I Jesus was unmistakably an eschatological prophet. Jesus stood within the tradition of what Sanders called 'Jewish restoration eschatology,' he
, ,.,..'. .t. , !$ believed in the coming of the kingdom of God in the near future, a kingdom that would come about by God's own design, what can be $aid with certainty (, I .. about Jesus, says Sanders, is that Jesus saw Himself as God's last Messenger before the establishment of the kingdom. He looked for a new order, the kingdom of God created by a mighty act of God, in which Jesus and His disciples together with the poor, meek and lowly would have the leading A Non-Eschatological Jesus
Afier Johmmes Weiss promoted the view of Jesus as an eschatological prophet, famous church historian of Berlin, Adolf Von Hawck challenged him, sought tcs provide a view of Jesus that he thought was more credible and usehl for proclamation in the church. For Hamack, Jesus spoke of the kingdom as somethmg inward, within the l~umpsoul, something which is
already present and making its entrance at the moment. All the apocalyptic imagery, claimed Hamack, was the outer husk of an essential kernel, it was
the traditional language, but it held within it a true and deeper meaning.52
For Marcus Borg, at the center of his proclamation was the Kingdom
of God , but the term symbolized the experience of God, the vision of God
* ,.. .*1. ". "a which transformed existence, ~t is not a term that points to a temporally
concerned hture, life in the spirit is life in the kingdom of ~od."
Jesus, Borg said;calls people away fiom the life of conventional wisdom
and points us to human community and history, to an alternative culture
t which seeks to make the world more compassionate. It is Borg's judgment
that such a picture of Jesus makes sense in two ways: It makes sense of the
gospel record, and it makes sense of our own understanding of reality." John Dominic Crossan speaks of Jesus as a "peasant Jewish Cynic" who by His healing miracles and parables brought individuals into an umnediated contact with God and one another.55But Jesus the peasant
Jewish Cynic resembles Jesus the sage. According to Crossan, Jesus did indeed teach an eschatological message, but it was a "sapiental eschatology not an apocalyptic one. Sapiental eschatology emphasizes the sapienta (Latin for wisdom) of knowing how to live here and now today so that God's present power is forcibly evident to all.56
Burton Mack dlsrnissed the views of Johannes Weiss explicitly saying t that the teachings of Jesus are classified better under the category of wisdom than apocalyptic.The picture that Mack came up with was Jesus as sage in the asocial, iconoclastic tradition of the ancient cynics.57~ccordin~ to Funk an eschatological Jesus reigned fiom the time of Weiss and
Schweitzer to the end of world war 11. He pointed out that evidence for such a view has eroded and since then a non-eschatological-. Jesus is one of the pillars of New Testament scholarship.58
Observation And Critique
A major question revolves around the meaning of the1term "kingdom of God." Scholars of various perspectives have &ed that the kingdom of
God was central or at least prominent in the proclamation of ~esus.~~The problem is what possible ineat~ingsJesus might have attached to it. The full range of meatlings cannot be rehearsed here, but a few thing can be said.
Within tlie concept of the kingdom is the age-old theological affiiation of
Israel that God is king and that God exercises dominion over the world.
(psalms 103:9, Isa 44:6-8). The problem is that in history and nature there is not enough evidence of God's rule and God's doininion. Hence, there is the
petition of the Lord's prayer, for example, that God's kingdom might
come (Matt 6: 10, Luk 11: 3). The kingdom is autonomous as in the parables
of growth (Mark 4:26-29), it is something one enters (Matt 5:20,7:21, Mark
10:23-25). It is something that comes upon us (Mark 9: 1, Luk 1 1.2, Matt
6;10), it is a gift or inheritance to be received (Luk 6:20, Mark 10:14-15) and
occasionally it is spoken of as~~'bchziiologica17post hstorical reality and it
is in all strands of the synoptic tradition (Mark 14:25, Luk 13:28-29).
I, - . In shoit, the iurlgdom is not simply somethg that one experiences
inwardly, it is an outer and eternal reality, something greatei than the
dimensions of our own spiritual potentials in tlis world. The kingdom in the
speech of Jesus exceeds every experience and domain h~ownto anyone, whether temporal, spatial,or spiritual, even if a person apprehends it in part, it is reality with which one must reckon."
There is one point at wllich the non-eschatological interpretation of the ktngdom deserves a hearing. On one hand the eschatological view is
correct so that in the proclamation of Jesus the kingdom is a reality &at was
both present in His words and deeds arid as a future expecthtion, however,
on the other hand, what can one say of the intervening time, the time in
which we now live? Is the era between Easter and the pmsia devoid of the
presence of the kingdom? The answer is a resounding no. The writings of
Paul and John speak of the life of the believer as renewed by the power of
the Spirit, the eschatological gift that is effective proleptically within the
church.
4&
Nonetheless, much of the problem that ,some have with an * ,. .*3. .,' *la ' , eschatological Jesus lies right here. It is actually a theological matter. Given
the rise and power of secularism on one hand and the popularity of a non-
ecclesial spirituality on the other, the stag&is set for a non-eschatological
Jesus. That is a Jesus who is available within one's own private spirituality,
a Jesus who has been freed not only from dogma, but also from the
commurlity that receives Him in the brealung of bread within the community of Saints and a Jesus of a hture kingdom in which many will come fiom
East and west to sit at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 8:ll ). We should make no mistake. Behind the picture of a non-eschatological Jesus is a theological commitment. It is a revitalization of
Christianity, so that it is essentially an explication of the teachings of Jesus construed in such a way tlxit the kingdom of God is the power of God or
I some fonn of spirituality in the heart of the individual.
While Robert Funk had written that the evidence for an eschatological
Jesus has eroded since the middle of the twentieth century,6' the opposite is actually the case. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has served to
underscore that an apocalyptic worldview was common in Palestine of the
first century. Add to that the preaching of John the Baptist, the
eschatological beliefs of the Pharisees, the dominant theological movement
1 of the day, plus the preaching ofthe' early church, whether Palestinian
Pauline or otherwise-it is hence difficult to believe that Jesus did not
maintain an eschatological outlook. Eschatology is ubiquitous in the I( - .. writings of the New Testament, on this there is no debate. The debate centers
around the teachings of Jesus. On this all investigators can agree also that I Jesus was a sage-an eschatological Prophet while on earth. Types Of Eschatology In The New Testament
The interpretation of eschatolo~yhas led to the following position in scholarship.
Christological Eschatology
The central sources and principal criteria of christological eschatology are found in Jesus Christ, His ~dssianicmission, His cross and
His resurrection. These are properly understood only when Christology and eschatology are seen to stand in a mutually interpretative relationship.
Understood against an eschatological horizon, the history of Jesus as the paradigmatic and creative beginning of the eschatological future of the world gives to the eschatological hope its character and content. Jurgen
Moltmann stated the central thesis of theology of Hope as "there can be no
- ,. , 4 "8. .t. , 'I* ' Christology without eschatology and no eschatology without ~hristology,'~~
Integrative Eschatology
I4 - .-
1 Integrative eschatoloby of Jurgen Moltrnann not only recognizes that the "new creation" must be all- encompassing; it also sees the new creation
as unitive or integrative, bringing all creation into hannony and unity, restoring to wholeness what has disintegrated through transience and sin, uniting what has been separated in the and space. Moltrnabn's favourite text is, God will be all in all'"3 The foundation base of this integrative eschatology is "Behold I make all things new" (Rev 21:5a)
Redemptive Eschatology
Though the process of eschatological redemption is already underway in this temporal and moral creation, the final redemption of all things can only occur in the transition from the temporal to the eternal creation.
Redemption is not mere restoration to the original state of creation, but the perfecting in glory of the originally irnpedect creation. Moltmann sees in this form of the eschatological hope "the redemption of the future from the I power of l~story.'~
Processive Esehatol~gy
Fundamental for Moltmann's understanding of this eschatological process is First Corinthians 15:22-28. It% a process of resurrection or of the communicatim of eternal life to the mortal creation, represented in a series of stages. First the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then at His parousia those who belong to Christ, then the resurrection of the rest of the dead and the annihilation of death itself.
Theocentric Eschatology
The central expectation of Jewish and Christian eschatology has always been the coming of God to His creation and the coming presence of
God in His whole creation. Moltmann puts the expectation "the coming of
God" at the center of lis eschatology." Not only is it central, it also comprehends the other aspects of eschatology: the personal, the historical and the cosmic. The coming presence of God to His creation is also the redemption, transfiguration and eternal life of all creatures, and the source and focus of their eternal jubilation. It is the eschatological goal of cseation as a whole and of all individual created beings.
Contextual Eschatology I
Christian theologians writing eschatology have always been influenced by and responded to the historical movements and crises, the contemporary hopes and fears of their own context. hiobernity for instance is seen as the project of the powerful to control and to create the future foi themselves, a project of domination which so far from offering any real future, has led and is leading to catastrophes which threaten the future of humatiity and nature. The thee main respects in which the domination and violence characteristic of the modem project have come to threaten the survival of the modem world include; the nuclear threat, the ecological crisis, and the impoverishment of the thd world through the economic growth of the first.
The apocalyptic interpretation of contemporary catastiophism amounts to a premature attempt to realize the eschatological within history.
However, while Moltmann condemns the iiresponsibjlity of apocalyptic
fatalism in the Western world, he takes a different attitude to apocalyptic
views of the contemporary world among people in the third world. The
difference is that these recognize and unznask the evil of the exterrninistic
systems of the modern world and so far from being fatalistic, encourage
resistance and hope. In this sense they are apocalyptic in the way that the
6 ancient Jewish and Christian apocalypses were. These speak of historical
and cosmic catastrophes, not in order to encourage collaboration with them
or resignation to them, but in order to awaken the resistance of faith and the I' ? -- patience of hope. They spread hope in danger, because in the human and
cosmic end they proclaim God's new beginning. This is the perspective of
the victims of history who anticipate a different future redeemed from the
power of history. Politically And Pastorally Responsible Eschatology
Eschatology plays a political role. The point is not that Christian theoloby should be harnessed to political goals defined on purely political grounds, but that Christian theology's own political implications be recognized and its political effect be responsibly understood.( Rom. 13:1-7, kov. 14:34) Pastoral responsibility relates more to the individual person's experierlce of life. How can we expect life after death without detracting fiom this life? How can we help the bereaved to find consolation through mourning and to experience a rebirth of love for life out of their experience of death? These are the kinds of existential and practical questions
Moltrnann put to the theological tradition that relates to the contemporary social context in which such issues are currently experienced and answers in ways that aim at the sustainingd%ve~andhope in human lives.
Thorough Going Eschatology
Albert Schweitzer advocated a "thorough going eschatology"
According to Schweitzer, Jesus described the imminent kingdom of God in the loud colors of current apocalyptic and the ethic which He proclaimed was totally determined by the apocalyptic vision and hence stood as an interim ethic, a provisional ethic." Hans Conzelrnann made it clear in his own view that thorough going eschatology .was determined by the failure of the Parousia to materialize. As a result the church was forced to establish itself in the world by reflection and organi~ation.~~
Realized Eschatology
As an antithesis to thorough going eschatology, C.H.Dodd offered an interpretation which he described as "realized eschatology." Dodd's
intention is clear, he moved the stress from the apocalyptic to that which is
"realized" in Jesus' word and deed. Dodd saw this as the essential factor,
even though it also includes an eschatological element even in hture sense.
When Dodd thus accents the present, that which is realized in Jesus' activity,
he did not question any more than other contemporary scholars the fact that , , .1. .' )C Jesus expected the breaking in of the kingdom of God in all its fullness
within the near
Inaugurated Eschatology
T.Robbitison prefer to speak of inaugurated eschatology. Inaugurated
eschatology implies that eschatology has indeed begun but i$ no means I Cosmic Eschatology
God's work with creation and the attainment of His goal do not revolve around humanity alone, though humanity is the most important part of creation. Eschatology should not be restricted to humanity. The Bible concludes with a new earth, with trees and rivers and with a city of precious stones. (Rev 2 1 :13-19,22: 1-2). And He that sat upon the throne said
"Behold I make all things new" (Rev 2 1:5a)
In fact, in each mode wherein the eschaton is attained, we find an unmistakable cosmic element. Christ reconciles not only humanity but also the universe, "all things whether on earth or heaven (Col 1:20). What He does with us is also an all inclusive work which 'involves heaven and earth, the whole of creation. Jesus did notjust !save souls when on earth. The gospels hold more accounts of miraculous healings than of forgiveness of sins. This means that the physical aspects of the human beings must also be 1, - .I addressed by eschatology."
Individual And General Eschatology The things touching the condition of the individual between his death and the general resurrection belong to personal pr individual eschatology.
Physical death, the immortality of the soul, and the intermediate condition call for discussion here.
The series of events that is connected with the return of Jesus Christ and the end of the world constitute general eschatology in which all men are concerned. The subjects that call for consideration in this division are; the return of Christ, the general resurrection, the judgment, the consummation, the kingdom of God and the final condition of both the pious and the wicked. 7'
Some Of The Future Eschatological Events
The Second Coming Of Christ ( lThes 4: 13-18 )
Several terms used to deno~'thisgreat event includes; apocalypses
(unveiling) which points to the removal of that which now obstructs our
vision of Cllrist. ( 1Cor. 13, 11 Thess I, 1:7) _ _ Epiphaneia (appearance, manifestation) a term referring to Christ's coming forth out 6f a hidden background with the rich blessings of salvation (1 1 Thess 223, 1Tim 6; 14)
Parousia (Lit. presence), the coming that results in the presence of Christ 1 I (Matt 24:37, lCor, 15:23, 1 John 2:28). Some members of the Thessalonian church had died since the missionaries let?. Thessalonica. They argued whether these faithful that departed by dying before the parousia had fodeited their chance of taking their place in the company of the redeemed and sharing in the Lord's triumph. This is dealt with in 1 Thess 4: 13-18. The historical fact of the resurrection of Cluist is the basis of Christian hope in life beyond death.
Ths translation according to Matthew Black implies that at the parousia God will by the power of Jesus bring the dead back to life.72The dead in Christ shall be caught up (Greek harpagesometha); this is sometimes called the rapture or snatching away of the Saints to meet the Lord (Greek eis apantesin tou kynou) in the air in His second coming, and so we shall be with the Lord, the climax of b~essedness.~~~.~kce made it clear that it is though Christ that death has become sleep to His people ,74 hence the
. ,. .-8. \>' ,> gathering of His own to meet Him when He comes back again.
Present day dispensationalists distinquish between a twofold future
1, - .I coming of Christ, the first is the "parousia" or simply :thecoming" and results in the rapture of the saints, sometimes represented as a secret rapture.
Ths coming is imminent, it can occur at any moment, since there are no predicted events which must precede its occurrence:The prevailing opinion is that at this titne Christ does not come down to earth, but remains in the upper air. Those who died in Christ are raised ftorn the dead, the living
Saints are transfigured and together they are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This coming is also called the "Coming For His Saints" (1 Thess
4: 1 5- 16)
It is followed by an interval of seven years, during which the great
tribulation occurs (Matt 24:2 1-22), and the Antichrist or the man of sin will
be revealed (1 1 Thess 2:8-10) After those events there is another coming of i the Lord with His Saints (1thess 3 :13, Jude 14, Zech 145) which is called
the revelation or the Day of the Lord in which He comes down to earth. This
coming cannot be called imminent because it must be preceded by several
predicted events. At this coming, Christ judges the living nations (Matt
25 :31-46) and ushers in the millennia1 kingdom.
