The Africans generally seem to have a common concept of life, death and the hereafter, which influences their lives and character greatly. An understanding of this African concept will enable the rest of the World (Non Africans), to improve relationship with Africans and vice versa. This is necessary because both camps have been involved in various forms of interactions, communications and commerce, and diplomatic contacts among others. This work attempts to construct, explain, critique and justify the African concept of life, death and the hereafter, in order to enhance this understanding, and consequently improve this relationship for the mutual benefits of both camps.
The prosperity gospel is a popular doctrine that is taught and practised by many Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. It has enhanced and improved the financial status of many Pentecostal churches thereby enabling them to carry out several projects which have enhanced the socio-economic wellbeing of many people. Such projects include the establishment of schools, universities, printing presses, financial empowerment of members, provision of welfare packages and care for the needy. This paper highlights the meanings of Pentecostalism, prosperity gospel and development. It also attempts to explain how prosperity gospel, in the context of some Pentecostal churches- Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) and Christian Central Chapel International, among others, have contributed to the socio-economic wellbeing of many. However, this paper acknowledges that there is room for an improvement and expansion of the contributions of prosperity gospel to development in the future. Hence suggestions are given on how to harness, improve and expand the benefits of the prosperity gospel in Nigerian society in the future.
Pentecostal Movements are those Christian religious movements founded in the 1950s and 1960s to date. Pentecostal environmentalism focuses attention on the need to maintain the environment according to the dictate of the Christian religious injunctions. This practice is achieved through the practice of sacred place, which is a designation of some earth surface as holy ground, and is retained for religious and spiritual purposes. These places include mountains, hills, rivers, streams, valley etc. and are deemed to possess religious mysteries and potent spiritual qualities. This practice is also observed in the Old Testament and is also part of the practice of the African traditional religions. In similar fashion, the Pentecostal movement shares many elements of traditional practices and the Old Testament, and as such sacred place has found its way into the practices of the Pentecostal movement. Environmental degradation, pollution, climate change, deforestation are all major global challenges today. Hence, the practice of sacred places and environmental ethics are among several efforts that can be used to tackle the problem of biodiversity loss arising from a range of environmental challenges. Furthermore, Pentecostal environmentalism further engages in the debate on eco-theology. This paper, therefore, serves as a platform to showcase the efforts of the Pentecostal movement towards ecological preservation, biodiversity conservation and the debate among scholars of eco-theology through environmental ethics and sacred places within the purview of Pentecostal religious spirituality. The paper employed a literary descriptive method since the research is qualitative in nature.
The fourth prophetic writing in the Old Testament, known as the Book of Daniel, has recently undergone an English translation. The primary focus of this text is centred on an individual by the name of Daniel. This individual is an ancient figure who is also mentioned in Ezekiel 14:14 and 28:3. Further examples of the aforementioned designation refer to a male progeny of David (1 Chronicle 3:1) and an individual belonging to the sacerdotal ancestry of Ithamar (Ezra 8; 2; Nehemiah 10:6). The afore-mentioned references provide substantiation that this particular terminology was widespread among the Jewish community in the period following the exile. Given the aforementioned, this paper examines the historical context of the individual known as Daniel, the authorship of the text, the discerned symbolic messages and their interpretation, criticism levelled against the book. The examination of the book through a hermeneutical lens is considered appropriate as a blueprint for the establishment of an egalitarian Nigerian society. The methodology adopted in this research is purely qualitative involving content analysis, critical evaluation of biblical text on the subject matter and a hermeneutical survey of scholastic views and analogy on the book of Daniel. The research objective was accomplished through a comprehensive utilisation of textual exegesis. Despite the criticisms levelled by certain scholars, the paper ultimately concludes that the book effectively justifies its relevance to the process of nation building.
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