tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78872588928472771622024-03-12T10:19:11.715-07:00Cornelius Afebu Omonokhuaomonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-54374840673494261752024-03-12T10:18:00.001-07:002024-03-12T10:18:39.018-07:00THE SACRIFICE OF RECONCILING MEN AND WOMEN TO GOD <p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">THE SACRIFICE OF RECONCILING MEN AND WOMEN</span></span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">TO GOD, AND TO ONE ANOTHER AFTER THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST: IMPULSE FOR INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE</span></span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">P</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">RESENTED </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">BY</span></span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s2" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">CORNELIUS AFEBU OMONOKHUA</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 36px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: Algerian; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">AT THE</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE SEMINAR</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">FOR THE NIGERIA CONFERENCE</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (NC</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">WR)</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">KADUNA</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-family: Algerian;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">SEPTEMBER 4, 2008</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Introduction</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">May I begin this reflection by first thanking and congratulating the Nigerian Sisters on behalf of the Department of Mission and Dialogue of the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Catholic Secretariat of Niger</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ia</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">!</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Inter-religious dialogue is a </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">committee</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the Department of Mission and Dialogue</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Other </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">committees</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are Ecumenism and Mission. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">On Wednesday, the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">20</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 8.4px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> May, 2008,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> I called Sr. Julie Osiyemi, EHJ</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and asked: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Who is your audience in this seminar? </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">She replied</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The female Religious. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I asked further: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">What is the aim and ob</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">jective of the seminar and workshop? </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">On the</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 21</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 8.4px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">st</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of May, 2008</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, she sent me an</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">answer through </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">an </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e-mail. In her own words: </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The objective is to have a </span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">5-day</span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> training and formation in Inter-religious dialogue for sisters. The goal is to promote Inter-religious dialogue in Nigeria through the different apostolate of the sisters in the rural and urban areas. Many Nigerian sisters work in different parts of Nigeria where there is strong presence of people of other religions, especially Muslims and followers of African Traditional Religion (A.T.R.). All these people come to the sisters for health, social and educational services. Si</span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">sters are very effective in reac</span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hing out to women of other religions, especially Muslims. This </span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">programme</span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> will help to prepare the sisters for such apostolate which is assuming a place of vital importance in the life of the Church in our time</span></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px 36px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">My immediate reaction to this</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is to prepare </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a paper that may help us discover who we are as human beings and the power in the female gender especially in this era of </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">wome</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n empowerment</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the Nigeria</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> context. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The reference point of our enquiry in this discussion is</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">A</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">fter the example of</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> C</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hrist.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The implication of this is that the ultimate goal of the Nigeria Sisters is to be like Jesus in words and deeds. This is not impossible. A lot of women have </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">been</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> shining examples and models in almost every aspect of</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> human life. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We are aware that in the march of Jesus to Calvary</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Veronica penetrated the crowd and the armed soldiers to wipe the face of Jesus. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">May the Nigeria Sisters in dialogue</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> imitate the boldnes</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s of this woman, Veronica to </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">bring succor to th</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e bleeding hearts of our people!</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">It was the dialogue between the angel Gabriel and Mother Mary that gave us a Redeemer with the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">fiat</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of Mary. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Luke</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">1:38)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">he Old Testament reported the dialogues of Queen Esther and Judith. These at different times saved the people of Israel from peril and destru</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ction. Women are powerful!</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This power can destroy if it is not properly channeled in love</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and peace. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">So,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">our prayer is that the strength of our Consecrated women may yiel</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d positive results </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">like women in our co</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ntemporary hist</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">or</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">y</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who have proven that it is possible to live after the example of Christ who is our Lord and Saviour.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><div class="s17" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;">(1) </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Anthropological foundation of D</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ialogue</span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anthropology</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is derived from two Greek words “</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">anthropos”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> άνθρωπος and </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">logos </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">-λογος. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anthr</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">opos-</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">άνθρωπος me</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ans man, human being, and person while </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">logos </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">(λογος) means</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> word or </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">discourse</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Anthropology is the study of the human person or the study of a people or humanity</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This study also includes the community and the environment where the human pe</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">rson lives. Thi</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">human person has a goal and a destination that terminates at a final end or destiny which in Greek is </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">telos</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> -τελος. </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">There are many different types of anthropologies. For example, “Physical anthropology studies features of the human body,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> such as types </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">of </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">blood, the form and colour of hair, and the shape of the skull, which often show</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">relationships between different groups of people or races. Cultural anthropology is the study of the life style of a people. The anthropologist can learn about this by studying objects which man</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> / woman</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> makes and uses. Social anthropology is concerned with the way people live together in organized societies, and with the customs and rules that are kept in these societies. Ethnology is an aspect of anthropology that studies </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">par</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ticular societies or distinct groups. It is a comparative study of cultures.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">heological </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">anthropology</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> an e</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">nquiry into the nature of the human person</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as a crea</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ture of God. Michael J. Scanlon</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> defines anthropology within the context of Christology. He says that</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s19" style="margin: 0px -11px 0px 36px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">For Christian anthropology</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Jesus Christ is the focal paradigm. The Christian is in the most literal sense the disciple of Jesus, the one who learns from Jesus how to live authentically. The biblical elaboration of this Christian structure of existence is rich and varied, and it includes both testaments since Jesus was a Jew, and his basic religious formation came from the traditions of Judaism, especially from the Hebrew Scriptures. It was the prophets of Israel who first introduced that structure of exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence which we call personhood. Jesus would pioneer a “post-personal” form of existence demanding self-transcendence empowered by the Spirit and actualized in love of </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">neighbour</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">…. This</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> new knowledge has obvious consequences of a Christian anthropology for which Jesus is the illustration of a life well lived.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">vocation </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">of the Women</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Religious </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">can be described in the context of anthropology</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. A Sister is f</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">irst and foremost a human being. She </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> complete woman of substance, </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">born into a particular culture and society. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">A </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">S</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ister has </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a double heritage from the society and from the Church.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Her</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> character has been formed in the course of history</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This she</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> contributes to the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ongoing </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">formation of a community. She is a woman who heard a call to follow Christ and like the Blessed Virgin Mary gave a </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">fiat </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">by accepting bap</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ism, confirmation and profession </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a consecrated </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">life as an</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> immaculate bride of Jesus Christ. Consequently, to be a good professed sister, </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">she</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">first and foremost </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">be a good human being who is cultured and at peace within herself, with herself, with the people around her and with the secular society. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Thus,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a sister is different from every other woman because she is a testimony and a witness to</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eschatolog</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">y </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">beatific</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> vision. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Have you ever bothered to ask </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">any of your parents</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the events that sur</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">round</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed your birth? The popular</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ideas at the time you were born and the people that moved the world around you. These questions can contribute to the affirmation of who you are as a person and your </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">latent potentials</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to make the world around you</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a glorious</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">bliss</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">instead of a</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">blaze</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Your </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">person</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> can create heaven in a wounded broken world through</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> your presence, your smile, your touch, your attention, your care, your tolerance, your patience</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, your total </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">being, readiness</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to be the </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">bread</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">broken and the </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">wine</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">poured f</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">orth for the world around you irrespective of tribe, colour and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">religion.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The life you live is</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a dialogue </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">since </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">what you </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">are </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and who you </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">are speak louder than what you say</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> You</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must make a difference to change the world around you. You need to begin from where you</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are and as you are. You are surely in the</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> right place</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This place could be </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">your</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> immediate</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> community. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The power in you must be</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> seen in the way you share love, peace, joy and attractive attitude of reconciliation in the place where you live.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Once u</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">pon a time, Aloaye the </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hunter</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> went into a very thick forest for hunting. He saw something very unusual </span></span><span class="s21" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">– the egg of an eagle bird – </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eagles normally laid their eggs in a nest and neatly placed on top of a very tall tree. Aloaye carried the egg gently and add</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> it to the eggs of his turkey. The turkey incubated its eggs along with the egg of the eagle. The eggs were hatched together. The </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">poult</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">baby turkeys</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and the </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eaglet (</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">baby eagle</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> lived and roamed together. One day, the</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eagle</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> saw a mother eagle soaring</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">above the clouds. He wanted to fly but was very afraid because it had not learnt or discovered that it was capable of soaring. The</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eagle</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was so sad and asked the mother turkey, why is it that I can not fly like that bird that look</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">like me? The mother turkey replied: </span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">it is hard to soar with the eagles when you have to live with the turkeys.</span></span><span class="s21" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eagle</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ran into the forest wondering when he could really actualize its potentials by soaring </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">above </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the clouds </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">into</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the sky. One day, an eagle was soaring in the</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">sky and look</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed down to see a bird that had</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a resemblance. He came down picked </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eaglet</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> up on top of a tree. After some training, the mother eagle carried the</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eagle</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> up to the clouds and said: </span></span><span class="s21" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">you either fly or you cry because you have the potential to soar like me. It is your nature to grow above the turkeys, so fly. </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eagle</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was released </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">only </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">with an option to fly or die. It opened its wings with courage lest it crash</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It did not only fly but soar like every other eagle. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The power of Christ is in </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">each and every one of us. </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This means that to change the world around us positively, we must be a step ahead of the world</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the power</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of Christ in us</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> We are not ordinary people. We are images of God. We are people who are wonderfully made to make the world a peaceful home and a heaven to live in.</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> We must define who we are and whose we are. As Christians</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> we are called to be d</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ifferent from every other</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> human being because we share in the divine life of Christ who is a model of a l</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ife well lived. We must fl</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">y as our nature dictates and embrace divine grace irrespective of what every othe</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r person is complaisant with. We</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Christian</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">are children of</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">destiny. W</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e ought to constantly reflect on where we are</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">coming from, where </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">we are</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, and </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">where </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">we are</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> going.</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">In God’s plan </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">everyone</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was created with a divine origin and a divine destiny. The first two questions in the Catholic Catechism </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">are</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s23" style="margin: 0px 65px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Who made you?</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">God made me.</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Why did God make you? God made me to know him, love him and serve him in this world, and to be happy with him </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">forever</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the next.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s23" style="margin: 0px 65px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">M</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">yths and stories have been used to answer the puzzle of human nature. It was when the people of Israel were in Exile in </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Babylon,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> they first started to ask themselves about their origin and destiny. These reflections gave rise to the inspired myths of Genesis 1-11, using the Epic of Gilgamesh as a major source. The contents and purpose of the book of </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">G</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">enesis according to E.F. Sutcliffe, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“is to trace the descent of the ancestors of the people of Israel from the beginning of the world down to the twelve son</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s of Jacob who were the eponyms of the twelve tribes and to their immediate descendants”.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> doctrine of genesis manifests a lofty conception of God:</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s19" style="margin: 0px -11px 0px 36px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">He is one and there is no other beside him. This fundamental truth is taught not by abstract propositions but in more telling fashion. He it was who created the beings elevated by pagan nations to divine rank. As the Creator of all, he is the supreme Lord and master of the world. He is the omnipotent</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The divine nature of the human person enables him</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">/her</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to enter into dialogue with God and th</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e entire creation. The human nature ha</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s the capacity to dialogue with the created order. Fulton J. Sheen says that</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We are to some extent like the rest of creation. For example, we have existence, or being, like stones, oxygen, and sand. But </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">man,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> also has life, which makes him like flowers and trees, which vegetate and grow and reproduce. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Man,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> also has senses like the animal, by which he enters into contact with the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">great external environment, from stars to the food that lies at his fingertips. But man has something unique; he is not just the sum of all of these. What man has peculiar unto himself is the fact that man is thinking and a willing being</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">…. But</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> he also has freedom. He can choose, decide, and determine his targets both near and far.</span></span></p><p class="s23" style="margin: 0px 65px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s18" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is when a human person is in union with the source of his being that he</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">/she</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> can find true happiness. To find the source of life, truth, and love that is in the world, Fulton J Sheen says that</span></span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 4px 0px 36px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We have to go to a life that is not mingled with its shadow, death; to a Truth that is not mingled with its shadow, error; to a love that is not mingled with its shadow, hate. We must go out to pure life, Pure Truth, Pure Love, and that is the definition of God. He is the ultimate goal of life; from Him we came, a</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d in Him alone do we find peace</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">…. When</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are we most happy? When we do that for which we are made, as the microphone is happy when it does that for which it was made. Then there is a thrill and a romance to life</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s23" style="margin: 0px 65px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><div class="s25" style="margin: 0px -11px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;">(2) </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Reconciling Mission of Jesus </span></span></div><p class="s26" style="margin: 0px -11px 0px 18px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The word reconciliation implies a </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">broken and fractured humanity. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">God created the world good. The story of the Garden of Eden symbolizes peace happiness and contentment that human beings would enjoy. The </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">sin of</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adam and Eve symbolizes the inclination which the human person later acquired freely to disobey. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consequently,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hatred and jealousy </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">were</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> displayed in the story of Cain and Abel</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Genesis 3)</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The result of the sin of Adam and Eve was </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a serious </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">rivalry and hatred. </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The scattered smoke of Cain’s offering was an expression of </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> burning jealousy and anger he was already nursing against his brother Abel. </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otherwise,</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> he would have tried a better offering when the former was rejected and if need </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">be,</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ask his brother Abel for assistance. </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">he case of </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cain and Abel is an expression of the passion in the heart of human beings today. God asked Cain: </span></span><span class="s28" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">where is your brother?</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> In response to God’s question, Cain asked in return: </span></span><span class="s28" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Am I my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:10)</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">God </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">took the initiative to restore</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the broken and fractured humanity</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to grace</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> again</span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">To do </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">this at</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made all things (Hebrews 1:1-2)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus came to give life and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">he </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">g</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ve it abundantly (John 10:10). </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">He came as the fulfillment of the promise</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> made by God to his people. A</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">fter preparing hi</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">m</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">self thro</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ugh fasting, baptism and conquering</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the devil </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">that</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> tempted him with food, fame and power</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Jesus referred to</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the prophecy of Isaiah </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">declared: </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Spirit of the Lord is on me; for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1-2)</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s29" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This called</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">for a community of discipleship</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Jesus therefore had a community</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">twelve apostles and others including women who ministered to him (Mark. 3:16-19; Luke. 8:1-3). Luke specifically mentioned some women whom he had healed and who</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> contributed to the support of the group apart from the twelve.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 8.4px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 8.4px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">What is unique in the community of Jesus is that he made reconciliation, forgiveness and peace a condition </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">even </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">for the acceptance of the off</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ering. Jesus’ community was to be a model of true love and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> perfect agape whereby</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span></p><p class="s29" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s30" style="margin: 0px -9px 6px 72px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">If you are bringing your offering to the alter and there remember that your brother</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or sister</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or sister</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> first, an</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d then come back and present your offering” (Matthew.5: 17-18).</span></span></p><p class="s31" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus prays for the unity of this community and the future ecclesiastical community</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Cf. John. 17)</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus did not intend his followers to be in conflict with the civil and political society. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> obedience to the political set up of the Jews under the Roman government, Jesus allow</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s the payment of the temple tax</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Mark. 13:9) since both Caesar and what belongs to Caesar belong</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to God.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s31" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 6px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Church</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the body of Christ</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Theological anthropology sees the human person in the context of the community of Jesus who came to establish the kingdom of God. Before Jesus left the realm of time to </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eternity,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> he advised that we should follow him, the life, the way and the truth. He encouraged his followers not to worry. Jesus was fully aware that every community depends on sacrifice to live in peace and harmony in time. To live in eternity a supreme sacrifice is required. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">However,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Jesus did not make this sacrifice o</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">utside himself. He was the priest and the victim. He willingly offered himself for his community to be reconciled to God and live in peace and harmony. This action was consummated on the cross. It was after the resurrection and ascension of Christ that the members of Christ community were called Christians. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first cal</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">led ‘Christians’” (Acts 11:26).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> approach of Jesus was both in teaching and in acting.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The end result of all reconciling mission is peace: Peace of mind, soul and body. When the human person is at peace on the inside, this peace can now radiate and affect the world around the person</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus in action makes peace our inheritance: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, let not your heart be troubled, neither l</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">et it be afraid (John 14:27). </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This p</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eace does not rule out the trials and frustration that the world can make us go through. “</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I have spoken to you, so that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Persecution is part of the Christian mission because some </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">people may even hate you without reason or</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hate </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">you </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">for following Christ. Some may not even like to see your face. The fact that you are alive alone can disgust some </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">people. But we can be consoled and courageous with the words of Christ: </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the k</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when people</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> insult you and persecute you and say all manner of </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">evil</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">against you for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is you</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> reward in heave</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, for so they persecuted the prophets who came before you (Matthew 5:10-12)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">serpents, and harmless a</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s doves</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Matthew 10:16)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Whoever will save his life shall lose it; but wh</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">oever shall lose his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel shall save it</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mark 8:35)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but becau</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">se you are not of the world </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">for,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember what I told you: the servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also. Bu</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t all these things will they do to you for my name’s sake, because they know not him </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">that sent</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> me. (Jo</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hn 15:18-21)</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the face of these obvious possible events</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">St. Paul says:</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or pe</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">rsecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">written</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, “For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” No, in </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">all</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> these things we are more than conqu</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">erors through him that loved us</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Romans 8:35-37)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">How should</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a follower of Christ</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> handle or respond to this tribulation</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and persecution</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">? The approach of Jesus at first instance is very frightening and almost a contradiction to reason. Jesus said:</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 72px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">f </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">anyone</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">strike</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you on your right cheek; turn to h</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">im the other also. And if any one </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">sues</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you at the law, and take away your coat, let him/her have your cloak also. And whoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two. Give to the person that asks you, and turn not away from the person that would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, “you shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, a</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">nd pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you; that you may be the c</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hildren of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what rewards have you? (Matthew 5:39 cf. Luke 6:35-36))</span></span></p><p class="s29" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: -11px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">passage does</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> not rule out </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">possible enquiries</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> into the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">injustice we suffer from people.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">If your brother or sister offends you, rebuke him or her and if he or she repents, forgive. If a person offends you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again saying; “</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I am sorry, you must forgive the person” (Luke 17:3-4</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. When</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the soldier slapped Jesus, he demanded for a reason for the slap. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, is that the way you answ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">er the high priest? Jesus replied, ‘If there is some offence in what I said, point it out</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">; but if not, why do you</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> strike me? (John 18: 22-24) </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">But Jesus did not revenge by slapping</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> back. Earlier </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">during his arrest</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Simon Peter drew a sword and struck the high priest’s servant whose name was Malchus, Jesus said to Peter, ‘put </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">your sword </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">back in its scabbard</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">(John 18:10-11)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus was very emphatic in his teaching regarding mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not their trespasses, neither will your</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">father</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> forgive your trespasses</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Matthew 6:14-15). Then came Peter to him, and said, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how many times should I forgive him, as many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I say </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22).</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Before you start praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses (Mark 11:25-26).</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">put into action his teaching</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">While </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in pains and dying on the cross</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Jesus prayed for his executioners and even </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">excused them</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus said on the cross; “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is in line with the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Leviticus</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">law</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You shall not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of your</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">people</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Leviticus 19:18)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">(3)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Sacrifice of reconciling men and women to God, and to one another</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">To be able to practice the teaching on reconciliation and to reconcile others, the Christian must be a reconciled reconciler.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This calls for real sacrifice. In reconciliation</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">something must be sacrificed: Ego, pride, position, time and energy. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The tongue must be properly checked. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Formation of Character mus</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t be a watch word. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Character is manifested through the things we say and do.</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">When wealth is lost, nothing is lost, when health </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is lost, something is lost but when </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">c</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">haracter</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is lost everything is lost. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We must therefore be ch</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">aritable with the things we say. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Our</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> attitude and our manner of approach</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must be seen and experienced in the ways we treat each other in our immediate communities</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">As Religious</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you must fight the weaknesses which are often identified with women. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The law and the wisdom writers have this to tell us: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people (Leviticus 19:16)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Keep your t</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. (Psal</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">m</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 34:12-15)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">A soft answer turns away wr</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">th, but harsh words stir up anger (</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Proverbs 15:1)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">All these will prepare you as women of substance for dialogue w</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ith people outs</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ide o</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ur community, culture and r</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eligion. Let us therefore take a brief look at dialogue in general. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The C</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">hambers English Dictionary defines dialogue as a </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">conversation between two or more persons especially of a formal or imaginary nature; an exchange of views in the hope of ultimately reaching agreement</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> William Barclay,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">cited </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">some </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">wise men as follows: </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">John Wesley:</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I have no more right to object to a man for holding a different opinion from mine than I have to differ with a man because he wears a wig and I wear my own hair. We think and let think. In other </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">words,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> while we think, we should let others think their own way</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">T.R. Glover:</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Remember that whatever your hand finds to do, someone thinks differently</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Abraham </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lincoln</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Even if a man be utterly mistaken, we must never regard him as an enemy to be destroyed but as a strayed friend to be recovered by love.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dialogue</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the act of listening to each other and one another. By so doing, we understand that we are gifts to each other and one another. Life makes us complete and complement one another. No two persons are exactly the same physically, emotionally, intellectually, morally and religiously. Human beings are so uniquely created that everybody has something to contri</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">bute to the beauty of the world. No one is created to be absolutely useless. God did not create any one to destroy him or her. Every one has a special g</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ift given by God to make the world a home for one and the same God. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Though we have different faces, we have humanity as a common factor and God as our single creator. There is no father who celebrates and rejoices at the disintegration of his family resulting from lack of peace among his children. I wonder how a parent would feel when the children fight an</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d kill one another over who </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">love</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> cherish and obey the parent best. Imagine the disposition of God when His creatures or Children or servants fight and kill one another </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in his name</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t is </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">wrong </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">use</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> religion for political </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">gains because t</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">he world is God’s</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">family. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">(4</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">) Impulse for inter-religious dialogue.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Let </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">us</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">examine</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the aim and objective of this seminar, namely</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">training</span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and formation in Inter-religious dialogue for sisters. The goal i</span></span><span class="s13" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s to promote Inter-religious dialogue in Nigeria through the different apostolate of the sisters in the rural and urban areas. </span></span><span class="s33" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">It follows then that </span></span><span class="s33" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Women Religious</span></span><span class="s33" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> should understand the need for dialoguing with Islam and African primal religion</span></span><span class="s33" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s33" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Sisters after this seminar should be able to educate our people in words and action that fighting in the name of religion is unreasonable. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The earth absorbs almost every liquid except blood. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Very often many</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who fight because of religion do so for their</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">selfish rea</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">sons. God is immortal, almighty, and powerful. He knows everything. God may not need any one to defend him or protect him. He is strong enough to defend and protect himself. Whoever claims to be a messenger of God or a lover of God must preach peace, unity, mutual coexistence, tolerance, love and all the virtues that can make this world a home, a better place</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and a paradise where God is all in all. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">After all</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> both </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Christians and the Muslims greet with </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">P</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eace be with you</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">!</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">In </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">bringing our</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> potent</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ials together and conscious </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">of being</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> so gifted by God, we must be known for one good thing by which others can identify us. Dialogue</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is an act of bringing our different ideas and gifts to a round table</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Dialogue is the contribution of our latent potentials to be actualized by the human community irrespective of our different colours, race and religion. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Inter-religious dialogue does not exclude proclamation but the essence is not conversion but a means of understanding each and one another.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">nter-religious dialogue is not a call to conversion. It is a call to a peaceful coexistence by sharing ideas and understanding one another. It is the sharing of what we have in common and tolerating our differences.</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">B</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">y so doing, we make this world a home a peaceful home that is tranquil and conducive for life and human habitation. There will be no more fear, no more insecurity, no more pain as we live in love as brothers and sisters. The world is a temporary place where we learn how we shall live in heaven </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">where God will be all in all.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> For a peaceful dialogue to take place we mus</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">t be conscious of the fact that we are all creatures and children of one and the same God.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s34" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-right: 63px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.6px; padding-left: 32px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Catholic </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Church and Dialogue</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The above expositions may help in preparing us for dialogue at various levels: </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The origin of </span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">nter-religious </span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">D</span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ialogue</span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is God who created all people and </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">destined them for </span></span><span class="s27" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">salvation.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">To promote the </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">econciliation between man and God</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Pope John Paul II called for the</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/travels/sub_index1986/trav_perugia-assisi_en.htm"><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi on 27 October 1986</span></span></a><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Second Vatican Council taught in </span></span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html"><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nostra aetate</span></span></a><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">-Christian Religions”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“We cannot truly pray to God the Father of all if we treat any people in other than brotherly fashion, for all men are created in God’s image” (n. 5). </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">At the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI reminded believers in the following words:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> “We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> And in his </span></span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20061208_xl-world-day-peace_en.html"><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Message for the World Day of Peace in 2007</span></span></a><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">he reiterated: “</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">As one created in the image of God, each individual human being has the dignity of a person</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">; he or she is not just something, but someone, capable of self-knowledge, self-possession, free self-giving and entering into communion with others. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Catholic Church continues to defend the dignity of the human person even though this same creature, willed and love</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d by the Creator, now finds herself living in the ‘desert’ of this world. And there are so many kinds of ‘</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">deserts</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. There is the desert of rejection, even before one is born, the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of God’s darkness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or lacking any goal for their lives. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">so vast.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Indeed, for the desert to become green again, man has to be reconciled with God and with the inner self. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">econciliation between </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">person and person</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, St John writes to Christians: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Whoever says, ‘I am in the light’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (1</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">J</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">oh</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n 2:9). </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Regarding violence in different places and at different levels, </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Pope Benedict XVI </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">made this </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">appeal at a traditional Christian prayer: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“In the world there is </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">too much</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">violence, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">too much</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> injustice, and therefo</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">re that this situation cannot be overcome except by countering it with </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">more</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> love, with </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">more</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> goodness. This ‘more’ com</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">es from God: it is his mercy which was made flesh in Jesus and which alone can ‘tip the balance’ of the world from evil to good, starting with that small and decisive “world” which is the human heart”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Pope Benedict XVI proposed </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">further: </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; margin-left: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Christian non-violence) does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of ‘turning the other cheek’ (cf. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Luke</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. 6:29) claims, but in re</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">sponding to evil with good (cf. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Romans</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 12:17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice. One then understands that for Christians, non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person’s way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God’s love and power and that he is not afraid to tackle evil with the weapons of love and truth alone. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Love of one’s enemy constitutes the nucleus of the ‘Christian revolution’, a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power: the</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in his merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel, which silently changes the world! Here is the heroism of the ‘lowly’ who believe in God’s love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s36" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Church </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">also</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> proposed the reconciliation </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">between the human person</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">his </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">environment</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. In his Encyclical Letter</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0214/_INDEX.HTM"><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Centesimus Annus</span></span></a><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Pope John Paul II wrote: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Not only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given to him, but man too is God’s gift to man. He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed.”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is to avoid natural disasters like </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> h</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">urricanes, earthq</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">uakes, typhoons and droughts </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">which can be caused by human recklessness and</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">lack of respect </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">for </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the environment</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">al laws.</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s36" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">At </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Inter</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">-</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">religious meetings</span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Christians are advanced to show maximum maturity in the </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">experiences of reconciliation, healing of wounds and memories.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Pope John Paul II convoked</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: “</span></span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/jubilee_2000/jubilevents/events_day_pardon_en.htm"><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Day of Pardon</span></span></a><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in Rome on 12 March 2000. The day was described as the </span></span><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“purification of memory”.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Pope John Paul II said: </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“The recognition of past wrongs serves to reawaken our consciences to the compromises</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the present, opening the way to conversion for everyone”.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Meetings in inter</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">-</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">religious dialogue do not of themselves remove the pains of the past or present. For reconciliation we have to </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">recognize</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that our neighbour</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s have been victims of our injustice, our anger, our exploitation. </span></span></p><p class="s36" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dialogue becomes real when we listen </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">with attention and be</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> present to the other. Dialogue places the other before me. The aggrieved and the aggressors, the victims and the perpetrators may come to such meetings with suspicion</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Attentive and sympathetic listening helps each to see the other as a brother or sister capable of loving, speaking the truth, seeking justice, offering forgiveness and sharing compassion. These are the basic values wh</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ich all religious traditions encourage. They are paths to reconciliation and peace. </span></span></p><p class="s36" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">What Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote about bringing human rights to life applies equally to creating a culture of mutual respect among peoples: ‘Where,’ she asked, ‘do human rights begin? In small places, close t</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">o home - so close and small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world… </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere’”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. His Holiness</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Pope Benedict XVI </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">repeatedly sa</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">id</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that dialogue cannot be reduced to an optional extra. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">He </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">wrote in his </span></span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20060902_xx-incontro-assisi_en.html"><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">message for the XXth anniversary of the first Assisi Meeting in 1986</span></span></a><span class="s16" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">…</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Peace is not someth</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing only to be sought in halls of government, but also in the halls of our synagogues, our churches, our mosques, our temples, our pagodas, our gurudwaras, our atash berhrams, our schools, our workplaces, our homes </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and most importantly in our hearts”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s37" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.6px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Conclusion</span></span></p><p class="s36" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.6px; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Once again, I congratulate you beloved consecrated Mothers and Sisters for this wonderful initiative. We all know the influence our mothers had on us. Mothers are wonderful in nurturing and molding the child. Sisters you are spiritual mothers. We</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> look up to you therefore to gather all the children of God wherever you are into a peaceful and tranquil home of your heart. Like the mother hen, cover them with your wings and make them warm. Suckle them with your soothing breast and give them contentm</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ent. Sisters, you are the light, so make us see. You are the salt, preserve our lives. You are the flower, make the world beautiful.</span></span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-72478211386085607092024-01-27T13:28:00.000-08:002024-01-27T13:28:05.049-08:00FR. PROF. CORNELIUS AFEBU OMONOKHUA<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-16-0hvFafQ46PU8TUzbwV02txAG-FnvKWL9YFeV6EQkdWiF5Uhhhrbcp0AqS8rUJ3He0sfnEIiIFqNAHiq_tsZ_EMpH398KPfdbNgVdm6TAiio4YYBo2FBXLZUxrgIclNGyLlI2UcRxzWq2SjhgFcsZ_oKLy9rINMsHg1tqU_iWvjnk1EQLXWjx6Wfxa/s480/d1f721ba-4916-4511-8350-92f5acbe95ef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-16-0hvFafQ46PU8TUzbwV02txAG-FnvKWL9YFeV6EQkdWiF5Uhhhrbcp0AqS8rUJ3He0sfnEIiIFqNAHiq_tsZ_EMpH398KPfdbNgVdm6TAiio4YYBo2FBXLZUxrgIclNGyLlI2UcRxzWq2SjhgFcsZ_oKLy9rINMsHg1tqU_iWvjnk1EQLXWjx6Wfxa/s320/d1f721ba-4916-4511-8350-92f5acbe95ef.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-73843056380919391872023-09-24T08:26:00.001-07:002023-09-24T08:26:06.400-07:00FAREWELL MY SR SERAH<p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">FAREWELL MY SISTER SERAH</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">My d</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ear Sister Serah, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">when</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> I announced your death</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to my friends, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the question that came with some condolences was, </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">H</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ow are you relate</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">?”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some asked because they know that my mother gave birth to only me and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mrs. Margaret Iye </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Imomoh</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Others wanted </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to know whether we have the same father and mother in the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">English</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> categories. That my father and your father have the same parents is not what really make us relations. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We have been netted together from birth. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We journey</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> into this world together. You arrived in December while I arrived in January. As we were growing up in the same home of Omonokhua, you always introduce</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> me as your younger brother. You would go further to say, “I senior him with one year</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">; we used to fight as children but I was stronger than him!</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">” </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">My response was always, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“can you still fight now?” and she would respond, “For where, I get power again?” </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">W</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e were very fond of each other. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dear Sister, you were so open that you could easily reveal your secrets. You were open minded with a generous heart. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">As children, we </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">grew up</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in love to the extent that some people </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">do not know that we were cousins</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Growing up, you were my best friend, so how could I see you in a distant relationship of the “English Cousin</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> concept?</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">can still recall this incident </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in our primary school days</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. O</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">nly </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> were in a flooded </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">O</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">gio</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">river</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. In the process of swimming, I was tired and was drowning, you dived into the water and pushed me </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to get </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">me </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">on top of the wooden bridge. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">That day, you were my life saver.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otherwise, that would have been the end of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">my life</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">When</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ever</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> we go in search of fruits, you would be the one to climb the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">mango tree</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and cashew tree to fetch fruits for us</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. W</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e called you </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osera-mo</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Serah the tree climber). When we were in primary school, no girl in our school, St. Peter’s Anglican Primary school could </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">break your record </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in 100- and 200-meters race. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">In sports, you were simply the best. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Although married to a Muslim, you never forgot </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">your</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Catholic faith. You desired to remain in union with the Church and today, God </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ha</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s allowed that desire to be sustained even at death. We thank</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> God that you are enjoying a Catholic funeral. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">A good journey is a safe and good arrival. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">W</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e pray th</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">at the Angels and Saints will welcome you into heaven where you will rest in peace with God forever. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Great athlete and great swimmer, we shall miss you. We shall miss </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">your charming jokes, smiles and counsels.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your aged parents, (Basil and Marian) will miss you! The entire family of Omonokhua will miss you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">! </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your only daughter, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mrs. Jessica </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otse</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Kayode</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> will miss you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">!</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your son </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">inlaw</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Mr. Kayode Nissi will miss you! </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your sons, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Abdul-Jabbar</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Oshioke, will miss you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">!</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your grand-children, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eyitayo</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Oluwadabira Serah, Oluwamayowa, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">will miss you! Your husband M.J. Bello will miss you! </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your colleagues and friends in NAFDAC will miss you! </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sally Baby</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">match on like a gallant soldier to heaven. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adieu Serah!</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-91998672747748299872023-09-24T07:34:00.001-07:002023-09-24T07:38:41.628-07:00SR STELLA BASSEY ESIRAH<p class="s3" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">SR. STELLA, </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">MY LOGOTHERAPIST</span></span></p><div class="s6" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: 36px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px; border: 1px solid transparent;"><img src="blob:null/5b2dbc37-281d-4680-bedf-f06ae0c25873" class="s4" style="width: 1px; height: auto; margin-left: 6px; margin-top: 94px; position: absolute; z-index: 251659264;" id="id_e5ca_733a_1fe3_eaab"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></div><div class="s6" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: 36px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px; border: 1px solid transparent;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">My dear Sr. Stella Enobong Esirah HHCJ, it appears that</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the world is closing down without your beautiful </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">smiles and encouraging words. You got me interested in logotherapy after reading your book</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on how to find meaning in life. You were a nurse before studying philosophy</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> where you researched on Logotherapy</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">that was developed by Viktor Frankl, a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">neurologist and psychiatrist</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Like</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Viktor Frankl </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">you believed that </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the primary motivational force of an individual is to find meaning in life.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You ended your life on earth with a smile and</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">admonition to your brothers and sisters: </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Here are your last words on earth: </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“I thank you Lord God for creating me. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the responsibility of being dedicated to you and the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">privilege</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">of</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> dedicat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">my life to you. If I have finished the work, you </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">assigned </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">me to do on earth, you can take me if it is your will. Otherwise, dear God reduce this suffering and pain.” </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You told your brothers and sisters not to despair. You inspired hope in them. You told them, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Cry when you need to but know that I am happy. I am at peace</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with God</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> You told God that you are not afraid of leaving the world but only concerned about those you are leaving behind. You prayed that God should unite</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and console them. