Papers by Moses O L U D E L E Idowu
The Reformation and the movement which grew out of it paved the way for the Enlightenment by remo... more The Reformation and the movement which grew out of it paved the way for the Enlightenment by removing all agencies of intellectual control which inhibited freedom of expression and rational discourses. The secularization theory or thesis which affirms the inevitable decline or death of religion with the advances of modernization and development is a product of Enlightenment thinking and has been espoused by its thinkers. In the last 300 years however religion has not declined, it has grown and some parts of the world are more religious today than at any time. Religion which normally belongs to private sphere is making a bold reassertion and comeback into public sphere. The deprivatization of religion is a fact of the post-9/11 global reality and religion is bound to play more prominent role in the public sphere in future. Why is religion so important? Does religion matter? Is religion cardinal to development and progress? This essay examines the critical role of religion in development and progress in the past and how it can be a catalyst for advancement even now-instead of a sword of vengeance and hate. Using the historical method it examines the positive roles of religion across several epochs of human civilization. Introduction Great thinkers of the past have posited on what they believed to be the inevitable decline or death of religion with the advent of modernization. In the thoughts and writings of August Comte, Karl Marx, Max Weber and even Sigmund Freud, among others, religion is regarded as the unnecessary baggage of man's superstitious and ignorant mind, the opium invented by the rich to keep the poor in poverty and collective amnesia-away from an ever-present disastrous realities; a deceptive scheme to divert man's attention from his present problems to a future utopia. It was affirmed by these experts that with modernization and industrialization religion which normally belongs to the private sphere of life will totally decline. However, religion has refused to die or decline. In actuality, rather than being consigned to the private sphere it is making a comeback to the public sphere. And the future will not be different. In fact research and observation of world trends have shown that " the world is becoming more religious not less, the number of worshippers worldwide is on the rise and more people report that religion plays important role in their lives. " 1 A lot of atrocities has been committed in the name of religion and by religious exponents. History is replete with sickening cruelties, mind-boggling accounts of murder, bloodshed, genocide, wars of aggression, expansionist schemes, exploitation, expropriation, inquisition, oppression of minorities, unjust taxes, burnings, destruction of intellectual property, mass suicide, manipulation, forcible conversion, etc. We read these accounts today with dread and angst and we wonder how religion which is supposed to be a tool for spiritual engagement and reapproachment between man and his Maker could degenerate to this level. And even in our days things are hardly better. The population of a section of this country today is still living in fear for their lives because of the evil deeds and meaningless war being waged by a fringe sect of a particular religion. It is for cases like this that Wole Soyinka in an interview on BBC some years ago said that religion has brought woes on Africa.
More than 2000 souls have been killed in several religious and ethno-religious attacks between Ja... more More than 2000 souls have been killed in several religious and ethno-religious attacks between January and March of 2014 alone in clashes between the dreaded Boko Haram, the violent Islamic sect and security agents and populace on one hand and between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and their host communities on the other. 1 This is more than half the figure of what the State of Israel lost in Yom Kippur War (which they saw as a disaster) and about what America has lost in Afghanistan till today. 2 Yet Nigeria is not officially at war. Religion has assumed a somewhat worrisome dimension in the public life of Nigeria. Between 1980 and 2000 there were more than 30 bloody religious riots across the length and breadth of Nigeria but mostly in the North and between adherents of different faith traditions or between ethnic nationalities with varied dominant religious configurations. However the post-9/11 world has introduced complex variables into an otherwise bad situation. The use of religion as a tool of terror is a reality in our world which we cannot wish away. Expectedly, the nations of the West, and even other nations, have been forced to find a framework to integrate religion into national security discourse in spite of the mantra of secularization. Up to 1980 there was peace, love tolerance and mutual respect between religions in Nigeria except for one unfortunate controversy over Sharia at the Constituent Assembly in 1978. This paper examines the origin, external roots of terror and the beginning of religious disaffection and controversy which have now snowballed into bloody conflicts and open violence. It also documents the era of peaceful coexistence between faith traditions in the early days of Nigeria nation and also suggests recommendations for the way