ABSTRACT Some Christian expression present in music, sermons and life styles of contemporary Ghanaian preachers suggest that once a person becomes a Christian they will not face predicaments such as sickness, barrenness and pains. However, in reference to Christian history, there is no Christianity without a cross; in essence, suffering is part of the Christian tradition and theology. It is important therefore to reminisce from the examples and from the history of the early Christians and the...
ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, presidential and parliamentary elections in Ghana have been interspersed with prophecies mainly from the prophets of the neo-prophetic churches in Ghana. The neo-prophetic churches are one of the Pentecostal strand of churches in Ghana. These prophecies seeks or attempt to give an advance declaration of a presidential candidate whom God has chosen to win an impending presidential elections. This study, thus focuses on prophecies regarding presidential elect...
ABSTRACT From the very beginnings of the Basel Mission Church in Accra, indigenous people played very meaningful roles to ensure the success of the mission. The work of these African Christians is significant, and some historical accounts have sought to credit their roles. This study seeks to examine three (3) of these indigenous Ga in the Basel Mission Church and their contributions to the growth of the Basel Mission Church in the Ga district. These persons are Carl Christian Reindorf, Paul ...
ABSTRACT This work is concerned with the divergent opinions on church government in the Anglican and Methodist Churches. At the 1999 Methodist Church Conference, at which there was a resolution to adopt the episcopal system of church government, the ‘laity’ admitted that they lacked adequate understanding about the systems of church government. Also, a claim that was made by the Methodist Church Ghana during and after the discussions to adopt episcopacy was that her episcopacy is more bib...
ABSTRACT The silence of God and the problem of evil are mysterious issues and a major concern for human history which many have tried to unravel. However, some contemporary Charis-matic Churches try to use motivational or prosperity gospel to resolve the problem of evil. Some of their leaders preach that Christians must not lack anything. If that is so, how do we explain the circumstances of poverty, sufferings, natural and man-made disasters that claim so many lives? Is it because those who ...
ABSTRACT The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) experienced a number of conflicts and divisions from 1942 to 1991. Among them, the schism on the 8th June, 1991 is considered the greatest. After twenty-four years, the effect of this split still persists. The study therefore investigates the effects of the 1991 schism on the EPCG, within the period of 1992 – 2015. It examines the consequences of the Schism from EPCG perspective, highlighting both the challenges and the potentialiti...
ABSTRACT Scholars have studied some African Initiated Churches in Ghana; notable among them are Christ Apostolic Church, The Apostolic Church of Ghana, and Church of Pentecost. Most of these churches emerged from the eastern part of Ghana and have spread across the whole country and even beyond the borders of Ghana. The Lord‟s Pentecostal Church is one of the first indigenous churches established in Peki in the Volta Region of Ghana and has spread across the country and beyond. However ther...
ABSTRACT For the Krobo, death is considered a calamity. They say, gbenɔ yi mi wa (death is wicked), so ke i na amane tsoɔ i ko wo he la (if I had seen ‘death tree,’ I would have set fire to it). Similar concepts about death can be found in some NT communities. An example was the Johannine community confronted with the problem of justifying death in the community of eternal life (11:37) and how the death of believers is to be understood and faced in this life. If Jesus is truly present, ...
ABSTRACT Ghana is a pluralistic religious country. The religions in Ghana includc Christianity, African Traditional Religion, Islam and some Oriental Religions. Islam is the first foreign religion that came to the Gold Coast/Ghana. However the 2000 Housing and Population Census indicated that majority of Ghanaians profess to be Christians. The Salvation Army (The Army) is a protestant church. It started in London in 1865 as a Christian Fellowship. In 1878 it changed its name from The Chr...
ABSTRACT The focus of this thesis has been to investigate the rationale for the provision of education by three selected Charismatic churches in Ghana – the Full Gospel Church International (FGCI), the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) and the Action Chapel International (ACI). It discussed and examined the factors responsible for the generation of interest by the selected charismatic churches in the provision of education in Ghana. Particularly, the charismatic churches have been ...
ABSTRACT Christianity, from inception, has been a missionary religion. The Acts of the Apostles and Pauline letters are replete with Paul‘s missionary activities and their contributions to contemporary churches. Many scholars have examined Paul‘s missionary journeys and strategies, but adequate attention has not been given to the connection between these strategies and those of the Lagos Metropolitan Areas of The Apostolic Church, Nigeria (LMATACN) which is a missionary organisation. Thi...
ABSTRACT The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) has a reputation for high spiritualism, but it also has a subtle link with African traditional religion (ATR). Studies on the church have ‟ ‟ x the ATR elements appropriated in CAC in terms of the objects used, the procedures involved in their use and the functions associated with them. x - interviews were conducted with purposively sampled 60 pastors (10 from each city) and 120 laity (20 from each city). A total of 360 copies of a questionnaire...
ABSTRACT Deep concern for the poor in the society was an integral part of Jesus' earthly ministry especially in the Gospel of Luke. This makes the social ministry an important part of a typical church, as manifested in the programmes of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC). Many scholars have examined the theological basis of Jesus' care and concern for the poor, but adequate attention has not been given to the connection between Jesus' approaches and those of the NBC Social Ministry, devot...
ABSTRACT Land and social justice are central to social life in the society of Prophet Micah (Micah), thus their motifs are dominant in the book of Micah of the Old Testament because of the oppressive government in power during the prophets time. Related situations obtained in Ogbomoso between 1978 and 2008, particularly among the Christians, when a number of people and organisations lost their land to the government or other individuals. Previous studies have identified several land and soci...
Abstract Conflicts between Jesus’ teachings on marriage and adultery and some church traditions have resulted in misinterpretation of some bible passages and wrongly premised church doctrines. Previous research has highlighted Jesus' teachings as a stratagem against the high rate of marital problems among Christians, but has not adequately examined the conflict between Jesus' teachings and church traditions on marriage and adultery. This study, therefore, examined Jesus’ teachings on mar...