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">As a renowned Psychotherap</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ist akin to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Freud's psychoanalysis and Adler's individual psychology</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">approach to life was </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">therapeutic</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Y</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ou helped those who encounter</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you to discover their real self and the reason for their existence on earth. You helped those who reach</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you to value the moment and focus on</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the future</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. During you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> long pain when you lived on artificial oxygen, you showed your ability to</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">endure hardship and suffering </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">like you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> master Jesus Christ. You demonstrated the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">freedom </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">of letting us know that you valued life. You were my therapist. I can still re</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">call</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> your words of wisdom at different moments. Here are </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">some of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">your words on the marble: </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></p><div class="s9" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Do not force anyone to like</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">you. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">True love is freely given.</span></span></div><div class="s9" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some people can </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">take advantage of your </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">generosity</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, so be careful</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">A healthy relationship flourishes</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">wh</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">en you are open and sincere. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Do not lie</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, tell </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the truth no matter how bitter. </span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Never disobey your legitimate authority</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Allow people to develop themselves</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">; do not</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> spoil them with gifts</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Do not give anybody </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">everything </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">he or she ask</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Do not change from good to bad</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> no matter the provocation</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Continue</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to love and help those who honestly seek your assistance. </span></span></div><div class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></div><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dear mystic rose and gentle dove, you were the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">first and only Woman Religious</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I know to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">head a department in a Catholic Major Seminary. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">As Head of Department (HOD) of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Philosophy</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Saint Joseph Major Seminary, Ikot-Ekpene, you </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">trained, formed and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">transform</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> many seminarians</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">oday, they are happy and successful priests. </span></span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mother Leonie-Martha O’Karaga</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Mother General Emeritus of HHCJ, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">thanks for allowing Sr. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dr. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Stella Bassey </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esirah, HHCJ</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to work with me when I was the Director of Mission and Dialogue of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN). Sr. Stella, you made the congregation of the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Handmaids of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Holy Child </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus proud by being one of the pioneer members of the National </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Think Tank of Inter-religious </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dialogue </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and Catholic – Methodists relations</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Nigeria</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. You did we</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ll</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as a member of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). Thank you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> my Angelic Scholar for editing my works, writing foreword and comments on four of my books that are now available </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">o</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n Amazon. You were indeed a gift to me</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">my family</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and friends</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Thanks a million!</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">I </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">was not keen on</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Logotherapy </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">until I met you who demonstrated practical logotherapy with the way you relate</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">d</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">with</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> people. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You g</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ve me wings to fly in my dreary moments. In the deep darkness</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of my life</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, you were my sunshine. All my friends who encountered you </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">testif</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ied</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that you </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">were </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">guiding star </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and guardian Angel. Oh </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Stellamaris, the star of the sea</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">March on to heaven</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> like a great Saint.</span></span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Within </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">July and August, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">your friends, Dolly Igbinijesu and Serah Omonokhua </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bello </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">were buried.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">What a world! </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You left us on the solemnity of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15, 2023). </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Y</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ou followed Mother Mary to meet Jesus in a home where the Lord has gone to prepare for you. It is difficult to stop weeping even though Jesus has enjoined us</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: “Do not let your heart be troubled” (John 14:1)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your empathy for me was deep after my spine surgery. You feared that I would die. I could not imagine that you will leave us so soon. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">My dear Stella,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the family of Esirah are missing you! The</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Handmaid Sisters </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">are</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> miss</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">! </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Saint Joseph Majoy Seminary, Ikot-Ekpene </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> miss</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">!</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The world will miss you! What a world where death is </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">rapidly snatching the young away</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">!</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sr. Stella, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">you</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> were </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">an amazon, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">icon, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a scholar, a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">gentle </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">woman</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">who lived and taught others how to face tomorrow. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">R</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">est in peace no</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">w</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> my dear sister. Rest in peace forever! Adieu! </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. Prof. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Executive Secretary</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria Inter-religious Council (NIREC)</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p><p class="s13" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.6px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-37277127165136183532023-03-17T08:11:00.003-07:002023-04-13T15:19:54.692-07:00IDEAL POLITICS AND POLITICIANS <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">IDEAL POLITICS AND POLITICIANS</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-indent: 36px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Executive Secretary, NIREC</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some time ago, I published</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">many newspapers</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">an article titled, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Politicians are called to be saints.” </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">This article is</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> also published </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">in my book: </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">“From Dream to Reality; Dialogue of Encounter” (Page 299). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">So many Nigerians have told me that it is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a fallacy</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to think that a politician </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">can be </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">saint </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">given the Nigeria concept of politics</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and the attitude of some politicians who are consistently inconsistent</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The objection</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the potential sainthood of a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">partisan politician in Nigeria is based on the erroneous definition of politics in Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">You</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must have heard some expressions </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">made by some </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigerian politicians like: “You cannot be a good politician if you do not know how to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">lie, rig elections </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and hate</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> whoever is not in your political party.” Some Nigerian politicians think that to be a friend of a person in a different political party </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">i</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s anti-party. Politics for some politicians is self-interest </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and the ability to use religion and ethnicity as </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">triggers</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Some think that a successful politician is the one who has the illegitimate power to eliminate an opponent who is perceived as an obstacle to their desired goal, which is only to win election to loot public funds.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Th</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">is</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> misconception call</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for a true understanding of politics. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">From Classical </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Greek, polis</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">π</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">όλις</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means city. Therefore, whoever has the love of the citizens </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">must work for the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">common good and welfare of the citizens in the city. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Thus, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a Politician is a person who has the capacity and wisdom</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to influence public policy in decision making</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for the common good</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. In </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">democratic </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">governance, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the politician is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">called and chosen by the people to lead the affairs of the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">people in the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">society. Given that the voice of the people is the voice of God</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">, a politician is called and chosen by God to govern the affairs of the people. If the politician believes in this divine call, then, he or she has a divine obligation to strive for perfection to the glory of God and for the happiness of the people. Politics is not limited to governance through public office. Every human person has a stake in the affairs of the society through a positive attitude to life and collective welfare. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Since in today’s political climate, a politician is viewed as a person who is active in partisan politics</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to hold political positions whether elected or appointed, it is necessary to distinguish between people with realistic ideologies</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">office holders who are covertly or overtly egoistic</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and self-centred. In modern </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">day </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">politics, the expression “political prostitutes</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">” has been introduced to apply to those who </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">see politics as the only means of livelihood. These group of people would be impoverished outside partisan politics where greed is their emblem. On the contrary, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Thesaurus defines a politician as, “a leader engaged in civil administration and a person who rules or guides or inspires others. In this sense, a politician is a model worthy of emulation.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The tragedy of Nigerian politics is that each politician is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">seen as either </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a Christian or </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Muslim</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> whether he is committed or not</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Often, some ignorant poor people do not ask whether these “religious politicians” add any value to either Christianity or Islam apart from using religion as ladder to ascend their self-interest to a point where the poor are deprived of their legitimate rights and opportunities. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The money they give to some pastors and some imams to buy votes is not perceived as sin because the hungry are ready to sell their heads to buy the crown or to eat even if the food comes from the devil. Consequently, hunger, poverty and suffering have become weapons in the hands of unpatriotic politicians. Oh God Almighty, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">religion and ethnicity have become tools for political manipulation. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The 2023 elections would have been the model </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">and mother </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">of all elections. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">We thought the outcome of this election would be the dawn of a new democratic Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">It was interesting to see some Muslims campaigning for a Christian candidate and some Christians campaigning for </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Muslim candidate. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Unfortunately,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the umpire of the elections allowed themselves to be</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">manipulated </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">manipulators </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">to an extent that </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">some electorates were behaving as if </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">the election was between Christians and Muslims or between Igbo, Yoruba and the North. Some religious leaders unfortunately became manipulated manipulators by turning religious houses to campaign rallies. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">They forget that some politicians </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">do not care if the nation go</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">es</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in flames</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">if their actions give rise to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflict. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">R</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">eligion</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and ethnicity </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">must not be allowed to pass for </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">triggers of violence</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and religious acrimony.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Prophet of Islam calls on all believers to do acts of charity</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> not only to be seen by people but because they believe in Allah</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and the Last Day (Qur’an 2:262-264). Muslims</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are reminded that the needy deserve help even when they do not go about begging those with opportunity. According to the Qur’an, Allah knows of whatever wealth you will spend on helping those in need</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Qur’an 2:273). In Islam, life on earth must be lived with total submission and surrender to Allah because of the Day of Judgment. For Christians, saints</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are people who are clothed in white robes because </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">they have come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them (Revelation 7: 12-15).</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> I hope the Nigerian Christian and Muslim politicians believe in these scriptural teachings! </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Is the Nigerian politician willing and ready to be a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> saint by first conquering </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">his temperaments and inordinate</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">desires? Can he or she really be in </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">control of his temperaments and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">negative </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">emotions</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">?</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">A politician who succeeds in doing this is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">described in Islam as a successful jihadist who understands that true jihad </span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">means restraint (self-control). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Christianity, he or she is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">saint </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">who </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">prefers to die instead of letting a whole nation</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> be annihilated for personal </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">selfish </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">ambition. A</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">n Ideal politician is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">aware of his strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). Here is how Saint Paul expresses this: “I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient. I know how to live in humble circumstances; I know also </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">how-to live-in </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">abundance" (Philippians 4:11-12). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">An ideal politician must contest in a free</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">transparent election to win the goodwill of the people. An ideal politician would congratulate the victory of his or her opponent if the process of the election is credible and indisputable. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">That a Christian or Muslim wins an election is an expression of the will of the people and not victory for Christianity or Islam. Religious triumphalism in a democratic election is a spark, trigger and call for inter-religious violence. If an ideal politician is on a pilgrimage to sainthood, he needs to listen to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Peter Kreeft </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">who </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">described a saint in </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">this </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">paradox</span></span><a></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">: “A saint's heart is broken by every little sorrow and sin. A saint's heart is also so strong that not even death can break it. It is indestructible because it's so breakable. A saint takes his hands off the steering wheel of his life and lets God steer. A saint also has hands that move the world. He has feet that move through the world with a sure step.” </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> I pray that the poverty and hunger of the citizens will not tempt Nigerians to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">embrace religious conflicts for any politician who is not even aware of the existence of the poor who suffer daily to have a full meal. May the poor citizen </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">never forget for a moment that should anything terrible happen to him or her in the course of fighting for a politician, he or she will be left alone in his </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">/her </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">agony. May we hav</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ideal politics and politicians in Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.4px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.6px; font-size: 1.5em;">Amen!</span></span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-72311020846076456442022-07-07T17:38:00.002-07:002023-04-13T15:20:52.156-07:00COLLABORATION AND NOT COMPETITION <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">COLLABORATION AND NOT COMPETITION</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The relationship between Christians and Muslims especially in </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Nigeria Inter-</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Religious Council (</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">NIREC</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is collaboration and not competition. In the spirit of dialogue of social engagement, we must not forget that humanity irrespective of religion has a burden of human limitations and natural inclination to sin, error and evil. This is the meaning of the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Genesis </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">; Qur’an 7)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. God judged Adam and Eve not as Christians or Muslims or </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adherent</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judaism</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> but as human beings who</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">disobeyed God</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adam and Eve related to God as </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">human beings. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">y were in constant contact with God in dialogue</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">They were at peace with God before their sin of disobedience that separated them from God. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adam and Eve</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> did not have ethnic or religious </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">names</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. They took responsibility for their </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">actions</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. God addressed the sinner individually</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> because</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ach </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of us</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> will give account of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">himself to God (Romans 14:12)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lord</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> God called</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adam, and said to him, where are you? </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; vertical-align: super; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Genesis 3:8-10).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Naturally, a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">sinner is afraid to stand before God</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">; hence</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">i</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> abnormal to</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> be praising God in the process </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of killing</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a human being.</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">NIREC </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">members </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and all stakeholders of dialogue and peace projects</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">must grow above religious sentiments and profiling. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Christians and Muslims must together condemn all acts of terrorism to deliver religion from </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the ideology of the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">terrorists</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The problem with extremists is that they have the garments of religion to a point of calling on the supremacy of God even when they are killing a fellow human being who is created by God. The only dialogue and peacebuilding organization referenced by the Minister of communication in th</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> US saga of religious persecution is NIREC as evidence of Christian and Muslim relations in Nigeria. We cannot then join the worldly people </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as if killing is a</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> religious competition. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We must together and individually condemn </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the killing of Nigerians apart from the normal communiqués. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We must impress </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">on </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">our religious leaders to tame</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">radicals and extremists who are spoiling the name of their religion</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Together, let us deliver the name of Nigeria from foreign</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">terrorist </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mercenaries. </span></span></p><p class="s10" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">terrorists are </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">taking God for granted</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> by calling his name when they are killing a human being</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In a collaborative effort, we need to work together to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">liberate</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the Nigerian citizens who are suffering in the dens of kidnappers. We must not fall into the trap of the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">terrorist’s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> strategy of causing religious conflict between those who are ready and willing to defend the orthodoxy </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of religion</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Let us keep praying for the interior conversion of extremists and fanatics so that they </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">stop killing innocent human beings in their places of worship. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Let us stop ethnic and religious profiling that can give a hiding place to enemies of humanity and God. A criminal is a criminal and no criminal </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">must</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> claim to be killing in the name of God of mercy and compassion. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Religion is on trial. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Let us pray for a change of heart for terrorists, their sponsors and profiteers who have become real</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> threat to life and peaceful coexistence</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. If we must compete, let it be a competition in doing good, protecting life, promoting peace and ensuring justice for all irrespective of religion and ethnicity. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><br></p><p class="s12" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-8234864626694465942022-06-27T05:58:00.001-07:002022-06-27T05:58:21.442-07:00NURUDEEN AND ETSAKO HUNTERS <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">NURUDEEN AND </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ETSAKỌ </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">HUNTERS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mallam </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nurueen</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Umosor</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, our</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">brother and hero of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Empire</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. You have proven your worth</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">warrior </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">not only against animals in the forest but against human beings who made themselves beasts of the forest. As a trained hunter, your game was normal animals until the kidnappers took over our forests as human animals. You put up a security outfit to hunt the human mammals in our bushes and forest </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> chairman of hunters</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the land.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is why y</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ou were not afraid to lead the hunters through the forest to ensure the safety of</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. Christopher Odia, a dynamic son of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogbona</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, a Catholic Priest of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Auchi</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Diocese and a citizen of Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nuru</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, as we often call you, your hunters were both Christians, Muslims and traditional religious adherents. That you were a devout Muslim makes your action falls into the form of dialogue of social engagement. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You fought like </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">gallant Nigerian soldiers who led ECOMONG to restore peace in Liberia and Sierra-Leone</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. You had to move into the forest as everybody wonder why these same Nigerian soldiers</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> cannot defeat the terrorists</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">bandits and kidnappers who have taken over all the forests in Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Like every Nigerian, you must have wondered what ever happened to the security outfit of Nigeria? The same security agencies that had enough intelligence to arrest a Nigerian in Kenya and Republic of Benin while criminals’ roam freely in every forest, city and village of our nation. Nigeria, we hail Thee!</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nurudeen</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Akhaokho</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (warrior) of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikabigbo</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">even though you were killed in the forest, your hunters did not stop the battle. They fought the kidnappers </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to a halt. I believe, they will never visit </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikabigbo</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> again. May</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the eyes of your soul watch from heaven to ensure that the security agencies do not release the arrested criminal as usual. We have lived as brothers and sisters in peace and harmony with the Northerners, Easterners and Westerners. Religious differences </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">have</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> never been a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">source of conflict</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">may</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> never be in Edo State. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">W</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hy</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> has </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">kidnapping</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for ransom</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">become big business in Nigeria</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">?</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The herdsmen that live among us have never been a threat to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">us</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. What we used to perceive as film trick has become a reality in our land. What went wrong and how did we get here, you </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">must </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ha</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ve</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> wondered dear </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nuru</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You could have asked in wonder w</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hy</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">some security agents remove their uniform at the sound of guns by armed robbers? </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What else do you expect when the life of our security agents </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">not assured and insured. If the pensions of the living heroes take eternity to be paid, is it the families of the fallen heroes of the security agents that will be attended to. How come t</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> decay and failure of our security apparatus</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">?</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Is it that we have really failed due to lack of strategic capacity or the political will is not just there? </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nuru</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, you entered the forest because you must have </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">heard a security agent saying, “If I am killed, who will take care of my family”? The lack of assurance and insurance of our military and security agents can also affect their loyalty. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dear Hunters of Edo State of Nigeria, accept my condolences for </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nuru</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, our fallen hero. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Like the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Roman Army</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, keep your courage aflame. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every one of us may not be able to afford a gun. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We shall therefor</span></span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e continue to pray </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">God to come to our aid. Fr.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Chris Odia, now that your soul is ascending with your friend who died with you, may your spirit not allow your killers </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">find</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest until every bandit,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">terrorist and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">kidnapper</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> interiorly converted to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">be </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a good citizen of Nigeria. May your blood wage war against all financiers and profiteers of terrorism, banditry and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">kidnappers</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. May the free flow of your blood not be in vain. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May your blood unite Christians and Muslims to promote peaceful co-existence in this Nigeria in distress. Fr. Odia and Mal</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">l</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">am </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nuru</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, ride on like a champion </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in battle array </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to heaven. Yes, dear brothers, you can rest in peace now. Good night!</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-47267288554404359912022-06-19T00:28:00.000-07:002022-06-19T00:28:01.236-07:00Dialogue in Context<a
href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CDuYDYaHUdq9PcpO_0YRxa_EUm7YIvpM/view"
target="_blank"
><b>Dialogue in Context</b></a
>
<iframe
src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CDuYDYaHUdq9PcpO_0YRxa_EUm7YIvpM/preview"
width="640"
height="480"
allow="autoplay"
></iframe>
omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-19852519408902169362022-06-19T00:23:00.003-07:002022-06-19T00:24:33.931-07:00From Dream to Reality
<b><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CBAgXzAQwvrccGBRsqhrU2KBYv9K90Jf/view" target="_blank">From Dream to Reality</a></b>
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CBAgXzAQwvrccGBRsqhrU2KBYv9K90Jf/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-31307337470650974692022-06-19T00:09:00.003-07:002022-06-19T00:16:07.310-07:00Human Life - Here and HereAfter<b
><a
href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CG2ltpUA8gjrP-TWhWHFuIln1TmpPuwk/view"
target="_blank"
>Human Life - Here and HereAfter</a
></b
>
<iframe
src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CG2ltpUA8gjrP-TWhWHFuIln1TmpPuwk/preview"
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omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-53425281097024587872022-06-19T00:01:00.006-07:002022-06-19T00:40:40.924-07:00Joy of Service<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CB0hTcGMm94yralLwuoeLN0BTxKKtpiP/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><b>Joy of Service</b></a>
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omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-22075611263868414322022-05-31T17:01:00.001-07:002022-05-31T17:02:06.966-07:00 DIALOGUE D’ÉCHANGE THÉOLOGIQUE <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">DIALOGUE D’ÉCHANGE THÉOLOGIQUE :</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">BLASPHÈME EN CONTEXTE</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Afebu</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Les coprésidents du Conseil interreligieux du Nigéria (NIREC), Son Éminence, le Président de l’Association chrétienne du Nigéria (CAN), le révérend Dr Samson Olasupo Adeniyi Ayokunle et Son Éminence, le sultan de Sokoto, président général du Conseil suprême nigérian des affaires islamiques (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, ont dit à maintes reprises que nous ne pouvons pas arrêter de parler. Ils croient que les choses empireraient s’il n’y avait pas de dialogue authentique et franc entre chrétiens et musulmans au Nigeria. Quels que soient les défis, le dialogue n’a pas d’autre alternative. C’est la même réponse que je donne à ceux qui se demandent si le NIREC travaille ou fait de la communication dans la promotion de la coexistence pacifique. Nous surveillons et évaluons les publications médiatiques et, heureusement, les membres du NIREC ont répondu d’une seule voix sous la forme d’un dialogue d’échange théologique sur des questions doctrinales. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Si le dialogue d’échange théologique guide les actions des croyants, le Nigeria ne sera pas perçu comme une zone de guerre religieuse. Un dialogue sincère avec une véritable exposition des textes sacrés peut libérer la religion d’être utilisée comme un instrument de violence. L’un des principes du dialogue interreligieux est d’accepter ce qui nous unit et de porter amoureux de la foi des autres religions qui </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">peut </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">contredire la nôtre. Par exemple, c’est une hérésie ou un blasphème pour un chrétien de dire que Jésus n’est pas le fils de Dieu. Le chrétien ne parle pas de descendance biologique. Ce n’est pas pris au pied de la lettre. Que les musulmans n’acceptent pas cela n’appelle pas à un conflit interreligieux. Il existe de nombreux autres domaines d’accord entre le christianisme et l’islam. </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nostra Aetate</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> identifie les raisons suivantes pour lesquelles l’Église doit engager le dialogue d’experts :</span></span></p><div class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dans </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">l’hindouisme</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> , les gens explorent le mystère divin et l’expriment dans le mythe et la philosophie; ils cherchent à se libérer des épreuves de la vie par l’ascétisme, la méditation et le recours à Dieu dans la confiance et l’amour. </span></span></div><div class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Le bouddhisme</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> propose un mode de vie dans lequel les gens peuvent atteindre un état de libération parfaite et atteindre l’illumination suprême, soit par leurs propres efforts, soit avec l’aide divine. </span></span></div><div class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Les musulmans </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adorent le Dieu unique, miséricordieux et tout-puissant ; ils s’efforcent de se soumettre aux décrets de Dieu, vénèrent Jésus comme prophète, vénèrent la Sainte Vierge et attendent le jugement et les récompenses du ciel. </span></span></div><div class="s8" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Les</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Juifs sont liés par des liens spirituels à l’Église qui jaillit de ce que Dieu apporte chez les patriarches, Moïse et les prophètes ; Israël est l’olivier sur lequel les branches païennes ont été greffées; Les Juifs restent très chers à Dieu parce que Dieu ne reprend pas ses dons et ses promesses. </span></span></div><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Le respect est la marque de fabrique et le principe fort du dialogue. Chaque religion croit au respect des anciens et à l’autorité légitime. Le manque de respect et la profanation des personnes et des doctrines sacrées (croyances) sont une abomination dans les religions primaires africaines; blasphème dans le judaïsme, hérésie dans le christianisme, blasphème dans l’islam et sacrilège dans de nombreuses autres religions. C’est un blasphème et un sacrilège de détruire les temples sacrés et les lieux de culte, en particulier les mosquées et les </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">églises. C’est une attaque directe contre Dieu qui habite dans des bâtiments sacrés. La plupart des religions recommandent qu’un délinquant soit signalé à l’autorité légitime pour prescrire la peine correspondante. Ne recommande pas l’exécution extrajudiciaire ou la justice de la jungle. Le jugement d’un pécheur est la seule responsabilité de Dieu Tout-Puissant. Le manque d’enseignement approprié peut amener les mécréants à prendre les lois entre leurs mains. Parfois, les actions des adhérents en uniforme peuvent donner une très mauvaise impression et une très mauvaise image de la religion. On croit que ce sont ceux dont les actions contredisent les enseignements de leurs religions qui insultent vraiment leurs vrais prophètes. Jésus dit : « Par</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">leurs</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> fruits </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, vous les connaîtrez</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">» (Matthieu 27:20).</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Certains prédicateurs faux et faux présentent une conception déformée de Dieu. L’histoire a enregistré trois catégories de prophètes : les prophètes professionnels, les faux prophètes et les vrais prophètes. Pas étonnant, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">le journal Nigeria </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Vanguard a rapporté le mardi 26 juin 2012 que «</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">la délivrance de licences aux prédicateurs sera envisagée</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> car cela aidera à guider ce que les prédicateurs disent à leurs auditeurs ». Cela a été rejeté par ceux qui pensent que le gouvernement ne devrait pas légiférer sur la religion dans la nation. Le dialogue d’échange théologique est aussi appelé dialogue d’experts. Chaque domaine de la vie exige nécessairement une formation et une formation appropriées. La religion ne devrait pas être différente. Il est nécessaire que les prédicateurs religieux soient bien formés dans leurs propres religions et dans la religion des autres pour empêcher l’endoctrinement religieux et le lavage de cerveau. Les adhérents ont besoin d’une connaissance authentique de leurs religions et non des caprices et des caprices des</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> pasteurs et des Mallams</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> « </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">auto-ordonnés</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">». </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Certains érudits chrétiens et musulmans ont rejeté les exécutions extrajudiciaires. Déradicaliser ceux qui ont grandi avec une mauvaise compréhension et interprétation de la Sainte Bible et du Saint Coran est l’obligation des érudits chrétiens et islamiques qui participent au dialogue d’échange théologique. Malheureusement, certaines de ces conférences universitaires n’atteignent pas la base. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Un autre</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> défi pourrait être la tâche ardue de convaincre quelqu’un dont l’esprit est déjà formé et fait sur certaines questions théologiques et scripturaires. Une personne ayant subi un lavage de cerveau pourrait même sortir pour attaquer les vrais dirigeants et les vrais enseignants de sa religion. Depuis l’incident tragique de Sokoto, cette saga s’est jouée dans les médias. Selon le Concile Vatican II (Nostra aetate), le </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dialogue</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">d’échange théologique</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> crée un espace permettant aux spécialistes d’approfondir leur compréhension de leurs héritages religieux respectifs et d’apprécier les valeurs spirituelles de chacun. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Selon saint Jean-Paul II, le dialogue d’échange théologique est « le trésor de la sagesse humaine et de la religion » </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Fides et Ratio, n. 31)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> et « les richesses spirituelles dont Dieu a doté les peuples du monde » </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Redemptoris missio, n. 55).</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Le dialogue ne se réduit cependant pas au discours intellectuel. Le document </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">« Dialogue et proclamation »</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> expose clairement les différentes formes de dialogue qui sont interconnectées. Pour rendre efficaces d’autres formes de dialogue, les personnes impliquées, même à la base, ont besoin d’une certaine forme de formation scripturaire et spirituelle pour être conscientes de Dieu et de la valeur de la personne humaine. Par conséquent, tout enseignement qui appelle à la destruction de la vie et des biens dans la jungle ne peut pas venir de Dieu. Aucun bon parent n’aime tuer des enfants au nom du père ou de la mère de la famille. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">D’autres formes de dialogue exigent une compréhension approfondie de sa foi, c’est pourquoi les experts ou les érudits engagés dans un dialogue d’échange théologique ont besoin de qualités humaines comme l’humilité, le respect de l’autre, la connaissance du contexte culturel et théologique de « l’autre », la connaissance de l’anthropologie et de la langue pour communiquer sans offenser les auditeurs. Le dialogue d’échange théologique ne se réduit pas à des conférences. Il comprend des publications dans les médias, des livres et des articles dans des revues. Il est également fructueux dans les rencontres formelles et informelles comme le partage d’un repas en tant qu’amis personnels, indépendamment des différences religieuses, ethniques et politiques. Par-dessus tout, les rencontres théologiques deviennent merveilleuses si les partenaires du dialogue peuvent se passer de préjugés et de soupçons mutuels. Ici, la vérité et la confiance mutuelle doivent prévaloir. Nous avons besoin d’un horizon plus large en dehors de nos religions individuelles pour savoir que l’autre personne qui ne pratique pas notre religion est aussi un membre de la maison de Dieu, le créateur de tout ce qui existe. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s10" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Le père Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua est secrétaire exécutif du Conseil interreligieux du Nigéria (NIREC) et secrétaire général du Conseil interreligieux de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-85986207612991848022022-05-31T16:39:00.001-07:002022-05-31T16:42:13.393-07:00 UN COURT CHEMIN VERS LA PAIX <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">UN COURT CHEMIN VERS LA PAIX ET LA </span><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><font size="4">LIBERTÉ</font></span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center;"><font size="4"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Cornelius </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Afebu</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> Omonokhua</span></span></font></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><font size="4"> </font></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"><font size="4">Depuis la malheureuse tragédie du 12 mai 2022 à Sokoto, j’ai reçu des messages</font></span><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> et des appels à remettre en question la pertinence du dialogue interreligieux au Nigeria. Heureusement, de nombreux érudits musulmans ont réagi en disant que l’action des tueurs à Sokoto n’est pas le véritable enseignement du Saint Coran et ne représente donc pas l’Islam. Il est donc facile de conclure qu’il s’agit d’une affaire entre le gouvernement et les suspects qui ont commis le crime de meurtre. Beaucoup de gens ont demandé : « Comment en sommes-nous arrivés à ce niveau où la vie humaine ne signifie rien » ? D’autres ont demandé : « Où allons-nous à partir d’ici » ? Pour d’autres, « Comment et quand avons-nous perdu notre humanité » ? Peut-être y a-t-il de l’espoir dans notre nation. Peut-être pouvons-nous combattre l’ignorance par l’éducation pour reconstruire la route vers un monde nouveau. L’éducation est un instrument digne de vaincre l’ignorance. </span></span><span class="s6" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 14.399999618530273px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">« Si vous pensez que l’éducation coûte cher, essayez l’ignorance ! L’éducation est impérative à chaque étape de la vie. Vaincre l’ignorance, c’est parcourir un court chemin vers la coexistence pacifique. La liberté de conscience et l’autodétermination appellent l’illumination. L’éducation doit commencer par le berceau et se terminer dans la tombe. Arrêter d’apprendre, c’est arrêter de vivre. Si l’éducation commence dès le berceau, alors qu’est-ce que les parents enseignent à leurs enfants dès la petite enfance? Une bonne parentalité est un court chemin vers la paix et la liberté. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dans le contexte africain, l’enfant appartient à la communauté tandis que dans le contexte mondial, l’enfant appartient à la société. Ceux qui sont responsables de la formation de l’enfant ne doivent pas et ne doivent jamais endoctriner l’enfant au point d’apprendre à l’enfant à tuer, comme nous l’avons vu récemment dans les vidéos où un enseignant religieux disait aux jeunes de tuer de manière extrajudiciaire. L’enseignant enseignait aux jeunes à prendre les lois entre leurs mains. Les enfants apprennent d’abord des parents et de l’environnement environnant. Ils acquièrent le langage par la démonstration active et la répétition des sons. Le cerveau de l’enfant s’adapte aux sons au cours des six premières années avec la capacité cognitive. </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Un enfant apprend facilement la langue de son environnement avec la culture et la tradition qui l’accompagnent. Si un enfant grandit avec des animaux sauvages dans la jungle, il pourrait se comporter comme un</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">être</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> sauvage</span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. L’environnement compte beaucoup dans l’éducation.</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">L’éducation inspire l’enfant à aspirer à la grandeur par la réalisation de soi. Nous avons besoin de modèles dans chaque société. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">L’orientation des enfants qui vivent dans des sociétés, des conditions, des situations et des environnements différents dès la naissance a besoin d’enseignants qui peuvent aider les jeunes à se concentrer sur des objectifs réalistes et de vraies valeurs. Pour éviter la tragédie des enfants des rues, l’éducation est offerte gratuitement dans de nombreux pays. C’était le cas, il était une fois au Nigeria. Chaque enfant avait le droit et la possibilité d’une éducation que le gouvernement pouvait donner librement pour la santé mentale et la sécurité de la nation. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Certains de nos dirigeants politiques d’aujourd’hui ont bénéficié de ce rameau d’olivier. </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ce qui doit être acquis par une bonne éducation, c’est la </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">VÉRITÉ</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Selon Winston Churchill, la vérité est incontestable ; la malice peut l’attaquer, l’ignorance peut la ridiculiser, mais en fin de compte, seule la vérité peut nous rendre vraiment humains. Sinon, nous </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">créons </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">un</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> monde d’anarchie</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> avec la justice de la jungle.</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Pour produire une société saine, l’espoir pour l’avenir doit être assuré par un système d’éducation fonctionnel. Ce sont ceux qui n’ont pas accès à une formation humaine crédible qui ont recours à l’usage de la force et du pouvoir au lieu de relations créatives. L’éducation permet de contrôler et de conquérir le mammifère dans la personne humaine. Les fruits de l’ignorance sont les crises, les conflits intrapersonnels, les conflits interpersonnels, les conflits intracommunautaires, les conflits intercommunautaires, les conflits intrareligieux et les conflits interreligieux. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><a name="more"></a><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aucune religion n’interdit l’éducation et la formation. Dans la Sainte Bible, les Sages conseillent : « Entraînez un enfant dans la voie qu’il doit suivre, même quand il sera vieux, il ne s’en écartera pas (Proverbes 22:6). La Bible exprimait clairement le rôle des pères dans la parentalité (Éphésiens </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">12-13 ; Proverbes 23:13). </span></span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Chaque famille est heureuse de voir les enfants grandir gracieusement et de grandir en force et en sagesse. Saint Jean a exprimé ce sentiment dans sa troisième (3 Jean </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4). Parce que l’Islam valorise le développement de l’enfant, le Saint Coran dit : « Ne tuez pas vos enfants à cause de la pauvreté » (Coran 6:151). L’islam interdit l’institution des enfants des rues. Un homme est comme un berger de sa propre famille et il en est responsable (Boukhari et musulman). Le premier message au Saint Prophète Muhammad (SAW) est </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iqra</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (lire) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Al-</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alaq</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 96:1-5)! Dieu enseigne à la personne humaine ce qu’elle ne sait pas par l’intermédiaire d’agents humains. Les agents humains ne doivent pas transformer les enfants en esclaves ou en mendiants dans les rues. Les parents devraient payer pour l’éducation des enfants et chaque parent devrait donner naissance au nombre d’enfants qu’il peut accueillir de manière adéquate. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Les enseignants religieux aident l’enfant à grandir dans une relation verticale avec Dieu et une relation horizontale avec ses semblables. Si les jeunes sont bien formés et formés, ils seront conscients des droits de l’homme. Ils résisteront à ceux qui les emploient pour lutter injustement et aux profiteurs de conflits qui financent la violence. Ils sauront que la paix est une vertu profondément ancrée dans le christianisme et l’islam. Une personne bien éduquée avec un emploi raisonnable favoriserait l’édification de la nation parce qu’elle a quelque chose à admirer. Une personne éclairée dans la religion et la société est consciente que c’est Dieu qui se bat pour les êtres humains et non l’inverse. C’est Dieu qui protège les êtres humains, c’est pourquoi le Saint Prophète de l’Islam n’a pas ordonné à ses disciples de tuer en son nom. Il a enseigné à ses disciples la valeur de la patience face aux insultes (Sourate Al-Muzzamil 73:10 ; Cf. Sourate Qaf, 50:39 ; Sourate Ta Ha 20:130 ; Sourate Ali Imran 3:186). En mourant sur la croix, Jésus</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a dit : « Père, pardonne-leur, car ils ne savent pas ce qu’ils font (Luc 23,34). L’ignorance s’apparente à un cancer dangereux et chronique. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Les élèves qui ont tué Debora ont dû étudier la religion sous la direction d’enseignants ignorants qui les ont endoctrinés avec des interprétations erronées et subjectives des textes sacrés. Ils ont dû oublier l’enseignement du Saint Prophète selon lequel </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">«</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Si quelqu’un tue une personne, ce serait comme s’il tuait tout le peuple</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: et si quelqu’un sauvait une vie, ce serait comme s’il sauvait la vie de tout le peuple » (Coran 5:32-33). </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cela nécessite une rééducation religieuse, une déradicalisation et une réorientation pour ouvrir une courte voie vers la coexistence pacifique et une société saine. Cela appelle </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">chaque nation à fournir un système éducatif suffisamment fonctionnel pour fournir à la personne idéale un contenu admirable de caractère. Si vous formez bien l’enfant, vous développez la nation. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">L’essence de l’éducation est le succès et le bonheur. Un jeune homme demanda à Socrate, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">un philosophe grec antique</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, le secret du succès. Socrate dit au jeune homme de le rencontrer près de la rivière le lendemain matin. Ils se sont rencontrés; Socrate demanda au jeune homme de </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">marcher avec lui vers la rivière. Quand l’eau monta jusqu’à leur cou, Socrate prit le jeune homme par surprise et l’enfonça dans l’eau. L’homme a eu du mal à sortir mais Socrate était fort et l’a gardé sous l’eau jusqu’à ce qu’il commence à devenir bleu. Le jeune homme a lutté dur et a finalement réussi à se lever. La première chose qu’il a faite a été de haleter et de prendre une profonde respiration. Socrate demanda : « Qu’est-ce que tu voulais le plus quand tu étais sous l’eau ? » L’homme a répondu « Air ». Socrate a dit : « C’est le secret le plus secret du succès. Lorsque vous voulez le succès aussi mal que vous voulez de l’air, vous l’obtiendrez. Il n’y a pas d’autre secret ».. Le court chemin vers la paix et la liberté est le désir d’apprendre et d’acquérir la vérité qui peut créer un espace pour la liberté où la justice sera valorisée. Le chemin facile et court vers la paix et la liberté est le désir de faire ce qui est juste pour créer une société civilisée. </span></span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></p><p class="s13" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s12" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Le père Cornelius </span></span><span class="s12" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Afebu</span></span><span class="s12" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Omonokhua est secrétaire exécutif du Conseil interreligieux du Nigéria (NIREC) et secrétaire général du Conseil interreligieux de l’Afrique de l’Ouest. </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-65321631829170320372022-05-25T06:51:00.001-07:002022-05-25T06:51:20.812-07:00DIALOGUE OF THEOLOGICAL EXCHANGE <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">DIALOGUE OF THEOLOGICAL EXCHANGE</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">BLASPHEMY IN CONTEXT</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Co-Chairmen of Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), His Eminence, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dr.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Samson </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olasupo</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adeniyi </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ayokunle</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, President-General of the Nigeria</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">n</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sa’ad</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Abubakar, CFR, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mni</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, has said over and over again, that we cannot stop talking. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">They believe that things would go worse if there is no genuine and frank dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. No matter the challenges, dialogue has no other alternative. This is the same answer I give to those who are asking if NIREC is working or making impart in promoting peaceful co-existence. We monitor and evaluate the media publications and happily enough, NIREC members have responded with one voice in </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the form of dialogue of theological exchange on doctrinal </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">issue</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If dialogue of theological exchange guides the actions of believers, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">will not be perceived </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as a religious war zone. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sincere dialogue with true exposition of the sacred texts </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">can free</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> religion from being used as an instrument of violence. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">One of the principles of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">inter-religious </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dialogue is to accept what unites us and bear in love with the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">faith</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of other religions that </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">may </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">contradicts our own. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For instance, it is heresy or blasphemy for a Christian to say that Jesus is not the son of God. The Christian</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is not talking </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">about </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">biological progeny. It is not taken literally. That the Muslim do not accept this does not call for inter-religious conflict. There are many other areas of agreement between Christianity and Islam. </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nostra Aetate</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">identifies the following reasons why the Church must engage in dialogue of experts:</span></span></p><div class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hinduism</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">people explore the divine mystery and express it in myth and philosophy; they seek release from the trials of life by asceticism, meditation and recourse to God in confidence and love. </span></span></div><div class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Buddhism</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">proposes a way of life in which people can attain a state of perfect liberation and reach supreme illumination, either through their own efforts or with divine help. </span></span></div><div class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Muslims </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">worship the one, merciful and almighty God; they endeavour to submit themselves to God’s decrees, venerate Jesus as a prophet, revere the Blessed Virgin and await judgement and the rewards of heaven. </span></span></div><div class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jews</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">are linked by spiritual bonds to the Church which springs from what God brings about in the patriarchs, Moses and the prophets; Israel is the olive tree on which Gentile branches have been grafted; Jews remain very dear to God because God does not take back his gifts and promises to them. </span></span></div><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Respect is the hallmark </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and strong principle </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of dialogue. Every religion believes in showing respect to elders and legitimate authority. Lack of respect</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">desecrati</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">on of</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Sacred persons</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and doctrines (beliefs)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is abomination</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Africa Primal Religions; blasphemy in Judaism, heresy in Christianity, blasphemy in Islam and Sacrilege in many other religions.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is blasphemy and a sacrilege to destroy sacred temples and houses of worship</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> especially Mosque and Church buildings</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This is a direct attack on God who dwells in sacred buildings. Most</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> religions</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">recommend</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that a</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">n </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">offender should be reported to the legitimate authority </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> prescribe the corresponding punishment. Non recommends extra-judicial killing</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or jungle justice</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The judgement of a sinner is the sole responsibility of God Almighty. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lack of proper teaching can lead miscreants to take laws into their hands. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sometimes, the actions </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of uniformed adherents can give a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">very bad</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">impression</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and image of religion</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t is believed that it is those whose actions contradicts the teaching</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of their religions that really insult their </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">true </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Prophets. Jesus says: “By their fruit</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">you will know them</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” (Matthew </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">27:20)</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some fake and false preachers</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">present</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a distorted concept of God. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">History has recorded three categories of prophets: </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">p</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rofessional, false and true prophets. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">No wonder, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Vanguard newspaper reported</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">on Tuesday, 26 June 2012</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that “</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">issuance of licenses to preachers will be considered</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as that will help guide what the preachers tell their listeners”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">was rejected by those</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who think that government should not legislate on religion in the nation.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dialogue of theological exchange is also called dialogue of experts. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every field of life necessarily calls for proper training and formation. Religion should not be different. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t is necessary for the religious preachers to be well formed in their own religions and the religion of others</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to prevent religious</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> indoctrination and brainwashing.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adherents need authentic knowledge of their religions and not </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the whims</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and caprices </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">self-</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ordained”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Pastors and Mallams</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Christian and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Muslim</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> scholars have rejected extra-judicial killings. To de-radicalize those who have grown with wrong understanding and interpretation of the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Holy </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bible and the Holy </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Qur</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">’</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">an is the obligation of </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Christian and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Islamic Scholars who</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">participate in dialogue of theological exchange. Unfortunately, some of these academic conferences do not reach the grass roots. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Another</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">challenge</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> could be the uphill task of convincing somebody whose mind </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is already formed and made up</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on some theological and scriptural issues. A brain</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">-</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washed person could even go out to attack the true leaders and true teachers of his or her religion. Since the tragic incident of Sokoto</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> this saga has played out in </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> media. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to the Second Vatican Council (Nostra aetate), </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">D</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ialogue of theological exchange</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">creates a space for specialists to</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">deepen their understanding of their respective religious heritages, and to appreciate each other’s spiritual values. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Saint Pope John Paul II</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, dialogue of theological exchange is “</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the treasure of human wisdom and religion</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Fides et Ratio, 31)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and “the spiritual riches with which God has endowed the peoples of the world</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Redemptoris</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Missio</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, 55).</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dialogue is not however reduced to intellectual discourse. T</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he document</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Dialogue and Proclamation”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> clearly sets out the various forms of dialogue</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> which are </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">interconnected.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> To make other forms of dialogue effective, those involved even at the grassroots needs some form of scriptural and spiritual formation to be aware of God and the value of the human person. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consequently, any teaching that calls for jungle destruction of life and property cannot come from God. No good parent enjoys the killing of children in the name of the father or</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mother of the family. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Other forms of dialogue </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">require</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">thorough grasp of one’s faith</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> hence experts or scholars who are engaged in dialogue of theological exchange need human qualities like </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">humility</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">respect for others, a knowledge of the cultural and theological background of “the other”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">knowledge of anthropology </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> language</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to communicate without offending </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> listeners</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Dialogue of theological exchange is not reduced to conferences</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">includes </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">media</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> publications</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">books and articles in</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">journals</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">also</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> fruitful </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in formal and informal encounters</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> like sharing a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meal as</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">personal friends </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">irrespective of religious, ethnic and political </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">differences</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Above all, theological encounters </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">become</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> wonderful if the partners in dialogue can do </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">without prejudices</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and mutual suspicions. Here</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> truth and mutual trust must be allowed to prevail. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We need a wider horizon outside our individual religions to know that the other person who does not practise </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">our</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> religion is also a member of the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">household of God</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the creator of all that exist. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s11" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rev. Fr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the Secretary General of the West Africa Inter-Religious Council. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-71505372164806568572022-05-17T14:00:00.001-07:002022-05-17T14:00:34.016-07:00SHORT ROAD TO PEACE AND FREEDOM <p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">SHORT ROADS TO PEACE AND FREEDOM</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Since the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">unfortunate </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">tragedy</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of May 12, 2022</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sokoto</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I have received messages and calls </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to question </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">relevance</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of inter-religious dialogue</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in Ni</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">geria. Fortunately, many Muslim</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">scholars have reacted that the action </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of the killers in </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sokoto</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is not the true teaching </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Holy Quran and therefore does not represent</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Islam. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">therefore</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">easy to conclude that it is a case between government and the suspects who committed the crime of murder. Many people have asked: </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">How did we get to this level where human life means nothing</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">? Others have asked: </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Where do we go from here</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">? </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For others, “How and when did we lose our humanity”? Perhaps,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">re is</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> hope </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">our nation</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Perhaps, we can fight ignorance with education to reconstruct the road to a new world. E</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ducation</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a worthy instrument to conquer ignorance. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance! Education is imperative in every stage of life. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To defeat ignorance is to travel a shor</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t road to peaceful co-existence.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">F</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">reedom of conscience and self-determination</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> call for enlightenment</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">E</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ducation </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">must start</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">from the cradle</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and end in the grave. To stop learning is to stop living. If education starts from the cradle, then </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">what</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> do parents teach their </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">children from</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> infancy?</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Good parenting is a short road to peace and freedom. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Africa</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">n</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> context, the child belongs to the community while in the global context, the child belongs to the society. Those who are responsible for child formation must not and must never indoctrinate the child to a point of teaching the child</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to kill as we recently witness</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the videos where a religious teacher was telling the youths to kill extra-judicially</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The teacher was teaching the youths to take laws into their hands. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Children learn first from the parents and the surrounding environment. They acquire language through active demonstration and repetition of sounds. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> brain of the child gets adjusted to the sounds in the first six years with the cognitive capacity. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A child easily learns the language of his environment with the attendant culture and tradition. If a child grows with wild animals in the jungle, the child could behave like a savage. The environment matters a lot in education</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Education inspires the</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">child to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> aspire for greatness through self-actualization</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. We need role </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">models </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in every society</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The orientation of children who live in different societies, conditions, situations and environments from birth need </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">teachers who can </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">help</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the youth to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> focus on realistic </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">goals </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and true values. To avoid the tragedy of street children, education is offered free in many countries. This was the case, once upon a time in Nigeria.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every child had the right and opportunity to education which the government could give freely for the sanity and security of the nation. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What must be acquired through sound education is the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">TRUTH </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">has the po</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">wer to transform a mortal being</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> into a spiritual being. According to Winston Churchill, the truth is incontrovertible; malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, only truth can make us truly human. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otherwise, we are devoid in a world of anarchy where humans are wolves to fellow human beings. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To produce a healthy society, hope for the future must be assured through a functional system of education. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is those who do not have access to credible human formation that resort to the use of force and power instead of creative relationships. Education enables the mammal in the human person to be controlled and conquered.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The fruits of ignorance are crisis, intra-personal conflict, inter-personal conflict, intra-community conflict, inter-community conflict, intra-religious conflict and inter-religious conflicts. </span></span><a name="more"></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">No religion forbids education</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and formation</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. In the Holy Bible, the Sages counsel: “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6). The bible expressed clearly the role of fathers in parenting (Ephesians 3:12-13</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">; cf. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Proverbs 23:13). </span></span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every family is happy to see the children grow gracefully </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and to grow </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in strength and wisdom. Saint John expressed this sentiment in his third </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">letter (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3 John 1:4). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Because Islam values child development, the Holy Quran says, “Kill not your children bec</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ause of poverty” (Quran 6:151).</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Islam forbids the institution of street children</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> man is like a shepherd of his own family and he is responsible for them (Bukhari and Muslim). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The first message to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">qra</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (read) </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Al-</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alaq</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 96:1-5).</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">! God teaches the human person what he does not know through human agents. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The human agents are not to turn the children into slaves or beggars on the streets. The parents should pay for the education of the children and every parent should give birth to the number of children they can adequately cater for. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Religious teachers assist the child to grow in vertical relationship with God and horizontal relationship with fellow human beings. If the youths are well trained and formed, they will be conscious of human rights. They will resist those who employ them to fight unjustly</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and conflict profiteers who </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">finance</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">violence. They will know that peace is a virtue that is deeply entren</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ched in Christianity and Islam. A</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> well-educated person with a reasonable job would promote nation building because he has something to look up to. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">An enlightened person in religion and society is aware that i</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t is God who fight</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for human beings and not the other way round. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is God who protects human beings hence the Holy Prophet of Islam did not order his followers to kill in his name. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">He taught</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> his followers the value of patience in the face of insults</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Surah Al-</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Muzzamil</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 73:10; Cf. Surah </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Qaf</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, 50:39; Surah Ta Ha 20:</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">130; Surah</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ali Imran 3:186).</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">While dying on the cross,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23,34). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">gnorance</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is akin to a dangerous and chronic cancer</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Students who</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> killed Debora must have studied religion under ignorant teachers who indoctrinated them</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with erroneous </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and subjective interpretations of the sacred texts</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">They must have forgotten the teaching of the Holy Prophet that</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">"</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If anyone kills a person, it would be as if he killed the whole people</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people" (Qur’an 5:32-33). </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ca</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lls for religious re-education, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">de-radicalization and re-orientation </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to pave</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a short road to peaceful coexistence </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">healthy society</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This calls on </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">very nation </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">provide educational system that is functional enough to provide the ideal person with</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> admirable content of character</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If you t</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rain the child well, you develop the nation. </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The essence of education is success a</span></span><a name="_GoBack"></a><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nd happiness. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A young man asked Socrates, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">an ancient Greek philosopher</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met; Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him under water until he started turning blue. The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get up. The first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath. Socrates asked, “What did you want the most when you were under the water?” The man replied “Air”. Socrates said: “That’s the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you want air, you will get it. There is no other secret”.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The short road to peace and freedom is the desire to learn and acquire the truth that can create space for freedom where justice will be valued. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The easy and short road to peace and freedom is the desire to do the right thing to create a civilize</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">d</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> society. </span></span></p><p class="s9" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"><br></span></span></p><p class="s13" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rev. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. Corn</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">elius Afebu Omonokhua is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) and the Secretary General of the West Africa Inter-Religious Council</span></span><span class="s12" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><br></p><p class="s14" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-41846720084101524812022-02-26T06:56:00.001-08:002022-02-26T06:56:43.881-08:00FROM DREAM TO REALITY Dialogue in Context Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua <div><br></div><div>https://online.fliphtml5.com/lezgv/ssnj/#p=4</div><div><br></div>omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-90903387508789784852021-11-08T06:12:00.001-08:002022-01-14T13:51:05.461-08:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BROTHER PETER<p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">HAPPY BIRTHDAY </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">MY </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">BROTHER</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> PETER</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Human beings originate from one stock that is divine</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yet with different temperaments and dispositions</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">My brother, Peter </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">IgbiniJesu</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, for almost sixty years</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You have worked quietly to achieve great heights </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In structural engineering, you are simply the best</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your love for privacy never affects your relationships</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Y</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ou invited me to break into your quiet </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and silence</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This you endured for so long even when I was loud</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You trapped me into the web of your love and care</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I found it difficult to s</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ay</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> goodbye even when I could</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You inconvenienced yourself just to make me happy</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Your </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">patience</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> gave me a home when I needed a roof. </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A true African father is not forgotten </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">at any given time</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You have </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hand</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on to </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">your </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">children</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the beatitudes </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">That go with </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">banner </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">enduring </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">character and</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> fame</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You never fought for royalty, fame, wealth and prestige </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">All these, you have gotten in the silence of your life. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fly with your children and </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dolly</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> your gentle Baby Dove </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> pray to God of all creation this noble</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">humble </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">request </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Assist Peter </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Igbinijesu</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> t</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">o build a world </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that merits heaven</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A home </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">where no one is oppressed</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with poverty and blame</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Brother, may your </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">world</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aglow with the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> love and joy of heaven</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May you attain and achieve </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">what</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> your heart as always longed for </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May God bless you and your family with peace and all that is good </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dear brother, Peter </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Igbinijesu</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May you see your children’s children,</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May your bread never get exhausted,</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May your oil of anointing ever remain fresh</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May you and Dolly have no cause to cry,</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Happy birth day! Happy many returns!</span></span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. Cornelius A. Omonokhua, </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">on the 60</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 7px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; vertical-align: super; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Birthday of Engr. Sir. Peter </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Igbinijesu</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-48020661894755829942021-09-21T02:19:00.001-07:002021-09-21T02:22:53.628-07:00FROM DREAM TO REALITY; REVIEWED BY CHIEF MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, OFR,Ph.D.<p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 19.200000762939453px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 16px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 28.799999237060547px; font-size: 1.5em;">“FROM DREAM TO REALITY – DIALOGUE OF ENCOUNTER”</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">BY</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">REV FR (PROF</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">) AFEBU OMONOKHUA </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">A REVIEW</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> BY</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHIEF MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN, OFR,</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ph.D.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">INTRODUCTION</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is admittedly a most herculean and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">unenviable</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">task for anyone to step into the</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> large </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">shoes of Chief (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">) Mike Ozekhome, SAN, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">OFR, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ph</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.D</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, in</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">an effort to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> carry out </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the task of</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> expertly </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">presenting his </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">review </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a book or any scholarly </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">endeavour</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of his </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">for that matter</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">predicated </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">on </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the sheer prowess of that Legal </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">I</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">con, an internationally</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">acclaimed Author</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">p</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">rolific </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">w</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">riter, a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">pan- Nigerian</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> public commentator</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Analyst, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">an</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> uncommon </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">or</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ator of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the highest nobility.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">With all sense of modesty, you will all </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">readily </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">agree with me that the cobbler that made his shoes </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">will always </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">meticulously craft and customize them </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in such a way </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">that th</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ey certainly </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">do </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">not fit into an</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">y other </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">person’s legs</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It is only left to imagine </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">therefore, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">how uncomfortable I am this afternoon to find myself in such</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">uncommon</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> shoes.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">As if the pro</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">file </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">b</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ook </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">re</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">viewer is not </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">intimid</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ating </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">enough, t</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">he book I am to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">render its </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">review, in the over-sized shoes of Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is itself a product o</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">f </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">an amazing </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">uthor and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Intellectual </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">g</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">uru</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Rev. Fr.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Prof</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Cornelius </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Afebu</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Ph.D</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> C</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">hief Ozekhome once described </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to me as a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cler</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ic Activist on the pulpit</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">whom God deposited so much knowledge </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">wisdom that one is almost tempted to ask God</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the question</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">‘</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">h</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ow come you endowed a single human being with so much intellectual resources</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">’ </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">”.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">THE BOOK</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> AS </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">REVIE</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">WED BY CHIEF MIKE OZEKHOME, SAN.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The f</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ocal point of the book</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">FROM DREAM TO REALITY, DIALOGUE OF ENCOUNTER</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meticulous </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">trip </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">on the path in</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> nation building and how </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">mutual </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">tolerance and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">unity </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of Nigerians </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">can </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">b</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">uild a peacefu</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">l </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">egalitarian </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">society</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, and p</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ossibly lead us to our Eldorado</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 358 </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">page </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">book is divided into </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">13 </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">chapters</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of the</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> most provoking chapters are 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Book, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the author makes </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">several references </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to the NIREC which stands for </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">THE NIGERIA INTER-RELIGIOUS </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">COUNCIL.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">NIREC</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was created on 11</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 10.800000190734863px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 9px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 16.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> September, 1999</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in an</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> effort </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to bring leaders of the two major </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Religious </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">groups in Nigeria</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Christianity and Islam</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">), </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to come together and devise </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ways and means of</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">promoting </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; and</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">instilling </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">tolerance and love in the followe</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">rs and members of both</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">divide</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">INSECURITY AND </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">SUNDRY </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">PROBLEMS </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">BEDIVILLING </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">NIGERIA</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The truth remains</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as clearly pointed out </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">by</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the author </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">i</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">n the book that</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> no nation can develop without sustainable </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">By </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace, the author means genuine peace</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; not the type of</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> detestable </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace that late </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Chief M.K.O </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Abiola</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the undoubted </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">matyr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of Nigeria’s democracy</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">) once described as </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace of the graveyard</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">”,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace of the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">cemetery</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">”.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> At 59</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria ought to be enjoying dividends</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of democracy and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of peaceful coexistence at all levels</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, notwithstanding our </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">political, ethnic</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, linguistic </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and religious differences. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">However, Nigeria is today </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">embroiled i</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">n a sorr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">y state of strife, insecurity</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">corruption and a parlous economy. The picture is not looking bright at all</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">In th</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">regard, the author, pos</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ited </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">thus:</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“There are so many questions that are crying for answers. We must respond to some of these questions concerning the causes of killings in Kaduna State,</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rivers State, Niger State and all the States that are witnessing violence .If </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">we can no longer reduce these killings to only religion and politics, then we must ask further if the killings are ethnic cleansing?</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Who is to act?</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">When is it to act, where to act, what to react to and how to react is what we can also think seriously about. Who do we engage in times of violence if not the security agents?</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Are they willing and ready for the job? How do we identify and develop</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the voice of reason by building vertical and horizontal capacity? We need people that have the capacity to reach the top from the bottom. In other words, people that can reach the poor, middle class, the rich and the people in leadership positions. The people with the voice of reason can reach from top to bottom and vice versa. These people are very influential. People with passion for dialogue and peace can be used to form the structure that can communicate at all levels to build bridges across divides in form of horizontal capacity.</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is where the motives of those who desire political positions could be questioned. Is power for common good or personal interest?”</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Th</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is audacious </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">b</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">oo</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">k takes a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> deep i</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ntrospective look at</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">causes </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of insecurity in Nigeria</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, including </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the rampant </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">discords</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and schisms </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">across the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">different </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">geopolitical</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">zones </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria. The book theorizes</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> such reasons and the possible ideologi</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">cal basis </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">for </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">these reasons.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">On the security challenges in Nigeria, the author </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">insists that </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">all hands </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">must </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">be on deck in a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> valiant </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">move to sort </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">out </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">these c</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">hallenges in both vertical and horizontal </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">capacities. The </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">fecund author views</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> open dialogue between people of different classes as a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">v</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">eritable </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">means of getting to the root of these insecurity challenges</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and collectively </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">seeking solutions.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">P</span></span><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">OSSIBLE SOLUTIONS</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Since NIREC is made up of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">NSCIA), it would not be out of place for any Christian or Muslim to write a petition to the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">C</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ouncil</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">for solution to grievances.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Co-Chairmen of NIREC must be committed to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> proactively </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">looking into matters that could cause conflict </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">between Christians and Muslims</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">before they snow- ball into </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">uncontrollable crisis</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The office of the Secretary to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Government of the Federation (OSGF) </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">has been lending </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Council appreciable attention. This has made NIREC a visible </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and veritable </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">source</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of Government's promotion of dialogue and Peace building</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">between peoples of the two m</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> religions in Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The author posits </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">that all Nigerians must be </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">encouraged to take advantage of this</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">refreshing </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">development,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">with a view </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">t</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">o </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">making </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">more </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peaceful and secured nation.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">For us to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">demand justice in writing, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">we must </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">first </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">think properly of whose interest </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">we </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">are </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">serving</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">In collaboration with NIREC,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">faith-based councils or organizations need to take very seriously, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the use of dialogue and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">conflict transformation</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, which </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">have the capacity of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">bringing </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">about </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">harmony </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">r</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">elationship </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">existing </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">between all the aforementioned classes. The tools for these relationships</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, writes author, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">are unb</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">iased and focused service </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">delivery; prompt emergency response;</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">faithfulness to our laws;</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">intensive</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">observance and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">application </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">o</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">f basic human rights, as well as close collaboration and transparency among the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary Arms of our Government.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">To address some of the challenges,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">there is also </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">need to develop Relationship-Building Strategies for the elites of the middle class, based on social justice. There is an urgent need for the Middle Class to engage in rational evaluation before reacting to issues raised on the media concrete or online. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The author notes that </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">pr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">omoting unverifiable</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and uncharitable information could lead to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">chaos, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">anarchy and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">conflicts</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. While everybody has the right to be listened to, there is need to identify a target partner who would respond,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">since dialogue is a call and response activity. Those at the bottom level should be meaningfully engaged such that they can take care of their basic needs. </span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">In very lucid language </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and depth of thought that th</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is man of God is known for, Prof </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">theorises</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">that r</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">eligious leaders should be proactive in establishing and promoting mutual relationships. Already existing friendship helps in preventing mutual suspicion and prejudice. It aids nonviolent </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">advocacy, limits damage, aids reconciliation, healing of trauma and hurts, regeneration and working on the historic memory. Existing relationships give rise to the creation of social space for offering and receiving graciousness. It creates space for discovery and building new relationships.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Justice and good governance can open the hearts of the citizens for peaceful coexistence. Since credible people and criminals exist in every tribe.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The author does </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">not stop here. He </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">argues</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">prevent the syndrome of stigmatizing a particular ethnic group, criminals must be made to face justice regardless of their tribe or religion.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">To assist the government's security agents in doing this, traditional and political leaders of each ethnic group must expose the criminals who are destroying their ethnic integrity and putting their tribes to shame.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">As the saying goes, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">says Fr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“the relation of a mentally-challenged person has a duty to prevent him/her from roaming the forest and streets”.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The bad eggs in the various ethnic groups must</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> therefore </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">be disciplined by their leaders</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to enable them </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">know that a good name is better than silver and gold.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">While noting that c</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">onflict has never brought success or progress to a person,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">community or nation</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Fr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Afebu</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">calls for the promotion of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">only information that is true,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> factual</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">good and useful</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to build a healthy society. Let writers keep their pens from provocative publications just as those who talk should keep their tongues from evil and their lips from hate speeches. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">advises </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">that governments </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">at all levels must have the political will to manage </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria’s ethnic </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">diversity and religious pluralism. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">He believes that we must</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> strive to harness the innate beauty and strength of our diversity</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; since un</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ity is strength</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, while </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in justice</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> we can stand strong as a united people. </span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The book doe</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">s not do </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">only </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">damage assessment by merely looking </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">at </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria’s </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">insecurity </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">problems that are admittedly legion</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">;</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">but,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> more importantly, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">it </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">proffers</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">what </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">solution</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must be adopted</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, n</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ot only </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">by N</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">IREC</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">but</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> also </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">by every Nigerian of all classes</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This is with </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a view </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">enthroning </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peace</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">tolerance</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, mutual respect, egalitarianism </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and prosperity</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for all </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in our beloved country.</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s4" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">HOW TO BE PEACE BUILDERS IN NIGERIA</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">On how to</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> be peace builders in Nigeria, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Prof </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in his</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> acclaimed </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">uncommon brilliance and lucidity of thought</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">digs into his inexhaustible </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">depth and breadth of knowledge </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and pro</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">f</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">fers the following</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> thought- provoking panacea</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Be opened to the Lord so that he may lighten all your ways.”</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every NIREC delegate should strive to be a connector in peace building. </span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every peace-builder and conflict manager should be an actor and a connector who must through dialogue engage the funders, promoters, dividers and beneficiaries of conflict to see the need for conflict transformation as an integral part of humanity.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">God did not create human beings in isolation hence no man is an island just as no tree can make a forest. As long as human beings live in different forms of communities, the quest for peaceful co-existence is inevitable. The most visible structure of Government's support for peace-building and nation building in Nigeria is the existence of NIREC. It would do the nation a lot of good if every Christian and Muslim could identify with NIREC as a family and model of peaceful co-existence. This divine obligation would promote a culture of non-violence. Consequently, NIREC delegates need personal and institutional skills that would enable them take Nigeria to a level where the citizens do not merely survive on the remnants of the rich but live and experience life in abundance (John 10:10).We need to transform negative peace of oppression, discrimination and inequality to positive peace of a just and fair society for all and the restoration of relationships. To be happy in life, we need structures that can sustain peaceful societies and NIREC has the capacity and potentials for this mission. Let us therefore make the world a better place. Let us be among the connectors and refuse to join the dividers in peace-building.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">When there is a will, there is a way</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> So let us make paradise on earth by the grace of God.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Let nothing stop us now! </span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s9" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32); font-size: 14px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">CONCLUSION</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">In conclusion, I wholly agree with Prof </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sani</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Abubakar</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lugga</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, FNIM, the </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Waziri</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Katsina</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, that </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">this rich book </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">on interfaith,</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a rare collector’s item </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">that can </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">supply the much needed missing link in our mutual existence</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> enable us </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">live and walk in the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose for us</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> all</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lik</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">e </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alhaji</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ishaq</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kunle</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sanni</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> said, it is time for us to ask, if there is still a father out</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> there who can boldly tell his</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> children to emulate </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">him</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, in the same way </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">like author’s father</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> once </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">did</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; o</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">r mothers who can</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> honestly </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and proudly </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">tell their children</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, as t</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">he author’s mother</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> once admonished him, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“work does not kill”.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">incisive</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and energizing stories from Rev. Fr. Cornelius </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua’s</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> parents</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">as Sr. Dr. Stella </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bassey</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esira</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">h</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, c</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">alls them, will </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">surely </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">provide a road map to destiny fulfilment in an era role models are in</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> very </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">short</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> supply</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">Therefore</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, there is no gainsaying that interfaith </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">dialogue is the only bridge that will transform our Nation </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">“f</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">rom Dreamland to Reality</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">This</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> rich</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> book</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, in its nearly 400 pages, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ha</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">s the answers </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to Nigeria’s </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">conflicts and insecurity challenges. </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">From </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">page </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">to page, the </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">book drips with rare wisdom, fecund </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">analysis and intelligent </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">solutions.</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">The book </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a bold and courageous </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">sermon from the </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">pulpit</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> by an </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">intellectual prodigy of </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">fearless Cleric</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It constitutes </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">pot</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">pouri</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">scripture</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, history, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">religion, sociology,</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">anthropology, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">philosophy</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, logic</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">political science</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and current affairs. It </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">is</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must read</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">, not only by</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">those who work in the body of Christ </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">labour</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the Lord’s vineyard</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">but also</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> by </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">the family unit, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">our </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">entire </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">political class</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">;</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the academi</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">a; the </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">youth</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">social scientists</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">professionals</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">government functionaries</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">; </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">an</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">d all those who thirst for the truth as to how to build a </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">just, </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">peaceful and egalitarian society.</span></span></p><p class="s5" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s10" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.8; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">I </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">therefore whole-heartedly recommend </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">this book to </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32); font-size: 14px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">ALL</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32);"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32); font-size: 14px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">SUNDRY</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 16.799999237060547px; color: rgb(35, 31, 32); font-size: 14px; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 25.200000762939453px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-16464294952804559362021-09-06T01:10:00.001-07:002021-09-06T01:10:08.092-07:00ALHAJI ISHAQ KUNLE SANNI<div>FATHER CORNELIUS OMONOKHUA, PROLIFIC INFLUENTIAL WRITER AND UNCOMMON ADVOCATE OF INTERRELIGIOUS HARMONY IN THE WORLD</div><div><br></div><div>Ishaq Kunle Sanni</div><div>Foundation Member NIREC</div><div>Co-chairman IDFP (Interreligious Dialogue Forum for Peace)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>I did not have any intimate interface with Father Cornelius Omonokhua until he became the Executive Secretary of the prestigious NIGERIAN INTERRELIGIOUS COUNCIL (NIREC).</div><div>When his work began it was like love at first sight between us. But as somebody who had been injured psychologically at an impressionable young age by religious bigots at the other side of the divide, I was cynical and took his seemingly affection towards me with circumspection and if you like it a pinch of salt. It did not take a long time for me to realise this is no theatrical exhibition of affection but something genuine that emanates from the heart.</div><div><br></div><div>We, despite doctrinal differences, have a lot in common; we see humanity as one. We don't perceive criminals from primordial lenses of ethno-religious bigots. If a man is a criminal even if he is a Christian call him by his name not by his religion. If a man is a rapist don't call him by his Islamic faith, call him by his name not by his religion. We are not carried away by the stereotyping and profiling the trademark of pollutants and religious demagogues.</div><div><br></div><div>Father Cornelius does not carry on his head the arrogance of a celebrated intellectual. That is why he would condescend so low to ask an intellectual lilliputian like me to edit what he a professor had written. For the information of those who don't know my academic pedigree I don't even possess a PhD. What Father Omonokhua had succeeded in his love for an intellectual upstart is to stampede me inadvertently to become a research fellow trying to satisfy the yearnings of a fertile brain who loved to write to create a near perfect religious coexistence in the society of his domicility.</div><div><br></div><div>Our generalissimos in NIREC, His Eminences the Sultan and CAN president would have been amazed by the calm and equanimity with which Father Cornelius took their criticism when he was just cutting his teeth as Executive Secretary of NIREC. Today he is the doyen of these great religious leaders as he now has the image of a perfectionist in his job even when working under impossible condition of ill health</div><div><br></div><div>STATE OF THE NATION</div><div><br></div><div>Father Cornelius and I even when there is no prior discussion are always on the same page on National issues. Amnesty for surrendering Boko Haram members As I feel elated on the surrender of thousands of these devilish deviants called Boko Haram, I cannot fathom the unreasonable idea of granting them amnesty. My initial idea,</div><div><br></div><div>borne out of ignorance of international law that it is criminal to kill a surrendering soldier, I would have unabashedly advocated wasting these callous criminally inconsiderate vagabonds who have slaughtered thousands of innocent men and women. Be that as it may they should face trial for war against the nation and spend the rest of their lives in jail. They are obviously surrendering because of the unprecedented and superior fire power of the Nigerian Airforce which was the giant stride gleaned from the sophisticated super Tucano helicopter recently acquired from USA, which has resulted in their decimation and annihilation in thousands.</div><div><br></div><div>For Boko Haram members to be granted amnesty is like allowing them to dance on the grave of thousands they have eliminated unprovoked. The Military high command should not let off their guards for the materialistic conquest that comes in the wake of war prolongation. If they succeed, posterity will write their names in gold.</div><div><br></div><div>Hate speech and verbal diarrhoea</div><div><br></div><div>Though the Secretary to the Federal government was mischievously misquoted for calling for the arrest of Muslims and Christian priest who instigate violence, I want to advice that any Muslim or Christian cleric propagating hate speech or instigating his members to violence should be arrested and prosecuted. If Gold should rust, what should we expect from lesser metals. The modus operandi behind these unwholesome acts is the wave of clerics who crave for heroism by spewing innuendos at the inglorious expense of peace and harmonious religious tranquillity of this potentially great country. Religious leaders should be harbingers of peace, not of violence.</div><div>Sack of ministers</div><div><br></div><div>If we have in the past rightly or wrongly almost crucify the president for being unrepentantly nepotic, we should at least give kudos to him for the courageous step in sacking the Minister of power and the Minister of Agriculture for alleged unwholesome misdemeanours. For this country to be great there should be no sacred cows. If all those big fishes arrested for kidnapping and banditry have been summarily dealt with these levels of criminal impunity would have subsided considerably.</div><div><br></div><div>People are asking why Wadume, who wasted the lives of security men who went to arrest him, when without any equivocation he had been pinpointed as the kingpin of kidnapping for ransom in Katsina. What of Evans the billionaire wicked murderer probably the richest of kidnappers in the history of Nigeria still doing in the gulag after he was sentenced to death.</div><div>Youth empowerment</div><div><br></div><div>At the last meeting of NIREC a delegation met leaders of security agencies to give some words of advice which I think was the right step in the right direction. I suggest all the thirty-six Governors and Minister of FCT should also be interfaced with. They should be</div><div><br></div><div>told the gospel truth. The only way to checkmate the criminal tendencies of our youth is to provide them with sustainable empowerment. Most of our Governors embark on white elephant projects which is just for political grandstanding and unnecessary propaganda.</div><div><br></div><div>Can you imagine a Governor renovating a stadium with over five billion naira in a state with a battalion of employed youths? As God would have it, the rain exposed the chicanery and sophistry, as rains came in torrents showing a wishy-washy job was done on the fixing of the roofs.</div><div><br></div><div>Our leaders should tell them to create jobs through industries and technology propelled farms not stadium or airports that services only the elites.</div><div><br></div><div>CONCLUSION</div><div><br></div><div>The job of securing our polity from the bandits and criminally inclined marauders is principally that of the government but we all have roles to play. political gangsterism being perpetrated by political juggernauts is metaphor for crudity and trivialisation of the fear of the Almighty.</div><div><br></div><div>We are the most Religious on earth but one of the most Godless. Religiosity will not win us paradise, Godliness will.</div><div>I congratulate my brother Father Cornelius Omonokhua on the launch of these books. More ink to your pen.</div><div><br></div><div>May Allah fertilise your brain more and more and endow you with good health and longevity of life.</div><div>Safe trip to all our guests</div><div><br></div><div>May Allah's peace and unfathomable blessings envelope you all God bless you</div><div><br></div> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-46091787313617153042021-05-23T13:27:00.001-07:002021-05-23T13:27:42.463-07:00ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL PROFILING IS AVOIDABLE <p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“ETHNIC,</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">RELIGIOUS </span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">AND POLITICAL PROFILING IS AVOIDABLE”</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">C</span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ornelius </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A. </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">T</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he 2</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nd</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> quarterly meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious council (NIREC) </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">took place on </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">May 19, 2021 at </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Reiz</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Continental Hotel Abuja</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with the theme.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“ETHNIC,</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL PROFILING IS AVOIDABLE”. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This theme was chosen because of the </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">incessant attacks</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> unrest in Nigeria</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. NIREC is a council jointly owned by the Christian Association of Nigeria (</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CAN</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA). </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">NIREC </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">with different committees to assist government at all levels to promote peaceful co-existence, security, unity, wellbeing and the common good of the Nigerian citizens. Neither Christians nor Muslims can effectively reconcile the differences and divisions in Nigeria hence both in the form of dialogue of social engagements seek to unite to reconcile the religious, ethnic and political pluralism of the nation.</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I believe in Nigeria and I am proud to be a Nigerian. Let us not get</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> trapped in international politics.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Some of us are who we are and what we are within the space </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and opportunities offered by Nigeria. That things seem to be falling apart now does not mean that Nigeria will never rise again.</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Those who have travelled to other parts of Africa </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">may</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> believe that Nigeria is a home in spite of the present challenges. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This theme is chosen to open up a conversation on the beauty of varieties. Differences and </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">commonalities are not peculiar to </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nigeria as a nation. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Somalia is one of the countries that had a single tribe and a single religion. Students of world history would not easily forget Somalia as a failed State when the</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ir citizens and leaders</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> started to stress clans within the common tribe.</span></span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I believe in a united Nigeria because I do not believe that the problem of Nigeria is Ethnicity, Religion and Democracy. I believe that the problem of Nigeria is more of greed of the few that has put the majority into abject penury</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and hardship</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. We must not allow greedy people and international politicians fragment Nigeria with Religion and Ethnicity. The earlier we believe that there is no conflict between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria the better for each one of us and the nation at large. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This does not mean that Christians and Muslims do not have conflict. It is this conflict that calls for dialogue, conflict prevention, conflict management and conflict transformation. That a Muslim is President does not mean that the challenges of the country connote an Islamic agenda just as it should not be interpreted when a Christian is a President, that the woes of the nation is a Christian agenda. </span></span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What we need more today is a change of attitude and values on the side of the citizens if the nation must make progress. While we pray for good leadership, let us also pray for mental re-engineering of the citizens. The challenges we have in Nigeria are more of values and vision than the failure of structure. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Leaders may be incompetent in providing security in a particular regime, this does not mean that Nigeria lacks credible and capable human beings with the sufficient capacity to lead the Nation. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We must not allow tribe and religion to be our source of division</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and choice of political leaders</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. If we must fight, let us fight for supremacy in moral values and technological renaissance. If every citizen in Nigeria is comfortable, secure and happy, No one will think of ethnic, religious and political profiling. </span></span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s7" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Our common humanity is a call to common nationality. If we believe that we all came from the same source, namely, Almighty God who is our common Creator, we shall be able to avoid ethnic and religious profiling. That we are created human beings with intelligence, soul and spirit means that we need to find unity in our ethnic and religious multiplicity. Here, we can also affirm our common Nigerian identity. The Federal Government need to create a conducive environment for unity by strengthening the Police and the Judiciary. The failure of the Police Force and Judiciary can ruin any nation in terms of security. If there is justice for every citizen, that would go a long way to prevent ethnic and religious profiling. If there is justice, the nation would not need to deploy the army for internal insurrection.</span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The situation in the world today calls for media honesty and information management. The media ought to source news based on truth that promote common wellbeing. Information must be a product of sufficient enquiry and dialogue on the issues at stake. Conflicting issues call for dialogue of encounter with policy makers. Rushing to the press can lead to negative reportage and media dishonesty. We must avoid using the media as brain washing machines to manipulate the readers and listeners. Unfounded sources in media coverage can lead to war because </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“until the Lion learns to write; the story will always glorify the hunter.” This is why the office of NIREC has called on the media assistants to the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to be friends, cross check facts and work as a team to promote positive reportage and media honesty. We believe that this effort would prevent ethnic, religious and political profiling. </span></span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The foot soldiers during any form of insurgency are jobless youths. Nobody who values life with a good job may carry weapons of human destruction. To empower the youths, NIREC in collaboration with KAICIID is involved in an ongoing project titled, </span></span><span class="s2" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">"voice of the youth". </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The project is targeted at youths in eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kano State metropolis. Town Hall meetings are held in each of these LGAs with the view of enlightening the youth on peaceful coexistence, healthy living and importance of dialogue. At the end of it all, their opinions would be sought-after on government policies. The final report would be presented to the State Governor, Kano House of Assembly, Kano Attorney General and the Emir of Kano. It is hoped that this project would advocate for youth friendly policies in the State. After, Kano State, we hope to move to other States. With the inauguration of the different committees of NIREC, </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Christians and Muslims</span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> hope to be more involved in the concerns and issues that would promote a united Nigeria in the place of any profiling that could put this great nation asunder. </span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s3" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s6" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. </span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cornelius A</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">febu</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC (nirec.ng@gmail.com)</span></span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s8" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-13202405027498208762021-03-03T05:31:00.001-08:002021-03-03T05:31:07.129-08:00HUMAN LIFE CHAPTER FIVE<p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER FIVE</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">SACRIFICE: A KEY TO THE GATE OF HEAVEN</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is a theological belief that sin leads to hell while forgiveness of sin is a means to heaven. However, without the sacrifice of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. Many tribes in Africa and the Jewish nations constantly offered animals for the forgiveness of sins. To assure the world of healing and salvation, Jesus offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus gathered all men and women to himself by accepting the crucifixion on the cross which was a consummation of the eternal offering. The early missionaries did not understand the African theological meaning for the kind of sacrifices they were offering to enable the living have communion with the ancestors after death. This would have been a basis for teaching the Africans the meaning of the true sacrifice of Christ as a new covenant that has become more efficacious than that of the old covenant of t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he Jews and the sacrifice of animals in many cultures of African. It is in this light that this chapter will examine how </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">sacrifice</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> played a vital role in the initiation ceremonies in some part of Etsakọ as outward signs (sacraments) that prepared a person </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">for eternal union with God and the ancestors </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ibana’edio)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. According to Cardinal F.A. Arinze “Sacrifice is the soul of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ibo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> cult. If it is removed, Ibo traditional religion is almost emptied of its content.”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Similarly, Etsakọ believe that no dead person </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">crosses to the ancestral home without sacrifice. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.1</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 32px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sacrifice in Etsakọ and Judeo-Christian Religions</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">From what we have seen so far, it is clear that humanity is one and human beings share the same faith. The only difference is how this faith is inte</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rpreted in the different milieu. It is also clear from the discussion so far that Africa has a lot to contribute to the Christian religion. But why has it taken America and Europe so long to comprehend the way of life of the Africans such that even the missionaries wanted to plant the foreign values in the African soil with the wrong notion that all sacrifices in Africa were offered to the devil. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Luke Nnamdi Mbefo seems to capture the picture very clearly in his book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The True African: Impulses for self-affirmation </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">where he elucidates the erosion of self confidence in Africa. According to him, the Europeans entered Africa in what we may now call the dawn of modern history, which incidentally coincides with the European period of exploration; Africans had looked to their own innate genius in dealing with their world of experience. This was Africa’s infancy, its age which the Europeans call primitive, when it had developed no written literature to document the stages of its coming to self-consciousness. Europeans termed them savages. When they later on realized that these savages were not lawless ruffians, they qualified them as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">noble</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">savages. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Recent discoveries in the archaeologists’ cabinet of curiosities however do indicate that something was in process; in Africa before Europe discovered her. There was an earlier and a later stage in the life of these savages as the process was emerging. Europeans met the Africans at a stage which had become history for the European process. Europe had gone through a scientific revolution, (thanks to Copernicus and Galileo) and agrarian and in</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rial revolutions (thanks to Faraday and his colleagues). Equipped with such a background, they arrived in Africa where the indigenes were still controlled by the forces of nature; malaria, over flooding, and were responding to their world through witchcraft and sorcery. Europeans responded with scientific and technological know how. They imposed on the Africans a tutelage status. Africans were seen as not being able to manage their own affairs. They had first to go to school as required by European standards so as to emerge with European life-style, the only life-style thought worthy of human kind.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">By combining the indigenous legacy with the benefits of Western science and technology, a new Africa will emerge with unparalleled pride. Christian religion will find it’s pre-history in African Traditional Religion which in turn Christianity will find fulfilment for its cravings in that religion. Above all however, African Traditional Religion should be seen as a religion in dialogue with other religions. If Christianity will not be seen as a foreign religion, then its points of contact with African Traditional Religion will become increasingly important to affirm.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For instance to be a true Igbo is to confess God’s </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence and to allow one’s behaviour to be influenced by his conscience interpreted in the light of his eschatological judgment. This judgment is seen to be inevitable even when it is delayed. Human manoeuvring and deceitful antics, their diplomatic strategies and errant politicking, according to the Igbo cannot outwit God’s knowledge and judgment – even when they succeed in imposing their will on other humans. They may win - the battles but they will on the long run – lose the war.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Long before the advent of the Christian religion, the whereabouts of the dead had been a poser for the Africa people. But the question was not a philosophical rigor. Through the life experience of the people and the mythical revelations they </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">come about the idea of sacrifice as a final solution to solve the destiny of the dead who forever remain a member of the community. The destiny and the eschatological question is not only a monopoly of the Etsakọ and the Judeo- Christian religions. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Paul</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> S.L. Johnson asked a baffling question: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">where are the dead?</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> So far we have tried to study the various ways the Etsakọ and the Judeo-Christians battle with the state of the dead whether they are in limbo or purgatory. Before we discuss the means by which t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he souls in purgatory can be released, it is worth while to note that there are some other thinkers who think differently regarding the where about of the dead. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Where are the dead?</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The agnostic has no evidence about the where about of the dead and so he claims that man dies as does the brute. The Hindus and others who believe in the transmigration of the soul would say: </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Our view is that when a man dies he does not die, but merely changes his form. His future estate will correspond to his present living, and give him either a higher or a lower position. We believe that we lived on earth before, perhaps as cats, dogs, mice, elephants, or what not, and that if this present life has been wisely used, we may reappear as men of nobler talents, as philosophers, etc.; but if, as usual, life has been misspent, at death we will be remanded to some lower form of being – Elephant, a worm, or what not. It is because of this belief that we are so careful in respect to our treatment of the lower animals and refuse to eat meat of any kind. Where we to trample ruthlessly on the worm, our punishment might be to be given a form in which we ourselves would be treated ruthlessly after the change which we call death.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For this reason, this group of people do not use animals for sacrifice either for the living or for the dead. J. Omosade Awolalu believes that among the Yoruba, bad ancestors…are reincarnated in the lower animals or birds, and wander about in neglected and lonely places.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What becomes of man after death?</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> E.B. Idowu says that this again is a question which has haunted every religion all down the ages. ‘After death, what?’ is a poser on the face of life itself. And all religion, each in its own way and according to its conception of the essential constitution of life, has found an answer. To the question, the Yoruba are definite in their answer. Death is not the end of life. It is only a means whereby the present earthly </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence is changed for another.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">So according to Idowu, “Immediately a person dies, the first rite is to slay a fowl”.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Luke Nnamdi Mbefo stressed further that:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The cultural ideals are dramatically inculcated at the death of an Igbo citizen. When an Igbo woman dies, a chicken is killed at the grave-side. When she comes back to life, she is not expected to forget the in</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ry of the chicken. Just as the chicken works without </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to feed its brood, so the Igbo woman is expected to be in</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rious and enterprising. When an Igbo man dies, three animals are to be killed….the ram is the symbol of endurance, patience under duress and courage in facing death without complaint. The dog is also killed to underline the need for alertness and watchfulness, virtues associated with the dog. Finally, the cat is equally killed to stress the virtues of calculated risks, wiliness and initial sceptical stance.</span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Among the Jews as this book has shown so far, the temple of Jerusalem was a venerable haemorrhage as animals were constantly offered to Yahweh as Sacrifice for the living and for the dead as we discovered in the book of the Maccabbees. At the appointed time, the incarnation took place. The eternal Word became flesh and lived among us on earth (John 1:14). Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God in Word and Sacrament. After preaching and healing the sick, he instituted the Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">on the day of Passover. “Christ gave Himself up on our behalf, a sacrifice breathing out fragrance as He offered it to God.” (Ep 5:2). F.J. Sheen affirms that “Pagan priests, Old Testament priests, medicine men, all offered a sacrifice apart from themselves. But not our Lord, He was </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sacerdos – Victima.”</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The symbolism of Christ the lamb who was slain is very meaningful for Africa. A sacrificial victim is slaughtered mainly to remove evil and sin from the community and to prevent death. The actual killing marks the peak of the sacrifice. Among certain ethnic groups the animal symbolically becomes the “scapegoat” for the sins of the community before being slain. People touch the animal to indicate their wish to fast off their sins and heap them onto the sacrificial victim. In a similar way, Christ has become such a victim who freely and lovingly accepts to bear the sins of the world upon himself and die on our behalf. His death is thus a liberating action of forgiveness for all people. The truth we can also derive from the mission of Christ was that his sacrifice gave birth to seven sacraments namely </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baptism, Confirmation, Holy </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Out of the seven sacraments, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baptism, Conf</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">irmation and Holy </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">are called the sacraments of initiation. Let us look at these sacraments within the context of Etsakọ religion.</span></span></p><p class="s64" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2 The Sacrifice of Initiations and the Seven Sacraments</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If a Child is continuously reminded of the ways and m</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">anner his father was killed, the Child will forever remain a melancholic. The child is forever robbed of his maturity. The child with a future rather uses the event of his father’s death as a stepping stone to greatness. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Whatever our </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must have been, we can always begin anew</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This is where I sympathise with Pedro Ihimekpen when he cried out in the Evangelist Magazine of February, 2000 edition that </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is always a funny spectacle at the baptismal font when we helplessly watch the changing of our children’s names to that of English in order for them to be baptised. Historically, this malice or prejudice came about since the white missionaries could not understand the meaning of our names and also because they felt our names had pagan affiliation. As a cover up they went into rationalisation. Now, we are made to believe that our names must be taken after a saint, who we are taught continuously prays for us and especially those bearing the same name with them.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Today the Church is awake and ready to improve on the early missionaries’ effort in the African Church. One can say that the Church is passing through the era of inculturation and contextualization. This is not the time to remain static and gloom over our wounds. Life as a whole is contextual. In other words we are born into a human family within a particular cultural milieu. So, to be a good Christian, humanity is the first prerequisite. To be a religious person, one must be a complete human being. God had to be man to reveal God to man. This is expressed in the preface of the Solemnity of the Annunciation (P.44) as follows: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">He came to save mankind by becoming a man himself.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> No one can claim to be a good Christian if one is not a well-cultured person. That life is contextual therefore means that we are who we are depending on our immediate environment. The knowledge of God is also contextual. That is to say that the culture, tradition, custom and world view of a person are avenues of encountering the Supreme Being. The incarnation means that Jesus took human flesh, born into a culture and tradition that he respected as a starting point of his mission.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The African Bishops since the late 1950s have been singing the song of inculturation and contextualization. They are now open to new contextual methods of evangelisation. The Church in Africa should endeavour to implement some positive suggestions of Pope Benedict XV in 1919, Pope Pius XII in 1951, and the admonition of Pope John Paul II that:</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">As she carries out missionary activity among the nations, the chu</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rch encounters different cultures and becomes involved in the process of inculturation. The need for such involvement has marked the church’s pilgrimage throughout her history, but today it is particularly urgent.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consequently, using Etsakọ as a case stud</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">y, this book suggests the following aspects for inculturation and contextual study as experiments: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The rites of initiation, Marriage (Isomhi), Care of the sick (Unuoegbe), Confession (Okai) Priestly initiation (Okhe) and Burial (Itolimhi).</span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The sacrifice in all these rites prepares a person for his/her final destiny. The sacraments of initiation in the Church are</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baptism, the Holy </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and Confirmation.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> A brief look at the traditional rite of initiation among the Etsakọ of Edo State Nigeria reveals how close Africans are to the Christian concept of initiation. It also shows that Africans were deeply religious before the advent of Christianity. The question now depends on how the Church teaches Christianity to the Africans within the context of their beliefs. The Etsakọ people have three major types of initiations:</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Child, Adult and Old age initiations</span></span></p><div class="s66" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">5.2.1 </span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Child Initiation </span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Uruemhi)</span></span></div><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Etsakọ, a Child is initia</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ted into a family after circumcision. The rite includes </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the anointing of the Child with oil</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This symbolises royalty and the pledge that the Child is born to stay. The Child is made to</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">taste alligator pepper,</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> achie</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This means that the Child will have the courage to stand the test of hardship and any difficult situation. The Children are called to escort the baby with music titled: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Afafaliko gbenegugu </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">into the mother’s room. Another meaning of this rite is that the Child is now free from the greed of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọvhabumhẹ </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">who invites pain and suffering by cutting more bread from the sky than she could eat. Etsakọ believes seriously in the concept of original sin. The Child initiation also protects him from the inclination of evil and inordinate desires that attend</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed humanity after the fall of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọvhabumhẹ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For contextual reasons it could be experimented if infant baptism can take the place of the traditional Child initiation by applying some of the traditional forms. This can go along with the normal Child dedication</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, which the Church is already practising. Jesus was dedicated in the temple according to the Mosaic Law and the traditional rite of the Jews: </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The day came when the purification had to be performed according to the Law of Moses. So they brought the baby up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Every first-born male shall be consecrated to God.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> And they offered a sacrifice as ordered in the Law of the Lord: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Luke 2, 22)</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adult Initiation </span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Uruami)</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A youth is regarded as an adult after the initiation into his age group. This initiation is done every three years. An age group includes Children who were born the same period of three years - </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpela la re nyio ‘utu fue.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This initiation qualifies a man to eat with elders since it is a child who washes his hands well that eats with elders. The initiation also qualifies an adult to share in the communal meals. This includes the sharing of wine together. The rite of initiation among the people of Weppa-Wanno is used as a case study here. The rite is as follows: </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Enrolment:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The initiation of adults is performed during the annual festivals of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otsa</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This coincides with the harvest season when there is plenty of food. The children are listed and enrolled as candidates for the adult initiation. The age bracket is normally from eighteen to twenty years of age. Those who do it later than this age compromise their natural seniority to those who initiate before them.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Scrutiny (Igbhawe)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: The vestment for adult initiation is a cover cloth across the shoulder and a cap. The father of the age group is called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ethame </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning (my father). There is a sponsor of the age group. This is an elder who has taken the priestly title called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This sponsor is called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anawi </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (abundant blessing like the drizzling rain).</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The scrutiny involves pedagogy, namely the teaching of wisdom to the initiated. Literally the candidates learn how to </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and be disciplined. This is demonstrated by sitting </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">straight on the floor with both hands on the laps. It is forbidden to fold one’s hands as that symbolically imply tying the hands of the age group thereby making them lazy and drawing them backward. The offender is asked to go and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">smoke the pipe (nọ ra chi</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">o’ku)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(that he should excuse the group</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">). Either </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ethame </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">or </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anawi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> presides over the case. The group has a messenger called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iko</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who announces the penalty. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Communion:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This is the sharing together of the sacred meal. The father of the group (</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ethame)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> provides the first food and drink. Later the sponsor (</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anawi)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> provides the subsequent meals through out the ceremony. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Offering:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The group present palm wine, dry fish, some tubers of yam and other food items to the sponsor </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Anawi)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some group prefer to present cooked food but the dry fish must accompany the food. Music follows and the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anawi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dance with the candidates and “spray” them with money. Then other spectators commence the dance and “spray” the group with money too.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Confirmation:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The candidates have to prove that they are now men and warriors who are capable of defending their homes and the land. This is symbolised by building a house for </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adaobi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and w</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ling. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adaobi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the warrior whom the Etsakọ claimed delivered them and led them out of Bini Kingdom. Eating, drinking and merriment attend the building of the house for </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adaobi.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Then the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> phase</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the rite is w</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ling to test the masculinity of the new men. This w</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ling contest is between two communities in the case of Weppa-Wanno, it is between Weppa and Wanno. In this contest every w</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ler is a victor, no loser because it is an abomination for an adult to fight his age mate.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dismissal:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Candidates having been fully initiated shout </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ekoe-khogo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Alleluia) and each person dances to his home accompanied by parents, relatives and friends.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.3 Old Age Initiation</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpelo / Ibaki) </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This initiation is predominant among the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ekperi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of Etsak</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Edo state, Nigeria. When a man has attained the age of sixty the children perform the first rite of initiation called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpelo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning aspiring to old age. Three years later the full old age initiation is performed. Both ceremonies take place at three y</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ears interval. The rite is simple. The Old man takes a hoe without the metal on it to the Market (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aki)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. He digs with it and says: “I have worked hard in my youth, now that I am old, tired and the metal in my hoe has been eaten up by stones, my children from hence forth will take care of me till I die”</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The children now dance home with their father and celebrate for them. Some children kill a cow or what they can afford. The father now resigns from active labour. This initiation is also a test of how the chi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ldren will bury their father.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.4 Marriage (Isomhi)</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Isomhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means goodness. The African people believe in the sanctity of marriage. In Etsakọ the rite of marriage goes as follows:</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Introduction:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The family of the man carries a calabash of palm wine t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">o the family of the girl and asks the hand of the girl in marriage. This goes with kola-nuts and other items. The date of the marriage is fixed after the payment of bride price.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogono:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This ceremony demonstrates that the girl is still a virgin. The age group of the girl wear her black ink, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ibie</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and cream powder, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ume</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. They dance naked with the new bride through the town singing: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogono, emọ dọmha vhegbe khọ ye, ọse li kẹkẹ khọ ye, ọse li motor khọ ye khe mọ dọ ma vhe gbe khọ ye!</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This song means, “The virgin is going to meet her husband riding on bicycle and motor, we are proud that she is going”.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The aspect of nakedness is no longer practised in Etsakọ.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Ceremony</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is attended by dancing, eating and drinking. The father of the bride hands over the girl to the family of the bride groom and prays: “I am giving you my daughter in marriage. May she give birth to both boys and gi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rls! May she be a source of wealth to your family!” The response to this prayer of hand over ceremony is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itsẹ, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Amen! If the girl has no father the uncle does the handing over. Immediately, a gun is shot and the women sing praises by saying: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ayelele ọnọ mhẹ o vha ra gwe gwe, I mhọ emhi rẹ ya ughe!”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This means, “Whoever is at home should come and see the beautiful bride worthy of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">honour</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”. The bride is then escorted to the husband’s house. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consumation: </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The new bride is expected to sleep in the same room with </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the husaband that night to consummate the marriage. At day break, she along with her friends who escorted her to her new home fetch water for the elderly women and sweep their compounds. In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the bride was given a white bed sheet with which she would use for the first time. If at the consummation of marriage the white bed sheet was stained with blood, the husband took the cloth back to her family as a proof that the bride was a virgin before marriage. A white fowl was killed for the young woman and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">gifts were given to her. This showed how the Etsakọ people valued virginity and chastity. In the Church, the wedding garment used to be a sign that the bride was a virgin. It followed that any woman who went to wedding with a white wedding garment was tell</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing the world that she was still a virgin. Is it possible to contextualize Christian marriage by carrying out the Christian rite of marriage on the day of the traditional ceremonies or perform the traditional ceremonies in the church? Let us wait and see. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anointing of the sick (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Unuọegbe)</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When somebody is sick in Etsakọ, investigations are often carried out to find out the cause of the sickness. Sometimes this investigation includes the oracle. If the patient has eaten or drunk poison he or she is given oil to lick. If what the pe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rson has eaten is traditionally forbidden, the person is anointed with oil on the cheSt Herbalists are recognised in Africa as doctors who care for sick people. If a patient recovers from sickness, the herbalist collects some money from the patient and anoints the patient as a sign of total healing. This is called </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">urawi tso egbe.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Some herbalists demand a cock or a goat depending on the illness. Anointing of the patient guarantees that the patient will not suffer a similar sickness again. The expression </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">unuoegbe</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a direct translation of the Christian expression for anointing.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This could be a starting point for teaching the Africans the Christian understanding of anointing of the sick. Before the second Vatican Council the sacrament of anointing was regarded as the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> sacrament: (Exod</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">treme auction</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) Today, it is dawning on a lot of people that the sacrament of anointing does not just assist the patient to die well but also helps the patient to recover. The Christian sacrament of anointing is therapeutic. For contextual reasons the African medical practice may study the relevance of traditional herbs as a possible supplement. The herbal clinic in the Benedictine Monastery in Ewu, Edo State, is a good beginning.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Confession </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okai or ozi)</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Africa, nothing happens by chance. Nature does not have vacuum. There is a reason for everything that happens. Cause and effect is a world wide phenomenon. Some sicknesses are attributed to witchcraft or adultery or related offences that could constitute abomination to t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he land. In Africa, sins of adultery, murder and witchcraft are confessed publicly. The person who confesses adultery in Etsakọ is made to pay a goat as penance. Very often it is women who are made to confess but the men that are involved in the act also d</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">o the prescribed penance in the case of adultery. The goat is used as sacrifice to God through the divinities to reconcile the sinner to the ancestors and the land. In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">people used to stone witches and wizards. Today if a person confesses witchcraft, people found out the shrine or idol that makes the person to confess. The penitent pays the prescribed penance and the traditional priest ties the wings of the witch. In other words, the witch is exorcised or cleansed. If the witch dies without confessing the belongings are taken to the shrine (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">otsa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) that killed the witch. In many parts of Africa, sin is not individualistic. The sin of one person can affect a whole community (cf. Ezk 18). This is the reason for public confession and public penance.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the case of normal misunderstanding, the people who quarrel are also reconciled publicly. They are made to eat and drink together as a sign that they will not do any harm to each other. Those who steal are made to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ore what ever they have stolen in any possible form. A murderer is made to sleep in the Market Square with his age mates for a month if the murder is not deliberate. If a person commits suicide, the community offers a lamb as sacrifice to prevent a future occurrence in the family and to cleanse the land of the abomination. The sacrament of reconciliation in the Church can also be preached to the African people. This can be done within the context of what they already know about confession in the African setting. By so doing the Sacrament of reco</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nciliation as practised in the Church will be more relevant and acceptable.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.7</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Priestly initiation </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okhe)</span></span></p><p class="s37" style="margin: 12px -2px 3px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This initiation is what makes a man a priest in Etsakọ. </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">title also qualifies a man for the throne of a king in Avianwu. Without the priestly i</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nitiation </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okhe)</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, a man is just an ordinary man (</span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogbhari</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">). This initiation has no age limit. It involves a lot of money and sacrifices. With </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe </span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">title a man is entitled to wear a red cap and can be called upon to perform sacrifices or some traditional rites. The priesthood is not alien to the African people except the aspect of clerical celibacy. Priests in some part of Africa are however encouraged to be disciplined and chaste especially when they want to perform some traditional ceremonies. The rite of p</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">riestly initiation in Etsakọ is very elaborate. The rite presented here is that of Avianwu in Etsakọ Central Local Government Area of Edo State Nigeria. This rite is supposed to be a top secret. It is however published here for the sake of posterity. A lot</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of our customs and traditions have died with our ancestors because of this secrecy. The secrecy of some of the African traditional practices also made the missionaries to be suspicious of our traditional practices. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Introduction:</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ur’okhe ko):</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This literally means the planting of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The Candidate indicates his desire and pays some money to the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> announces the candidate’s intention to take the priestly </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) title. A date is fixed and the Chief priest announces this to those who have already been initiated as priests. All the initiated priests are assembled by the Chief priest to drink palm wine that is provided by the Candidate. The Chief Priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> presides with his staff of office (called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsu)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Registration: (Egbhai)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The candidate is registered and the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> appoints two-initiated priests to be in charge of money through out the course of the ceremony. They are to share money hierarchically to all the initiated priests (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. These two priests are called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">egbhai</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (meaning mats). They are the ones to perform the rites of initiations in the small fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogwa ni keke)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and the big fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogwa nokwa).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Because every aspect of this initiation involves money, it goes with the proverb that no one knows the cost of the priestly initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(A le eka re nyio okhe fue).</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Small Fo</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Ogwa ni keke)</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This initiation is performed on a specific day of the native week: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eyua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The preparation goes as follows: Two sticks are carved from a tree called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">olibo.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The sticks are decorated with </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e (made from the bark of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">olibo </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">tree) and white chaLukes (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">erue</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">). The candidate carries one stick and the wife the other stick singing</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Te te te, a ba te te omo a te ikhumi”, meaning (step by step, you lead the shrine like a child).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> puts a red cap on the head of the candidate. He is given two staffs </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Etsu)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. He goes out to dance round the market. A small booth </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(iga)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is made in the house of the candidates. The two assisting priests accompany the candidate to the small fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogwa ni keke)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This is done in the cool evening around 6.00pm. Concession is given to those who come from distant places to perform this ceremony in the morning. The candidate goes to the small fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ogwa in keke)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with a hen </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Uwo’kho),</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> yam flour mixed with oil (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">asa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) and a small calabash of palm wine.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At strategic points on the way to the small fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ogwa ni keke)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> assisting priests plant a feather of the hen and pour libation on it with the palm wine. Each time this is done, the candidate is given some palm wine to drink. The procession song is rendered by the candidate as follows: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">E khi ya ebo re (3x), mha go’lomhe no’mosi, E khi ya ebo re. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This means: “I am going for priestly initiation, my new bride and me (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the initiation is called a bride)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> we are going for priestly initiation. The candidate is accompanied back home. He enters his booth (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">iga) and h</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e remains there until he pays some money to the Chief priest (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogie ebo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) who then allows him to come out. </span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The big Fo</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Ogwa nokhua):</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The preparation for the big fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogwa nokhua)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> includes: a roasted house rat </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ofe’lo na’to)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. A small pot of yam powder mixed with oil </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(asa)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and fried fish. The rat is placed in the pot along with fried fish. The vestments include tied clothes </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ididi’kpo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that is tied on the waste like a girdle or cincture. The candidate is dressed with white chaLuke </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(erue)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The candidate wears a maniple on the wriSt This maniple is made of day palm frond. It is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Akaba</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ language. Two hens are kept in a basket along with some edible food. The basket is covered with a white cloth. A man who has not performed the rite of priestly initiation (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ogbhari)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> carries this basket.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The journey to the fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: Two priests </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> g</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">o to the booth </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(iga)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> where the candidate is </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing. They raise their legs up and the candidate passes under their legs. Then the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> counts seven steps while the candidate follows backing him. He must not collide with the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Through out the journey it is forbidden to hit another person’s leg from behind. After the seven steps directed by the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo),</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the candidate begins his journey by singing: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iyare! E e e iyare! (I am going, e e e , I am going with the hope to return)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The entrance into the big fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogwa nokhua)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is similar to the beginning of the journey. The candidate passes under the legs of the two priests </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and enters the fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The sacrifices performed are the same with that done in the small fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogwa ni keke).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> After the sacrifice, the initiate sings: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uloko no ogwa-e- Iregbhe mhe ne mho (The Iroko of the fo</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, I dedicate myself to you). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Then the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogiebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> says: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Za ele rekpa u vha ge khio ogbari, ogiebo lu khe khia (from</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> now on you are no longer an ordinary person, you are now pronounced a high priest). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The initiate makes a pledge to the shrine in the fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and promises to keep the oath of secrecy of the ceremony.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">On returning, the new priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ọbo’gbomhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is possessed w</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ith a new spirit. He sings songs of praises. He pays homage to those who have been initiated before him, the divinities of the land and the ancestors. When he gets home other priests fence him round with clothes. The head of a hen is twisted, pulled off and the blood is sprinkled on the new priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(obo’gbomhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The rite is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhiomhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. He goes round the village square with the blood. He returns into the booth </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(iga)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with his back. After some hours he pays some money to the Chief priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ogie ebo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This money replaces the rite whereby the new priest sleeps on the bare floor for seven days without taking his bath. The whole ceremonies are accompanied with music, dance, eating and drinking.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">On </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ewo </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">day, that is the next day, the new priest goes round to greet his fellow priests and thank those who graced the occasion. He goes round with the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">illofia</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (a local bell) and shakes it to those who have been initiated before him. The old priests congratulate him by saying, a noble priest </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Obo awo…)! </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The new priest then waits for one year before he is given his own staff of office </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(otsu)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This ceremony is performed with the head of a dog. With this, the new priest is entitled to all the rights, obligations and responsibilities of a prieSt He now begins to offer sacrifices especially by pouring palm wine and blood on the staff </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Otsu)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There is need for a brief comment at this point on the priestly initiation of Etsakọ people. This priestly initiation is loaded with sacrifices. A lot of questions have been raised whether a Christian can take the priestly title </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okhe)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Mr. A.B.C. Nasamu i</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s of the opinion that a Christian should not take </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> title because of the sacrifices involved. Mr. J.O. Oghiadomhe agues that Chief Itsueli who at a time was a Chief Priest, (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogiobo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) removed all the aspects that involved serious sacrifices. Very Rev. Fr. Laurence Balogun who was the parish priest of Fugar at the time of this book observed that Chief Itsueli did not succeed in removing all the aspects that involved serious sacrifice. According to Fr. Balogun, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a ‘god’ that accepts only sacrificial victims. The mere saying of it is not sufficient. Since </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the people’s baptism a more radical action is required since children are also involved in it. When Bishop Anthony Gbuji (now Emeritus Bishop of Enugu) was the Parish priest of Fugar, he set up a committee to look into the possibilities of Christianizing the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> title. This committee did not arrive at positive results before the transfer of the then, Rev. Fr. Anthony Gbuji. For Mr. Umole </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> title is an enigma. Even though it involves a lot of sacrifices, Christians find it difficult to shy away from it because almost every privilege in the land depends on this title. For instance, No honour is accorded any body in the land that has not been initiated into the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">okhe </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">priesthood. Mr. Simeon Nasamu believes that a Christian has nothing to do with </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> except if the sacrifices are genuinely removed.</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is observed that if the theology of the blood of Jesus is well expounded to the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ people, namely, that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has taken over all forms of sacrifices, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> initiation can become a ceremony whereby the Holy Mass is celebrated as a substitute for the traditional sacrifices. Moreover, Christians who wish to tak</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> title should know that baptism in the Church enables one to share the three fold functions of Christ By baptism one becomes a priest, a prophet and a king. It might be true that some aspects of sacrifices have been removed from the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">initiation. For example, the sprinkling with blood and sleeping on bare floor for seven days. It is hoped that more improvement will be made such that Christians may be able to publicly perform this ceremony instead of doing it in hiding.</span></span></p><p class="s67" style="margin: 12px -2px 3px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Theological reflection</span></span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is possible to locate the Christian sacraments of initiation within the context of the African rite of initiation of children, adult and the old people. Infant baptism can be celebrated within the context of Childhood initiation. First Holy Communion and confirmation can find a place in the sacrament of confirmation. The social aspects of these initiations can be preserved while the Christian rite of initiation takes the place of the offerings and sacrifices in places where they </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The seven sacrament</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s in the Church can be compared with the seven rites of initiation in Etsakọ.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s65" style="margin: 12px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baptism (Childhood initiation – </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uruemhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: The Church believes that “baptism is a sacrament that cleanses us from original sin, makes us Christians and members of the Church”. In Africa, especially Etsakọ, the child initiation makes a child a member of the family. The child is also free from the greed of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọvhabumhẹ,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a woman who caused God to be far away from human beings. Consequently the sin of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọvhabumhẹ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> can be likened to or</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">iginal sin.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><div class="s68" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 45px; text-indent: -36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">5.3.2 </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Holy </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Adult initiation – </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uruamhi)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Church is the body of Christ and Christians are members of that body. The Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the true body and blood of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine. It is a communion of hearts and minds </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(agape)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Jesus instituted the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">within the context of the Jewish Passover. Adult initiation is celebrated on the festivals of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otsa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This ceremony brings men of the same age group together to learn words of wisdom and share food and drink together. Adult initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(uruamhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is an agape festival where people eat from the same plate and drink from the same cup. In the Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, communicants share the body of Christ from the same ciborium and the same chalice. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><div class="s68" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 45px; text-indent: -36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">5.3.3 </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Confirmation (Old age initiation </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpelo/Ibaki</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the Church, Confirmation makes the Christian a soldier of Christ Adult initiation qualifies a man in Etsak</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ to be a warrior.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ikpelo/Ibaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are initiations that confirm the fact that a man has lived a fulfilled life as a warrior and an achiever.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><div class="s68" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 45px; text-indent: -36px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;">5.3.4 </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Penance (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okai)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The sacrament of reconciliation brings a penitent back to God and reconciles him to the Church. This in the Church is by way of confession, penance, absolution and satisfaction. In Etsakọ, the sinner confesses sins openly and he is reconciled to the individual, the community, the land and the ancestors. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><div class="s70" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s69" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; min-width: 0px;">5.3.5 </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Anointing of the Sick (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Unuawi yo egbe):</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the Church this sacrament helps the sick to recover and if it is the will of God that the person should die, the person dies peacefully. In Etsakọ, this ceremony is a sign that the patient is healed. It also means that the patient is guarded against a sim</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ilar illness. It does not prepare the sick for death. It is a confirmation of healing. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><div class="s70" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s69" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; min-width: 0px;">5.3.6 </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Holy Order </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okhe-</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Priestly Initiation):</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Both involve the ordination of priests. In the Church the body and blood of Jesus is offered as sacrifice. In Etsakọ, the blo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">od of animals is sacrificed.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.7 Marriage </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Isomhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the Church, this ceremony brings a man and woman together in an indissoluble bond. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Isomhi, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in Etsakọ means goodness. Marriage in Etsakọ brings a man and woman together to produce children and s</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hare life together. The woman is married to the family. This means that if the husband dies the woman still enjoys the protection of the extended family. However, the aspect of remarriage whereby the widow is compelled to marry the brother of the deceased husband against her will is not compatible with the teaching of the Church. If the widow must remarry it should be her free choice and with a single man with whom their marriage can be blessed in the Church.</span></span></p><p class="s67" style="margin: 12px -2px 3px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Recommendations </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ offer sacrifices directly to God. Such offerings are made at any place, fo</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and river or even at the foot of any tree dedicated solely to God. At such a sacred place, divinities, deities, spirits and ancestors are not used as intermediaries. Sacr</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ifices are however offered more through the divinities and the ancestors. Divinities are sacramentals in African primal religions. They are outward expressions of divine operations. Being perceptible by the senses, they project the mind and heart to God. Sacrifices are offered to God through the ancestors because they are believed to be closer to God. I </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">recommend therefore that the Etsakọ Christian should use this traditional belief as a basis for faith in the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Saints and angels to assist us in the hour of our death and to secure a place for us in heaven.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sacrifi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ces are offered to God on </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ewo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> days and annually on days for </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> festival. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ewo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is one day in a week set aside for </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> A week is the number of days from a market day to another market day. A market day is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">elumhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The day following the market is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ewo.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Other festivals where </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ offers sacrifices are: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ukpe, Otsa, Ikpelo/Ibaki </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(especially for the Ekperi people), </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uruamhi, Akhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (especially for women of Weppa-Wanno),</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Itolimhi,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (rite of passage) and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(especially for the people of Avianwu). </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is an annual festival in Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It marks the beginning of harvest (especially new yam). It is also called new yam festival. In Nigeria, the Ibos also celebrate the new yam festival </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Iriji ọfụụ)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and they have Christianized it to some extent. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ukpe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is also an annual festival especially am</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ong the people of Weppa-Wanno. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Otsa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is also an annual festival especially among the Ekperi. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpelo/Ibaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a festival of initiation into old age among the people of Ekperi. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uruamhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is initiation into manhood. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Akhe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a cooking festival among the women of Weppa-Uwanno. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okhe </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a title in Avianwu. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the rite of passage for the dead. This rite is compulsory for every adult that dies after burying the parents. This is done almost everywhere in </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ. Christians are still finding it difficult to escape from these ceremonies. I suggest that in the celebration of all these festivals, the Etsakọ Christian should make Jesus Christ normative by offering the sacrifice of the Mass in the place of goats</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and other animal sacrifices. The meat and food items to be used for this ceremony may be blessed by the priests. Some of these items should also be used as thanks giving in the Church. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">From available field work among the people of Uzairue, Avianwu, Weppa-Wanno and Ekperi, we can deduce the rite of sacrifice among the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ people as follows:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Introduction:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The priest greets the people and explains the reason for the sacrifice. He narrates what God has done for the land. This brings out the power of God.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Invocation:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The priest calls on the ancestors to witness and part</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ake in the sacrifice.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Offering:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Pounded yam and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">egusi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> soup is offered along with the prescribed animal like a cock, goat, lamb in the case of murder and suicide or a tortoise in extraordinary cases.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Libation:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Palm wine is poured and the ancestors are invited to drink.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Communion:</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The food and wine are shared among the people who partake in the sacrifice. Children are invited to eat the food, the wine is shared among the elders while the animal is either cooked for further sharing or the uncooked meat is shared among the elders.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The sacrifice made for murder is performed with a lamb. It is believed that the lamb is innocent and peaceful. The blood of the lamb is capable of ushering in peace into the community again. This also applies in the case of suicide. The </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ people believe in the efficacy of blood for the remission of sin. Blood for the people of Etsakọ is sacred. This has some resemblance to the Jewish understanding of blood and sacrifice. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The mediatory role of the ancestors could be a starting point</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of book for the Liturgists and the contextual theologians. In </span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ic prayer 1,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the Church prays: “</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven.”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> In all the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ic prayers, the intercessory role of the Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary are invoked. Justin Ukpong explains why the Africans offer Sacrifice to God as follows: </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In communicating with God through prayer, it is as if one were speaking with God over the fence. In communicating with God through sacrifice however, the fence is removed and one enters into the presence of God, and to do that often is simply not acceptable.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the Holy Mass, the sacrificial species are bread and wine. These become the body and blood of Jesus after the prayer of consecration. This change is theologically called transubstantiation. The Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is for all peoples. This sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus may replace that of food and animals in Africa while other aspects of the festivals and ceremonies should be closely studied to see the aspects that are acceptable to the Christian faith and socially healthy. This will help the church in the efforts of inculturation. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It should be noted however, that all these ceremonies of initiations are various ways the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ and the Judeo Christian religion prepare for their final destiny which is a perfect </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with the saints, ancestors, the angels of God and finally to behold the face of God in heaven. This final encounter is called the beatific vision. The opposite </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of this experience for those who were alienated from culture, humanity and God by living a meaningless life find themselves losing the final vision of God. These disobedient people experience hell which is a total separation from God and humanity. It is hoped</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that this comparative study will helped inculturation in Etsakọ.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-66951466603230206312021-03-03T05:23:00.001-08:002021-03-03T05:23:42.062-08:00HUMAN LIFE CHAPTER FOUR<p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 10,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 15).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The judgment of condemnation is conditioned more on lack of willingness to repent. “On judgment Day, the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and they will be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here (Matt 12, 41; cf. Luke 11, 31). This passage implies that judgment is given not by God but by the Gentiles whose unbelief is compared with the unbelief of the Jews. Failure to believe the word of God thus becomes a person’s condemnation at death. The criteria for the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> judgment are given in Matthew:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For I tell you, if your uprightness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven. ‘You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">you shall not kill;</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer for it before the court; anyone who calls a brother a ‘Fool’ will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and anyone who calls him ‘traitor’ will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. In truth I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> penny. You have heard how it was said, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">you shall not commit adultery. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">But I say this to you, if a man looks at a woman lustfully; he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should be your downfall, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should be your downfall, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of yourself than to have your whole body go to hell. It has also been said, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">But I say this to you, everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of an illicit marriage makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Again, you have heard how it was said to our ancestors; </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">you must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">But I say this to you, do not swear at all either by </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">heaven, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">since that is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">God’s throne; or the earth, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the city of the great King. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is ‘yes’ if you mean ‘yes’ and’ No’ if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the Evil One. You have heard how it was said: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">But I say this to you: offer no resistance to the wicked. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if someone wishes to go to law with you to get your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone requires you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks you, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away. ‘You have heard how it was said; </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">you will love your neighbour </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the Gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly father is perfect (Matt 5, 20 -48).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Luke demonstrated this new teaching of Jesus Christ in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16, 19-31). The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich but because he refused to share his God given gifts with the poor. The poor man did not go to heaven because he was poor but because he endured in his suffering and did not complain even when the dogs of the rich man were licking his sores. In the Synoptic gospels the golden rule to be judged at death is a holy and perfect life style that the dead person lived. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">John’s approach to the question of judgment is a deeper theological insight than that of the synoptic gospels. In John's gospel, “God did not send His son to judge the world but to save the world (John 3, 17; 12:47). Jesus has come into the world for judgment (John 9, 39). The father judges no one (John 5, 22) because he has given judgement to the son (John 5, 22). These contradictory statements call for serious exegesis and hermeneutics to understand what Jesus is teaching within the context of John’s theological work which was highly influenced by th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e Hellenistic Greco-Roman world</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. John went as far as saying that the dead will hear the word of the son. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In all truth I tell you, the hour is coming – indeed it is already here when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, and all who hear it will live. For as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself; and, because he is the son of man, has granted him power to give judgment. Do not be surprise at this, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves at the sound of his voice: those who did good will come forth to life; and those who did evil will come forth to judgment (John 5, 25-29). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">John in dealing with the issue of judgements uses the following imageries: The apocalyptic lamb; </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judgment on the rejection of life and light, and many others but we shall concentrate on these two for the purpose of this work. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The lamb as the apocalyptic lamb</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the figure of a conquering lamb that destroys evil in the world at the time of the final judgment. In this context of final judgment there appears in Jewish apocalyptic the figure of a conquering lamb who will destroy evil in the world. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This idea is taken up in the New Testament. “The figure of a conquering lamb appears in Revelation: “in 7, 17, the lamb </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the leader of peoples; in 17,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 14, the lamb crushes the evil power of the earth”. This fits in well with the perspective that John had in his pre</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aching. For instance, in Luke </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3, 7, a great punishment is announced by John the Baptist on those who are not repentant. The axe is laid at the root of the tree. “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor.” This means that a total change of heart is called for. Failure to repent incurs punishment and condemnation. In the use of the term: </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Lamb of God”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, John is hailing Jesus as the Lamb of Jewish apocalyptic expectation; a Lamb sent by God to destroy evil in the world.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The truth is that this Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world was the scapegoat of the religion of the Jews. This lamb has no sin but sacrificed to take away the sin of the community. Jesus offering himself as priest and victim becomes the new and most effective sacrifice of the New Covenant. Only those who accept him get the desired salvation.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The statement, “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind” (John</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 9, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">39)</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">calls for further clarification.</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus came to the world in order to save the world from sin. This salvation is meant for all. However everyone is free to accept or rejec</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t the light. Acceptance of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">light gives eternal life. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(John</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1, 12)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Those who claim to see, who presume they know remain blind because, that in itself is pride, a culpable refusal to accept the truth. It was the will of Christ that Judas should repent and accept the light. Judas’ pride for example led him to despair. He repented unto himself and committed suicide. He must have felt the shame and guilt of betraying his master. He did not have enough grace to humble himself before the Lord. Like Peter, he should have been forgiven. Judgment is not the sins we commit, but culpable refusal of guilt and failure to return to the Lord. Man often wants to protect his image and self esteem to the point of losing sight of the mercy of Christ Sometimes we pretend to be in the Light whereas we are glooming in darkness. This is why some people are not converted. Refusal to repent and accept Christ becomes the condemnation. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This was the situation of the Pharisees. They remained spiritually blind to the reality of Light because they claimed that they see and that they even know the mysteries of God. Perhaps their pride must have tempted them to think that Jesus was going to occupy their position. No wonder they committed great atrocities to defend their position. The humble ones, those who accept their ignorance are those referred to as physically blind. This group of people is docile and can easily receive the message of Christ They know their limitations. They are aware that they need the light to guide them. No wonder, they will not remain blind. They have faith in God through Jesus whom the Father has sent. It is faith that can really save. This faith is manifested in humility. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“For judgment I came into this world”</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (John</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 9, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">39).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This does not mean that Christ came purposely to judge. What Christ is saying here is that the fact that he has come to the world, to give the message of salvation is what brings judgment to those who refuse to believe. Judgment is the separation of man from Christ through unbelief. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil” (John. 3:19). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Here the evangelist makes it plain that it is a reflex of the act of God’s love that men condemn themselves, and not a separate and posterior act of God’s judicial condemnation. Even this judgment speaks his love”.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> John cited Isaiah to confirm this fact: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes and perceive with their hearts and turn for me to heal them” (John. 12, 40; Isaiah 6, 10). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">However, Jesus promised life to those who work with the Light and dwell in the Light. He told the people to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">walk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">while they have the Light. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.“While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may be sons of the Light” (John</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 12, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">36). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To reject the light is to accept darkness. This is self-condemnation. It is not Christ who condemns. It is when man freely chooses to follow darkness that he misses the way and the goal of life. In fact separation from God is hell. Christ came to give life. His message is to lead us, so that we do not stumble. Following Christ’s teaching is the light that leads us to eternal life. Rejection of this message means going without the light. Since the absence of light is darkness, those who refuse to follow Christ will never reach their goal. It is not Christ who condemns but the refusal to accept him and his message. Jesus said. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“I have come, as Light into the world that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness” </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(John</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 12, 46). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We can conclude this argument with the submission of </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">J. L. Mckenzie, that </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It seems clear, then, that in John the judgment is the rejection of faith in Jesus Christ Those who refuse faith will rise to the resurrection of judgment which is opposed to the resurrection of life (John 5:29). Jesus is judge in the sense that He presents Himself as the object of decision and it is thus that the Father Judges no one but has committed judgment to the Son. He comes not for the judgment of unbelief but to save those who believe.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Paul in his letters goes into specifics of the content of Judgment. He wrote to the Romans that </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Condemnation will never come to those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit which gives life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. What the Law could not do because of the weakness of human nature, God did, sending his own Son in the same human nature as any sinner to be a sacrifice for sin, and condemning sin in that human nature. This was so that the Law’s requirements might be fully satisfied in us as we direct our lives not by our natural inclinations but by the spirit (Rom</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 8, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-4). </span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Paul had earlier warned the Romans not to judge but to live judgment for God. “So no matter who you are if you pass judgement you have no excuse. It is yourself that you condemn when you judge others; since you behave in the same way as those you are condemning. We are aware that people who behave like this are justly condemned by God (Rom</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 2, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For Paul, the</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> judgment of God will be accomplished in justice. It will not matter whether you are a Jew or Gentile. He cited the psalms to buttress his point. “God will always be true even if no human being can be relied on. As Scripture says, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence and your victory may appear when you give judgement </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Rom 3, 4-5; Ps 51, 4). But no one will escape God’s judgement since “God through Jesus Christ, judges all human secrets” (Rom 2, 16). Paul believes that possessing the Spirit of Christ is a sure way of overcoming eternal death. To the Philippians, Paul said “I shall never have to admit defeat, but with complete fearlessness I shall go on, so that now, as always, Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or my death. Life to me of course is Christ, but then death would be a positive gain (Phili 1, 20-21).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The author of the letter to the Hebrews focussed on the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment (Heb 6, 2) since human beings die only once, after which comes judgement. Christ offered himself only once to bear the sin of many who are waiting for him, to bring them salvation (Heb 9, 27). The expectation is fearful because if, after we have been given knowledge of the truth and still deliberately commit sin then our sacrifice will be in vain. There is left only the dreadful prospect of judgement and of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">fiery wrath that is to devour the enemies of God. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anyone who disregards the Law of Moses is ruthlessly put to death on the word of two witnesses or three, and you may be sure that anyone who tramples on the Son of God, and who treats the blood of the covenant which sanctified him as if it were not holy, and who insults the Spirit of grace, will be condemned to a far severer punishment. We are all aware who it was that said: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">vengeance is mine; I will pay them back. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">And again: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Lord will vindicate his people. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb 10, 26-31).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The author acknowledges the dignity of marriage and the consequences of the defilement. “Marriage must be honoured by all, and marriages must be kept undefiled, because the sexually immoral and adulterers will come under God’s judgement (Heb 13, 3-4). This can help us to appreciate the value placed on the family by Africans and how progeny is a condition for joining the ancestors as we shall see in due course. The author of the letter to the Hebrews also condemned avarice. “Put avarice out of your lives and be content with whatever you have; God himself has said: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I shall not fail you or desert you, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and so we can say with confidence: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">With the Lord on our side, I fear nothing: what can human beings do against me </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Heb 13, 5)?