In 1998 I wrote about the future of books, and speculated about the implications of the electronic availability of books. That day is now here: the Amazon Kindle with a 2GB SD card can carry nearly 2,000 books; and an 8GB SD card is easily available. While over 120,000 books in Kindle format are available from Amazon, this does not include the additional thousands of e-books available in other formats (e.g. Mobipocket), as well as the fact that a Kindle can easily use standard HTML, Word, and PDF formats—which means you could feasibly carry every issue of Mission Frontiers, IJFM, EMQ, IBMR, Missiology, Lausanne World Pulse, whole encyclopedias, Operation World, several versions of the Bible in your favorite language, and all of the readings for the WCIU’s World Christian Foundations course. At $350, any missionary ready to buy an iPod or a cell phone should seriously consider the investment.

In a similar way, I believe that Christianity in a nation or region experiences a similar type of growth and maturity. When the church is first planted it is a “children church” and struggles with basic issues. However, as it grows and develops and matures, it moves beyond those basic issues and gains more experience and maturity, it begins to struggle with “adult” issues.

Christianity in West Africa is no longer a juvenile church. Therefore, it is facing different issues than it faced one hundred years ago. The infant church in Africa struggled with basic issues like who should be baptized and receive communion, polygamy and syncretism. Though these issues continue to rear their heads occasionally, the church as a general rule has moved on past those things. The adolescent church in West Africa struggled with leadership and management issues. Taking over the leadership of the churches from the missionaries by indigenous Christians was a difficult exercise. The church still struggles with those issues to some extent but I believe the church made some good progress in the last two decades of the twentieth century.

As the Christian church continues to grow and develop into its second and third and fourth generations, there are other issues with which the church in West Africa is struggling. Specifically, I believe there are three major issues that are helping to define the church in the early part of the twenty first century. The way the church responds to these issues will determine what the church looks like in the next generation and whether there will be a move toward or away from “traditional Christianity.”

HIV/AIDS

“The HIV/AIDS pandemic is the single most devastating health problem that has confronted humanity since the bubonic plague of the Middle Ages.”  This and similar statements have been made by various commentators about the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is sweeping across many parts of Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa. Anything that affects the society at large also affects the church. And because HIV/AIDS is having such a huge impact on the society as a whole, it is also having a powerful impact upon the church as well.

Negative Impact

This is not the forum for a long list of statistics about the impact of AIDS upon the society. These facts are well known. However, AIDS is definitely impacting the church.

• Most of the people who have died from AIDS in Africa have identified themselves to some extent with Christianity rather than another religion.

• Pastors and church workers are now spending a huge amount of their time counseling with the dying and grieving and supervising HIV/AIDS programmes.

• Much money that would have given to support church-related activities is now being spent on taking care of sick people.

Positive Impact

However, on the positive side, the church is beginning to respond to this crisis in a mature and responsible manner. Although the church got a slow start in its response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in West Africa, I believe it is the church, church-related organizations and individual Christians who are leading the way in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This crisis has forced the church to think and act and do things differently than before:

1. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has forced Christians to be more aware of their social responsibilities. Because Jesus was so compassionate, Christians have always believed in helping the weak and needy people in society. However, the HIV/AIDS crisis is forcing the Church to think about this more than any other crisis in the history of Christianity in Africa.

Jesus sent his disciples out “to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:2). The preaching represented the informational and spiritual parts of Christianity that deal with the various doctrines of the church and particularly the doctrine of humanity’s relationship with God. However, the “healing of the sick” represents the responsibility we have toward our fellow human beings. If we focus on only one of those responsibilities, the preaching part, we are like a one-armed person. However, when we combine these two together, we are using both of our hands and are fully functioning Christians. Therefore, the AIDS crisis is helping the Christian church to be more holistic and compassionate.

2. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has helped Christians to understand the practical value of their faith.  We Christians have always known the spiritual value of Christianity. We know it relieves our guilt when we confess our sins and experience God’s forgiveness. We know prayer and worship do something for our souls nothing else can do. We know we receive spiritual strength and energy from God. We know it helps us live without fear because we have confidence of a meaningful life on the other side of the grave. Unfortunately, sometimes Christians have focused only on those kinds of blessings.

The HIV/AIDS crisis has demonstrated Christianity has very practical value for our every day lives. It is a grassroots movement with representatives in every community. Its message of compassion for the needy is exactly what people who are living with HIV/AIDS need. Its message of sexual abstinence and faithfulness is the ideal formula for avoiding HIV/AIDS on a personal basis and reducing AIDS in the society. The HIV/AIDS crisis has helped Christians to realize just how wise God was in creating the faith community called Christianity and giving us the guidelines govern it.

3. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has helped Christians to develop a powerful voice in the society. In Nigeria, the church and Christian leaders have always been respected in the society. However, with the coming of the AIDS pandemic to Nigeria, Christian leaders are receiving new respect from the society and from the government because of their positive contributions to this crisis. The government is now realizing the value of mobilizing and cooperating with the leaders and communities of faith. This has given a new and more powerful voice to the Christian leaders in the community.

4. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has helped Christians present a new image to the non-Christian world. It is an unfortunate reality that Christians do not have a very high reputation among many Muslims in Nigeria for many reasons. However, because the church is often leading the way in responding to the HIV/AIDS crisis, Muslims and other non-Christians are seeing Christianity in a different way. They are seeing creativity and compassion and self-denial and generosity and tolerance and they are attracted to what they see.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa is a tragedy of immense proportions. However, it is helping to transform the church in West Africa into a more positive and holistic community. African Christianity in the twenty-first century is being shaped and will continue to be shaped in the future by the way it is responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Violence—

Although the birth of the church in West Africa was not without pain or suffering, persecution was largely limited to individual or family mistreatment. It was not as extensive as in other parts of the world, including east and central Africa. However, in the last two decades of the twentieth century, there has been a growing tension between Christianity and Islam, particularly in Nigeria. Unfortunately, this tension has exploded in the first decade of the twenty-first century. For example, in February 2000, a major crisis developed in Kaduna, Nigeria as an outgrowth of the attempts by Muslims to implement Sharia in that state. Over 250 churches were destroyed or damaged and thousands of people were killed. In November 2002, the problem flared up again in Kaduna, and another 101 churches were destroyed and another 500 Christians died. The city of Jos, in Plateau State, also received its baptism of ethnic and religious conflicts, starting on September 7, 2001. It is estimated over 10,000 people died in that crisis and the subsequent conflicts it generated in the southern part of Plateau State.

Although there have been remarkable exceptions, as a general rule, I do not think the church has responded well to these crises. The tendency of individual Christians has been to respond to violence with violence . More mosques were burned in Jos than churches and hundreds of Muslims were killed by “Christians” for no other reason than they happen to be Muslims in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although these kinds of retaliations were most often organized by the local communities and ethnic militias and many of the fighters were Christian in name only, it is an undisputed fact church leaders often looked the other way and sometimes even encouraged this kind of violent retaliation. “This is the only language they understand” was often the explanation and “You have to fight fire with fire.”

Consequences of Violence

I believe this kind of violent response has had some serious consequences to Christianity in Nigeria.

1. It is causing separation and isolation from non-Christians. As a result of the violence and fear of retaliation, Christians who used to live in Muslim neighborhoods are moving away and the Muslims who used to live in Christian neighborhoods are responding the same way. Therefore, there is less and less contact with Muslims in the every day life of the average Christian.

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the world” (Matthew 5:13) and “You are the light of the world” (5:14). These metaphors suggest God does not expect Christians to segregate themselves from non-Christians. How can we be the kind of “salty” influence in society if we are isolated from those we should be influencing? Therefore, these violent reactions are undermining Jesus’ mandate to positively influence the society.

2. It is creating a defensive attitude toward Muslims rather than a friendly one. Because of this violence and the forced segregation, Muslims are often viewed with suspicion as troublemakers. This has encouraged a view of Muslims as “enemies” that must be defended against rather than as fellow human beings who need the love of Christ.

3. It is encouraging manipulation of the Bible and shallow exegesis. Over and over again, one hears Christians and even pastors say, “we have only two cheeks. We no longer have any cheek to turn” or “Jesus did not say what we were to do after we turned the second cheek.” Frequently, those who want to promote a violent response point out Jesus said that if the disciples did not have a sword they should buy one (Luke 22:36), as if this justified their violence. They tend to interpret all of Jesus’ very straightforward teachings about responding to violence with love and prayer, in light of this one Semitic expression that was only warning the disciples to prepare for violence. Some admit violence is wrong but say God will just have to forgive them.

Is this the best our Nigerian Christian leaders can do? This is reaction rather than a thoughtful proactive response to violence. We must not allow ourselves to become guilty of reading into the Bible what we want it to say.

