Ideology

MINISTERIUM – AChristian
and Theology: JournalTherapeutic Theology
of Contextual withinVol.
Theology the Context
7 (Dec. of2021)
the Spirit of Our….
114-128

IDEOLOGY AND THEOLOGY: CHRISTIAN THERAPEUTIC

THEOLOGY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE SPIRIT OF
OUR TIMES IN NIGERIA

Fabian Ndubueze Mmagu1

E-mail: ndubuezefm@aon.at

Abstract
Fifty-eight years after Pope John XXIII published his encyclical Pacem in
Terris (Peace on Earth), his words concerning >>order in human beings<< has
not lost its relevance in our contemporary world as well as in the present-day
Nigerian society. Today, his question remains factual, “How strongly does the
turmoil of individual men and peoples contrast with the perfect order of the
universe! It is as if the relationships, which bind them together, could be
controlled only by force.”2 The phenomenology of our contemporary world
confronts us consistently with an incontrovertible truth that should be of grave
concern to the entire human race. I have decided to call this a dystopia. The
vision of a world that is unfettered with violence appears to be constantly a
given. This is where my discourse on Christian Therapeutic Theology sets in.
Our world – and the Nigerian society with all the disquieting dystopic features
since independence – can be much better if Christian Theology, understood in
its healing potentials, would be given a fair chance. This, for me, is the great
challenge of our time!

Keywords: Dystopia, Therapeutic Theology, Forgiveness, Truth, Fundamental

Anthropology (Monanthropism).

Motivation:
In an age of manifest acceleration of dystopia – in spite of the obvious
reality of globalization and unparalleled advancement in information
technology – the author is very often confronted with many but this one
fundamental question, which persistently keeps boggling his mind: What is the

1
Fabian Ndubueze Mmagu PhD is an expert in Theology and Psychotherapy. He is also a
priest and the National Coordinator of Pastoral Care for the Minority Gypsy Group in Austria.
He is presently serving as Parish Administrator in Archdiocese of Vienna.
2
John XXIII, Encyclical Letter on Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice and
Liberty Pacem in Terris, 11 April 1963, no. 4 (Boston: St. Paul Editions, 1963), 8.

1|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

place of Christian Theology in our increasingly dystopic world of the 21st

century? Of course, although the concern about the dystopic situation in the
global village is justifiable and relevant, we must equally be committed to the
consideration of the theological challenge(s) in a country that is seemingly
ignorant of and blind to the fact that it has been heading steadily for decades
into an abyss. Any treatment of the dystopic circumstances of our macroscopic
world must lead us as of necessity to the important parallel dystopia of our
microscopic country, Nigeria.
Nigeria has consistently been on course towards self-annihilation! The
level of violence is unparalleled in the country’s young history! In a certain
sense, the question about the place of Christian Theology in our increasingly
dystopic world (Nigeria) connotes the other question of whether Christian
Theology is a Social Agenda. If the answer is in the affirmative, as the
inclination wants to be, what should be the scope of its social action?
Regarding this question, a vivid picture of the encounter of Saint Paul with the
Greeks in Areopagus, Athens (Acts 17), comes readily to mind. The Apostle
was fully engaged in both Catechesis and Mystagogy. His experience at the
end of it all gives credence to the topic under discussion. The quintessence of
Christian belief was at stake – the resurrection! “At this mention of rising
from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to
hear you talk about this again’” (Acts 17:32). This depicts the important aspect
when asking the legitimate question about the specific place of Christian
Theology in the face of the Pleroma of challenges facing the human family. Is
the Christian message of the resurrection, however, not all about hope? What
hope, therefore, does Christian Theology hold out for our dystopic world of the
21st century? What hope does and can Christian Theology offer Nigeria and
Nigerians? This question cannot be underestimated judging the disquieting
analysis in these two books: “This house has fallen. Midnight in Nigeria”3,
and, “There was a country.”4
Concerning the social agenda of Christian Theology in a dystopic
world respectively in Nigeria, the following words of Jesus to his Apostles go
quite a long way to buttress the necessity of such a discourse, “remember, I am
sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as serpents and yet as
harmless as doves” (Mt. 10:16). With these words, he was sensitizing them

3
Karl Maier, This House Has Fallen. Midnight in Nigeria (New York: Public Affairs
New York, 2000), 7.
4
Chinua Achebe, There Was a Country. A Personal History of Biafra. (Great Britain:
Allen Lane. An imprint of Penguin Books, 2012), 236.

