Scholarly Works
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Item Religion and the Nigerian state(VEDA Publications, 2019) Mepaiyeda, S. M.One interesting character observed about religion in Nigeria is that it has played both the anabolic and catabolic roles in the society. It has been used as a catalyst for building up as well as instrument for demolishing peaceful coexistence of the citizens of the country. Historical evidences attest to the fact that religious resurgence most especially in the northern part of the country led to violent riots that claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Christians and Muslims within a space of 34 years (1977 and 2011). From examination carried out on the perennial incidence of religio-political crises in Nigeria, factors responsible include the missionary spirit of the Christian faith which the Muslims could not tolerate; persistent attempts to nationalize sectional interest; the surreptitious use of religion by the government to achieve economic or political advantages and the reluctance to accept a change in certain areas. Having considered the effects of religious crises on the psyche of the citizens, the paper recommends that Nigerians must come to terms with the religious plurality of the country and the imperatives of secularity. Harmonious coexistence demands sacrifice from various religious groups within the state while attitudinal re-engineering is recommended at all levels of religious and political leadership. The expectation of humans to live in a world that is peaceful has been a mirage because of their failure to recognise the nexus between justice and peace. It is no doubt that the concept of peace has taken central position in global conferences- political, economic or religious, yet, it seems people have only been paying lip-service to its realisation. Also, they fail to adequately address gender inequality, dehumanizing attitude of some stronger nations towards the weaker ones, and more significantly, the trending issue of the destruction of non-human creatures by humans. These factors among many others have orchestrated the tension that is being experienced in the cosmic order. This paper therefore advocates for mutual respect among humans irrespective of gender or race and responsible earth stewardship, especially by all Africans, so as to achieve peace in the society. Special emphasis has been placed on eco-justice considering its far-reaching significance to the restoration of peace. Sociological approach was adopted in gathering data that cut across many disciplines.Item An examination of the ethical implications of violence in Abrahamic religions for Nigerian commonwealth(Nigerian Association for the Study of Religions (NASR), 2018-07) Mepaiyeda, S. M.Religion is a terrain that guarantees communion between the object of worship and adherents. This implies that religious beliefs and activities or practices of a particular religion should not be forced on adherents of other religions. But the contrary is the case in many climes, especially in Nigeria, where people flout the principles of religious pluralism. Often times, such disregard for tolerance of adherents of other religions in a diverse society, breeds violence that leads to monumental loss of lives and property thereby impinging negatively on Nigerian Commonwealth. Therefore, this research is highly interested, firstly, in the examination of the veracity of the claim by adherents of Christianity and Islam that their religions epitomise peace and secondly examine the factors that trigger religious violence vis-a-vis the ethical implications of such religious induced violence on the societal psyche. This becomes imperative in order to critically address its effects with a view to reducing inter and intra religious conflicts that have engulfed Nigeria in particular and some nations of the world in general. In view of the fact that this research falls within the ambit of contextual study, phenomenological method will be employed to carry out the primary investigation; while literary works of scholars shall be consulted in order to elucidate information on the subject matter.Item Historical analysis of the ecumenical development in Nigeria(2018) Mepaiyeda, S. M.The attempt to embark on this study was borne out of the desire to trace the origin of ecumenical efforts in their local and global contexts. Among many Orthodox Christians,1 it is generally accepted that the contemporary Ecumenical Movement began with the Encyclical of 1920 that emanated from the Patriarch of Constantinople but historical record disproves this assertion and shows that the contemporary Ecumenical Movement has its roots in the Protestant missionary movement of the 19th century. In addition, this paper argues that ecumenical engagements were driven by the desire of Evangelical Protestants to achieve a “unity in fellowship” amongst themselves for greater success in the mission field. This contradicts the notion that ecumenism arose out of the desire for “unity in truth” or doctrinal agreement. This research becomes necessary so that the historical facts of ecumenism from global context would be put in proper perspective in order to avoid the implication that any distortion could have on ecumenical development in Nigeria which is a fall-out of the World Missionary Conference that held in Edinburgh in 1910. The objectives of this study are to bring to the fore the synergy that existed among some Protestant churches that championed ecumenical developments in Nigeria and to articulate that mission is the force that drives ecumenism both globally and locally. Using historical and sociological approaches in this study, the paper submits that since the emergence of organized ecumenism in Nigeria, there has been a paradigm shift from sustaining the legacies and vision bequeathed by the founders because modern ecumenism leadership seems to be more interested in playing politics by their actions thereby causing more disunity among the Christians in Nigeria.Item Critiquing the motivations for Luther’s reformation(2018-06) Mepaiyeda, S. M.What informed the engagement of this topic is the mixed feelings or misrepresentations that some Christians express about Martin Luther, the Chief Pioneer or Prince of what we call Protestantism. While it is an established fact in a section of Christianity that Luther was a political reformer, others see him as a religious reformer. Such divergent opinions are capable of distorting historical facts and have the tendency of promoting erroneous ideas about the ideal that Luther stood for. Therefore, the concern of this paper is to investigate the socioeconomic, political and religious contexts which spurred reactions by some intellectual church men that eventually culminated in the 16th century reformation. This attempt becomes imperative in order to have a clearer picture of the situations before the reformation and to assess the strategies adopted by the reformers, especially