</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">James after listing the virtues that lead to salvation and the vices that lead to condemnation concludes: “Whoever acts without mercy will be judged without mercy but mercy can afford to laugh at judgement (Jas 2, 12-13). James also says that Christian teachers will be judged with special severity (Jas </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1). This means that judgement will also depend on the level of awareness of the human person. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the first letter of Peter</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">God will judge the living and the dead (1 Pet</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 4, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5). This judgement will begin with God’s house, the Church (1 Pet 4, 17). In his second letter, he compares this judgement to that of Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Pet 2, 6). The wicked are stored up for the day of judgment (2 Pet 3, 7). The book of Revelation affirms that there is an hour of judgement (Rev 14, 7). This will be the judgment by the Saints and martyrs: “Then I saw thrones, where they took their seats, and on them was conferred the power to give judgement. I saw the souls of all who had been beheaded for having witnessed for Jesus and for having preached God’s word, and those who refused to worship the beast or his statue and would not accept the brand-mark on their foreheads or hands” (Rev 20, 4). The agent of judgment is the rider of the white horse: “And now I saw heaven open, and a white horse appear; its rider was called Trustworthy and True; in uprightness he judges and makes war” (Rev 19, 11).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The conclusion of this exegesis on judgement can be that death is certain and after death comes judgement. In the words of J.L Mckenzie, “For each man, the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">day of judgment </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the day on which he makes a permanent decision to accept Jesus Christ or to reject Him. The biblical view of judgment is that the attributes and operations of God’s judgment are exhibited in the course of the individual life and in the course of history.”</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2 Limbo </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Aminigho)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and Purgatory </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Aghadava)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Etsakọ believe that once a child is born, that child is destined to live up to the duration of time </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmanọma’gbọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(God the creator) assigned to the child on earth. The child is weaned and initiat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed when the navel </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ukho)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is healed. This initiation makes a child a proper member of the family. Consequently, the child’s destiny is to live to a ripe old age and join the ancestors and if he lived well become an ancestor too. Therefore, for the Etsakọ people dying young especially dying before childhood initiation is unnatural. It means that the child did not belong to the living and cannot join the ancestors without this mark of initiation. For some Etsakọ, a child who died at birth is not buried with cl</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oths. The child was rapped with coco yam leaves </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ebi ‘khokho)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and buried. This implies that the child is not a member of the traditional race in the context of humanity. The death of a child is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">egwi’ebikha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The child does not go to the ancestral world he remains in limbo </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(aminighuo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> till the number of years divinely appointed to the child on earth is completed. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aminighuo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means premature knitting (of cotton wool). The child is not judged because the child did not attain the age of reason and could no</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t have consciously lived to choose between good and evil. From limbo </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(aminighuo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the child can come back again in form of reincarnation. This form of life whereby the child comes and goes over and over again is stealing in Etsakọ hence a reincarnated child</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(omo’ghiator)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning the child who is a thief. This child reincarnation is to enable the child to be properly initiated into the traditional society. While in</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> aminigho (limbo)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the child disturbs the mother until a ritual is performed. This ritual is performed to make the child live on earth to complete his allotted span of life. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some of the rituals include: wearing a small bell on the neck, wrists and ankles of the child; putting visible marks on the child and wearing the child black charcoal </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ikpi’khiameghie)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on the face. The belief is that the bells scare away other children in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aminighuo </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(limbo) from coming to call the child back. The marks and the charcoal make the child unattractive to the children in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aminighuo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(limbo)</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Here an argument may ens</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">u</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e. The general belief is that it is the good ancestors who reincarnate. This is likely to contradict our findings of the child’s reincarnation. The view is that the child who dies is supposed to have been reincarnated by an ancestor but the child did</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> not live for the parents to find out which of the ancestors have come back. It is when the reincarnated child does not stay that the child come over and over again as the same person either as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ere or Iye)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ere</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of Etsakọ is the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Babatunde</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the Yoruba whi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">le </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iye</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of Etsakọ is the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iyabo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the Yoruba. This means father</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">has come back (Ere) and mother has come back (Iye). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The understanding of the Etsakọ people therefore, is that death is a reality. The general attitude is that of fear especially the time and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">manner death may come. This fear affects everybody both old and young especially the ignorance of what happens after death. However, no comment of serious negative feelings is passed on the death of elders. On the other hand, the community is set ablaze at the death of youths and children. For the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ people, the death of a youth is a bad omen. Hence the corpse of a youth does not sleep at home till dawn. The corpse is immediately interred and properly buried. If children go to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aminighuo </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(limbo), where do the youth go? A matured youth is not expe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">cted to go and come back over and over again but the youth must be somewhere to mature before crossing to the land of the ancestors </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ọgbanakido / Alimhi’afemha).</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Etsakọ, it is believed that the youth who died go to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aghadava (</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">purgatory) to spend the rema</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">inder of his life. After spending the allotted span of life, the youth can climb the mountain of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adaobi (ege Adaobi) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to meet the ancestors. A youth does not come back in form of reincarnation. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aghadava</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ is not only a state of purgation akin to Cat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">holic theology of purgatory; it is also a state of maturation. This view is similar to the reflection of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Karl Rahner that “in death the human soul enters into a much closer and more intimate relationship to that ground of unity of the universe which is hard to conceive yet is very real, and in which all things in the world communicates through their mutual influence upon each other. And this is possible precisely because the soul is no longer bound to an individual bodily structure.</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The truth is that nearly every religion tends to give a holistic view of man: in addition to the tangible physical component parts of man, there is an element which is intangible and indestructible and which outlives the physical death. This is the soul”.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Indian thought, it is followed by rebirth to life in some form on earth, the inexorable law of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">karma </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">determining the nature of that reincarnation, and in Buddhism men are offered the hope of breaking the weary round of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">sanisara </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the endless peace of Nirvana. In biblical thought we find none of this. For here life is held to be a blessing and not a curse, and its possession is wistfully desired so long as may be. Yet though long life is counted and element in the desirable lot of the blessed, it must have a limit and the grave claim all men. But beyond the grave – what? </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To the question of what happens to children and youths when they die? In Etsakọ, they do not go straight to heaven because they have not completed their life span on earth. Rather they spend the remainder of their life in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aghadava</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">what is likening to the C</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hristian concept of purgatory and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aminighuo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> limbo. Some people believe that these youths and children go to areas where they are not known to complete their life span. Some have reported claims of seeing such persons and the moment the dead youths identified them they disappear and change location. Others claim that they have even eaten with the dead relatives unknown to them that they have died. This claim has it that the dead youths visit their relatives who are not yet aware of their death. The moment they know, they disappear. This is confirmed by J.O. Awolalu: </span></span></p><p class="s52" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Stories have also been told of men who are reported dead going to dwell in another village or town and living a normal life, until they suddenly disappear when they learn that the local people have found them out. We have met people who have encountered such men. We have also listened to pupils who were at boarding school when their parents died at home. Such pupils have testified to the fact that their fathers or mothers called visit them and to leave important instructions and messages with them. These men and women come in human form, not in form of spirits at all!”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s52" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.3</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Limbo in the Judeo-Christian Religion</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The word Limbo is from the Latin </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">limbus</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning hem and edge. It is a technical theological term for the place and state of the dead who are neither in heaven, or in hell or in purgatory. The concept of limbo was not known in the Old Testament and the early apostolic Church. It was in St Augustine’s argument with Pelagius on the teaching on original sin and infant baptism that really brought out the debate of limbo. Augustine was born in Roman North Africa (modern Souk Ahras in Algeria) to Patricius, who only later became a Christian, and to the pious Monica, who enrolled him as a catechumen from infancy.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> It is possible that the teaching of Augustine was influenced by his African background. It is also possible that the life of Augustine also contributed to his belief that the grace of God through baptism which is the first stage of Christian initiation was the only condition for salvation. Augustine also took very seriously the words of Jesus that “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit; what is born of human nature is human; what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 3, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6). Baptism is a sacrament that cleanses the child from original sin, makes him a Christian and a member of the Church. Thus Augustine believes that once a child is born, he is stained with original sin, namely, the sin of our first parents Adam and Eve (Gen 3). Pelagius argument was that the infant has no freedom to decide his fate and faith. Augustine argued that a child should be baptised on the faith of the parents who decide for the child. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A distinction is however drawn between the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">limbus partum,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is the place and state of the Pre-Christian just, who could not enter into eternal happiness before Christ descent into hell and his ascension, and the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">limbus infantium,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is of the human beings who on earth never attained the use of reason, and to whom the sacrament of baptism was never administered, although the gospel was sufficiently proclaimed in their countries for the possibility of their sacramental incorporation into the Church not of itself to have been excluded.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The concept of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">limbo ‘of the Fathers, is</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> no doubt a Christian adaptation of the Jewish notion of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">sheol. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the Rich man throw some light into this position.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace. So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ ‘Abraham said, ‘my son, remember that during your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">between us and you</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a great gulf has been fixed,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to prevent those who want to cross from our side to yours or from your side to ours (Luke</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 16, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">22-26). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This gulf is probably referred to as limbo by some theologians but this passage is very close to the African concept of the ancestral home. The text is not however enough to postulate limbo. In the Jewish’s figure of speech, the equivalent of the old biblical phrase </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">‘gathered to his fathers, that is, to the patriarchs</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is similar to the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ’s </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This generation is endless in the Jewish and African thought. When that whole generation had been gathered to its ancestors, another generation may follow who knew neither Yahweh nor the deeds which he had done for the sake of Israel (</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judg</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 2, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">10). But a generation worth the name is that generation that know and worship God. “For your part you will join y</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">our ancestors in peace” (Gen 15, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">15). “Yahweh said to Moses, you will soon be sleeping with your ancestors” (Deut</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 31, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">16). The embrace of Abraham implies close intimacy. The gulf is a symbol that separates the destiny of saved and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that is unalterable.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Patristic theology and art, limbo is the place to which Christ descends after death. This is the view of St Peter in his first letter.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Christ himself died once and for all for sins, the upright for the sake of the guilty, to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the spirit he was raised to life, and, in the spirit he went to preach to </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the spirits in prison</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. They refused to believe long ago, while God patiently waited to receive them, in Noah’s time when the ark was being built. In it only a few, that is eight souls, were saved through water. It is the baptism corresponding to this water which saves you now – not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience given to God through resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has entered heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angels, ruling forces and powers subject to him (1 Pet</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 3, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">18-20).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For Christian theology, the idea of limbo provided a means for conceptualizing the possibility of salvation for those who preceded Christ in history while at the same time seeing that salvation as dependent on the act of salvation of God in Christ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">limbo of infants </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is an attempt to deal with the fate of children who have died without baptism in the time of the explicit Christian dispensation during which faith in Christ and the reception of baptism are understood to be the necessary conditions for entrance into heaven. Pelagius, in harmony with their idea of original sin, postulated a place or state of natural happiness between heaven and hell for the unbaptized. Since the Pelagian theology of original sin envisioned no guilt in unbaptized children, they could not be consigned to hell.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“The magisterium of the Church has taken no official position on the question of limbo”</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The discussion has been open headed, thus Peter Abelard thinks that the souls of infants who die without baptism are deprived of the beatific vision; for Thomas Aquinas they lack both grace and beatific vision. Thus one attributes to them a natural happiness in harmony with their natural spiritual faculties, but not the supernatural happiness of beatific vision (Aquinas,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> De malo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 5, 4, ad 4).</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Post Reformation and modern theology has suggested a number of ways of supplying for sacramental baptism in an extra-sacramental way. Thus, a baptism of blood was envisioned in the case of the infants of Bethlehem when “Herod was furious on realising that he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men” (Matt</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 2, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">16). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The prayer of desire of the child’s parents might be seen as a vicarious baptism of desire according to Cajetan. J.A. Hardon sees the question of limbo as a delicate one in the Catechesis of the Church</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> because a</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ccording to God’s universal salvific will, we believe that somehow he gives all persons the opportunity of reaching heaven. There is such a thing as baptism of desire, defined by the Council of Trent, but this assumes sufficient mental maturity to make an act of faith and love of God. We must however, say with the Church that “There are people who are in ignorance of Christ’s Gospel and of his Church through no fault of their own, and who search for God in sincerity of heart; they attempt to put into practice the recognition of his will that they have reached through the dictate of conscience. They do so under the influence of divine grace; they can attain ever</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing salvation.” By implication, their children who die before the age of reason can also be saved. Saying this does not deny what the Church also teaches through two ecumenical councils, that even those who die with only original sin on their souls cannot reach the beatific vision. St Thomas taught that limbo is a place of perfect natural happiness, but minus the supernatural vision of God to which, of course, no creature has a natural right.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">P.J. Hill says that the fate of infants dying without Baptism is indeed a very complex problem. The common solution still remains: such infants are in Limbo, a place where they suffer the pain of loss because of original sin but are immune from the pain of sense. He cited the admonition of the Holy Office in 1958 as follows:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The practice has arisen in some places of delaying the conferring of Baptism for so-called reasons of convenience or of a liturgical nature – a practice favoured by some opinions, lacking solid foundation, concerning the eternal salvation of infants who die without Baptism. Therefore this Supreme Congregation, with the approval of the Holy Father, warns the faithful that infants are to be baptized as soon as possible according to the directive of Cannon 770. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ors and preachers are exhorted to urge the fulfilment of this obligation. [Act.ApS 50 (1958) 114]</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Purgatory in the Judeo-Christian Religion</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For the African, an intermediate state before reaching the ancestors and dwell in the presence of the Creator does not call for a philosophical argument. The African believes that going to meet the Ancestors is not immediate. The dead is first in an intermediate state and later join the world of the spirit if he/she is found worthy and after certain rituals and proper burial rites. This belief was not so easy in the Judeo-Christian Religion. This was due to the fact that the Church by way of contextualization wanted to make the Christian message relevant to the Hellenistic world of the Greeks, the Romans and the European nations. The Greeks were already so vast in philosophy and with their metaphysical minds were ready to question any belief before they can accept. Their faith as it were was tested through intellectual rigor of rationalization. This rational attitude led to a lot of debate on the question of the reality of an intermediate state for the dead.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4.1. A biblical attempt to locate Purgatory</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The word purgatory means a state of purgation. This teaching is a call to perfection because nothing stained or impure will be able to stand in God’s presence after death. The sages of the Old Testament admonish us: “in everything remember your end and you </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">will not sin” (Eccl 7, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">36). Sin separates the human person from God’s presence. God is just without prejudice to his divine justice. The justice of God demands that all human beings will not be judged equally. This same justice will not let God’s children go to eternal hell for punishment because of some venial sins that the person has not properly been cleansed of while on earth. The allusion to the purification of the dead with prayers and sacrifices is shown in the life of the Jewish soldiers in the book of Maccabees:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judas then rallied his army and moved on to the town of Adullam where, as it was the seventh day of the week, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the Sabbath. Next day, they came to find Judas (since the necessity was by now urgent) to have the bodies of the fallen taken up and laid to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> among their ancestral tombs. But when they found on each of the dead men, under their tunics, objects dedicated to the idols of Jamnia, which the Law prohibits to Jews, it became clear to everyone that this men had </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> their lives. All then blessed the ways of the Lord, the upright judge who brings hidden things to light, and gave themselves to prayer, begging that the sin committed might be completely forgiven. Next, the valiant Judas urged the soldiers to keep themselves free from all sin, having seen with their own eyes the effects of the sin of those who had fallen; after this he took a collection from them individually, amounting to nearly two thousand drachmas, and sent it to Jerusalem to have a sacrifice for sin offered, an action altogether fine and noble, prompted by his belief in the resurrection. (2 Macc</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 12, 38-45</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This passage shows that these dead people still had the chance to go to heaven but with the stain on them they needed prayers and sacrifices before they could see the face of Yahweh. The call to prayer not only for the living but more for the dead is also emphasized by the sages: “Let your generosity extend to all the living, do not withhold it even from the dead” (</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eccl 7, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">33). This praying for the dead includes giving decent burial to the dead (2 Sam</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 21, 10-14; Tobit 1, 17-18; 12, 12; Isa 34, 3; Jer 22, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">19).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to Elmar Klinger, for the New Testament, the eschatological situation was more acute, because Jesus himself, and then the original community considered that the dawn of the Kingdom of God had already come. In accord with the definitive character of the Jesus-event, the specific hope of the Christian was directed towards an immediately imminent, general and universal consummation. In the individual domain notions of Sheol are still operative (Luke</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">16, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">19-31)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The real testing of faith and its works is expected in the “fire” of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Judgment: “On this foundation, different people may build in gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw but each person’s handiwork will be shown for what it is. The day which dawns in fire will make it clear and the fire itself will test the quality of each person’s work. The one whose work stands up to it will be given his wages; the one whose work is burnt down will suffer the loss of it, though he himself will be saved; he will be save as someone might</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">expect to be saved from a fire</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(1 Cor 3, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">12-15). Purgatory is not directly envisaged here, but this text is one of those on the basis of which the Church has made this doctrine explicit. According to Jerome Biblical Commentary,</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Although the doctrine of purgatory is not taught in this passage, it does find support in it. The metaphor suggests an expiatory punishment – which is not damnation –for faults that, although not excluding salvation, merit punishment. When Paul wrote this epistle he was still hoping for the coming of the Lord’s Day in his life time. Consequently, he locates this expiatory punishment at the final judgment.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jesus also implied the concept of purgatory in the statement that “and anyone who says a word against the son of man will be forgiven; but no one who speaks against the Holy Spirit will be forgiven either in this world or in the next”(Matt</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 12, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">32). The next world here could not be heaven because only the perfect are in heaven and being in heaven is an eternal reality. Only the perfect are in heaven and no longer need forgiveness. The next world could not be hell because hell is an eternal damnation and those who go to hell have eternally separated themselves from God’s presence and mercy. Those in hell endure the eternal justice of God. It follows therefore that the next world where sin can still be forgiven is an intermediate state called purgatory. The sinner in the next world must be in a state awaiting forgiveness before entering ever</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing heaven. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Alexandria Theologians of the third century in the Patristic period saw sin as an alienation from God. The cause of this is traced to the misuse of human freedom and love of the creatures more than the creator. Through this alienation from God the soul, which was by origin pure spirit, has become ‘refrigerated’ into </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">psyche </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(which Origen fancifully derives from the root of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">psychros, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">‘cold’). Those supra-human intelligences that fell became demons; the human souls entered the material world as a place of punishment, or, rather, of corrective training, for Origen holds that life in this visible world is really all part of purgatory, continuous with that process of purification and education which awaits the soul after death, and it is as a training-ground that the soul, embodied as a human being, must use its mortal life. The clothing of souls with flesh for this purpose is mythically portrayed in the ‘coats of skin’ which God made for Adam and Eve. Origin compares this myth with that of the soul’s loss of its wings in Plato’s </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Phaedrus; </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">they denote both the corporeal character of man’s life on earth and also the diversity which this entails.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The patristic writings on this subject draw a very clear line between Eastern and Western theologians (Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Tertullian, Cyprian, Ambrose, Lactantius, Augustine, and Caesarius of Arles). The Pauline texts gradually took on greater significance in this connection. Pope St Gregory the Great (d.604) secured widespread acceptance for the doctrine of purgatory; to him more than any other writer we owe many of the accounts of the life and appearances of the departed which have come down to us.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Catholic Church taught the doctrine of purgatory explicitly during the controversies with the Eastern Church and with the Reformers especially in the Second Council of Lyons, DS 856ff; the Council of Florence, DS 1304 and The Council of Trent (DS 1820). The synopsis of the article of faith regarding the debate about purgatory states: </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Catholic Church, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with Sacred Scripture and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, has taught in the holy councils, and most recently in this ecumenical council, that there is a purgatory, and that the souls detained there are helped by prayers of the faithful, and especially by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar. Therefore, this holy council commands the bishops to be diligently on guard that the true doctrine about purgatory, the doctrine handed down from the holy Fathers and the sacred councils, is preached everywhere, and that Christians be instructed in it, believe it, and adhere to it…. Likewise, they should not permit anything that is uncertain or anything that appears to be false to be treated in popular or learned publications. And they should forbid as scandalous and injurious to the faithful whatever is characterized by a kind of curiosity and superstition, or is promoted by motives of dishonourable gain.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Orthodox Church and the other separated Churches of the East did not deny every form of purification. The dead, in the opinion of Eastern theologians, find themselves in an intermediate condition. Apart from the martyrs and saints, who are widely held to enter immediately into heaven, the disembodied souls remain in Hades until the time of the resurrection. But this is a place of light, comfort, and peace for the just that have fallen asleep in faith, while it is a place of utter darkness for the condemned souls. The former state is not to be identified with heaven, or the latter with hell. In this intermediate state between death and the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> judgement, it is possible for the souls of those who have died without doing sufficient penance to reach illumination and quickening and finally full freedom from their anguish, not through their own satisfaction made or punishment endured, but simply and only through the mercy of God.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We have no direct revelation about purgatory as to time, place, or mode of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. Time in purgatory does not correspond to the Aristotelian conception; by using the time categories of Augustine, we can understand life in purgatory in terms of responsibility, of intensity, and of maturity. Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667) rejects every temporal mode of expression regarding it. The souls in purgatory likewise continue to have a relation to the total creation. The mode of life of purgatory is a deep mystery we can only attempt to explore on the basis of scriptural revelation concerning justification, the meaning of death, the forgiveness of sin, and the love and justice of God. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The souls in purgatory live in the peace and love of God. Their final life-decision has been made for union with God and their won perfect fulfilment, but they are not yet ready for the unmediated, face-to-face dialogue with God. Even persons living in God’s grace are subject to temptation throughout their lives, notwithstanding their most earnest striving and the assurance of God’s forgiveness with its accompanying interior renewal. The Council of Trent states: It is not possible for a man, once justified, to avoid all sins-even venial-throughout his entire life without a special privilege of God (sixth session, canon 23, DS 1573)</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Because of the weakness of human nature, the theory and doctrine of an intermediate state before joining God and the ancestors who are Saints and already enjoying the beatific vision should really make sense to the common person. It is true that every good thing can be abused. This happened in the dark ages of the Church in the middle ages. Therefore we should be honest enough to accept this abuse by giving a brief historical development of the doctrine of Purgatory. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A brief history of the Dogma of Purgatory</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Outside Christianity, it was characteristic that all the dead without distinction were located in the same place </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Hades, Sheol)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It was only within this frame-work-according to the particular eschatological or mythological conceptions current at the time-that they were distinguished from one another according to their merits, sometimes after long struggle and after passing through an </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">‘ordeal by fire’</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as in the case of transmigration of souls and with the help of the prayers and sacrifices of the living . In the individual domain notions of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sheol</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> wer</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e still operative as in Luke 16,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 19-21. The real testing of faith by </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“fire”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> judgment was mentioned by Paul in his fir</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">st letter to the Corinthians (3, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">12-15)</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Justin and Tertullian still shared this perspective in the second century and taught that the dead were waiting </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“in the grave”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for the consummation. Irenaeus took a dynamic view of this state and Origen, in the framework of his universal eschatology </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(apocatastasis)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> worked out a doctrine of a particular purification for each individual. The belief then was that </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baptism of the Spirit takes place in the baptism of fire</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and thus developed in germ the doctrine of purgatory.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 24px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the West, Augustine emphasized that all the just immediately attain the vision of God and do not have to wait for the end in some indeterminate place. The eschatological process thus essentially included an individual element. As a result, the doctrine of purgatory was detached from that of the universal </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eschaton.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> For Gregory the Great, the very fact of not yet being totally with God constitutes a punishment for the souls in purgatory.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At the Second Council of Lyons (1274) and at the Council of Florence (1439), the Latin position (D 456; </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Locus purgatories, ignis transitorius; D 570), </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">strengthened even further by Benedict XII’s definition (D 530-1) had to be explained in face of the Greeks, for on the basis of their tradition they contested the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">fire</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of purgatory and any </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">immediate </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">retribution after death (D 535). Because the Greeks regarded the universal </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> judgment as the only consummation, they could only attribute relative importance to the decision regarding each individual. For them, as had been the case in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sheol</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the good and the wicked were still essentially in the same place. For there was only one</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">fire</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">which is that of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Judgment.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The protestant Reformers rejected the doctrine of purgatory, based on the teaching that salvation is by faith through grace alone, unaffected by intercessory prayers for the dead. During the middle Ages the Church engaged in the practice of drawing upon its treasury of grace to repeal the necessary penalty for sin. It could remit some </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(partial indulgence)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or all </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(plenary indulgence)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the temporal punishment that a sinner must suffer, if not in this world then in the next. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">By the 13</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> century, the practice of granting indulgences became separated from the sacrament of penance and became more and more the prerogative of the Pope. Much of the Protestant revolt centred on the problem of simony, the medieval Church’s corrupt practice of selling indulgences to penitents, a lucrative source of income. This egocentric, calculating approach to salvation, based as it was on an accumulation of spiritual credits, was a deformation of the essential doctrine of purgatory. This was the dark ages of the Church. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the 14</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> century the idea of the direct combination of purgatory and judgment prevailed without exception. Today, in line with many world religions especially African Primal religion who do not see a sharp separation between the living and the dead we can still appreciate the teaching of the Church that death is not the end of life, neither is it the end of our relationship with loved ones who have died, who along with the Saints make up the Body of Christ in the “Church Triumphant.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Having corrected the abuses that watered down the relevance of the truth of purgatory, the Council of Trent declared:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If anyone says that after the reception of the grace of justification the guilt is so remitted and the debt of eternal punishment so blotted out to every repentant sinner, that no debt of temporal punishment remains to be discharged either in this world or in purgatory before the gates of heaven can be open, let him be anathema.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Council further emphasized the value of sacrifice as a means of releasing the souls in purgatory.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For, appeased by this sacrifice, the Lord grants the grace and gift of penitence and pardons even the gravest crimes and sins. For the victim is one and the same, the same now offering by the ministry of priests who then offered Himself on the cross, the manner alone of offering being different. The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, if well understood, are received most abundantly through this unbloody sacrifice. According to the tradition of the Apostles, it is rightly offered not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions and other necessities of the faithful who are living, but also for those departed in Christ but not yet fully purified. To show how serious the Church was about this, the Council of Trent again declared:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If anyone says that the sacrifice of the mass is one only of praise and thanksgiving; or that it is a mere commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the cross but not a propitiatory one; or that it profits him only who receives, and ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities, let him be anathema.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ghost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, has, followed the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in the ecumenical council of Trent that there is a purgatory and that the souls there detained are aided by suffrages of the faithful and chiefly by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar, the holy council commands the bishops that they strive diligently to the end that the sound doctrine of purgatory, transmitted by the Fathers and sacred councils, be believed and maintained by the faithful of Christ, and be everywhere taught and preached.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Need for P</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">urification after Death</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There is a permanent tendency in human nature even if the person is in the state of grace towards egotism (concupiscence), the disorderly entanglement of human relations and the confusion which besets the whole human situation, all weigh upon man’s conduct like an unpaid debt. Almost universally, human affairs are tainted by this leaning towards egotism in the form empty conceit, pride, tepidity, and the lack of love; fickleness, disloyalty, cruelty, bitterness, narrowness and obstinacy. Thus, owing to the complexity of the social and economic order, love can often be productive of injustice and concern for others can deteriorate into self-seeking. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There are many faults, therefore, which cannot be uprooted without destroying the virtues that go with them. The parable of the wheat and the tares must be understood as applying to the relation of good and evil in the individual as well as in the world. At the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> judgment, God will take the tangled web of human affairs in the omnipotent hands of his love and justice, extricating the good from the evil in such a way that the good will shine out in unmixed purity. This process reaches down into the deepest levels of each human self. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When a man repulses God, he opens the door to disorder, injustice, pride, hatred; when, on the contrary, a man opens himself to God, the ordering power of God enters into the world. Since God never violates man’s freedom, he enters only when human hearts are opened to him. Such considerations show us that it is difficult, during one’s earthly life, to arrive at that perfect maturity which is the goal of the divine plan. The question arises whether death offers that opportunity. This is why the Church strongly recommends that the sacrament of anointing of the sick should be administered to the sick and the dying. However, that a man can immediately see the face of God after death is the grace of God. The full pain in purgatory is the awareness that the soul is not yet ready for face-to-face dialogue with God. This is like desiring an object of love that is remote and distant for the time being. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The soul’s purification consists precisely in this process: the human person is gradually pervaded by the divine love, with the effect that the person is increasingly freed of imprisonment within himself. Aware of himself as hidden in and by God, he experiences a mingling of pain and joy both increasing together. As his love of God becomes more intense, he suffers more from his inability to converse with him in a perfect way. Yet, as he is increasingly detached from himself his joy intensifies. When the term of this process of purification is reached, man is freed from his own ego, therefore, through true and perfect love to become his proper and true self. In this way he attains his authentic and genuine form in the total community of mankind. In the absence of the author of life the pain of purgatory becomes the pain of loss.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It follows therefore that the role of the Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ is indispensable. Every association of the living with the dead is in its principle Christological. Purification and atonement are possible only ‘in’ Christ, through participation in his atoning death. This truth is revealed in the doctrine concerning purgatory as in all of the Church’s teaching with regard to salvation.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-54157277388930567442021-03-03T05:04:00.001-08:002021-03-03T05:04:47.522-08:00HUMAN LIFE CHAPTER THREE<p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER THREE</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">DEATH AND BURI</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">AL OF THE HUMAN PERSON </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">IN THE JUDEO- CHRISTIAN AND ETSAKỌ RELIGIONS </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death is a mystery that has been a part of the human </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. Death ends the temporal </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of a human being on earth. After death, only the rememberance of a person survives in time. In the context of time, death is very uncertain. This makes a lot of people pray and prepare for a happy death. The Jews have a lot of literature on how to prepare for a happy death. Etsakọ people see death as a continuation of life. This Chapter sets out to examine the mystery of dying and death in Etsakọ, Judaism, and Christianity. It is an attempt at the exposition of the mystery of death in Etsakọ and the Judeo Christian religions. The approach is a comparative study. The aim is to find out elements of similarity and dissimilarity in the religions. The objective is to place in context the extent Etsakọ Christian can go in inculturation and contextualization given that Jesus Christ is normative in this exposition. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Concept of death</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death has a</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lways been a mystery that threatens human </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. The fear of death is attended by the major questions of manner, time and place of death. How will I die? When will I die? Where will I die? The events of death and the reality of death look so convincing that no one seems to be in doubt that some day, some where, some how the physical life of the human person like brutes will definitely come to an end. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elizabeth Kübler-Rose, a psychiatrist and a world renowned authority and counsellor on death sees death as the final stage of growth. According to her, “Human mortality may not be denied, for death is the common end to all life. To the individual or traditional faith, death is not an end but a transition from one state of human </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence to another”.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> R.A. Moody sees death as “that state of the body from which it is impossible to be revived.”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Moody here </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s about death only as the demise of the corporeal body.</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For a long time it was assumed that the advent of death could be quite easily established. When all signs of life were absent – especially when the heart and breathing stopped – the person was generally regarded as dead. But at an early stage authenticated cases of people being buried alive showed that this test was not sufficiently precise. Modern medicine has developed more exact methods of establishing the fact of death, among them the electroencephalogram, which indicates with completely flat (EEG zero lines) the cessation of any kind of brain activity and therefore the advent of death. But even people shown by the electroencephalograph to be dead have sometimes been revived, as – for instance – in cases of hypothermia or of an overdose of sedatives.</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For Hans Küng, dying means the physical-psychological events immediately preceding death, which is irrevocably halted with the advent of death. Dying then is the way, death the “destination.”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Walter Schulz a Tübingen philosopher says that </span></span></p><p class="s52" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Metaphysics with its ideas of survival and personal immortality lies behind us. For us the biologically oriented idea of natural death is fundamental. The whole wretched situation is owing to the fact that man is also “a being that can relate to it”: If man were an animal or a god, he would have no fear of death. The fact that he cannot cope with death is the result of his nonsensical or – perhaps better- paradoxical structure.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Michael Simpson asked a fundamental question: “Is death simply the end of all that has been achieved in life, or has this some </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing value? Man cannot really bring himself to believe that all he has loved and valued and created will simply be destroyed and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> That would seem to imply a contradiction within the very roots of man’s being: that all that seems most significant, most valuable, is in fact an illusion, that is, the mocking taunt of ultimate absurdity and destruction. It would seem to make the whole of life a lie.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">R.A. Osbourn gives the definition of death as</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the cessation of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">life in a plant or animal</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">organism.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> He says that death of the organism as a whole is termed somatic death; death of a part of the organism is known as local death or necrosis; death of the cells is known as molecular death. Somatic death occurs in man and the higher animals when breathing and the heart action stops and cannot be </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">arted. When such death occurs, not all the cells or tissues of the body undergo necrosis or molecular death at the same time. Because of this, tissues or organs have been removed from the dead bodies for transplantation. When the vital functions of the body have ceased long enough that their </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oration cannot be accomplished, death really occurs. At this time the changes that take place in the human body are: cooling of the body, rigidity of the muscles, clotting of the blood, post-mortem rividity,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> livor mortis</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, autolysis, and decomposition (putrefaction). The signs of death are rigidity of the muscles, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rigor mortis</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> which is an irreversible change due to coagulation of the proteins of the muscles. It begins from four to ten hours post-mortem and gradually subsides within two or three days. Another sign of death is putrefaction which is the actual decomposition of the bodily substance by saprophytic organisms. It begins within the organs and is accompanied by the formation of malodorous gases. It is obviously the most definitive sign of death.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> After the end of the soma what next? Osbourn did not explain what happens after death or what gives rise to death in terms of what causes the cessation of the vital organs of the body. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death thus remains a riddle that many tribes and authors h</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ave attempted to find answers to. H. Koster attempts an explanation from the Jewish point of view. Koster says that for the man of the ancient Orient, life and death were not two abstract entities, but two opposing spheres. Death which in Hebrew is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">māwet </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">w</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as experienced not only spatially as the realm of the dead, but also dynamically through its power. The Israelite did not meditate on death as a physiological process; neither did he describe death as a separation of body and soul in the Greek manner. Rather, he viewed death as the ultimate and undesired weakening and loss of vitality. Only in advanced age did death become acceptable as something natural.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Natha N. Glatzer gives almost a contrary view to this position with stories:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There are other stories about what should be considered a truly Jewish approach towards death. There is thus the story of Rabbi Susya who lived up to a great age. For seven years before his death, he was bedridden and in pain, in atonement, it was said, for the sins of Israel. On his gravestone is inscribed: “Here lies he who served God in love, rejoiced in pain and turned many away from guilt.” Just before he died, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Ladi asked his grandson: “Dost thou see aught?” The grandson looked at the rabbi in surprise. There upon the dying man said: “I see as yet only the Divine Nothing that gives life to the universe.” When Rabbi Bunam was lying on his deathbed, his wife wept bitterly. Thereupon he said: “Why dost thou weep? All my life has been given me merely that I might learn to die.” In the hour of his death, the Baal Shem said: “Now I know the purpose for which I was created.”</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">M.V. Kamath says that from the above story from Natha N. Glatzer one can</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">infer that for the Jews therefore, there is no fear of death. Death was not considered a calamity to be shunned or feared. Death liberates the soul and there is the promise of the life eternal. He quoted the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that says “Exalted and sanctified be His great name.” The </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the Jewish prayer for the dead and was originally intended as a closing prayer at study sessions but because of its reference to the “quickening of the dead” and to life eternal, has become part of the burial liturgy. It summons peace from heaven for the dead and the living. M.V. Kamath uses the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to prove that death for the Jews is natural.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Igboin Benson seems to have a different view. He says that</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“The question, ‘what is death?’ cannot be given a monolithic answer as the cessation of biological functions; the tragedy to put an end to other tragedies of life, the disappearance of the soul; the end of consciousness or the disintegration of the body into its elemental components. As intriguing as it sounds, it goes beyond our puny ability to grasp it wholly.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Igboin did not really attempt to define death but rather gave a general view of death within the context of the deathbed words in Jewish and African milieux.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bolaji Idowu devoted a whole chapter to explicate man’s final destiny in his book </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olodumare,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">God in Yoruba Belief. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">He submitted at the very beginning that “The fact of death is a baffling and disturbing question mark written conspicuously on the face of things. Man has been forced, therefore, since he became acquainted with it, to apply his mind to the question of its origin and purpose.”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Idowu did not lay emphasis on the definition of death rather he tried to trace the origin which he ascribed to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iku</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as the agent of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olodumare</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to take people away from the earth. He says that </span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s52" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The common orthodox belief is that </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iku</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a creation of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olodumare:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> he was made for the specific purpose of recalling any person whose time on earth is fulfilled. When they think of death as ‘dying’, then they describe it as a ‘debt’ – the debt which everyone must pay. This is as much as to say that death is the inevitable and ultimate lot of every person who comes into the world.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mbiti calls death sleep into an ever</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing home. He seems to be the first African theologian that defines death in the context of the living. He calls the dead the living-dead. For him </span></span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death is conceived of as a departure and not a complete annihilation of a person. He moves on to join the company of the departed, and the only major change is the decay of the physical body, but the spirit moves on to another state of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. Some of the words describing death imply that a person goes ‘home’, which means that this life is like a pilgrimage. The real ‘home’ is the hereafter.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elsewhere, Mbiti says that</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In many myths spreading all over eastern, central and southern Africa, it is said that God sent a message to the first men that they would either live forever or rise again if they died. This message was given to one of the animals to take to men. The animal is often said to have been the chameleon. But the chameleon lingered on the way and delayed the message. Meanwhile God sent another but faster animal, usually said to have been a bird, lizard, or hare, with another message that people would die. The latter message reached people before that of immortality or resurrection and since then death has remained in the world.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Joseph Healey and Donald Sybertz are American missionaries in Africa. Joseph G. Healey worked in East Africa since 1968 especially in Nairobi (Kenya); Rulenge, Musoma, and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Donald Sybertz worked in Shinyanga Diocese, Tanzania since 1955. He has written so much about Sukuma culture and traditions for many years. These two Americans co-authored a book: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Towards an African narrative theology, (Nairobi, Paulines publications Africa, 1996)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">These authors discovered so many proverbs and stories about death and its origin. For example: “There is no medicine for death” (Sukuma, Tanzania proverb). According to Healey and Sybertz, the Yao Ethnic Group (Malawi / Mozambique / Tanzania) tells the origin of death with the myth of the chameleon and the lizard:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When God had finished creation, he wanted to send people an important message. He called the chameleon to go and tell them that after death they will return to life. The lizard had eavesdropped. However, she had misunderstood what the chameleon was told. She ran quickly to tell people what she thought she had heard God say: “After death there is no return.” The agile lizard had long reached the people when the chameleon was still on his way. People thought the lizard’s message was natural and a matter of fact. When at </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the chameleon arrived and delivered God’s message, people ridiculed him and said: “You stupid chameleon, we already know that we are all going to die and that death is the end of everything.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Joseph Healey and Donald Sybertz discovered also that in the Maasai Ethnic Group there was no death in the beginning. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The origin of death myth of Leeyio’s mistake</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the story of how death came into the world.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There was once a man known as Leeyio who was the first man that Naiteru-kiop (literally </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“the bringer of the earth”)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">brought to earth. Naiteru-kiop then called Leeyio and said to him: “When a person dies and you dispose of the corpse, you must remember to say, ‘person die and come back again, moon die and remain away.’ Many months elapsed before anyone died. When in the end, a neighbour’s child died, Leeyio was summoned to dispose of the body. When he took the corpse outside, he made a mistake and said: “Moon die and come back again, person die and stay away.” So after that no person survived death. A few more months elapsed, and Leeyio’s own child went “missing.” So the father took the corpse outside and said, “Moon die and remain away, person die and come back again.” On hearing this Naiteru-Kiop said to Leeyio: “You are too late now for, through your own mistake, death was born the day when your neighbour’s child died.” So that is how death came about, and that is why up to this day when a person dies, he or she does not return, but when the moon dies, it always comes back again.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Joseph Healey and Donald Sybertz narrate so many other stories like that of members of the Hangaza Ethnic group in North-western Tanzania of the story of the old woman who portrays death as a punishment. Another myth is the Kongo Ethnic Group about the origin of death. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the beginning God </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Nzambi) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">created a man and a woman. The woman’s name was Ya Ndosimau. The first man and the first woman conceived a child. Then God gave this prohibition: “If the child dies, do not bury it. Lay it in a corner of the house and cover it with wood. After three days it will rise up.” They didn’t believe God. The child died. They buried the body. Then God came and said: “I told you not to bury the child. You buried it. Therefore, all your descendants will be subject to sickness and death since you transgressed against my instructions.” So it is that, if they had not buried the child, everything would have been different. We would have died, but, just as the moon dies and later comes back again, we also would have had life again.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Igbo of Nigeria has similar stories about the origin of death. Luke Nnamdi Mbefo gives the following narrative:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Igbo mythology, a delegation from the Igbos to God had failed to lobby for immortality. The frog has ever been hated by the Igbos because it succeeded in arguing for death for humans before God’s court. Since God’s decree is irrevocable, people have still to continue to live in such a way as to find meaning in the time allotted them even though they know they will certainly die.</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">All these stories show that the human person is always in search of the mystery surrounding death and eternal life. These stories also show that humanity is one. Joseph Healey and Donald Sybertz use all these stories to teach how the gospel can be interpreted within the context of the African people. These stories can help a lot in understanding the prehistory of the first eleven books of Genesis in the Judeo -Christian religion. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The above analysis seems to create fear in the heart of the human person. The early thinking of the Jews sees death as a total annihilation because they did not believe in life after death and the resurrection. It was the Maccabean history and the Wisdom literature that first emphasized the teaching of another life and the resurrection from the dead. This became the central point of the teaching of Jesus Christ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> From the very beginning, the Etsakọ people see the dead and the living as still belonging to the same family. Death for the Etsakọ thus becomes a transition to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alimhi’afemha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alimhi’afemha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> literarily means the Spirit world of our people whil</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is rendered in Avhianwu as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Oba za lẹ ora enwẹ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is, “a place where the firewood is not identified in the ashes”.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ọgbanakido </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">also means a perfect market from where no one ever returns. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dying and death in Judaism</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The origin of death </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">among the Jews is traced to the fall of the primal parents Adam and Eve. The Genesis account says that:</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“then Yahweh God gave the man this command, ‘You are free to eat of all the trees in the garden. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; “for, the day you eat of that,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you are doomed to die” (Gen</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 2, 16-17). For the Jews therefore it is the sin of disobedience that brought about death. The question one needs to ask here is: “was God </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing about physical demise of the body or a spiritual separation from the creator?” </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This question is relevant because when Adam and Eve actually ate the forbidden fruit they did not drop dead immediately. Did God lie or he did not mean what he said? God’s divine excellence forbids us to think that he can lie. This is why we need to inquire and see if we can understand the nature of death whether it is physical or spiritual death. Physical death is the termination of life. That is, the cessation of the vital organs of the body while spiritual death is the lack of union and separation of the creature from the source and author of life. Again it may be that God’s mercy and patience was seriously exercised here. No matter how we reflect on this verse, the author agrees that Adam and Eve eventually died. Another message from this passage is that disobedience is the root and origin of death. According to J. Neusner</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the plot of the story these verses contain what may be called the contract of employment which God as the owner of the garden hands to the man as he takes over his task of tending and guarding it. His remuneration is the fruit with which the garden abounds, but there is one tree in the middle of it from which he is told he must not eat on pain of death. A condition is placed upon his freedom of action.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Another meaning we can deduce from the command and threat of death is that real death is separation from God. It is only God that can satisfy and give man full contentment. The expulsion of man from God’s presence is a painful death. Now man will labour for his bread and the woman will labour to bring forth children. Then Yahweh God said: ‘see, the man has become like one of us, with his knowledge of good and evil. He must not be allowed to stretch his hand out next and pick from the tree of life also, and eat some and live for ever. So Yahweh God expelled him from the Garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. (Gen 3, 22-24)</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">God therefore is the author of life and death. The Psalmist believes that death is the action of God: “You turn your face away, they suffer; you stop their breath; they die and revert to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> You give breath, fresh life begins, you keep renewing the world” (Ps 104, 29). “What man can cling to life and not see death? Who can evade the clutches of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sheol </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ps 89, 48)? “Our days dwindle under your wrath; our lives are over in a breath. Our life </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s for seventy years, eighty with good health, but they all add up to anxiety and trouble then we are gone (Ps</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 90</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, 9-10).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">These passages are references to the original punishment for man’s disobedience in Genesis: “For </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> you are and to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">you shall return” (Gen 3, 19). It is in the interpretation of the significance of death that faith figures, and in the thought of what follows death. It is the end of man’s </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence, a terminus beyond which nothing lies. This also gives the impression that man was mortal before the fall. The condition for life in paradise is to keep God’s commandment. Disobedience definitely brings about death. Freedom for man is conditioned on his obedience to God: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (Gen 2, 16). This also means that man was warned from the very beginning against avarice and greed. He was admonished to be content with what he has and who he is. It perhaps follows again that man’s inordinate passion for insatiability is a result of his disobedience that culminated in death. “The</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">n Yahweh God said, ‘Now that </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">man has become like one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever” (Gen 3, 22-23). Yahweh said, ‘My spirit cannot be indefinitely responsible for human beings, who are only flesh, let the time allowed each be a hundred and twenty years (Gen 6, 3). Views of death in the Hebrew Bible especially the Second Temple Jewish texts, and the New Testament vary widely. Death is seen as both natural and unn</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">atural. Death is described as a</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> result of sin”.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There are many tribes even in Africa who believe that death must be caused by some kind of disobedience. For instance, A. Closs says that</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In many regions of Africa, even the death of the elderly is regarded as so unnatural that in order that the cause of death may be determined, the corpse is opened, and the cessation of life in the organs is ascribed to the work of a Vampire-like creature, which the Mande (an African tribe) call the Subaga. But even in such cases, an event at the very beginning of mankind is assumed to have occurred, is thought to have been introduced from the outside either by a serpent or by a trickster-like opponent of the Creator, or the coyote or raven, or by some other creature. In Australia, the bat is looked upon as the death bringer. But guilt is ascribed also to the envy and ill-will in the first family or for the neglect of the ablution that he had been ordered to perform. This idea is reported to have been held by tribes in Tierra del Fuego.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Like so many stories in Africa, it is important to know that the Genesis account is a revealed myth to teach about reality, especially creation and the origin and end of life. According to John C.L. Gibson, It is quite inconceivable that in an unlettered society like that of ancient Israel these chapters could have had their origin in some Hebrew equivalent of our universities or book institutes. They must have begun as </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">folk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> tales. In ancient Israel ordinary people did not go to school or college but taught themselves and their children by the only means available to them, namely the stories they told to each other around the fireside at home or at their various social and religious gatherings. In other words, they put into their stories not only what amused and entertained them but important matters of philosophy and culture as well. As we now have the stories in Genesis, they have been revised, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, by the scribes or “re-tellers” who gave them their written form and eventually made up a Bible out of them.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The crucial insight being put across here is not, then, that Genesis is “myth” a definition that raises more objections than it removes – but that God in his wisdom chose to begin the revelation of himself to mankind not in our own age when people think “scientifically”, but in an age three thousand years and more ago when they thought about certain matters in the form of imaginative stories.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.1 </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 7px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Preparation for death among the Jews:</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At a point in the history of the Jewish people, the fact of death was so real to them that they have to prepare for their final exit from the physical world. This preparation above all is the radical confrontation of the family not with the distribution of material possessions but with ethical instruction. The Patriarch Isaac, recognizing that his days were numbered, called his first born to him. He charged Esau; “So I may give you my blessing before I die” (Gen 27). Joseph took his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh to the bedside of Grandfather Jacob so that they might receive his blessing. Jacob then called his twelve sons to him and pronounced his ethical will. Innumerable parents throughout the ages have similarly instructed their children regarding family unity, loyalty to religious traditions and ethical imperatives before they died. My mother, Veronica Aleabu did the same to us before she died on the 15</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of December, 2006.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elizabeth kübler-Rose says that each of these procedures involves repentance, confession, the ordering of one’s material affairs, the blessing of family, and ethical instruction. All these take account of the theological, practical and emotional needs of the terminal patient. They enable the patient to express fears, find comfort and inner strength, and communicate meaningfully with those close to him.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The first stage in the preparation for death is the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mitzvah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bikkur Cholim. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This in Hebrew is the visitation of the sick and terminally ill patient. Contemporary programmes to alleviate the distress of terminally ill and dying patients are very much in consonance with the teachings of the Jewish tradition which stress the normalcy of these events of the life cycle. The patient’s emotional equilibrium is maintained, with the continued support of family and community, who perform the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mitzvah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Bikkur Cholim”. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This visitation of the sick is nurtured by their religious tradition. When death, the natural end of human </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence, inevitably does come it is accepted as the decree of human mortality by the Eternal and Righteous Judge.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shechiv Mera</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the period of terminal illness while </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Goses</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the dying moment. Jewish tradition confronts death directly and specifically. The Jews revere this period as a time when loved ones should surround, comfo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rt, and encourage the patient.”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hallacha, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Jewish legal system,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">forbids that dying patients should be left alone. The dying person must be treated as he was always treated, as a complete person capable of conducting his own affairs and able to enter fully into human relations even unto death. Further, the Jewish tradition of not leaving the bedside of the dying is of immense value, not only to the dying person but also to those about to be bereaved. How helpless and how guilty we must feel when we hear of the death of a loved one, especially if no one was there to ease the fear of uncertainty and the pain of separation.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Chockmah</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the acceptance of death as God’s will. When death eventually occurs, the Jew accepts it as the will of God. However, the major concern is not the dead but the bereaved and so the Jews have the rite of mourning which they called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Chockmah (Wis</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dom</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This wisdom in the bible means, doing what is right in each situation. It is in this sense that the Jewish perspectives on death and the Jewish mourning practices are wise. They are wise because they provide a total framework within which man learns to accept death, to mourn completely, and to live again fully. When the family and community are faced with the prospect of the death of one of its members, Jewish law reminds us that “a dying man is considered the same as a living man in every respect”.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The bedside vigil serves one more purpose. As death approaches, a crisis of faith occurs as the life-cycle draws to an end. A personal confession is encouraged from the dying as a rite of passage</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to another phase of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. This confession in Hebrew is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Teshuvah</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This type of confession occurs</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">throughout the Jewish life cycle whenever one stage has been completed. So we confess on the Day of Atonement as we end one year of life and begin another. So brides and grooms traditionally confessed and fasted on their wedding day for they sensed that it marked the end of one stage in their lives and the beginning of another. The confession on the death-bed is the recognition of the ending cycle and the beginning of another. This together with the recitation of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sh</span></span><span class="s53" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ma </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> moments before death helps to affirm faith in God precisely when it is most challenged and helps the dying person focus on those most familiar rituals of his life just at the moment when he enters the most mysterious and unknowable experience of his life. This comforts him together with those who share his vigil.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is in harmony with psychiatric literature which abounds with examples of the fearful consequences of death-denial and repression of grief. The </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Talmudic</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> sages, centuries ago, seemed to have sensed the same truth that psychiatrists now articulate, which is that “the recognition of death is a necessity for continuing life (and grief), is a necessary process in normative psychological functioning.”</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The funeral rites of the Jews: </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Among the Jews, burial is the principal duty of the first son of the dead man. “When Abraham had breathed his </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, dying at a happy ripe age, old and full of years, he was gathered to his people. His son Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah facing Mamre, in the field of Ephron, the Hittite, son of Zohar (Gen</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 25, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8 – 10). When Isaac died at the age of one hundred and eighty years, “his sons Esau and Jacob buried him (Gen</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 35, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">29). The funeral of Jacob was extra-ordinary because Joseph played the role of a first born whereas he was not. This prominent role seems to be an exception because it was a combination of the Egyptian and Jewish rite. The situation of Jacob’s children and the privileged position of Joseph must have also contributed to this exception.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At this, Joseph threw himself on his father’s face, covering it with tears and kisses. Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. The doctors embalmed Israel, and it took them forty days, for embalming takes forty days to complete. The Egyptians mourned him for seventy days….Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went all Pharaoh’s officials, the dignitaries of his palace and the dignitaries of Egypt as well as all Joseph’s family, his brothers and his father’s family. On arriving at Goren-ha-Atad, which is across the Jordan, they held a long and solemn lamentation, and Joseph observed seven days’ mourning for his father. When the Canaanites, the local inhabitants, witnessed the mourning at Goren-ha-Atad, they said, ‘This is a solemn act of mourning by the Egyptians, which is why the place was given the name Abel-Mizraim – it is across the Jordan. His sons did what he had ordered them to do for him. His sons carried him to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site of his own. Then Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all those who had come up with him to bury his father (Gen 50, 1-14). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Tobit summoned his son Tobias and told him “When I die, give me an honourable burial” (Tob 4, 1). Tobit also advised Tobias regarding the mother: “Remember my child, all the risks she ran for your sake when you were in her womb. And when she dies, bury her at my side in the same grave (Tob 4, 2-3; 6, 15; 14, 10). Funeral rites in the Old Testament are known only from casual allusions. Hebrew law prohibits some practices, such as shaving the head and incisions of the body (Deut 14, 1) and food offering for the dead (Deut 26, 14). Contact with the dead rendered a person unclean and was not permitted to the priests (Lev 21, 1). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The dead were mourned by ritual lamentation. Because of the climate of the Near East, there was no practice of preservation of the body of the dead such as Egyptian mummification. This made early burial imperative, and it was usually done on the same day. A number of tokens of mourning are mentioned in the Old Testament: the rending of garments (2 Sam 1, 2; 3, 31; 15, 32); the wearing of sackcloth (2 Sam 3, 31); or other mourning garments (Ezek 26, 16; 2 Sam 14, 2) the smearing of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on the head (2 Sam 1:2) ;the covering of the head (2 Sam 15, 30); </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">walk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing bare foot (2 Sam 15, 30) and wearing the hair loose (Lev 10, 6)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 32px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At interment,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the usual position of the body was supine, as in our burials; in early burials the bodies were sometimes interred with the knees drawn up to the chin. This has been thought to imitate the position of the foetus in the womb; it is possible also that it was no more than an economy of space. Only infants have been found buried in jars which were immured in walls or in the foundations of houses, with a few exceptions, and this type of burial is limited to the early periods</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Burial took place if possible on the day of death, and in the Old Testament times no preparation of the body was made as far as we know. In the New Testament, the body was washed (Acts 9:37) and anointed with ointment and spices (Mark 16, 1; Luke 16, 56; John 19, 39). All four Gospels mention the wrapping in linen, but only John mentions </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">othonia </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is the addition of spices to perfume his body</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“They took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen clothes with the spices, following the Jewish burial custom”</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(John 19, 40); and a handkerchief over the face. The nature of the wrapping is not clear; the word used by John suggests that the body was wound in linen bands. A similar word (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">keiria) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is used of Lazarus (John</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> 11, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">44) and such binding is further suggested by Jesus’ command to untie him. Burial was granted even to criminals after execution, and privation of burial was a great curse (Deut 28, 26; 1 Kgs 21, 23; 2 Kgs 9, 36; Isa 34, 3; 66:24; Jer.7, 33; 14, 16; 16, 4; 19:7; 22, 19; 25, 33)</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The gospel account of the burial of Jesus, relates that the body was washed, anointed, and bound tightly in linen. The Jews encourage very simple burial. The simplicity of the Jewish burial averts another psychological pitfall. The religious prescription for plain unadorned simple coffins and for the avoidance of ostentation in the funeral itself serves as a deterrent to the excessive expenditure of family funds for irrational reasons. This is similar to the Islamic funeral rites.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The members of the family physically take part in the interment of the deceased. Burying the dead by actually doing some of the shoveling themselves helps the mourners and the mourning community to ease the pain of parting by performing one </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> act of love and concern. What more familiar and poignant act is there than that of “putting to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” as children are put to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> at night by their parents.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.3 </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">K'riah </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The most striking Jewish expression of grief is the rending of garments by the mourner prior to the funeral service. The rending is an opportunity for psychological relief. It allows the mourner to give vent to his pent-up anger and anguish by means of a controlled, religiously sanctioned act of destruction.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The period of mourning is mentioned as thirty days for Moses (Deut 34, 8) and seven days fast for Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam 31, 13) Judaism opposes repression of the emotions and enjoins the mourner to express his grief and sorrow openly. </span></span></p><p class="s54" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This rite consists of tearing a visible portion of clothing (lapel, pocket, or collar, for example) the torn garment is worn throughout the 7-day mourning period </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">shivah</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> In many communities the mourner wears a black ribbon. The ribbon is cut in the manner outlined above instead of cutting the garment. The tearing for parents is on the left side over the heart and for all other relatives on the right side. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This could explain the tearing of the curtain in the temple from top to bottom when Jesus died. It could be a symbol of the action of God the Father tearing his robe at the death of Jesus, his only begotten son. In the funeral itself there are several other signals for the full outpouring of grief. The eulogy is intended to make the mourner aware of what he has </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Traditionally, its function was to awaken tears. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The familiar pattern of prayer now has a heart-rending newness, as the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El Maley Rachamim,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(funeral oration)</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">heard so many times before, is recited this time with the name of the dead for the first time. At the cemetery the recitation of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">stirs the memories of all who have mourned, and they join in collective sorrow together with the newly bereaved to affirm God’s will and glory. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Hebrew means doxology. It is the prayer in praise of God and it is recited at the end of principal sections of Jewish service….The prayer is characterized by eschatological emphasis and hope for the speedy advent of the messiah. It is also recited by mourners.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There is indication offering on the tomb o</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">f the dead in Ecclesiasticus 30, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">18. This may not be the rule but it is an indication that this rite must have happened among the Jews. Returning from the cemetery the mourner finds a “meal of recuperation” waiting for him. The meal serves several purposes. First, it is a visible sign of communal solidarity reassuring the mourner that he is not alone and that others stand ready to help him even if the one who helped him in life until now is gone. Second, it </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ates the theme of life and forces the mourner to recognize that his life must still go on.</span></span></p><p class="s54" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Between the time of death and the funeral, an </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">onen, </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">an immediate family member of the deceased) is exempt from the performance of all affirmative religious obligations, such as reciting the three daily services during </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aninut, </span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">period from death to burial). At this time the </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">onen</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is forbidden to drink wine, eat meat or indulge in luxuries. If </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aninut</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> should occur on a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shabbat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or a festival, the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">onen</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is permitted to eat meat and drink wine and is obliged to fulfil all (the divine or Rabbinic commandment incumbent to be fulfilled by Jews except sexual obligations with a spouse. The reason for these proscriptions is twofold. First is the principle that the bereaved is obliged to attend to the needs of the deceased. There should be nothing to distract someone from these obligations. Second, it is considered a breach of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">K'vod Ha-Met, </span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">that is,</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">respect for the deceased) </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> do anything but attend to the deceased. Hence, a mourner is not required to perform religious obligations. The solace and comfort derived from prayer and the performance of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mitzvot</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> would suggest that we should encourage such observances. The laws of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aninut</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, as well as all the laws of mourning, apply to the seven specific relatives: spouse, father and mother, son and daughter, brother and sister.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The week of the shivah:</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">With that first meal, there begins the week of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">shivah. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> shivah </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">brings the mourners together to retell and relive their experiences of the death and to share once again the memories from the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> when the family circle was whole. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judaism recognizes that there are levels and stages of grief and so it organizes the year of mourning into three days of deep grief, seven days of mourning, thirty days of gradual readjustment, and eleven months of remembrance and healing. Thus the mourner is drawn forth from his temporary isolation to increasingly larger personal and communal responsibilities and involvements until by the end of the year, he will be reintegrated into the community and his loss has been accepted, though not forgotten.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Jewish tradition, seasoned by centuries of experience in suffering and surviving, provides a network of ways in which to affirm life in the face of death. It is a tradition that contains the wisdom which enables us to express our grief, to strengthen our family and community ties, to honour God, and to accept his will. Elizabeth kübler-Rose cited </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rabindranath Tagore’s </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">poem as follows:</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">On the day when death will knock at thy door</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What wilt thou offer him?</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I will set before my guest the full vessel of my life.</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I will never let him go with empty hands.</span></span></p><p class="s56" style="margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 3px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s55" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.5 Summary of the Burial Rites of the Jews</span></span></p><p class="s56" style="margin-top: 12px; margin-bottom: 3px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s57" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To conclude the exposition of the funeral rites of the Jews, we can </span></span><span class="s55" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">summarize</span></span><span class="s57" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> all we have said about the Jewish funeral rites as follows:</span></span></p><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">1. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Services</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - Funeral services may be held in the synagogue, in a funeral home, or at the graveside. The funeral service is usually brief and simple. It usually includes the chanting of psalms and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El Maley Rachamim</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (the traditional memorial prayer), and a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hesped</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(eulogy) honouring the deceased. Often the psalms and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eyl Maley Rachamim</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are chanted by the Cantor.</span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">2. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Viewing</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - Viewing the body either publicly or privately is contrary to Jewish tradition. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">3. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Pall and pallbearers</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - At a funeral, the casket may be covered with a specially prepared cloth, called a pall, and is borne from the funeral service to the graveside by family or friends (pallbearers) selected by the mourners. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">4. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fraternal ceremonies</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - Fraternal ceremonies which interfere with the solemnity of the Jewish funeral service are not appropriate. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">5. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Carrying the casket</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - The pallbearers customarily stop seven times while carrying the casket to the grave. The mourners, family and friends follow the casket as a mark of respect. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">6. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Burial (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">K'vurah)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - In traditional practice, the casket is lowered into the earth and the grave filled, using a reversed shovel until a mound is formed over the casket. The </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is recited at the grave after </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">k'vurah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is completed. There are different customs or variations and the Rabbi is sometimes consulted. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">7. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Leaving the cemetery</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - It is customary for the mourners to pass between two rows of people in attendance to receive traditional expressions of consolation. After burial, washing one’s hands when leaving the cemetery or before entering the house of mourning is also traditional. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">8. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Non-Jewish spouse buried in a Jewish cemetery</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - As a rule, non-Jews may not be buried in a Jewish cemetery. The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has considered several exceptions to this rule. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">9. </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shivah - Initial period of mourning</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the seven-day period of intensive mourning observed by the immediate family of the deceased beginning on the day of the burial. Public mourning observances are suspended on the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shabbat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in view of the belief that the sanctity and serenity of this day supersedes personal grief. Mourners are permitted, and encouraged, to attend </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shabbat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">services; but they are not given an </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aliyah </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Blessings recited by honoree on being called to the Torah), may not conduct services, and they do not display the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">k'riah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">publicly. The major festivals terminate </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">shivah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Since Judaism teaches that the feeling of loss of a human life is not limited to the descendant’s family alone, but is shared by the entire community, it is customary for the name of the deceased to be recalled at the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shabbat</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">service after the funeral. It is customary for family and friends to arrange for a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">seudat havra’a </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Condolence meal served to mourners upon return from cemetery burial) this traditionally includes round foods such as eggs, which are symbolic of the cycle of life. It is customary, as expressions of mourning, for mirrors in the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">shivah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> home to be covered, for a seven-day memorial candle to be kindled, for the mourners to refrain from wearing leather shoes and for males to refrain from shaving. In ancient times, mourners sat on the floor to experience discomfort. Today, we reflect that experience by sitting on lower or harder chairs without cushions. Greetings of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shalom</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> between mourners and visitors are not normally exchanged. The house of mourning should reflect solemnity. Every day, the mourner recites </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aramaic language, prayer in praise of God, recited by mourners) at the </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shaharit, Minha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ma'ariv</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> service. A </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">minyan </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Quorum of ten Jews required for public prayer) is required. It is preferable to have the services in the home of the mourner. If a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">minyan</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> cannot be assured then the mourner attends the synagogue service. On </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shabbat,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mourners join the synagogue service and receive public condolences. Mourners shall not deem themselves as hosts who are obliged to serve their visitors during the mourning period. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The first thirty days (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shloshim)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: During the thirty days following burial, after the observance of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">shivah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, mourners return to work and activities but refrain from public entertainment or social activities. The </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">k'riah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is customarily worn during </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">shloshim</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> In place of home services, mourners participate in synagogue services daily and recite </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Twelve months (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shanna): </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mourners for deceased parents attend services daily to recite </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for eleven Hebrew months, and continue to refrain from public celebratory activities for the full twelve months. Other mourners often choose to say </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> during this period as well.</span></span></div><div class="s58" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anniversary of death</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahrzeit</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ) : The </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is recited each year on the Hebrew calendar anniversary of death. It is customary to light a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">yahrzeit</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (24 hour burning candle), to study a portion of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Torah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mishnah</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and to donate </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">tzedakah</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (act of righteousness, donation in memory of deceased to a worthy organization). </span></span></div><div class="s59" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Memorial prayers (</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yizkor)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: This is recited on </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yom Kippur</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">; </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sh'mini Atzeret</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the eighth day of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Pesach</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">; and the second day of</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shavuot</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Two day holiday, seven weeks after Pesach, marks giving of Torah by God to Jewish people). The Rabbi should be consulted to</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">determine when the first </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yizkor</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is recited. Some Jews follow the custom of lighting a </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">yahrzeit</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> candle on each of these occasions, others only on </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yom Kippur</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3 Dying and Death in </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death in Etsakọ is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">egwi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It is a dreaded phenomenon that terminates life on earth. In Etsakọ, a person is certified dead at the cessation of cardiac function. Once a person stops breathing the person is arranged properly and neatly on the bed to avoid any form of stiffness in any part of the body. In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">pa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">st</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, children were sent out of the environment in order not to see the corpse. Ordinarily, Etsakọ people do not like to discuss death.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Etsakọ people describe death as the mighty evil storm that does not wait for the child to remove clothes from the line</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">- </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Egwi lọ kho’ kpamẹ ọbe nọ zọ ‘mọ na ne ma ato re. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For the Etsakọ people, death is a transition into the ancestral world, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido or Alimhi’afemha.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Death is personified as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“olimhi obe”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning a terrifying </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ghost.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Death is feared because of its suddenne</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ss. When, where and the how of death is shrouded in a deep mystery.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The reaction to death varies according to individuals and communities. This reaction is influenced by the traditional belief of the individual or community. For the Etsakọ people of Edo </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">state of Nigeria, every death has a cause. So there is distinction between natural and unnatural death. The former refers to an elder while the latter refers to a youth. The causes and agents of unnatural death are attributed to the machination of the witches, wizards, and evil people. The wrath of the deities and ancestors can also cause premature death. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to one of the Etsakọ mythologies, the original intention of God was that human beings would live forever. Consequently, God was very close to human beings. The sky was very close to the earth and from the sky human beings got their food. There wa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s no labour of any kind. All one needed to do was to cut bread </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ẹko</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> from the sky. However there was a rule that one must finish the quantity to prevent rats from eating from it. This rule was disobeyed by a woman called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọvhabumhẹ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who cut more than she could</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> eat. The remnant was eaten by rats. God was angry and went far away into the sky. When the people pleaded for forgiveness they were asked to choose between eternal suffering from starvation and temporal suffering that would end in death after which human beings will find </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The people because of the distance of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Osi”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (the transcendent God) asked the dog to run to heaven and tell God that they would prefer to die but that a home should be provided for human beings who die. Secondly, that people who have died should have the opportunity to come back in the form of reincarnation after a moment of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Finally, human beings should be allowed to live up to a hundred years before they die. The dog, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">agwa </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">did not deliver the message well; instead it reported to God that Human beings wanted to die and never come back. God out of his own discretion chose death for human beings and every living creature. In the case of man, a home was provided in the spirit world and after a while people who died at ripe old age </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and who lived uprightly could come back in form of reincarnation. This story accounts for the proverb: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Ọvha bumhẹ lọ khio okhui ye”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning, it is greed that causes pain and death, the result of God ascending into the sky.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is obvious from the above st</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ory that disobedience is the major cause of death. This is also the message the author of the book of Genesis tried to teach in the story of Adam and Eve as we shall see in due course. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Having accepted the reality of death, the Etsakọ now sees death as a </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">messenger of God that beckons on the living person that time is up. In this understanding, the world is considered as a market. Human beings normally go home after trading in the market. In other words, we are traders in the world. Consequently, human beings are helpless in the face of death. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Anwai Ẹde’ ọgba”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning “no one argues when one’s time is up”.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death is a debt that must be paid in Etsakọ traditional thoughts. In funeral ceremonies the following song is very prominent: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Vha ye le re, ukpẹle egwi , ọde tọ khẹ mha, ọkhi lo otsa ni mha </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lo li ni mha nwema ra fa.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This means “Remember that the day of death is waiting for us. It is a debt that we must pay some day.”</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">E.B. Idowu </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing about death among the Yorubas affirms the Etsakọ understanding of dying and death. He says that “the common</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, orthodox belief is that </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Iku</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a creation of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olodumare</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: he was made for the specific purpose of recalling any person whose time on earth is fulfilled. When they think of death as ‘dying’, then they describe it as a ‘debt’ – the debt which everyone must pay. This is as much as to say that death is the inevitable and ultimate lot of every person who comes into the world.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Idowu however acknowledged that “the fact of death is a baffling and disturbing question mark written conspicuously on the face of things</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Man has been forced, therefore, since he became acquainted with it, to apply his mind to the question of its origin and purpose.”</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Interment in Etsakọ </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Before the 20</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> century, a child or a person who died while the parents were still living or d</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ied childless was called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">olimhi ebikha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (plantain or banana leaf). Those days when a child died the corpse was wrapped with </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ebikhai</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and buried immediately in the fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> A person who died after the demise and burial of the parents was called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">olimhi okpisha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(matured corpse). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The funeral of an old person begins at his sick bed. When the elder is sick, it is expected that the children and neighbours should always be around to give the sick a sense of community belonging. The sick is not to be left alone and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lonely on the bed. It is a privilege and special blessing for children to be present to witness the death of a parent. Very often you hear parents praying for the children: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba zẹ miẹ mhẹ vhe egwi,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(May you be present to witness my death).</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is presence assists the dying to die peacefully. Elizabeth Kübler-Rose condemns the abandonment of the sick to a lonely bed. According to her</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It has been noted that only a minority of people today die in the familiar surroundings of their homes or place of occupation. We usually automatically remove the terminally ill to the sterile atmosphere of the medical centre. Consequently, the dying patient is estranged from the emotional security of the family and the familiar at the point of greatest emotional tra</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">uma.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A corpse is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ekwi olimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ. The body is highly respected and so must be buried with the utmost respect. Once a person is certified dead, the children first go to the maternal family (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adi) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of the deceased with a penny to tell them that their son or daughter had passed on. Today five naira takes the place of the penny. Burial in Etsakọ is in two phases, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the ceremony of interment and the ceremony of the final rites of burial- Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The former is the interment of the corpse while the la</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">tter is spiritual and involves sacrifices that open the gates of the ancestral home </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alimhi’afemha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido -oba za lẹ ora enwẹ - where the wood is not recognized in the ashes. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The burial ceremonies depend on the age of the deceased. There are no cere</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">monies in the burial of the child. When a baby dies it is buried immediately without a coffin. It is covered and tied with a white cloth and taken to the cemetery </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(atalimhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The youth is also buried immediately but sometimes with a coffin. </span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">People who died after drinking </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amolimhi or osaki </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">were thrown into the fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This is the case when the death of a person is highly suspicious and people are suspected to have a hand in the death of the person, those accused where made to swear by drinking the water used in washing the body of the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">deceased </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(amolimhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If the suspect refused to drink the water, they were given </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">osaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to drink. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osaki </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">was a drink produced from the bark of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">osaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> tree, fermented in a pot and preserved in a clay pot or calabash. If the suspect drinks the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">osaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and vomited, the person was declared innocent but if the person did not vomit, it meant that the person was guilty and the result was immediate death. Today, the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">osaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is regarded by the educated </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ as poison. In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, any body that died after drinking the bath water of the dead </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(amolimhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or osaki was thrown into the bush for the vultures to eat. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The burial that is being focussed on here is the burial of the aged and matured person who h</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as done the burial rites of both parents. Those who die before their parents are not given full traditional burial rites. Before the advent of hospital mortuary, the body was preserved locally by placing a knife </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ayu’wẹrẹ)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or an axe blade </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(olẹmhi uze)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on the chest while messages are sent to all the relations of the deceased. It is the belief of the Etsakọ people that the knife or the axe will prevent the fast decay of the body of the dead person. Ajayi Obotse who granted me an interview on this topic could </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">not tell me the content of the axe </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(uze)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> knife (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ayu’wẹrẹ)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> but he believes that the action was effective because corpses treated this way could stay for four days on the event that the first son or those they are waiting for did not arrive on time. Local g</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(kaika) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is also</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">used by some people to embalm the body of the dead person. This gin was poured in the mouth of the deceased. The belief was that the dry gin would dry up the body.</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, there was no lying in state; the body (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ekwi olimhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was interred the same day if all the people required especially the first son was available. Before the interment, the body was washed and prepared for burial. The washing </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ikhuẹ olimhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was first done physically with water. After that the ritual “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washing” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">commenced. Ajayi Obotse, a member of the local undertakers (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ikha’gba)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Afowa, Uzairue in Etsakọ said that the first stage of the interment was the washing of the corpse </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ekwi olimhi)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> by the first son who used the leaves of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ogheghe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> tree with water to touch the body seven times. If the deceased has more than a wife; the first son of each of the wives does the same. The meaning of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washing</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is that when the deceased was a child he was bathed with </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ogheghe </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">leaves or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ebi iromo).</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This can be compared to the Christian baptismal and funeral rites. The minister sprinkles the body of the deceased and say: </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Let this water call to mind our baptism into Christ, who by his death and resurrection has redeemed us</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. At baptism when the deceased, was a child, the minister poured water on the head of the child saying: </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“N., I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The minister also gives the child a white cloth saying: </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“N. you have become a new creation, and have clothed yourself in Christ See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity. With your family and friends to help you by word and example, bring that dignity unstained into the ever</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing life of heaven. All say: Amen”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> At death this rite is performed again. The minister places a white cloth on the coffin or casket of the dead person as a reminder of the person’s Christian dignity. Then the corpse is taken into the Church for the funeral mass. In </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ, water is used to ritually cleanse the body of the dead with </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ogheghe </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">leaves while in the Christian religion Holy water is used to bless the body. At baptism, water is used in the Christian religion while in Etsakọ, the water from </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ebiromo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ogheghe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is used to cleanse the child at initiation and circumcision. This comparative aspect will be discussed exhaustively in another chapter of this book. </span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The next stage of ritual washing is pure sacrifice. This involves the sacrifice of a cock or hen. For a man, a cock is killed and the blood is dropped on the right hand of the dead, the right hand, (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Obe era),</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">obekhai, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(a triumphant hand). For the woman, a hen, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">uw</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọkhọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is killed and the blood is dropped on the left hand. When the corpse leaves the room, it is placed outside and the family and well wishers </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“washed the corpse with money</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">”. The money is collected by the undertakers, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikha’gba</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who shares this money and al</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">so give to those who helped in watching over the corpse while lying in state. These people who also attended the corpse are called,</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ebere</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The expression is: “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">vha mọ, ebere natsẹ vha lọ khọ na – take, this is your share of the effort to watch over the dead</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to J.O. Awolalu “It is believed that if a corpse is not washed in this ceremonial way, it will have no place with the ancestors and will become a wandering </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ghost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">iwin </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">iseku.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">While the children are “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washing”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the body with money, the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ikha’gba </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(undertakers) sings at intervals: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olimhi, ọnọ khiu ugba nẹ rẹ ye, rẹ rọ’ nọ ọya</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (who ever does not wash you to reach your ancestors watch the person with care). This “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washing”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with money is symbolic. After the “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washing”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the undertakers </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ikha’gba)</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">sing again: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Zẹ ni ikha’gba zẹ nikha gba ne edu zẹ ni kha gba ne du olimhi.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Give to the undertakers to enable them move the corpse).</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Then the body is dressed and covered with a white cloth and for those who can afford a coffin; the body is put in a coffin and the procession to the grave begins. In Etsakọ, if this “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">washing” (ikwẹ olimhi) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is not properly done the corpse bearers at a point would stop and say: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">olimhi ọge khia</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning the corpse has refused to proceed. To move the corpse the family again “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">wash” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the body with money properly.</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Many parts of Etsakọ have public and Church cemeteries but elders very often are buried at home. The practice is similar to that of the Yoruba as recorded by J. O. Awolalu.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s52" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In very early days, graves were dug inside the house and in particular rooms; but that practic</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e has changed. Graves are now usually dug in the family compounds. To the Yoruba, to bury somebody in the common cemeteries is to cast him out and to lose contact with him, because regular ancestral veneration which involves pouring libations, breaking kola-nuts and praying on the grave of the deceased would not be convenient and domestic.</span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.2.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 7px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At the graveside</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The body is lowered after the traditional prayer. The coffin or rapped body is covered with a mat in remembrance of the bed the deceased slept while in the world. In some places even when the body is buried with a coffin or casket, they still covered the coffin with a mat after it had been lowered into the grave. In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> personal effects were put in the grave with the belief that the deceased may need them in heaven (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The children pour sand with the right leg, left leg, right hand and left hand. This is in remembrance of how the placenta of the deceased </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(akon</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">m</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was buried at birth.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.3.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 7px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uvughiolimhia’vhọ </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This literarily means, opening the gate of the</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ancestral home. After the internment cannon guns are shot. The traditional status of the deceased determines the number of gun shots. Twenty one gun shots are normally given to titled men. After this ceremony the dead begins a journey to the ancestral home. There are various types of dances at this point. The children sweep the grave for seven days after this, to show that the dead is still a member of the family.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi </span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is called by some people </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">second burial. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For Etsak</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ people this is the rite that opens the gate of the ancestral world </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(alimhi’afemha or </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">gbanakido) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to the dead. This rite also confirms the dead as an ancestor if he meets the qualifications of living a life of impeachable character. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is also call</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ed the rite of passage</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to J.O. Awolalu, “to become an ancestor a man has to live well, die well, and leave behind good children who accord him proper funeral rites and continue to keep in touch with him by means of offerings and prayer”.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s51" style="margin: 0px -2px 6px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">There are specific days for </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsak</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ. The days of the week are: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ewọ nọkhua, Ẹkhue nọkhua, Ẹvhiela nọkhua, Elumhi nọkhua, Ewọ nikeke, Ẹkhue nikeke, Evhiela nikeke, Elumhi nikeke. Itolimhi </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">can be done immediately after the interment, that is, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uro’limhi tọ. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This may be followed immediately by </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the rite of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uvugiolimhia’vhọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This literarily means the opening ceremony of the rite of burial or the rite of passage. This however depends on the financial readiness of the children. If the children are not ready they can postpone it for a year or two. Th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e time is not fixed but it is recommended that the earlier the better. When the children are ready, they meet, discuss and fix a day for the burial rites, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">itolmhi,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> which must begin either on the day of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹwọ nọkhua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ewọ nikeke</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. All the burial rites are con</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">cluded on </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹkhue day</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.5.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 7px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ishio’limhi</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is the fixing of the date for burial. This date must fall on either the day of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹwọ nikeke or Ẹwọ nọkhua. Ẹwọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing day for the Etsakọ people. What the Sabbath is for the Jews is what </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹwọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is for the Etsakọ.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The children meet in the maternal home </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(adi),</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> for this purpose. The family of the mother of the deceased are informed of the readiness of the children to bury their mother or father. The mother’s family is mainly in charge of all the bur</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ial procedures. The children present a calabash of palm wine.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.6.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 7px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ifanili</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is the rite that frees the dead to proceed on the journey to the ancestral world</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Alimhi’afemha).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> It involves the sacrifice of a goat with the following incantation: Ẹ</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">gwe ni rẹ fanili egbere lọ khọna. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This literarily means:</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> With this goat I hereby untie the ropes that tied you at your interment.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The goat is shared into two parts; one part to the family while the other part goes to the children and the children now offer th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">em money in order of seniority in the family. This rite of money offering is called</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">igbaki</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The field gun, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ivanaotọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is fired to confirm the date and the day of the rites of passage, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It is after the sacrifice of a goat which is the main </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hat any other animal can be slaughtered for the social ceremonies. If the children have money to buy a cow the parts that go to the maternal family, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adi </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">are: the head, a full leg, the hoof, the liver and one kidney of the cow. With these done, the children are now free to do the burial with vigil, dances, eating, drinking and general entertainment of the public till the next day which is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹkhue</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">On the morning of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹkhue</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the children dance round the community to greet the elderly men and women in the quarters of the Community. This is done with the rite of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">igbaki. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This aspect of</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> igbaki </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(money offering) is the rite of thanksgiving for a succ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">essful burial.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This thanksgiving offering is done in order of seniority, starting from the four eldest men and four eldest women. After this, the children of the deceased and in-laws organize dances to entertain the public which may include the masquerade dance, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amhi em</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọsi, agbi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and any other inte</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing dance. During these dances, the children and in-laws of the deceased continue the rite of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">igbaki that</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is thanksgiving offering of money and souvenirs to people.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.7.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 7px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Urema miẹ</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This rite is the declaration of the ass</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ets of the deceased. It consist in showing or</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">declaring the property of the deceased. Next the properties are shared among the children and those who are entitled to have a share of the assets. This concludes the funeral rites, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The children select items from the property of the deceased and take them to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adi</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(the maternal home).</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The venue is normally</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the house of the eldest man in the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. These items are selected depending on if the deceased is a man or a woman. For the woman it depends on if she </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọnabọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adegbe. Ọnabọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">woman bought and paid for from another village. She is a full member of the family and all her funeral rites take place in the husband’s house where she is buried. It is the children of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọnabọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that inherit the property of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mother and father. Another name for </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọnabọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amhọ’ọya.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adegbe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">or Ọriso </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is not bought. She is married normally with the normal bride prize. The children of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adegbe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> belong to the mother and the mother’s family. These children can not inherit the properties o</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">f their father. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">If the children want to claim the right of the children of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Amoya</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the children perform a simple ceremony. This ceremony is simply to say: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ifiu udoko eramhe yọ ekpa,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning I keep in my pocket the tools of my father. This declaration must</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> be made with full consciousness in the presence of reliable witnesses preferably the elders and young people.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The items presented at </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> are not the same for every </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adi.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The following is the most common: For a man, the children present twenty one ears of corn, twenty one tubers of yam, a pair of shirts, a pair of trousers, one hoe, one cutlass, one </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ebuma</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (farm bag), and the amount of money found in the pocket of the deceased. (No person can say that nothing was found since the</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> adi </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">will charge the person for not taking care of the parent). The first four elders share these items among themselves. The eldest man takes the clothes, ten tubers of yam, one ear of corn. From his share he now gives the other members of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The money is shared among the elders according to the order of seniority. The children then take eleven ears of corn and eleven tubers of yam. Once this ceremony is done, the children are then free to inherit the parent’s property. In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> share the entire property of the dece</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ased with the children. It is not so anymore.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For a woman who was</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọnabọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Amhọ’ọya,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the children present a packet of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ugba</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (locust beans), </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ẹmhẹ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (clay pot), </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">atasa </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(plate), </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ugbude</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (clay oven pot for drying meat), </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Umei</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(salt) </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">atalabi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (big basin) </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">asuaisua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (m</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">edium basin). The items presented should also remind the family of the gifts she received at marriage. In the case of a woman, the eldest women did the sharing like the men. In the case of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adegbe or Oriso, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(a woman that was not bought), when she dies, she is taken back to her family. The children present the same items like that of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọnabọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amhọ’ọya.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> After this the children shave their heads for the late parent.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Ekperi people of Etsakọ have some variation from the above analysis which is peculiar to Uzairue, Anviawu and Weppa-Wanno. In Ekperi, Etsakọ Central Local Government, t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he following ceremony is performed in addition to the above exposition.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The date of the second burial of the deceased is normally arranged by the mother’s family except the dead is an </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amhọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">’</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọya</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. (A woman bought outside the immediate community). </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> can</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> be done immediately after interment or can be done later depending on the financial readiness of the children or the relations of the deceased. The rite is as follows: The date is fixed to coincide with Uzairue Market day that is</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Elumhi nokhua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It is an all night celebration of dancing, eating and drinking. The ceremony concludes with a gun shot marking the beginning of the rite for warrior dance.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.8.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ichiokhio</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> – </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Exo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">cism): This ceremony is a symbol of victory over the forces of death like the witches,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> wizards, and all forms of evil spirits that can be agents of death. This is performed on a day called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elenekhua </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">which in Uzairue is called</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹwọ nokhua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> .The elders beat war drums from the bereaved house to the village square. With this rite the enemy is bel</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ieved to be defeated in battle.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.9</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ugba emo olimi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> – This is the sharing of the property of the deceased. The properties are displayed. None movable items like houses are named. The elders in the mother’s family share the property to the children of the deceased. If the deceased is indebted to anybody, the debt is settled immediately and if any body owed the deceased, the debtor is asked to pay the money to the elders to share to the children.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.10.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ide udu pia</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> – This falls on a day called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elumhi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> – This ceremony is the carrying of a mock bier to the cemetery of the dead. This ends the celebrations of the final burial rites. The youngest age group, that is, the age group that recently had the manhood initiation prepared the mock coffin or bier. They cut </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">six sticks of ọ</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">kha</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that is cotton tree. The sticks are tied to a palm frond with a rope. This is tied to a plantain or banana stem. They are covered with a white cloth and a mat to represent a fresh corpse. This is taken to the cemetery or a place where th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e deceased is buried. The children kill a goat if that was not done the day the deceased was interred. The burial drums are beaten while the children sing dirges. The whole rite ends on arrival to the house with the song: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ro owẹ gbo dẹ ẹbe ya mhẹ;</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">protect me from my enemies.</span></span></p><p class="s45" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s45" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s45" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A recommended</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">funeral rite for the Etsakọ Christians. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The question of death and burial has been a major concern for the Church. The question has always been the difference between Christian burial and Etsakọ traditiona</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">l burial. It is obvious today that the spiritual meaning of funerals is giving way to unnecessary show off and self aggrandisement. Some people who did not even care about the housing and feeding of their parents would want to keep the bodies in the mortua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ry for years and months to enable them build houses and prepare for the social aspects of the burial ceremonies. To suggest some recommendations for the Etsakọ Christian, there is need to compare the burial rites of the Jews, the Etsakọ and the Christian rites. Since this recommendation is for the Etsakọ Christians, the Christian rite will be normative but with relevance in the context of the Etsakọ burial customs. </span></span></p><p class="s54" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Among the Jews, preparation for death begins when a person is very sick. He or she is surrou</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nded by relatives and friends. Prayers are offered either for the healing or peaceful exit of the person. In</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ, the patient is surrounded by the relatives and friends. An oracle is consulted to inquire the cause of the illness. The Christians call for</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the priest to anoint the sick.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I recommend therefore that this practice should be sustained in Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with the exception of the oracle for the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Christian. The physician should be consulted for medical care and the priest to administer the sacrament</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of reconciliation and anointing of the sick </span></span></p><p class="s54" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When death occurs, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the funeral service for the Jew</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is usually brief and simple. This is done in the synagogue or by the graveside. This usually includes the chanting of psalms and </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El Malei Rachamim.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Etsakọ gives a loud cry and invokes the ancestors. Reactions to death in Etsakọ depend on the age of the deceased. The Christian calls a priest who blesses the corpse before the body is taken to the mortuary. Here I suggest that the presence of the priest should be re-emphasized. However, I recommend that unnecessary delay of burials should be avoided in Etsakọ. The practice of preventing a bereaved widow from going to Church and hospital during the period of mourning should be stopped in Etsakọ.</span></span></p><p class="s54" style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Viewing the body either publicly or privately is contrary to Jewish tradition. Etsakọ and the Christian religion allow this. I suggest that viewing the body for the Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> should be sustained. It has some therapeutic effects for the mourners. For the Jews,</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the casket is lowered into the earth and the grave filled, using a reversed shovel until a mound is formed over the casket. This is similar in Etsakọ except that a mat and some physical materials are buried with the corpse. I suggested that burying a person with mats and material objects are only symbolic and so should be eliminated from the burial rites in Etsakọ. I suggest that the Catholic Church funeral rites should be sustained and practised by Catholics in Etsakọ. The Jews recite the </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kaddish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> at the graveside after </span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the burial</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is completed. Recitation of orations and prayers should be sustained in Etsakọ. </span></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Jews, the</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ and the Christian ensure that those who were involved in the burial, wash their hands when leaving the cemetery or before entering the house of mourning. This is ideal for hygienic purposes and should be sustained in Etsakọ.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">From the above brief comparison we may be right to conclude that burial is quite a simple ceremony. What complicates burial in Etsakọ is the rite of passage which is called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">econd burial. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The essence of this rite is the sacrifice of a goat. However, this ceremony is loaded with all sorts of social ceremonies that the main rite is forgotten. The Christians in Etsakọ are often entangled in these traditional rites such that the</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">y do both the traditional and Christian rite in the same burial ceremony.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I therefore recommend that the Etsakọ Christian should re-examine the essence of sacrifice in the context of the Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is being attended to by the Churh in the Catholic Diocese of Auchi that covers the whole of Etsakọ. The 2006 </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oral letter of Bishop Gabriel G. Dunia, the Catholic bishop of Auchi, titled: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Let the dead </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in peace” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">addressed this problem. In that </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oral letter the Bishop reminded the faithful of</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the decree which he issued on Good Friday, the 25</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of March, 2005. This decree states that: “Ecclesiastical funerals, by which the Church seeks spiritual support for the deceased, honour their bodies and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living” (Canon 11776: $ 2), must be celebrated within two weeks in the diocese of Auchi, counting from the day when the particular death must have occurred. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This decree was informed by the abuses in funeral ceremonies. It has been observed from our enquiry in this research that a good funeral ceremony begins when the parent is still living. The Children should further be encouraged to care for their parents as this would be a good beginning for their funeral. The death of Jesus has given a very new meaning to death. The crucifixion and Jesus’ death on the cross is the consummation of the sacrifice that takes the place of animals. In this unique sacrifice, Jesus is the priest and the victim. It is based on this understanding that we propose the followin</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">g rite of passage for the Etsakọ Christian.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">1. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Active care of parents while they live</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">2. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Building up of a renewed faith and consciousness of death</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">3. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">On the sick bed – Counselling and anointing of the sick</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">4. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Frequent visit to the sick and never leaving the sick to b</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e alone</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">5. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Putting the heart and house of the sick in order</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">6. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When death comes, resignation and grateful surrender</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">7. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The priest should be sent for immediately</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">8. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Preparation within the speculated time for the funeral</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">9. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dissemination of information to the relevant people</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">10. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Wake keep with Mass as the sole sacrifice and socials</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">11. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Funeral Mass and interment</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">12. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A month’s mind to remember and pray for the dead</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">13. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The mourning period should not be </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ricted to women only</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">14. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">men too should mourn their late wives in Etsakọ</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">15. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Declaration of assets and sharing of property to the children</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">16. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">One year anniversary to pray for the dead</span></span></div><div class="s60" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 36px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;">17. </span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yearly remembrance of the dead</span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">So far we have been able to draw some similarities with the Jews. It is true that Jesus was buried according to the custom of the Jews. It follows therefore that the Church should study carefully the burial customs of the Etsakọ people for the purpose of inculturation and contextualization. The problem of burial is very serious in Etsakọ especially the sacrificial aspect.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> However, it is gratifying to note that recently, the goat is no longer sacrificed to any idol but simply slaughtered and shared to those who should partake in it especially members of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">adi </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">who were not dis</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">posed to attend the burial ceremonies.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> It is </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">therefore </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hoped that this book will contribute to providing an enduring solution if not permanent to the burial puzzle of the Etsakọ Christian. I suggest that the Church should allow the social aspects of the Etsakọ burial ceremony and educate the people about the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice as priest and victim on the Cross. The mass today is a re-enactment of this sacrifice in a bloodless manner.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We recommend strongly that the living should witness their fu</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">neral before death. How? When a person is above sixty years of age let the children perform all the ceremonies for the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">parent</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">while still living and strong enough to share in</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">feasting of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">food, drink, dance and every other thing. This is already being practised in Ekperi in the festivals of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpelo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ibaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. At death, the person can be interred quietly with all the attendant prayers and rituals. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The recommendation of the Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> place of the sacrifice of a goat is for the Etsakọ Christian alone. Etsakọ people who are strictly traditional adherents of the Etsakọ primal religion may continue with the traditional rites. We recommend however that the discrimination between the childr</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">en of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amhọya, adegbe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ọriso</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the sharing of the property of the late parent should be abolished completely in Etsakọ. The children should be treated equally and should all be accepted as members of the father’s lineage. We also recommend that Etsakọ C</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hristians who do not qualify for Christian funeral rites based on the fact that they could not rectify their marriages in the Church should do something fast about their conditions to join the community of Christ’s faithful before death calls.