* ,r .I!..?' '.I '
Resurrection Of The Dead (1Cor 15 :12-190
While denying the possibility of a resk,ection for humanity, the
Corinthians fully expected those who were asleep in Christ to be saved, 1 being united with Him in an after life state. Paul made it clear to them that
no salvation is possible if there is no resurrection. If the resurrection of Chnst is a proven fact which none of them denied, it is illogical to say there
\ is no resurrection of the dead. Paul's reasoning revealed the inconsistency of their assertion.
If Christ has not been raised, Paul argued our preaching (Kerygrna) is useless without tangible meaning, likewise their faith in that message, we are then found (heuriskometha) to be misrepresenting God (verse 15), ie accusing God of doing something that He did not do. If in this life we are hoppers in Christ and have nothing beyond, Paul said we are to be pitied more than all men.
Turning from the terrible conclusion which must accompany any
doctrine of no resurrection, the apostle now in 1 Cor 15: 20-28 enumerates
the glorious consequences of Christ's being raised from the dead. Man will
surely rise, it is a matter of order, Christ first, then when He comes again,
those who are His. As first fruit;..Ht~hadvanquished death; but now as
Soverei~mHe subdues every evil beneath His feet and death the great foe
can terrify no more. Paul contemplates the last majestic scene, earth's I' - . 11istory ends as the son delivers up the kingdom to the father and God is
William Barclay made it clear in his own view that the resurrection of Christ
proves that truth is stronger than falsehood, gobd is stronger than evil and
love is stronger than hatred, for Jesus is the love of God incarnate.76 Jesus resurrection was no mere re-animation of a corpse. It was entry into eschatological life, a transformed existence beyond the reach of death.
As such it was the beginning of the eschatological resurrection (1Cor
15:23). The fact of Jesus' resurrection already guarantees the future resurrection of Christians at His coming. (Rom 8: 11,2Cor 4; )4). E. Onwu made it quite clear that the relevance of the resurrection of Jesus was absolutely extensive, saturating every aspect of Clzristian preaching and living. It is a demonstration of the eternal truth that because the Lord Jesus
Christ lives, we too will live (cf John 14:l9)? Resurrection is therefore, equivalent to man's final attainment of eschatological salvation.
The Coming Of The Lawless One (11Thes 2:l-12)
Some of the Thessalonians congregation had apparently anticipated
- ,, a*+. .t' , . the parousia by assembling to wait for it in a state of agitation as a result of a
rumour that Paul had said or written that it might be expected at any
moment, others claimed that the day of the Lord had already begun. Paul
made it known to them that the Day of the Lord will not code unless the
rebellion comes fust (Greek apostasia), apostasy is here used for the end
time revolt against the rule of God. The man of lawlessness tvill be revealed, otherwise called Antichrist and the beast from the abyss, the leader of the great eschatological rebellion against God, the son of perdition meaning here, "he who is doomed to ~lestruction"~" I
He is described as the emissary of Satan opposing all forms of religion and claims divine status. He is credited with supernatural gifts and with power to attract many followers and lead them to destruction. He is even now active in the world, and would be fully revealed if it were not for some restraint which at present holds him in check.
Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that
anlichrisl is coming so now many antichrists have come;
therejbre we know that it is the lust hour. (1John 2: 18)
The restraining power will be exercised until its agent is removed, when this happens the parousia of the man of sin will take but he and
all his dupes will thereupon be-destroyed by Christ at His own Parousia.
t Only those on the road to ruin will be deceived (1 1 Thess 2: 10- 12). In all
tlus, the justice and sovereignty of God are yindicated. Men are doomed I' - . because they refused to love the truth, such moral delinquedcy exposes them
to God's judgment.
8.4 The Lessons Against Religious Intolerance. God is driving history towards the fulfillment of His pllrpose for His creation. Biblical eschatology is not limited to the destiny of the individual, it concerns the consurnmation of the whole history of the world towards which all God's redemptive acts in history are directed. Eschatological hope should lead to action for the transformation of socio economic conditions.
Hope for a life beyond the present world does not betray this present life, but provides the strength required for the acceptance of its limitations and imperfections.
The resurrection of Christ pledges the resurrection of all the members t of the body. The certainty of the parousia should promote dedicated service, life of holiness, righteousness and joyful expectation. Secular endeavours for progress and a socio-ethical transformation of the world have to be related and must be based on Christiaq.~c;bat~Iogy.On the basis of Christ event they can be understood as proleptic anticipation of the God promised
eschatot~which at the same time is their incentive, their directive and their
I' - .. judgment. Secular endeavours for progress and a socio-ethical
transformation of the world are legitimate and necessary, they yearn for their
final completion through God's redemptive power. However, apart fiom
Christian eschatology, they not only miss God, but man too. Instead of leading to freedom and new humanity, they.lead to new slavery and potential self destruction. This is the reason why eschatology is so crucial in our time.
The Nigeria nation is a victim of religious bigotry, intolerance, chaos and anarchy tlut have for long disturbed the harmony and peaceful co- existence of the entire citizens of this country. When the divisive elements of religion are not properly handled and brought under strict control, they create tensions and unrest in a society. The three main religions in Nigeria preach love. Let it also be pointed out that the Holy Spirit who is an eschatological gift in the fullest sense has love as His first hit (Gal 5:22).
This love is not inborn but supernatural because the Holy spirit is its source
(Rom 5:5). What kind of love? This is not "philia" which is "friendship love," which calculates loses and gains involved in the person loved. It is not
"storge" which is "affection love," for this is placid and too personal-selfish love. It is not "eros" which is a '.'passionate Love" which desires the other person for itself. In plato7ssymposium, concerning "eros" Diotima made it clear that "eros" never receives enough, passion which plungs man into pain I -. * and bliss.79The love referred to is "agapeV7ie the love of God.
Eschatology calls Christians to depart fiom "cheap grace," for when
Christ calls a man, Bonhoeffer, said "He bids him come and die." According to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without '
confession, grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace
without Jesus Cluist living and incarnateago
Eschatology calls Cl~ristiansand people of all religions to life of
righteousness. Intolerance is anti righteous way of living, E.Onwu made it
clear that righteousness in Matthew denotes basically a relationship. It refers 1 to the whole gamut of Christian behaviour and it includes goodwill,
reconciliation, purity of heart and motive, forgiveness, faithfulness, non-
retaliation, mercy, love and distribution of wealth. Because the present
moves into the future, Matthew's Jesus makes,doing righteousness "now"
the entry requirement into heaven. Accordingly,six social implications are
derived: redistribution of wealth, call for new patterns of social relationship,
affirmation of the wort11 of hummlife, protection of human rights, fulfilling
civic responsibility and achieving social justice through political ,
parti~i~ation.~'These will be great weapons against religious intolerance in I this nation. Adherents of these religions believe in life after death, they also
believe in heaven and hell.
Since judgment will be based on things done while in this world which will determine where they will spend eternity, destruction of property and people, hatred and quarrel, fighting and intolerance must stop.
Since people in these Religions believe that the way they live their lives here will determine their future,eschatology in these Religions then calls for religious tolerance of one another, Tolerance refers to the capacity of a person, group of persons or a state to tolerate and permit the observance, practice and propagation of religious beliefs other tllan their
1 own. This implies the will to allow other religi~usgroups to fully actualize their religious aspirations. It also implies the capacity of not doing or saying
I any thing likely to offend the members of other religious groups. Religious tolerance is a pre-requisite and an essential ingredient for peaceful co- existence of all religious groups in any community. By co-existence is not merely the existence of all to the advantage of the most powerful; it means the existence of all as equal partners working towards certain desirable
I goals. I End Note
I E. Bolaji Idowu, Olodurnare: God In Yoruba Belief. Revised And
Enlarged (London: Longman, 1962), p .20 1
2 John Mbiti, Eschatolom. Biblical Revelation And A&ican Beliefs
(Ellingworth: Orbis Books, l969), p. 164.
'~dowu,Op. Cit. p.204
4~.~.o. Quarcoopome, West African Traditional Relidon. (Ibadan:
Ahcan University Press, 1987),p.10 1.
5 O.Imasogie, African Traditional Relirzi~(Ibadan: University Press,
1985), p.39.
"dowu, Op. Cit; p. 198
7~bid;p.200
%eofEey Parrinder, West African Psychology: A Com~arativeStudy
* , .8 . I> , Of Psvchological And Religious Thought (London : Luttenvorth Press, / 1951), p.108.
9Farrow Stephen, Faith. Fancies ~ndFetich (New York: University
Press, 1969), p. 133.
"'~arrinderOp. Cit, p. 107.
"~etuhE. Ikenga, God And Man In African Relidon (London : I - LJO -
I Geofiey Chapman, 1981), pp. 14-23.
12Mbiti.Op, Cit p.159. t
1301iverA.Onwubiko, Christian Mission And Culture In Africa Vol.
1: African Thou&, Religion And Cultu~(Enugu: Snaap Press Ltd, 1991)
P.90.
14~dowu,Op. Cit, p.2 1 1
151bid.p.211
'"bid; p.2 15
171bid; p .2 15
avid A. Brown, A Guide To Religions (Britain: the Bath Press,
2001), P.209.
191bid; p.2 10 ,
20Kenneth Boa, Cults, World Religions And The Occult: What They
Teach And How To Respond To Them ( Canada: Victor Books, 1990),~.7 1 I - ,,. .75. \?- , I$ 21 ~ouisBerkhof, Systematic Theology (Britain : Cox and Wyman Ltd, / 1979) p.662 I
I '\ 22~bidp.666 I+ - .
23~rwinFahlbusch, Eschatologie Evangelistic Kirchenlexikon I I (Gottingen : Vandendoeck and Ruprcht, 1986-97),p. 1 1 07 I I 24~.~anson,Eschatology In The ~ew~~estament: Scottish Journal of - 239 -
Theolow. Occasional Pares No. 2 (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1953), p.6
25 Hans Schwartz, On the way to the future: A Christian view of
Eschatolom in the light of Current Trends in Religion. Philosophy and
Science (Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1972), p. 12
26 Anthony A Hoekema, The Bible and The future (Michigan: William
B. Eerdmans P~lblisl~ingCompany, 1989), p. 14
27Car E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson, The Last Things Biblical and
Theological Perspectives On Eschatolom (Michigan: William B. Eerdrnanns
Publishing Company, 2002),p.4. k
18~dwardSchweizer, The Good News According to Mark (Richmond:
John Knox Press, 1970), pp. 177- 179,275.
29~ansConzelmann. The Theolojy Of St. Luke (New York: Harper
and Brothers, 1960), p. 1 50.
'('lbid p. 15 1.
. 3,. 4 *X" \?' , .I> 3'~oekema,Op. Cit; p. 18. 32~.~.~arshal,New Bible Dictionary (England: Inter-varsity Press, i, I' .. \ 2003) p.501
')F. Hahn, Mission in the New Testament (London : SCM Press,
19565)~.167 I
34 Manson, Op. Cit, p.7 I 3 5 A&io Konig, The Eclipse of Christ in Eschatolop: Toward a Christ
Centered Approach (Michigan : Elliam B Eerdmann : Publishing
Company, 1989), p.82
'"bid p. 83
j7 Ibid p. 84
'"bid p.85
"Johannes Weiss, Jesus7 Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
(Philadelphia : Fortress Press, 197 I), pp. 56,92-104
40 Ibid p. 132
4' Ibid p. 133
42 Albert Schweitzer, BeQuest of the Historical Jesus (New York:
Macmillian, 196 I), pp.238-239
4%udolf Bultmann, Theolow of the New Testament 2Vols (New
\ York : Charles Scriber's Sons, 195 1-55), p.4
. ,, ."X.,,. ..?, ' Rudolf Bultmam, Jesus Christ and Mythology (New York: Charles
Scribers Sons, 1958), p.3 1.
45 C.fl.Dodd, The Parables of thel'Kin~dom(New York : Charles
Scribners Sons, 1961), pp 34-35 cf p. 142-143.
46 Ibid pp. 155-156.
47 Guntller Bornkamm, Jesus of Nazareth (New York : Harper and Brothers, 1960), pp.64-69
Norman Penin, Rediscoverinrz the Teaching of Jesus (New York :
Harper and Row, 1967), pp.54-108
Werner G. Kummel, Promise and Fulfillment : Studies it1 Biblical
Theology (Nape~lle: Allenson, 1957)
48 Bornkatnrn, Op. Cit, p.66
49 Ibid p.54
50 E.P.Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (Philadelphia : fortress press 1985)
John P. Meier, A Mar~alJew 2Vols (New York : Doubleda 1991-
N.T. Wright, Jesus and Victow of God (Minneapolis : fortress Press,
1996), pp. 467-474
Jurgen Decker, Jesus of Nazareth (New York : Walter de Gruyter
E.P. Sanders, Jesus and Judaism (Philadelphia : fortress Press,
1985), pp. 155-156,335, I' - . 52 Adolf Von Harnack, What Is Christianity? (New York: G.P.
Putnatn's Sons, 190 I), pp. 62-65
53 Carl E.Braaten and Robert W.Jenson, The Last Things: Biblical and I Theolo~icalPerspective On Eschatolom. (Michigan: willih B. Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 2002) pp. 77-78.
55 John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus : The life of a
Meditauaean Jewish Peasant (San Franciso: Harper Collins, 199I), p'p. 42 1-
56 Burton L Mack, The Christ and Jewish Wisdom (Minneapolis :
Fortress press, I 992). Pp. 192-22 1
57 Ibid. pp 192-22 1
5R Braaten and Robert, Op. Cit p.83
59 Geza Vernles, Jesus and the world of'Judaism (Philadelphia:
Fortress Press, 1984), p.32
Johri Reunlann, Jesus in the c1~urcl~'sGosuel (Philadelphia : Fortress
Press, l968), p. 142
60 Braaten and Robert, Op. Cit, p.87 I . ,, ."#.,,. %.\a ' I 61 Robert Funk, The five Gospels (Philadelphia : Fortress Press, 1984), / p.1 " Richard Bauchham, God Will Be All In All : The Eschatologv Of !I - .+. Jurgen Moltmu (Edinburgh : T and T Chark, 1999), p.3
%id p.12
64 Ibid p. 19
" Ibid p.24 G%~l~tafAden, Jesus In Contemporary Historical Reseachi (London:
SPCK, 1 976), p.99.
67 Hans Conzelmann, An Outline of The Theology Of The New
Testament. (London: Scm Press Ltd, 1976), p.308
Aden, Op. Cit, p.100
%id, p. 1 12.
70 Konig Op. Cit, p.68
71Berkhof Op. Cit, p.666
72 Matthew Black Peak's Commentary On The Bible. (Great Britain:
Thomas Nelson and sons Ltd, 1962), p 999
73 D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer, New Bible ~omrnentary,3~Edition
(Michigan: WMB Eerdtnans Publishing co, 1970), p 1159
74 F .I;. Bruce, The International Bible Commentary, (Grand Rapids
Zondervan publishing House, 1986); p:1965'
75~id,p.1383
7"illiam Barclay, The Daily Study Bible; The Letters To
Corinthians (New Delhi : Rekha Printers pvt Ltd, 2003), pp 146-147
1
77 Matthew Black, Op. Cit, p. 1000 I
7%. Guthrie, J.A.Motyer,Op.Cit,p.1 163
79 Bornkamm, Op. Cit, p. 1 15 80 Dietrich Uonhoeffer, The Cost of Dtsciples~(London : Scm Press
Ltd, 1959),p.36
8 1 Onwu Op. Cit, p.95. Chapter Nine
Causes Of Religious Intolerance
Causes Of Religious Intolerance In The New Testament
The social contexts of Pauline corninunities are not far from the
1 Church's experience in Nigeria. We take the Corinthian church as a case
study here. Corinth, a city of Greece was a flourisling centre of trade, in
ancient times it contained a temple of Aphrodite, goddess of love, whose
service gave rise to the city's proverbial immorality. From members of the
household of Chloe, Paul received fuller information about the condition of
the Corinthian church. The spirit of party had seized its members and almost
destroyed Christian love (agape), dissensions and quarrelling resulted in
religious intolerance. Other gross disorders within the church include pride,
luxury, avarice, discord, lust, division etc. Their pride discovered itself in
. s, .W$\> their parties and factions.' This vice was not wllolly fed by their wealth, but
by the insight they had into the Greek Learning and pldosophy.