Martin Luther in order to determining the veracity of the claim that Luther's reformation was politically motivated.Item An appraisal of the perspectives of the pentecostal and charismatic on theological education in Nigeria(West African Association of Theological Institutions, 2014) Mepaiyeda, S. M.This paper aims primarily at investigating the bases for the unfriendly attitude towards theological education. In addition, using historical antecedents as a benchmark, the paper will articulate the relevance of theological education in the expansion of God’s kingdom, with a view to reducing mediocrity in religious parlance and inculcate proper orientation in the development of church leaders in Nigeria. Though theological education remains a veritable platform to bring enlightenment to the souls and minds of individuals about God and his activities for the singular purpose of transforming and liberating men from the bondage of ignorance to knowledge; yet, a cursory look at the happenings among the Pentecostal and Charismatic circles in Nigeria suggests that majority of them have developed apathy towards such training. Even the few who have Bible Colleges de-emphasize rigorous theological study in their curricula, hinging such stand on many factors and assumptions.Item Interrogating the theological argument for the reality of God within African religious milieu(Macrothink Institute, 2014-02) Mepaiyeda, S. M.Empirical philosophers, down the ages have argued against the existence of God, employing the use of reason as a premise for establishing their argument. This exercise resulted in atheism – the belief that there is no God. While some atheists maintain that God never existed in the past, there are others who contend that he existed but is now dead. Hence, Anselm's theism and other arguments for God's existence pervaded the academic spectrum. This paper, therefore, establishes the manifestation of theistic arguments within the religious context in Africa. Furthermore, the paper concludes by debunking the misrepresentation of African ideas of God whom some sit-at-home writers described as Deus absconditus or Deus remotus.Item Materialism in early and modern pentecostal movements in Nigeria(Centre for Advanced Training and Research with MPYRAA, Buea, South West Region, Cameroon, 2013) Mepaiyeda, S. M.The emergence of Pentecostal movements within the landscape of Nigeria was characterized with emphasis on second birth, holiness, sanctification, indwelling of the Holy Spirit and possession of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit by a Christian. This way of life was not only verbalized but adequately demonstrated by the Early Pentecostal leaders. Conversely, there are sufficient evidences that there is a change in focus by modern Pentecostals from holiness messages to “prosperity ” message. This trend has affected their psyche to the extent that most Pentecostal preachers in Nigeria seem to be driven by the quest for materialism; a situation that negates the original Pentecostal ideals and principles. Therefore the aim of this paper is to articulate in strong terms the deviation of the modern Pentecostals and to suggest a revisit of the biblical principles imbibed by the early Pentecostals.Item The legacies of Cyprian’s leadership policies for Nigerian christianity(Department of Religious Studies Department, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, 2014-12) Mepaiyeda, S. M.Item Emerging trends in fostering the concept of community among the pentecostal churches in Nigeria(The Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2013-12) Mepaiyeda, S. M.The establishment of the Pentecostal churches in Nigeria poses many challenges to the Mainline or established Churches such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and Baptist churches, to mention just a few. One of such challenges is the prevalence of the “attitude of belonging” among the Pentecostal movements. In dealing with one another, members of the latter discretely demonstrate unique concern in fulfilling the biblical injunction to be “their brother’s keepers,” a rediscovery of one of the practices in the early church, where communalism was modus operandi. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring this emerging trend in fostering communal life or belongingness in the churches of our study, a reminiscence of communal living in the early church. The paper is not aimed at asserting the total absence of such gesture in the mainline churches, but the dimension of the practice among the Pentecostals which inculcates a sense of belonging in their members, is the concern of this research. In addition, the paper also harped on the fact that, although the concept of belonging is the underlying factor responsible for an astronomical expansion among the Pentecostals today, the factor of communalism generates a negative tendency of exclusion of non-members of the community in the distribution of helpline. Thus, the paper adopts a historical research method as well as fieldwork through oral interviews, library and archival materials.Item A re-examination of the role of religion in education(Faculty of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences, Federal University, Kashere Gombe State, Nigeria, 2013) Mepaiyeda, S. M.Religion has played major roles in other facets of human endeavours, be it political, economic, medical or educational. Right from the Middle Ages when the church reached its zenith of expansion, the field of education was positively enhanced with the establishment of about eighty universities in Western Europe. Interestingly, records showed that these universities were theologically oriented because they metamorphosed from schools attached to churches, Furthermore, the missionaries who propagated Christianity took along with the Gospel a certain kind of Education in order to enlighten their converts and train them in institutions they established. However, in recent years, some government’s policies have undermined the place of religion in education most especially in Nigeria. Religious subjects have been de-emphasized while science related courses are promoted in order to boost technological advancement. Secondly, individuals, corporate organizations and some educational institutions seem to have the notion that religion today has little or no relevance in education. No wonder the population of students into the Department of Religious Studies in few universities that offer them is low when compared with other departments in the Faculty. Furthermore, it is saddened to note that most of the private universities especially the mission-established ones do not give the study of religion the priority it deserves. This paper, therefore, seeks to investigate the reasons adduced the stakeholders on the neglect of religious education in academic circles with a view to determining the relevance of religion in the contemporary world.
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