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> However, these people should not be neglected completely or humanly sentenced to hell. Their fate and faith is known to God alone; God who is full of mercy and compassion. </span></span></p><p class="s45" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-left: 9px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s17" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s17" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-58733120727527375892021-03-03T04:51:00.001-08:002022-01-27T09:31:40.816-08:00HUMAN LIFE CHAPTER ONE <div><br></div><div><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">GENERAL INTRODUCTION</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Statement of the problem</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We live in a world where many people seem to lose focus of their vision and mission in life. African religions, Christianity and many other world religions testify to the fact that there is life after death but some people are only conscious of their physical </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. They put all their energy in satisfying their temporal needs like the Epicureans. While many people easily get used to the world to the extent that they neglect the fact of death, judgment, hell and heaven others question the reality of immortality. Today, there is a serious philosophical and scientific enquiry into the claims and beliefs of theology. While the subject of creation is being confronted with the theory of evolution, the question of mind, soul and immortality has become a debate between the dualists and the materialists. This debate has centred on the following questions and arguments:</span></span></p><div class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 41px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The body / mind distinction argument</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Platonic schema that affirms that the body dies while the mind survives. The mind in this argument meant consciousness, thoughts, reasoning ability, logic, memories, imagination and so on while the body meant a physical object, and, like all physical objects, is contingent, has a finite lifespan, and will eventually die and decay. But the mind is a non-physical, mental, spiritual substance, the seat of our consciousness, memories and personal identity, and will survive the death of the body. According to Bredan Sweetman, this general approach gradually developed into a well-known argument in the history of philosophy in favour of immortality. René Descartes (1596-1650) was one of the famous exponent of this view that has become known as substance dualism</span></span></div><div class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 41px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The materialists who argue for mind/ brain identity</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">claimed that the mind and the brain are physical therefore both die and none survives. The materialists thus deny immortality.</span></span></div><div class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 41px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The argument from properties</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> according to the dualists states that if two things have different properties, then they can not be the same thing and thus ague for immortality. </span></span></div><div class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 41px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The argument from intentionality</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that states that mental states have peculiarity that is not shared by physical properties affirms immortality. </span></span></div><div class="s32" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-indent: -18px; text-align: justify; margin-left: 41px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s31" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Symbol;">• </span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Argument from free will</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> according to the dualists argues that the ability to choose and act freely is the ability of the mind thereby affirming immortality. </span></span></div><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The teaching of the Materialists Philosophers shows how some people can change the sign post that leads to salvation of soul to settling in the comfort of the material world. Fulton Sheen contradicts this with the analogy of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">architecture and courtesy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">which for him is a reflection of a philosophy of life. He states that the basic philosophy of the contemporary world is materialism, or the denial of the spirit. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">He added that </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When faith in the spiritual is </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, architecture has nothing to express or symbolize. In like manner, when men lose the conviction that everyone is endowed with an immortal soul and, therefore, is worth more than the universe, there is naturally a decline in respect for the human. Man without a soul is a thing, and a thing is something to be used, not something to be reverenced. He becomes “functional” like a building or a monkey wrench or a wheel. The courtesies, amenities, urbanity and gentility that one mortal ought to have for another are </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, once man is no longer seen as bearing within himself the Divine image. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fulton Sheen further demonstrated this with an analogy of the frog in one of his sermons. He says that if for instance, you take a frog; put it in water of the same temperature as it might have in nature, then heat the water imperceptibly, but day by day increasing the temperature, until the water is boiling. At no point in the increase of temperature will the frog ever offer resistance. It will never register that the water is too hot until it is dead. That is the way many people are spiritually. Some people just become used to the temperature of the world and they know not that it possesses them gradually, until they are in the hands of the world. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Materialism in some part of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Africa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is not a formal and a systematic ideology. However there is an attitude in Africa that portrays a form of materialism. This is noticed in the manner some African leaders clamp down on human dignity. People are being treated like material objects a</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nd human life is being wasted such that some people find it easier to kill a human being than to kill a mosquito. Even in some Etsakọ communities, women are treated without a sense of human value at the death of their husbands, Children begin to fight over</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the property of the parents and hatred is planted in the family. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology and Anthropology in the Judeo Christian and Etsakọ Religions is a theological comparative enquiry into the destiny of the human person. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is an effort to call the human person back to the original purpose and end that the Creator intended for his sons and daughters. It is a call on humanity to be aware and be conscious of the divine nature in the human person. Etsakọ and the Judeo-Christian religions are used as a ca</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">se study. The beginning of the Church in the apostolic era, cultural and contextual means have been used to make Christianity relevant to a particular people. Mathew used a contextual approach to make the gospel relevant to the Jews, Luke to the Gentiles an</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">d John to the Greco-Roman world. Philosophers and theologians employed Greek philosophy to transmit the gospel message to the Roman and Greek world. The effort of the Etsakọ comparative contextual method is to make a clarion call on humanity to reflect mor</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e on the vision and mission of life in a way that can easily be understood. For instance, some of the beliefs that are explained in different narrative styles could, like the Jewish Old Testament serve as a preparation for the teaching of the gospel. The faith of Africa has been described by Karl Rahner as a preparation for evangelization and teaching of the gospel. Our enquiry in this book therefore is an attempt to remind human beings of death, judgment, heaven or hell.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death is the termination of human life on earth but life continues in a new form after the physical demise of the body. For one’s soul to live on eternally, faith in Jesus Christ and the moral disposition of a person is required. Faith and union with Christ which is couched in love, consequently becomes one of the yardsticks to judge the final destiny of the human person. Paul in his writing to the Romans says that “the wages paid by sin is death; the present given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6, 23). Ezekiel says that “the soul that sins shall die” (Ezek 18, 4, 20). In John’s gospel, Jesus says, “Any one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but any one who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him” (John 3, 36). This has to do with the way the human being is able to show love since where love is there God is found. Consequently there are two types of death: Physical death and Spiritual death. The latter is a person’s separation from God who is the Supreme Being. The gift of ever</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing life is not forced on any one. It must be desired and sought by those who willingly expose themselves to this God given gift. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul says: </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now before God the source of all life and before Jesus Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only ruler of all, the king of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal (1 Tim 6, 11-15). </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Another problem this work is out to examine is the end of the world. Will the world really come to an end? We know that individual life physic</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ally comes to an end but the time and manner of the universal termination of the world remains a big puzzle. The Scripture is in apparent support of the universal end of the world while the Etsakọ tradition believes in the cyclic </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of the world, na</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mely </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Agbọ’fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It is hoped that this book will give more value to human life and make the world a better place with the attendant human dignity that is fit for eternal life. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"> </span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Clarification of terms </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is derived from Greek words “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">escha</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ton” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(έσχάτον) and logos (λογος). </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschaton</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or final while </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">logos</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means word or </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">discourse</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Eschatology therefore means the study of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> things. It is the study of the finality of the human life and the world. It covers the aspect of life, dea</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th, heaven and hell. It is specifically on how the human life and the world will come to an end. Eschatology in this study is a theological enquiry into the destiny of the human person.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anthropology</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is derived from two Greek words “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">anthropos”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (άνθρωπος) and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">logos </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(λογος). </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anthropos </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">means man, human being, and person while </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">logos </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mean word or </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">discourse</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Anthropology is the study of the human person or the study of a people or humanity</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This study also includes the community and the environment where th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e human person lives. This human person has a goal and a destination that terminates at a final end or destiny which in Greek is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">telos</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (τελος). Anthropology as a study of the human person and his environment is about the widest in social sciences in the st</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">udy of mankind. There are d</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ifferent types of anthropology</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. For example, “Physical anthropology studies features of the human body, such as types of blood, the form and colour of hair, and the shape of the skull, which often show relationships between different groups of people or races. Cultural anthropology is the study of the life style of a people. The anthropologist can learn about this by studying objects which man makes and uses. Social anthropology is concerned with the way people live together in organized societies, and with the customs and rules that are kept in these societies. Ethnology is an aspect of anthropology that studies particular societies or distinct groups. It is a comparative study of cultures.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> In some cultures, there is a sense of the transcendence that prepares the human person for a divine destiny. This destiny is often a final </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with the ancestors. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is not possible to </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> about the human person without God who in the study of religion is the author and creator of life. In </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">this work, theological anthropology is used as an enquiry into the nature of man as a creature of God. The main focus is Judeo-Christian and Etsakọ anthropology. </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 35px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Michael J. Scanlon, even though acknowledges cultural, philosophical, social, political and o</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ther anthropologies as a means of understanding man and his environment defines anthropology within the context of Christology. He says that </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s34" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 63px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">For Christian anthropology Jesus Christ is the focal paradigm. The Christian is in the most literal sense the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">disciple </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of Jesus, the one who learns from Jesus how to live authentically. The biblical elaboration of this Christian structure of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence is rich and varied, and it includes both testaments since Jesus was a Jew, and his basic religious formation came from the traditions of Judaism, especially from the Hebrew Scriptures. It was the prophets of Israel who first introduced that structure of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence which we call personhood. Jesus would pioneer a “post-personal” form of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence demanding self-transcendence empowered by the Spirit and actualized in love of neighbour…This new knowledge has obvious consequences of a Christian anthropology for which Jesus is the illustration of a life well lived.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology and anthropology in the context under enquiry, is</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> therefore the African theological effort to study the destiny of the human person within the context of Etsakọ understanding of a person </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọya.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This work is influenced by the elaborate burial rites or rites of passage in Africa using </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as a reference point or case study. The point of departure is the neglect of a person when he is alive while a fortune is spent at his or her funeral. One can imagine a person who dies wretched being buried with millions of naira. The Etsakọ people should realize that it </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is better as a preparation for eternal life to care for the living such that they have a taste of good life that their corpses may not taste, see, hear, smell and feel. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">people believe that there is heaven </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">or </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alimiafemai</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> where the hu</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">man person has a final </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in communion with the ancestors. However, no one can locate the road to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> without the rite of passage which is the sacrifice of a goat. It is only people who lived fulfilled human lives with good traditional ethics that</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> reach the ancestral home. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Theology:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The etymology of the word theology is derived from two Greek words (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">λογος)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Θέος).</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Λογος</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">means “word’, “</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” or “discourse” while </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Θέος means God. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Theology therefore, means </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">discourse about God</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. J.J. Mueller</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, a Jesuit citing Anselm of Canterbury defines theology as </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">faith seeking understanding (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">fides quaerens intellectum)….</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The task of theology begins with the faith experience of committed believers in a community in relation to God, and seeks to articulate it explicitly by understanding everything this relationship signifies, means, and implies. It is open to truth wherever it is….Faith seeks understanding so that understanding can contribute to a living, growing faith that makes a difference in life.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.4 </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the name of a tribe in Afemai, Edo State of Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a compound word derived from </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning to file, cut or to reach out and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Akọ, meaning</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> teeth. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the plural of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọtsakọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(one who splits teeth). Another meaning of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is to re</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ach out, to wash clean and to be harmless. Literarily it means, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">they do not sting – etsa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Consequently </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means people that reach out with beautiful smiles such that the white teeth cannot be hidden. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to J.A. Onimhawo, etymologically, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is derived from the appellation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Enetsakọ, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning “Those who file or design their teeth.” In the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the Etsakọ people cut the tip of incisors thus creating a small space –</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ofeghene, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">between the two upper incisors of the teeth as a sign of marriage covena</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nt. Onimhawo even recommends that this filing of the teeth should replace the wearing of rings as a marriage covenant. His reason is that while a couple can pull the ring and throw it away, the filed teeth are permanent till death.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Peter Inahoureme Omo-Ananigie gave the history of this custom in his book: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A brief history of Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> which was published in 1946. According to him, before an African of the Etsakọ extraction could be initiated into any age-class or marriage or any other social organization, the filling of teeth was absolutely necessary. Ananigie </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is of the opinion that this custom was also practised among the Egyptians and the Bantus of the Southern Africa about 16</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> century from where the art presumably had emanated to the Bini speaking people and there to the whole division occupied by Ikpe –Na-Azama’s children mistakenly called and then known as the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kukuruku </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Division. As this Division practised the art of filing teeth to such perfection, and formed part and parcel of their life both on political, social, ethical, and religious grounds they were c</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">alled Etsakọ. More so the people were the most peace loving </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">folk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the then Bini province. The word Etsakọ was also used to describe an emigrant group of men and women emigrating from Bini City and first settling at the Citadel called </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ukutegba </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ananigie</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> gave the process of filing teeth as follows: A professional teeth filer arms </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">himself with a chisel,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a hammer and a round or square iron. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">He approaches the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">filee</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or the applicant for the teeth-filing and puts a small iron rod across the applicant’s open mouth and then he begins to carve with a single tooth into a shape of a ‘V’ and also he deforms and shapes two or more teeth into an inverted ‘V’ and varies the ‘Vs’ into ‘L’ shape and ‘I’ carving some into the form of a right angle triangle. This operation varies with various styles, as the applicant for the teeth-filing requires. The fees paid vary with various grades of the teeth thus filed. This usually ranged from six pense (6d) to two pounds (£2) in English money. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ananigie says that later the custom was simplified by just taking </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">a chisel and a hammer and a round iron</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and gave one stroke of the hammer against one tooth in the upper and lower jaws of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Filee</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or the applicant for the teeth- filing. He gives four reasons for the filing of teeth: It was a</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> racial pride for the Etsakọ person; It was a glorious deed and a landmark in the history of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Filee</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to enter into an age-class or matrimonial contract and other organizational activities; It was the height of fame and racial dignity for an Etsakọ to we</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ar these </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing quality- </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the filed teeth; </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and It was one of the sweetest joy and gladness for an Etsakọ man to get up in social gatherings or clubs and say: </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I filed teeth for a noble Lady, yea, my wife </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and this also was a sign of philanthropy and universa</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">l brotherhood.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This view is corroborated by Okhaishe N’Avhianwu a modern author on an aspect of Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as follows:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ructuring of teeth consists in the multiplication and reshaping of the teeth by splitting the incisors. The word ‘Etsakọ’ transla</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">te ‘they that split teeth.’ Dental </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ructuring was practised by all, both males and females. One usually waited until one was married and both husband and wife had their marriage consummated by the ritual of teeth splitting. Even a divorce or separation would not remove the perpetual and holy alliance between couples as expressed by the words, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">‘Ọni mha ts’akọ y’egbe uno</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (He or she with whom we performed on each other the ritual of teeth-splitting). This is consistently used by a spouse either to recall a first marriage or make a reference to one’s current husband or wife.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">From the spiritual vi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ew point, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means people who are conscious of their destiny hence the word for a person in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọya</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, meaning one that is sent on a mission. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What makes a human person a creature of destiny is the ability to know where he is coming from, where he is and where he is going to! According to Peter Inahoureme Omo-Ananigie, it is believed that Etsakọ originated from Bini about the eighteenth century. That same century witnessed the breaking up and emigration of different clans in Bini kingdom. While kee</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ping some of the traditions of the Bini Empire, they wanted complete independence with distinctive characteristics. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omo-Ananigie while writing for his 1946 publication used oral tradition as his major source. From his oral sources he claimed that there was a man called Oluku who was the father of Uzairue, Ekperi, Ayawun, Weppa, Wanno and Azama. There was at that time in Bini a man and not a chief but rich and powerful, named Adenomo. He persecuted Oluku’s family so much that they fled from his wrath. They settled between the swampy river called Oleh, the present day Ukpella and Ibie Hills. Ikpe, who led the children of Uzairue, settled with his seven brothers in </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ukute-gba</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">between the present day Ikpe and Auchi villages. After three months there was rumour that Adenomo was still after them and would not leave them in peace. This further scattered them and Uzairue’s children each founded a village. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omo-Ananigie said that Uzairue used to send tributes of leopard skins to Bini. It was discovered that those they sent to Bini never came back. This made them stop the tributes. They appointed Ogbualo to be their first chief who was later succeeded by his brother Omogbai. Unfortunately, this coincided with the Nupe ascendancy.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">According to Aha Idokpesi Okhaish</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ie N’Avhianwu, the father of Etsakọ was a Bini man called Azama who married Ughhiosomhe the mother of Imekeyo, Ikpemhi, Anwu and Omoazekpe. The second wife was Etso the mother of Eppa and Anno. Etso had married before marrying Azama. In that marriage, she </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">had Uneme. When Azama died, Etso married a third man and gave birth to Ekperi. All these children lived together as a family. At this time Oba Olua (1473 -1478) died and Prince Okpame ascended the throne as Oba Ozolua (Ozoluwa). He ruled the kingdom about 1504.</span></span></p><p class="s17" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Oba Ozolua’s reign marked what one might call a migration plague. During his reign mass migration of different tribes and at different times were recorded. The Edo speaking people of north-east of Bini City migrated to their present homelands in gro</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ups in Ozolua’s reign. Some had left to escape pain, conscription and for refusal to bring to the Oba leopard skins as the custom dictated. The migration of Etsakọ peoples – the Uzairues, Avhianwus, the Weppa-Wanos, the Ibies, the Auchis, the Agbedes, the Okpellas, the Avieles, the Jagbes and the Anwains – had been associated with these movements. So the early people of Etsakọ were Bini emigrants. All the children of Azama and their step brothers, who today comprise the Ivhiera communities, migrated with th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eir families in this period late 15</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> century, and became the founders and progenitors of the clans that make up Etsakọ. Imekeye, Ikphemhi and Omoazekpe, the first, second and sixth sons of Azama became the Great Patriarchs of most of Uzairue Clan, Anwu, t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">he third son of Azama, founded Avhianwu Clan while Eppa and Ano, the fourth and fifth sons of Azama, became the Great Ancestral Patriarchs of the clan today called Weppa-Wano. Their step-brothers Uneme and Ekperi founded all Uneme and all Ekperi Clans respectively.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Another version is that of Anaemhomhe in his </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">history of Weppa-Wano.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> According to him, about the 13</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> century, the Etsakọ people were part of the old Bini kingdom. The Oba was a very strong ruler with powerful bodyguards. Each village under </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bini</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> had a warrior chief who fought wars and defended the kingdom. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adaobi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was a warrior from the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">quarter. One</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> day, the Oba announced that nobody in the land except his quarter should pound anything especially yam and coco-yam. Another law was that who ever killed a tiger was castrated in the palace and made a harem to one of the wives of the Oba. From here, Etsak</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọ people derived the proverb; that it is a person who kills a tiger that sends himself to Edo</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (Ọgbẹ’ẹkpẹ ọgie gbọ uso vhẹ Ẹdo). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consequently people started running away from Bini. One day, one of the generals of the Oba named Adaobi called all his brethren together and told them to prepare for a departure within five days. This was the Exodus of Etsakọ from the great Bini kingdom.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ananigie said that the major or the Ivio-Adaobi emigrations from Bini was first and formost headed by Adaobi for political, ec</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">onomic and ethical reasons. Adaobi having travelled a distance of about 23 miles from Bini arrived at a place called Obada, and there settled. Within a few years, there grew up a teeming population in the settlement. The Oba of Bini had a change of mind an</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">d decided to crown Adaobi the king of Etsakọ. When the Oba arrived, every body including the sons of Adaobi Unoakorbe and Igbogbokor had deserted Adaobi. Ananigie did not give any reason for this action. It is possible that the people did not trust the Oba or they did not want to remain slaves to the Oba. It is also possible that the Etsakọ felt that Adaobi had betrayed them by wanting to accept the crown from the Oba thereby still remaining his subjects after they had delivered themselves from the Oba’s ty</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ranny. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When the Oba arrived and met Adaobi alone, he was disappointed and stopped the coronation ceremony. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adaobi in a fit of anger, in very strong asseverations and in the most provocative language and in unequivocal terms, cursed the inhabitants of the Town of Obada, particularly his sons, that after him, they should have no kings. Scarttered as they did, said the angry Adaobi, so scattered shall they be till the end of time. At once he angrily disappeared. But legends link the town Iviaru as the firs</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">t place where he was first sighted and a subsequent discovery was made at Ivianopodi where a strong mansion was built for the honour and worship of Adaobi.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Today, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is one of the ethnic groups in Afemai, Edo North Senatorial District of Edo State, Nigeria. Other ethnic groups are Owan and Akoko-Edo. Etsakọ, Akoko-Edo and Owan in early post colonial government were referred to as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kukuruku</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The sound, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">kukuruku</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was a signal Etsakọ people made to warn each other and one another of impeding danger whenev</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">er they were invaded by the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Zanama</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> people who today are known as the Hausas. The sound was also a cry of the cock to announce the dawn of day. Okhaishe says that </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kukuruku Division which comprised Etsakọ, Ivhiosakon and Akoko – Igarra was formally renamed Afemai Division in 1956 by the then Western Region House of Assembly. The first District Council Election in the then Western Region of Nigeria in 1954 gave birth to Etsakọ District Council. Akoko-Igarra (or Akoko-Oki) was renamed Akoko-Edo in 1963 when it was carved out of Afemai Division as an independent Division until 1968 when Afemai Division was further split into two separate Divisions: Etsakọ and Ivhiosakon (renamed Onwan at its creation). Local government Areas were introduced in the federation in 1976 and Etsakọ at that time became one of the 19 Local Government Areas of the defunct Bendel State.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ is currently divided into three local government areas namely, Etsakọ West, Etsakọ East and Etsakọ Central out of the seventeen Local Government</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s Areas of Edo State. </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 1px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The people of Etsakọ believe in God and relate to him as almighty and transcendent. God is the creator of all that </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The religion of the people depends primarily on the worship of God. The concept of God among the Etsakọ people is as old as Etsakọ itself. However, it is not documented like that of the Jewish people. The faith of the Etsakọ people is couched more in oral tradition. This tradition is transmitted through songs, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">folk</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lores, proverbs, and aetiology. Thanks to th</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e “moon” whose light the elders used in telling the stories about God and the heroes </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to the children who then were willing to listen. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Belief in God among the Etsakọ people is a </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">posteriori</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This means that the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ential experience of the people revealed who God is. Though the people venerate the deities and ancestors, they firmly believe in God. The names of God show who God is in Etsakọ. These names are </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba, Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, and </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmolua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The North Ivie of Etsakọ calls God </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ishinẹgba.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> God manifested H</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">imself through His mighty deeds in the life of the people of Israel. The concept of God is also derived from the physical reality of the world. The wonder of the thick fo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the power of the rivers, the magnificent rocks and high mountains with the attendant mystery of the human person all manifest a supreme power behind these physical realities.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the ultimate supreme and sacred name of God. It is synonymous to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Hebrew. Every other name of God in Etsakọ is an explication of the name: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means, immaterial, spiritual and that which is not perceptible to the sens</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">es. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> lives in the sky. No one knows His origin. He </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s of Himself. He is not created, and not born by any parents. He is a “Transcendent Being”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This fact of the abstract nature of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> made the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">people pay less attention to Him. He was </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">more or less an abstract concept. The </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> people are pragmatic and empirical. They were not so metaphysically inclined as to relate directly with </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> an abstract metaphysical Being. In order to reach </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the mediatory role of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was very necessary</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a ring from</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Elephant tusk. The Elephant is conceived to be a very powerful animal. The skin is so tough that arrows cannot penetrate it. The elephant is also a mighty animal. Invariably, the strength of the elephant became a metaphor of God</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">’s strength. Hunters and warriors wore </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the ring from the Elephant on the upper arm. It was so potent such that it could direct travellers and protect families. Thus, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> has many functional meanings. For some people, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Agba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: In this sen</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">se an assembly of a gathering of people. When a hunter </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(agiọde)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with the aid of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> killed a big animal, the people gathered to congratulate him. They dance for him the music called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Isioko).</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Thus, the proverb emerged that “It is only one person that k</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ills the Elephant that the entire community gather to slaughter” (</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọyọkpa lọ gbi’ni nẹ’ ẹwo kpo eva).</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> If a warrior is victorious, he is called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">akhaokhọ.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> People still gather to celebrate his victory. In both gatherings of the hunter and warrior, sacrifice</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s were offered to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> through </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as a thanksgiving for divine protection.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Another meaning of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgba,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning “it is accomplished”, “it is perfect” and “it is good”. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgba (here the pronunciation is different from the first),</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means, “Fence”. A fence in Etsakọ is a symbol of protection. Our ancestors’ prayer was that God should make a fence around the children. Once this fence is destroyed the children become vulnerable. In the bible the destruction of the walls of Jericho gave the Israelites vic</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">tory over the people of Jericho (Josh 6</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">20-21).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Another word for Ag</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uka </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning a gathering or an assembly that is never exhausted. It is a gathering that never lacks people because the people gather for divine purpose. Today, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ovb’uka</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> (a house that never runs short of people) is the name given to the church. It is possible that the word </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uka</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is borrowed from Igbo language because the missionaries who first came from Onitsha to Agenebode through the river Niger were accompanied by some Igbo Catechis</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ts who were calling Church </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ulouka.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Another reason is that </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ovu’uka</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ulouka</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Igbo has the same ending. However in Etsakọ </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uka</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> has a similar meaning to the word </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">qahal</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Hebrew and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ecclesial</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Greek. These concepts mean a gathering of God’s pe</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ople. In a discussion I had with Gabriel Dunia the Catholic bishop of Auchi, he said that it is perhaps possible that the word </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">uka </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is derived from the word </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> could be that the missionaries who came to Etsakọ through the River Niger from Onitsha </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">used the word </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">uka</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to mean the body and blood of Jesus. Jesus is the perfect manifestation of God – </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consequently, the concept </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means the Supreme Being who is perfect and complete. With the addition of the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nẹ,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> can mean the Suprem</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e Being that is</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Some elders say that the initial name was not </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> but </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinọnẹgba,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning the Supreme Being that is more powerful than </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> or the being who is superior to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This later name was to make the people know that </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is not God</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who made heaven and earth. Rather </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a creature of God and his messenger. As a messenger of God, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> cannot have greater attention since “the okro cannot be taller than the farmer who plants it”- </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ukhia vhọ ‘lẹmhi ne eme kọ.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Some elders in Etsakọ believe that the concept, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">has a historical development. Others believe that the emergence of the concept, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is etiological and mythical. Whichever way it is examined, the important thing is that God revealed himself to the Etsakọ people </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">as </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. It took time for our ancestors to arrive at this name. It is almost the same process it took the Hebrew people to arrive at the name Yahweh as will be examined next.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The inspired myth behind the concept </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the story of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua, Ọdia</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> a</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">nd </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ọmẹgbai.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> These men were a set of triplets. They were warriors and were never defeated in many battles that they fought. The secret of their success was their dedication to the veneration of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> They never go to any war or place without the</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹgba </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">on</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> them. Their names also portray their dedication. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means “our father”, “</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọdia</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” means “it is right “and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmẹgbai</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” means “a wise child.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the warrior made a mistake. It was forbidden for any warrior to attack the maternal home. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> threatened to </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">wage war on </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uzea</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the clan of his mother. He was the youngest of the triplets.</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ọdia</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, warned him. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">did not heed the counsel of his brothers. He marched on </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uzea</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and apparently defeated the clan. On his return from this seeming victory, a w</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eakly little boy </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(ukpọkhomhi egbọ’bẹ)</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> who laid an ambush for him shot him with a poisonous arrow. He thought that the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on him would save him. Before he arrived home, he started swelling. This was a bad omen because such people were not given befitti</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ng burials. However</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Erua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> died with the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> on him.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The elders gathered to find out the cause of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua’</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s death. For some elders, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was not to blame since </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was stubborn by committing the abomination of fighting the mother’s land. He paid for his </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">disobedience. For other elders, they asked, if </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is what the people took him to be, why did He not give prudence to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Erua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to listen and heed wise counsel. They decided to consult an oracle. The oracle revealed that there is a power so mighty and supr</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eme that the oracle itself cannot stand. This high power surpasses</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹgba.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This power is the creator of </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and the power is not caused or created by any other power. The name of the power was revealed as </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning the transcendent that is above all th</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ings and that made all things to be.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">From this revelation, some sages opined that God is superior to</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹgba- Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Some sages emphasised the power of God by saying </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">– Osinọnẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The God who transcends</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Because of the power of</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, some still stic</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">k to the metaphor </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> -The Being who is greater than</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This metaphor has remained till today. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> has remained the sacred name of God. Like the Hebrew’s respect for Yahweh, the sacred name </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was not called often and anyhow. Therefor</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e, other names of the same God were used and are still used till today. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">was mostly invoked in the shrines and solemn communal assembly. Consequently, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> even though was a divinity, became a medium to reach God – </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is another na</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">me for </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Some elders are of the opinion that the initial rendering was </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọkhẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning “one who is not threatened in the face of evil.” Some elders are of the view that the Etsakọ </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is likely to be a result of Urhobo influence. The Etsakọ and</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the Urhobo migrated from Bini. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> strictly speaking has no meaning in Etsakọ language. The word </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọkhẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a verb in the sentence – </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Osinẹgba nọ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọkhẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">” meaning God who fears no evil. It was an expression used in prayers, incantation and invocation </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the worship of God – when evil loomed in any form. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Cosmas Adomeh is of the opinion that </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> as a name for God is as a result of influence from Delta speaking people. Its acceptance in ‘Etsakọ is as a result of its aetiology which is similar to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ. For the Isoko people, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aghenue</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is the name of the highest being that cannot be seen. From it </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọghẹne</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was derived.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmọlua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is another name for God in Etsakọ. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmolua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means the Being who is in charge of us. He is our father; he protects us from all forms of evil. Among Christians in Etsakọ today, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmọlua</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is often used when reference is made to Jesus Christ Because of the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">redeeming</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> work of Christ, He is also called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọrumua,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning</span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Our Saviour.”</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Jews</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> - </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The word Jew in Hebrew </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">language is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">y</span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hủdỉ,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> while in Greek, it is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ίουδαίος- Ioudaios. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the pre-exilic books of the Old Testament, the term </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">y</span></span><span class="s35" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hủdỉ </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">referred to a member of the tribe of Judah. After the fall of the kingdom of Israel</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in 722 BC the title Israel survived only in Juda</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">h, which consisted</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of Jerusalem and his environs. From that time, the term Jew was used in a varied but distinctive manner in Palestinian and in Hellenistic Judaism. In Palestine, the term was a political and ethnological concept that designated the Jew as a member of a people; for the religious community, the term Israel was used.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the first and second books of Maccabees the term Israel was only used in prayers and in the title “God of Israel”. In the first book of Maccabees in the alliance between the Jews and the Romans, the people of Israel refer to themselves as “the Jewish people” (1Macc 8, 20). The Jews see themselves as a people specially called and chosen by Yahweh, the only true God. They see themselves as a covenanted people. Thus they take the Torah to be sacred. The Torah is God’s testament with Moses. “All Judaisms identify in common the Pentateuch, or the five books of Moses (the Torah). The Torah explains “where it all began” and forms a critical component of the holy writings of every Judaism ever known”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Jewish nation has Abraham as a reference in terms of their origin (Gen 12) through the life of Joseph in Egypt and their slavery in Egypt from where they started their endless journey to the promised land.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The first major event that created a deep question and attendant awareness to the real identity of the Jews was the Babylonian Exile and their return to Jerusalem. In 586 B.C. E. the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed. Around three generations later, toward the end of the sixth century B.C.E. the Babylonian empire fell to the Persian one. The Persian emperor Cyrus, as a matter of public policy, sought to win loyalty of his diverse empire by </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oring to points of origin, populations removed from their homelands by the Babylonians. Consequently, the Jews of Babylonia were given the right to return to the Land of Israel. These Jews made a start by rebuilding the Temple. In the middle of the fifth century B.C.E. (C.450 B.C.E.), a successor of Cyrus allowed a Jewish high court official, Nehemiah, together with a top bureaucrat and civil servant, Ezra, to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.</span></span><span class="s36" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Today, the Jews form the modern Israel and the Palestinian Jews. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The name Jew is used for the Hebrew people. The name, Jew however portrays </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Hebrews as primitive and uncivilised. Like the Etsakọ, the people of Israel gradually developed to the knowledge of the true God. For the Hebrew and the Etsakọ people, a name reveals the essence of a subject or a thing. What somebody stands for is m</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">anifested in the name that the person bears. The very significance of nomenclature made Moses to inquire about the name of God in the miracle of the burning bush (Exod 3, 13-15). The name of God clearly marked out the difference between the God of Israel and other gods. According to John Mckenzie,</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">It is more accurate to speak of “identity” than of nature; at the same time, a concept of the nature of the divine being is implicit in the biblical language and thought patterns which are explicit in assertions of the difference between the God of Israel and the gods of the nations on the one hand and the difference between God and man on the other.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rodolf Bultmann says that “Hebrew thought, in its initial stages, was not monotheistic; it stood rather for henotheism or monolatry.”</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Henotheism is the exclusive worship of one God without necessarily denying the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of others. Monolatry is the worship of only one God while admitting the </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of other gods. The Hebrews gradually developed the idea of one God as a result of their association with other nations and through the self-manifestation of God to the people of Israel. The Hebrews believed that God is invisible, immaterial and spiritual because He wills to be so. To see God implied death. Manoah said to his wife, “we are certain to die because we have seen God” (Judg 13, 22). Isaiah exclaimed in fear: “woe is me for I am undone…for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa 6, 5). Thus the concept of God among the Hebrews is derived from myt</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hs, revelation and </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ential experience. The Hebrew people like the Etsakọ people are not metaphysically inclined. They did not arrive at the knowledge of God through philosophical rationalisation. The Hebrew people knew God through His names and His rel</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ationship with their ancestors.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The names of God in Hebrew underwent a development from polytheism to monotheism. Thus, the understanding of the names developed from </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El, Elohim,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was a personal name in the pantheon of Ugarit. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was a singular name used for both the God of Israel and other gods. This means that Israel, the Hebrew people were fully aware that their ancestors had worshipped other gods. Joshua said to the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, your fathers lived of old beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods” (Josh 24, 2).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Xavier Leon-Dufour interpreted this passage to mean that </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">was known and adored outside Israel. As a common name, it designates the divinity in almost the whole Semitic world. As a proper name it was that of a great god who seems to have been the supreme god in the western sector of the world, namely Phoenicia and Canaan.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> when applied to the God of Israel qualifies what God is. For example, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El Elyon</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">was the God of Melchizedek king of Salem. This </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was treated identically with the God of Abraham (Gen 14, 20). Here </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> means “ever</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing God”</span></span><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> For Leon-Dufour, “these facts show not only that the God of Israel is ‘the judge of all the earth’ (Gen 18, 25) but also that he is capable of being recognised and adored in reality as the true God even outside the chosen people.”</span></span></p><p class="s37" style="margin: 12px -2px 3px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a general appellative for God whereas Yahweh is the personal name of God. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the plural form of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eloha.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Originally, it was the godhead as divided into a number of godly beings. K. Kohler is of the opinion that the distinctive worship of the God of Israel begins with Abraham and continued through Moses.</span></span></p><p class="s37" style="margin: 12px -2px 3px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The name of God revealed to Abraham was </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El-Shaddai</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, meaning “God Almighty” </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When Abram was ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to him and said, ‘I am</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El Shaddai”</span></span><span class="s38" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Gen 17, 1)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The Hebrew word </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El-Shaddai</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is translated</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Pantokrator” in Greek language.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The implication of El-Shaddai is further explained in the command that followed the first verse of the seventh book of Genesis: “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Live in my presence, be perfect, and I shall grant a covenant between myself and you, and make you very numerous. And Abram bowed to the ground” (Gen. 17, 2-3). </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Albright translated El-Shaddai as “God of the mountain.” The cosmic mountain in the ancient Semitic mythology was the home of the gods.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> For Mckenzie; </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">was the super human world of being and power superior to man.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This means that </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the God that transcends human beings and the whole created world. In the above interpretation, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is a plurality of forces. Joseph Ratzinger thinks that the plural, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">projects the Trinity since the “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">El</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> faith” was accepted in Israel chiefly in its extension to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that really indicates a plural.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Genesis accounts of creation, namely; “let us make man in our image” (Gen 1, 26) also alludes to this fact.</span></span></p><p class="s37" style="margin: 12px -2px 3px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The name</span></span><span class="s38" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">YAHWEH – Y H W H</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> was revealed to Moses in the burning bush within the context of suffering. The Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt. In the critical moment of their slavery in Egypt, God revealed himself as the Liberator. The theophany was a paternal dialogue between God and Moses. Moses asked for the name of the God that was sending him to Pharaoh. The name given to Moses was in consonants, YHWH and this was unintelligible since there were no vowels. Some Scholars interpreted this Tetragrammaton, that is, the four letter words as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“Ehye asher Ehye”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> meaning “I AM WHO I AM” (Exod 3, 14). This is a being inaccessible, immaterial and incomprehensible. Some Scholars are of the view that “I AM WHO I AM” means “the present one”; the God who was, who is and who will be. For Joseph Ratzinger, the name involves a mystery. The name shows God’s uniqueness. Thus “I AM becomes the axis of the prophetic proclamation, expressing the struggle against Israel’s despair and his message of hope and certainty. ‘I AM’ describes His absolute superiority.”</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">John Murray, sees the meaning of Yahweh, I AM WHO I AM in the category of presence. The essence and meaning of Yahweh as revealed to Moses is the presence of God: The God who is with us and the God of our fathers.” In his exegesis of Exodus 3, 13-15, Murray arrives at the conclusion that Yahweh means God’s promise that he would be present with his people. He says that the verb “to be” is relational or inter-subjective. This is based on the fact that for the ancient Israelites, as for all primitive people, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence was an affair of community: “to be” was to be-with-the- others.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">From the above analysis and following the salvation history of the Jews, Yahweh has become for them the only one and true God. The name Yahweh became sacred, divine and supreme. In fear and awe of the sacred name Yahweh, the Hebrew people dared not call that name except in sacred worship like the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yom Kippur</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The Africans, in the same way do not call their elders by name. Consequently, the Hebrew people preferred to call God </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adonai</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. This in English can mean either Lord or master. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This similar reason led the Etsakọ people to call God </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> instead of the sacred name </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">OSINẹGBA</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The difficulty in pronouncing the consonant, YHWH led to the mistaken concept </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jehovah.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> According to Kohler, the name Jehovah however has no place whatsoever</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Judaism. It was simply due to a misreading of the vowel signs that refer to the word Adonai, and has been erroneously adopted in the Christian literature since the beginning of the sixteenth century.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh is not a new God that was revealed to Moses. It was the concept of the true God who is </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Hebrew language. This God of history is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is one and eternal. The God of Israel is the God of Africa. Every nation knows this same God in their different historica</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">l and contextual experiences. God is not a subject of evolution. It is the knowledge and experience of God that develops in human beings. Thus who </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is to the Hebrews is who </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is to the Etsakọ, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Olodumare</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to the Yorubas, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Chukwu </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to the Ibos, and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ubangiji</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to the Hausas. This one God is the author of life and the one who ends the life of the creatures. It is this same God that creates life and takes life. According to Jacob Neusner:</span></span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judaism responded to events within the pattern laid out by Scripture in the original encounter with the “single event” comprising the destruction of the temple in 586 B.C.E. and the return to Jerusalem in the beginning of the fifth century B.C.E. That event was, to begin with, interpreted as a paradigm of death and resurrection. The destruction of the Temple and the subsequent exile symbolized death, while the return from exile, with the rebuilding of Jerusalem and reinstitution of the temple cult, constituted resurrection.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.3 Literature Review</span></span></p><p class="s39" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Christian theology, eschatology is the study of the destiny of created things, especially of humankind and of the Church, according to the purposes of God.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In his book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dogma 6, Justification and the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> things: Vol. Six,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Michael</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Schmaus</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is of the view that </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“The word eschatology means a doctrine about the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> events and final circumstances towards which the history of mankind and the life of each individual are directed.”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This view of Schmaus only deals with eschatology within the context of the end time. It seems to exclude a realized eschatology where the human person finds fu</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lfillment in the present moment. This work will add the Etsakọ cyclic view of </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence whereby the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> events and final circumstances are realized in the present. The Etsakọ contextual view, which this work is contributing, will give more meaning to Eschatology in the context of Etsakọ and also explain why the Etsakọ people name their children </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">aighu, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">life is immortal. </span></span></p><p class="s39" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Thomas Aquinas, in his </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Summa Theologiae,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> observed the teleological nature of created beings. He says that whatever has a beginning</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must surely have an end that is controlled by an eternal being.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Here Aquinas attempts to prove the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of God. This work intends to go further to enquire that the Christian and Etsakọ religions believe firmly that the origin of life and all that </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ex</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s is God. It is not therefore the aim of this work to prove the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence of God. The Etsakọ people say, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">arọ ọmọ mio obọ natsọ; </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning that you do not show a child his hand. God is real to the Christians and the people of Etsakọ. Consequently the world</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> must go back to the source and origin of being. The study of the origin of being is protology while the end of being is eschatology. </span></span></p><p class="s39" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Etsakọ ‘Market’</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> aki </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is used as a symbol to explain this basic fact. Whoever goes to the market must return home but th</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e final market where one remains for eternity is heaven, the home of God. This home is called the eternal and perfect market, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ogbanakido.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Even at that, the end in Etsakọ is not a definitive finished product because from the ancestral world some </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">living dead</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> still come back to life by reincarnation. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">P. Haffner in his book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mystery of creation,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> observes that the way the cosmos is to come to an end has even enthralled the minds and hearts of artists and scientists. He gives examples of the great Michael-Angelo who depicted this in his painting of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. He added that the painting of Angelo shows the centrality of Christ in the events which mark His Second Coming in glory.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This view is inte</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing but this work will go further to recommend that the sacrifice of Christ should take the sacrifice of a goat as an efficacious means to usher the dead into his or her final destiny. </span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Haffner</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">goes further to express the view that some of the more pessimistic ecologists maintain that life on this planet will be destroyed by man’s heedlessness while others think that the end of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">human </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">world may come about as a result of nuclear war. He claims that:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Taking into account that the sun is a gigantic nuclear reactor, scientists have tried to predict how much longer it would </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> On these considerations, the biosphere of earth would continue for at least another 100 million years. Recent estimates indicated that in about 100 million years’ time, the earth’s climate will become uncomfortably hot as a result of changes in the structure of the sun. However, the end of the solar system as we know it, which could also be occasioned by some other cosmic catastrophe, would not be the end of the universe as a whole.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This scientific view of Haffner is frightening. His enquiry into the “</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mystery of creation”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> seems to play down the power of God who created and sustains the world. Although human manipulation can cause havoc to creation given that God respect human freedom, we should still affirm the power of God who is the author of nature. God is greater than what any human being can do to destroy the world. This work will therefore show that the destiny of the world is in God’s hand, not human manipulation and human mathematical calculation of natural events. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">P. Davies</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in his book </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the mind of God </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">cited</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">H. von Helmholtz who explained that according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the universe was using up all its available energy. At a particular finite time within the future, the universe will arrive at a final state of maximum entropy. When this occurs the so called ‘Heat-Death’ will have been reached where the cosmos and all creatures living </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in it will ‘die’. He says that m</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ore recent projections consider that if it contains enough matter, the cosmos will collapse into itself at the end under the force of gravity in what is commonly termed the ‘Big Crunch’. It would be fair to say that nearly all cosmologists now accept that we live in a universe that had a definite beginning in a big bang, and is now developing toward an uncertain end.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Davies tries in his exploration of the mind of God. However, the mind of God is so mysterious and deep that it is only with deep, prayer, contemplation and silence that the human person can approach God’s mind yet cannot entirely comprehend it. Therefore this work will add the aspect of worship which will be a step higher than scientific speculations. The work will make up for the lacuna of Davies by using Paul whose letter to the Romans state that:</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s33" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 72px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by the will of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Rom 8, 19-25).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">D.A.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lane </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">says</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that Jesus is a prophet pointing towards the end. It is as eschatological prophet announcing the reign of God that Jesus is put to death. The eschatological crisis of the cross is interpreted apocalyptically as the turning point of history. It was the new experiences after the death of Jesus that brought out the full force of the eschatological significance of the life and destiny of Jesus. Eschatology and Soteriology were very significant in the life of the Hebrew people. “Within Judaism, resurrection from the dead was one of the important signs of the end of time and the dawning of salvation”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Jews in their early history rejected faith in the resurrection. This faith was gradually </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ored and established with Jesus’ teaching and eventual rising from the dead. The limitation in the exposition of Lane within the co</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ntext of this study is that Etsakọ do not have a clear teaching on the doctrine of the resurrection. The main emphasis in Etsakọ is reincarnation. This work therefore will enquire the place of Etsakọ in the understanding of the resurrection. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">However,</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lan</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e’s position will contribute to the normative stand of this work, namely, the teaching of Christ and his work since Christ is not alien to any culture, tribe and tradition. In Paul, Christ is the full meaning of eschatology. The horizon is the permanent tension that </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s between what has already taken place historically in Christ and that which is not yet fully realized. To the Galatians he says that Christ is the fullness of time (Gal 4:4). The fathers of the Second Vatican Council see the pilgrim Church within the context of Christ-centered eschatology. The destiny of the Church is to join the Church triumphant in the beatific vision of God. </span></span></p><p class="s17" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus, and in which by the grace of God we acquire holiness, will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will come the time of the renewal of all things (Acts 3, 21). At that time, together with the human race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ (cf. Ep 1, 10; Col 1, 20; 2 Pet 3, 10-13). Christ lifted up from the earth, has d</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rawn all men to himself (cf. John </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">12, 32). Rising from the dead (Rom 6, 9) he sent his life giving Spirit upon his disciples and through him set his Body which is the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Sitting at the right hand of the Father he is continually active in the world in order to lead men and women to the Church and, through it, join them more closely to himself; and, by nourishing them with his own Body and Blood, make them partakers of his glorious life. The promise and hope for </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oration, therefore, has already begun in Christ (Phil 2, 12).