Nistories of Churches in Ipoti Ekiti Area of Ekiti -Nigeria

In the village of Umuofia, the Igbo people worship a religion of many deities. Their polytheistic religion consists of gods related to nature such as rain, sun, etc. The most important deity is the goddess of the Earth; Igbo people frain from committing sins against the goddess of the Earth in fear of complete genocide. The European missionaries introduce Umuofia to a monotheistic religion, Christianity. The Igbo people fear what they can’t understand, such as medicine. Igbo people feared the “white man”, however, missionaries successfully convert some Igbo people into Christian, causing them to be shamed by the hierarchy of men in the village. The conversion caused changes in Igbo culture and influenced the Igbo people to behave in a way that was unheard of before the European missionaries arrived. Enoch, a recently converted Christian, committed one of the worst crimes in

The third reason Nwoye’s sense of identity was challenged with the introduction of Western ideas was because Through his journey, Nwoye shows how one can overcome struggles and come out ahead when confronted with change. The evidence is shown when It tells us “As soon as he had learned of Okonkwo's return five months earlier, the missionary had immediately paid him a visit. He had just sent Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac, to the new training college for teachers in Umuru.”(134) This evidence supports my claim because It tells us how Nwoye’s live has gotten better after he left.

Starting with the first effect of imperialism, the introduction of Christianity in Umuofia, Okonkwo’s fatherland. Four years into Okonkwo’s exile, his good friend Obierika payed him a visit, informing Okonkwo of the arrival of missionaries in Umuofia. The Christian followers had to come to Umuofia to build a church and to convert locals into their anomalous religion. Most importantly, “what moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter’s son, Nwoye, among the missionaries in Umuofia.” (Achebe 143) The introduction of Christianity was one of the many effects set upon the African villages. Locals were becoming

    The Ibo culture in Things Fall Apart began to experience colonization, all after Okonkwo was exiled. He was sent away for seven years for killing a clansman. As soon as Okonkwo had left, Umuofia was greeted by Christian missionaries. They were there to convert the villagers to Christianity, to build churches, schools, and hospitals for them. When Okonkwo was exiled, Nwoye snuck off to be among the Christians. He enjoyed being around them and examined their religious views. But, Okonkwo was not happy about Nwoye’s decisions. Okonkwo chokes him by the neck, and demands Nwoye to tell him where he has been. “I don’t know, he is not my father.” (Achebe 137) Being almost killed by his own father really encouraged Nwoye to disassociate himself from his father completely and to head back home to Umuofia. Nwoye was drawn to Christianity because it made him feel welcomed, rather than when he was apart of his native religion.

-After Nwoye is lured into the Christian religion and abandons his culture and family, Okonkwo is ashamed and states, "you have all see the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people" (172). Nwoye's father disowns him only because he chooses a path untraditional to his culture. The serious, frustrated, and unhappy mood that is created in Okonkwo's statement gives the reader an idea of how much the Ibo culture values tradition, choice, and family.

The Christian religion began around 2000 years ago in Judea, which is now Israel. Christianity began with Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples. Jesus traveled from village to village, teaching in the synagogues, and healing those who were sick and suffering. He challenged the authorities to

Unexpected arrival of the missionaries, which will alter all the lives and traditions of the Igbo

In chapter six, “The Opportunity for Retrieval,” Oden confronts the postEnlightenment worldview and hermeneutics of suspicion that has effectively diminished Africa’s theological heritage. Chapter seven, “How the Blood of the Martyrs Became the Seed of European Christianity,” proposes Africa’s history of martyrdom and the exodus event as alternatives to a Christian view of history marked by power. In chapter eight, “Right Remembering,” Oden asserts that orthodoxy is not a prize awarded to theological victors, but rather the fruit of correctly remembering the apostles’ teachings. In chapter nine, “Seeking the Reconciliation of Christianity and Islam Through Historical Insight,” he makes a case for the risky but necessary endeavor of engaging African Muslims in dialogue over their Christian heritage. In the appendix, Oden moves from being a scholar to an activist, laying out a strategic plan to implement his vision for recovering Africa’s theological legacy, which includes the website www.earlyafricanchristianity.com, and the Journal of African Christianity. The book concludes with a helpful “Literary Chronology of Christianity in the First Millenium,” including key personalities, writings, and movements in the period. Perhaps the most relevant set of works to How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind is Oden’s own Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Western theological hegemony has also been

