Catholic Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, Most Rev Adewale Martins, insists there is no controversy about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, saying, “Anyone who does not believe in it cannot by definition be a Christian.”
He advocates that Easter should be properly celebrated by every true Christian.
Adewale spoke to TheNiche editorial team of Musa Jibril, Terh Agbedeh and Ishaya Ibrahim on issues affecting the church and Christians, as well as on the state of the nation.
Beyond what we read in the Bible, what importance should Christians attach to Christ’s death and resurrection?
Most Rev Adewale Martins
In the first instance, it is the Scriptures that give us the truth about the resurrection of Christ. It is the Scriptures that is the basis for everything that we believe concerning Christ, concerning His ministry, concerning His death and His resurrection.
There is absolutely no other ground apart from that, such that every Christian and indeed every person that has read that part of Scripture with faith and understanding will be able to understand what the resurrection of Christ means.
However, we know very well that faith in resurrection is a central teaching of Christianity, that is the basis of every other thing that Christianity stands for, and what people who are Christians believe.
Paul tells us that if Christ has not risen from the dead then our hope is in vain, all the teachings, all the suffering of Christians in the past and present, and every thing they have tried to be, will be rubbished.
But the fact is that Christ rose from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is central to Christianity and the Christian faith. What the death of Christ means to any Christian is freedom from sin, freedom from eternal death, and hope of salvation after life in this world, hope of living eternally with God forever. That is exactly what the death and resurrection of Christ means to every Christian.
A segment of the Christian community has contradictory views about the manner of death and resurrection of Christ
Certainly, it cannot be described as a fact that Christ did not die and anyone who is a Christian cannot by virtue of being a follower of Christ say that Christ did not actually die and therefore there is no actual resurrection.
I am aware that there are non-believers, meaning non-Christians, who have tried to water down that which Christians hold very dearly. They say that Christ did not actually die, that he was in some sort of a coma and after three days came out of his stupor.
But there is nothing to back up that kind of reasoning – it’s just the imagination of somebody who doesn’t have the basics of the thing that we are talking about. If there is anybody who is thinking in that direction, know that he is not a Christian.
Some Christians don’t celebrate Easter, they only observe Nissan 14 which coincides with the Jewish Passover
Again, they are not Christians. If somebody celebrates the Nissan, then he has a belief in Jewish traditions and teachings. Indeed, there is a relationship between the Old Testament and part of the Jewish religion that comes into Christianity because Christianity has its beginnings in Palestine with Christ who was born there. Naturally there is a correspondence.
We believe that Abraham is our father in the faith. We believe the 10 commandments. We believe basically the main teachings that you would find in the Old Testament. We believe also that Christ came as a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Old Testament, and because He came as a fulfillment, He is a notch higher in what He has got than what is in the Old Testament.
So if there is anyone who does not believe in it, he cannot by definition be a Christian. He can be anything, but not a Christian.
If it is the mode of celebration, that is different; well, it’s okay. If a person’s idea of Easter is that he should not eat and be joyful, obviously that is an expression of celebration that is unusual.
We believe that the Holy Week, which started with Palm Sunday, is a period of sober reflection. With Holy Thursday and with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Good Friday, we celebrate the death of Christ.
At the end of the celebration, we retain a calm environment, having recalled how much sacrifice Christ made for us and for the world. That is a period of sober reflection.
We also know that Christ did not just die; He rose from the grave. And because He rose from the dead, joy comes to us. So Easter has to be a joyful celebration, a celebration that expresses the fact that you believe that the death of Christ and His resurrection has made you what we call an heir of salvation with a hope for our own resurrection.
Christ is referred to as the ‘first born from the dead,’ and we all have hope of salvation.
What are the challenges of being an archbishop of Lagos at a time it is believed that the membership of the Roman Catholic Church is declining?
On the contrary, the number of members of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa is rising compared with the rest of the world. In Europe, there is a crisis of faith in general. Secularism has overtaken them there. Secularism is what drives everything they do. Worship of God and devotion has problem there. But it is different in Africa.
In the Lagos Archdiocese, not only do we constantly have children being baptised and being taken into the church, but also people who convert from other faiths are constantly being taken into the church. By the grace of God the number of parishes that we have is growing.
This time last year, we had about 110 parishes in the Lagos Archdiocese. Now we have over 140 parishes. So it is not correct to say that Catholic membership is dwindling. Of course you could say of a number that strays into other Christian denominations, but it doesn’t really significantly cut down on the number of Catholic worshippers.
What is your view on materialism that has taken over the church, especially the jet-buying spree and proclivity for exotic cars among ministers?
We ought to make a distinction between the church – an institution as a body of believers – and the individuals within the church. Whether they are leaders or not, they still remain individuals within the church, such that it will not be accurate to equate them with the church and assume that materialism has overtaken the church.
You can only say that a number of Christian leaders, and a number of Christians (as it is in all religions actually), are being influenced by materialism. It will not be accurate to say that the church itself is overtaken by materialism.
However, be that as it may, if there are persons who are not living up to the demands and the standard of Christ, all they need is to be reminded what the standard of Christ is.
The standard that Christ has given us is that of simplicity of life, humility, love, concern for the welfare of others, giving of yourself in order that others may live, in order that others may receive some measure of welfare. Those are the standards of Christ.
Therefore, if there is anyone who is not living up to that, he or she is falling short and must be called to order. You mentioned leaders of the church buying private jets; we have had occasions to say that it is a difficult thing to justify in a country that is the way it is, especially when we recognise that leaders of countries that have more resources than any individual or any church don’t buy private jets in order to go to places.