</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In the book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The God of our ancestors: an approach to Etsa</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">kọ contextual theology, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua Cornelius views eschatology in the context of anthropology. He compared</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and African eschatology to that of the Christian understanding. He says that life begins from the ancestral world to the physical world back to</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the ancestral world. He concluded that one is not completely dead in Africa. He believes that the dead is part and parcel of the living. This cyclic theory is responsible for the belief in reincarnation. Some </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yoruba</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> believe in the reality of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Abiku</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ibos</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ogbanje</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and the Etsakọ, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omo’ghiato.</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The limitation of the book is that eschatology is touched briefly only in a chapter. This was pointed out by John Onimhawo who reviewed the book and recommended that this aspect should form a whole book. This book is a respons</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e to that recommendation to cover that lacuna by placing the necessary nexus.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">F.A. Arinze, in his book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sacrifice in Ibo Religion</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> says that “Sacrifice is the soul of </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ibo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> cult. If it is removed, Ibo traditional religion is almost emptied of its content.”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This aspect of sacrifice will attract a</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> lucid view in this work. In Etsakọ religion no dead person crosses to the ancestral home without the sacrifice of a goat. However, the question this work may ask is, since the goat did not give the free and full consent to be sacrificed, how efficacious is the sacrifice? Since Christ freely offered himself as the priest and the victim; should it not be better for the Etsakọ Christians to accept the blood of Jesus as an effective alternative? Paul wrote to the Ephesians that “Christ gave Himself up on our b</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ehalf, a sacrifice breathing out fragrance as He offered it to God” (Ep 5, 2). This work will find the counsel of F.J. Sheen very useful. Sheen affirms that “Pagan priests, Old Testament priests, medicine men, all offered a sacrifice apart from themselves. But not our Lord, He was </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sacerdos – Victima.”</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Consequently, this work will lean heavily on the priest victim-hood of Christ in the sacrificial life of the Estako Christian.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This review did not discuss the African authors like Bolaji Idowu, John Mbiti an</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">d many others. The reason is that many of their views about the subject of this work do not contradict the beliefs of Etsakọ’s contextual teaching on anthropology and eschatology. Another reason is that Africa shares so many values in common thereby provin</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">g that humanity is to some extent one. However this work will point out some cultural differences in very obvious cases. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p></div>omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887258892847277162.post-60182132741040484932021-03-03T04:44:00.001-08:002021-03-03T04:44:09.809-08:00HUMAN LIFE BOOK by C.A Omonokhua <p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">HUMAN LIFE, HERE AND HEREAFTER</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology and Anthropology </span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In Judeo-Christian and Etsakọ Religions</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CORNELIUS AFEBU OMONOKHUA</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Publication of Hexagon Press</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5 Olumide Street</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Off Ladipo Road, Mushin</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lagos, Nige</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ria</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Copyright © 2011 by Rev. Dr. Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">All rights reserved: Except for brief quotations, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior permission of the author.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1</span></span><span class="s9" style="line-height: 8.399999618530273px; font-size: 7px; vertical-align: super;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 12.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">st</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Edition 2011</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nihil Obstat:</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 9px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rev. Dr. Victor Onwukeme, MSP</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Imprimatur:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 32px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Most Rev. Dr. Gabriel G. Dunia</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Catholic Bishop of Auchi</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ISBN</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Printed in Nigeria by</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hexagon Press</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5 Olumide Street</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Off Ladipo Road, Mushin</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lagos, Nigeria</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Tel: 080345889196, 08055281310</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">DEDICATION</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To you Okhifo Aliu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To you Veronica Aleabu Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">My beloved father and mother</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">To you Joseph Ebuesomhi Omonokhua</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">My loving and wonderful uncle</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I dedicate this book.</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">You remain my wonderful parents</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The reason we have a </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">past</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to look at</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In our vision and destiny</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">We love you.</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in peace forever!</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">When I am in difficult circumstances, I ask God to help me, but it is my duty to serve the Lord, and not his to serve me. As soon as I remember this, my b</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">urdens become lighter. I lift up my heart and voice in thanksgiving to </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> God Almighty, for his gift of Wisdom to me in this project and for my entire being. I thank my Local Ordinary Most Rev. Dr. Gabriel G. Dunia and His Grace Most Rev. Dr. John O</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">naiyekan</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">for their support and encouragement. This book is the fruit of my doctoral dissertation in Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Some of the chapters were presented at various seminars where the professors, teachers and post graduate students of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Department of Religious Management and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts, Ambrose Alli University</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> critiqued and offered suggestions and contributions to the richness of this work. I therefore thank the then Vice Chancellor, Prof. D.O. Aigbomian and the entire Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. I thank God for his divine gift of wisdom and for empowering erudite scholars of the type of Prof. I.O. Umejesi, (now the H.O.D) who scholarly supervised this work. I also thank the then H.O.D, Rev. Fr. Prof. John A. Onimhawo and the entire academic and administrative staff of the department of Religious Management and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Profoundly remembered </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and appreciated are: Prof. C.A Dime, Prof. Mrs C.O. Isiramen, Dr. D.O. Akhilomen, Mr. C.A. Obi, Mr. J.O. Osasona, Mrs. E.A. Falaiye, Mrs. B.G. Ogedegbe, Dr. P.O.O. Ottuh, T. O. Ebhomielen, Mrs. J.J. Eseigbe, Mrs. J.O Atoe and Mrs. P. Ogun. I also express a sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Cosmas Adomeh and Prof. Julius Azelama </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I extend my thanks to the authors and people I interviewed in this work especially, Daudu Ajayi Obotse, Mr. Joseph Omonokhua, Mrs. Helena Omonokhua, Mr. </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">D. J Osigbemhe, Mr. Simon Awenegiemhe, Mr. Peter Musa and others. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I thank every member of Omonokhua’s family especially my late parents who did not hide from me the wisdom of our ancestors and for bringing me up properly. The following people deserve my special thanks for helping in this project: Rev. Frs. Philip Ebakhaye, Ikhianosime Francis, Stan Williams Ede, Elogie Innocent, Isaac Oshomah, Dr. Imelda Ogbunugafor, Miss Grace Aluokhai and Miss Angela Aimua. I thank Mr. J.S. Emoabino, the Chairman of the laity Council and the entire laity of the Catholic diocese of Auchi to whom I was chaplain for bearing with me in the course of this work. I also thank St Jude Catholic Church, Afuze and Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Uzairue. I sincerely appreciate the support of Mr. & Mrs. Charles Omonokhua, Rev. Fr. Paschal Odemokpa, Mr & Mrs. Adolphus Omonokhua, Engr. & Mrs. Faustinus Brai, Mrs. Gladys Imokhai and Sylvia Nwobodo. </span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I appreciate very sincerely the encouragement of my brothers in the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria. May God bless Reverend Fathers Michael Otto Ekpenyong, Louis Odudu, Raphael Madu, Peter Audu, Peter Okonkwo, Hilary Osi Odenore, Emmanel Osigwe, Samjumi Zechariah, Bernard Asogo, and all the Staff of the C</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">atholic Secretariat of Nigeria. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">I thank Msgr. Hypolite Adigwe </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and Fr. Oseni Ogunu for their</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> encouragement and prayers. May God bless Reverend Sisters Esther Ekpo DC, Kate Edekhe SND, Anne Falola OLA, Mary Lucella Ukaegbu IHM, Dorothy Eze DDL, MaryAnn Ebujor DDL</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Kathleen McGarvey OLA </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">and Sr. Bibiana Madugba HHCJ for their encouragement! I appreciate very sincerely the contributions of Prof. G.O Abe and Prof. C.E Ukhun, my external moderators during my doctoral defence. Their contribution added colour to this book. I remain forever grateful to Rev. Fr. Dr. Victor Onwukeme MSP, Rector of St Paul National Missionary Seminary, Gwagwalada, Abuja for reading this work with the eye of a scripture scholar and for accepting to write the preface to the book. I am also grateful</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> to Sr. Dr. Stella Bassey Esirah </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">HHCJ, the H.O.D of the Department of Philosophy in St Joseph Major Seminary, Ikot-Ekpene for reading this work with the eye of a Philosophical Anthropologist and for writing the foreword to the book. My noble brother and friend, Prof. Paul and Mrs. Roseline Idornigie are highly appreciated for their scholarly and financial contibutions to this work.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A lot of thanks go to those who have supported me financially in the course of publishing this book. Almighty God, bless and protect Chief Mike and Chief Louisa Oghiadomhe, Sir Francis and Monica Alimhikhena, Hon. Philip and Marian Shaibu, Chief Christiana Otsebolu Atanda-Nze, Sir Peter and Lady Patrician Aliu, Chief Bruno and Chief Anthonia Oshiokpekhai, Chief John and Mrs. Ayi Doris Akhamie, Mr. Godwin and Becky Alegiuno, Sir Joe and Lady Comfort Alegieuno, Mrs. Uche Okwechime, Mr. Solomon and Mrs. Agharase Arase, Chief Tom and Mrs. Rose Uloko, Sir and Lady J.A.J Itakpe and all who have contributed to my life and this book. I congratulate and thank Comrade Oshiomole, the executive governor of Edo State for his love and support. </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s13" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ABSTRACT</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The creation of man is a mystery because of the sacred nature of his being. Man has a teleological destiny of either being with God in heaven or separated from God in eternal damnation. That a woman is created from the rib of man demonstrates the importance of collaborative ministry in preparing the world for a peaceful temporal home in view of the eternal perfect home that is the final destiny for the human person. Infact, we could not </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">talk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of a human being until a wo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">man was created. The creation of man and woman makes humanity. This book, </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Human Life, Here and Here after: </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology and Anthropology</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is a theological comparative enquiry into the destiny of the human person in the Judeo- Christian and Etsakọ religions. </span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology and Anthropology </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">simply means human life on earth and what happens thereafter at death, in limbo, purgatory, heaven or hell.</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The state of </span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">an after life</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> depends largely on how the physical life was expended on earth</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In other words, “</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Human life: Here and Hereafter” </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is an explanation of the science of</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> anthropology and eschatology</span></span><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.</span></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This study discusses the nature of man in creation, how the life of man is lived in time within the context of culture. This work also enquires into the reality of death</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and its meaning in Etsakọ and the Judeo-Christian religions. This meaning explains the burial rites of both the Jews and Etsakọ. The focus here is to propose a rite of burial for the Etsakọ Christian having explored the root from the Jewish tradition. The proposals and recommendations are not conclusive and final. This is rather a clarion call on others to assist in making the Christian religion relevant to Etsakọ people in response to the call of the second Vatican Council to plant the gospel message in the soil of a people with due respect to their contextual world view and culture. In discussing the destiny of the human person, in Etsakọ and Judeo – Christian Religions, the work explores the particular judgment in Judeo-Christian and Etsakọ religions. T</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">his judgment is consequent upon the particular life of the individual, his/her relationship to other people, traditions, customs, initiations and wisdom. All these are summed up in the sacraments of the Church which are outward signs of inward grace in the journey to the final destiny of the human person. The destiny, heaven or hell follows this discussion and the apogee is an enquiry into the nature of the resurrection, the second coming of Christ, and the end of the world. The </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oration of the world is also examined. The work concludes with a call to contextual theology with the attendant evaluation of African culture and tradition.</span></span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">TABLE OF CONTENTS</span></span></p><p class="s14" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dedication</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3</span></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Acknowledgements</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 102px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Abstract</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 285px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">L</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ist of abbreviations</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 190px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">12</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Preface</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 254px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">14</span></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Foreword</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">17</span></span></p><p class="s15" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER ONE</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">: GENERAL INTRODUCTION</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">20</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Statement of the Problem</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 171px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">20</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Clarification of Terms</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 181px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">22</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 235px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">23</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anthropology</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 230px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">23</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Theology</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 213px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">24</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 259px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">24</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Jews</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 249px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">31</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Literature Review</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 205px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">35</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER TWO:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> A THEOLOGICAL ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OF HUMAN PERSON IN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN AND ETSAKỌ PEOPLE</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">40</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Human Person</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Creation</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">42</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2.2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Man as </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and Spirit</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 163px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">46</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Man as Image of God</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 195px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">49</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The human Body</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 184px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">50</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The human Soul</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 184px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">52</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Human</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Destiny and Time</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">54</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER THREE:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> DEATH AND BURIAL IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN AND </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ETSAKỌ RELIGIONS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">60</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Concept of Death</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 210px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">60</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dying and Death in Judaism</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 161px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">65</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Preparation for Death among the Jews</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 76px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">68</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Funeral Rites of the Jews</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 146px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">69</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">K’riah</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 259px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">71</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Week of the Shiver</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 73px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">72</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Summary of the Burial Rites of the Jews</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 97px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">73</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dying and Death in Etsakọ </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 161px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">74</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Interment in Etsakọ</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 195px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">76</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">At the Graveside</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 210px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">79</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uvughiolimhi’avho</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 205px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">79</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Itolimhi</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 249px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">79</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ishio’limhi</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 235px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">80</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ifanili </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 285px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">80</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.7</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Urema mie </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 239px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">81</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.8</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ichiokhio </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 235px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">82</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.9</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Ugbaemo’olimi </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 215px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">82</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.3.10 Ide Udupia </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 236px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">82</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A Recommended Funeral Rite for the Etsakọ Christian </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 34px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">83</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 396px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER FOUR:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> ESCHATOLOGY AND THE DESTINY OF THE HUMAN PERSON IN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN AND ETSAKỌ RELIGIONS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">86</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 32px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Particular Judgment</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 195px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">86</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.1.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Particular Judgment in Etsakọ (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ezọ nọkpitsi’ke)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 66px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">86</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 64px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.1.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Particular Judgment in Judaism </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 137px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">88</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.1.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Particular Judgment in </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the New Testament </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 92px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">90</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Limbo </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Aminighuo</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) and Purgatory (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aghadava</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">) in Etsakọ </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 14px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">96</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Limbo in the Judeo-Christian Religion </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 102px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">98</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Purgatory in the Judeo-Christian Religion </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 83px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">101</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A biblical attempt to locate Purgatory </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 97px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">101</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A Brief History of the Dogma of Purgatory </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 83px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">104</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">4.4.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Need for Purification after Death </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 102px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">106</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER FIVE:</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> SACRIFICE: A KEY TO THE GATE OF HEAVEN</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">108</span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sacrifice in Etsakọ and the Judeo-Christian Religions </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 24px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">108</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Sacrif</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ice of Initiations and the Seven Sacraments</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 6px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">111</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Child Initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Uruemhi) </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 167px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">112</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adult Initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Uruamhi) </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 167px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">113</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Old Age Initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Ikpelo / Ibaki)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 138px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">114</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Marriage </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Isomhi)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 213px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">114</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anointing of the Sick </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Unuọegbe) </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 127px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">115</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Confession </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okai or ozi)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 153px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">115</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.2.7</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Priestly Initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okhe)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 151px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">116</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Theological Reflection</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 145px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">119</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baptism (Childhood Initiation – </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uruemhi)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 105px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">119</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Holy </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eucharist </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Adult Initiation – </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Uru</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">amhi)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">119</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Confirmation (Old age Initiation </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ikpelo / Ibaki</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 68px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">119</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Penance (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Okai)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 192px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">120</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Anointing of the Sick (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Unuawi yo egbe)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 107px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">120</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Holy Orders </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Okhe-</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> priestly initiation)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 78px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">120</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.3.7 Marriage </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Isomhi)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 213px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">120</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">5.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Recommendations</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 215px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">120</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s17" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER SIX: HEAVEN AND HELL IN JUDEO-CHRIST</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">IAN AND ETSAKỌ RELIGIONS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">123</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 324px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 324px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The God of the Missionaries </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 151px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">126</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The God of Jesus Christ</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 176px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">128</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.2.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Testimony of the Evangelists</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 132px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">128</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.2.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Infant Jesus</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 210px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">131</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.2.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Public Minis</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">try of Jesus</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 158px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">132</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.2.4 </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Testimony of St Paul </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 166px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">134</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.2.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Teaching of the Church </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 156px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">135</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Heaven of Etsakọ and the Judeo Christians </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 63px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">137</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.3.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ripe Old Age </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 225px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">139</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.3.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Community Solidarity</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 190px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">139</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.3.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Progeny </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 249px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">139</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.3.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The State of Man at Death </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 161px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">140</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Kingdom of God – </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Egie Okwi- Ogbanakido</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 42px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">140</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.4.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">141</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.4.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">New Testament</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 189px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">142</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.4.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">History of Interpretation </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 161px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">143</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 252px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.4.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Kingdom of Heaven in the Context </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of Etsakọ Belief </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 25px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">144</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hell in the Judeo-Christian and Etsakọ Religions </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 48px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">146</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.5.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hell in the Old Testament </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 161px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">147</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.5.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hell in the New Testament </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 161px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">148</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 216px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.5.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hell </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(Igodogho)</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in Etsakọ Primal belief </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 94px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">148</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER SEVEN: THE RESURRECTION AND THE END OF THE WORLD IN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN AND ETSAKỌ RELIGIONS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 34px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">149</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s19" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Resurrection of the Dead</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 151px;"></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">149</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.1.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Impassibility of Risen Bodies </span></span><span class="s20" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(impassibilitas)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 66px;"></span><span class="s18" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">153</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.1.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> The Subtlety of Risen Bodies </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(subtilitas)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">15</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.1.3</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Agility of Risen Bodies </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(agilitas)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 95px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">154</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.1.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Clarity of Risen Bodies </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(claritas)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 95px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">154</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The general Judgment</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 190px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">155</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.3 The Rapture on the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Day</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 125px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">160</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.4</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The End of the World?</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 150px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">163</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 180px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">6.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Second Coming of Christ (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The parousia - πάρουσίά</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">)</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 32px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">169</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Millenarianism: How long is a Thousand Years? </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 63px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">172</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.7 </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 17px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Preterism </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 239px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">173</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 288px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">7.8</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rest</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oration of the World and Conclusion </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 76px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">176</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 144px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">CHAPTER EIGHT: </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 29px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">179</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8.1</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">That the Human Pe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">rson Should Believe and Hope in God</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">179</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 72px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8.2</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">That the Human Person Should be Conscious of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Judgment </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">180</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 36px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8.3 That the Value of Human Person Should be Respected:</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 4px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">181</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">.4 </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">That a Person Should Concentrate more on his/her Particular End</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 16px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">181</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8.5</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">That we should make the Sacred Scriptures our Guide</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 3px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">183</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">8.6</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">That African- Christian Theology should be More Contextual </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 35px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">186</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> General Conclusion</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 195px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">189</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 58px;"></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Works cited</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 241px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">192</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 108px;"></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">OLD TESTAMENT</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Genesis</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Gen</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Exodus </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Exod</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Leviticus</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lev</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Numbers </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 105px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Num</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Deuteronomy </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Deut</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Joshua </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 110px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Josh</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judge </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judg</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ruth </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ru</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Samuel </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 91px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Sam</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Kings </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 95px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Kgs</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Chronicles </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 71px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Chr</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ezra </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ezra</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nehemiah </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Neh</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Tobit </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Tob</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Judith </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 110px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jdt</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esther </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 110px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Esth</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Job </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 125px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Job</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Psalm </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ps</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Proverb </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 105px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Prov</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 42px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Qoh</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Song of songs</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 81px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sg</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Wisdom </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Wis</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sirach </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 110px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sir</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Isaiah </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 110px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Isa</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jeremiah </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jer</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lamentation </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lam</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Baruch </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Bar</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ezekiel </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 105px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ezek</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Daniel </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 110px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Dan</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hosea </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hos</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Joel </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Joel</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Amos </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Amos</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Obadiah </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 105px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Obad</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jonah</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jonah</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Micah </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Micah</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nahum </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 79px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nah</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Habakkuk </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hab</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Zephaniah </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 95px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Zeph</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Haggai </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hag</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Zechariah</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Zech</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Malachi </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 105px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mal</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Maccabees </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 40px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Macc</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">NEW TESTAMENT </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mathew </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Matt</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">M</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Mark</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Luke </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Luke</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">John </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">John</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Acts of the Apostles</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 46px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Acts</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Romans </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rom</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Corinthians </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 66px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Cor</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Galatians </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 95px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Gal</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ephesians</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eph</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Philippians </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Phil</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Colossians </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Col</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Thessalonians</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 61px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Thess</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Timothy </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 86px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Tim</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Titus </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Titus</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Philemon </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Phlm</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Hebrew </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 74px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Heb</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">James </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 115px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jam</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Peter </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 95px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-2 Pet</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-3 John </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 100px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">1-3 John</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jude </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 120px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Jude</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Revelation </span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 91px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rev </span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s4" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Church Documents </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">AA</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Apostolicam Actuositatem, Decree on the apostolate of the laity</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">AAS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Acta Apostolicae Sedis,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Rome, 1909</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Acta</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 17px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">refers to the Acta of a particular Pope</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">A.D.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 17px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Anno Domino (the year of the Lord but used as “after Christ”)</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ASS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Acta Sanctae Sedis,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Rome, 1865-1908</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">AG</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ad Gentes, Decree on the missionary activity of the Church</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">B.C</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Before Christ</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ca.</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 22px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">circa</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 12px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(about)</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">D</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 32px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">H. Denzinger, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Enchridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationem de</span></span></p><p class="s21" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-indent: 36px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rebus Fidei et Morum. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1953</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">DS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">H. Denzinger and A. Schönmetzer, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Enchridion Symbolorum, </span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Definitionum et Declarationem de Rebus Fidei Et Morum. </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder, 1965</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">GS</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Gaudium et Spes, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Past</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">oral Constitution on the Church in the modern world</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">LG</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic constitution on the Church</span></span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">NA</span></span><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; padding-left: 27px;"></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nostra Aetate, Declaration on the relationship of the Church to non Christian religions</span></span></p><p class="s13" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s13" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s13" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s13" style="margin: 5px -2px 5px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s22" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">PREFACE</span></span></p><p class="s23" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-right: 2px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This is a wonderful piece of work, written in very good and simple English and so ther</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">e is a smooth flow. The work has the mark of originality and it underscores salient points as far as eschatology and anthropology in Judaism, Christianity and Etsakọ religion are concerned. Its originality comes from its exploration of Etsakọ cultural, rel</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">igious and social beliefs. Through this culture Omonokhua reaches out to other African cultures. </span></span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What gives the work its special colour, taste and uniqueness is his ingenuity in exploring Etsakọ culture. He notes in the exposition of the rites of initiation in Etsakọ of this work that some of the issues he discusses here are top secrets yet he has been able to dig deep and reveal some of these top secrets from his culture putting them on paper, otherwise people would have no other way of knowing these thi</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ngs, since until now, there are no written records on them. He has been able to dip them up and record them for posterity through series of interviews and in depth research. In this way, he has translated oral tradition into a written document for posterity. We thank Fr. Omonokhua for </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">his courage, intuition and insight. Through Etsakọ culture he reaches out to other African cultures which in many ways are quite similar. According to Fr Omonokhua, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in Etsakọ is equivalent to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the Transcendent being that is not created and so he</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is above all created order since he made all things. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Egba </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is the equivalent of the angels and messengers. They are created and so they are inferior to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osi. </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">is not often called and he is not called anyhow. He is invoked in shrines and solemn assem</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">blies. </span></span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In chapter one he gives the history of the origin of Etsakọ people noting that they are one of the ethnic groups in Afemai, Edo North Senatorial District of Edo State. Their emigration from Bini was spearheaded by Adaobi for political, economic an</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">d ethical reasons. Adaobi, having travelled a distance of about 23 miles from Bini, arrived Obada and settled there and a teeming population grew in just a few years. </span></span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In this work Fr Omonokhua deals with the most soul-searching questions of human </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exist</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ence. He examines the nature of the human person among the Jews, the Christ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ians and Etsakọ (cf. chapter two) and observes certain fundamental questions common to these peoples and their religions. Such questions as Who am I? Where am I coming from? What am I doing here on earth? Where am I going? For the Jews and Christians, the Bible struggles to answer the above questions. In Etsakọ the story of the greedy woman Ovhabumhe tries to give answer to some of these pertinent questions about man's origin and purpose. Cornelius does a proper analysis of time to its minutest details and </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the end concludes that the destiny of the human person can be achieved through a good and positive management of one's time here on earth. Everyone should dot his/her time with goodness and not evil and in this way attain the final destiny which is union with the transcendent being and eternity. </span></span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s24" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 1px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr Omonokhua explores death and burial ceremonies in Judeo-Christ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ian Tradition (cf. chapter three), comparing this with death in Etsakọ. The striking thing in this chapter is that death is seen as sleep unto ever</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing home by the Etsakọ. This is similar to Paul's understanding of death and so Paul uses the term </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">koimao</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mai </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">to describe the action of those who are dead (1 Thess 4, 13; cf. John 11, 11). This understanding of death among the Jews, the Christians and Etsakọ foreshadows the resurrection or life after death. Thus physical death should not frighten anyone; rathe</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">r the death which is real death and so should be abhorred is separation from God. Death reminds us that we are traders here on earth. You finish your business, you go home. In Igbo culture this is the way death is seen. </span></span></p><p class="s26" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-right: 0px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s26" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; margin-right: 0px; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Omonokhua frowns at the practice whereby many abandon their old parents. However, when the parents die, there is ostentatious show of wealth. They are kept in the mortuary for months and sometimes years because a house has to be built or renovated. On the day of the funeral a lot of cows are slaughtered and plenty of food and drink lavished meanwhile such parents were starved when they lived. This is pure contradiction and it does not make sense. People should look after their old parents and this is strongly recommended by Sirach (Sir 3, 1-6). According to Nwaibe,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> the ego makes one take loans from banks to bury one's parents who virtually starved to death. There was once a woman who gave birth to very rich children, occupying important positions -of authority in the society. But this woman was left to suffer in want. On the day of her funeral, a total of seventeen cows were slaughtered. It was time for her rich children to flaunt their wealth. They commercialized everything and so exploited the funeral ceremony. Praise-singers came uninvited to glorify her as help of the helpless when actually she was the very helpless. Such expensive burials do not make much sense. Christians need to borrow a leaf from Muslims in this area. </span></span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">What becomes of a person after death is a question that has exercised the ingenuity of many religions for centuries. In chapter four Omonokhua delves into the difficult issue of eschatology. Here he notes that human life has its rhythm of birth, puberty, marriage, procreation, old age and death as one enters into the world of the ancestors. The adult dies and enters into the world of the ancestors but if a child dies it remains in </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Aminigho </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">(limbo) where it waits to be re-incarnated. Good people are rewarded while bad people get their just desert. The summary of this sect</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ion is: </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">it is good to be good. </span></span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In chapter Six Omonokhua treats the concepts of heaven and hell. It is quite striking that these concepts in Jewish, Christian and Etsakọ milieu are very much similar. According to him, heaven is a state in which one behold</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">s the beatific vision of God forever (1 Thess 4, 18; 13</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">3), whereas hell is the deliberate NO to God leading to eternal loss of the beatific vision. In Etsakọ hell is called </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Alim 'igodogho </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">which denotes the soul's separation from the ancestors and the liv</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing. In fact </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Igodogho </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">means unreachable deep pit, the abyss, spelling ever</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ing doom. It is similar to </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">okummuo </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in Igbo. The punishment is to be eternally </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lost</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, excluded from God's presence (2 Thess 1, 9-10). </span></span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr Omonokhua focuses on resurrection (cf. chapter seven) noting that although among the Jews the belief was that life ended in Sheol (Gen 42,38; 44,31; Job 7,7-10; 24,19; Ps 89,48; Qoh 9,4-5). However, later on from Daniel onwards the idea of dying and resurrecting surfaces (Dan 12, 2-3; cf. 2 Macc 7,7-10; 12,44-46). Jesus raises the dead (Mark 5, 39; Luke 8, 52; John 11, 11). Jesus himself died and rose. Paul expresses this idea vividly in many of his letters (1 Thess 4, 13-18; 1 Cor 15). It is confirmed by some of the Church Councils such as Lateran Council in 1215. Concerning the dead the Council states: "They will rise with their bodies which they have now because they like angels and are God's children being children of the resurrection (Luke 20, 36). </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Past</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">or Harold of US has predicted the end of the world so many times but none has come true. Despite the fact that many people have predicted the end of the world, it remains a mystery. Thus the author suggests that one should not preoccupy oneself with the end of the world, rather one should preoccupy oneself with the end of one's life.</span></span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s27" style="margin: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Finally the author underlines the fact that Africans should be made to rediscover the inherent values in their cultures through contextualization of the Gospel message in such a way that one is able to be rooted in one's culture yet is able to live out fully the Gospel values. The book is a treasure and therefore a must read for all. </span></span></p><p class="s28" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s28" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Fr. Dr. Victor Nwukeme, MSP </span></span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Rector: The National Missionary Seminary of St Paul </span></span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s29" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-style: italic; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Gwagwalada - Abuja </span></span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s12" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s5" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">FOREWORD</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">This book, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Human life, here and hereafter: Eschatology and Anthropology in the Judeo-Christ</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ian and Etsakọ Religions is</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">an effort to call the human person back to the original purpose and end that the Creator intended for his sons and daughters. The book points out the problem that has triggered its writing that People are being treated like material objects and human life is being wasted such that some people find it easier to kill the human person than killing a mosquito. So, using as a case study Etsakọ and the Judeo-Christian religions to make a clarion call on humanity to reflect more on the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">vision and mission of life as an attempt to remind human beings of death, judgment, heaven or hell, the author intends in </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eight</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">chapters to address the anomaly in the way human beings are being treated in today’s world; and, with a prospect, to give more value to human life and make the world a better place, this</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is an achievement of fr.Cornelius Omonokhua</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> in the chapters of his work respectively:</span></span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The notion, name and knowledge of God are comparatively analyzed in the Jewish and African contexts with the result that God is one and the same in all contexts. Thus, </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">God is one and eternal. The God of Israel is the God of Africa. Every nation knows this same God in their different historical and contextual experiences. God is not a subject of evolution. It is the knowledge and experience of God that develops in human beings. This one God is the author and finisher of life. God is the controller of nature and the world will not come to an end in line with the predictions made by the many scientists and cosmologists but as God may have it, in the sense of religious eschatology which the church holds onto – backed by scripture; for </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The Church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus, and in which by the grace of God we acquire holiness, will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will come the time of the renewal of all things (Acts 3, 21). At that time, together with the human race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ (cf. Eph 1, 10; Col 1, 20; 2 Pet 3,10-13). Christ lifted up from the earth, has drawn all men to himself (cf. Jn 12, 32). </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Furthermore, an anthropological discourse on the nature of the Human Person; highlighting: the essence of human companionship; the destiny of the human person; the origin of the human person, with a spiritual focus on creation, and, in which accounts </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the images of man are presented as </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">dust</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> with the breath of life and image of God;</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and with an explanation of </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">how </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Stories, proverbs, riddles, poetry have been used by different peoples and cultures to explain the mystery of the human person., </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">exposes </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">the value of the human person from a theological point of view and Etsakọ primal religion, thus sources are drawn from the teaching of the Church and from non Christian religions to evaluate the value and dignity of the human person, with major concern in the human person, his religious culture and his life in the context of the Judeo-Christian and Etsakọ religions. T</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">hus, the human person is called to a collaborative ministry in promoting the dignity of the human person and ecological harmony. Man and woman are called to be at peace with humanity and nature given that they are created in excellence and wonder. Thus emphasising the unique creation and role of woman in creation, we note that, God did not create a woman out of the skull of a man’s head so that he could rule over her, neither did God create woman out of the bones of man’s foot so that he could trample on her, rather God created woman out of the rib of man so as to enable the two </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">walk</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> side by side in a collaborative ministry for a perfect home which will lead them into a final destiny. The mission of life is designed for a divine vision to be executed not just by a single person but in unity and love of a people. The human person therefore is the subject of eschatology. Man has a universal nature but this nature is expressed within the context of culture, tradition and a particular environment.</span></span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s30" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">More so, the m</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ystery of death which has particularly been the chief inspiration for this writing is given a place for discussion in the context of the mystery of dying and death in Etsakọ, Judaism, and Christianity. Using the approach of comparative study, an exposition of the mystery of death in Etsakọ and the Judeo Christian religions is given. Thus, death remains a riddle that many tribes and authors have attempted to find answers to. And to do this many stories were told about how death came about and why it remains,</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and they show that the human person is always in search of the mystery surrounding death and eternal life, and also that hum</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">anity is one. The early thinkers</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> of the Jews see death as a total annihilation because they did not believe in life after death and the resurr</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ection. For the Etsakọ people, death is a transition into the ancestral world, </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọgbanakido or Alimhi’afemha.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Death is personified as </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">“olimhi obe”</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">meaning a terrifying </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ghost.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> Death is feared because of the suddenness of its arrival. They see the dead and the</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> living as still belonging to the same family. And the central point of the teaching of Jesus Christ emphasizes another life and the resurrection from the dead. As death approaches, a crisis of faith occurs as the life-cycle draws to an end so preparation for death is naturally necessitated in every traditional religion. For the Jews confession at the death-bed is encouraged. The confessional on the death-bed is the recognition of the ending cycle and the beginning of another. This together with the recitation of the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Shema </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">in the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">moments before death helps to affirm faith in God precisely when it is most challenged and helps the dying person focus on those most familiar rituals of his life just at the moment when he enters the most mysterious and unknowable experience of his life. This kind of preparation for Death and many others among the other cultures and traditional religions allude to the fact that the mystery of death is inevitably an essential reality borderi</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ng all and sundry as indubitable</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, it is the inevitable and ultimate lot of every person who comes into the world. It is the philosophical query on why death is inevitable that has given rise to the many mythologies discussed in stories.</span></span></p><p class="s8" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Death envisages human destiny and so a more comprehensive discussion of human destiny is considered in the context of eschatology which deals with life after death</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. Precisely, eschatology</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> is an aspect of Christian Theology that deals with the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> things. The “</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">last</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> things” (</span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eschata) </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">are various moments or stages in the final manifestation process: death, particular judgment, limbo, purgatory hell or heaven, the </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">parousia</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> that is, the Second Coming of Christ, resurrection of the body, general judgment, consummation of all things in the perfection of the kingdom of God. This concern the final destiny of humanity expressed in Christian theology of eschatology in particular and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">eschatology and the destiny of the human person in the Judeo-Christian and </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ religions in general. But in a précis every discourse on eschatology and final human destiny gives credence to the fact that there is only one beginning and one end </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of all created reality: God. However, since human affairs are tainted by human tende</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ncy of leaning towards egotism in the form empty conceit, pride, tepidity, and the lack of love; fickleness, disloyalty, cruelty, bitterness, narrowness and obstinacy, then, for any human person who began in God to end peacefully in God as well as to have fulfilment in the end, a living in ethical consciousness and praxis is imperative; for the fulfilment of the human destiny is the culmination of a long life lived in ethical consciousness and praxis in happiness for all eternity with God. Thus, this is the final encounter and </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">this final encounter is called the beatific vision. The opposite of this experience for those who were alienated from culture, humanity and God by living a meaningless life find themselves losing the final vision of God. These disobedient people experience hell which is a total separation from God and humanity.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"></span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Nevertheless, heaven and hell need to be considered more emphatically, and this finds fulfilment in the context of the discourse on </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">heaven and hell in the Judeo-Christian and E</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">tsakọ religions. </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Heaven is synonymous to the beatific vision and hell is synonymous to the loss of the beatific vision. Heaven is a state where the soul will recognize the true God and be at one with him in perfect love and union. Here the soul falls perfe</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ctly in love with God who is the eternal love and the absolute good in whom all values </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">subsist.</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This God is the same to the African as to other people; for </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">there is only one God. The Hebrew people call him </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Yahweh,</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Elohim</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Adonai</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">. The Etsakọ people call </span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">him, </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Osinẹgba</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">, Ọghẹna</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> and </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Ọmọ</span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">lua.</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> This same God revealed himself to Moses and the people of Israel in their concrete life situation. God revealed himself to the </span></span><span class="s25" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> people also in their concrete life situation. Hence, Jesus Christ is the manifestation o</span></span><span class="s11" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">f God to the Jews and the African people.</span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">In a nut shell, this work is a comparative analysis of the fundamental beliefs and practices in the Etsakọ and Judeo-Christian religions. This sounds so elaborate, that one could almost think it is an impossible t</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">ask to accomplish, however, the author, who is best described as a man with words, did not find it difficult to compress and merge this vast topic and came out with this priceless masterpiece – </span></span><span class="s10" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Eschatology and Anthropology</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;"> – a comparative analysis of the fundamental beliefs and practices in the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ and Judeo-Christian religions pointing out their reconcilable doctrines and totems; as such it is a must read for all especially the African theologians who should advance their intellectual prowess in the direction of reconciling the fundamentals </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">of their own native cultures with the church’s in order to evangelize the root of their own people and to bring them to the lime light for the world to know and appreciate their own uniqueness as well as their similarity with others around them. </span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">The author’s effort here sets a paradigm for other enlightened Nigerians to follow in the course of exploring the totality of our divers Nigerian cultures and African Traditional Religions which we should never attempt to discard in the face of Western cultures and religions as we mistakenly tend to accept that they are superior and different from ours whereas that’s just because we have failed to dig deep into ours which truly are as much authentic, unique, and par with them. I commend the author, an erudite scholar, a poet, a born genius of the </span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Etsakọ people, a dramatist, a man with wealth of knowledge and experience, a prolific writer and a renowned contextual theologian for a job well done. This work thus, is a masterpiece and brainchild of the debris of his scholarly competence and so we recom</span></span><span class="s7" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">mend it for perusal by all and sundry, once again, BRAVO father.</span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">Sr. Dr. Stella Bassey Esirah HHCJ </span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">H.O. D, Department of Philosophy; </span></span></p><p class="s16" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; margin-right: -2px; text-align: justify; font-size: 18px;"><span class="s6" style="line-height: 14.399999618530273px; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="line-height: 21.600000381469727px; font-size: 1.5em;">St Joseph Major Seminary, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State</span></span></p><p class="s3" style="margin: 0px -2px 0px 9px; line-height: 21.600000381469727px; text-align: center; font-size: 18px;"><br></p> omonokhuachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16225249833184547694noreply@blogger.com0