By
Omolara Abosede Areo PhD
FRANCIS ABEL ALAKIRI: faalakiri@gmail.com ,+2348035069101
PhD Student, Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso
The Bible remains the sole instrument for the measurement of faith and practices for the church. The foundation of the church is therefore, based on the authority of the bible. This was what the reformation was based on, the sole authority of the bible sola scriptura meaning scripture alone. One of the churches which emerged from the mainline church is the African indigenous church. This church grew out of prayer assembles finding solution to the epidemic that was ravaging the entire world. However, there are some practices in some of these churches that are outside New Testament teachings such as spiritual bathing, burning of candles, building churches near river side. Therefore, this study examines the significance of emphasis on sole authority by the 16th-century reformers and draw lessons for African Indigenous churches. The study revealed that among others, the emphasis of prayers at the expense of scriptural teachings and hyper-spirituality are noticeable in African Indigenous churches. Also, the administrative structure is also deficient because little interest was placed on education.
Word Count: 170
Key words: Sole Authority, African Indigenous Churches, Reformation Era
Introduction
The 16th-century reformation was a positive response to the decay of the church which before then was led by traditions and practices which were not biblically based. The sale of indulgences was one of them. In an attempt to check the excesses, the bible was used as the bases to accept or reject any practice. One of the high points of the reformation was the “sola scriptura” the Latin word meaning scripture alone. In contemporary times especially among the African Indigenous churches, there are still some strange practices like, “bathing people in rivers, moving naked at crossroads at certain hours of the night, anointing of pubic regions of women in the name of deliverance which are alien to Scriptures. This paper therefore contends that the Scriptures should be the standard for all extra biblical practices among the AICs. The paper is divided into the following parts; introduction, history of reformation, biblical principles during the reformation an overview of AICs, and a lesson for them.
