The Cross or Prosperity Gospel

Kwaku Boamah

Description

Are Christians meant to experience suffering? This question has long been a contentious one within the church. Christ is risen, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, yet sickness, poverty, and persecution continue to be daily realities for Christians around the world.
In this study of martyrdom and persecution in the early church, Rev. Dr. Kwaku Boamah reminds us that there is no Christianity without a cross and that suffering has played a prominent role in church theology and tradition since the time of Christ. Examining second- and third-century apologetic texts and martyr narratives, he utilizes a systematic comparative approach to create a holistic picture of the extreme challenges facing Christians under the Roman Empire. Drawing parallels to the history of persecution and martyrdom in his homeland of Ghana, Boamah locates the experience of African Christianity firmly within the larger narrative of church history, reminding Christians that they are not alone in their suffering but are members of a global, unified whole.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Religious Intolerance
• Philosophie et théologie
• Persecution
• Conflict

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 30 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781839736759
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Kwaku Boamah’s well-researched and careful study of texts and the history of martyrdom in the African context breaks new ground, bringing home to those interested in African Christianity a dimension of the life of the church that we have often overlooked. The church was birthed within a history of pain, suffering, persecution, and martyrdom. The faith has survived because of the courage of our martyrs. “The blood of the martyrs is seed of the church,” Tertullian is quoted to have said. Here in this volume Boamah has espoused the meaning of this statement for those who want to understand the contextual significance of the church fathers for our times. This is educative, illuminating, and engaging in the same breath!
J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, PhD
President & Baëta-Grau Professor of African Christianity and Pentecostalism,
Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Ghana
The early Christians presented themselves as familiar with occasional persecution, suffering, sickness, and death. Two recent and unrelated phenomena have brought the question of the Christian relationship to persecution and suffering into question. Radicalizing a traditional scholarly position, some scholars question whether it is appropriate to maintain that the Roman authorities persecuted the Christians; and some preachers claim that true Christians should claim a life of prosperity without suffering and sorrow. Through a meticulous and systematic comparison of early Christian martyr texts and apologetic literature, Boamah provides a balanced appraisal of how Christians viewed and responded to persecution. The memory of this provides an antidote to the so-called prosperity gospel. Some modern scholars have argued that it has detrimental effects for Christians to remember persecution, while some “prosperity” preachers claim that it is dangerous for Christians to acknowledge that they are suffering. Boamah’s book shows that such approaches ignore historic and contemporary realities and have negative ethical consequences.
Jakob Engberg, PhD
Associate Professor of Church History and Practical Theology,
Aarhus University, Denmark
Kwaku Boamah, in this study, challenges the prosperity gospel as a Christian expression of faith from a historical perspective. Exploring the martyr and apologetic texts of the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians, he draws attention to two main issues. First, from a methodological perspective, the complementarity of the two genres of texts in examining hostilities against Christians in the Roman empire; second, martyrdom as an inescapable feature of Christian witness. Furthermore, with examples from Ghana, he illustrates how establishing the Christian faith in Ghana has martyrdom features. His conclusion suggests that there can be no Christianity without sacrifice and suffering, contrary to the stance of prosperity gospel preachers.
This work is a good read for students and scholars of the Christian religion, religious leaders, and researchers in religious studies. I recommend it to all.
George Ossom-Batsa, PhD
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Mission,
University of Ghana, Legon
At the present time it is of vital importance to emphasize and reemphasize the impact of North African Christianity during the first five hundred years of Christian history. The period produced a munificence of great theologians and churchmen from Tertullian to Augustine. Dr. Boamah’s study investigates, through a critical examination of the extant texts, the effects and consequences of persecution and martyrdom up to the close of the third century. The author proceeds to investigate some theological relationships and contrasts between the early African theologies of persecution and the prosperity theology widely fashionable in contemporary African revivalist theology, which appears to be in part responsible for the dynamic growth of Christianity across the African continent. The author identifies some of the persecutions of Christians that have occurred on the African continent during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and offers a critical discussion of how these incidents have been interpreted. This masterly work is a must-read for both those interested in the history of persecution during the period of the early church and of the contemporary progress of Christianity on the African continent.
James C. Thomas, PhD
Associate Professor, Department for the Study of Religions,
University of Ghana, Legon

The Cross or Prosperity Gospel
Persecution and Martyrdom in the Early Church
Kwaku Boamah

© 2022 Kwaku Boamah
Published 2022 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
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www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-83973-535-6 Print
978-1-83973-675-9 ePub
978-1-83973-676-6 Mobi
978-1-83973-677-3 PDF
Kwaku Boamah has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
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Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version (NKJV). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (Berean Study Bible) are taken from The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible, BSB. Copyright ©2016, 2020 by Bible Hub. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-83973-535-6
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
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To the many who have suffered and died for the cross as well as those who keep on suffering today and are ready to die for the course of the gospel.
Also to Hon. Prof. Ato Essuman and family, my parents (Mr. and Mrs. Appiah Kubi and Mr. and Mrs. Adueni-Kuffo), siblings, mentors, supervisors, friends and most of all my wife (Mrs. Catherine Boamah) including our boys (Polycarp Appiah-Kubi Boamah and Tertullian Boahen Boamah)
Contents

Cover


Preface


Chapter One Christian Reception in Indigenous Cultures


Scholarship on Persecution and Martyrdom


Period and Selected Texts Used


Approaches


Contributions


Going Forward


Chapter Two The Ghanaian Example of the Persecution and Martyrdom


Emergence of Christianity in Africa


Conclusion


Chapter Three They Killed Us – Martyr Texts


The Origin and Purpose of the Martyr Texts


Background of Martyr Narratives


Narrative and Protocol Forms Compared


Conclusion


Chapter Four “You Killed Us” – Apologetic Texts


Submission Status of Apologies


Purpose And Audience


Background of the Apologetic Texts


Internal Comparison of the Apologetic Texts


Submission Status


Conclusion


Chapter Five A Two Genre Sources Approaches and Reception by the Authorities – Martyr and Apologetic Texts


Fusion of the Martyr and Apologetic Texts


Submission Status of the Apologetic Texts


Conclusion


Chapter Six Epilogue


Purpose and Audience of the Martyr and Apologetic Texts


Findings – Martyr and Apologetic Texts Compared


Lessons for Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity


Commendations


Future Studies


Conclusion


Bibl iography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes

Index
Preface
Expressions present in music, sermons, and lifestyles of some contemporary Ghanaian preachers suggest that once people decide to follow Christ, they will not face predicaments such as sickness, barrenness, and pain. However, a look at Christian history demonstrates that there is no Christianity without a cross; in essence, suffering is part of the Christian tradition and theology. It is important therefore to recollect, reflect and learn from the history of the early Christians and the coming of Christianity to Ghana how contemporary Ghanaian Christians can deal with the question of suffering. The history of the early church shows that Christians were subjected to persecutions and martyrdoms at the hands of the Romans. The character of these persecutions and the motives of the persecutors are “classic” issues that have been debated over the centuries in ancient history, theology, religious studies, classical philology, and legal history. Traditionally, most studies on the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians in the Roman Empire have used the martyr narratives and pagan texts as sources, while references to apologetic literature are found only sparingly. In the martyr-texts, the Christian authors projected images of the persecutions and presented these images to their Christian readers in order to console them and help them make sense of suffering. Similarly, contemporary ap