'I'heir avarice was manifest in their law - suits before the heathen
judges (1 Cor 6: 1-2) Their luxury appeared in more instances than one, in
their dress, in their debauching themselves even at the Lord's table. Their
lust broke out in a most flagrant and infamous instance that a man should have his father's wife (1 Cor 5: 1-2). Paul told them to make up their differences. Paul described them with "scl~ismata"which is the word for
"rents in a gannent." The Corinthian church was in danger of becolning as unsightly as a tom gannent, just as can be seen today in Nigerian religious
t intolerance within churches and religions.
It should be noted that the great figures of the church who were named Paul, Cephas and Apollos had nothing to do with these divisions.
There were no dissensions between them. Some claimed to belong to Paul, mainly a Gentile party. Paul had always preached the gospel of Christian freedom and the end of tlle law. It is most likely that this party was attempting to turn liberty into license and used their new found Christianity as an excuse to do as they liked. Bultmann made it clear that:
the Christian indicative always brings the Christian imperative.
. ,,. d-7. ,?. % )J They had forgotten that the indicative of the good news brought
the imperative of the Christian ethics. They had forgotten that
they were saved, not to1be$%eto sin, but to be free not to sin.'
There was the party who claimed to belong to Apollos. Apollos was a Jew
from Alexandria which was the centre of intellectual activity. It was there
that scholars had made a science of allegorizing the scriptures and finding the most recondite meanings in the simplest passages. They intellectualized
Christianity. Those who claimed to belong to Apollos were no doubt the intellectuals who were fast turning Christianity into a philosophy rather than a religion.'
It is iiot impossible that the Anthinomian fiee thinkers attached themselves to this party, at any rate, they were at tlus time, oiie of the worst r. elemer~tsof evil at CoMtli. They put forward a theoretic deferice of the practical immorality in which they lived, and some of them had so lost the
very foundation of Christian faith as to deny the resurrection of the dead,
and thus to adopt the belief as well as the sensuality of their Epicurean
neighbours, wliose motto was, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.4
There were those who claimed to belong to Cephas (~ewisbform of Peter's
name). These were most likely Jews and they sought to teach that a man
must still observe the Jewish.law They were legalists who exalted law and
by so doing belittled grace. There were also those who clahed to belong to
Christ, they must have been a small and rigid sect who claimed that they t I' 4 ., were the only true Christians in CoMth. It may well describe a little
I intolerant self righteous group.' I
Scholars disagree sharply over the identification or Separation of the two references to schisinata "divisions" in 1 Cor 1 : 10 and 1 Cor. 11 : 18. hi part the problem of relating these references is bound up with the problem of the nature of the parties described in 1 Cor 1-4. Thus Lietzmann, having distinguished two types of ritual meal in the early church (the joyful
Jerusalem type and the somber Pauline type) was able to think of the Cephas party 1 Cor. 1 :12 as agitating for the practices of Jerusalem and thereby disrupting the Lord's supper as noted in 1 Cor 11 : 18.6 Munck on the other hand desired to ininimize the rigidity of the divisions in the Corintlian church. He maintained that the groups in 1 Cor 1-4 are not,so much "parties" but cliques as in 1 Cor 11 : 17-22 .7 Corinthian church's schism include
~nisuseof spiritual gifts (charistnata), Knowledge (gnosis), boasting'
(kauchema), some were arrogant (ephusioihesan) etc. speaking in tongues
(glossolalia) etc. These and other problems resulted in religious conflicts, misunderstanding of one another.
. , . .i* '
Of the Corinthian church Paul said:
J& in the following ins?ructton.!i I do not commend you,
because when you conze together, it is not for the better
hut for the worse. For in thejirst place, when you
assemble as a church; I hear that there are divisions among you; and I party believe it, for there must be factions among
you in order that those who are genuine among you may be
recognized. (1 Corl I: 1 7-19). 1 appeal to you brethren, by the
name of our Lord,Jesus Chrisi that all ofyou agree and
ihai there be no dissensions among you, but thai you be united
in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been
reported io me by Chloe 's people ihat there 's quarrelling
among you, my brethren. What I mean is that each of .
you says, "I belong to Paul, " or "I belong to Apollos. " or "I
belong to cephas, " or "I belong to Christ, " Is Christ divided?
(1 Cor I: 10-12),
Other causes of religious intolerance 111 New Testament include doctrinal differences between sects as can be seen in Judaism of Jesus day, and among the Sanhedrin, preaching of Jesus and resurrection by Paul in t . .,. ..7. .I. la cities that were deeply involved in idol distraction and religious syncretism
as seen in the book of Acts, violence reactions followed. Insistence by the I, ^ .
Jews that Gentile converts must be circumcised and should keep the laws of
Moses. Religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the Scribes and Sadducees
made Jesus to denounce them (Matt 23) including the neglect of God's law in place of traditions of elders. Lack of love and neglect of Greecian Jewish womeii in food distribution was the problem in Acts 6:l-5. The Jewish elders in Jerusalem and the priests including tlie Pharises, Scribes and
Sudducees saw Jesus' teachings, sayings and doctrines as new teachings which in a way or the other contradict the Mosaic law. Religious intolerance in tlie New Testament manifested also through hot persecution. Before Paul was converted he persecuted Christians to the extent of pursuing them to foreign cities like Damascus. It was in tl~eprocess that Jesus met lim on his way to Damascus, the encounter with Jesus led to His conversion. Peter and
John were even imprisoned in Jerusalem because of faith in Jesus this demonstrated another religious acrimony, anarchy and disparity.
And as they were speaking to the people , the priests and
/he captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
annoyed because they were teaching the people and
., ,,. ..z. ,t. , .,J- ' proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they
arrested them. And put them in custody until the morrow, for it
was already evening. Bdt mbiiy of those who heard the word
believed; and the number of the men came to about five
thousand. (Acts 4: 1-4)
Religious persecution from people in Judaisic faith based on Mosaic law led to the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen (Acts 7: 54-60),
i~nprisonnlentof the apostles (Acts 5:17-26), even Herod the king laid
violent hands 011 some who belonged to the church. He killed James the
brother of John with the sword; and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he
proceeded to arrest Peter also (Acts 12:1-3).lf not earnest prayers for Peter
made to God by the church, lie should had been killed also by Herod. God
really intervened. The then government came into religious conflict with the
church. Herod Agrippa 1,grandson of Herod the Great, had originally been
given the former tetrarchies of Lysanias and Philip by the emperor Gaius. In
39AD he received Galilee, previously govenled by Herod Antipas. Claudius
added Judea and Samaria, making him a "client" King of a coiisiderable
Jewish state.8 According to G.W.H. Larnpe, Herod7smotive, as an ambitious
and self-seeking ruler in high favour with the emperor, may have been to
conciliate Jewish religious opinion.9
The author of Hebrews recounted what Christians suffered due to
persecution and their faith in Christ froin those who rehsed to tolerate them I, * . in their days, due to religious disparity and bigotry:
But recall the forrner days when aJer you were enlightened,
you endured a hard struggle with suferings ,sometimes being
p~~bliclyexposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had an abiding one. (f1eI1rew.s 10:32-34). Others suffered mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, aflicted, ill-treated-of whom the world was not worthy wandering over deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves
of the earth. (Hebrews 11:36-38). $ End Notes
1 William Barclay, The Letters To The Corinthians, (Edinburgh: The
Saint Andrew Press, 1975), p. 1 1 1.
3 W .J. Conybeare, The Life And Epistles Of St. Paul (Hartford:
S.S.Scranton And Co, 1899), p.4 19. \
5~vatlsErnest, The Epistles Of Paul The A~ostleTo The Corinthians
In The Revised Version With Introduction And Commentary.
(Baritain: Clarendon Press, 1966), p. 112.
'D.H.G.R~~v~,Mass And~E:ad'sSu~er: A Study IN The History Of
The Liturry, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1953), pp.249-255.
7John Hurd, The Origin Of I ~(kintfiians(Britain: The Camelot Press
Ltd, 1965), p.81.
atth thew Black, Peak's Commentary On Bible. (Great Britain:
Thomas Nelson And Sons Ltd, 1962),p.902. 9 Ibid; p.902. Chapter Ten
,
Effects Of Religious Intolerance
10. Effects In The New Testament
Religious intolerance leads to malung mockery of one's religious beliefs and let down on one's personality. Thougl~Paul was educated, a scholar in his days, a lawyer of good repute and a Pharisee, yet some Epicurean and
stoic philosopl~erscalled him a babbler that he seemed to be a preacher of
foreign divinities, because he preached Jesus and the resurrection (Acts
17:17-18). It led to social unrest and disorder. "and the chief priests and the
scribes were seeking how to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him; for they
said, "Not during the feast, lest there be a tumult of the people" (Mark 14: 1-
2) When Judas came to Jesus wit11 soldiers and some officers from tlie chief
. ,,. ..%.97' , priests and the Pharisees (adherents of Judaism) to arrest Jesus, Peter drew
out a sword and cut off Malchus' right ear, a form of religious disorderly
display. In Philippi Paul and Silas were beaten with rods publicly in the
market place and thrown into the prison. Some people made economic gain
by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much
gain by soothsaying. Paul delivered tlus girl by the power of God. When her owners saw that their hope of financial and material gain was gone, they
seized Paul and Silas and testified against them, "These men are Jews and
they are disturbing our city, they advocate custorris which it is not lawful for
us Romans to accept or practise" (Acts 16:16-23). The crowd joined in
attacking them; and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave
orders to beat them with rods. Hence, socially religious intolerance had bad
societal effect in New Testament, it resulted to mob action, public disgrace
and social unrest, imprisonment and injustice in passing judgment. For when
Paul latter told the magistrates that they had beaten publicly, uncondemned,
men who were Roman citizens, the magistrates were afraid (Acts 16:38) and
apologized, but the blows had been given to Paul and Silas simply because
of their religious inclination. At Ephesus the assembly was thrown into
great confusion, the town clerk quieted the crowd and said, "For we are in
danger of being cliarged with rioting today, there being no cause that we can
give to justify this commotion" .(&&,.19;.40).
Demetrius, a silversmith spoke from the side of economic effect of t Paul's religious intolerance, saw the danger of loosing his trade and business
gain derived froin silver sluines of Artemis of the Ephesians. He screamed;
Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable company of
saying that gods made with hands are not gods, and there is danger that this trade of ours may come into disrepute.. ." (Acts 19:26-27).
Politically, dming the great persecution of Christians in days of Nero the emperor, he set the palace on fire, at Rome and imposed it on the Cl~ristians, this led to the death of some Christians in one of the persecutions, Paul was beheaded, Herod also beheaded James the brother of John, Stephen was stoned to death, we can then see lost of lives and property as reported in
Hebrews 10 :34 as effects of religious intolerance. Its religious effects can as well be seen in the Corinthian cl~urches,anarchy, division, party spirit, dissension, pride, selfislmess, unnecessary claim of superiority, segregation etc. Paul told Timothy; "Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the
Lord will requite him for his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message" (I 1 Tim 4:14- 15).
At Paphos there was a religious show-down between Paul and one
magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the , , . 1 '+ proconsul, Sergirls Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas
and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elyrnas with stood them,
seeking to turn away the proconsul hnthe:f&th. Paul told him, "You ion
of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy,
will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? Me ended being bliiid.(Acts 13: 6-1 1). The deceit, villainy, crookedness as part of evil effects of religious intolerance from Bar-Jesus should had hindered the proconsul from hearing the word that saved him if not for Paul's wise approach. Some of these effects can be seen directly or indirectly in the
Nigerian situation.
10.2 Effects On National Politics
I
In developed countries, parties are fonned on the basis of reason, clear ideology and special political objectives. But in developing countries such as
Nigeria, religious factors play a very prominent part. in the people's partisan
politics. People are no longer concerned with Kneeling down with palms joined in the chapel or facing the east for the daily Salah, but rather
irrelevaut observations, observances and fomenting of troubles. And this is
why leadership in the country for some time now is purely on religious
adherence. . . . I&
The unhealthy political rivalry between Cllristians and Moslems have
in certain casesled to enthronement of mediocrity in the body polity and
bureaucracy of the country in the bid to satisfl religious requirements or
balancing of political appointments or positions. This has caused Nigeria to
experience all sorts of mariagement and administrative maladies. Further $. $. more, This situation has elevated one religious group to dominate over others and be in control of most of the key positions in the country and thereby ~nakingmembers of other religious groups feel disgruntled, agbg-ieved, cheated and marginalized. This phenomenon has aroused in the affected person apathy towards fulfillment of their civic duties or national obligations .Emeka Onuoha made it clear that to the victims of these discriminatory treatment, any talk about nationalism, patriotism and national integration is nothing but a beautifid waste of time and energy.'
Religious intolerance creates room for politics of enthnicism and tribalism. Nigerian politics as a dirty game is a common refiak by most
Nigerians. No election has been clearly devoid of the du@ game tag in
Nigerian politics beginning with the 1963 census. Today in Nigerian politics, selection and nomination have replaced election. In Nigerian politics of today anything goes, rid: wondei the criticisms of 2007 election recently concluded and lined up petitions at election tribunals set up.
Religious intolerance has made Nigerian,Pol~tf.csto be survival of the fittest, people with power ~nanipulatethemselves to the top till date.' Therefore, to
\ a typical Nigerian politician, politics and warfare is not related but the same.
Quick subterranean moves, ambush and absence of conscience are some of the hallmarks. Since the 1965 election, most politicians have ii~stitutionalizedthe methods employed in that contest, arson, acid throwing rigging, kidnapping of opponents before voting hour, assassination of opponents, stealing of ballot boxes and other forms of electoral malpractices just as witnessed in 2007 election in Nigeria.
The majority of Nigerian citizens no longer maintain political sincerity and loyalty, Christians and Moslem have been polarized in clloosiilg the right leaders for the country. This has so affected the voting behaviour of Nigerians tliat members of each religion strive to elect their
candidates based sometimes on religion through discriminatory voting which
has often led to emergence of unpopular or wrong leaders who only come to
deepen the cracks on our national unity. Hence corruption and dishonesty
have crept into political system of the country. The major types of corruption
wlich include political corruption, religious corruption, economic
corruption, academic conuption; tridral'borruption, bureaucratic corruption
and judicial corruption can now be well located in our national democracy.
No wonder Chinue Acliebe opined: I( _ .
My frank and honest opinion is that anybody who can
say that corruption in Nigeria has not become
alarming is either a fool, a crook or else does fiat live in this country..'
10.3 Economic Effects
In the Funtua mayhem, it was a week of wailing and loud lamentation on the commercial city on the southern tip of Katsina State fiom 19th to Znd
January, 1992. Death stalked the townspeople by day and hunted them down by night. There was death by bullets, death by fanatical swords and poisoned arrows, death by Quranic verses inscribed on daggers, death by burning. In those days of anger, the commonest sights on the streets of Funtua were the carcasses of blunt vehicles, shops and homes as well as the corpses of casualties. For once, hunan blood flowed more freely on the streets of
Funtua than did water from the taps4
Fleeing froin religious riots in neighbouring states, emigrants once turned Plateau into a state under siege."TliE tale of terror in the Bauchi religious crisis was beyond comprehension as casualty figures mounted and
scores of homes, churches, hotels and someI( public_ .. property were destroyed.
