Tag: #Christianity

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#SV – What They Preached…

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

The story of the sending of the Twelve (Mk.6:7-13) is very instructive on the nature and content of the ministry of evangelization. Most times, the emphasis is on the instruction about how the apostle should dress for the journey, but what is even more important is the content of the message they should take to the people. This passage tells us that “they went off and preached repentance” (v.12). Repentance! Even the casting out of demons and healings that they witnessed flowed from repentance – the acceptance of the message of salvation, and the abandonment of the old ways of … Continue reading #SV – What They Preached…

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#SV – On the ‘Whoever’

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

When Jesus was informed that his mother, brothers and sisters needed his attention, he replied by looking around at those seated in the circle and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mk.3:31-35) His response demonstrates that the condition for the Kingdom of God is doing God’s will rather than attachment to family and/or inner-circles. The word ‘whoever’ belongs to the category of indefinite relative pronouns. It has no antecedent in terms of identity (family, friends, partners) but is only determined by a condition that … Continue reading #SV – On the ‘Whoever’

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Disconnected Umbilicus

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

The disconnection of what was originally natural ties happens in various ways. We shall examine this in three main settings: the family, culture and Christianity. Think of the breakdown of families: A once lovely family of five. Everyone gets married and have their individual families. Parents now dead. Some of the kids travel and gradually reduced communication with one another. They get influenced by other events, other experiences and other persons. With siblings it is now about the scramble to get something of whatever is left by their parents. Then the war begins: it gets bitter, some go diabolic, some … Continue reading Disconnected Umbilicus

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Five Things COVID-19 Can Teach the Churches

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke

In response to the pandemic, there have been many write-ups concerning the appropriate precautions to be taken, the activities to be explored during lockdowns, ways to take care of the body and mind, as well as the existential lessons that we ought to learn from the COVID-19 experience. In an earlier post on this site, I explored how the pandemic has succeeded in exposing our collective vulnerability, not only in the fragility of life, the illusion of what we had thought we can control and the grave inherent depravity that we never knew was there all along. In that piece, I also … Continue reading Five Things COVID-19 Can Teach the Churches