GES 102

Assignment on the

Interactions between Christianity and the

culture in a particular locality: Nigeria

By

PIKUDA Paul Oluwadamisi

145564

200Level

Petroleum Engineering

(10-04-2010)

Religion
Religion has existed in all human societies from early times. Although
belief systems and traditions of worship differ from culture to culture,
they also have many common elements. In all cultures, human beings
make a practice of interacting with what are taken to be spiritual powers.
These powers may be in the form of gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind
of sacred reality with which humans believe themselves to be connected.
Religion is a sacred engagement with that which is believed to be a
spiritual reality. Religion is a worldwide phenomenon that has played a
part in all human culture and so is a much broader, more complex
category than the set of beliefs or practices found in any single religious
tradition. An adequate understanding of religion must take into account
its distinctive qualities and patterns as a form of human experience, as
well as the similarities and differences in religions across human
cultures.
In all cultures, human beings make a practice of interacting with what
are taken to be spiritual powers. These powers may be in the form of
gods, spirits, ancestors, or any kind of sacred reality with which humans
believe themselves to be connected. Sometimes a spiritual power is
understood broadly as an all-embracing reality, and sometimes it is
approached through its manifestation in special symbols. It may be
regarded as external to the self, internal, or both. People interact with
such a presence in a sacred manner—that is, with reverence and care.
Religion is the term most commonly used to designate this complex and
diverse realm of human experience.

Culture
Culture, in anthropology, the patterns of behaviour and thinking that
people living in social groups learn, create, and share. Culture
distinguishes one human group from others. It also distinguishes
humans from other animals. A people’s culture includes their beliefs,
rules of behaviour, language, rituals, art, and technology, styles of dress,
ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic
systems.

Culture is the most important concept in anthropology (the study of all

aspects of human life, past and present). Anthropologists commonly use
the term culture to refer to a society or group in which many or all people
live and think in the same ways. Likewise, any group of people who
share a common culture—and in particular, common rules of behaviour
and a basic form of social organization—constitutes a society. Thus, the
terms culture and society are somewhat interchangeable. However,
while many animals live in societies, such as herds of elk or packs of
wild dogs, only humans have culture.

Culture developed together with the evolution of the human species,

Homo sapiens, and is closely related to human biology. The ability of
people to have culture comes in large part from their physical features:
having big, complex brains; an upright posture; free hands that can
grasp and manipulate small objects; and a vocal tract that can produce
and articulate a wide range of sounds. These distinctively human
physical features began to develop in African ancestors of humans more
than four million years ago. The earliest physical evidence of culture is
crude stone tools produced in East Africa over two million years ago.

History of Christianity in Africa

The history of Christianity in Africa probably began during the earthly

ministry of Jesus Christ, two thousand years ago. The New Testament of
the Bible mentions several events in which Africans were witnesses to
the life of Christ and the ministry of the apostles. It is possible that the
history of Christianity in Africa began when these Africans shared what
they witnessed with other Africans. 

The Gospel of Luke records that a Cyrenian was compelled to bear the
cross for Jesus, prior to Jesus' crucifixion. Cyrene was located in North
Africa. The book of Acts records that, on the day of Pentecost, Egyptians
and Cyrenians were among the crowd, and heard the apostles proclaim
the Gospel in their native languages. Acts also records the conversion of
an influential Ethiopian eunuch to Christianity. Finally, the book of Acts
records that following the apostles missionary journey to Cyprus, new
converts from Cyprus and Cyrene preached the Gospel to the Greeks of
Antioch. 

The spread of Christianity throughout Egypt and Northern Africa, during

the first five centuries was rapid and intense, despite the prevalence of
false teachings, persecutions and martyrdom. Some religious scholars
believe that Christianity was introduced to Africans by way of the
Egyptian city of Alexandria. Reportedly, the city boasted a very large
Jewish community, which was located in close proximity to Jerusalem. It
is believed that African Jews in Alexandria were converted from Judaism
to Christianity following a Jewish revolt in A.D. 115 that all but
extinguished Judaism from the region. 

