A PROHETIC CHURCH AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE: EARLIEST EXAMPLES FROM ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
Abstract
This study examined a prophetic Church from the varied examples of Acts of the Apostles. It further probed the social problems of human rights in Nigeria with a focus on the fifth book of the New Testament. This study presented these social problems in Nigeria as well as x-rayed the diverse ways Acts dealt with the challenge bordering on human rights. It equally looked at the ways a prophetic Church can focus on these lessons in order to externalize it and fulfill her responsibility in the society. Focusing on the Christian religion, this paper argues that the prevalence of human rights in Nigeria despite Church growth is evidence that the Church is failing at its social roles and losing potency as the conscience of the society. The research hypothesis is; that problems of human rights abuse and violation could be addressed by a prophetic Church that is active in meeting the needs and dealing with the challenges of the people. The significance of this reflection lies in the fact that not so many studies have focused on using examples from Acts to re-emphasize the role of the Church in the subject of human rights in Nigeria. The method adopted in the study is both comparative and analytical. The study concludes that there is a big gap the Church can effectively fill using the examples of the early Christian community in Acts. This research is of the opinion that solution does not reside with the government and foreign agencies alone. The Church as a part of the grass root has a great role to play towards solving this problem. It is for this that this present study is conceived to highlight the achievements of the early Church and to challenge the contemporary Church to wake up to her social obligations and use her position to tackle human rights abuses in Nigeria.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Agunwa, T.V.C. (2017). Religion and economic development in nation building. In International Journal of Religion and Human Relations, 9, 1, 198-208.
Brown, R.E., Oriek, C. & Perkins, P. (2011). Early church. In R.E. Brown, J.A. fitzmyer & R.E. Myer (Eds.). The new Jerome bible commentary. London: Burns and Oates.
Eboh, S.O. (2006). Social justice in Nigeria: 11 Years after the synod. In The Nigerian Journal of Theology, 20, 141-154.
Ehusani, G.O. (1996). A prophetic church. Ede: Provincial Pastoral.
Enwerem, I.M. (1995). A dangerous awakening: The politicization of religion in Nigeria. Ibadan: IFRA.
Kamruzzaman, M. & Das, S.K. (2016). The evaluation of human rights: An overview in historical perspective. American Journal of Service Science and Management 3, 2, 5-12. From http: //www.openscienceonline.com/journal/ajssm.
Kittel, G. & Fredrich, G. (1995). Theological dictionary of the new testament, vol IV. Michigan: Grand Rapids.
Madu, J.E. (2004). Honest to African cultural heritage. Onitsha: Coskan.
Nmah, P.E. (2012a). Basic and applied Christian ethics: An African perspective. Onitsha: Gucks.
Nmah, P.E. (2012b). Church and cultural conflict in Nigeria, 1870-1930: A factor for religio- cultural renaissance. In International Journal of Religion and Human Relations, 1, 4, 71-82.
Nmah, P.E. & Udezo, B.O.S. (2015). Incarnational theology in Africa: A christo-centric perspective. In Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6, 2, 263-267.
Nmah, P.E. (2020). Deconstructing denominationalism in Igboland: A liturgy of bitterness. Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, 21, 1, 1-16.
Nwadialor, K.L. & Nweke, C.C. (2014). Ethiopianism and social ecumenism: Christian ideologies for independent movements and sustainable national integration in Nigeria. Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies, 3, 16-27.
Nzomiwu, J.P.C. (2012). Trends in religion and society/Christian ethics: Selected essays of Very Rev Msgr. Prof. J. P. C Nzomiwu. Awka: Fab Anieh.
Obiefuna, B.A.C & Kanu, I.A. (2014). Africa and the word: Implications from the past synodal apostolic exhortation, Verbum Domini. In the The Nigerian Journal of Theology, 28, 145-157.
Okoli, A.B. (2012). Governance and challenges of development in Nigeria: Religious perspective. In International Journal of Religion and Human Relations, 1, 4, 30-42.
Onimisi, T. (2018). Trends of human rights abuse in Nigeria: 1996-2013. International Journal of Advanced Studies in Social and Innovation, 2, 2, 70-79.
Richardson, A. & Bowden, J. (1980). The Westminister dictionary of Christian theology. Philadelphia: SCM.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2020 Chiamaka Nkemdilim Chigbo, Ven. Benson Sunday Udezo
ISSN (Print): 2695-2319
ISSN (Online): 2695-2327
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.