Millions of naira have been lost in most of these religious crises. These losses really constitute economic damages. Some of the young men and women including students who died in these ~otsbelong to the trained and potentially skilled man-power of the country. Hence, the value of this loss is
immeas~uablei~d therefore, remains the most agonizing economic loss of this country because it is tlis fonn of our national resources that is indispensable to the over-all development of this country.
10.4 Religious Effects
Intolerance will make people hold so tenaciously to their opinions at
the neglect of others. Such narrow mindedness would make people very
conservative and when this is the case, progress in a complex nation like
Nigeria would be retarded.The presence of oriental religions in Nigeria
thrusts a discordant note into the serene religious atmosphere. There has
bee11 constant hostility among religions in this nation. Christians are no
longer safe to profess their religious faith in some parts of this country.
Before a person accepts being a Cllristian in the North, such should had
counted the cost and denied himself Cefiah things and taken hs cross to
follow Cllrist due to attacks by fanatical Moslems.
There are Key positions in tlis couritj which Clvistians have not held
unless they change both their faith and political affiliation. Some Christians
who are today answering Alllajis were converted tllrough the offer of - - - , money and vain promises. Why is it that in the East people pay tluough their nose iri other to be educated while in the North people are begged and in some cases they are paid allowance while in school? A person can say etlmicity and leadership problem, however, religion cannot be excluded.
Mostly, in the North the usual relaxed, peaceful atmosphere in which people practiced their religion is now tensed because of suspicion against each other. For fear of being next victim of religious riot, caution is now taken while in services because religious riot can start qytime anywhere.
Religious acrimony, hatred, enemity and gossip are clearly displayed among members of various religions in this nation.
10.5 Social Effects
Loss Of Time
There are two old sayings that ''tine is money" and "time and tide
- ,,, .v8. ,I. , .).F wait for nobody," During religious crises wlich are usually generated by intolerance, everything in the affected area usually comes to a standstill.
Nonnal work for botli civil servants and private enterprises is disrupted.
When such functions are disrupted, time is lost, perishable items which could otherwise have been used get spoiled. Therefore, we have economic
waste. Broadly commenting oil this, one can.say that economic waste ' includes loss of life, property and time etc,
Instability
Religious intolerance gives rise to unsteady situations either within an institution or even in the entire govement of a country, no matter the sector involved. When camps of different religious groups are formed within an institution, fear and uncertainty follow. These in turn lead to insecurity. For instance, students under such tension can hardly settle down to read. Markets may be closed and business trips halted, prison in mates can react violently.
Every action, everybody especially from the opposing camp become suspicious. If it is nation wide, intolerance could generate unsteadiness of leadership in government. Rumour mongering becomes the order of the day.
In extreme cases, it may lead to ganging up to oust an incumbent leader.
Also included are hatred of people fioin other religions, mutual . , 8.3' "r) mistrust between members of different religions, division, bloodshed and
murder, ambivalence among younger people who then lose commitment to
I) - .. any serious religion and grow either law-less or cult-inclined, replacing
I religiousity with cultism and poor assimilation of true moral standard. False
peace or open conflict in homes built on more than one religion ie where
I couples belong to different religious sects, intra and inter village conflicts and proliferation of religious groups and sects are among the effects?
Loss Of Prestige
A country that experiences frequent religious crises can easily loose its reputation before the international community. Foreigners will find it difficult to establish companies or businesses in such a place. But where bigotry is persistent, distrust of neighbours sets in. There is joy in unity, but when the situation reflects "to your tern, 0 Israel!" disunity sets in. A country can pretend to be united where as there is permanent unrest within it. Intolerance can make a nation like Nigeria appear like "calm waters" with bubbles of factionalism beneath.6 Hence, almost similar effects of religious intolerance were witnessed both in the New Testament and present Nigerian context. End Notes
1 Emeka G. O~iuolia,"Obstacles To Full National Integration,"
Nigerian Statesman, October 3oth,1988, p.2.
2 Maxwell 0.Mgbemere, Reliuious Intolerance: The Nigerian
Ex~erience,(Owem: Grace of God Publishers, 2001), p.51.
"hinue Achebe, T& Trouble With Nigeria (Enugu: Fourth
t Dimension Piiblishing Co Ltd, 1983), p. 14.
4~heEditor, "Religious Riot Occasioned By Extremism Came
Knockmg, Leaving In Its Wake Death And Destruction In The Funtua
Mayhen," hcanConcord. February 81h , 1992, p. 14.
5 Mgbemere, Op, Cit; p.54. * ,.. d.8. .,' ,
6F.U. Okafor, New Strategies For Curbing Ethnic And Religious
Conflicts In Nigeria (Enup: Division PublishersI, - .. 1997), P. 6 1-62. Chapter Eleven
Realizing Religious Tolerance In Nigeria: What Must Be Done?
There must be religious tolerance. This generates confidence, accommodation, co-existence and therefore fosters peace and unity. The strongest and the most deeply felt desire which has always dominated the mind of any good citizen is for peace to reign in his society. It is religion that I preaches peaceful co-existence, tolerance, justice and good leadership. There should be no marginalisation, sectionalism or favouritism, every citizen has a sense of belonging and it is no difficult to match forward to progress and development.'
Unleashing violence on innocent citizens under the guise of religion is condemnable. In accordance with$he.dictates of their religions, Nigerians should be peace loving people. The diversity as a source of our strength needs to be l~anlessed,for the country to play its role effectively as a modern I' . , nation state. Disturbances on the basis of religions or other differences will definitely jeopardize such efforts as many nations have suffered irretrievably from such strife. Peace is a pre-requisite to national development . Peace also is an essential factor in nation building. E. Shonekan is of the opinion that:
religious bodies, the state and the entire citizenty of our
great country have a joint responsibility to build a prosperous,
happy, stable and socially harmonious socieiy that is eligiously
pious. We have the responsibility to build an atmosphere of
peace and stability, and to inculcate same in our children. It is
by so doing that our country can make meaningful progress in the years ahead. Religion can and 'should play useful roles in
ensuring that the nation is not only ethical, but a caring one
which believes in adherence to acceptable norms and values.'
11 .lUpholding The Positive Values Of Religion. ,
societal norms, reassuring the people that their ways are right and their course part and parcel of society and has been reported to be the focal point
It - .. of cultures. In the Nigerian context, for instance, one cannot dpubt the seriousness of the faith and the commitment of most ~igeriansintheir religious beliefs. More importantly one cannot doubt that Islam and
Christianity contain fundamental moral principles on which aspects of our society and culture are built. Religion preserves and transmits many norms of the larger society. Some of these are the moral and ethical values basic to social life itself, such as honesty, respect for the rights of others and the cultivation of brotherly love among one another. As a matter of fact, religion as a system provides a significance frame work for handling fundamental problems of social organisation. It gives a moral code, it is a proper guide and a help in life. Major religions in Nigeria are called upon tb uphold these positive values.
I Religion in its effort to promote and develop our nation shall be expected to see to it that our nation is reinforced and enriched by those essential values and achievements which humanity in general consider as essential to the pursuit of order and peace, progress and happiness. These include protection of the weak and invalid, social justice, solidarity, equality of opportunity, legal aid, the rule. ,, of qppgrtunity, legal aid, the rule of liberty, the equality of all before the law, human rights and liberties, religious fieedom, the independence and integrity of the judiciary, the concept of
It - .- authority as a sacred trust in the service of the people, the readiness to relinguish the reins of office as soon as justice or the interest of the people should require. The iilculcatiotl atld promotion of these lofty human and democratic values by the forces of religion would go far to strengthen and develop our nation and shower on our people the veritable blessings of the rnodern world.
11.2 The Need For Dialogue
\ Dialogue is particularly important and complex when it is established between people of different and even sometimes opposed positions, who are
attempting to overcome their mutual prejudices and broaden as far as
possible, their areas of mutual agreement, whether thls takes place on the
plane of simple human relations or that of a quest for the truth or of
collaboration to attain ends of a practical nature.
Dialo~wecan be encounter on the plane of sim~lehuman
relations with a view to drawing the interlocutors out of
their isolation and mutual mistrust, and creatini an
atmosphere of deepk.pi?i:'und&r,s?anding, m utual esteem and
respect, it can be encounter on the plane ofsearch for the truth
regarding questions ofthegreatestI . I .I importance to the persons
involved, or it can be encounter on the plane of action which
aims at establishing the conditionsfor collaboration towards
fled practical object ivcs, despite doctrinal drfferences, Christians and Moslems lived together peaceably up to early 1970s.
But the situation today has changed and is characterized by religious intolerance and crises especially between Moslen~sand Christians. Some thmk the solution is dialogue and mutual relationship between Moslems and
Christians. It is to this effect that during the Bauchi riots of 199 1, that professor Jerry Gana initiated a meeting of distinguished elders and religious leaders in which a proposal of creating a foruni for dialogue in all three tiers of government (federal, State and local Government) was submitted to the president then, General Ibrahim ~abaginda.~Windibiziri argued that:
because of the current pwing violent fundainentalistic
attitudes of the Moslems with the concurrent development
(flu strong Christian militancy, it has become necessary to
save the situation. The basis for the formation of Christian-
Moslem dialogue is, ,,. the I*t .,believe that militancy and violence
can never be the solution to any problem in this world.
Witldibiziri conceived of dialogue,to be a positive and realistic
I' . . alternative to the problem ufviolence and militancy.' Ifwe are
going to be able to eflectively counteract the negative influence
qf'militancy and unrest based on religious sentiments, we need
to have a forunzfor a dialogue where we can go into serious stzdv and discussion. We need a study centre that can provide a
conducive atmosphere for people of variousfaiths and not least
Islam and Christianityfor the need of peaceful co-existence.
J.A. Ilori noted a possible area of dialogue between Christians and
Moslems in co-operation for social work, in nation building, in concern for hurrlan and religious rights, justice and peace, also to engage in rural developme~it,literacy campaigns, medical clinics and other social services.
He encouraged exchange of goodwill messages during religious feasts,. exchange of important events and so on.7 E.O. Oyelade addressed the influence of politics on religious dialogue. He discussed how the different religious heritages of Islam and Christianity have effects on politics and dialogue. While Moslems view politics and religion together, Christians separated church and state. He sees the term relationship as a central term
, <, 4 , .' IS not only of coexistence but of peace, unity and development and hence identified two issues at stake in Clu-istian-Moslem relation to be national unity and religious liberty.9.~.Ilori identifikd some guidelines for dialogue thus:
1 Frank witness of one's motives to his fellows and to God.
2 Mutual respect that calls for sensitive regard for others' convictions, sympathy for their difficulties and appreciatior~for their achievements.
3 Religious freedom: Proselytism should be avoided either using force, economic or cultural inducements.
G Scriptures, doctrines and traditions of both Christians and Moslems should be used to promote good relationships and effective dialogue.
7 Dialogue should be done in patience, generosity and courage and being conscious of the suspicion, which still goes with dialogue in some circles,
8 Dialogue should be understood as a readiness to learn as well as to share information, to receive as well as to give.
9 Dialogue should be seen by both Christians and Moslems as a duty and privilege to reduce areas of inis~nderstandin~.~
Article 11 of the Constitution for the Nigerian Association of
Christian-Moslem mutual relations (NACMMR) spells out the aims and
, , . ., 3' .t> objectives of the association as follows:
1 To bring together Christians and Moslems for dialogue on moral,
religious, social and other issues that affeit their lives and the
nation.
2 To organize from time to time, workshop, seminars, conferences,
symposia and any other public fon~rnfor better understanding, mutual respect and peaceful co-existence among members of the two religions.
3 To co-operate with other organizations acceptable to and approved by
t the executive council of the association towards the advancement of peaceful co-existence.
4 To co-operate in finding solutions to contemporary societal issues and problems such as: a Improper upbringing of children. b Uiletnployinent c Moral decadence d Corruption e Crime f Pornography, gambling, destructive films and literature g Drug addiction and drug abuse. . ,, . ., x. ,t' , < .>a . 11 Occultisin and cultism
10 'To encourage and provide adequate facilities for empirical research by
Christian and Moslem scholars on matteis of common interest.
1 1 To understand and pursue other activities that are necessary for the attainment of the aims and objectives of the asso~iation.'~
A look at the communiques of the conferences of the Christian- $ Moslem relations will show that they are clearly dominated by the language of peace, co-existence, justice, social action, sincerity, faitffilness to one's tenets of faith, respect for others, rejection for the use of provocative language in preaching and so on. One of the suggestions adopted during the i evaluation of the tlurd international conference in August 1997 was "what is important is objectivity and there should be no attempt to propagate faith,""
For any evaluation to be done on the aims and objectives and guidelines of the Christian-Moslern mutual relations in dialogue one has to begin with a great deal of appreciation to this vision and the attempt to take practical steps to address the problems that face the citizenry. The idea of dialogue is quite a good one which every responsible citizen of Nigeria or any given country in conflict should adopt in order to reach conflict resolution for the betterment of the society.
The researcher is not against dialogue between ~llristi&sand
Moslems, but is concerned with what follows in dialogue and how that
I( - . affects the Cluistian7sresponsibility to bear witness to Christ in dialogue.
Item one of the aims and objectives suggests co-operation between Moslems
arid Christians in the area of moral, religious, social and other issues which
affect the nation and the two religious adherents. While this is good and I necessary, how can co-operation in religious life be complete if the emphasis is on what mites and not what divides? Why should one deny important aspects of his faith in order to mingle with adherents of anothet religion? Do
Christians really share the same moral standards and operate with same ethical deinands with tliose of Moslems? Another question is why the iltalogue between Clzristians and Moslems and what affects them and the nation? Are they the only bonafide citizens of Nigeria? What about rnembers of other religions and what justice is accorded them? Does this mean that other religions donot form part of the crises of this country and therefore cannot contribute in anyway to peacefhl co-existence?
As item four of the aims and objectives of the constitution call for co- operation in solving social problems, how can the association (Christian-
Moslem relation) deal with the problem of improper upbringing of children
. ,, . 4 *$. 3,. <,* . whose parents are neither Christians or Moslems since they are not part of the Association? How can the problems of unemployment, moral decadence, corruption, crime and so on in a country kth multi-religious affiliation be addressed only by Christians and Moslems on the basis of dialogue? Does this mean that the adherents of other faiths other than Christianity and Islam I are Saints? If the feeling is that they donot cause any trouble, are they not affected by the troubles caused by the perpetrators? Other religions should i be included and recognized to make their own positive suggestions.
In view of the &widelinesoffered by T.A. Ilori in hspresentation in item one, how can ti-ank witness of one's motives to God and his fellows deny provocation of the other? Wile one recognizes the need to respect the dignity of others, it will sound hypocritical to deny or hide one's convictions in the interest of accomtnodating another. The fact is that one's convictions may be hostile or even provocative for another. The idea to stop using force, economic or cultural inducements to win others into one's religion may be allowed by a given religious tradition, but what will be the implication of askmg someone to stop what his religion permits? What right has any to usurp the authority to decide what another will do in his given religipn? This has led to the claim that in dialogue there shouldn't be the attempt to propagate one's faith.
,,...., l..".i"* I .
Item four of Ilori's guidelines suggests that scriptures, doctrines and traditions of Christians and Moslems be. used to promote good relationsl~ips It - -- and effective dialogue. Does this mean that dialogue and good relationship
should determine the interpretation of Christhn and Moslem scripture,
doctrines and traditions? Where both do not agree in doctrines what
happens? Will this not lead to subjective interpretation of these scriptures, doctrines and traditions?