4. It is creating a serious image problem for Christianity in Nigeria. We who are true followers of Jesus Christ know Christianity is the most compassionate, the most forgiving and the most gentle religion on earth. We know no genuine Christian would take up a cutlass and kill an innocent Muslim who happens to be at the wrong place during a crisis. However, that is not the way Muslims view Christians in Nigeria. Muslims believe Christians are violent people who have no respect for places of prayer or individual human lives. Many of them think it is our Christian leaders who are encouraging the younger ones to perpetuate the violence against them.

If this is the image we Christians have helped to create for ourselves, this has rendered any efforts to evangelize or positively influence Muslims practically useless. Unless we improve our image and our Muslim and other non-Christians friends see us as the gentle compassionate people God has called us to be, they will not ask “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30).

What Must Be the Christian Response to Violence?

How should the church and particularly Christian leaders respond to this problem?

1. The Church in Africa needs to assemble a “Christian Council on Violence.” I believe our African church leaders and theologians must borrow a page from the church fathers and assemble a “council” of major church leaders and theologians from all denominations and forge a Biblically sound Christian response to Muslim aggression. This includes more than just the response to violence but proactive initiatives to deal with the root causes of these conflicts. The conclusions of that council need to be published, transferred into teaching material and taught to Christians at all levels. To fail to provide a unified Biblical response to violence will mean that people will respond in the most natural “human” way and that will be with more violence.

2. The Church needs to reach out in love to Muslims. The best antidote to extreme Muslim violence is a positive Christian demonstration of love. Jesus said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:22). This point is best illustrated with a story from the Jos Crisis.

During this crisis, which took place September 7-16, 2001, Immanuel Baptist Church, from the Anguwan Rimi area of Jos, was burned. This church was pastored by a young man named Sunday Gowna. About three years after the incident, Pastor Sunday was invited to join other community leaders, both Christians and Muslims, from the Anguwan Rimi area to meet the acting state governor where they would be given an opportunity to describe their experiences during the Jos Crisis. When it was Pastor Sunday’s turn to speak, he made the following presentation.

It is an unfortunate reality that my church, the Immanuel Baptist Church, was burned during the Jos Crisis and then a second time six months later but that is not what I want to talk about. Your Excellency, I want to tell you about the third time that people came to burn my church. On the third attempt, one of my Muslim neighbors came out and said to the young men who had come to burn it, “You are not going to burn this church. This is a house of prayer. If you want to burn something, there is my house. You can burn my house but you cannot burn this house of prayer.”

This immediately got the governor’s attention and he demanded to know the name of this Muslim who had acted so courageously. His name was supplied to the governor. After the meeting, the Muslim community leaders came to Pastor Sunday and said, “Pastor, thank you very much for what you said to the governor. We know that you could have said many bad things about us. We are most grateful.” Pastor Sunday said,

It is true there are other things I could have said. I could have told the governor about the thieves that keep breaking into the church and stealing our sound equipment and I could have told him about some of your boys who come onto the church compound and defecate. However, I thought we are all mature people and neighbors and we can solve these problems ourselves.

The Muslim neighbors assured the pastor that is what they wanted to do. So on the following Sunday afternoon, Pastor Sunday invited them to his church. He reported several of the Muslim leaders came and actually entered the church building. When they entered the church, they all removed their hats, a sincere mark of respect because Muslims do not remove their hats to pray. They also took the refreshments Pastor Sunday offered them, another indication of acceptance. The pastor showed them where the thieves had been breaking into the church and where the youths had been defecating on the church grounds. The Muslim neighbors assured him this would never happen again. And it has not.

About six months after this, during a regular Sunday morning church service, a Muslim child threw a stone over the church wall and broke the windshield of the only vehicle in the parking lot. A few minutes later, a little Muslim girl came and knocked on the church gate. She reported she had seen the boy who threw the stone and then she took the church security personnel to him. The boy admitted he was the one who threw the stones. The case was then taken to the police. As soon as the service was over, Pastor Sunday was informed. He went immediately to the police station. He learned there were two boys involved and their parents were Muslim neighbors to the church. The parents soon came and were very embarrassed over what happened. Pastor Sunday immediately demanded the case be withdrawn from the police. The police warned him if he withdrew, he would have no legal recourse to recover damages. Pastor Sunday assured the police they were mature people and could handle the situation.

The church estimated it would cost about $100 to replace the windscreen. The Muslim families were poor families. Between the two families, they were able to come up with only $75. The windscreen eventually cost about $150 to replace. However, the church absorbed the rest of the expense. When the Muslim neighbors discovered the church had paid the extra $75 to cover up the bad behaviour of their own children, they came back to Pastor Sunday with the greatest humility and gratefulness. They told him they never wanted him to leave the community and they would do all in their power to make sure the Immanuel Baptist Church stays in the community and is protected from any further damage.