2|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

about the hostile environment into which they would go to proclaim the Good
News about the Kingdom of God that had dawned on humanity. The animal
symbol of the >>wolf<< underpins the gravity of the anticipated hostility. The
Apostles (and later all Christians and Preachers of the Word!) must learn how
to navigate the uneven terrains of their societies. Again with reference to the
above injunction of Jesus to his Apostles, we encounter in the naturally
negative figure of the serpent as narrated in the Bible (Gen 3) a scientific
wisdom which is peculiar to the field of pharmacy. The normally poisonous
snake undergoes here a transmutation, becoming a symbol of healing
(therapy).
From the psychological and psychodynamic point of view, the serpent
was actually leading the woman (Eve) onto a high level of self-consciousness;
a level of self-knowledge and maturity that would enable Adam and Eve to
differentiate between good and evil. In essence, this was spiritual and
psychodynamic empowerment! For, the quintessence of human existence,
according to the teachings of Logotherapy, is the capacity and full
consciousness of personal responsibility. In the words of the founder, Viktor
Emil Frankl:

As each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a

problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually
be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life
is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each
man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering
for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Thus,
logotherapy sees in responsibleness the very essence of human
existence.5

We always have our possibilities for choice. One has to decipher and
make his or her choice and be able to stand by the same choice. Our ethical
consciousness tells us that there is something very much like an >>inbuilt
compass or navigation system<< in a human being that enables him or her to
make the rightful decisions in very concrete life circumstances. This is called
conscience. Though conscience is often understood in relation to religion and
faith, it could equally be viewed as a special human capacity for distinguishing
between good and evil. Logotherapy (the Third Viennese School of

5
Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (New York: Washington Waure Press,
1985), 131.

3|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

Psychotherapy) for instance, “conceives of conscience as a prompter which, if

need be, indicates the direction in which we have to move in a given life
situation.”6 This is then the question: “Is Christian Theology a Social
Agenda?” Following the words of Jesus to his Apostles in the analogy of the
wisdom of the serpent, Christian Theology must of necessity have a direct
bearing on the society, in which commitment to the Gospel truth is a
permanent challenge for all Christians.
The exhortation of Saint Paul becomes in this connection about strategy
(and content) of proclamation of the Good News of paramount importance. His
words are ever factual in a world full of unparalleled antagonisms (cf. 2 Cor.
6:3-10). Paul was talking to his Christian community in Corinth about moral
“fortitude in times of suffering”; exhorting them thereby through his personal
experiences. However, can this really work in the face of obvious enmity? His
approach is, nevertheless, not completely different from the message of Saint
Peter, as the head of the Church of Christ in diaspora (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1-2). He
called out for both content and strategy for meaningful evangelization in a
hostile environment,

no one can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right; if you
do have to suffer for being good, you will count it a blessing. There is no
need to be afraid or to worry about them. Simply reverence the Lord
Christ in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who
ask you the reason for the hope that you all have. But give it with
courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience, so that those who
slander you when you are living a good life in Christ may be proved
wrong in the accusations that they bring (1 Pet. 3:13-16).

Now, there are bound to be doubts if this message of Saint Peter would
go down well with many (if not most!) Christians in Nigeria, most especially in
the face of the manifest persecution of Christians, who are fully convinced that
there must be a complicity on the side of the Presidency, based on his aching
silence and frustrating rationalizations of what many Christians and some
international bodies have come to understand as an unhinged Christian
persecution. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria was clear in their
words on the 23rd of February, laying bare in unequivocal terms the dangerous
silence of the Presidency on the widespread, alarming and disheartening
proportions of insecurity in the whole country. They nevertheless failed – in my

6
Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, 169.

4|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

view – to address openly with the same non-equivocation, what must be

described as a genocide against Christians. Nonetheless, they x-rayed the
looming danger in the country, addressing in their collective mission the
saddening experience that the whole country was on the brink of total collapse.
In their conviction,

our country Nigeria has gone through many crises, and so far, has
managed to survive them, by God’s grace. But the ongoing crisis in the
country should be of grave concern to everyone who still believes in “one
united nation under God.” We are really on the brink of a looming
collapse, from which we must do all we can to pull back before the worst
overcomes the nation. This is not merely crying wolf without cause!7

The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria were bringing their theological and pastoral
knowledge to bear directly on the experiential burden of the lives of most
Nigerians! They were speaking to the consciences of those in political offices.
From their >>pulpits<< they committed themselves to the service of truth.
They acknowledged thereby the strong words of Jesus that only the truth shall
make both individuals and a people free (John 8:31-32). To put it very
succinctly, the express road to freedom, unity and progress in a grievously
dystopic Nigeria is the readiness and ability to know and honour the truth!
Truth becomes an instrument of therapy.
Even in the field of psychotherapy, there can never be a proper healing
without the patient facing the truth about his or her individual existence, and,
it does not matter what amount of pain is involved. This knowledge can be
comparatively transposed on therapeutic theology as enunciated by the
German theologian Eugen Biser (1918-2014). He believed very strongly that
theology can heal or alleviate >>collective anxiety<<.8 This is a persistent
problem in a country like Nigeria. This is exactly the real battle Nigeria has
been facing since her independence in 1960, which culminated in a brutal civil
war with yet deep wounds waiting to be healed. Who would therefore deny
credibly that Christian Theology is not a Social Agenda?

7
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, “We Must Pull Back from the Brink of
Collapse”, A Message of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria to all Peoples of
Goodwill in Nigeria, Par. 1 (Abuja: February 2021), 1.
8
Eugen Biser, Theologie als Therapie. Zur Wiedergewinnung der verlorenen
Dimension [Theology as Therapy. Regaining the lost Dimension] (Hamburg: Gemeinsame
Publikation des Thomas-Morus-Bildungswerkes Schwerin und der Katholischen Akademie,
1985), 15-16.

5|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

Contextualization – The Phenomenological Challenge:

The reality of dystopia seems to be a most dangerous virus that has
infected the whole world and not just Nigeria. Polarity has turned into
polarization and populism. We call to mind “The Clash of Civilizations”9 as
propounded by Samuel P. Huntington, an evil that has permeated too many
countries, leading thereby to different forms of socio-political and religious
discrimination. Here, Nigeria occupies an outstanding position, to the
detriment of its collective existence as a nation. The warning is real and
urgent!10 The project of a Global mind change11 through Global Justice12 is
very dire and must therefore be pursued with all vigour by all stakeholders. A
most fundamental political imperative should be the uncompromising respect
for The Dignity of Difference.13 It must be compelling to acknowledge the right
to the existence of individuals in their different nations as well as the unique
existence of each nation amongst the comity of nations.
A critical look at the organisational and administrative setup of the
United Nations reveals nevertheless something quite different. In effect, the
actual power structure lies in the hands of the super powers, meaning the five
veto powers. The warning by Jonathan Sacks remains however very dire, “A
world in which the few prosper and the many starve, offends our deepest sense
of fairness and human solidarity. You do not need to be a convinced egalitarian
to know that disparities of this magnitude – vast, concentrated wealth
alongside widespread suffering – is intolerable. The real problem, though, is
one of responsibility.”14 How can we talk, however, of responsibility without
bringing in the discussion on ethical standards in our dystopic world? Peter
Singer contends rightfully,

9
Samuel P. Huntington, Kampf der Kulturen. Die Neugestaltung der Weltpolitik im
21. Jahrhundert [Clash of Civilizations. The New Form of World Politics in the 21st Century],
9th Edition, (München: Goldmann Publishers, 2002), 36.
10
Cf. Richard Haass, A World in Disarray. American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of
the Old Order (New York: Penguin Press, 2017), 20; Wolfgang Ischinger, World in Danger.
Germany and Europe in an uncertain Time (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press,
2021), 132.
11
Cf. Willis Harman, Global Mind Change. The Promise of the 21 st Century (San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 1998), 133.
12
Cf. Thomas W. Pogge, Global Justice (Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing,
2001), 15.
13
Cf. Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference. How to Avoid the Clash of
Civilizations (London: Bloomsbury, 2003), 82-83.
14
Sacks, The Dignity of Difference, 111.