In the researcher's view, dialogue is good and necessary in resolving conflict and as a way of life in the different levels of the social life of any people. But the approach in dialogue seems to centre on social action at the expense of deeper spiritual predicaments of mankind. The need to take the social and spiritual concerns together is lacking. One can argue that the spiritual predicaments of mankind are more devastating than the social suffering of man. Inf'act, one can say that some of the social predicaments are as a direct result of the spiritual condition of man. Christians will forever be guilty if their approach to dialogue is not wholistic. The question is what
I will the Christian gain if he leads the whole world into peace and looses its life? Again what kind of peace is the Christian looki~lgfor in mutual relations if the purpose is not-to.lead,adherents to peace in Christ? Why
Cllristian-Moslem dialogue in a multi-faith context? Is tlis in itself not injustice on the side of the minority faiths in Nigeria? The exclusion of those It - .- in minority despite the fact that they are also created in the image of God depicts another level of crises that call for dialogue, mutual relationship, respect for dignity if the concern is peaceful co-existence.
From the objectives and aims of Christian-Moslem mutual relations t one can observe that the association is rather political than religious. Since it is concerned basically with social action. The complexities in religious crises
are threefold; do Christians or Moslem fight, cheat, oppress suppress,
destroy, favour their own and perpetrate corruption because they are
Moslems or Christians and their religions allow them to do these things, how
can one from the other religion stop another? Or do they use their religion to
satisfy their greed only? Or do they remit proceeds to their religions as
dividends of their actions? If the religious traditions, scriptures, and
doctrhes are responsible for those evil actions on humanity, how can they be
changed? On the other hand if these are not responsible for those actions,
what then is responsible for those actions that bring about crises and
sufferings'? Is it likely that the present approach to dialogue will yield lasting
results?
The researcher contends that the society is by far a better common
factor for dialogue and mutual relations than religion in a multi-faith
I) - . context. And even so there should be freedom for one to bear witness of his
faitli in dialogue decently and in order in the spirit of "live and let live,"
1 bearing in mind that it cannot be possible for all people in a society as large
as Nigeria to be of one faith, hence whatever that is done in dialogue, all must strive to achieve this, "live and let live." Nigeria is a plurblistic country I so her laws at the centre should be comprehensive, broad andelastic as to
accommodate all her citizens guaranteeing their freedom of religion without
legislating for any particular group. This quality will enable all Nigerians to
judge any candidate aspiring to any public office in the country by objective
standards of capacity and suitability and not by relative coilsiderations of
ethic group, religious affiliation, doctrines or traditions.
11.3People And The Rule Of Law. I
The rule of law is a shield and a fortress against tyranny and
oppression. It is the defender and custodian of the individual's rights and the + liberties of the citizen. It is an asylum and comfort to the oppressed and a
guarantee of hope for the innocent, but when the rule of law is forced to
abdicate, then the rule of m~,?tl~e~,rulg of naked force usurps the vacant
throne.12 It means any ordered structure of norms, set and enforced by an
authority in a given community which include, the right to representative
It - .- and responsible government; that the citizen who is wronged should have a
remedy, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and association, absence
of retroactive laws, the right to a fair trial which involves certiinty of the
criminal law, the presumption of innocence, reasonable rules relating to arrest, accusation and detention pending trial; the right to legal advice, public trial, the right of appeal, the absence of cruel and unusual
1 punishments, the independence of the judiciary, including proper grounds and procedure for the removal of judges. In the present day ~i~eriansociety, except in few situations, opposite of the above assertions are obtainable, for
the laws of the land are discarded and ignored.
Law is a body of rules binding on members of a given society either
as individuals or as a group, which is enforceable directly or indirectly by
institutions created and recognized for that purpose within the society. In the
legal system structured and predicated on democracy and the rule of law, the
nonnative feature of law is evidenced by its regulation of human conducts;
its institionalised feature evidenced by the authority of the legislature and the
courts; and its coercive feature by the law enforcement agencies and the
sanctions prescribed for a breachWlaw. . I
Therefore in order to avoid or at least reduce the incidents of social
conflict, laws are made to regulate and govern the various relationships
demanded by the society. A breach attracts penal or pecuniary sanctions as
the case may be, hence in Nigeria people of all religions must be equal
before the law, there should be no respect of persons. Contempt of court
L means any act or conduct which interferes with the course of justice or tends to bring the authority and administration of law into disrespect or disregard.
The researcher calls all to return back to jurisprudential norms in this nation, any act of indispline as far as the law is concerned must be dealt with, there should be no sacred cows. Let there be protection of the weak and invalid, social justice, solidarity, equality of opportunity, legal aid, the rule of law, law as the servant of liberty, the equality of all before the law, hunan rights, religious freedom, the independence and integrity of the judiciary. Law enforcement agents must deal decisively with anyone or group who disturbs public peace and order.
11.4 Government' s Role
The Nigerian govemnent should at the federal, state and local
Levels adopt an open and uncompromising neutral attitude towards
religious organizations in this .country, ,. . 4. #.,, , ,,$ The national peace and stability should not be disturbed by any religion. Any adherent of any religion in the b position of power should not allow his own religious inclinations to over
I - .. ride comlnon interests. In short neutrality demands that the present and future political leaders of Nigeria should guard against partisanship to any religious group in matters regarding proper governance of the nation.
The common good of all Nigerian citizens demands an altruistic, open-minded, self-effacing and large hearted leader in religious matters, a leader who would recognize in practice the value of religious pluralism in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria; a leader who will always encourage; and promote the positive elements in all religions and discourage negative ones.
Such positive elements include love, justice, peace and good neighbourliness.
Any direct or indirect support of any religious group by the government at all levels in this country is an indirect way of sowing a lasting seed of religious intolerance. The reason is quite obvious. ??leLgroupwhich
enjoys government patronage will tend to be aggressive to other religious groups at the least provocation, as we are witnessing today in the country. It is not enough for government to map out policies on paper against religious intolerance after much harm has~bem.done.to the Nigerian society. Words
should be matched with strict disciplinary actions against culprits. Setting up
a judicial panel after each uprising has prove-d abortive. We strongly believe
Il I .- that if Clvistian political leaders unite with their Modem political leaders in
i dealing ruthlessly with any Christian denomination that manifest acts of
religious intolerance; and Moslem political leaders do the same when
Moslem religious fanatics are culprits, the lesson of government neutrality in religious maters will penneate the hearts of Nigerian citizens.
11.5 Comparative Study Of Religions
Comparative religion consists of placing the numerous religions
Of the world side by side, in order that, deliberately comparing and contrasting them , it may frame a reliable estimate for their respective claims and values. This should be applied in the Nigeria context for mutual understanding of each other and for effective interaction, thereby having unity in diversity. Ignorance is a problem of its own, there is no need passing value judgment on another religion a person has no knowledge of. Other religions should be well studied in order to know why certain things are done, this will help peaceful religious co-existence.
1 1.6 Implementation Of National Constitution.
. ,A .,, . I, The official stand of the Nigerian govenhent with regards to
Religious fieedom, civil and social life of Nigerian citizens is clear. It is enshrined in the latest constitution 1989; No.37~~29.For instance, Article 1 of that No.37 states:
livery person shall he entitled to freedom, conscience
and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belie$ and freedom (either alone or in commun$y with
olhers, and in public or in private) to manifest or I propagate his religion or beliefin worship, teaching,
practice and ohservalion.
\ Further, in Article 11 of section 1 of the National Policy on Education, the governmei~tmade it clear that opportunity will continue to be ~nadeavailable for religious instruction. No child will be forced to accept any religion which is contrary to the wishes of his parents. If' these are clearly written in the national constitution , the problem lies in their implementation. Nigeria
is yet to produce leaders who would transcend their particular religious faith
and convictions to implement constitutio~iallaws without fear or favour. A
secular state establishes neither atheism nor religion as its official creed. On
the contrary, the constitution mandates that the government remains secular,
rather than affiliating itself with religious beliefs or institutions precisely in
,e. d.7. 9. , .! ., ..,> . i order to avoid discrimination among citizens on tl~ebasis of their religious
faiths.
1.7 Other Possible Ways, It _ .-
The adoption or non-adoption of religious toleration as an attitude
depends on individual citizen of Nigeria, his perceptions of religion,
religious beliefs and practice. Wlewe do not encourage religious I indifference, we tldnk that a fanatical commitment to any religion is equally dangerous. Good religious convictions about one's faith should include an openness to accept whatever is good and noble about others in their various religions. Religious leaders and even secular leaders should be diplomatic enough in their approach to religious issues in a complex nation like Nigeria.
t This is centred on ecumenical dialogue. Ecumenism simply implies religious co-operation. Since peaceful co-existence between Moslem and
Clu-istians in Nigeria can best be achieved within the framework of national unity and in view of the fact that religious ill-feeling is invariably exacerbated by ethnic tension where the division between the two religious communities runs along ethnic lines, efforts towards achieving national integration as well as a sense of participation and belonging should be
sustained and intensified. There are other religions in this nation, adherents
of these religions practice their-faith.withoutcausing riots or tension in this
society, they quietly practice their religion without intimidation or causing
L anarchy in the nation. Members of Islamic,and Christian religions should I' " .. emulate them on this so that there will be unity in diversity.
11.8 Prayer And Fasting In Nigeria's Three Main Religions. Religion and fasting have gone together in greater or smaller measure from the beginning.I3Prayer also has important place in every religion.
Fasting ar~dprayer are not essentially for Christians, they can be found in other religions both ancient and modem. It is observed by both Christians and non-Christians, the Jews, Moslems, Confucianists, Hindus, Taoists,
Jainists, African Traditional Religionists, Buddhists etc. Fasting is the word used for total or partial abstinence from food for a certain period; it also signifies abstinence from pleasure in general.14Though its origin is very obscure, there is no doubt that it is an expression of life.15
In various world Religions, a return to a primordial state of innocence or bliss triggered a number of ascetical practices deemed necessary in bringing about such return, the basic underlying assumption was that fasting and prayer were in some ways conducive to initiating or maintaining contact
..,".."l.". "a with divinity, or some supernatural or transcendent beings.'"
Fasting and prayer gradually becove a standard way of expressing devotion and worship to a specific divine being. Hence, fasting as one aspect of asceticisrr~was closely aligned to the belief that humanity had originally expressed a primordial state of perfection that was forfeited by a transgression. Through fasting and prayer, therefore, a person could be restored to a state where communication with the divine is again made possible. As these religions practice fasting and prayer, they should also ask for peace to reign among members.
African Traditional Religion
Here fasting and prayer go together. African traditionalists have times and occasions for fasting and prayer. They believe that this is a step into the spiritual world, for effective interaction and co1~1municationwith the beings in the unseen world-the ancestors, the gods and the spirits.
In time of war, draught, epidemics, famine and other natural disasters, it is assumed that the supernatural beings are angry, they have to be appeased with various sacrifices. Fasting is coupled with prayers to secure
. ,,, 4.q. ,I. , new favour. It is part of a purity ritual with definite religious intent. It is part of the discipline ensuring both a defense against taboo and a means of
obtaining sacred 'power.l7 I( _ ..
ISLAMIC RELIGION.
In /he name of Allah, the gracious, the nzerc(fu1, 0 you who helieve, .fixr/ing is enjoined on you as it was requir(~d of those before you. So that you maj guard against evil to become righteous (Quran 2: 184). 0 believers, you must fast so that you may learn self-restraint. Fasting is prescribed ji)r you during afxed number of days (Surah 2:183-4).
One of the religious practices of Moslems is fasting in which they offer prayers to Allah. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Moslem year, it is regarded as a very special month because it was during this tipe that the prophet received his first messages from Allah. Since Moslem months are based on the moon, Ramadan falls eleven days earlier each year when it falls on the blistering summer heat, it is a real challenge to faith and devotion.18
During the thirty days of Ramadan, healthy adult Moslems will go without all the pleasures of the body during all the hours of the day light.
One can wake up in the latter part of the night for his break fast ie in Islam it is highly meritorious to take the early morning meal, then the fast should be completed from dawn to sunset-. ThTfasebegins as the first light of dawn touches the horizon and ends with sunset. Hunger, comfort atld sex are the three things which have to be brought under control. The objects of I( _ .- Ramadan fast are among others; that you may become righteous and guard against evil, so that you may be grateful and so that you may follow the right I f
I l9 Nothing must pass the lips, not even chewing gum, a cigarette, or the smoke of someone's cigarette, and a real conscious effort must be made to make sure no evil deed or thought is committed. If the emotions of the heart or mind, or the behaviours of the Moslem are wrong, then the fat will lose its effect. Therefore, illumine your heart by hunger, stive to conquer yourself by hunger and thirst, and continue to knock at the gates of paradise by hunger says the ~uran."
Aims Of Fasting In Islam
To develop self-control and overcome selfishness, greed and laziness.
To restrain passion and appetite.
To prepare for any real sufferings that may be faced later.
To experience hunger and thus develop sympathy for the poor.
To gain spiritual strength.
. ,I 4 rl. r*' '+ To experience companionship though shared order.2'
The fasting is carefully broken with prayers offered to Allah. I) - . Ramadan ends with great feast of idel-fitri. Abdul Salam made it clear that if
a person fasting is abused, such should not retort, rather let him declare that
he is keeping a fast, since fasting is a shield fiom all evil tendencies. Fasting
in Islamic religion as an institution is a beautiful blend of spiritual, moral and discipline of the highest order*22
The researclier is of the view that the benefits of Ramadan fast should be extended to other months of the year. Abdul Salam said that if a person fasting is abused, such should not retort. It will be hypocritical in a way if it I. is only when abused while fasting that a person should not retort. If fasting in Islamic religion is a beautifid blend of spiritual, moral and discipline of the highest order, then this should be part and parcel of Moslems' normal way of living. As seen in the aims of fasting in Islam, among the aims are; to
develop self-control and overcome selfislmess and to experience
companionship through shared ordeal. It is not only during Ramadan fast
that this should be done, ths should be practiced by Moslems during other
Months of the year after fasting for their own societal well being and that of
people in other religions. They should pray for the peace of this nation
. ,, . .",. 3,. ' during their fasting and tell God to help them stop religious intolerance by $ not retorting when abused, overcome selfislmess and develop self-control, as
well let them endeavour not to be the first' people to abuse people of other
religions.
The Islamic scholar,Seyyed Hossein, viewed fasting fi~manother
dimension. To him fasting is both external and internal. External compulsory fasting is prescribed for all adult individuals during the lunar Month of
Ramadan. ie all fast during day time from dawn to.sunset.
By internal fasting is meant the discipline imposed upon
one 's soul so that the self is restrainedfrom indulging in
passions and desires and prevented from engaging itselfin
evils, such as telling lies, backbiting, envy, jealousy or pride.
Another stage of internal fasting is when an individual abstains
even from permitted things for fear of going beyond limits. 7%e
next and the highest stage of this kind of fastirg is seen in those
devoted adorers of Cod who see God and nothing else and fast
.Ji.om the presence of everything other than God. The next stage
(ffasting is to abstain even from legally permitted things. Even
when anger or revenge is-just$ed the individual restrains his
anger and ofers kindness instead, and instead of claiming
. ,, , 4 .,. .*. , justice, he invokes and showers mercy, this gives man self
confidence. "
It - -- FASTING IN CHRISTIANITY
Tn the Old Testament, the Mosaic law officially enjoined only one
annual fast, that of "Y om Kippur" or Day Of Atonement, which is still generally observed by Jews, throughout the world as a day of penitence.