The Muslim neighbors of Immanuel Baptist Church saw a true picture of Christianity. I do not know whether any of them will become Christians. However, I know there is certainly a much greater likelihood that they will become Christians after these incidents than before. Pastor Sunday and the Immanuel Baptist Church are well on their way to creating a wholesome image of Christianity in the Anguwan Rimi community.

3. The Church needs to apologize where it has failed. When Paul was taken before the Sanhedrin, the high priest ordered someone to strike Paul on the mouth. Paul was a person who believed in justice so he quickly and sharply replied: “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” (Acts 23:3). When someone informed Paul it was the high priest he had just rebuked, Paul quickly said, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: `Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ “ In other words, Paul apologized to a man who probably needed to be rebuked. However, Paul did not want his faith to suffer or be abused because of his own actions. Therefore, he apologized.

There are certainly times to apologize to our non-Christian friends because of the behavior of Christians. Contrary to what we tend to think, we never weaken ourselves when we acknowledge our faults and confess our sins. We are nearly always strengthened by humility. The recent apology by the pope because of his misunderstood remarks about Islam is a good illustration of this fact.

4. The Church needs to find ways that we can positively work with non-Christians. One of the best ways we can help rebuild a wholesome image of Christianity and, in so doing, reduce the likelihood of violence is to find projects where Christians and Muslims can work together. The Apostle Paul was not an isolationist.

• Paul was willing to interact and cooperate with the philosophers at the Areopagus in their pursuit for truth and knowledge (Acts 17:18-34).

•     Paul was willing to cooperate with tentmakers in the market, even though they were not Christian believers (Acts 18:3).

• Paul was willing to cooperate with security agents in Jerusalem (Acts 23:17-18).

•  Paul was willing to cooperate with the non-Christian Roman legal system (Acts 25:11).

•  Paul was willing to cooperate with the unbelieving sailors on board a ship in order to save the lives of the sailors and the passengers (Acts 27:21-26).

As for as we know, all of these people with whom he cooperated were unbelievers.

We who are committed Christians must seek out opportunities where we can work closely with non-Christians. This may involve academic projects, community enrichment projects, health project including HIV/AIDS-related issues, sports projects, and political projects. Most Christians are a bit sensitive to the verse that says “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). I think the real focus of this passage is on associating with unbelievers to do evil or a union that will draw persons away from faith. There is no prohibition in the Bible about interacting with anybody to do good.

It is an unfortunate reality that violence has come to the church in West Africa. This is not the first time Christians have suffered for their faith. The church in Acts and thousands of Christians throughout church history have demonstrated an example of love, forgiveness and prayer. The response the West Africa church makes to this outbreak to violence will have a profound effect upon the nature and impact of the church in the twenty-first century.

Pentecostalism—

It is difficult to know exactly when Pentecostalism entered West Africa. The Assemblies of God came to Nigeria over 50 years ago. In addition, many of the Aladura Churches, which were created about 80 years ago, followed certain Pentecostal practices such as speaking in tongues and may be considered under the Pentecostal umbrella. However, Pentecostalism received its greatest boost in Nigeria in the early 1970’s immediately after the Nigerian Civil war when there was a great burst of spiritual energy in the Nigerian universities. Thousands of university students came to Christ and many of the university campuses became centers of evangelism, discipleship and missionary activities. Much of this spirit of revival was heavily influenced by Pentecostalism. This movement was encouraged through the importation and wide distribution of Pentecostal literature such as books by Kenneth Hagin and Maurice Cerullo. In addition, the American Pentecostal media such as the PTL and 700 Club TV networks found a ready audience in Nigeria and these influenced key Pentecostal leaders like Archbishop Benson Idahosa.

Pentecostalism spread along three major lines in Nigeria. First, the Pentecostal denominations such as the Assemblies of God and the Four Square Gospel Church have enjoyed moderate growth in Nigeria and are strong denominations today. Second, thousands of independent Pentecostal churches have been created in the last 30 years. Some of them grew into denominations such as the Deeper Life Bible Church and the All Christians’ Fellowship, Mission. Some existing smaller Pentecostal denominations received renewed energy and have grown explosively. The Redeemed Christian Church of God which was actually started in the 1950’s received a tremendous boost in the mid-eighties when Pastor E. A. Adeboye assumed leadership of the church. This group is now probably the fastest growing church in Nigeria, if not in the world.

