A Multi-Perspective Approach to “Spiritual India”

The fundamental idea of all Indian philosophy is one common to the highest human thinking everywhere. The supreme truth of all that is a being or an existence beyond the mental and physical appearances we contact here. Beyond mind, life, and body there is a spirit and self containing all that is finite and infinite, surpassing all that is relative, a supreme absolute originating and supporting all that is transient, a one eternal. A one transcendent, universal, original, and sempiternal divinity or divine essence, consciousness, force, and bliss is the fount and continent and inhabitant of things. Soul, nature, life are only a manifestation or partial phenomenon of this self-aware eternity and this conscious eternal. But this truth of being was not seized by the Indian mind only as a philosophical speculation, a theological dogma, an abstraction contemplated by the intelligence. This chapter indicates the central characteristics of Indian culture as it has grown from its beginning to its present positions.

Historic-Phenomenological Evaluation of the Christian Experience in the Threshold of Human Development in Nigeria

Evolving discourses within the sphere of Christian experience and social development reveals that social transformation in the society cannot be separated from spiritual transformation. Religion as a social phenomenon has therefore become an acknowledged and strategic dimension in the development thinking and practice in contemporary society. But despite apparent contributions of religion to the development of many societies such as Nigeria, the role of religion, especially Christianity, has not been given due recognition in the history and development of a number of societies such as Ibesikpo Asutan of Akwa Ibom State. This study therefore examines the religious experience of the people towards development between 1912 when Christianity arrived and 2019. The method adopted for this work is the phenomenological and descriptive designs. Findings reveal that besides the consciousness of the transcendent and the question of God's existence, Christian missions in Ibesikpo Asutan have contributed immensely toward the development of the area.

Phenomenology of Religious Experience

In the Christian tradition, a spiritual experience is a phenomenon that in some sense remains controversial. Nonetheless, spiritual experience in Christianity refers to the personalization of the faith in Christ that transcends the normal. This is, however, critically contested and regrettably unexplored. It lends credence to why contemporary research on religious experience reveals that Christian spiritual experiences have the element of supernatural intervention by the Holy Spirit, although supernatural must not be confused with spectacular. It might be spectacular, as in the case of Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Drawing upon extensive contemporary research, content analysis, and literature on religious experience, this study adopts descriptive methodology as techniques. The study situates religious experience as occurrence in an everyday situation of Christians through which they derive a clear inner realization of “the truth.” Findings reveal a significant implication for collective research on religious and spiritual experiences for Christians.

The Christian Perspective on Worldly Practices in 21st Century Nigeria

Worldly practices, in Christian thought, would mean acts considered inappropriate, in that they suck Christians in by things that are harmful to their spiritual lives or cause another to stumble. This challenge is exacerbated by globalization and explains the paradox and dilemma of Christians in the rapidly advancing world. It is this that this chapter investigates in 21st century Nigeria. The work aims at situating Christians as responsible members of the global community freely expressing their fundamental human rights without infringing on the right of others. To achieve this, the chapter utilizes the phenomenological and sociological methods. The chapter discovers that most Nigerians hinging on the freedom platforms provided by the exercise of fundamental human rights show great preference for worldly practices, which is at variance with normal regulations of religion. The chapter recommends a synergetic approach of major faiths in Nigeria for an articulation of moral/spiritual codes, adopted from existing ethical windows for a fresh national moral rebirth and cohesion.

Reception of Prophetic Oracles in Ancient Israel and the Nigerian Context

Scholars in biblical studies are divided into camps on the source(s) of prophetic oracles by prophets in ancient Israel and contemporary Nigerian society. This is because the prophets at one time or the other labeled one another true or false prophets based on the claim that the oracles of some of their colleagues did not come from God. Biblically speaking, an oracle is a divine message to a person or a group of persons through an appointed person. The thrust of the chapter is to investigate the source(s) of prophetic oracles in ancient Israel with the view of establishing its parallel in the prophetic ministry in the contemporary Nigerian society. Historical method was used for the research. It was discovered that prophets in both contexts claimed to have received their oracles from Yahweh. Also, true and false prophets are found in both contexts. Other sources of prophetic oracles are Satan, self, and circumstances. It is crucial that a prophet as God's mouthpiece receives his oracles from God before delivery.

