Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke In the riverine area of Niger Delta, fishing was the normal activity of the peace-loving people of Egbemma community. Before the sun sets and at the approach of dawn, little boats paddle across the length and breadth of the great river of Ubasi as farmers do their business. Everyone is in the game. Some very experienced old fishermen, with larger boats, have over the years mastered how to get a good haul. There are also many new comers. Each striving to make a catch. That is the story of Onyeka and Jekwu. On one of such fishing … Continue reading From the Neighbour’s Boat

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke Hello! Hi, I’m Uche I’m Georgie from the UK. And where are you from? Oh! I’m from Nigeria. So, are you new to our Faculty of Theology? Well, yes and no. How do you mean? I’m here as an Erasmus student. I actually study at Durham University. That’s quite interesting. A young British lady: What exactly attracted you to the study of theology? Are you planning to be a pastoral worker or a theology professor or what? Well, I’m an agnostic. Agnostic? Like, you doubt if God really exists? That sort of thing? Yeah. I doubt. I … Continue reading Georgie

Enter into dialogue so that you can learn and grow, not necessarily to change the other person. Everyone must be honest and sincere, even if that means revealing discomforts with your own tradition or that of the other. Everyone must assume that everyone else is being equally honest and sincere. Everyone must be permitted to define their own religious experience and identity, and others must respect this. Do not feel that you are the spokesperson for your entire faith tradition or that you ought somehow to know everything there is to know about it. Admit any confusion or uncertainty you might have … Continue reading Key Points to Dialogue

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke Despite the fact that our examination of learned helplessness is directed at the failure of dialogue within our society, whether among Christian churches, or among religions, or ethnic groups in Nigeria, one feels the need to further highlight the danger of learned helplessness in our daily lives. The aim is to become aware of it and then find ways of overcoming it. A couple of things are associated with learned helplessness: One begins to think that a repeated failure means there is no hope again. One starts having a negative feeling of loss of control Then there … Continue reading Learned Helplessness: An extra

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke Do you often hear things like: It is not going to work? This is not the first time and so, we are better off divided as we are. There is no way we can have unity in this Nigeria. Ecumenical dialogue among Christians is of no use. Dialogue between Christians and Muslims is a waste of time. Are such comments not symptoms of learned helplessness? Yet one may argue, if they are signs of learned helplessness, where did we learn them? Of course, those who defend the impossibility of unity and dialogue do not speak from the … Continue reading Learned Helplessness: Part II

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke American psychologist Martin Seligman and his colleagues discovered what they called ‘learned helplessness’. I shall present the description of this concept as given by Barry Schwartz in his work, The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More (2004). [Seligman and his colleagues] were conducting a series of experiments on basic learning processes in animals. The experiments required animals to jump over small hurdles to escape from or avoid electric shocks to the feet. The animals typically learn this quickly and easily, but a group of animals that were exposed to the task after having experienced a series … Continue reading Learned Helplessness: Part I