forward. INTRODUCTION Considering the havoc that has been done to this nation today in the name of religion, it is doubtful whether those who consider religion as a curse can be blamed. If the good done in the name of religion and the evils are to be juxtaposed together it is doubtful which would tip. Today religion has largely become a curse to Nigeria not a blessing. It is the number one challenge now facing Nigeria and the survival of the nation depends on it. Yet Nigeria has benefited enormously from religion. Religion has made enormous contributions to the development of Nigeria in various fields. In his Inauguration Speech as Prime Minister in 1960 on the attainment of Independence Tafawa Balewa acknowledged the role of the missionaries in the nation's development and eventual liberation. Most of the schools, colleges and medical centres were built and then manned by missionaries and their agents. These facilities attended to all citizens without any discrimination whatsoever. Christianity was introduced to Nigeria first through missionaries of Methodist and later CMS bodies in 1842. With time other mission agencies came located across the length and breadth of the land to prosecute their evangelism. Islam had preceded Christianity to Nigeria and had been firmly established first in the Sokoto Caliphate from where it spread its tentacles to other parts of the North and even the South. A Jihad to propagate the faith in the Southwest had been waged in the eighteenth century but was halted at Oshogbo and defeated. However unlike Christianity Islam was spread by itinerant mallams and traders in the Southwest. Thus by the nineteenth century there was a sizable portion of Moslems in the south before the coming of Christianity. Towns like Osogbo, Ede, Iwo and Ibadan have begun to develop dominant Moslem populations. The colonial policy ensured that each mission agency kept to its sphere of influence and ensured peace among religions and missions. Lord Lugard reached an understanding with the Northern emirs not to interfere with their religion and not to allow missionaries, entry to the North. All these were to ensure peace and religious harmony. Thus up to the time of decolonization there was no major account of religious strife in Nigeria and even after Independence. Though Nigeria was racked with several crises they were more political and ethnic in nature than religious. The Western Crisis was political through and through not religious because both Awolowo and Akintola were both professing Christians. The Civil War was not a religious war but political war even though some foreign propaganda tried to show that it was to get the sympathy of Christian nations. The military coup of the January 15, 1966 was not 'a Christian
Pentecostalism and neo-Pentecostalism are realities in the religious expression and behaviour of ... more Pentecostalism and neo-Pentecostalism are realities in the religious expression and behaviour of modern Christians. They are two of the varied expressions of modern Christianity and new religions. In this study some of the popular aspects of modern Pentecostal theology are examined vis-a-vis ancient Christian orthodoxy. It is also shown that some aspects of Pentecostal teachings today especially prosperity theology in its extreme form could breed greed, disharmony and, in the long run, become sources of insecurity. this the dreaded Islamic sect Boko Haram has caused the deaths of more than 2500 1 through serial suicide bombing, engagement with security forces in sporadic shootings, terrorist raids and sabotage and bombing of public facilities. In short, in Nigeria today religion is one of the sources of insecurity and instability.
Daniel Orekoya was the prophet-figure who sparked the Revival of 1930 in Ibadan and Abeokuta whic... more Daniel Orekoya was the prophet-figure who sparked the Revival of 1930 in Ibadan and Abeokuta which laid the foundation of Christ Apostolic Church in those lands and even Benin Republic. In this study an attempt is made to unearth the roots of this prophet and tell the story of his spiritual journey from his birth at Ijebu-Imushin, his stint in Anglican Church, his joining the Faith Tabernacle in Lagos, his visionary elements, his call and empowerment at Oke-Ooye as a prophet and his brief and powerful ministry.
This is a dangerous time, a very dangerous time. Something evil, something very sinister is afoot... more This is a dangerous time, a very dangerous time. Something evil, something very sinister is afoot. Wether you know it or not the forces of evil are being let loose over this nation. The signs are there for people to see-that is people who have eyes and who can see.
The concept of Vital Force is a universal phenomenon and as an idea it has intrigued scholars of ... more The concept of Vital Force is a universal phenomenon and as an idea it has intrigued scholars of sociology, anthropology and traditional religion and aesthetics among others. Known in different parts of Africa by different names and associated with varied significance it has been the subject of varied scholarly discourse and attention for the past fifty years. This concept has been established in the religious worldviews and traditional cosmologies of the Yorubas of Western Nigeria (where it is recognized as Ase ), the Bantu-speaking people of South Africa, the Limba of Sierra Leone, the Dinka of Southern Sudan and Dogon of Central Mali, among others.
