ABSTRACT

Christianity is expressed in different forms and configurations. In the Nigerian context and for analytic purposes, we group the different configurations into two broad categories – the traditional expressions of Christianity and the Pentecostal-Charismatic type, especially the Prosperity Gospel. These faces refer to what are pejoratively named ‘powerless Christianity’ and ‘cross-less Christianity’ respectively. Both expressions of Christianity draw from the Bible. But with different, and sometimes opposing, emphases. This is an attempt to make sense of this phenomenon of drawing from one source (the Bible) with divergent conclusions. We do this by highlighting the importance of foregrounding in every hermeneutical engagement and the remarkable differences in vision this can introduce, as shown by the Gestalt theory of perception. We hang our discussion on the assertion in Deuteronomy 21:23, “cursed is he who hangs on a tree” as on a peg.