The role of Christianity in gender issues and development in Nigeria

Gender issues permeate all socio-cultural institutions. They condition how people of different genders see themselves, act and relate with each other in any giving situation and time. In Nigeria, the issue of gender is one that affects all facets of human life. It affects personality traits, gender role behaviour, social status, acquisition of property, inheritance, occupation and responsibility in the family, and society. Since most traditional African societies are patriarchal, of which Nigeria is one, it is assumed that the women are subjugated and relegated to the background. This situation has created tension and unhealthy relationship between males and females in Nigerian societies because of the seeming undue advantage the men have over the women. It has also hampered harnessing of women potentials in Nigeria’s developmental process and progress. Christianity as a religion in Nigeria is a dominant force in the lives of men and women. Since its emergence in Nigeria, many people have embraced the religion and its teaching thus changing most of the cultural values of the people. Against this backdrop, this work explored conflicts and challenges associated with gender issues and how Christianity has used some faith-based organisations to address the issue, so as to promote holistic development policy and practices in Nigeria. The methodology used in this article is the phenomenological method of research. It was used so as to provide an objective report on the findings of this research. CONTRIBUTION: This article advocates for a committed contemporary approach, especially from the Church towards ameliorating the gender disparity in Nigeria and within the Church. Although the context is Nigeria, Christian belief of Jesus Christ as the liberator of humanity emphasised could be applied to other contexts too.http://www.hts.org.zapm2021New Testament Studie

Seeing the world through the eyes of God : reading the Book of Qoheleth in the light of Genesis 1:1–2:4a

Religious and existential concerns interweave in many books of the Bible to give attention to human’s existential anguish, the sense of guilt, the horror of death, the atrocious experience of the absurd. While many contemporary existentialist philosophers prefer to do without God in the attempt to deal with human’s existential contradictions, the search takes the authors of the Bible through intense spiritual struggles as they attempt to confront the belief in the goodness of God with the human experience of futility in all its facets. We want to seek a meeting point between the existentialist concerns of the book of Qoholeth with the profound theology of meaningfulness as elaborated in Genesis 1:1–2:4a. Our article therefore, has a decidedly pastoral orientation. We will attempt to move, through an analysis of select texts, to a re-affirmation of one of the spiritual truths that many mystics have tried to teach: that reason alone is not enough to guide the human person to the mysteries of life, the believer has to learn to unite with God or to the realities themselves to discover the fundamental goodness in many of the experiences that, in human perspectives, seem to be absurd. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: We believe such union is needed in a world where racism, violence to minorities, gender inequalities, homophobic attitudes are thickening the clouds of discrimination and threatening some to doubt the fundamental goodness of creation as made by God.http://www.ve.org.za/index.php/VEdm2022Old Testament Studie

Widowhood practices and the church in South-East Nigeria

Widowhood practice is an unjust cultural practice directed against women who lose their husbands. The effects of this long-time culture on society, especially women, are continuing even in the 21st century as a result of rules, laws and regulations, and cultural values that have been laid down by the ancestors and nurtured by subsequent generations. The findings of the research indicated that discriminatory widowhood practices were humiliating to women and were made by men to relegate women to the background. This article, therefore, studied this cultural practice in Igboland in order to create a niche for the church in its alleviation. Nevertheless, it is on record that Christian churches have made remarkable efforts to alleviate the plight of widows. However, a lot is still expected for the total eradication of this age-old tradition. CONTRIBUTION : The church has an enormous role to play in the fight against unjust cultural practices against women in Igboland. The church was chosen because of the respect that people of Igboland give to priests and other members of a religious community.This research article is part of the research project ‘Africa Platform for NT Scholars’, directed by Prof. Dr Ernest van Eck, Department of New Testament Studies and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria.Special Collection: Africa Platform for NT Scholars, sub-edited by Ernest van Eck (University of Pretoria).http://www.hts.org.zaam2022New Testament Studie

The church and poverty alleviation in Nigeria

The apparent disconnection between Nigeria’s endowment in natural resources and the level of poverty has become a cause for concern, with a serious impact on the development of the nation. To address the poverty issue, the Nigerian government has designed various programmes. Drawing data from official documents and other relevant materials, this article examines such poverty eradication programmes. The article argues that as laudable as they appear, these policies and programmes have failed because of corruption and poor design and implementation, among others. This calls for other stakeholders to be involved in eradicating poverty in Nigeria. This article thus looks at what the Catholic Church is doing to reduce poverty for peace and sustainable development in Nigeria. It suggests that collaborative governance is the key to poverty eradication, peace and sustainable development in Nigeria. The descriptive phenomenological method was employed in the study.http://www.hts.org.zaam2019New Testament Studie