STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING HOLDING AT ST.STEPHEN’S CATHEDRAL UMUAHIA.

BIBLE STUDY DAY ONE WED 16^TH SEPT, 2009

Theme:    Guide and Proclaim the Gospel

Bible Study Leader: Ven. Dr. Oluranti Otoloorin Lawal Lecturer in Islam and Comparative Religion Vining College of Theology. The Standing Committee had as its theme, Guide and Proclaim the gospel and the Leader of the Bible Study Venerable Dr. Oluranti Otoloorin Lawal a lecturer at the Vining College of Theology combined and married together his rich knowledge of the Islamic Religion (his first love) and the deep illumination and understanding of the gospel of Christ which he has embraced with zealousness for his creator Venerable Dr. Oluranti Otoloorin Lawal in this interview conducted by the Communications department of the Church of Nigeria shed light on the reasons for different views of the Muslims against the Christian and Vice-versa.  He gave a balanced presentation of individual and corporate differences in respect of propagation of their religions and the panacea for mutual understanding relationship and peaceful co-existence happy reading.

DOC:   Could you give an in-depth analysis of the theme of this Standing Committee Meeting and expatiate on why the rancour is pronounced in the propagation of both the gospel of Christ and Islamic Religion.

Ven. Dr. Lawal:  What actually led to the emergence of Islam was because of the fact that Christians were not evangelical enough though Christianity had been in existence before the birth of Mohammed.

Christianity had been there for long but because of the holier than thou attitude of some Christians this is one of the many reasons that led to the emergence of the Islamic religion.  The Bible was not written in Arabic worship was conducted in Latin and Greek  which were foreign to the Arabs hence they were unable to understand Christianity.  When Muhammad came he was born into a confused society although there were religions and Christianity in the Arab peninsula but all the religious were unable to bring the Arabs together and Mohammed having studied the needs of the Arabs, he followed the examples of the Christians who normally goes to the mountain to pray and he went to the mountain to pray where he said he received an inspiration to start the Islamic religion, to bring the Arabs together, religiously, politically and socially. That time it was an Era of Ignorance. All the people were ignorant about life about economy, but Islam when it came during the period of Nuun (period of enlightenment ) which means the Arabs were not enlightened before Islam came.  Islam wouldn’t have come if the Christians were active in Evangelism.  So that led to the emergency of Islam in Arabia Peninsula.

DOC: Now to the Nitty gritty of the theme guide proclaim the gospel.  Could you now link the theme to our relationship with the Muslim community vis-a-vis proclamation of the gospel?

Ven. Dr. Lawal:  The gospel is the word of God and the truth.  This gospel has to be proclaimed to everybody because the bible says go to the world and propagate the gospel.  It is in this gospel that we have freedom.  The essence of the propagation of the gospel is to enable people become free from several bondages, of sickness, of poverty political domination, these are the things which the gospel have to do so that people can be set free. 

When Mohammed discovered that Christians were not active enough in their religion because of fear and persecution, he intensified the propagation of Islam.

The gospel can save people from several problems. In Luke Chapter 4, Jesus said the spirit of God is upon him to propagate to preach and set people free from several bondages.  It means the gospel is essentially meant to set people free from several problems.  For instance in Nigeria today, there are many problems if the gospel is properly propagated to some extent the problems will be reduced.

DOC: What in your own opinion is responsible for the incessant confrontational attitude among the worshippers leading to religious crisis.

Ven. Dr. Lawal:  There are two major reasons, factors that are responsible.  From the Christian side, the way some Christians are propagating the gospel, trying to show the superiority of the gospel, trying to negate, trying to look down upon the Muslims is offensive to them.  Looking at the attitude of Jesus Christ we must appreciate the life of the people we are propagating the gospel to.  But our inability to really appreciate the belief, the practice, the religion of the Muslims are some of the factors that are really contributing to the problems we are having.

The second reason is the way some Christians propagate the gospel negates what Matthew Chapter 11 verse 28 says “come unto me all who labour and are heavy laden I will give you rest” the way some Evangelists interprets this to the Muslims at times are very expensive.  The way some of us actually lay emphasis in what we call religious PARTICULARISM laying emphasis on the superiority of our religion at the detriment of others is offensive to the Muslims.

The second reason is that the Muslims dominate the political and the economic fronts, so they are now using their position as politicians and economists to make sure that their religion spread.

Religion is like an enterprise everybody wants to gain members as customers unto their fold.

DOC:  Has education got anything to do with the incessant imbroglio the faceoff between the Muslims and Christians?

Ven. Dr. Lawal: Education has a lot to do with it Sura 2 verse 12 56 says there is no compulsion in religion but the fanatics or the fundamentalists do not read this passage appropriately because Islam allows other religions.  Religions should not be forced on people but because of lack of education that is why some Muslims are emphasising that Islam should be the global religion whereas God himself said that deliverance is mine I bring people to myself the way I like.  It is not God’s own way that there should be one Religion.  But the mis-interpretation of the Sura in the Quran quoted by some Muslim under the guise that they are zealous for their religion. When Mohammed was alive he tolerated people including his Christian friends in Mecca in fact those who are closer to the Muslims are the Christians because Christians supported him when he started the Religion.

For instance when he was being persecuted by the Mecca Pagans, he went to Ethiopia and the King of Ethiopia protected him from the Mecca Pagans there was that closeness between him and the Christians in the olden days. To corroborate the fact that Prophet Mohammed loved Christians two of his wives Khadijah and Marian were Christians even his close associate who helped in the development of the Quaran was a Christian. He had some Christian friends who were very close to him at the initial stage of Islam. There was a lot of Christian influence.

