GIVING ACCOUNT OF THE HOPE: A BRIEF BIBLICAL EXPOSITION, MISSION-HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

The attractive lifestyle of hope; a key to witness to non-believers

The central starting point of this study is the Christian tradition of the biblical hope in Christ, as advocated by Peter, rediscovered by old Christian tradition, as a fundamental key to evangelize people through lifestyle:… But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Pt. 3:15-17)
In other words, according to Bultmann (1971: 362) and Gerhard (1987: 321), hope is centred on explaining or giving records of the hope that is importantly central to the Gospel, and why it provides hope through the lifestyle part of the love in 1 Corinthians 13, resurrection and the second coming of Jesus Christ (justification by faith). This insight will be argued and developed further in Chapter Five as it affects Christian and non-Christian encounters in Kano City.

Christian hope: The challenge of division and introversion in Kano

There are two factors that weaken the credibility of the church’s witness in a context such as that of Kano, namely division (conflicting interests) and introversion. How do these two conflicting factors make Christians lose their platform to engage non-Christians in the midst of hostility, as we see in one of the themes in 1 Peter?

Division

Christian lifestyles in society that contradict each other or compete with each other do not inspire confidence and can even cause confusion or irritation in the minds of people, not only in the church, but also outside the church. It is the perception of this study that the established Christians living and working among the predominantly Hausa Muslim community interpret, preach and live a lifestyle that is attractive enough to non-Christians as advocated by Peter.
This study investigates the varying approaches to Christian mission in Kano, exploring how these approaches are related to hope as part of love. It presents the case that the lifestyle of Christian hope is a missiological challenge to the church since it could not form the basis for a more unified witness and service of Christianity in the society of Kano (cf. Turaki 1999). When the lives of congregations and churches are shaped by the unmerited grace of God in Christ, such lives and programmes draw non-Christians closer to enquiring about the hope of believers in Christ, thereby opening the door for evangelisation. (Hiskett 1962: 558-79; Barnes 1995:141-147; Bultmann 1971).
Introversion
The second factor that weakens the witness of the church is introversion. It is perhaps understandable that Christians who form a minority in a society dominated by Muslims, in which there has been sporadic violence between Christians and Muslims for decades, particularly 1980-2007, look inward to consolidate their own identity and safety more than anything else.

READ  THE 2007 SYNOD RESOLUTION OF THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH ON GAY MINISTERS

The relationship between Christians and Muslims in Africa

The relationship between Christians and Muslims in Africa in general is not without its struggles. In various countries on the continent, these religious traditions find it hard to understand each other and live together harmoniously. Often there is mutual distrust and crises between the two religions. In various countries of North Africa and West Africa the church has been experiencing persistent persecution. Sometimes the situation has even led to bloodshed, as we have experienced in Northern Nigeria since 1987 (Oluniyi [formerly Awoniyi] 2007: 35; Yakubu and Saeed (eds.). 2002: 44, 494; Sanne [1989: 234] and Shenk [2003: 146]). In Sudan, as well as in Northern Nigeria, there have been many years of civil war, even though religion has not been the only factor in those conflicts (Hiskett 1994: 119 and Boer 2004: 87).
This relationship is not always characterized by hostility, but sometimes by competition for conversion of souls between these two religions in Kano and elsewhere in Africa (Greenlee 2006: 215). This is partly because both religions are mission minded, stressing conversion of souls. Secondly the historic crusader approach by Christians brought about a negative and sensitive reaction of Muslims to Christianity approaches. In Africa, Islam claims to have had phenomenal growth between 1960 and 1993 (Sider 2005: 237; Alkali and Jamare 1993: 254), independently reflect the figures of conversion from Islam to Christianity in West Africa as growing phenomenally.

Chapter 1 ORIENTATION TO THE STUDY
1.1 Points of departure
1.2 Research question
1.3 Aims and objectives of the study
1.4 Research framework, design and methods
1.5 Demarcation of the study
1.6 Ethical considerations
1.7 Overview of chapters
Chapter 2   HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: HOW ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY CAME TO NIGERIA
2.1 Introduction
2.2The religious, cultural and political history of Northern Nigeria: Kano
2.3 The Middle Belt (North Central Nigeria): Non-Muslim and Traditional
2.4 The Northern North or Far North
2.5 Christian mission in Nigeria: Northern Nigeria, Kano
2.6 The specific histories of the four selected church groups
2.7 Conclusion
CHAPTER 3 THE KANO CHURCHES: CONTEXUAL ANALYSES AND THE FOUR DENOMINATIONAL GROUPINGS
3.1 Introduction
3. 2 The challenges facing the four denominations in this context
3.3 Overview of the work of the four Kano denominations
3.4. The sources and challenges of the Christian Muslim encounter in general in Northern Nigeria, especially Kano city, 1980 to 2007
CHAPTER 4 GIVING ACCOUNT OF THE HOPE: A BRIEF BIBLICAL EXPOSITION, MISSION-HISTORICAL ANALYSIS
4.1. Brief biblical exposition of 1Peter 3: 13-17
4.2 Christian hope in practice: a mission historical perspective
4.3 Conversion as a result of friendship evangelization: pattern and process in Kano city
4.4 Hope in contex
4.5 Conclusion
CHAPTER 5  A SUSTAINABLE CHRISTAN OUTREACH STRATEGY IN KANO 

GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF CHRISTIAN HOPE: A MISSIOLOGICAL REFLECTION ON CHRISTIAN MUSLIM ENCOUNTER IN KANO CITY, NORTHERN NIGERIA, A MUSLIM BACKGROUND BELIEVER’S PERSPECTIVE.

Related Posts