The Decade to overcome violence programme of the World Council of Churches and Peace in Nigeria : a theological assessment

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation has been motivated by the prevailing trends of violence in Nigeria and thedetrimental effects on human dignity as understood from a theological perspective. The call forpeace building by the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) programme of the World Council ofChurches (WCC) is an important attempt to address the issue of violence which should be takenseriously by the Christian church in Nigeria in its own efforts to address this problem. Theincreasing deteriorating relations and persistent inter-religious, socio-economic, political andcultural violent strife constitute primary contributing factors that threaten peace in Nigeria. For along time, this concern has necessitated careful, honest and sincere revisiting. This researchwhich is based on the DOV is motivated by the framework of the global human communitywhich has been marked by numerous structures of violence, injustice, oppression anddiscrimination causing suffering to millions of men, women and children.Violence, whether physical, structural, psychological or in other forms, is shown to be a denialand abuse of life. Affirming human dignity, the basic rights of people and their integrity, showsthat justice is vital to lasting peace and that the denial of the dignity of others serves asmotivation for and usually also constitutes the first casualty of any form of violence. Violence,therefore, reaches beyond physical harm to the violation of the personhood of the other. Victimsof violence referred to in this study are mostly the innocent and the powerless whose dignity isbeing violated by religious, social, economic and political structures. Nigerian history testifies tosuch denials of human dignity through the deplorable and persistent violence in the country.Furthermore, the world is responding to this situation, and similar situations elsewhere, withgrowing concern and determination. Since 2001, the World Council of Churches has beenaddressing violence in many different ways. It has generated significant alliances and measuresto prevent violence and educate people on peacemaking, by declaring 2001-2010, the Decade toOvercome Violence. Through the DOV, the WCC has declared prevention of violence a publicand organisational priority, thus, requesting all member states to establish violence preventionprogrammes within their ministries.One of the questions posed at the onset of the programme is whether it is possible to eradicateviolence completely and establish world peace within a decade. However, the initiative does notactually claim that it would overcome all forms of violence. At the end of the Decade, violencemight still be witnessed, but by participating in this global movement for peace, the churcheswould have become sensitised to situations of violence within and around them and would havebeen sufficiently motivated to participate in the task of healing the brokenness around them. Thedesire and aspiration to overcome the spirit, logic and practice of violence in a Christian andecumenical spirit, however, is rooted in the gift and promise that Christ made to his disciples:'My peace I give you, and 'blessed are the peacemakers… (Matthew 5:9).Against this background, engaging Hans Küng's work becomes consequential, since a number ofkey implications for the Nigerian church and society have emerged in the attempt to considerKüng's Christology of peace as a framework. Küng's work is employed as the basic frameworkof this research as he provides us with a Christology of active non-violence and an ideology ofpeace. He presents us with a historical Jesus who demonstrated peace building and reconciliationin his ministry. Therefore, if the Christian tradition wants to contribute to peace in thecontemporary world, then it needs to rediscover the radical non-violence of its founder and takeseriously his disclosure of God. For Küng, peace can only have its root in the world (and thatincludes Nigeria), if it is established through radical humanism, transcendence, love andobedience.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University