“HAND HIM OVER TO SATAN…†(1 CORINTHIANS 5:5): REFLECTING ON THE PAULINE COMMAND AND ITS APPLICABILITY TO THE SCOURGE OF INCEST IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Incest is the sexual union or intimacy between people of close sanguinity. In some societies, sexual union between people of the same lineage or the same village is considered as incest and treated as taboo. The causes are many, ranging from psychological, social, and economic causes. The sanctions are also varied, depending on the religious or cultural rites guarding the particular place in which it occurred. It could lead to banishment of the offenders from the community. Paul handles this issue in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Corinthians. In recent times, cases of incest in many Nigerian societies have been on the increase. The paper looks at the Pauline solution for such an offense in the city of Corinth and considers its applicability to the scourge of incest in Nigeria. The major focus is to understand what Paul means by handing the man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh and the salvation of the spirit (1 Cor. 5:5).