Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation

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Browsing Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation by Subject "2 Corinthians 5:16-21"

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    Bringing Peace and Reconciliation to Sierra Leone With Reference To 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
    (Tangaza University College, 2005-04) Kallon, Titus Mohamed
    My topic of choice is: "Bringing Peace and Reconciliation to Sierra Leone in Light of 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. To reconcile is to reunite, to bring back to harmony. Reconciliation implies therefore, that division has taken place, separation and rupture. Two realities, two persons, two people are at odds, do not relate well as they should. There is discord, disunity, disharmony; oneness has been ruptured.' Sierra Leone is one country in Western Africa that has experienced all the above because of the ten years of brutal war which saw the rebels resorting methods of unimaginable savagery: killing tens of thousands of people and children, leaving them as living symbols of terror. Paul's preaching as a source of reconciliation is marvelous; it is, "one that holds within it the entire Christian mystery: reconciliation of human beings with God, among one another, and with the whole cosmos."' Paul's preaching of reconciliation, breaks new theological ground. "He deliberately makes a fundamental correction. He said it is not God who needs to be reconciled to human beings, but it is human beings who need to reconciled to God."3 Reconciliation and righteousness, or justification, are terms Paul utilizes to express what God has done for us through Christ; both are connected with the crucified Christ.' By focusing on Paul's idea of reconciliation, and looking at the causes and effects of the war on the people of Sierra Leone, and how the Inter-Religion Council and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came in to preach the message of reconciliation, I hope to deepen my knowledge of Paul's idea of reconciliation, and his reference to "new creation". The "new" which has come now that the old has passed away locates Paul's ministry of reconciliation within the new creation, the new way of existence brought about in the death and resurrection of Christ.' According to Rev. Fornah Usman, a minister of the inter-religions council, with the "suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, no matter what those guys ("those guys" referring to the rebels) may have done, there is room on the side of the Lord to forgive them and to bring them back on the road they are supposed to be on.'' This essay is made up of three chapters. The first chapter will focus on the history of Sierra Leone beginning from its location in the continent, geographical and political divisions, its natural resources and how it gained independence. The chapter will also at look the causes and effects of the war on the people of Sierra Leone after independence and the divisions created as a result of the war. In chapter two, I will look at Paul's idea of reconciliation, how he faced division in Corinth, the socio-political and religious situation at the time. It will also look at how Paul's preaching is a source of reconciliation and the outcome of Paul's preaching. In chapter three, which is my final chapter, I intend to use five to six principles from chapter two, which may shed light upon how Paul's theology can be concretely applied. Chapter three will deal with the various movements for peace as a result of the war, the emergence of the Inter-Religious Council and the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission." (TRC). As a congregation, many young men every year aspire to join the congregation and these young men have experienced the bitterness of war. This chapter also makes an attempt to look at how our formation houses can become places where these young men joining can feel free to tell their stories of the war, own them, forgive themselves and God. A place they experience reconciliation and begin to live a normal lie. I do not intend to depict formation houses as therapeutic communities but communities that can listen, accommodate and help the young people discern God's will for them. These people might not end up becoming religious at all but might have benefited after living with congregation for a year or two. The essay will close with a general conclusion in which the ideas of the three chapters will be summarized. The ideas and insights that make up this essay are taken from sacred scriptures, the magisterial teaching of the church, and from reliable literature on the topic. It is my hope to express to you a vision of a ministry of reconciliation.