The third area where Pentecostalism has grown has been within the mainline churches. Charismatic Catholics have become a major force within the Roman Catholic Church. Though they are proud of their Catholic roots and insist that they are a bona fide part of the church, one would find little difference between their services and any other Pentecostal church. In addition, nearly all of the Protestant churches have had seeds of Pentecostalism planted in them. Some have flourished; others have been smothered.

It is now an undisputed fact Pentecostalism has had and continues to have a major impact upon Christianity in West Africa in general and Nigeria in particular. In fact, Pentecostalism may be the defining issue within the church at the present time. In addition to creating Pentecostal churches and Pentecostal movements within the non-Pentecostal denominations, Pentecostalism has had a dramatic impact upon the church as a whole. In my opinion, there have been both positive and negative impacts.

Positive Impact

1. Pentecostalism has helped to provide life and enthusiasm to the Church. Any observer of the church in West Africa over the last 25 years will agree that nearly all parts of the church have received an infusion of life, energy and enthusiasm during that time period. This is a direct result of the impact of the Pentecostal style of worship and, to a lesser extent, Pentecostal beliefs. Few people could find fault with a church that is more lively and enthusiastic.

2. Pentecostalism has encouraged Africans to worship in a more African manner. When Pentecostalism came to Africa with its more emotional style of worship, this helped to free nearly all Christians from the more formal and structured worship of the missionary churches. Though many Africans continue to enjoy the formality and beauty of the European style of worship with its robed ministers and classical style of music, it is the less formal styles of worship that are winning the hearts of more and more Africans. The traditional African use of drums has finally made it into the church. Dancing which would have been anathema in many churches twenty years ago, is now often led by the pastor himself, even in such traditional churches as the Anglicans, Baptist and ECWA.

Though not everyone would agree, freeing Africans from the European style of worship and enabling them to worship in a more culturally appropriate manner has been one of the greatest contributions of Pentecostalism to African Christianity. Even those churches that would seriously reject any kind of Pentecostal theology owe a debt of gratitude to this movement for helping Africa discover and implement its own style of worship.

3. Pentecostalism has attracted young people to the church. When one visits most of the newer independent Pentecostal churches or denominations, he or she will not see a lot of gray hair there. Most of the Pentecostal churches are filled with young people in part, because young people are attracted to the more energetic styles of worship. One of the things that has encouraged the mainline churches to incorporate more Pentecostal styles of worship is to keep their young people. When one goes to most churches in Europe and many churches in America, there are primarily old people present . That is not the case in Nigeria. The church is young and energetic and enthusiastic.

4. Pentecostalism has encouraged a more “apostolic” form of Biblical practice. Peter Jenkins, in his insightful book, The Next Christendom, describes the phenomenal growth of Christianity in the “global south,” including Africa and describes it as a more “apostolic” or “primitive” style of Christianity.  He means that this new wave of Christianity sweeping across this part of the world promotes a greater emphasis on the supernatural, prophecy, visions, and spiritual beings like angels and demons, similar to what one reads in the Book of Acts. This is creating a gradual move away from the more rationalistic approach of Christianity that was planted in Africa by western missionaries.

Though this can be and often does degenerate into syncretism, I personally believe that this renewed “spiritual” emphasis of Pentecostalism is healthy for Christianity in Africa.

• It encourages expectant prayer.

• It feeds the flames of genuine personal faith.

• It recognizes the existence of evil spirits and angels.

•     It avoids the stifling influence of rationalism and secularism.

•     It motivates Christians to look to God for the solutions to their problems.

5. Pentecostalism has helped to develop a more optimistic view of the future. One of the big emphases of Pentecostalism has been faith. Pentecostals believe in doing the impossible. They do not respond well to the philosophy of “they want let you do that.” Therefore, Pentecostals and other Christians are being encouraged by their leaders to attempt things that would have been discouraged in previous generations. One of the practical applications of this optimism has been greater participation in politics by Pentecostals and others who have been influenced by this optimistic view of the future. These people believe that they can contest and be elected to office and they can make a difference. The Nigerian government now has quite a few representatives who are very strong Christians and who are making a difference.

Whereas African Christian leaders must guard against fanaticism and reign in the extremists, the positive and simple faith of African Christians that has been encouraged by Pentecostalism is a refreshing blessing and challenge to the worldwide body.

Negative Impact

Unfortunately, the impact of Pentecostalism has not always been positive. One of the major emphases of a significant portion of the Pentecostal movement has been an overemphasis on prosperity and healing.