Also during the Old Testament period, fasts were observed on special occasion and towards the end of the period were systematized in connection with the principal feasts, so that feast and fast together made up the religious observance of the season.
Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the fast of the fourth
mmth and the just of the fifth, and the fast ofthe
seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the
house of,Judah seasons ofjoy and gladness and cheerjiul
feasts, therefore, love truth and peace (Zech.8: 19).
Lrl the New Testament, Jesus began His public ministry by a fast of forty
days and nights in which He also prayed, a time of spiritual preparation and
of facing the temptations attendant on the exercise of His messianic
hnctions. He was particularly severe upon the ostentations fasting of the
.<," 4w7. .9. ,..I> Pharisees, which he perceived to minister only io their pride and self-
satisfaction and not to godliness or hutnility.
Fasting and prayer were practiced by the first century Christians (Acts
13:1-2) in their worshlp of God. A spiritual battle needed to be waged and
won against the powers of darkness so that when they went out into the field,
the way would be opened to them, no wonder prayer and fasting preceded the first missionary enterprise. Ephesians 6: 12 makes it clear that:
For we are not contending against flesh and blood,
hut against the principalities, against the powers, against the
world rulers of this present darkrzess, against the spiritual
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
These forces can directly or indirectly inanipulate people to cause religious
intolerance, disorder and anarchy which can lead to murder, looting of
people property, hatred and enernity all in the name of religion. He who
controls the spiritual also controls the physical. With prayer and fasting
Christians can rise in the power of resurrected Jesus Christ and disorganize
these forces and neutralize their evil agenda for Nigerian society. Fasting
according to Ermna Ekpunobi:
is a moral and religious discipline. It is a way of discrplining
- , 4.4. 3 I+ oneselffor religious reasons. It is the practice of the denial of
physical desires in order to attain a spiritual goal. Such
training is good forall who aim at putting the desires of the
.flesh under the control of the Holy
Hence, the thee main religions in Nigeria are hereby called upon to I use fasting and prayer effectively to deal with unseen forces militating against religious tolerance and peacehl religious co-existence in this nation and to use nice benefits of fasting wisely to ensure lasting unity and harmonious society.
I
There are challenges. Religion which should serve as an integrating factor in a society has in Nigerian situation turned to be divisive element sowing the seed of discord. Religious intolerant is as old as religion.Al1 world religions had passed through its crucible, religion yet to emerge in ftlture will also experience the same in their own dimensions. In Nigeria, cohesive nature of religion has collapsed, hence religion has created unusual tension for everyone in this country.Anot11er challenge is the reoccurrence of religious bigotry often regardless of the measures taken by the federal government to stop it. The researcher condemns all religious hypocrisy and sycophancy of teaching good norms and values by different religions in this nation but still live in open and coid-wawthereby displaying deliberate disobedience to their cherished norms and values. This is another challenge.
Realizing peacehl religious co-existence and how to achieve this has been ,I - .- emphasized by many and solutions offered as can be seen in chapter eleven
yet to no avail, is another chllenge. Today's church is an extension of the I New Testament church that started in Jerusalem ( Acts 1: 8 ). Before the
emergence of Christianity in New Testament era, some religions existed.
I against religious tolerance and peacehl religious co-existence in this nation and to use nice benefits of fasting wisely to ensure lasting unity and harmonious society.
t
There are challenges. Religion which should serve as an integrating factor in a society has in Nigerian situation turned to be divisive element sowing the seed of discord. Religious intoleram is as old as religion.Al1 world religions had passed through its crucible, religion yet to emerge in future will also experience the same in their own dimensions. In Nigeria, cohesive nature of religion has collapsed, hence religion has created unusual tension for everyone in this country.Another challenge is the reoccurrence of religious bigotry often regardless of the measures taken by the federal government to stop it. The researcher condemns all religious hypocrisy and sycophancy of teaching good norms and values by different religions in this nation but still live in open and cdd-wars-thereby displaying deliberate disobedience to their cherished norms and values. This is another challenge.
Realizing peaceful religious co-existerlce and how to achieve this has been
I) 4 .I emphasized by many and solutions offered as can be seen in chapter eleven yet to no avail, is another chllenge. Today's church is an extension of the I New Testament church that started in Jerusalem ( Acts 1: 8 ). Before the emergence of Cl~ristianityin New Testament era, some religions existed.
I This is also the same in Nigerian situation. There is no time all religions will be tlie same due to doctrinal differences and beliefs. Hence, religious intolerance will not be wiped out entirely, noting that it is as old as religion itself. Religious intolerance if not properly controlled and dealt with now t will worsen in future since inore religions may emerge in future.
The researcher takes a stand, of all the religions past, present or yet to
emerge in future, teachings of Christian religion have the lasting solutions
that will practically end religious crises in this nation if they are applied.
This assertion is based on the biblical teachings as contained in the New
Testament. If we look into the life of Jesus Christ and Paul and how they
handled religious intolerance in a peaceful, loving, sharing and caring
manner regardless of strict oppositions against them, it will be obvious that
they lived by tlie standard of the gospel they preached in a practial
I ways.Today' s Nigerian Chstims&o,dd practise what they preach.
Christians sliould also know that going to church without repentance,
regeneration and salvation experience will ~nakethem behave like the '
It - .. heathen. 'I'liis was seen in the life of Paul. Before his encounter with
Christ,he never tolerated Cl~ristians( Acts 9 : 1-12). However, after his
conversion ,he became a new tnan and was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Spirituality replaced carnality,because the carnal man cannot hderstand the things of the Spirit ( 1 Cor. 2: 14). In order not to fulfil the desires of the ,, flesh, religious intolerarice being one, Christians must walk in the Spirit(
Gal. 5: lG).Tliey must be filled with the Holy Spirit, then and only then will - they have power to walk in power, also then will they be able to imitate
Jesus Christ and know what to do in the midst of oppositions, persecution
and religious squabbles. North Ahca once produced great inen of faith, but
now has been over taken by Islamic religion. Nigerian Christians must read
the hand writing oil the wall and must not allow this to happen in this nation.
Christians should awake fioin slumber and evangelize the nation reaching
the unreached with gospel 1nessage.The researcher, therefore, believes that
' New Testament solutions in chapter twelve will be of great help and ways
out of this menace once they are adhered to. End Notes
1 M.O.Junaid, "Islam Religion And National Development," Daily champion, September Ist, 1999,p.5
2 Ernest Shonekan, "Religion as chief Cornerstone: Without A
Vision, A people Perish," Daily Times, July 25", 1997,p.22.
3 C.S.Moinoh, Enyeribe Onitha and Tijani EL-Miskin, Nigerian
Studies In Religious Tolerance Volume IV : Philosophy Of Religious
Tolerance (Ibadan: John West Printing Division, 1989), pp .36-37
David L.Windibiziri, "The Welcome Speech On The Occasion Of
The meeting On Inter faith Dialogue Centre Held In TCNN Bukuru: In The
First International Conference On Christian - Moslem Mutual Relations,
1 3" Nov, 1 992, p2.
.,,,$.,..,r..\, .-.,;..,p, ' . 5 Ibid; p.94
"avid L, Windibiziru, Christian-Moslem Relation in Northern
I' . . Nigeria A Lutheran Perspective: Talk On the Occasion Of the national
Seminar, PROCUMRA Nigeria Jos, 24" -27'' August, 1993,pp.4-5.
Bartimawus Eli, Religious Pluralism A challenge To Missions In
Nigeria: A Case Study Of Christian- Moslem Dialogue, M.TH. Thesis, April - ZYY -
8 lbid; pp.64-65
ibid; p.68 '' Constitution for the Nigerian Association of Christian-Moslem
Mutual Relations (NACMMR) in the fourth International Coderence,
" The Third international Conference On Christian - Moslem
Mutual Relations, Miango, 18" -23" August, 1997, p. 160.
l2 Lloyd Megwara, "Concept of the rule of law," Daily Champion,
April 26", 1996, p. 10. , 13 David R Smith, Fasthig: A Neglected Discipline (pennyslvania :
Christian Literature Crusade, l976), p. 11.
. ,"...,l. .t. , >a . l4 A. Aspinall, Chamber's Encvclopaedia Vol. V. (United Kingdom:
Hazell. Watson And Veney Ltd, 1970), p.569.
I George Arthur. Buttick, Tl~e1Inte~eter7sDiction* Of the Bible.
(Nashvill: Abingdoin, l982), p.242. I '"ircea Eliade, The Encyclopaedia of Religion vol. 5 (New York:
Macmillan Publishing Company, I%'), p. 670. 17 Aglia U. Agl~a,The New Meaning Of Fasting In Our Age:
Co~iternporaryBiblical And Historical Interpretation Of Fasting. (Aba: The
Assemblies of God Press, 1989), p.44.
18 Ruqaiyyah Waris Magsood; Examining Religion: Islam (Oxford:
Heinemann Educational publishers, 1995), p.64.
19 The Editor, "Lessons of Ramandan fast," Qaily Times,'February 16,
1996,p.13.
20 Muhammed Embeay, "After Ramadan: What Next?"
Guardian, February 6, 1995, p.33.
2 1 Seyyed I lossein Hasr,, Islainic spiritual it^ Foundations (New
York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1989), pp. 1 1 8-1 19.
22 Abdul Salam Olatunde, "Facing the Ka'aba: Fasting 1, Vanguard.
January 26, 1996, p.7.
23 Emma Ekpunobi, JOYof Fastb (Nigeria: Scripture Union Pres
and Books Ltd, 1991), p.5.
24 Hasr, Op. Cit, pp. 11 8-1 19.
If _ ... Chapter Twelve
New Testament Solutions.
12.1 Inter-faith Relations In The Bible " i.,wo $@~h;$:(f\y-fgC~ ,,"
a 6. ,: ' In the old Testament one finds the relationship which existed between Israel and the nations. H.D.Beeby made it clear that, "Israel's history is a history among the nations as well as a history before God...
Israel relating to God in the light of her relations with one or more of the nations."' Genesis chapter ten and twelve contain the history of the nations and the call of Abraham to forsake his father's land and to move to a country that God will show him. Abraham's departure from Ur brought him into
contact with different kinds of cultures, nations and faiths Xanaanities,
Egyptians, Hittities etc. One finds in the call and covenant with Abraham the
- ,r ' .. 1. d' , .I$ blessing of the nations. Israel was called to be a nation of priests; "You will
be for me a kirigdo~nof priests and a holy nation," (Exod 19:6)
The relationship between Israel and other nations or faiths depict all
kinds of conflicts. Some times the nations were seen as enemies when they
opposed the Israelites, sometimes the nations were used by God as
instruments of punishment on Israel, and in some cases the nations constituted religious threat to Israel. Nonetheles, Israel also served as a missionary to tlle nations through the practice of their religion being monotheistic in view centred on only one God though sometimes they fell into syncretism. The promise of God to Abraham was fulfilled, and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves" (Gen 12:39,
Likewise in the New Testament the new Israel, which is the church, lived alongside with the nations or people of other faiths likes the Greeks,
Romans, Satnaritans etc. As in the Old Testament the church in the New
Testament lived and existed among and for the nations (other faiths). It is through the church that the gospel is reaching people of other faiths and the nations. The church had all kinds of oppositions beginning with the death
and resurrection of Christ. Also other faiths served as religious threat to the t
The interfaith relations in tlle Bible reveal that other faiths are not new
to Israel or the church in the Old and New Testaments, neither is religious
1' - ." crisis new to Israel or the church. There was a show down between Elijah
and the prophets of Baal to determine the main God. It is necessary to point
out that both in the life of Israel and the church each existed for the nations
(people of other faiths). The patcommission "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.. ." (Matt 28: 19) crowns it all that the mission of the church and her relationship to other faiths is that of being witness for Christ and their being corlverted for Christ. Interfaith relations considered above do not deny a place for missions despite tlle crises and conflicts encountered.
Therefore, interfaith relations in the Bible cannot be said to be cordial but the church continues to exist for others by taking the message of salvation to people of other faiths despite persecution and martyrdom. God's aim in this
was declared by James during the council of Jerusalem thus;
Hrethrelz, listen to me. Sinzeon has dated how
(~odfmtvisited he Gentiles,to take out of lhem a
people for His name (acts 15:14)
As the church takes tlle gospel to all nations regardless of their faiths, the
church may not convert all nations, the aim is to take out from them a people
., ,, - ..x. ,>' , . >,, ' for His name. Hence, anything on their own part that will hinder this must be
avoided.
I' " .. 12.2 Violence And Peace Making In New Testament: No Anger And No Retaliation.
Judas procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief
priests and the pharisees, with lanterns, torches and weapons, they arrested Jesus Christ. (John 18:3). Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the servants of the high priest called Malchus. (John 18:lO). Jesus' reaction
was humanly unusual and unbelievable but true. He condemned Peter's
action and told him to put back his sword. "Put your sword back into its
place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword (Matt 26: 52) This
is a big lesson to all Moslems, Christians and people of other religions in
this nation, it is a way out from religious intolerance and hatred. Stephen's
speech in Acts 7: 1-60 provoked his hearers, they stoned him to death.
Instead of cursing or abusing lus persecutors, he asked God to forgive them I for their ignorance (Acts 7: 59-60), just as Jesus did in Luke 23:34 when He
said, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing" In
Acts 5:41, peter and other apostles rejoiced counting themselves worthy of
suffering disgrace for Chnst's sake.
. ,r - .. l .I' , , Jesus taught His followers the way of peace that they should be
peacemakers (Matt 5:9). "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you,"
Jesus said in john 14:27. Hebrews 12:14 admonishes, "strive for peace with
all men.. ." Do not return evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the
contrary bless, for to this you have been called, that you may obtain a
blessing." (IPet 3:9). The Christian, therefore, ought to see himself as a peace-maker because the message of peace and reconciliation is given to him . It is only the Christian that has been taught the way of patience and endurance. "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matt 5:39). Cl~ristiansthe11 must show through conduct and character that the above words are not in vain, they must be peacenlakers as their Lord is in all religious conflicts.
NO ANGER (Matt 521-26)
E.N.Onwu made it clear that in Matt 5: 21-26 we have what seem to be a gradation in seriousness of three kinds of sins, murder, anger and
abusive language. Murder can very much arise fiom hidden anger and Jesus
implies that contempt for a fellow man is wicked and inhuman. Matthew's
Jesus not only maintains the old Testament but also reinterpreted it in such a
way as to bring out the will of God. He shifted the points fiom the external
. ,. - .-1. 6' , i, violence to the internal wlich is liable to Gehenna. The saying, "Thou shalt
not kill," is based on the principle, "Thou shalt love they enemy."'
Matthew's Jesus noted that no one can truly worship God if there is
something between him and his brother. Here Matthew brings out clearly
Jesus' teaching on the kind of attitude he would inculcate in the disciples'
own prayer: Forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors (Matt 6: 12)
NO RETALIATLON (Matt 538-42)
You have heard that it was said, "an eye-foran eye
and a toolh.for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist one
who is evil . But lf any one strikes you on the right
cheek, turn to him the other also; and {fanyone would
sue you and take your coat let him have your cloak
as well; and zf uny one .forccs you to go one mile,
go with him two miles. Give to him who begsfrorn you,
and do not rqfuse him who would borrow porn you. watt
5:38-42).
The antithesis on retaliation inverses 38-42 supplied us with the
clearest example of reinterpretation which involves revocation. The law of
lex talionis was a legal dictum e.nw~iatedin various Old Testament forms in
Exodus 2 1:24; Leviticus 24 :20 and Deuteronomy l9:2 1.4. Jewish law was
firm on the issue of retributive justice. Mer all, the only alternative
I( _ .? conceivable to ancient man was rampant injustice, jurisdical cornlption and
social chaos. Thus these three old Testament passages are suffused with a
sense of strict obligation not optional practice. There is some evidence that in Jesus time a monetary fine had replaced the literal enforcement of the law,' but this lex talionis was culturally conditioned as it was the basis of Greek and Roman law. For
Jesus, it was not God's way and could not therefore be the ideal for the new community. Thus he not only reinterpreted it but also replaced it entirely.
The expression, "do not resist one who is evil" means "do not set yourself against the man who wrong you" and not "do not resist evil" because Jesus
Himself resisted evil.' What Jesus had in mind was personal wrong, malicious injury inflicted by a personal enemy. The principle of non- retaliation enunciated by Him in cases of personal wrongs is driven home with four picturesque illustrations (verses 39-42). Jesus did not imply a literal obedience to them for such would only encourage violence, robbery
and anarchy. These instructions presume a situation when the Jews were
under Roman imperialism Jesus calls for courage, self-discipline and
. ,a . . 12.3 Application of Pauline Paraenesis. The New Testament presumes that belonging to the community of believers will be reflected in a way of life. As a result, every one of Paul's letters devotes considerable space to paraenesis. Paraenesis fiom this standpoint appears to be a description of moral duties and Christian lifestyles.7The concept of "imitation" found in Paul's letters provides a conlprehensive key to the understanding of Paul's paraenesis.8 H.D. Betz is right when he notes that the paraenetic material in Galatians for instance represents Paul's desire to emphasize the concrete obligations of the i Christian life.9Paul's paraenetic assertion is due to the fact that he himself is consistent in conforming to Christ (Gal 2:20,6:17). The paraenesis in 1 Thess 4:l-5:22 provides another good example of Paul' s articulation of traditional material to describe the pursuit of the good life in Christian perception.'0 Commending the Thessalonians for their well- known love of one another, Paul exhorts them to a diligent and orderly life that can gain the respect of outsiders (1Thess 4: 9-12)." To the Corinthians Paul made it clear that belonging to the body of Christ has a concrete . , 4 : , .I, ' implication for actions that Chstians may engage in their lives (1 1Cor 6112- 20) Paul's paraenesis provides the distinction between life before conversion and life after conversion. Before conversiori, Paul had zeal for God without knowledge, so he persecuted Christians adconsented to the death of Stephen. Christ met him on his way to Damascus and changed him, he became converted. Until people who answer Christians today become genuinely regenerated and converted with clear salvation experience, they will never know what it means to worship God in spirit and truth. When they experience new birth they will understand Paul's paraenesis in being imitators of Christ through application of God's words in their conduct and character display. According to philologists, the Greek word mimeomai me'ans "to imitate," "to mimic," or "to copy."'2 According to W.Michae1, the meaning of the word in pseudepigrapha includes both "imitating exemplary men" and, "imitating God," that is with reference to imitating certain qualities of ~0d.l~In the Pauline epistles mimeomai has the same meaning. Thus in 11 Thess 3:7-9, it is used in the sense of striving to live out the teachings of the apostles and this implies recognition of the authority of the teachings of the apostles of Christ. The call to the invitation by Paul to \ Christians is, therefore, a call to. obedience,. ..r. ., , ,+ in his teaching grounded in hs imitation of or obedience to Christ which takes its bearing on Christ's saving work and his superior authority. (Phil 3:8, 1 Cor 7:40). E.N. Onwu 11 ? .. summarized findings of the ineaning of the word paraenesis thus; 1 That the verbal form means striving to live out the teaclings of the apostles. 2 Tbat by via negative method of medieval theologians the word "imitati~n~~does not mean "copying" or "reproducing" a model in order to be like the master. 3 That the original meaning of the word "imitation" language was that - of simple comparison which underlines the distincti\re mark of the Christian experience before and after conversion (I Thess 1:6,2:14). 4 That it implies following an example and Paul is always the example . This examplariness of Paul is more than his moral behaviour (1 1 Thess 3:7,9, Phil 337). , 5 That the dominant meaning of the word-group is "obedience" to the teachings of the apostle and the ~0rd.l~ The researcher hence calls on Christians to be imitators of their Lord who never retaliated, but forgave HIS enemies then apply God's word in their lives in absolute obedience. This will help them end religious . ,,,..<.,*. ,..)J . intolerance and violence in this nation. On the part of people in other religions let them uphold and keep good teachings and pure doctrines of their religions that are not against societal no&s and values so that there will be peaceful religious co-existence in this nation. Paul opined: When reviled, we bless, when persecuted, we endure, when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become and as now as the refuse of the world, the off.. scouring of all things. (I Cor d:l2-Zj). 12.4 Application Of I~nmutablePrinciple Of "Agape" Love: The Last straw That Will Shatter The Shackles Of Religious Intolerance In Nigeria (Exegesis Of 1Cor. 13: 1-end). 'i You have heard that it was said, 'you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. ' But I say to you, love your enemies ar~dpray fir those who persecute you, so that you may be sons qfyour Father who is in heaven;-forHe makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For ij you love those who love you what reward have you? L>o not even tux collectors do the same? And fyou salute only your brethren, what more are you doing . ,,,..l. ,t' >%.>a than others? Do not even the Gerztiles do the same? You, therefore, must bc perjGect, as your heavenly father is petfkct. watt 5: 43-48). 11 - .: In the Old Testament love of neighbour meant love of a follow Israelite (Lev. 19:18), but it includes responsibility to the resident alien (Deut 10: 1 8- 19). However, no where in the old Testament do we find a command of hatred, for the enemy. The frequent expressions of hatred found in the scripture were addressed to the enemies of God (Ps. 1 39: 19-22, 137: 7-9). Admittedly, such hatred was not strictly a command of the Torah; we find it as a prevalent attitude, culturally conditioned, among a people who wanted to uphold the distinction between the elect and the non-elect. Jesus, nevertheless, did not do away with the category of enemy in this antithesis. He insisted on the recognition of the enemy as person and therefore called for love towards him. The only reason He offers for this is that our love is to be grounded in God's providential love for all (Matt 5: 45,48). True sons must prove their legitimacy by their imitation of their father. Tlis is the righteousness he wants all disciples to appropriate as a mark of identity in lis new community, without which they are no better than the scribes, Pharisees and pagans of his day. Precisely every disciple must have such understanding, commitment and aspiration . ,. , ..I. .t. , .>* Though all religions preach and teach love like in Islam, African / traditional Religion, Christianity etc, however, the only founder that taught 11 - .. His disciples detailed meaning of love is Jesus Christ. Also among the sacred books sf various Religions in the world, it is only the Bible of I Christian Religion that contains deep meaning and detailed teaching on love. Real love is more than mere affection or attachment. True love goes beyond 1 and deeper than sentiment and shallow feelings. The love the researcher is talking about is not sensible love or rational love. This type of love has much to do with tenderness, affection, inclination, attraction, etc. It could be - shared by both human beings and anitnals. Accorduig to Okoye: sensible love is geared to producing pleasure and to satisfving the needs of biological I@. Here it is sinply ihe senses that control the reaction between the subject and object of 10ve.'~Rational love is simply a stepforward in the use of intellect and will by man. In sensible love, the mind or imagination is expected to grasp and recognize the act as agreeable. Ifan act is worthy of human beings and it is held in high esteem and there is enough rationale for embarking on such relationship then rational love comes in. Hence one could a& thpt he senses, the intellect and will plus reasons worthy of esteem would give rise to rational love.'6 The researcher is of the viewtthat since all religions in this nation preach love to one's neighbour, we can now see the real qualities and I principles of this love as exposed in the above exegesis of 1 Corinthians 13: 1-end, the researcher still maintains that the application of these qualities of I love will be the last straw that will shatter the shackles of religious intolerance in this nation. Paul's excellent way, therefore, is the way of love. Nonetheless, the researcher does not mean any kind of love such as; Philia: This is friendship love, it has its philosophical notions, it is cold and nicely calculating loses and gains involved in the person loved. Stowe: This is affection love, it is placid and respectable, but perhaps too personal. -Eros: This is a passionate love wlich desires the other person for itself. It signifies the passion which plungs man into pain and bliss, it leads to the heights of ecstasy and thrusts down into the abyss of guilt. Thus eros is the blind sensuous passion, but also the desire for beauty.17 In Plato's symposium, concerning eros Diotima said: . ,, ., .-1. .I' > . .1, ' . Eros never receives enough praise, the force which moves man in his helplessness and need, which overconzes him andpowerfully rouses him; aniyet at the same time is the power which brings him to himseF A great demon standing between the mortal cmd the immortal, the child of abundance and poverty.' 18 The love the researcher lays emphasis on is God's divine love (agape). When this love is found in various religious groups within the nation, religious intolerance will be a thing of the past. Nothing can replace this love because it is patient and lund. This love is not jealous or boasthl, it is not arrogant or rude. This love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong , but rejoices in the right and truth. This love bears all things, it is not easily provoked to anger, it does not kill, it believes all flings, hopes all flings, endures all things. The story of the Good Samaritan makes it clear that true love cannot justifjr or spare a corner for self-love and knows no reserve, not even towards an enemy. Love breaks through boundaries, fortified as they are by age-old religjous and social history with all intolerance and all appearances impenetrable. "if we are to love our neighbour as ourselves, then this coinmandment opens as with.a.msterlr key, the lock of our self-love and snatches it away fiom us"'9 Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt 5:44). Jesus thought of love neither as a virtue which belongs to man nor as aid to the well being of society, but as an overco~ningof self will in the concrete situation of life in which a man encounters other men. Love is simply the requirement of obedience and shows how this obedience can and ought to be practiced in the concrete situation in wliicli man is bound to man. One requirement among others of this love of neighbour is the readiness to forgive one's neighbour, and this readiness charadterizes most distinctively the love which is here demanded. "I tell you not seven times but seventy times seven times forgive" (Matt 18: 2 I), the attitude which knows no claim of his own. It is now clear that love does not mean an emotion which quickens the spiritual life and makes it sensitive, but a definite attitude of the will. Love for neighbour and enemy depends not on an emotional and sentimental feeling of pity or admation, which finds in the most profligate individual the spark of the divine of noble, inextinguishable humanity; rather it depends on the command of God. Love is then not an affection of peculiar strength among the feelings -, ,. .7f. .t' , ,',, and affections which fill the human m all possible shades and varietiesjf love were emotion and affection, it would be conceivable that besides love and hate, there should also be a third altitude called indifference.?' For to do good only to those who do good to us, to be kind only to those who are kind to us, means acting as the sinners and heathen also do, that is, it is the t behaviour of the natural selfish man. For the neighbour is every man you come in contact with. The researcher is of the view that when people of all religions in this nation give this love (agape) a chance, religious intolerance will be a thing of the past. To this the researcher adds the New Testament's golden rule of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them" (Matt 7: 12), this is the essence of the whole law. What all adherents in all religions in this nation should hear in obedience is simply this: "Do this and you will live!-Go and do likewise!" (Luk 10:28,37). When this is done then live and let live will be a reality in Nigerian society made up of various religions. 12.5 The Lessons For Contemporary Nigerian Church And Society. Religious intolerance is an evil wind that does a nation no good. As has been seen in this paper both in New Testament society and Nigerian .,,# ..!.,t' ,..%a society, cases of both inter and intra religious intolerance abound, hence in both, religious intolerance is not mere myth but reality. Nonetheless, the religious intolerance witnessed the New testament society was not much associated with shedding innocent blood, looting of people's property, murder, burning of churches or Temples, beheading of heads, burning theatre or police stations or courts just as we can see in Nigeria today. They never went after people's lives after any little misunderstanding or provocation. This is a big lesson for Nigerian society and society. In the New testament cities, religion and intolerance therein were not the main issue in politics or at the centre of political affairs. It was not used as a weapon of political marginalization of any ethnic group just as chapter four of this paper showed. Some religious disturbances made known to the army barrack, court and leaders in the New Testament, those involved were justly handled and judgment meted out without favouritisin based on one's religion. There was respect for the rule of law. Even when Paul appealed to Caesar he was sent to Rome for fair hearing to avoid the secret plots of the Jews under vow to kill him on the way. Likewise let it be so in this nation. Both religious and political leaders including the police and army force and court should deal decisively with religious intolerance culprits in this nation regardless of his or her religion, ,When. Pau.1 was taken to the barrack, the army protected him. The army and police force should not destroy lives they are meant to protect during religious crises no matter the religion one It - .- belongs. Christians must learn from Paul who before his conversion caused great havoc among Christians-consented to the death of Stephen, put.some in prison to the extent of going to a far country Damascus to get them bound before Jesus met him and changed him, then he became converted. The life he then lived was practical Christian life, this work has discussed Paul's - paeranesis already. The researcher calls on Christians to experience conversion from old life to new life in Christ, then they will know like Paul how to handle crises situations. For the Nigerian society lessons from religious intolerance can be seen in its effects on national politics, economic effects, religious effects and social effects as treated in chapter ten of this paper, these are not good lessons at all, hence, this paper offered solutions to end religious intolerance which will serve as good lessons to 'curb this menace of religious intolerance with the aim of having unity in diversity. For the contemporary churches, any conflict, violent or non violent, intra or inter-religious intolerance has some direct implications for Christians. This is because relatic~ns~psare vital aspect of Christian life. Apart froin the Christian relationship with his God, a cordial and peaceful relationship with his fellow human beings is the second greatest calling of I1 - .. the Christian, hence the call to make every effort to live in peace with all men (Heb 12: 14). Nomially whenever Christians are pushed into a situation I in which they fight back, serious theological questions are raised. Being caught up between obedience to God (not to fight) and the fear of being overrun by the violence staring them in the face, Christians wonder what to do. Those who would prefer violent reaction brought up Bible verses such as "And let him who has no sword sell his mantle and buy one" (Luke 22:36). -, They argue that Jesus was advising his disciples to prepare for physical fighting. However, like Jesus their Master, let them hold their peace. The fear of God often haunts Christians who find themselves in the ~nidstof conflict. Simon Oxley and Diana Marunduse understood this difficulty when they say, "It is easy to quote Jesus' words about turning the other cheek (Matt 5:39) but more difficult to do it and even more difficult to follow Jesus' instruction to love our enemies (Matt 5:44).2'However, no matter how difficult the situation, Paul was clear that retaliation is not our business; instead we are to use good to conquer evil (Rom 12:17) Christians must not forget that the church belongs to God and if they would be genuine, .,,,..w t..,', ,, ' sincere and honest in their faith toward God, God will fight their battles. A < good example is that of the early cliwch which was able to conquer the Roman empire in spite of the non-~olentnature of their persistence and resistance, Christians in our churches must be firm in their faith even in the midst of religious uproar,oppositions and crises. Regardless of hot oppositio~~sand threat to life, Paul went on planting churches in New - 321 - Testament era, converted the heathen, turned the world upside down with the gospel for Jesus. Reli@ous intolerance never stopped him, he reached the unreached. These should be great lessons to today's Nigerian cllurches.When oppositions intensified in one city, he escaped to other cities, preached, made converts and persistently did his missionary work. The churches in Nigeria must awake and face the challenges of religious intolerance and still propagate the gospel of salvation. They have the message of salvation for the entire world and must voice out the message without compromise. When Herod killed James and arrested Peter, Peter was kept in the prison. The then cllurch did not resort to violence. They did something, "earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church" (Acts 125) God sent His angel and Peter was released, Prayer is a great weapon. Nigerian churches must learn how to use the weapon of prayer and fasting as made clear in chapter 11:8 of this paper. Today's church inust learn how - ,r .