North Africans were the first to receive and embrace the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The early church in North Africa went through severe
persecutions A.D. 64 thru 311. In response, the church established the
Catechetical Schools of Alexandria, among other similar schools of
Christian instruction. Many significant leaders of the faith emerged from
the early African church. 

Persecutions in Egypt resulted in the dispersion of Christians to the

innermost regions of Egypt. Egyptian churches spread the Gospel in the
Coptic (Egyptian) language and planted churches throughout the interior
of Egypt. However, Christianity, in the region, was weakened by
theological and doctrinal controversies. 

At the start of the seventh century, the Coptic Church had established
itself as the national church and had penetrated every region of the
country. Although Christianity began in North Africa several centuries
before its introduction in Egypt, the church in North Africa did not grow
as quickly because the North African church used the Latin language in
its services and literature, rather than the language of the people. 

An influx of muslins into the continent of Africa, during the middle Ages,
resulted in an exponential increase in Islamic converts, which forced
many African Christians to flee to Europe. Missionary efforts by the
Roman Catholic Church and the European Protestant church reclaimed
some of the African continent for Christ; however Islam remains the
predominant religion on the continent, with Christians comprising just
over thirty percent of the African population. 
The History of Christianity in Africa began in the 1st century when Mark
the Evangelist started the Orthodox Church of Alexandria in about the
year 43. Little is known about the first couple of centuries of African
Christian history, beyond the list of bishops of Alexandria. At first the
church in Alexandria was mainly Greek-speaking, but by the end of the
2nd century the scriptures and Liturgy had been translated into three
local languages. Christianity was also planted in north-western Africa
(today known as the Maghreb), but the churches there were linked to
the Church of Rome.
At the beginning of the 3rd century the church began to expand rapidly,
and five new bishoprics were established. These were suffragans of
Alexandria, and at this time the Bishop of Alexandria began to be called
Pope, as the senior bishop in Egypt. In the middle of the 3rd century the
church in Egypt suffered severely in the persecution under the
Emperor Decius. Many Christians fled from the towns into the desert.
When the persecution died down, however, some remained in the desert
as hermits to pray. This was the beginning of Christian monasticism,
which over the following years spread from Africa to other parts of the
Christian world.
The 4th century began with renewed persecution under the
Emperor Diocletian. In the early 4th century, King Ezana declared
Christianity the official religion of Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum after
having been converted by Frumentius, resulting in the foundation of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Christianity in Africa today

At the beginning of the 21st century Christianity is probably the main

religion in most of sub-Saharan Africa, while in the northern part of the
continent it is a minority religion, where the majority of the population
are Muslims. There has been tremendous growth of Christians in Africa.
As evidence, only nine million Christians were in Africa in 1900, but by
the year 2000, there were an estimated 380 million Christians. According
to a 2006 Pew Forum on Religion and Public life study, 147 millions of
African Christians were "renewalists" (a term that includes both
Pentecostals and Charismatic).  According to David Barrett, most of the
552,000 congregations in 11,500 denominations throughout Africa in
1995 are completely unknown in the West. Much of the Christian growth
in Africa is now due to African evangelism rather than European
missionaries. In South Africa, it is rare to find a person with no religious
beliefs, which is almost always Christianity amongst the whites and
coloureds, but Christianity is extremely popular amongst the blacks,
especially city-dwellers, and it is rare to find a black South African who
isn't Christian. Christianity in Africa shows tremendous variety, from the
ancient forms of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in Egypt, Ethiopia, and
Eritrea to the newest African-Christian denominations of Nigeria, a
country that has experienced massive conversion to Christianity in the
recent time.
Some experts tell about the shift of Christianity's centre of gravity from
the European industrialized nations to Africa, Asia and Latin America in
modern time. Yale historian Lamin Sanneh stated, that "African
Christianity was not just an exotic, curious phenomenon in an obscure
part of the world, but that African Christianity might be the shape of
things to come." The statistics from the World Christian Encyclopaedia
(David Barrett) illustrate the emerging trend of dramatic Christian growth
on the continent and supposes that in 2025 there will be 633 million
Christians in Africa.