Obviously, prosperity and healing are Biblical doctrines. When Moses was about to depart from this world, he set before the Israelites two ways, the way of “life and prosperity” or the way of “death and destruction” (Deuteronomy 30:15). One of the first passages of Scripture that many Christians memorized as children was Psalm 1 which says that the blessed man is “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (1:3). No one can read the gospels and Acts without seeing and appreciating the miraculous healings of Jesus and the apostles.

In addition, certainly there is no particular virtue in poverty. It has encouraged the HIV/AIDS pandemic, sparked the rash of armed robbers across West Africa and has had a dehumanized effect upon a generation of unemployed Africans. Therefore, attempting to encourage a more prosperous society is in the interest of nearly everybody. And as stated above, a renewed emphasis on the supernatural, including supernatural healing and supernatural answers to prayer, is a welcome development.

It is regrettable many Pentecostal preachers and teachers have taken the message of prosperity and healing much further than the Bible does. They sometimes imply we can almost command God around like we are the master and He is the servant. Many insist healing and prosperity are the divine right of every person. Therefore, these “rights” must simply be claimed. This is obviously not the forum to attempt to refute those beliefs. However, I will say any truth overstressed becomes error. And error always has consequences. We are now seeing some of the consequences of the overemphasis on healing and prosperity in Nigeria.

1. The overemphasis on prosperity and healing is distorting Jesus’ message of simplicity and self-denial. The message of Jesus was not a message of accumulation but a message of dissemination. We are encouraged to seek God’s kingdom first (Matthew 5:33) and to focus on giving (Luke 6:38). This message is missing in most of the modern prosperity type preaching because preachers frequently encourage their followers to seek after an opulent and extravagant lifestyle.

2. The overemphasis on prosperity and healing is encouraging a self-centered approach to faith. Of all the religions in the world, Christianity is the least self-centered. Jesus encouraged his followers to give up their rights (Matthew 16:24), give up their wealth (19:21; Luke 12:33) and even give up their lives if necessary (John 15:13). However, when we are encouraged that we have a right to demand prosperity and health, that puts the emphasis on ourselves and that is not the message of Christ.

3. The overemphasis on prosperity and healing is creating false hope and generating disappointment. I am grateful to God I have heard wonderful examples of miraculous healing in Nigeria and equally exciting examples of God’s goodness in providing jobs, contracts, and other demonstrations of needs being supplied in a supernatural manner. However, I have also conducted the funerals of those who claimed they were healed and given money to those who supposedly were blessed financially. The point is that God does not choose to heal everyone. Neither does God choose to bless everyone with financial abundance. And when we teach people that healing and prosperity are their divine rights, we only create the possibility of greater hurt and disappointment and bitterness some time in the future.

I believe emphasis on prosperity and healing needs to be re-examined by our Pentecostal brothers to bring Pentecostal teaching and practice more in line with the Biblical teachings on those subjects. Jesus said, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:38). It is not what we hope is true or say is true but what is actually truth that brings the freedom Jesus promised. Therefore, the Nigerian branch of Pentecostalism must redouble its efforts to discover the truth. And the good news is I believe I am detecting indications that process is taking place.

Changing Emphasis

I personally believe the emphasis on prosperity has peaked in Nigerian Pentecostalism and is gradually being replaced by another emphasis—the emphasis on excellence. Many Pentecostal preachers are still emphasizing prosperity but their emphasis is that prosperity is a result of excellence in our lives.

• We become prosperous because we have earned it.

•     We become prosperous because we work harder than others.

•     We become prosperous because we are more honest with our customers.

• We become prosperous because we are producing a better product than others.

• We become prosperous because we are reflecting the qualities of Christ in our work.

And when we do these types of things, we are rewarded with prosperity.

In my opinion, this is a positive development in the Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. Prosperity based upon hard work and greater responsibility is a message that can be found in many places in the Bible. We must fan this tiny flame of truth and pray that God will multiply it like he did the loaves and fishes.

Whether we like it or not, Pentecostals are having a powerful influence upon the whole body of Christ in Nigeria and West Africa. We celebrate the positive things they are bringing to the church and we encourage caution and correction on the negative things.

Conclusion—

The Church in West Africa is growing and maturing. I believe someday, perhaps even in my lifetime, Africa will take its place at the head of this international movement we call Christianity. What will an Africa-led Christianity look like? What kind of influence will Africans have on the rest of the Body of Christ?

An Africa-led Christianity will be more fervent and less structured in its worship. African traditional religions prepared African Christians for a subjective, spiritual, emotional, and supernatural kind of Christianity. That is likely what will be promoted in other parts of the world when Africans are leading the way. African Christian leaders are less concerned about time; therefore, an African-led church will have much more time for singing and prayer and preaching and even dancing. Christianity will be more exciting and enjoyable in the future with more African influence.

An Africa-led Christianity is likely to be more unified and public and less secular. The pluralistic societies in which most African Christians have lived and especially the violence of the last few decades have minimized the differences between various Christians. Different denominations are almost viewed as different families. There is broad acceptance of one another and better cooperation than in the Western world. In addition, religion has traditionally been open and public in Africa with no attempt to separate religion from other parts of life. A Church being led by Africans will see Christians working more closely together and seeing them being much more public with their faith.

An African-led Christianity is likely to be more committed to Biblical authority and conservative approaches to theology. Theological liberalism has had limited impact upon the church in Africa and, in my opinion, is decreasing. African Christians are committed to the inspiration and authority of the Bible. For example, it was Archbishop Peter Akinola, the head of the Nigerian Anglican Church, who led the African bishops in prohibiting the worldwide Anglican Communion from approving the ordination of practicing homosexual bishops. An African-led Christianity will be less influenced by political correctness and will lead the worldwide Christian movement back to a kind of Christianity that looks more like the churches in Jerusalem, Antioch and Ephesus of the first century rather than Geneva, Richmond or Tulsa.

I believe the issues the African Church is facing and overcoming today are the ideal foundation for preparing her to lead the worldwide body of Christ tomorrow

Danny McCain is the Africa Director of the International Institute for Christian Studies and a professor of Biblical Theology at the University of Jos in Nigeria, where he has resided for 18 years.

The technology promises to make an impact on our world that is hard to comprehend at this time. It may very well solve some of our food and housing shortages, but it could also have a dramatic impact on the world’s economy by putting tens of millions of people out of work (much as other technological advancements have).

Some have gone so far as to suggest nanotechnologies may completely eradicate the current economic system. What is more likely is a sweeping global change in the economy which can move nearly everyone from industry to information-provision. People would no longer sell constructed items, and would instead offering plans and blueprints for sale. Hand made items themselves would become something of an extremely rich luxury.

Nanotechnology could also be used for medical purposes. Small nanorobots could sweep through our blood vessels, cleaning out cancers, fixing genetic problems, or enhancing our bodies. Nanorobots could also be the deployment vehicles for genetic changes made possible through biotechnology.

However, nanotechnologies have darker sides. The shades of darkness can be seen in the Borg of Star Trek fame. The technology could be used to develop superweapons capable of dismantling whole armies—or cities. If humanity lost control, such weapons could destroy not only cities, but nations and the world itself.

Aside from the general global impact of nanotechnology, however, it is difficult to see whether this technology will make a marked impact on the church. Unlike biotechnology, which directly addresses the issue of life itself, nanotechnologies are more concerned with the construction of the physical world around us.

· Churches could use nanofactories to build church buildings. This will be applicable mainly in the West, but could be a good way of building church structures in the developing world.

· Christian relief industries could use nanotechnologies to help repair or rebuild after natural disasters. (This kind of application is probably not likely before 2025).

· Christian medical teams could use nanotechnologies to help people with medical problems (again, not likely before 2025, or perhaps 2050). In the future medicines and pre-programmed medical treatments may be deployed through small packages of nanorobots sold over-the-counter like today’s medicines.

· Radical terrorists may utilize nanoweapons in terrorist attacks against Christian infrastructure (churches, corporate headquarters, etc). This is probably less likely in the short-term and even mid-term future since nanoweapons will likely continue to be more expensive than biotech and chemical weapons.

· The church will probably have to begin addressing the issue of nanotechnologies as the new weapon of mass destruction—capable of far more destruction than nuclear weapons, but destruction that is easily recoverable. A nanotech weapon, for example, could be programmed to seek out and destroy nuclear reactors or chemical weapons.

How close are these technologies to being deployed? Initial experimentation in nanotechnologies has already begun. Significant strides have been made. For example, the basic building blocks for machines—gears, etc.—have been constructed at the nano level. Microchips are presently constructed at the 0.25 micron level; once they reach the 0.1 level (which they may in the next 5 years) it would represent nanotechnological construction. However, widescale deployment of nanotech applications at the experimental level is, at a minimum, a decade away; wide-scale national or global deployment of practical technologies based on nanotechnology is likely 25 to 50 years off.

Biotech is already having an impact on our world. As we noted in our last issue, ‘supermice’ have been engineered which grow twice as fast, to twice the size, as their peers, and moreover pass those genes on to their offspring. We have thus been able to create a new ‘breed’ of mice—and we can do the same thing for other species as well.

Further, we have the capacity to create ‘hybrids.’ We can take the traits of one species and put it into another. This extends to taking traits from plants and putting them in insects or animals, and vice-versa. For example, scientists have taken the cold-water survival trait of northern fish and put it into tomatoes to create a frost-resistant tomato. In another example, scientists have taken the firefly gene and insert it into tobacco plants to make the leaves glow. The same process can be used to engineer animals which can secret chemicals in their milk (for example, a herd of 12 goats each able to produce BR-96, a cancer treatment, could completely replace a $10 million facility).

This technique can be dangerous. It is possible, for example, to genetically engineer plants to defend themselves against predators; to grow cotton, for example, that can kill insects.

Another aspect of biotechnology is the ability to lab grow life. A commercial application is the ability to grow vanilla in the lab. This product is worth hundreds of millions annually (vanilla, for example, is the most common ice cream flavor). A more controversial application is the lab growth of test tube babies.

Biotechnology will have a wide-ranging impact. The USA alone is home to over 1,300 biotech companies, and more are springing up outside of the USA to avoid its regulatory environment. In our last issue we presented the following scenarios possible by 2050:

Aging under control by 2050, eliminated by 2080 (Hello, Methuselah) through use of genetic engineering.

Tens of thousands of transgenic bacteria, viruses, plants and animals are released into the ecosystem for commercial tasks ranging from bioremediation to alternative fuels; some wreak havoc in the biosphere, spreading destabilizing and deadly genetic pollution.

Genetically customized and mass-produced animal clones are used as chemical factories to secrete via their blood and milk large volumes of inexpensive chemicals and drugs for human use.

Human/animal genetic hybrids are used for experimental subjects in medical research and as donors for organ transplants.

Some parents choose to have their children conceived in test-tubes and gestated in artificial wombs.

Genetic changes in human fetuses correct deadly diseases and disorders, and enhance mood, behavior, intelligence and physical traits.

Millions of people can obtain a detailed genetic readout of themselves; the same genetic information is used by schools, employers, insurance companies and governments.

There is a new form of discrimination based on one’s genetic profile; an informal biological caste system develops.

These advances will also lead to wide-ranging effects on the church. It is possible that biotech issues will become as heavily and angrily debated as abortion and birth-control. Here are some potential scenarios:

· A recent short-story in Asimov’s Science Fiction suggests the ominous possibility of attacking religious adherents with biotech weapons. (This particular scenario involves Muslims).

· Denominations will likely split, and new denominations form, over the issue of the usage of biotechnology, just as denominations today have split and formed over abortion.

· If a genetic trait is responsible for a predisposition to homosexuality, a radical might attempt the deployment of a biotech weapon to kill people with this genetic trait.

· Many churches and conservative Christians will likely become involved in political battles over privacy and genetic discrimination; this could consume an enormous amount of time, energy and donor dollars.

· A whole new basis for genetic discrimination could spring up if clear genetic proof is found for some diseases being centered in some racial genetic mixes. What role will the church play in countering or spreading this discrimination, when it has played such a central role in spreading discrimination in the past?

· Churches could see large losses or gains in their membership if they make wholesale denouncements of biotechnology regularly used by their members—for example, witness the large numbers of Roman Catholics who disregard their tradition’s teachings on birth control.

· The very basic questions of life will be discussed and debated as biotech becomes more and more prevalent. Pastors will begin preaching sermons about life, and a new urgency will be lent to the battle over the authorship of life. For example, could a whole new ‘subclass’ be created, perhaps a hybrid of humans and apes that are intelligent enough to do basic tasks but not intelligent enough to be considered full members of human society? And if such a race is successfully created, do they have a soul? (There is already a genteel debate over whether dogs and cats have souls, but this could be given a new and deadly seriousness if such a subclass were created).

· The development of biotech will also make possible the cure for various diseases—and the development of weapons that could attack people that have those diseases. Will some radicals attack those with AIDS as they have attacked abortion clinics? Will the church insist that cures for diseases be spread worldwide and made freely or at least cheaply available, or will it condemn untold millions to ongoing death by agreeing to market methods for distributing medicines?

· How will the church deal with longevity treatments and aging? Already it’s beginning to feel the touch of this issue with the aging of the boomers—what if we expand our lifespan to 120 or more?

It is clear that we are just on the edge of another enormous shift in our world. The church had little to say about the Information Revolution (first blasting the television but then accepting computers). Biotech, however, is fundamentally different because it deals with life itself. The questions raised by our experiments must be discussed by Christians, even perhaps in ecumenical discussions with other religious faiths.