Christianity and Urhobo-African traditional kingships, chieftaincy institutions and title-taking

From the beginning of the biblical story and later, with the emergence of Christianity, the Judeo-Christian tradition has often had an antagonistic relationship with non-Judeo-Christian traditions. Culture with institutions associated with it, such as traditional kingship, chieftaincy, and title-taking, has often been portrayed negatively. Traditional governance institutions were to be shunned and condemned. The people of Israel saw themselves as being commanded by God to destroy the so-called “pagan” cultures and their kings, and all associated with their places of worship. Some Christians narrowly saw the Pauline admonition: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, but come out of them” as a call to shun traditional institutions and their rituals. This paper undertakes a critical, analytic, and hermeneutic examination of this issue, arguing that the relationship between Christian and traditional institutions, such as kingship, chieftaincy, and titles, should not be one of antagonism or ambivalence; rather, it can be one that mutually enriches both parties. The paper argues that it is right and appropriate for Christians to participate in traditional institutions of governance such as kingship, chieftaincy, taking of titles; when it is done without the Christians performing rituals to give worship and adoration to deities and or other beings, outside the supreme being. This paper shows that even in the Bible and in Church history, Christians have been involved in traditional governance and even been designated with “pagan” names. The paper concludes that Christians in Urhoboland and other parts of Africa getting involved in traditional kingship, chieftaincy, and title-taking is not wrong.