PAULINE IMPERATIVES (EPH. 4:31-32): NECESSITIES FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND NATIONAL INTEGRATION
摘要
Eph. 4:31-32 urges believers to, "Put away all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us." The above is strongly worded. A cursory look at the Nigerian nation reveals that Nigeria as a nation is sectionalized along ethnic, religious as well as gender line. Apart from the three-main dominant ethnic groups in Nigeria, there are still very many ethnic groups that are not even recognized and they feel marginalized and out of the equation. There is unwritten and unexpressed anger that exists among all the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria; each claiming to have been marginalized by others. Again, there are three main religious groups in Nigeria namely, Islam, Christianity and African Traditional Religion. Among these three dominant groups, there is deep-rooted antagonism. Hence, each of these religious groups is internally divided. There are so many sects in Islam and in most cases they are at each other's throat. In the same way, there are several denominations or sects in Christianity and each of the sets claim to be with the authentic doctrine to the neglect and detriment of others.