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Early Christian Responses to Persecution and Their Implications for Christians in Northern Nigeria

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Early Christian Responses to Persecution and Their Implications for Christians in Northern Nigeria Early Christian Responses to Persecution and Their Implications for Christians in Northern Nigeria A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Committee: Dr. A. Sue Russell, Mentor Dr. W. Jay Moon, Reader Dr. Lalsangkima Pachuau, Alternate Reader By Yakubu Tanko Jakada March 2020 Copyright @ 2020 by Yakubu Jakada All rights reserved i ABSTRACT EARLY CHRISTIAN RESPONSES TO PERSECUTION AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR CHRISTIANS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA Christian Persecution is a growing phenomenon worldwide and in Nigeria, persecution has had immense impact on the religious, economic and social life of Nigerians especially in the Northern part. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of persecution of Christians in Northern Nigeria, their responses to persecution, and the effect responses to persecution had on evangelism and discipleship. The researcher also investigated the response of the early church to persecution to provide information that would enable him to make recommendations for a response to persecution that would have a positive impact on evangelism and discipleship. To effectively compare the responses to persecution by Christians in Northern Nigeria and the early church, Glenn Penner’s framework of responses to persecution of Fight, Flight, and Fortitude was used. Data from field research revealed the types of persecution experienced by Christians in Northern Nigeria which ranged from mild to extreme persecution. Mild forms of persecution included discrimination in places of work, denial of government services, denial of rights, and oppression of ethnic minorities in Northern Nigeria who are mainly Christians. Extreme persecution included mass murder by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen as well as widespread destruction of church buildings, houses, and businesses. Data from research found that Christians in Northern Nigeria overwhelmingly agree pacifistic responses had a positive impact on evangelism and discipleship while attacks and vengeance had a negative impact. Negative Christian responses to persecution have brought ii about enmity, suspicion, and broken relationships to the extent that in some quarters, Christians and Muslims live in separate communities. There is also an emerging discussion among Christians about whether defense is an appropriate response for Christians especially to protect the weak and vulnerable in the context of mass murder or genocide. The early church’s responses to persecution were also examined to provide an example to Christians in Northern Nigeria and to spot the pitfalls in their responses to persecution that should be avoided. It was discovered in the study that the majority of early Christians were pacifists. There was never a response to fight against the aggressor except in the case of the Catholic-Donatist schism, which was an internal crisis within Christianity. In early Christian experiences, the patient endurance through suffering and even death had a positive impact on evangelism while those who denied the faith had a negative impact on evangelism and discipleship. Self-defense was also evident in the early church through the defense of the faith by apologetics in which apologists presented a case for Christianity. Based on the study on early Christians and the responses of Christians in Northern Nigeria, this study concludes that, to have positive impact on evangelism and discipleship, and also have improved community relations in Northern Nigeria, pacifism is recommended. Self- defense is still an ongoing conversation among Christians, especially as a Christian duty to protect the weak and vulnerable. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. xi Dedication ........................................................................................................................ xiii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 THE CHALLENGE ............................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................ 2 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 5 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................ 5 Scope and Delimitation ................................................................................................... 7 Definition of Key Terms ................................................................................................. 8 Literature Review on Responses to Persecution ........................................................... 11 Fight .......................................................................................................................... 11 Flight ......................................................................................................................... 14 Fortitude .................................................................................................................... 20 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 24 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................... 24 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 24 Research Background ................................................................................................... 25 Procedure for Data Gathering ....................................................................................... 28 Participants .................................................................................................................... 31 Research Methodology ................................................................................................. 34 Open-ended Interviews ............................................................................................. 35 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................ 36 Participant Observation ............................................................................................. 37 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 37 Qualitative Data Analysis ......................................................................................... 38 Quantitative Data Analysis ....................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 41 BACKGROUND OF CONFLICTS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA .................................... 41 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 41 The Legacies of Colonialism and Neo-colonialism ...................................................... 42 Legacy of British Rule .............................................................................................. 43 Muslim Views on Colonization ................................................................................ 45 Continued Effects of Colonial Policies ..................................................................... 51 Background of Religion and Politics in Northern Nigeria ............................................ 53 Spread of Islam ......................................................................................................... 53 Spread of Christianity ............................................................................................... 58 Summary ................................................................................................................... 62 Islamic Fundamentalism and Radicalism ..................................................................... 64 Islamic Fundamentalism ........................................................................................... 64 Rise of Fundamentalist Groups ................................................................................. 68 The Desire for an Islamic State ................................................................................. 76 Shari’a ................................................................................................................... 77 Jihad ...................................................................................................................... 80 Results ................................................................................................................... 85 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 88 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................
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