The Impact of Doctrinal Difference on the Church
CHAPTER ONE
- OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
the researcher intend to achieve the following objectives;
- To ascertain the effect of doctrinal difference on the church
- To examine the relationship between the early church and today’s church
- To find out the issues between Pentecostal churches and orthodox churches in Nigeria.
- To examine the role that doctrine plays in solving religious fanatics issues in Nigeria
- To proffer possible solutions to the challenges associated with doctrinal differences in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The main essence of the church existence is to provide an environment of peace, harmony and sound human development. Unresolved church conflicts result in church splits, civil litigation, divorce and a decrease in the number of church members.The church dealt with religious conflicts which related to issues of church doctrine violation. For example while the church teaches that its members should not indulge in alcohol, there was an increase in the number of members who were caught on the wrong side of this rule. As a result church leadership had to grapple with what course of action to take in order to deter future violators of such a rule. Other doctrinal violations creating conflict were issues such as the issue of living without sinning (holiness) and the functions of the Holy Spirit where members imitated other non-Salvation Army teachings thereby threatening the perpetuation of this church’s doctrine to the next generation. There was an increase in number of members especially the youth who preferred adopting Pentecostal ways of praising and worshipping God such as making loud noises during church services. This created a conflict between the young and older generations. Cases of doctrinal violations were dealt with by the church disciplinary board whose members were drawn from the top and middle echelons of the church.
Unsettled church conflicts also affected church growth as some members left the church and new members avoided joining the church as a result.
Social conflicts caused by adultery by married people and fornication by the yet to be married was also another area of concern in the church. This created bad relationships between married women and single or divorced ladies in the church as mistrust between the two groups increased. Adultery created marital conflicts within the homes of the married church members. According to Butaumocho (2013), there were increasing cases of infidelity among married people including those that occupied leadership positions in the churches.Should believers ignore denominations, should they just not go to church and worship on their own at home? The answer proffered by scholars to both questions is “no”. They suggested that, what Christians should be seeking is a body of believers where the Gospel of Christ is preached, where an individual can have a personal relationship with the Lord, where he or she can join in biblical ministries that are spreading the Gospel and glorifying God. Church is important and all believers need to belong to a body that fits the above criteria. They need relationships that can only be found in the body of believers, they need the support that only the church can offer, and they need to serve God in community as well as individually if doctrinal differences must be reduced.
Socio economic problems has been causing tremendous conflicts within the church as congregants were divided according to economic grades. For example, some members avoided attending funerals of relatives of poor members of the church. This was the same case with weddings of church members of little means or their relatives which were not well attended compared to those of wealthy church members. Socio economic challenges also created marital conflicts in the marriages and families of church members as people were finding it very difficult to conduct normal lives without adequate financial resources. As a result, this increased the incidence of domestic violence cases as church members resorted to violence in their marriages and families due to frustration as ends failed to tie up financially.
Another area of conflict was the issue of political affiliation where people belonged to different political parties but yet were members of the same church.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design adopted for this work is cross –sectional survey and descriptive analysis on a randomly selected sample of the different categories of churches (Catholic, Pentecostal churches and Orthodox).
STUDY AREA
The study area for this research is Lagos state in eastern Nigeria.
The choice of Imo state as the study area is because since the creation of the state in 1967 and in spite of the movement of Lagos state in the state creation exercise of 1991, it naturally enjoys the benefits of being the fulcrum of the eastern part of the country. Lagos state is built with many roads, estates , government establishments, all kinds of private developments, schools, hospitals, theaters, shopping malls, hotels to mention a few. All these infrastructures are the handiwork of construction. As such there cannot be a better place to obtain data for this study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
INTRODUCTION
This chapter deals with the presentation and analysis of the result obtained from questionnaires. The data gathered were presented according to the order in which they were arranged in the research questions, sample percentage and pie charts were used to analyze the demographic information of the respondents while the chi square test was adopted to test the research hypothesis.
CHAPTER FIVE
FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FINDINGS
The objective of the study was to examine the impact of doctrinal difference on the church. Findings from the study reveals that there is doctrinal difference between the orthodox and Pentecostal churches. Also that the church doctrine plays a significant role in ensuring peace and harmony in the Nigeria. See table 6and 7 above.
Another finding from the study reveals that the society will be peaceful if the church is active in preaching the message of peace (See table 8)
CONCLUSION
It is pertinent to note that the aim of this study is to examine the impact of doctrinal difference on the church today, comparing the early church with the catholic, Pentecostal and orthodox churches.
The study investigated when Pentecostalism came into being in the area in 1972 and how it has expanded up to 2005.
The study revealed the similarities and differences between orthodox and Pentecostal churches. Similarly, factorsresponsible for the growth and expansion and Pentecostal doctrines are examined. Pentecostal churches in Nigeria proclaim a pragmatic gospel just like Pentecostals in other parts of the country and beyond. The flexibility of the movement has made them to attain authentic indigenous character, which enables them to spread throughout Nigeria from 1972-2005. Pentecostal churches have created impact, which includes positive and negative influences on the Nigerian society. The study also discussed and analyzedthe challenges and future of these churches in Nigeria with relation to the high rate of doctrinal differences. The researcher finally conclude that as believers, That as believers, there are certain basic doctrines that we must believe, but beyond that there is latitude on how we can serve and worship; it is this latitude that is the only good reason for denominations. This is diversity and not disunity. The first allows us to be individuals in Christ, the latter divides and destroys the unity of churches in the society. Hence, an authentic Pentecostal consciousness does not belong to particular culture in the world, but a part of the New Testament response, to the question of man’s relationship to God as made known through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are therefore bound to seek and articulate a model of the Church today, that will explicate theologically and ecclesiologically the reality of the Christian faith in the contemporary world, capable of making the encounter between God and humanity, an experiential reality
RECOMMENDATION
From the findings of this study and the level of crises emanating from diverse doctrines from various churches in Nigeria; the researcher suggest that;
- That oneness of Christians in Nigeria should be Christocentric, unity in diversity, and sola scriptura.
- Believers should chose a church on the basis of its relationship to Christ and how well it is serving the society at large.
- That believers should pick a church where the pastor is preaching the Gospel without fear and is encouraged to do so.
- Church representative bodies such as Living Faith Aka Winners Chapel Nigeria, Nigerian Council of Churches, Catholic Bishops Conference, and Union for the Development of Apostolic Churches in Nigeria should be at the forefront not only in the promotion of church doctrines but also in ensuring that leadership appointments at the helm of these organizations are in sync with the biblical standard and thrust of the international community and the nation of Nigeria.
- Pentecostalism should be understood as a valid dimension of the Church’s life and ministry, which loses its relevancy when it is being separated from the ecclesial ministry rooted in the Apostolictradition.
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