ABSTRACT
This study is an examination of the
language of Christian religion with particular reference to the Roman Catholic
Church and Pentecostal denominations. Chapter one embodies the introduction to
the study, the objective of the work, its scope and delimitation, a brief
origin of Christian religion, and that of the two denominations. Chapter two is
a brief review of the related literature. Chapter three brings out the features
of the language of Christian religion; the lexical, grammatical, metaphorical,
typographical and graphological features. Chapter four is a further analysis of
the sermons, rituals, liturgies and sacred text of the two denominations. The
final chapter includes a comparative summary analysis of the two denominations,
a brief conclusion of the work and recommendation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
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i
Approval Page
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ii
Dedication
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iii
Acknowledgment
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v
Abstract
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vi
Table of
Contents --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
vii
Definition of
Terms-------------------------------------------------------------------------------viii
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction
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1
1.1 Background
of the Study --------------------------------------------------------------------
3
1.2 Statement of
Research Problem ------------------------------------------------------------ 7
1.3 Aim and Objective
of the Study ------------------------------------------------------------7
1.4 Significance
of the Study---------------------------------------------------------------------7
1.5 Scope and
Delimitation -----------------------------------------------------------------------8
1.6 Research Methodology
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CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Review of
Related Literature----------------------------------------------------------------10
2.1 Sources of
Literature
--------------------------------------------------------------------------10
2.2 Review of
the of Language of Christian Religion----------------------------------------14
CHAPTER THREE
3.0 Features of Language of
Christian Religion -----------------------------------------------17
3.1 Grammar of the Langue of
Christian Religion---------------------------------------------18
3.2 Lexis of the language of
Christian Religion -----------------------------------------------20
3.3 Metaphorical Language of
Christian Religion---------------------------------------------22
3.4 Typographical Features of
Language of Christian Religion-----------------------------23
3.5 Graphlogical Features of
Language of Christian Religion--------------------------------24
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Liturgies of the language
of Roman Catholic Church -----------------------------------25
4.2 Sermon of the Roman Catholic
Church ----------------------------------------------------27
4.3 The Sacred Test of Roman
Catholic Church ----------------------------------------------31
4.4 The Sermon of Pentecostal
Denominations -----------------------------------------------35
4.5 Sacred Text of Pentecostal
Denominations ------------------------------------------------37
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Comparative
Summary------------------------------------------------------------------------40
5.2 Conclusion
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5.3 Recommendation
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Works
Cited --------------------------------------------------------------------------------43
Appendices
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DEFINITION
OF TERMS
SERMON:
It is a moral statement whose aim is to dictate a certain kind of behaviors
through series of examples.
LITURGIES: It can be invocations, petitions and they can
be written to be read or sung.
THEOLOGICAL
TEST: It is a
discursive document with a moral purpose written by a biblical scholar,
theologians or clergy
RITUALS:
It is a specific ceremony to mark baptisms and funerals.
OMNIPOTENT:
Having total power, able to do something.
SUPERNATURAL: Events forces or powers
that cannot be explained by he laws of science and seem to involve gods or
magic.
BENEDICTIONS: A blessing pronounced at the end of church
service.
CARNALITY:
A state of being unspiritual.
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The major
objective of language is communication but the manner in which language
communicates appears to be interlinked with individual experiences in terms of
linguistic attitude, cultural influences and personal perception. Register is a
term that is used to describe variations in language according to use. For
instance, Thorne says that lawyers use a legal register, doctors a medical
register and the priests a religious register ( 95).
The language of Christian religion
will be examined by analysing the spoken and written forms of the language of
Roman Catholic Church and the selected Pentecostal denominations. Christian
religion is the most widely distributed of the world religions. In the 1990s
its total membership exceeded up to 1.9 billion people (Probert Microsoft
Encarta).There are other systems of beliefs and values such as Platonism,
Marxism, Freudianism or Democracy. Christianity is in many ways comprehensible
only to those who share its benefits and strive to live by its values.
Wilken points out that Jerusalem is the center
of Christian religion, at least until its destruction by the Roman armies in
A.D 70. From it Christianity radiated to other cities and towns in Palestine and beyond. At
first, its approval was large although it was not completely confined to the
adherents of Judaism to which it was presented as new but not a brand new
religion (820).
Leith
states that in its very beginning, Christian religion manifested a dual
relation to the Jewish faith, a relation of continuity and yet of fulfillment
of antithesis and of affirmation. The forced conversion of the Jews in the
Middles ages and the history of anti-Semites
condemnations of both by church leaders are the evidence that the
antithesis could easily overshadow affirmation. The fateful loss of continuity
with Judaism has however never been total (450).
Above all, the presence of so many
elements of Judaism in the Christian Bible has acted to remind Christians that
He who they worshiped as their Lord was Himself a Jew and that the New
Testament does not stand on its own but it is appended to the Old Testament. An
important source of the alienation of Christianity from its Jewish root was the change in membership.
And at the same point ,Christians with
Gentile backgrounds began to outnumber the Jewish Christians. Clearly, the work
of Apostle Paul was influential. Born a Jew, he was deeply involved in the
destiny of Judaism, but as a result of his conversion, he believed that he was
a “chosen instrument” to bring the message of Christ to Gentiles. He was the
one who formulated his epistle to several early Christian congregations and many
of his ideas constitute the core of Christian religion (453).
Manners says that the Christian religion
is easier to describe historically than define logically. Such a description
does yield some insights into continuing practices and essential
characteristics of the Christian religion. One of such element is the
centrality of the person of Jesus Christ. This is in one way or another, a
feature of all historical varieties of the Christian belief and practice. Jesus
Christ died so that his followers might share in the life of the Father in
heaven and become the children of
God. His cruxfiction, death and
resurrection, to which the early Christians referred when they spoke about him
as the one who had reconciled humanity to God, made the cross the chief focus
of Christian faith and devotion .It is also the principal symbol of the saving
love of God the father (520).
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
The Greek
word Ka0aЛukoc (katholikos) from which catholic is derived means “universal”.
It was first used to describe the Christian church in the early second century.
Since the East-West schism of 1054, Norman
states that the western church has generally been known as ‘Catholic’ and the
Eastern Church as ‘Orthodox’. Following the reformation in the 16th
century, the church in communion with the Bishop of Rome used the term Catholic
to distinguish itself from the various Protestant churches (15).
According to Phayer, Roman
Catholic Church is the world’s largest
Christian church with more than a billion members. Its leader is the Pope who
holds a supreme authority in concert with the collage of Bishops. The church
defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the
sacraments and exercising charity. It operates social programme and
institutions throughout the world including schools, universities, hospitals,
missions and shelters (930).
Having played a prominent role since
the forth century, it teaches that it is “one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church’ founded by Jesus Christ. Its
Bishops are consecrated successors of his Apostles and the Pope, as the
successor of Saint Peter, possesses a universal primacy of jurisdiction through
twenty-one ecumenical councils. The church maintains that it is guided by the
Holy Spirit from falling into doctrinal error. The belief of the Roman Catholic
is based on the Holy Bible and Sacred traditions interpreted by the church’s
teachings and they are detailed in the catechism of the Catholic Church.
Catholic worship is called the liturgy,
the central component is the Eucharist (938).