Impacts of Christianity
In Nigeria below the Islamic north, all the denominations are
experiencing renewal. Prayer and fasting and signs and wonders of
healing and deliverance are common. This observation indicates the
impact of Christianity on the Nigeria. The explosion of Christianity
introduced into Nigeria a spirituality that was not fostered by the initial
western missionaries.

The following are some of the positive impacts of Christianity in the in

Nigeria. These are nevertheless, exclusive to the Nigerian situation, they
could be noted wherever the Christian spirituality is fostered. The African
context makes them interesting and desirable in the churches.

Positive impacts
Music
Christian music is homogenising the cultural spectrum of the country.
The youths of various ethnics background and religious affiliations can
now come together to sing and enjoy a common religious tune.
Many people had discovered a new dimension of being a religion
through the so called gospel music. The fluidity of Christian rhyme and
rhythm has made it easy for people to sing and play the same tune in
various languages and in diverse cultural ambiences.

Spirituality and prayer life

There is no doubt that Christianity has awakened in Nigerians an
eagerness for spiritual life in the secular world, and a desire for an
experiential communion with God in prayers. People are now giving
serious attention to their prayer life. There is a noticeable guest for a
spirituality based on a personal relationship with the Lord, which for
instance in the Catholic Church is manifested in love for private
Eucharistic adoration. Pentecostalism is noted for encouraging a
spirituality that abhors confinement and standardization, while provoking
an intimate experience of the Holy Spirit. Many Nigerians are now after a
spirituality that is manifested in power, since an in breaking of the divine
in the ordinary is a proof of the validity and authenticity of a religious life
of an individual. In this context, Achunike observes that: “People are
looking for men of God and Spiritual masters and the results their
encounter with these men of God will yield for them.”To this end,
religious pragmatism is becoming a feature of spirituality and prayer in
Nigeria.

Negatives and dangerous impacts

The following could be considered as negatives and dangerous impacts
of Pentecostalism in Nigeria today. We have therefore to seek a proper
Christian equilibrium, from the light of the universal tradition of the
Church.

Clerical Flamboyancy
It seems that whenever and wherever there is a spiritual re-awakening,
the clergies will take advantage economically. The material success of
some Pentecostal ministers has created a kind “ministerial jealousy” in
Nigeria. The success and validity of ministers of God seem to be
measured by their material flamboyancy. This cancer is eating deep into
the fabric of Nigerian Christendom. The clergies are living far above
many members of their congregations materially. Achunike correctly
observes: “Pentecostal flamboyant lifestyle affects priests and
seminarians. This is precisely because we belong to a society that is
flamboyant, a society that worships wealth or money or possession.” The
Church has never encouraged her ministers to live below an acceptable
economy standard of their environment, while not discouraging the spirit
of sacrifice and renunciation by them. The challenge of “living good and
giving the best to God” encourages in Pentecostalism, is having negative
effects on the churches’ policies concerning clerical remuneration, and
thereby calls for a re-evaluation of acceptable and dignify style of life by
the clergies, in their witness to and identification with the Son of Man
who had no place to lay his head (Luke 9:58).

Financial and material prosperity

The flamboyant lifestyle is not affecting the clergy only, but is becoming
a terrible virus among the laity too. Pentecostalism with the message of
abundant life and blessing is making material prosperity a yardstick of
the divine favour. It’s being affirmed that whoever is poor, is a sinner and
not born-again. It is the prosperity of members of a church that shows
which church is really worshipping God rightly. Therefore, it becomes
pertinent for members to be prosperous and to abound in wealth as a
testimony of divine encounter in the church.
Cosmas Ebebe informs us that:
Prosperity gospel is impacting on the Catholic Church. Unsuspecting
Catholics are meditating with King James Version of the Bible while
some preachers are abandoning more authentic translations for loose
versions. Fun-raising activities in the Church are gradually witnessing
Pentecostal like anchor on prosperity like promise of automatic reward
for every donation. This observation is not only true about Catholics, but
it is a common phenomenon among various denominations in the
country. The dignity of members of the churches and congregations
seems to depend on how much they can contribute for the
developmental projects in the community.
Many Christians now consider their financial status seriously, and there
is a terrible stigma about bankruptcy or financial brokenness. Nowadays,
the popular slogans among Christians include: I can never be poor in
Jesus’ name119; the God that lifted me up will not let me down! To this
end, people may likely go into all sorts of corrupt practices, devoid of
Christian justice and integrity in as much as they maintain or improve
upon their financial position.