-1. 7' . I+ to handle violence peacefully like Paul and Silas at Philippi: "Rut when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they LseizedPaul and Mas and dragged them intu the market place before the rulers; and when they had brought them to the magistrates they said, "These men are Jews and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs which it is not 1awful.for us Xomans to accept or practice. " fie crowd joined in attacking them; and the magistrates tore the garments of hem and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they th rew them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, " (Acts 16: 19- 23). Upon all these, let us see the reaction of Paul and Silas: "Rut about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and then suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations qf the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened und every one's.fetters were unfastened (Acts 16:25-26). We can see supernatural intervention here. Paul and Silas never retaliated. But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying "let those men go." And the jailer reported tl~e,.w~&t~ Paul, saying, "the hagistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace." We can see what Paul said to them: They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now cast us out secretly? No! Let the& come themselves and take us out, " The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. At~dthey took them out and asked them to leave the city(Acts 16 : 35 - 39). Let Christians learn great lesson from the action of Paul and Silas here. The Nigerian police, army and magistrates should also learn great lesson fkom their counterparts here in Acts l6:3 5-39.Regardless of their different religions they did their work without bias knowing the laws of the land, this is a big lesson. Christians must rediscover the effective use of prayer and fasting in calling upon God to intervene in their situations. When they prayerfully with fasting call upon the Lord in days of trouble,God will answer and heal their land( 1I Chron. 7: 14). The power of fasting and prayer must no longer be neglected by Christians in tlG$,agtio,n,,they must stop letthg it down. For instance, in the book of Esther,she applied prayer and fasting with her people, God delivered them from being massacred, the wicked plot of I) Haman backfired. They hanged Haman on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai( Esther 7: 10). Because Mordecai refused to bow down in worship to Harnan noting his religious laws as a Jew, Haman displayed intolerance on the religious beliefs and observances of the Jewish people( Esther 3:l- 6).He planed and convinced king Ahasuerus to destroy the Jews. Esther applied fasting and prayer: Go, gather all the ,Jews 10 be.found in Susa and hold a.fast on my behalt and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and nzy maidv will also.fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and iflperish, I peri,vh(l2ither 4: 16). Here it should be noted that prayer and fasting were used to resolve national crises- religious and political. God turned every thing to their favour,Haman and his people were destroyed. IGrst uf all, I urge that supplications , prayer, intercessions arid thanksgivings be madesforall men,.for kings and all who arc in high pusitions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable .,,, ..<..*., 3, ' life, godly and respec~fulin every way ( 1 Z'iin 2 : 1 -2). For though we live in the world we are not cartyingm a worldly warifor the weapons uf our wagare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy stronghulds (1 1 Cur. 1 0 : 3-4). When Christians simply obey these instructions, God will respond accordingly. On the other hand religious conflicts witnessed in this nation were not all negative, as after the conflicts few good things happened among Christians such as unity among Cllristian denominations. The church spoke out with one voice under CAN. Further-more, inore Christians became coinmitted, as the call for prayer and fasting was intensified, some Christians became strengthened in their faith and shared things in common with those affected by con£licts.Bumt churches were rebuilt, where there was a relocation, it became a new area for evangelism. Nigerian people have their world views. World view refers to peoples' perception and interpretation of their world. It is peoples' way of understanding and interpreting life and the world in which they live. The world-view of a people is a key to understanding why a particular group of people say, think and act the way they do. The biblical world-view is similar to the Nigerian world-view. They share common emphasis on community . $1, .*a. r, ' I.t life. Their world is a precarious world, which has strong relationship between the spirit world and the physical world. They believe in the ancestral spirits, demons, idols, sacrifices and a supreme God. They are societies in search of the truth, meaning and security. Nigerians look to the traditions of their elders to determine what they would believe in. In many Nigerian communities, the idea of truth is related to the stories and myths about life and human experience which are handled down from the elders liom one generation to another. Many religions have sacred writings each claiming to possess the truth. However, regardless of religious conflicts within the nation and claims of superiority by any religion, Christians should know that the Founder of their religion- Christianity is both the Saviour of all mankind and the Creator of the entire universe and must not hide their identity with Christ no matter what happens because the message of Jesus Christ is the only hope for this world knowing quite well that Jesus is "The prince of peaceM(Isaiah 9%). "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matt 5:9), 'The researcher agrees with E.N.Onwu when he said: The history of human salvation is rooted in Jesus Christ. All the available information reveals that ,Jesus Christ is d~ferent from every other human being who ever lived. ye have .,,.,,..7.,t' ,..I> ' , never heard that the Krishna of Hindu religion ever calmed the storm and the waves-for his folhwers. Gautama of Buddhism did not ever cle~nseihe leper or give sight to those 1 born blind Karl Man or Lewis never raised a widow's only son from the dead. Mohammed of Islam did no/ die for the sins of mankind and never rose.from the dead to give people eternal life. No one except ,Jesus ever did such things. By His miracles, Jesus alone showed that He has power over heaven and earth (Mutt 28: 18). " Therefore, of all the religions in Nigeria, the researcher is of the view that Christianity has the best teachings that will end religious intolerance in this nation once applied. Their Founder, Jesus Christ, is the only one who was born of a virgin woman and who lived a sinless and perfect life. Even the Moslem's Quran teaches that Jesus was "faultless" (Sura 19:19). Moreover the Quran admits that Mohammed was an ordinary man (Sura 47: 19,48: 1-2). Jesus is the only one who demonstrated test of character in doing what He says and has power to do good. For the Nigerian society not to be deceived, let them seek and find Jesus Christ and make Him theirlord and Saviour, those who did in the New Testament never regretted it. . , . 1 7' 1, The problem of the world is never God, but Jesus Christ. Jesus is different from all other great religious teachers of history in that: I . ., Others taught the word of Go but Jesus is the word of God (John 1: 1,14, I?~Y19: 13). The Mqslem Quran speaks of Jesus as the Word of God (Sura 4:171). Others preach about the truth, but Jesus is the Truth. Others preach about the way but Jesus is the way. Others preach about lfe. But Jesus is the life. (John 14:6; ). Others told men how to live, hut Jesus lived a sinless and perfect l$e as no other man has ever lived. Other prophets taught people about God t but Jesus revealed God to men because he is God (John 1: I,CoZ 2:9). " However, dialogue with world religions (Islam, Buddhis~n,Hinduism, arid African Traditional Religion) presents some challenges to Christianity to account for its statement of faith-the distinctiveness of Jesus as Lord. We note rather disturbingly, that in dialogue with world religions, Christians are tempted by way of compromise to dilute the testimony to the universal relevance of Jesus' coming and diminish crucial New Testament . ,* 4 .l. .B' )J affmatio~isof Jesus as light and life of the world, Eternal Son, and Messiah, so as to focus more amiably on the moral teaching of Jesus. It remains central to'christian affirmationlthat ~SUSChrist is the Truth even for those who do not recognize Him as their truth. He is Saviour of all humcmity even when humanity does not acknowledge His salvation. He remains the life of the world even if the world remains in darkness. Precisely, Christianity's dialogue with other religions cannot begin by soflening the good news to be addressed to all. If Christians peacehlly and wisely proclaim the gospel to people of other religions in this nation, and some of them believe, this will be another way out of this religious intolerance because once people are converted to Jesus the Prince of peace will make them children of peace and not of war. In the days of St. Paul as can be seen in the book of Acts, his dialogue was part of his proclamation and subordinate to his proclamations. Paul also chose the subject of his dialogue as Jesus Christ and the aim of the dialogue was always conversion scentred, let the church learn her lessons. End Notes I H.D.Beeby, From Moses And All The Prophets: Biblical Approach To Interfaith Dialogue (Elkhart: Indiana, 1WO), p. 17. 2 Ibid; p.25 3~.~.~nwu7A Critical Introduction To The Traditions Of Jesus, (Nsukka: Ap Express Publishers, 2002), P.90. Ibid; p.92. 5 J.P.Meier, The Visioii Of Matthew (New York: Paulist Press, 1979), pp.260-26 1. 6 Onwu, Op. Cit; p.93 7~.~.~nwu7Basic Issues in The Close Of New Testament Era, (Nsukka: Ap Express Publishers, 2004), p. 197. Ibid; p. 197. 'H.D.R~~z,Galatians (Philmielphia : Fortress Press, 1979), pp.309- 311. 10 J. Piper, Love Your Enemies: JesusLLove Cornmaad In The I1 - .- Synoptic Gospels And In The Early Christian Paraenesis (London: Cambridge University Press, 1979), pp.8- 14. 11A. Malherbe, Social Aspects Of Early Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortree Press, 1983), pp.24-27. 12 G.Kittle, Theological Dictioilary Of The New Testament. Vol4 - (Grand Rapids : Eerdrnans, 1964-74), pp. 659-660. '"bid; p.664. 14 Onwu, Op. Cit. p.208. 15 F.U. Okafor, New Strategies For Curbin? Ethnic And Relipious Conflicts in Nkeria (Enuy: Division Publishers, 1997), p.76. lh Ibid; p.77 17 Guntller Bomkamnl, Jesus Of Nazareth, (Toronto: Hodder And Stoughton, 1974), p. 1 15. '"bid; p. 1 15. 2 1Diana Murunduse And Simon Oxley, Why Violence? Why Not Peace? (Geneva; WCC,2002), p.9. 22 Onwu, Op, Cit, p.2. Chapter Thirteen Summary And Conclusion 13.1 Summary Religious intolerance is as old as religion itself. It has been there before the emergence of the New Testament. The new faith in Christ had to fight its way against entrenched religious beliefs that had been in existence for centuries. Religious crises in Acts of the Apostles as shown in this paper depict the reality of New Testament religious intolerance. The emergence of Christianity and Islarn in Nigeria generated violence because of the existing rural, local or traditional religion of the; people, especially as some of the outstanding traditionalists initially refused to succumb to their preaching. The manifestations of religious intolerance in this nation include: - , 7..' 3.t the Zangon-Kataf crisis, the Funtua mayhem, Katsina and Bauchi religious uproar, Sharia and OIC problems, to mention but few. Few pictures of religious intolerance and danages caused ii this nation which are included in this work prove in picture forms the reality of this menace in Nigerian society. Nigeria is a secular state and a pluralistic society with different cultural and religious groups. The positive contributions of different religious traditions in Nigeria must be harnessed for national building and for peaceful co-existence. However, instead of this, Nigeria has witnessed violent religious clashes and intolerance. Therefore, it is indisputable to say that religious fanaticism, religious discrimination and their resultant intolerance are inherent and manifest in each of the major religions in Nigeria. The effects whether on national politics, economy, religious or social life of this nation have been disastrous just as in New Testament; loss of life, loss of property worth millions of naira, anarchy, religious wars, false peace, division, hatred, malice and disparity. For progress and peace in this nation, the causes of religious intolerance as made known in this research must be avoided. In their place things to be done in order to realize peaceful religious co-existence and New Testanleiit solutions as shown~~~~l~is~workmustbe strictly adhered to and implemented for a "real one Nigeria" void of any religious show down parade. Upon all the whole solutions offered in this paper, the researcher still I) 1 . maintains that absolute and willingful application of qualities and immutable principles of "agape" Love will shatter the shackles of religious incongruity in this nation, thereby inculcate in people of all religions in this nation the idea of "live and let live." For in the present Nigerian context it seems that an individual who is seriously waiting and yearning for the day when all Nigerian citizens would share the same religious convictions, the sane . religious faith and practice, the same attitudes and values to Me, is either - living in a fool's paradise or is a mad person. In a pluralistic country as Nigeria, our option the researcher maintains should be, "live and let live" despite our differences in religion. 13.2 Suggestion \ Ignorance is really a big problem. For a person to live in the midst of existing problem yet unaware of it is bad, the worst is when solutions to the problem are not known. This research will be an eye opener to those living in ignorance of this ugly monster, an evil wind that does a nation no good- religious intolerance. People should acquaint themselves with the solutions offered. The instigators of m~g.&&,and violence, in the name of religion sometimes never come out openly to commit the atrocities themselves, instead they prefer to use the innocent children, the movement of the I - .* almajiris must be controlled. The state should apprehend and bring to book all those who cause religious disturbances of all dimensions ,and give them adequate punishinent as deterrent to others, in doing this, there should be no eye service, no respect of persons and of course no sacred cows spared. The faithful in various religions should study carefully the divine instructions on tolerance and good doctrines and hold them tenaciously through their genuine application. Instead of the jihad of the sword, modern Nigerian Moslems should try other Inearis of spreading their faith. Ozigboh summed up this thus: f preaching, persuasion, exantple ofpersonal lre, trade relations, tolerance qf nun-Moslem traditions and customs, use qf literature etc. as more potent means ~proselytisation. In doing these, the Moslems are fulfilling what some of their scholars regard as the great jihad, the jihad ofthe heart, the jihad ofthe tongue and the jihad qf the hand.' The doctrine of love of God and love of one's neighbows preached by Christians must be practiced. .Alas+yer asked Jesus a question, to test Him. "Teacher, which is the great coinrnandment in the law?" And Jesus said to him; You shall love the Lord your ,God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great andjrst commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love - 337 - your neighhour as yourself. On these hyo commandments depend all the luw and the prophets. (Adatthew 22:35-40) Christians, tl~isis your doctrine. Give it its vedical and horizontal application, give it its spiritual and physical application and thereby use it as a great weapon to break religious squabbles and bigotry. &can Traditional Religion adherents should acquaint themselves with the essential teachings of that religion which include love, peace and justice to God and men. Justice demands respect and toleration of opponents and their views. I put $ this work forward with the hope that it will provoke more detailed research into the religious practices of New Testament and Nigerian citizens, with the aim of something better emerging as a result, thereby supplement the limitations of this work. 13.3 Conclusion Religion properly harnessed can be used to enhance unity of our nation . Religious obligations demand love, tolerance, sacrifice, discipline, ,I justice, dedication and service to one's fellow man. Such should be the expectations of every Nigerian citizen. The approach starts with initial conversations among leaders and members of different religions. Other things being equal, it graduates thus, from toleration through conversation to co-operation, and then to brotherhood. Where the difference is within the same religion, integration also comes in. Nigeria will evolve from a society of elusive dreams of a united, strong and self-reliant nation to a united citizens where the common good is the overriding factor. However, this is dependent on solutions given to the many problems of religious intolerance in our present socio-political Nigerian society. Indeed, if all hands will be on deck to root out the vice of religious intolerance from the society, there will be new hope for Nigeria. Then in Nigerian society, to borrow insight from the prophet Isaiah: 7he wolf lives with the lamh,the panther lies down with the kids, calf and loin cub.fied together with a little boy to lead them. The cow and the bear make friends, their young lie down together. The lion eats straw like the Ox. The infant 1 .,,.,,."!. -8. >.,,a ' , plays over the cobra's hole; into the viper's lair the young child puts his hand, they do not hurt no harm ... (Isaiah 11:6- 8). 11 - .- Hence, unity in diversity results, one Nigeria becomes a reality without pharisaic ethos. This is the researcher's clarion call to all Nigerians. End Note 1 Ikenga RAOzigbo, An Introduction To The Religion And History Of Islam (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing Co. Ltd, 1988), p.47. Bibliography , Achebe Chinua, The Trouble With Nineria (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing, 1983). Adamu N. Utendo, Sharia: The Social -Political Im~licationFor Christians In Nineria (Abuja: CAN Media, N.D). Agha U. Aglia, The Meaninn Of Fasting In Our Age: Contemporary t Biblical And Historical Interpretation Of Fasting (Aba: The Assem- Blies Of God Press, 1989). Aspinall A, Chamber's Encyclopedia Vol. V. 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