A Cry For Help: A Missiological Reflection on Violent Response to Religious Tension in Northern Nigeria

The gospel of Christ is a gospel of peace, yet Christianity has not escaped the specter of religious violence. The legacy of the church has not only been one of patient suffering and forgiving love but also of brutal bloodshed. With tensions between Christians and non-Christians on the rise in many areas of the world, the question of how the church is to respond to religious violence is a pressing one, encompassing issues of ecclesiology, theology, and missiology.

Dr. Mipo E. Dadang explores the contextual realities that have led some believers in Northern Nigeria to embrace violence as a justifiable response to persecution. Drawing on extensive interviews, he provides an overview of the history of the church in the region, the impact of local theologies and traditions on mindsets and behaviors, and the insight of local believers into the catalysts, and solutions, to violent conflict. Alongside this phenomenological study, he provides a powerful biblical and theological foundation for understanding bloodshed as a violation of God's created order. He weaves together biblical teachings, the example of the early church, and the theology of Martin Luther to demonstrate that the people of God are called to reject, prevent, and eliminate violence, replacing it with creative alternatives. This deeply powerful book has implications for every Christian seeking to live out the gospel of Christ in peaceful co-existence with their neighbors.

MIPO E. DADANG has a PhD in Missiology from Concordia Theological Seminary, Indiana, USA. Over the past forty years, he has served in multiple pastoral, teaching, and administrative roles, including lecturing at ECWA Theological Seminary, Nigeria, and serving as ECWA general secretary. The first African to be appointed director of Community Bible Study in West Africa, he has also served as country coordinator for Africa Services International and as a member of the Africa host team for the Third Lausanne Congress, Cape Town, South Africa.