Okonkwo's views toward the Christians and his desire for a violent solution begin to separate him from the rest of his new Mbanta clan — which he thinks is a womanly clan. He feels that simply excluding the Christians from several public places is a weak solution.
Hoping not to come into conflict with one another, the church and the village are delicately maintaining an equilibrium by avoiding each other. When they do encounter each other, violence sometimes erupts, as when the three converts make fun of the old gods. In addition, as more new converts strengthen the church, they in turn weaken the clan, causing increased tension among the non-Christians as well as between the Christians and the non-Christians. When the church violates something sacred in the clan tradition, the precarious balance between church and clan is upset — a balance that is increasingly more difficult to maintain. Yet, even this crisis is resolved without violence.
The increasing strength of the new church is represented by the considerable preparations being made for the Christian Holy Week and Easter.