6|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

our newly interdependent global society, with its remarkable possibilities

for linking people around the planet, gives us the material basis for a new
ethic … If the group to which we must justify ourselves is the tribe, or the
nation, then our morality is likely to be tribal, or nationalistic. If,
however, the revolution in communications has created a global audience,
then we might feel a need to justify our behaviour to the whole world.
This change creates the material basis for a new ethic that will serve the
interests of all those who live on this planet in a way that, despite much
rhetoric, no previous ethic has ever done.15

What needs to be done, however to avert the serious danger of general

insecurity? Again, Peter Singer opines, “for the rich nations not to take a global
ethical viewpoint has long been seriously morally wrong. Now it is also, in the
long term, a danger to their security.”16 It does not seem smart enough to
ignore completely the wantonness of transparent global ethics when looking
critically into some of the causes of both local and global terrorism.
What should be the strong foundation of such desirable global ethics?
This is precisely why the very concept of “monanthropism”17 has to come into
play. By it, Viktor Emil Frankl, a survivor of four concentration camps of
Adolf Hitler’s National Socialism, understood the concept of “monanthropism”
as an analogy to religious monotheism, the universal belief in the one humanity
of the human family. The great polarization in our contemporary world politics
– not minding the obvious gains of globalization18 - puts exactly this concept
of one humanity at the centre of the great challenges of our twenty-first
century. Viktor E. Frankl, who was a liberal Jew, seemed to have re-
formulated in this concept of “monanthropism” the words of St. Paul in his
Letter to the Ephesians (chapter 2:11-18), but most especially in verse 15, “this
was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by
restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and
reconcile them with God.” In essence, the documents of the Second Vatican
Council was full of aspirations from the onset, recognizing the unyielding
necessity of a united humanity, in spite of all existing differences. Very

15
Peter Singer, One World. The Ethics of Globalization (USA: Yale University Press,
2002), 12.
16
Ibid., 13.
17
Viktor E. Frankl, Ärztliche Seelsorge. Grundlagen der Logotherapie und
Existenzanalyse [Doctor of he Soul. Foundations of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis], 7th
Ed., (Frankfurt am Main: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, 1998), 34.
18
Cf. Joseph Stiglitz, Die Chancen der Globalisierung [The Chances of
Globalization] (München: Pantheon. Siedler Verlag, 2006), 16.

7|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

captivating above all is the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern
World, Gaudium et Spes.” What a Christian aspiration and inspiration!
This would lead us to the incontrovertible conviction of the uniqueness
of each individual, regardless of his or her skin colour, religion, culture or
politico-ideological leanings. This leads to the question of ideology.

Ideology and the Problem of Dystopia:

To better understand the socio-therapeutic dimension of Christian
theology in relation to the concept of dystopia, it seems appropriate to establish
a bridge to >>ideology<< as it affects our world and the individual nations.
What is therefore, an ideology?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ideology as “a system of ideas
and ideals forming the basis of an economic or political theory, or, “the set of
beliefs characteristic of a social group or individual.” Based on this
understanding, there seems to be nothing wrong with the term >>ideology<<.
Throughout history, many philosophers have engaged themselves with
different and often divergent comprehension of the underlying principles of the
world. They were concerned with basically the question as to the proper place
of mankind in the world and how he/she understands himself/herself in relation
to others as well as to the societal systems that affected his/her life. It is within
this scope that the discussion on ideology becomes further interesting. We
learn that ideology was regarded as “the science of ideas, a science with a
mission; it aimed at serving men, even saving them, by ridding their minds of
prejudice and preparing them for the sovereignty of reason.”19 One would
think that this definition was a common understanding that prevailed among
many philosophers. However, this was not the case.
The Italian social Philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, for example, was
the first to make a connection between ideology and terror,20 suggesting that
there must be something suspicious about ideology. Karl Marx took this
approach towards understanding the human society of his time. According to
him, “Ideology […] is a set of beliefs with which people deceive themselves; it
is theory that expresses what they are led to think, as opposed to that which is
true; it is false consciousness.”21 Albert Camus, would eventually try to
underscore the dystopic nature of an ideology. Similar to the understanding by

19
Robert P. Gwinn, et al, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Volume 20, 15th Ed.,
(Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1989), 828.
20
Ibid., 829.
21
Ibid., 829.

8|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

Karl Marx, Camus hated cruelty and “believed that the rise of ideology in the
modern world had added enormously to human suffering. Though he was
willing to admit that the ultimate aim of most ideologies was to diminish
human suffering, he argued that good ends did not authorize the use of evil
means.”22 Be it now Socialism, Communism or Capitalism, ideologies in
modern terms have exposed their overt dystopic tendencies. This contrasts with
Christian Theology in its therapeutic dimension. This is the objective of this
article. It seeks to establish the fact that Christian Theology has the innate
potential to heal the dystopia caused by the different ideologies of the world
with the concomitant sufferings for individuals, groups and nations. Here,
Nigeria comes into perspective.