Spiritual titanism and religious tyranny or religious feudalism

Pentecostalism has involuntarily tightened personality cult in the
contemporary Christianity. It has succeeded to turn attention of the
faithful not simple to “deceased saints” but to the “living saints.” This
attitude is creating what we may call “spiritual titanism” among
Christians, that is to say, those with spiritual gifts, exercise them in a
titanic manner, using their gifts to lord it over others and to bring them to
servitude.
It is a common observation in the Pentecostal circles that the personality
of the pastors commands more respect or admiration than what an
authentic Catholic devotion, for instance, will reserve to the Blessed
Sacrament, the real presence of Jesus Christ. Since there is a belief in
their person as instrument or medium of divine power, the healers or
miracles workers exercise tyrannical authority over their followers. Their
commands and advices are unquestionable, while their whims and
fancies are executed without second thought.
This unfortunate exploitation of the divine (spiritual gifts) for self
aggrandisement, is becoming a common feature (style) of some pastors
or healers of the mainline churches in Nigeria. Elochukwu Uzukwu
writes:
The problem of “priest-healers” has not left the Nigerian bishops at ease.
A conference or consultation held in 1991 in which most of the well
known “healers” participated does not seem to have introduced order
and restraint in the exercise of this charism. Again I see the problem as
related to the “sacred power” of the priest. In Port Harcourt, Onitsha,
Enugu, Orlu, and Aba dioceses, to name a few, our bishops find it
difficult at times to exercise
their supervisory ministry over the powerful “priest-healers.” The
charismatic priests appear to be very conscious of their power – a power
which is often times maintained through the exploitation of the
superstitious and the irrational, of which distressed faithful are easy
victims.
Some of the healers are exercising power in a tyrannical and dictatorial
fashion, creating a kind of serfdom and harem around themselves,
transforming the spiritual hunger and desire for God of the faithful into
religious enslavement. They hold on to their power with the threat of a
curse, making their victims to believe that a separation from their “feudal
holds” is an automatic malediction.
Uzukwu believes that one may need to be a saint to be free from the
intoxication of spiritual power. The situation is desperate, when the
bishops themselves become afraid of those with spiritual gifts and
demonstrate to be unable to offer healthy alternatives to their victims, in
accordance with the perennial liberating ministry of the Church.

Conclusion
We have attempted to explore in this study, the presence and impact of
Christianity in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. It is our belief
that the situation in Nigeria may not be very different from many African
countries. The face of Christianity in Africa, through the impact of
independent and Pentecostal churches is fast changing, and in several
counts unfolding the essence of the perennial Christianity, if we must
consider the New Testament as a valid and permanent identity of
Christianity.
A church that is devoid of charismatic gifts and ministries, may be very
far away of the New Testament, and perhaps becomes an existential
unbelief of the story of Jesus Christ of Nazareth as told in the Gospels.
African Christians bringing the realities of the New Testament into the
awareness of the Church today, may not only be fostering African
experiences, but rather showing the true face of Christianity in the
secularised world. The Church in Africa is therefore out to bring to the
forefront, the perennial image of Christianity today.
Pentecostalism should therefore be understood as a valid dimension of
the Church’s life and ministry, which loses its relevancy when it is being
separated from the ecclesial ministry rooted in the apostolic tradition.
Hence, an authentic Pentecostal consciousness does not belong to
particular culture in the world, but a part of the New Testament
response, to the question of man’s relationship to God as made known
through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are therefore
bound to seek and articulate a model of the Church today, that will
explicate theologically and ecclesiologically the reality of the Christian
faith in the contemporary world, capable of making the encounter
between God and humanity, an experiential reality.