Adam Rasmussen "Negotiating between Genesis 1 and Scientific Cosmology" Presented at the Annual M... more Adam Rasmussen "Negotiating between Genesis 1 and Scientific Cosmology" Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Society of Biblical Literature 3/15/12 THE PROBLEM Today, debates about Genesis 1 and science usually center around contemporary theories, such as the Big Bang theory and evolution, but philosophical cosmology has long posed a problem for the interpretation of Genesis 1. This morning I would like to look at how Origen and St. Basil interpreted the water above the sky in Gen 1:6-7. Their different interpretations, I would like to suggest, offer conflicting ways of interpreting Genesis 1 in the light of philosophical cosmology. Origen accommodates Scripture to philosophy by taking the passage figuratively.
The advent of Western imperial colonization changed African society in many ways. The impact of c... more The advent of Western imperial colonization changed African society in many ways. The impact of colonialism on Africa in general on one hand; and Western culture and civilizations (and the Christian religion which influenced them) on African society and cultural institutions on the other hand, has rightly attracted the interest and attention of many scholars in the last fifty years.
The doctrine of Divine Healing has a long and chequered history right from the beginning of the C... more The doctrine of Divine Healing has a long and chequered history right from the beginning of the Church. It was one of the main pillars in the spiritual worldview of most of the African prophetic movements which emerged in the continent beginning from the tail end of the 19 th century and the second decade of the 20 th century whose ministries constitute the foundation and the bedrock of the modern Pentecostal movements. It was the main attraction which first drew many converts from the mission church to the defunct Faith Tabernacle the precursor of both Christ Apostolic Church and The Apostolic Church. It was also the main theme of the Great Revival of 1930 and the decisive shaping influence of the resulting Aladura Movement; and it would be the key factor in the separation of both the Christ Apostolic Church and The Apostolic Church.
The place of literature in the formation of social change is unquestionable to anyone who Is fami... more The place of literature in the formation of social change is unquestionable to anyone who Is familiar with history. Virtually every major revolution has been inspired, energized or spearheaded by a book or works of literature. This essay goes deep into history to engage and detail the role of literature in most of the major revolutions that have shaped the world. The role of the writer in all these is also amplified.
Conference Presentations by Moses O L U D E L E Idowu
If there is one word so apt to describe the present situation of the world today, if one single t... more If there is one word so apt to describe the present situation of the world today, if one single term can be used to capture the totality of the happenings or dynamics of the massive intrusions on the world stage in the last few decades; that word would be 'change' or 'flux.' The world is in a flux-on a fast moving train blaring at full speed. More changes have occurred in the last three to four decades than possibly since the entire era of human civilization put together. These changes have exerted somewhat disruptive, and sometimes positive, influences on the world; and they have spawned some waves which are now shaping the affairs of the nations. Three or four waves are presently discernible on the world's plane which has altered the reality of international relations and socioeconomic worldviews of the average man. These waves are there and they affect everyone-whether you like it or not or whether you believe it or not. The first wave is the rise of Western hegemony in the world. The end of the Cold War with the collapse of defunct Soviet Union in the 1990 resulted into the unfortunate actuality of a unipolar world led by the West – notably the United States and European Union. This event with its revolutionary concomitants-globalization, democratic capitalism, privatization (neo-liberal economy) internet, human rights, NGO's etc-has changed the global picture and tends to create the rest of the world in the image of the West. This has tended to foster the western culture, values and worldviews as the dominant and accepted orthodoxy both in the religious, economic and even political realm of human existence. The second wave currently blowing across the world is democracy and the spread of this wave is largely fuelled by the first wave mentioned above. The in-thing today is whether a nation has democratized or not; whether its citizens are free or not, democracy being used as an index of freedom. The wave of democratization around the world is one of the major changes that has visited the world in the last thirty years. The wave in itself and the speed of democratization is bewildering if not utterly confounding. In 1974 only 46 nations were democracies; which comprise mainly the nations of the Western hemisphere and some far-flung nations in Middle East and Asia like India, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, etc. Today however, just forty years after, there are now between 114 to 119 nations that have democratized representing about 60% of the world nations. 1 The deprivatization of religion is the third wave. Religion which used to be confined to the private realms has now made a dramatic entry (or re-entry) to the public sphere with dire consequences. Beginning with the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the rise of radical Islam as a governing religious ideology in the East which has heightened awareness of militant Islam in the world. This has led to a collision with the popular current or mainstream of Western ideology creating a culture clash, a clash of civilizations and a clash of fundamentalisms. This third wave has led to the fourth wave – rise of naked outright terror anchored on an ideology of religious extremism and hate which has ushered a regime of fear 2 and compromised global security. This reality made its dramatic appeal with the terror attacks on the World Trade Centre on 9/11 by al-Queda Islamic terrorist network. Several of these terror groups are waging wars against the world like al-Shuabab in Somalia and Kenya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and the worst and most dreaded of them the Islamic State in Syria and Levant (ISIS). It is instructive that virtually all of these instruments of terror are based on Islamic ideology and all seek the same goal-the enthronement of a puristic Islamic state without boundaries and without any contours. How these waves have affected the world is known to everyone and can be felt everywhere. Religion, democracy and security are three major issues in the world of the modern day and they are related. We shall see this interrelationship in the following pages. Nigeria is presently in the sixteenth year of unbroken democratic rule though with many challenges and problems. The rampaging terror of religion by the Islamist Boko Haram, the secessionist drives and desperation of ethnic militias (one of which has just opened a Radio Biafra which is operating and whose signals are being received within Nigeria), the general insecurity are some of the challenges being faced currently. This paper examines this and the interrelationship between them.