The Challenges of Christian Therapeutic Theology in a Dystopic Nigeria:

The biblical exegetes might like to clarify any possible underlying
difference between the two action and doing words >>cure<< and
>>heal<<. Their usages in the Gospels seem to connote different experiences.
The Oxford English Dictionary seems to support this desire for a
differentiation when with reference to the vocabulary >>heal<< it defines,
“make or become sound or healthy again”, whereas concerning >>cure<< it
explains, “relieve of the symptoms of a disease or condition.”23 Granted that
the human authors of the Gospels according to Matthew and Mark respectively
were using language variables whilst characterizing the same experience (cf.
Mt 9:1-8, 18-26, 27-31, 32-34), the challenge posed here seems nevertheless
obvious. Although Mark used like Matthew severally the doing-word
>>cure<<, we find out nonetheless that he equally made use of >>healing<< in
some instances (Mk 7:31-37). There is therefore the tendency to believe that
there is a fundamental difference between the two action-words. Whilst we
would reserve the word >>cure<< for a bio-physiological dimension of
treatment processes, the term >>heal<< portrays (based equally on personal
experiences of the author as a practicing psychotherapist) a holistic
understanding of healthcare.
If the central objective of all therapies is to help in making an
individual considerably “whole” again, (as my personal clinical experiences
bear testimony to), there is reason to believe that there are equally some
adverse effects of dystopia inherent in specific forms of understanding of

22
Robert P. Gwinn, et al, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, no. 830.
23
Judy Pearsall, ed., The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Edition, (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1999), 351.

9|Page
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

spirituality. Indeed, this does not only apply to individuals, but also that their
attitudes could generate in the course of time a dystopic environment, thereby
increasing the already existing conflict situations in the society. Take for
example, an incidence that went really viral on the social media, whereby the
“followers” of the “owner” of a highly celebrated “Adoration Ministry” in
Catholic Diocese of Enugu, did not just go on demonstration, but above this,
went on a rampage to “protect their priest” against an official instruction by
the Local Ordinary. The danger of a dystopic culture I saw here is reflected in
the words of warning by Jesus, “Every kingdom divided against itself is
heading for ruin; and no town, no household divided against itself can stand”
(Mt 12:25). What happened in Enugu Diocese stands out as a religiously
motivated dystopia, which contradicts the envisioned objective of therapeutic
theology as this article intends to portray. It is therefore encouraging that the
>>directives<< from the ecclesiastical leadership of Enugu diocese finally
came on the 3rd of June 2021. The ultimate intention would seem to be that, if
the Church of Christ is committed to healing the ills of the society, it would
tantamount to self-contradiction allowing dystopic incidences within its ranks
and files. This is because the mission of healing the ills of the society must rest
on the foundation of visible credibility. This appears to be the primary concern
of the Local Ordinary when he wrote that his primary intention as the Bishop
of the diocese was “to safeguard the integrity of the Church and to forestall
future abuses in the Adoration Ministry.”24 It is part of the integrity of the
Church of Christ to encourage and promote unity in a progressively dystopic
Nigerian society.
Similarly, what the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria did on
rd
23 February 2021, was a form of the Therapeutic Theology. They gave their
healing words to all the peoples of Nigeria in the face of increasingly alarming
proportions of violence and insecurity in the country. They said inter alia:

We need to have the courage to admit that there is a lot wrong with our
nation. It is our patriotic duty to point this out, with all objectivity and
sincerity. The rule of law has too often been disregarded, giving way to
widespread impunity, leading to a progressive break down of good order.

24
Callistus Onaga, Enugu Diocesan Directives and Guidelines for Pastoral Care and
Administration in The Adoration Ministry, 3rd of June (Enugu: 2021), 2.

10 | P a g e
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

There is a wide consensus that even the laws and rules we have made for
ourselves are often the cause of our problems.25

Their admonition synchronizes with the warning given by Jonathan

Sacks over the alarming dystopia in the world community. He appealed for the
necessity and urgency of healing some striking historical wounds of societies
and nations, “nothing is more dispiriting than the cycle of revenge that haunts
conflict zones and traps their populations into a past that never relaxes its
grip.”26 He further x-rayed the real dangers of the legacy of historical hurt,
“Historical grievances are rarely forgotten. They become part of a people’s
collective memory, the narrative parents tell their children, the story from
which a group draws its sense of identity. A note of injustice not yet avenged is
written into the script which is then re-enacted at moments of crisis.”27 The
crucial question is, “What should be the constructive way out of the woods?”
The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria touched two unavoidable aspects of a
sustainable conflict resolution: naming the problem as it is, and, secondly,
paving the way for a reconciliatory process, a process that failed soon after the
war. The words of Jesus readily come to mind in connection with the house
built upon sand (Mt 7:24-27). Even in the life of an individual, sometimes true
healing comes through reconciling oneself with some experiences of personal
failures or other disruptive developments emanating from one’s social
environments. It might be necessary to forgive oneself some lost opportunities,
while searching for some yet undiscovered resources either in one’s life or out
there in the society.
Jonathan Sacks explains the efficacy of a word with regard to
Therapeutic Theology: forgiveness. He emphasizes:

In a world without forgiveness, evil begets evil, harm generates harm,

and there is no way short of exhaustion or forgetfulness of breaking the
sequence. Forgiveness breaks the chain. […] It is about the action that is
not reaction. It is the refusal to be defined by circumstance. It represents
our ability to change course, reframe the narrative of the past and create
an unexpected set of possibilities for the future.28

25
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, “We Must Pull Back from the Brink of
Collapse”, A Message of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria to all Peoples of
Goodwill in Nigeria, no. 6, 23rd February (Abuja: February 2021), 2.
26
Sacks, The Dignity of Difference. How to Avoid the Clash of Civilizations, 178.
27
Ibid., 178.
28
Sacks, 178-179.

11 | P a g e
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

The destructive propensity arising from polarization of kinds cannot be healed

without the inner disposition to reframe some of the narratives of the past in
many countries in Africa, most especially however, in Nigeria. Some 2000
years ago, Jesus called out the people for a change of heart in order to be able
to embrace the fullness of life. This is metanoia, a turning around from the
wrong path towards the liberating message of salvation and personal growth.
In the words of Jesus, “the time has come, and the kingdom of God is close at
hand. Repent, and believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). What Jonathan Sacks in
the above quotation called forgiveness should actually be preceded by a true
conversion of heart, since the opposite would be an uphill task. This, as
evidenced, is what the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria was calling for
in their communique. If their words were not therapeutic, what then should
be? Words really do matter! They matter most especially with regard to
>>healing<<.
The words of the Bishops underscore both the individual and collective
efficacy of Christian Theology understood as a Therapeutic Theology. Those
words cannot of course be taken in isolation, since they were re-echoing the
spirit of the historical document of the universal Catholic Church in her two
most vital “Constitutions”: Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church and Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the
Modern World. In defining the essence of the Church, the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council connected its mission in the >>world of today<<
inseparably to the same essence. The Church of Christ can only be the Church
of the Incarnate Son of God, though not from the world (cf. Joh 17:14-19). All
Christians therefore live constantly in this dialectics of >>in the world but not
of the world<<. In the words of the Fathers of the Council:

Christ is the light of humanity; and it is, accordingly, the heart-felt desire
of this sacred Council, being gathered together in the Holy Spirit, that, by
proclaiming his Gospel to every creature (cf. Mk. 16:15), it may bring to
all men that light of Christ which shines out visibly from the Church.
Since the Church, in Christ, is in the nature of sacrament – a sign and
instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men –
she here proposes, for the benefit of the faithful and of the whole world,

12 | P a g e
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

to set forth, as clearly as possible, and in the tradition laid down by earlier
Councils, her own nature and universal mission.29

They went further to elucidate urgency of this universal mission; “the condition
of the modern world lends greater urgency to this duty of the Church; for,
while men of the present day are drawn ever more closely together by social,
technical and cultural bonds, it still remains for them to achieve full unity in
Christ.”30
However, the question arises, if it does not smack of Christian
arrogance to think of “achieving full unity in Christ”. What is therefore the
import of this >>unity<<? Even Jesus himself was very conscious of such a
diversity in belief: “And there are other sheep I have that are not of this fold,
and these I have to lead as well. They too will listen to my voice, and there will
be only one flock, and one shepherd” (John 10:16). How does this happen?
This is where the ingenuity of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council
merits our admiration when they explained the mission of the Church of Christ
in the “modern world”, deriving from its theological and Christological
essence. We read in Gaudium et Spes:

The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the men of our time, especially
of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and hope, the
grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well. Nothing that is
genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a
community composed of men, of men who, united in Christ and guided
by the Holy Spirit, press onwards towards the kingdom of the Father and
are bearers of a message of salvation intended for all men. That is why
Christians cherish a feeling of deep solidarity with the human race and its
history.31

Christian Theology must bring itself as of necessity to bear on the diverse

vicissitudes of the world and its citizens. In this self-understanding is
embedded the universal healing ministry of the Church of Christ through the
power of the proclaimed Word.

29
Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium,21 November
1964, no. 1 (USA: Costello Publishing Company, 1975), 350.
30
Lumen Gentium, no. 1.
31
Gaudium et Spes, no. 1.

13 | P a g e
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

Conclusion
In a multipolar world there are bound to be different and competing
ideologies. Competition must not however result in violence. Nevertheless, we
are all witnesses to the widespread conflicts in the world and in many countries
because of ideological differences and political manipulations. Who would
claim ignorance of the disturbing dystopia in our contemporary world
resulting from religious, political and cultural ideologies? Nigeria, for
decades in the shadows of her development potentials, has been battling with
an unparalleled destruction of lives and property because of a great
ideological divide at the levels of religion, politics and culture. The author
therefore decided to share his optimism with regard to the potentials of
Christian Theology that is therapeutic by nature. The Fathers of the Second
Vatican Council have demonstrated clearly that the Church of Christ can, and
as a matter of intellectual probity, must be a >>social agenda<<. The Church
of Christ is a sacrament of unity,32 and this important unity is threatened by the
wounds of dystopia. Now, such a process of healing must start with the
individual through the conversion of heart (metanoia) and obedience to the
truth.
The convictions shared in this article with regard to the Socio-
therapeutic Dimension of Christian Theology do not anyway imply a panacea
for all the dystopic circumstances in our common world and nations of the
world. It is nevertheless, the author’s strong belief that a general pessimism
cannot be our valid option, and that the Christian Religion/Theology is in a
wonderful position to influence the world order as well as individual countries
in a fundamentally positive way. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rightly said,
“there is no easy way to create a world where men and women can live
together, where each has his own job and house and where all children receive
as much education as their minds can absorb.”33 This must take into
consideration vital historical wounds. The strong convictions of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. remain very consequential when he led a non-violent
resistance against uncountable segregation laws in the USA. He wrote,

I refuse to accept the idea that the ‘isness’ of man’s present nature makes
him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal ‘oughtness’ that

32
Cf. Gaudium et Spes, no. 1.
33
Martin Luther King, Jr., I have a dream. Writings and Speeches that changed the
world. Edited by James M. Waschington, Forward by Coretta Scott King (San Francisco,
USA: Harper 1992), 134.

14 | P a g e
 Ideology and Theology: Christian Therapeutic Theology within the Context of the Spirit of Our….

forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam
and jetsam in the river of life which surrounds him. I refuse to accept the
view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of
racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can
never become a reality. I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation
after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into a hell of
thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional
love will have the final word in reality. That is why right temporarily
defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.34

Christian Therapeutic Theology has therefore the capacity not only to heal the
destructive wounds caused by dystopia, but likewise the power of sustainability
on both the individual and collective levels.
To sustain stability, attitudes do matter. Such attitudes have however
something to do with the individual consciousness of personal responsibility.
Edward Wilson is convinced that, “What counts for long-term survival is
intelligent self-understanding, based upon a greater independence of thought
than that tolerated today even in our most advanced democratic societies.”35 It
is therefore ad rem to conclude with the remarkable words of Pope Paul VI:

We have desired to remind all men how crucial is the present moment,
how urgent the work to be done. The hour for action has now sounded. At
stake is the survival of so many innocent children and, for so many
families overcome by misery, the access to conditions fit for human
beings; at stake are the peace of the world and the future of civilizations.
It is time for all men and all peoples to face up to their responsibilities.36

Such an appeal belongs to the socio-therapeutic dimension of any credible

Christian Theology. Such a theology can break the chains of unimaginable
ideological divides in our contemporary world.

34
King, Jr., 110.
35
Edward O. Wilson, Meaning of Human Existence. (New York: Liveright Publishing
Corporation, A Division of W. W. Norton & Company, 2014), 26.
36
Paul VI, Encyclical Letter on the Development of peoples Populorum Progressio,
26 March 1967, no. 80.

15 | P a g e