The Phenomenological Claims of Gratitude as a Religious Experience and Its Moral Worth

Contemporary thinking regarding the phenomenon of gratitude portrays it as a fundamental attribute of every human being as well as a commendable and beneficial human quality capable of enhancing human flourishing in society. This study demonstrates that although a variety of life experiences can elicit feelings of gratitude, there is evidence that the moral human society considers gratitude as a force capable of encouraging acts of beneficence. Apparently though, in the lens of ethics, gratitude is a purely person-to-person phenomenon, while ingratitude is seen as a profound moral failure. This research addresses issues of why moralists generally see gratitude as an obligation and stressed its dutiful aspects rather than its emotional quality. Findings show that until the advent of moral sentimentalism, gratitude interventions had always produced positive outcomes and benefits which in the heart of ethics is a duty and social obligation towards human benefactors and God.

Phenomenological Approach to African Theology

This chapter examines the phenomenological approaches to African theology. Over the years, there have been several attempts to think about theology to be a Western venture, thus resulting in such claims as “there is nothing like African theology.” This work seeks to investigate whether there truly is an African theology. It further analyzes the study of theology in an African context with respect to ethno-theology, inculturation theology, and Black or liberation theology. Using hermeneutical-phenomenological methodology, which seeks to interpret African theology with a view to bringing out its essence and of course reasons for its existence, findings show that employing phenomenological approaches like epoche or bracketing, eidetic reduction, and comparative approaches, African theology takes its primary data from the Bible, African tradition, and history. The chapter concludes that there is African theology with respect to African culture, nature, and experience.

Ethico-Phenomenological Appraisal of Religion and Development in Africa

Empirical studies linking contemporary discussions on human transformation indicate that development faces a number of interrelated challenges, foremost being the neglected importance of religion as a determinant for development. Even though religion poses the capacity of serving as a strong force in boosting societal development and its importance is continuously increasing since the beginning of the new millennium, a number of hypotheses still fail to connect religion to development. Drawing upon an extensive contemporary research on religion and development literature, this study examines the relationship between religion and development in Africa. With an insight provided into understanding the independent layers of religious development nexus in Africa, a criterion on what should constitute an appropriate approach toward societal development is thus supplied. Findings reveal that religion remains one clear option of inspiration and motivation for welfare and humanitarian engagement. This study has significant implication for cumulative research on African religiosity and development.

Divine Revelation in Natural Phenomena

In 1 Kings 19:11-13, God revealed himself through a “gentle whisper” rather than his earlier manifestation through “powerful wind,” the “earthquake,” and “the fire.” A shift to the “gentle whisper” needs re-investigation. The problem is the inconsistences in divine revelation in natural phenomena. This chapter is responding to the question on why the natural phenomena which used to depict the presence of God to Moses depicted his absence to Elijah. Secondly, this chapter examines the revelation of Yahweh in a silent wind. A phenomenological approach can guide a better appreciation of God's attributive revelation even in current situations.

The African Traditional Religious Ontology of God, Divinities, and Spirits

Earlier scholars of religion argued that Africans were animists and polytheists who didn't have the concept of a supreme being because they did not see clearly the distinction between the supreme being and divinities. It's recent that indigenous scholars disputed this and redefined the relationship as ‘diffused monotheism'. God seemed to be remote to the Africans' daily affairs of life, and African culture of respect and honor had a role in this. The authors attempt to present a reality of an accurate outlook of the obscure yet clear religious ontology of God, divinities, and spirits in the African indigenous religion. Durkheim asserted religion divided society into two categories, the profane and the sacred; nevertheless, in the African religious ontology, the two are intermixed in everyday experiences. On the flip-side, to overlook the concept of spirit being in the African worldview is to proscribe an African religious belief system.