In 1710 a small group of people went to Francis le Jau and asked him to admit them to the Holy Communion. Most of Africans rejected Anglicanism and Christianity during the eighteenth century. Many “assume is one in which Africans collectively and individually struggled to preserve a religious identity grounded in indigenous beliefs”. (198) Olwell had visions in servile respects first was only a small number converted and accepted baptism but had to get permission from their masters. Second was when slaves adopted Anglicanism they became isolated from other people. Which he “implies that slaves were still more likely to reject then adopt Christianity.”(199) Many West Central Africans did not reject Christianity because of Kongo and the Kongolese

“Although Nwoye had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day, he kept it a secret. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father” (Achebe 149). Nwoye refuse to go to the church and enter but everyday he would go to the marketplace and list to their short stories. “ And he was already beginning to learn some of the simple stories that they told” (Achebe 150). Eventually Nwoye summons enough courage to enter the church but one of Okonkwo’s cousins was passing by and happened to see him. So he quickly rushed to Okonkwo and told him the news. “Nwoye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father suddenly overcome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck” (Achebe 151). Nwoye eventually told him where he was and Okonkwo became very angry but then he was overcome with sadness. Okonkwo didn’t know how he could raise such a weak son. The cultural collision not only changed the way Nwoye felt but also his relationship with his father and

Okonkwo is misunderstood like the Igbo culture. The commissioner and missionaries make no attempt to understand the Igbo culture, just as they make no attempt to understand Okonkwo. “The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out details” (Achebe 208-209). The commissioner reduces the complex character of Okonkwo to a savage and just as the rest of western society reduces the Igbo culture to heretic and barbaric. In a way Okonkwo is like the missionaries because he too makes no attempt to understand western culture. This is because no group wants to forsake their culture to assimilate into

Christianity traces its origin to Jerusalem in approximately 33 AD. However many of the laws and practices accepted and practiced by Christians were formally established by the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, and the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD

Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other nation in Africa. They date as far back as the 5th Century BC when communities lived around the southern slopes of the Jos plateau, which are now called the Nok people. The first important centralized state to influence Nigeria was Kanem-Bornu, which was founded in the 8th century AD. By the 11th century Kanem-Bornu expanded into present-day Nigeria, and in the 15th century, its capital was moved there. In the late 15th century the Portuguese became the first Europeans to visit Nigeria. They began to purchase slaves and agricultural produce. After the Portuguese came to the British, French, and Dutch traders.

Missionaries have had a profound and resounding effect on southeastern Nigeria that remains today, missionaries still playing a significant role in the culture of the Igbo. Although missionaries were initially synonymous with colonization, European coloniasts enforcing Christian ideals on the ‘save’ natives in an effort to civilize them, missionaries remained in Nigeria even after it gained its independence on October 1, 1960 through a series of constitutions legislated by the British government. Despite the abolition of British colonial forces, missionaries remained, exerting extensive influence on local culture. Missionaries promoted western education, which was widely popular among the Igbo and viewed as a method to move up the social ladder.

There are major biblical records that give account of several contract of inception of Christianity in Africa. The child Jesus was taken to Egypt for safety as recorded in Matthews’ gospel, Simon who was compelled to carry Jesus cross was from Cyrene (Libya), there where visitors from Egypt and Cyrene during the Pentecost and where responsible for the founding of the church in Antioch the Ethiopia Eunuch in Acts 8. According to Elizabeth Isichei, while every day in the west, roughly 7500 people in effect stop being Christians everyday in Africa roughly double that number become Christians. The expansion of Christianity in the twentieth century African has been so dramatic that it has been called the fourth great age of Christian expansion” right from the inception in Africa, Africans has played a vital role for the growth of Christianity. “Christianity in Africa is of global significance, and the direction it takes is of importance to Christians everywhere. In the past, foreign missionaries Christianized Africa. Today the Christians of Africa are invited to Africanize Christianity” . Thomas C. Oden noted,. “Western Christian dogma was formed with precision in Africa before it became ecumenically received world wide” .