Nigerian Pentecostal Megachurches and Development: A Diaconal Analysis of the Redeemed Christian Church of God

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

I commend the authors' efforts, recommend a revision, and offer my suggestions to help the author improve the work. 

 

GENERAL COMMENTS:

 

Since this issue is not highly original because there are numerous works on the subject. So, it is necessary to make state-of-art, dialoguing with the works already published on the theme (e.g., see further down). It is not an empirical study; therefore, a more extensive engagement with a wide range of peer-reviewed works on the topic is warranted. In addition, it is pertinent to explain the article's main contribution (what is news on it) to understand the subject in question better.

 

The profound theological analysis is missing. Specifically, you have not yet offered a more in-depth theological explanation in some parts of the manuscript. Similarly, the Bible texts quoted in the manuscript are either not explained in depth or are used arbitrarily. 

 

SPECIFIC COMMENTS:

Please see the attached file for details about specific comments to help you improve your paper.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

 I have responded to the comments of the Reviewer in its entirety.

Specific Comments.

The central contributions of the article has been clarified and well reinforced in the entire article with broader implications elucidated in the article . see pages 4 and 5. The central argument of the article  has been strengthened and streamlined 

2. Missing pieces of Literature

I have integrated suggested literatures into the existing knowledge layer into the article to strenghten its analysis.  Some parts of the the Manuscript on Gospel prosperity  have been reviewed and it is now consistent with other literatures.  Articles consulted are reflected in the in text citation and the references at the end of the article see pg 15 This also address the issue of theological polemics of Jesus addressing the issue of marginality and exclusivity in relation to the theological motifs. 

3. I have reviewed the sentence structure and long sentences are no longer in the manuscript.

 

4. I have ensured that all in appropriate citations are reworked in various sections of the article and web source are now well cited in the article.

 

5. I have revised the conclusion of the article see pages 19-20 

Reviewer 2 Report

This is truly a superb study and analysis. Not enough research has been conducted on the role of the Pentecostal churches in "development" (social and economic). I think this paper is a major contribution and is very sophisticated. However, do remove the word "laziness" (line 431). It's not useful and detracts from the otherwise respectful tone of the paper towards foreign culture. I think that the definition of "development" could be more carefully examined in the introductory paragraphs of the paper, but otherwise it's excellent.

Author Response

I have remove the word laziness as indicated by the Reviewer in line 431 in the article.

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I am glad you found my suggestions helpful in revising your paper. Based on your revision on page 6 and elsewhere, I believe the manuscript has improved sufficiently to warrant publication in Religions, following the minor corrections I listed below. 

On page 6 of your revised manuscript (pasted below),

(1) A very long sentence must be divided into two or more sentences.

(2) Not all the in-text references you cited in your paper appear on your reference list; e.g., "Lazarus (2019)" in red is cited in-text but is missing from the reference list.

(3) Thorough proofreading of the manuscript is required to improve readibility and clarity (see a few text corrections I made and highlighted in yellow).

 

"Although Nigerian Pentecostal megachurch leaders have their idiosyncrasies with respect to the prosperity gospel which have been critiqued due to perceived exegetical and commoditisation of various facets of the life of the church which has transformed the social and economic status of most leaders of the movement  [THE ABOVE IS A VERY LONG SENTENCE] (Abimbola 2021:110-112, Oba-284 dare 2016; 2; Ukah 2013:145, Yong 2012:16), Moreover, the prosperity gospel is “ a complex liaison of speech acts surrounding faith, wealth, health and victory, combined with ritual practices around secondary evidences of divine blessings” (Heuser 2016:2). Nevertheless, 287 there seems to be resonance of African Traditional Spiritual System (ATSS) in prosperity 288 gospel framework as “wealth is strongly associated with mystical and spiritual powers. Consistent with the indigenous epistemologies of prosperity, people who are wealthy were and are presently thought to have special blessings from the invisible world”(Lazarus 2019: 9), Moreover, Lazarus's assertion on the nexus between ATSS and prosperity gospel framework is affirmed by previous scholarship (Peavy 2016: 95–127; Falola 1995: 162–293 87). Despite the criticism of many Nigerian Pentecostal megachurches’ prosperity gospel, these churches are socially responsive to their communities' socio-economic, educational, health, and diverse needs. 

 

Author Response

Thank you the continued commitment to scholarship.

I have reviewed  the work extensively based on your comments. I have eliminated long and clumsy sentences. 

The reference section is updated with inclusion of all text cited in the body of the article including new ones. 

I made several changes in terms of  proof reading to enhance the article.

Thanks.

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf