In many of African societies today, conflict and violence are recurring phenomena, as in other parts of the world. Apart from unemployment and hunger, the level of destruction of human life and property is a source of concern especially in the light of the present quest for global peace. Armed action and the use of violence are the most evident forms of conflict behaviour, and their destructive effects on relationships between groups and individuals are a reality as confirmed by daily media reports. The big question is does man really have value and regard for his fellow man‟s life? The demonstration of total disregard for the value and worth of the human person commonly displayed through various forms of violent behaviour when disagreements ensue is a major challenge on human dignity.
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People are being massacred on daily basis, while others are rendered homeless and sleep in the streets, or are hungry and beg for food. No one seems to identify with the plight of the poor victims of violence who exist without hope. According to (Kobia 1989, in Mugambi 1989:1):
Today we live in a world where the majority of the people simply exist, for the majority, life is meaningless, the future is hopeless... but life is the most precious thing ever created... Yet when you look around, you will realize that for many, life is still meaningless because there is very little hope for the future. Today, life is
characterized by hopelessness, meaningless and despair.
Huber (1996:9) asserts that, “The only way we can confront increasingly widespread violence is if we once again become aware of our responsibility shared by all.” It is important to mention here that two notions of human dignity have been expounded right from the ancient world. According to Huber (1996:115):
Talk of human dignity has appeared in two distinct forms in European tradition. The first refers to particular rank of different persons within a society, the concept of dignity(dignitas) is here related to that of honor (honor). The second refers to that which distinguishes humanity from all other forms of life and give a reason for its special position in the cosmos. In the former, the result is different rankings among people; in the latter the result is the fundamental equality of all humans.
Dirkie Smit emphatically affirms the two different perspectives on human dignity thus:
Since antiquity: two notions of human dignity; two understandings; two discourses. Two traditions- honour, status, worth, difference, influence, power, respect for value and contribution versus equality, sameness, need for protection, care, and respect simply for being human.
The first notion of human dignity has to do with according people respect, honour and worth based on how we perceive them, particularly, in terms of their wealth, knowledge, position in life, contribution to the society, and so on. It is true that many are often busy identifying with the wealthy and the affluent in the society. However, the concern of this study is directed towards the second notion of human dignity, which emphasizes quality and sameness of the human persons, irrespective of who they are, because all are humans created in the image of God. The study is directed to the concern for the plight of the poor and the downtrodden, the homeless and the hungry, the powerless, the weak and the hopeless in our society. How can they be helped and cared for in order to restore to them the dignity of the human person
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psychologically, economically, emotionally and physically? It is this second notion of human dignity that is the concern of this research study.
3.9 Conclusion
In view of the above causes of conflicts and violence and the magnitude of its impact shown through data analysis in this chapter, the question is what can the church and her preaching do to give hope and meaning to many people in the context of conflict and violence? Could the preaching of the Christian church, particularly the preaching of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, help change the mindset of people living with hurt and bitterness? Can it offer forgiveness, reconciliation and peace, thereby, reducing conflicts and violence to its barest minimum in contemporary Nigerian society and in African at large? These are the challenges of the normative task of a practical theological interpretation, which will be considered in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER FOUR
PREACHING AS AN AGENT OF TRANSFORMATION IN THE
CONTEXT OF ETHNIC VIOLENCE
4.0 Introduction
In the previous chapter, an extensive discussion of ethnic violence, its causes and impact in the Calabar context has been provided. The current chapter focuses on the normative task of practical theology by using biblical perspectives in an attempt to answer the question “What ought to be going on?” In addition, an analysis of the views of respondents on preaching as an agent of transformation in the context of violence vis-à-vis biblical perspectives is provided. Finally, a model for transformative preaching in the context of ethnic violence is proposed as a pragmatic approach.