Seventh-day Adventist missions in the western region of Nigeria are a century old, yet reversion to pre-Christian practices such as divination and sorcery are reported, especially during periods of personal crises. This study sought to understand the influence of the traditional worldview on the practices of divination and sorcery and to develop a model that would move the Yoruba Adventists from dependence on these practices to a biblically shaped faith and praxis. A grounded theory approach was adopted for conducting this qualitative research. Data were collected from two focus group discussions and from face-to-face interviews with five pastors, five diviners, and three members who had once consulted diviners. Concepts that emerged from the analyzed data revealed the need for a theory of worldview transformation. This theory entailed having better biblical explanations to counter existing worldview assumptions, the exigency of encountering the power of the gospel in a power-oriented context, and the importance of experiential relationships with Christ to replace the role of diviners in that context. The study culminated in a worldview transformation model that would lead Yoruba Adventists away from dependence upon pre-Christian customs to a biblically shaped worldview, and authentic faith and discipleship. Central to this worldview transformational paradigm is the Adventist doctrine of the Great Controversy.
","abstract_html":"<p>Seventh-day Adventist missions in the western region of Nigeria are a century old, yet reversion to pre-Christian practices such as divination and sorcery are reported, especially during periods of personal crises. This study sought to understand the influence of the traditional worldview on the practices of divination and sorcery and to develop a model that would move the Yoruba Adventists from dependence on these practices to a biblically shaped faith and praxis. A grounded theory approach was adopted for conducting this qualitative research. Data were collected from two focus group discussions and from face-to-face interviews with five pastors, five diviners, and three members who had once consulted diviners. Concepts that emerged from the analyzed data revealed the need for a theory of worldview transformation. This theory entailed having better biblical explanations to counter existing worldview assumptions, the exigency of encountering the power of the gospel in a power-oriented context, and the importance of experiential relationships with Christ to replace the role of diviners in that context. The study culminated in a worldview transformation model that would lead Yoruba Adventists away from dependence upon pre-Christian customs to a biblically shaped worldview, and authentic faith and discipleship. Central to this worldview transformational paradigm is the Adventist doctrine of the Great Controversy.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Onongha, Kelvin Okey"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Religion, Mission and Ministry PhD","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Bruce L. Bauer","Gorden R. Doss","Wagner Kuhn"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:52:41Z","subjects":["Seventh-day Adventists--Nigeria","Western.","African Languages and Societies","History of Religions of Western Origin","Missions and World Christianity"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/119","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Bruce L. Bauer","Gorden R. Doss","Wagner Kuhn"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Onongha, Kelvin Okey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Religion, Mission and Ministry PhD"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Seventh-day Adventists--Nigeria","Western.","African Languages and Societies","History of Religions of Western Origin","Missions and World Christianity"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/119"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Seventh-day Adventist missions in the western region of Nigeria are a century old, yet reversion to pre-Christian practices such as divination and sorcery are reported, especially during periods of personal crises. This study sought to understand the influence of the traditional worldview on the practices of divination and sorcery and to develop a model that would move the Yoruba Adventists from dependence on these practices to a biblically shaped faith and praxis. A grounded theory approach was adopted for conducting this qualitative research. Data were collected from two focus group discussions and from face-to-face interviews with five pastors, five diviners, and three members who had once consulted diviners. Concepts that emerged from the analyzed data revealed the need for a theory of worldview transformation. This theory entailed having better biblical explanations to counter existing worldview assumptions, the exigency of encountering the power of the gospel in a power-oriented context, and the importance of experiential relationships with Christ to replace the role of diviners in that context. The study culminated in a worldview transformation model that would lead Yoruba Adventists away from dependence upon pre-Christian customs to a biblically shaped worldview, and authentic faith and discipleship. Central to this worldview transformational paradigm is the Adventist doctrine of the Great Controversy.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Towards a Missiological Model for Worldview Transformation among Adherents to African Traditional Religion in Yorubaland"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Bruce L. Bauer","Gorden R. Doss","Wagner Kuhn"],"dc:creator":["Onongha, Kelvin Okey"],"dc:description.abstract":["Seventh-day Adventist missions in the western region of Nigeria are a century old, yet reversion to pre-Christian practices such as divination and sorcery are reported, especially during periods of personal crises. This study sought to understand the influence of the traditional worldview on the practices of divination and sorcery and to develop a model that would move the Yoruba Adventists from dependence on these practices to a biblically shaped faith and praxis. A grounded theory approach was adopted for conducting this qualitative research. Data were collected from two focus group discussions and from face-to-face interviews with five pastors, five diviners, and three members who had once consulted diviners. Concepts that emerged from the analyzed data revealed the need for a theory of worldview transformation. This theory entailed having better biblical explanations to counter existing worldview assumptions, the exigency of encountering the power of the gospel in a power-oriented context, and the importance of experiential relationships with Christ to replace the role of diviners in that context. The study culminated in a worldview transformation model that would lead Yoruba Adventists away from dependence upon pre-Christian customs to a biblically shaped worldview, and authentic faith and discipleship. Central to this worldview transformational paradigm is the Adventist doctrine of the Great Controversy.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/119"],"dc:subject":["Seventh-day Adventists--Nigeria","Western.","African Languages and Societies","History of Religions of Western Origin","Missions and World Christianity"],"dc:title":["Towards a Missiological Model for Worldview Transformation among Adherents to African Traditional Religion in Yorubaland"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Religion, Mission and Ministry PhD"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:52:41Z"}