In fact the man who foretold his becoming a prophet was  a monk called Bahirra. The man who interpreted the vision which Mohammed came to see in MATIRA was called GOWANDA IBINAFA. He supported him immensely.

DOC: - Still talking about education don’t you think the stand of the BOKO HARAM movement on Western Education is likely to aggravate the challenges being faced as a result of illiteracy?

Ven Dr Lawal:  The founder of BOKO HARAM was ignorant, because he too had a little of education. He spoke English why didn’t he speak Arabic? He was just fighting out of ignorance. Not all Muslims supported him because  many Muslims are well educated and they know the importance of education so he was only fighting a lost war. But what he was actually fighting against was un-Islamic practices which ought not to happen in our society, things that are abnormal were part of the reasons for his fight. Some practices like pornographic pictures, like indecent dresses. If the founder of Boko Haram had sat down to read his Quaran very well he would know what Mohammed said that if education is in India or in China, go and purchase it. This means that Mohammed appreciated the need of education.

DOC: - In Islam you say Laula ilalahu meaning God is one. In Christiandom we say the Triune God – God the father, son and Holy Spirit.  He is one indivisible God in three distinct persons. Then what is the hulabaloo about Trinity?

Ven Dr Lawal: - The presentation of the concept of the trinity by some Christians is ridiculous. The emphasis of the bible is that there is only one God but this God manifests himself in three dimensions as a creator father, as a redeemer through Jesus Christ and as the Holy Spirit the sanctifier, these are three dimensions to us Christians but to the Muslims, there is no doctrine of forgiveness of sin through bloodshed so they said that God is one Laila ilala God is one they do not understand what we are trying to say in the concept of the trinity. We should make this concept known to them. We are not saying that God is three but we are saying that God is who manifests himself to us in three dimensions; we are sanctified through the Spirit of God. Jesus is the son of God. They believed that Jesus was born through KUM-FAYA-KUM be and let be, through the power of God, the Saviour of the world they call him ALMASHID but they don’t accept him as son of God because they don’t understand what we are trying to explain that Jesus Christ is the son of God.

DOC: - Is proclaiming the word of God the same as JIHAD?

Ven Dr Lawal: There are five types of JIHAD. In fact proclamation of the gospel is a Jihad but not Jihad of the sword. You are preaching, propagating, proclaiming the word of God, we are trying to change life for better so Jihad is striving to change people for better and therefore there is nothing like bloodshed in Jihad. We should not proclaim the gospel through bloodshed. There is another Jihad of the sword which means you embark upon warfare use of arms which Christians are not doing because we are not told to use arms to propagate the gospel. Some Muslims who are ignorant about their religion, who did not take the time to read the Quaran and to know the reason why Mohammed might have said that they could use force to propagate the Islamic Religion was because when the Pagans rose against him, he later went to medina in 622 AD. His intent was to get the Christians but when they turned against him then he resorted to use force but initially he did not originally use SWORD. Jihad of the Sword is a reaction against the Christians and Pagans who did not support him.

DOC: Could you please expatiate on the faithlessness of SARAH according to Deuteronomy 18:18 why is she the cause of the rift between the Christians and Muslims today?

Ven Dr. Lawal: Sarah was the wife of Abraham. She had a maid but God had promised Abraham which SARAH knew that he will surely get a child. But may be Sarah had forgotten or may be because of our human nature, when it seems to be delayed she told her husband to into Hagar and eventually Hagar became pregnant and she gave birth to a child named Ishmael. But no sooner, according to God’s own plan Sarah became pregnant for Abraham and had a child called Isaac. It was SARAH who asked her husband to impregnate Hagar she is also the one that asked her husband to send her packing with the boy. If Sarah had been faithful to God she wouldn’t have told her husband to go into Hagar. That is why we say she was faithless.  She did not demonstrate her faith in God by keeping to what God had promised her. Ishmael is the progenitor of the Arabs why Isaac is the ancestor of Israelites. The cause of the rift which Sarah created is the confusion and conflict between the two men Isaac and Ishmael.

DOC: What is the reaction to the Deuteronomy 18: 18 which the Muslims are pointing to as the source of the birth of Muhammad? Do Christians share this sentiment?

Ven Dr Lawal:  - Christians do not share this sentiment. This is just the view of Muslims to really authenticate the establishment of that religion. They must look for something to support the emergence of their religion taken cognizance that the bible had been written many years before Islam and the bible is more authentic than other sources. For us to really go well with the Muslims it is good to read the Quaran so that we can relate with them peacefully. We should know the reasons behind some verses ion the Quaran.

Our interaction and our study of the Quaran will enable us to promote peaceful existence. In our study of Islam we should be able to know the beliefs of Muslims and how they behave. We must know that religion.

The panacea or solution to peaceful co-existence and end of crisis between Christians and Muslims is in the hands of the Christians. We are letters for people to read. The bible says let your light shine among men so they can see your good work and glorify your father which is in heaven.

We should live according to our doctrine. Christians should be Christlike for crisis to come down. We should not look down on others if we look down on them how can we win them for Christ?

AS Christians we are not allowed to take arms against our neighbours. Christianity is heavenly oriented. We are in this world for a while, heaven is our home. We must not use arms for whatever reason. We must be prayerful and committed. Like Esther did, prayer and fasting will do the trick. Use the word of God as weapon with prayer and fasting. Christian should be advocate of the masses advocating for the betterment of the masses. They should be the mouthpiece of the people to the government. People should be able to afford all their meals in a day and be comfortable to a large extent.