The Queen of England, the Prime Minister of England, and even Pope Francis do not have private jets. They use commercial flights. If a person believes he needs a private jet, that is his own personal or private attitude or need. It is not a reference to the church.
Pope Francis is perceived as being soft on gays, what do you think about this?
There is also a train of thought that what the pope is doing is trying to present the Good Old Faith in another way from what it used to be. But he does not say, he has not said, and I am not sure he will ever say, that the teachings of the church should be rejected.
About gay people in general, the church has constantly said, and the pope himself has said also, that to be gay is not according to the Scriptures. It’s not according to nature. By the fact of nature, gay and lesbian relationships are not accepted. They are not condoned. They are not right.
All he has said is that he will not personally judge them on the basis of that because judgment of people belongs to God. You can only tell people that the principle upon which they live is not in accord with the Bible and nature. But as to whether he is going to heaven or hell, that is for God to decide. That is essentially what Pope Francis has said.
Indeed, with regard to several teachings of the church, he has presented them in new ways. He has said don’t be too concerned, for instance, about gay and lesbian relationships so much that you forget about the importance of doing good to other people. Because sometimes people get so focused on the negatives and forget the positives.
How do you think we can end the insurgency ravaging the northern part of the country?
The Boko Haram matter is a big pain to everybody. We are all witnesses to the fact that the insurgency has created a lot of pain and misery for everybody, irrespective of religious affiliation. Their activities are bringing destruction to innocent people, and having a lot of negative influence on the economy of the places where they operate.
I believe that a measure is being taken now to find out their hideout to bring them out so that they can be identified. But beyond fishing them out, there is also a need to engage them to know who their leaders are, so that we can identify the kind of ideology that is driving their action.
I believe when you understand their ideology, and you enter into dialogue with them, I suppose they would be interested in what the rest of the people also feel. Dialogue will be able to help us to overcome the problem.
What is your thought about the ongoing national conference and the future of this country?
To enter into discussion about issues is always a good thing, but always enter into dialogue in such a way that will be fruitful and achieve its set goals. This conference is going on because we are, as a people, not happy with the way things are in Nigeria, for which reason we think it is better to come together and discuss and to see where we are doing wrong and to see how we can do them differently.
To that extent dialogue is good. What now, in my own estimation, is important is that those who have been sent to be part of that conference should not lose focus of what Nigerians are concerned about.
Nigerians are concerned about how we have good governance in the nation and the kind of structure of government that is necessary in order to have good governance. They must not forget that. I think, for instance, that the executive presidential system of government we run is not doing us as much good as it should.
In any case, we don’t even seem to have reached the point in the growth of our nation to the extent that a presidential system will work in the same way as it is working, for instance, in America.
I believe, for instance, that the presidential system is extremely expensive. We have many in the Houses of Assembly earning so much, with so many aides, assistants, and assistants to assistants. That obviously does not allow the overhead cost to leave enough money for infrastructure development. To that extent, I think there is a problem.
Then come to think that whoever is president has so much power – power to be able to do anything that he likes with the resources of the nation almost without being accountable to anybody unless when it comes to election. That form of government that gives too much power to the individual at the top is not helpful.
I will say, for instance, that it will be helpful if we are to operate a system of government similar to the UK (United Kingdom), the parliamentary system of government.
Of course, they belong to parties, but the MP’s (members of parliament) occupy positions on their own merit, and the prime minister is accountable to the House of Parliament because he has to give account to the parliament every week.
I think we need that system of government. The parliamentary system of government will make it possible to give account of what we are doing a lot better. That aside, we are also talking about a country where the president has almost absolute control over all the resources of the country. That puts too much power in the hands of one man. If he likes, he can step into any state and have so much influence on what goes on there.
Whereas, if those states have some measure of autonomy, in the sense that they don’t depend on Abuja in order to have the resources that they need to run their government, wouldn’t it be a lot better?
We are supposed to be a federation, but we are not operating as a federation. The very thing that makes it difficult for the country to work, that model, is yet to be addressed.
The Catholic Church maintains a rigid stance on abortion and contraception, what do you foresee as the church’s position in future?
Let me say it this way: the church has a principled stand on contraception and abortion. I will be reluctant to describe it as a rigid stand. It is a principled stand because it is based on a number of principles. Life is precious from the womb and must be treated as such. That is the principle involved in the discussion concerning contraception and abortion.
It is also not correct to say that the church does not want anything that is contrary to conception. The church believes anything that stops conception when the process of conception has started is not right. That is why we talk about natural family planning as against the other kinds of family planning.
The church has just chosen a position that says “don’t give birth to children in an irresponsible manner.” Working on the principle that one should not stop the process of conception, there are ways of controlling birth other than through artificial means.
We believe in family planning from a natural point of view, based on the observation of human body that is engaged in the process of conception only when the body, by itself, does not admit conception. The church believes that artificial method of birth control is not acceptable. The natural family planning requires a measure of discipline and a decision to follow it.
In this perilous time, what is the best way for Christians to hold on to their faith?
The world in which we live has become a global village for which reason the trend of thoughts, the attitude to life, the approach to things are being influenced by the secularism that is present in our world today. This influences not only Christians but also other people who have faith in God.
Secularism is affecting them in different ways. I believe anybody who believes in God and in principles that are not derived from secularism must look at what God says about how to live. If Christians were to follow the dictates of the Scriptures, if Christians were to follow the teaching of the church, and follow it exclusively, I am sure by the grace of God, they will be able to live their lives in a better way acceptable to Christ and the Church.
Let us all go back to the pristine state of our religion, of our faith, and operate on the basis of “God is in charge of my life,” “God has to direct my activities” and “I need to follow the Scriptures.” I believe other things will fall into line.
