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An Appraisal of Selected Doctrine

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AN APPRAISAL OF SELECTED TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA By OWOLABI, Sunday Abiodun B. A. Hons (LASU), M. A. (Memphis), M. A. (Ibadan) Matric. No: 139543 A Thesis in the Department of Religious Studies, Submitted to the Faculty of Arts In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CERTIFICATION I certify that this thesis was carried out by Sunday Abiodun OWOLABI, under my direct supervision in the Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, in partial fulfillment for the award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies. ________________________ SUPERVISOR Rev. Dr. Samson A. Fatokun B. A. Special Hons. (Ife), M. A. (Ibadan), Ph.D. (Ibadan). UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ii DEDICATION This study is dedicated to the one who made it possible: God Almighty and To Christ and His Church UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to Dr. S. A. Fatokun for the success of this study. I count it an honour and a privilege to have carried out this work under your supervision. You have deeply enriched my life. You have encouraged and supported my scholarship, you have stimulated my thinking; you have provided counsel and guidance, and you have given me opportunities for deep theological conversation and historical reflection. I am eternally grateful for your penchant for excellence and for driving me so hard, which made this work to be completed in a record time. I also appreciate the contributions of our indefatigable Acting Head, Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan, Dr. J. K. Ayantayo, the Sub Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. S. A. Odebunmi and other faculty members, particularly Dr. Kunle Dada, Dr. Kumbi Labeodan and Dr. O. O. Familusi. The staffers of the Department of Religious Studies have been wonderful allies in making my task endurable. I also appreciate the concern and encouragement of Mr. Charles of the Faculty of Arts office. S. K. Fabunmi has been a jolly good fellow in the process of accomplishing this task. I cannot but honour the memory of Dr. Dorcas Akintude, the former Acting Head, Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan. Aunty Banke, you were a veritable gem violently uprooted at your prime. We are consoled by the quality of life you lived and your legacies. Continue to rest in the bosom of your Creator. My appreciation also goes to the African Christian Schools Foundation, Nashville, Tennessee, USA and James and Ileta Beckloff for providing the needed platform to fulfill my ministry and for facilitating the trips to the United States and United Kingdom in 2010 to retrieve important information for this study. I am equally thankful to the Dean and Vice President of my Alma Mater, Harding School of Theology, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, Dr. Evertt Huffard, for the access to American Theological Library Database (ATLA Serials) whose reservoir of about 170 scholarly journals on religion exceedinglyUNIVERSITY enriched this study. OF IBADAN LIBRARY To my children: Alice, Allen, Michael and Aaron, I am beholden for their sacrifice and for the ‘neglect’ they suffered when what mattered to me was to get this research task behind me. Most of all, I am indebted to my wife, Oluremi, without whose encouragement, sacrifice and love, this study would never have seen the light of the day. iv ABSTRACT The Church of Christ (COC), established in South-western Nigeria in 1959 as an offshoot of the 19th century sectarian American Restoration Movement, claims to be the only true church to restore primitive Christianity in both teachings and practices. Contrariwise, evidence from Early Church history contradicts this claim, which necessitates an investigation into the true position; existing studies having focused on the history of the church and the biographies of its leaders to the neglect of the appraisal of the claims of the church in terms of conformity with the teachings and practices of the Early Church. This study, therefore, makes a comparative appraisal of selected tenets of COC in South-western Nigeria against the backdrop of the Early Church with a view to examining the validity of its claims. The study adopted the descriptive research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected clergy (36; six from each state of South-western Nigeria) and laity (36; six from each state). Church records were consulted in six (one from each state) congregations of the church to complement the interviews. Published Early Church records were also consulted. Data were subjected to historical and comparative analyses. There were three teachings of COC: exclusive claim to being the true church; the belief in theology, but non-celebration of Christmas and Easter which were believed to be absent in the Early Church era; and non-belief in miracles after the apostolic age. Three practices were also distinguished: non-use of musical instruments in worship, absolute congregational autonomy and alienation from other Christian denominations. Attestations from Early Church writings revealed that COC has no antecedent in post-apostolic Christianity; but archival sources showed that the church emerged from the 19th century religious aftermath of American independence premised on