SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Religion And Human Relations

CONTRIBUTORS:

Umeokoli, P.O;
Obielosi, D. C;

ABSTRACT:

This work is an exegetical study of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as contained in Luke 16: 19-31. It explores the possible ways in which the parable will help offer moral solutions to the poverty issue in Nigeria and how the rich, the Church and the government could play very significant roles on the above issue. This study adopted Karl Marx’s Theory of social class in the analysis of the research. The usefulness of this theory to this study is that it adopts Marx’s analysis of class divisions and struggles. Marx classification of: 1. Work and labour 2. Ownership or possessions of property and means of production can best be applied to analyse the social inequality that exists between the rich and the poor particularly in the context of Nigerian society. The researcher adopted anexegetical approach in analysing the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to contemporary Nigerian society.The researcher adopted a hermeneutical approach in analyzing the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to contemporary Nigerian society. Data collected through primary and secondary methods were analyzed to reach logical conclusions. The principal findings of the study reveal that there is a strong social inequality between the rich and the poor in Nigeria. The scope of this workis limited to socio-economic situation in Nigeria with particular emphasis to the Eastern Geo-political area of Nigeria normally known as Igboland. The study recommends the following solutions to reducing poverty in Nigeria: the giving principle, whereby the rich would be generous to the poor, skill acquisition programmes for self-reliance, creating employment opportunities and provision of interest-free loans to enable the less privileged ones stand on their feet financially.