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Papers by Kwaku Boamah
INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY: AN AFRICAN READER, 2022
The emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire is a new religious faith with new ways of doing... more The emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire is a new religious faith with new ways of doing things made the people suspicious of what really Christianity was, either a political, religious, or even a funerary organization. Opposition against the Christian faith was not only external but even internal because the basis of foundations of the Christian faith was not well laid leading to heresies and schisms among the early Christians. This chapter explores the two sides of the opposition against the early Christians. Externally, the persecution and martyrdom are explored by considering the charges, allegations, demands, and the players in the entire phenomenon. The chapter assesses the reaction of the Christians especially the development of the early Christian martyr narratives and apologetic writings to the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians. The early church was also full of some major internal conflicts. The chapter, therefore, evaluates the positions of some of the movements which were branded heretics. The chapter evaluates the developments of synods, creeds, and canon in response to the many internal conflicts among the early Christians. Finally, the chapter explores the various phases of Christianity in the various dispensations from the Great schism, medieval period, reformation, and the renaissance.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 2018
The formation of the Christian canon was not a one day venture. Some scholars maintain it spanned... more The formation of the Christian canon was not a one day venture. Some scholars maintain it spanned from the first up to about the fourth centuries. This paper has three main parts: the first draws a linear process of canon generation, beginning from text to scripture and possibly becoming canonical. The second focuses on the creation of the Christian canon by exploring the stages and the implications of naming the canon as `Testaments`. At the heart of the study is a consideration of the use and inclusion or exclusion of the Jewish scripture by Christians as discussed by a heretic (Marcion) and three Anti-heretics (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian) in the 2 and/or 3 centuries of the Roman Empire. The third part takes an example of a modern church (Church of Christ) whose reception to the Old Testament is one of skepticism. Furthermore, the level of usage of the Old Testament by the Church of Christ is key for the thesis of this paper. It is, therefore, important to assess a pos...
This work seeks to answer two important questions linked to the persecution and martyrdom of the ... more This work seeks to answer two important questions linked to the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians from 70 – 250 AD. A major accusation of the Christians was the perception of they are magicians. The question is; what made the pagans see the Christians as such and what was the relationship between the Christian miracle and the practice of magic at the time? In answering this question, it will be necessary to contrast the activities and the stories of the Christians with the stories told about other known or perceived pagan magicians such as Apollonius and Apuleius. The second aspect of this publication looks at the obstinacy of the Christians as described in Christian martyr narratives. The focus of this aspect is to explain the link constructed in the texts between some visions that these martyrs are described to have seen and their subsequent obstinacy. The real question in this section is what was the relationship between the visions martyrs are said to have seen a...
Books by Kwaku Boamah
Interpretating Sacred Texts within Changing Contexts in Africa, 2023
The sacredness of scriptures to their adherents sometimes implies defending the texts even at the... more The sacredness of scriptures to their adherents sometimes implies defending the texts even at the expense of life. Bishop Felix had to give up his life in exchange for having the scriptures burnt during the Diocletian Persecution. However, today there is the phenomenon of Christian comedians who predominantly joke with scriptural verses to excite the congregation. It is therefore imperative to examine the extent to which some Christians, including Bishop Felix would defend the scriptures even to the point of death, as against other Christians today who use the same scriptures as content for comedy. The article identifies that using the scriptures for comical purposes during church services tarnishes the sacredness of the scriptures. The organizers of such programmes use comedians as evangelism tools to draw people to church programs. The jokes are to make the members comfortable enough to know the church is not boring and to condition their hearts to be receptive to the word/sermon to be delivered later by preachers. The article, therefore, sought to examine the phenomena, and from the findings, it suggests caution to the church in the use of scriptures for comedy in order not to affect the sacredness and usefulness of the texts.
INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY: AN AFRICAN READER, 2022
The emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire is a new religious faith with new ways of doing... more The emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire is a new religious faith with new ways of doing things made the people suspicious of what really Christianity was, either a political, religious, or even a funerary organization. Opposition against the Christian faith was not only external but even internal because the basis of foundations of the Christian faith was not well laid leading to heresies and schisms among the early Christians. This chapter explores the two sides of the opposition against the early Christians. Externally, the persecution and martyrdom are explored by considering the charges, allegations, demands, and the players in the entire phenomenon. The chapter assesses the reaction of the Christians especially the development of the early Christian martyr narratives and apologetic writings to the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians. The early church was also full of some major internal conflicts. The chapter, therefore, evaluates the positions of some of the movements which were branded heretics. The chapter evaluates the developments of synods, creeds, and canon in response to the many internal conflicts among the early Christians. Finally, the chapter explores the various phases of Christianity in the various dispensations from the Great schism, medieval period, reformation, and the renaissance.
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 2018
The formation of the Christian canon was not a one day venture. Some scholars maintain it spanned... more The formation of the Christian canon was not a one day venture. Some scholars maintain it spanned from the first up to about the fourth centuries. This paper has three main parts: the first draws a linear process of canon generation, beginning from text to scripture and possibly becoming canonical. The second focuses on the creation of the Christian canon by exploring the stages and the implications of naming the canon as `Testaments`. At the heart of the study is a consideration of the use and inclusion or exclusion of the Jewish scripture by Christians as discussed by a heretic (Marcion) and three Anti-heretics (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian) in the 2 and/or 3 centuries of the Roman Empire. The third part takes an example of a modern church (Church of Christ) whose reception to the Old Testament is one of skepticism. Furthermore, the level of usage of the Old Testament by the Church of Christ is key for the thesis of this paper. It is, therefore, important to assess a pos...
This work seeks to answer two important questions linked to the persecution and martyrdom of the ... more This work seeks to answer two important questions linked to the persecution and martyrdom of the early Christians from 70 – 250 AD. A major accusation of the Christians was the perception of they are magicians. The question is; what made the pagans see the Christians as such and what was the relationship between the Christian miracle and the practice of magic at the time? In answering this question, it will be necessary to contrast the activities and the stories of the Christians with the stories told about other known or perceived pagan magicians such as Apollonius and Apuleius. The second aspect of this publication looks at the obstinacy of the Christians as described in Christian martyr narratives. The focus of this aspect is to explain the link constructed in the texts between some visions that these martyrs are described to have seen and their subsequent obstinacy. The real question in this section is what was the relationship between the visions martyrs are said to have seen a...
Interpretating Sacred Texts within Changing Contexts in Africa, 2023
The sacredness of scriptures to their adherents sometimes implies defending the texts even at the... more The sacredness of scriptures to their adherents sometimes implies defending the texts even at the expense of life. Bishop Felix had to give up his life in exchange for having the scriptures burnt during the Diocletian Persecution. However, today there is the phenomenon of Christian comedians who predominantly joke with scriptural verses to excite the congregation. It is therefore imperative to examine the extent to which some Christians, including Bishop Felix would defend the scriptures even to the point of death, as against other Christians today who use the same scriptures as content for comedy. The article identifies that using the scriptures for comical purposes during church services tarnishes the sacredness of the scriptures. The organizers of such programmes use comedians as evangelism tools to draw people to church programs. The jokes are to make the members comfortable enough to know the church is not boring and to condition their hearts to be receptive to the word/sermon to be delivered later by preachers. The article, therefore, sought to examine the phenomena, and from the findings, it suggests caution to the church in the use of scriptures for comedy in order not to affect the sacredness and usefulness of the texts.