1. The gods of Umuofia and the Christian God are both known through stories, but are never fully understood
2. Both gods had spirit forms and took the form of humans
I would first like to discuss point number one. Umuofia and other clans in Africa believed in gods that derived from mythical stories or stories from nature. Each member of the clan new the answer to their gods' wills came from the Oracle. The men and women would constantly check with the Oracle to discover their fate and which path they should take that would lead them to their fate. Of course, if something went wrong and their fate did not turn out as it was prophesied, the tribesmen would blame it on the man's or woman's chi (personal god). The Christian God is also represented by story. Christian's rely on the Bible to reveal the truth. In a way the Bible is the Christian's Oracle. It is through faith that the Christian accepts what the Bible states. But there is an important difference between the Umuofia gods and the Christian God. The Christian God is the only God who is not shaken by man or woman's mistakes like the Umuofia gods are. Second, the Christian God rejects the idea of men having a personal god. In this way, the Christian God proves that he is the ultimate One. The only God who does not need help from creation to express the Word he speaks.
The second bullet point listed discusses each of the gods and God descending from the transcendent to fellowship with humans. However, when the gods of Umuofia came down to associate with humans it was usually for punishment or to discuss destruction. When God sent his Son to earth, he sent him with a message of love and redemption. God is feared for his greatness and love not for his fearful destruction. He desires a relationship, a unity, and a love from his creatures, whereas the Umuofia gods sought after power. Another difference between Umuofia gods and the Christian God is that the gods chose many different humans to possess. God made an entirely new individual to represent his sovereignty. He did not place fate in the hands of an imperfect human that could be manipulated to change his or her will.
Universally, all gods that have been made and the Christian God that has been are discussed through stories. The two may possess similar traits with one another, but it must be noted that the Christian God does not fold to the will of the humans nor does He require humans to enact his will. Umuofia gods must yield to human fallacy. When the missionaries came to preach the Word of God they tried to make this point. But it is difficult to break bonds of tradition without first educating and proving their gods invalid.
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