The Reformation and the movement which grew out of it paved the way for the Enlightenment by remo... more The Reformation and the movement which grew out of it paved the way for the Enlightenment by removing all agencies of intellectual control which inhibited freedom of expression and rational discourses. The secularization theory or thesis which affirms the inevitable decline or death of religion with the advances of modernization and development is a product of Enlightenment thinking and has been espoused by its thinkers. In the last 300 years however religion has not declined, it has grown and some parts of the world are more religious today than at any time. Religion which normally belongs to private sphere is making a bold reassertion and comeback into public sphere. The deprivatization of religion is a fact of the post-9/11 global reality and religion is bound to play more prominent role in the public sphere in future. Why is religion so important? Does religion matter? Is religion cardinal to development and progress? This essay examines the critical role of religion in development and progress in the past and how it can be a catalyst for advancement even now-instead of a sword of vengeance and hate. Using the historical method it examines the positive roles of religion across several epochs of human civilization. Introduction Great thinkers of the past have posited on what they believed to be the inevitable decline or death of religion with the advent of modernization. In the thoughts and writings of August Comte, Karl Marx, Max Weber and even Sigmund Freud, among others, religion is regarded as the unnecessary baggage of man's superstitious and ignorant mind, the opium invented by the rich to keep the poor in poverty and collective amnesia-away from an ever-present disastrous realities; a deceptive scheme to divert man's attention from his present problems to a future utopia. It was affirmed by these experts that with modernization and industrialization religion which normally belongs to the private sphere of life will totally decline. However, religion has refused to die or decline. In actuality, rather than being consigned to the private sphere it is making a comeback to the public sphere. And the future will not be different. In fact research and observation of world trends have shown that " the world is becoming more religious not less, the number of worshippers worldwide is on the rise and more people report that religion plays important role in their lives. " 1 A lot of atrocities has been committed in the name of religion and by religious exponents. History is replete with sickening cruelties, mind-boggling accounts of murder, bloodshed, genocide, wars of aggression, expansionist schemes, exploitation, expropriation, inquisition, oppression of minorities, unjust taxes, burnings, destruction of intellectual property, mass suicide, manipulation, forcible conversion, etc. We read these accounts today with dread and angst and we wonder how religion which is supposed to be a tool for spiritual engagement and reapproachment between man and his Maker could degenerate to this level. And even in our days things are hardly better. The population of a section of this country today is still living in fear for their lives because of the evil deeds and meaningless war being waged by a fringe sect of a particular religion. It is for cases like this that Wole Soyinka in an interview on BBC some years ago said that religion has brought woes on Africa.
More than 2000 souls have been killed in several religious and ethno-religious attacks between Ja... more More than 2000 souls have been killed in several religious and ethno-religious attacks between January and March of 2014 alone in clashes between the dreaded Boko Haram, the violent Islamic sect and security agents and populace on one hand and between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and their host communities on the other. 1 This is more than half the figure of what the State of Israel lost in Yom Kippur War (which they saw as a disaster) and about what America has lost in Afghanistan till today. 2 Yet Nigeria is not officially at war. Religion has assumed a somewhat worrisome dimension in the public life of Nigeria. Between 1980 and 2000 there were more than 30 bloody religious riots across the length and breadth of Nigeria but mostly in the North and between adherents of different faith traditions or between ethnic nationalities with varied dominant religious configurations. However the post-9/11 world has introduced complex variables into an otherwise bad situation. The use of religion as a tool of terror is a reality in our world which we cannot wish away. Expectedly, the nations of the West, and even other nations, have been forced to find a framework to integrate religion into national security discourse in spite of the mantra of secularization. Up to 1980 there was peace, love tolerance and mutual respect between religions in Nigeria except for one unfortunate controversy over Sharia at the Constituent Assembly in 1978. This paper examines the origin, external roots of terror and the beginning of religious disaffection and controversy which have now snowballed into bloody conflicts and open violence. It also documents the era of peaceful coexistence between faith traditions in the early days of Nigeria nation and also suggests recommendations for the way forward. INTRODUCTION Considering the havoc that has been done to this nation today in the name of religion, it is doubtful whether those who consider religion as a curse can be blamed. If the good done in the name of religion and the evils are to be juxtaposed together it is doubtful which would tip. Today religion has largely become a curse to Nigeria not a blessing. It is the number one challenge now facing Nigeria and the survival of the nation depends on it. Yet Nigeria has benefited enormously from religion. Religion has made enormous contributions to the development of Nigeria in various fields. In his Inauguration Speech as Prime Minister in 1960 on the attainment of Independence Tafawa Balewa acknowledged the role of the missionaries in the nation's development and eventual liberation. Most of the schools, colleges and medical centres were built and then manned by missionaries and their agents. These facilities attended to all citizens without any discrimination whatsoever. Christianity was introduced to Nigeria first through missionaries of Methodist and later CMS bodies in 1842. With time other mission agencies came located across the length and breadth of the land to prosecute their evangelism. Islam had preceded Christianity to Nigeria and had been firmly established first in the Sokoto Caliphate from where it spread its tentacles to other parts of the North and even the South. A Jihad to propagate the faith in the Southwest had been waged in the eighteenth century but was halted at Oshogbo and defeated. However unlike Christianity Islam was spread by itinerant mallams and traders in the Southwest. Thus by the nineteenth century there was a sizable portion of Moslems in the south before the coming of Christianity. Towns like Osogbo, Ede, Iwo and Ibadan have begun to develop dominant Moslem populations. The colonial policy ensured that each mission agency kept to its sphere of influence and ensured peace among religions and missions. Lord Lugard reached an understanding with the Northern emirs not to interfere with their religion and not to allow missionaries, entry to the North. All these were to ensure peace and religious harmony. Thus up to the time of decolonization there was no major account of religious strife in Nigeria and even after Independence. Though Nigeria was racked with several crises they were more political and ethnic in nature than religious. The Western Crisis was political through and through not religious because both Awolowo and Akintola were both professing Christians. The Civil War was not a religious war but political war even though some foreign propaganda tried to show that it was to get the sympathy of Christian nations. The military coup of the January 15, 1966 was not 'a Christian
Books by Moses O L U D E L E Idowu
AFRICAN GOD'S GENERALS ( ISBN: 978-978- 58349-7-0) , 2020
This is the latest book authored by Moses OLUDELE Idowu. It is a 588- page book detailing the his... more This is the latest book authored by Moses OLUDELE Idowu. It is a 588- page book detailing the history of the first great revivals across Africa and the principal characters of those revivals and some of the most prominent figures in AFRICA church history- in a single volume.
This story continues where the The Great Revival of 1930 stopped as a sequel. This story dwells o... more This story continues where the The Great Revival of 1930 stopped as a sequel. This story dwells on the spread of the revival from its starting point in Ilesa to the other centres of the revival like Ikare, Ibadan, Abeokuta and Efon- Alaaye and other leaders of the revival like Daniel Orekoya, Emmanuel Omotunde and Odusona. It also captures the birth of the Apostolic Churches, the coming of the white misionaries from Bradford, the crisis in the early Apostolic Church and the eventual split and the circumstances which led to the split. This is the first detailed account of the revival and the birth of Apostolic Christianity in Nigeria.
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Papers by Moses O L U D E L E Idowu
Conference Presentations by Moses O L U D E L E Idowu
Books by Moses O L U D E L E Idowu
In this first ever account of the event, researcher and author, Moses Oludele Idowu after a painstaking research drew from both oral and archival sources to situate this major event in its proper historical context and document the revival in national historical consciousness
In this first ever account a writer and researcher traces the prophetic journey and career of a woman, a woman like no other, her struggles and victories of faith.