THE CHURCH AS A FAILED INSTITUTION

Our christian religious leaders have failed in the performance of their duties to our society. Their failures are evidenced in their bastardization and commercialization of the practice of Christianity in Nigeria.

But in Nigeria, before foreign religions like Islam and Christianity made inroads into the country, the peoples of Nigeria were mainly animists and practitioners of the African Traditional Religion. And till now, some aspects of the African Traditional Religion are integral part of our African cultures. Think about the worship of ancestors, pouring of libation to the gods, and the incantatory form of worship, which characterize the African Traditional Religion.

However, the British imperialists, who colonized us, introduced Christianity to us. Christianity was a tool used by the colonialists to extract obedience from the natives. White people did this by instilling fear into Nigerians that they would rot in hell if they failed to obey God’s commands, as they’re written in the Bible. The biblical teachings, which Nigerians received, then, made them malleable and amenable to abiding by laws by which Nigeria was governed, then.

Though countless Nigerians, especially those who hailed from the southern part of Nigeria proselytized to Christianity, their conversion to Christianity didn’t cause the obliteration of the African traditional religion. Till now, we have practitioners of African traditional religion, who take great pride in practising their religion.

But nowadays, people want to identify with the Christian religion in order to be perceived as modern people. These peoSOH EHORQJ WR PDQ\ GLͿHUHQW UHOLJLRXV VHFWV ZKLFK H[LVW LQ WRday’s Nigeria. The Christian sects include, but are not limited to, the Jehovah Witnesses, the Pentecostal Church, The Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Seven Day Adventist Church, and others.

These Christian sects have teachings, which are predicated on the doctrine of love. Jesus Christ, the Messiah and founder of Christianity, who lived on earth more than two thousand years ago, propagated and spread the message of love to people, then. Christ is reputed as the founder of Christianity.

But do our Christian clerics adhere to biblical and Christ’s teachings on love? The answer to this question is an emphatic no. Most Christian clerics in Nigeria distort biblical teachings to suit their purposes so as to achieve their materialistic goals. So the practice of Christianity in Nigeria has been bastardized and commercialized.

In many churches, especiallY the Pentecostal ones, their teachings and sermons centre on prosperity message rather than on salvation message. The ministers of God do not inculcate the virtues of holiness, faithfulness, forebearance, and truthfulness into members of their churches. Rather, they prioritize payment RI WLWKHV DQG RͿHULQJV E\ PHPEHUV RI WKHLU FKXUFKHV RYHU SDUticipation in spiritual exercises by members of their churches.

, ZLWQHVVHG ÀUVW KDQG DQ H[HPSOLÀFDWLRQ RI WKH FRPPHUcialization of Christianity when my mother died on January 4, 2022. The clergy man and his spouse, and leaders of the church groups to which my mother belonged insisted that the money my mother owed the church must be paid; otherwise, she would not be given a Christian funeral ceremony by the local Anglican Church she was attending during her lifetime. All her life, my mother worked tirelessly in order that she would be given a Christian funeral ceremony when she died.

Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State