democratic theology. The COC’s teachings on non-celebration of Christmas and Easter were nullified by evidence from Early Church writings confirming Easter as the oldest Christian festival and that Christmas celebration had its origin in the Early Church. The teaching that miracles ceased with the apostolic age was negated by evidence from the Didache (A.D. 110) and testimony of St. Augustine (A. D. 354-430). Conversely, COC’s A cappella practice was confirmed from the writings of Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165) and Tertullian (A.D. 160-220) that musical instruments were seen as corruptive influence of the Roman culture. On absolute congregational autonomy, Ignatius (A.D. 50-110) and Eusebius confirmed that Episcopacy was in practice from the second century. Contrary to its anti-ecumenical disposition, Early Church records confirmed that ecumenical councils were convened starting from Nicea (A.D. 325) to define the substance of the Christian faith and defend it against heresy. All the teachings of the Church of Christ are at variance with those of the Early Church; one out of the three practices aligned with that of the Early Church. Thus, there is a wide disparity between the tenets of the two churches, which invalidates the church’s exclusive historical connectionUNIVERSITY with the Early Church. OF Therefore, IBADAN the church needs LIBRARY to own up to history and reappraise her hermeneutical presuppositions. Key words: Church of Christ, Early Church, Christian Teachings and Practices, South- western Nigeria. Word count: 499 v List of Abbreviations ACOC Apostolic Church of Christ ACSF African Christian Schools Foundation APCON Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria BOT Board of Trustees COC Church of Christ NBC National Broadcasting Commission OAU Obafemi Awolowo University PAWM Pentecostal Assemblies of World Missions SBS School of Biblical Studies SWSE Southwest School of Evangelism UI University of Ibadan WBS World Bible School WNBC Western Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation WNCC West Nigeria Christian College UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY vi List of Tables Table 1: Age Distribution of Questionnaire Respondents Table 2: Gender Distribution of Questionnaire Respondents Table 3: Marital Status Distribution of Questionnaire Respondents Table 4: Duration in the Church Distribution of Questionnaire Respondents Table 5: Academic Qualifications Distribution of Questionnaire Respondents Table 6: Status in the Church Distribution of Questionnaire Respondents Table 7: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 1 Table 8: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 2 Table 9: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 3 Table 10: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 4 Table 11: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 5 Table 12: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 6 Table 13: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 7 Table 14: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 8 Table 15: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 9 Table 16: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 10 Table 17: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 11 Table18: Respondents’ Reaction to Question 12 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGES Title Page i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgments iv Abstract v List of Abbreviations vi List of Tables vii Table of Contents viii CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 6 1.3 Purpose of the Study 8 1.4 Scope of the Study 8 1.5 Significance of the Study 9 1.6 Research Methodology 9 1.7 Organization of the Study 12 1.8 Clarification of Operational Terms 13 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 IntroductionUNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 18 2.1 History of the Church of Christ 18 2.2 Biographies of the Church of Christ Leaders 47 viii 2.3 Christian Doctrines and Practices 52 2.4 Conclusion 70 CHAPTER THREE: THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: A BACKGROUND STUDY 3.0 Introduction 71 3.1 American Origin of the Church of Christ 72 3.2 Historical Scenery of the Church of Christ in Nigeria 90 3.3 Origin and Growth of the Church of Christ in South-Western Nigeria 104 3.4 Conclusion 130 CHAPTER FOUR: SELECTED TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 4.0 Introduction 132 4.1 Church of Christ as the only true Church 133 4.2 Belief in the Theology but Non-Celebration Christmas and Easter 138 4.3 Belief in the Seal of Miracles 146 4.4 Conclusion 151 CHAPTER FIVE: SELECTED PRACTICES OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 5.0 Introduction 152 5.1 Aversion for Use of Musical Instruments in Worship 152 5.2 Absolute Congregational Autonomy under Plurality of Elders 158 5.3 Pharisaical Exclusivism towards other Christian Denominations 168 5.4 Conclusion 177 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ix CHAPTER SIX: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE SELECTED TEACHINGS AND PRACTICES OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 6.0 Introduction 178 6.1 Strengths 178 6.1.1 Insistence on Doing Bible Things the Bible Way 179 6.1.2 Effectiveness of Bible Correspondence Course as a means of Disseminating the Message of the Church 184 6.2.
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