dimanche 20 décembre 2015

TASKS OF A THEOLOGIAN IN AFRICA TODAY


Abstract
     African Christian theology has many tasks today. This is evident both from a reading of the history of African christian theology and from the wide variety of current understandings of its nature and task.  Some theologians today contend that the task of African theologian is to provide a clear and comprehensive description of the African Christian faith. Other theologians emphasize the importance of translating faith into terms that intelligible to the African cultures.  For others, African christian theology must be defined as thinking about important issues from the perspective of the faith of African Christians. And still others insist that theology must be reflexion on the praxis of Christian faith within an oppressed community.
     Therefore this paper seeks to provide briefly some definitions, different approaches to contextualization as a process of theologization, the history of Christianity in Africa. We will proceed to explore the need for an African theology, its models and how it is taught to African Christians; the problems confronting African Christians today throuh different cultural values. We will conclude with the general guidelines on formulating the tasks of African Christian theologians.

Introduction

     The last decades have seen a flood of materials on African Christian theology. It has generally been assumed that there are three major theological currents that have emerged in Africa in the last two decades: inculturation theology, liberation theology and black theology. But the theological and ecclesiastical landscape has changed in the last decades. The existence and nature of so-called “African theology” in Africa is no longer clear. Instead, the theology of the mainline churches in Africa has moved beyond its missionary origins.
     It seems urgent for African Christians to `own' their theological reflection, rather than borrow it from others. This means taking seriously their African heritage. This requires the theological quest in the broader context of political, educational, literary, and religious factors in Africa. But, it is however not easy to determine exactly what African Theology is. In the response to the question on this subject, we would like to understand the various possible ways of definitions attributed to the “African theology”.
    
Perceptions of  “African theology”

     What is African theology? African theology refers to a particular school of African theologians who have attempted to articulate Christian theology from the perspective of the African cultural context. Although there are very old Christian traditions on the continent, in the last centuries Christianity in Africa has been determined to a large extent by western forms of Christianity, brought by colonization and mission. This also means that the theology in Africa was strongly influenced by Western theology. But, later, in the field of academic reflection, African Christian theology emerged in the 1950s: it acknowledged the need to incarnate the Gospel, using the best insights of African cultural values compatible with the gospel.  In this perspective, some African theologians try to define “African theology” .  During ACC meeting in Abidjan, some African theologians claimed that: "By African Theology we mean a theology which is based on the Biblical faith and speaks to the African 'soul' (or is relevant to Africa). It is expressed in categories of thought which arise out of the philosophy of the African people.[1]"  John Mbiti wrote this : “"I will use the term 'African Theology' without apology or embarrassment, to mean theological reflection and expression by African Christians[2]". For Muzorewa, after looking at these definitions, concludes: "All these definitions attempt to respond to a mandate to construct a biblically-based and relevant theology that speaks to the spiritual needs of the African people. The implication is obvious. Imported theologies did not touch the hearts of the African believers because they were couched in a religious language foreign to them: hence the quest for a relevant African theology. Furthermore, the cultural factor means that it is best that only African theologians undertake the task.[3]
     This changed mid-20th century when African Theology as a theological discipline came into being. This movement began to protest against negative colonial and missionary interpretations of the religion and culture in Africa. Realizing that theology is a contextual phenomenon, African Christians begun to read the Scriptures using their own cultural lens, which of course resulted in some interpretations that did not always agree with how Western theology interpreted things. African theology is engaged to shape Christianity in an African way by adapting and using African concepts and ideas. Representatives are scholars such as Idowu and Mbiti, who gave an analysis and interpretation of the African traditional religion and point to its relation to the Christian faith.
     The evidence shows that there are currently at least four basic types of African Christian theology today: inculturation theology, liberation theology, Reconstruction African theology and prosperity theology. On the other hand, the Churches of God in Africa have grown significantly in number. The pastoral zeal of their leaders and the piety and activism of their members have prompted them to react in a faith-inspired way to the profound social and political changes which characterize modern post-colonial Africa. 
It is within the framework of this general orientation that in African Christian theology, attempts are made to reconceptualise the Christian faith adequately in response to the demands of specifically African contexts and experiences. In order to arrive at such a contextual conceptualisation, African theology has had to develop its own specifically African criteria for theological constructs. Such criteria emerge (often implicitly) from the ways in which African theologians argue for the inadequacy of traditional Western theology, and from the innovative proposals which they themselves put forward as alternatives. The African Christians try to "own" their theological reflection. rather than to borrow it from others. This means taking seriously their African heritage. It examines the theological quest in the broader context of political. educational, literary, and religious matters. According to Mbiti, the chief yardstick for determining the validity of any Christian theology purporting to be African was its 'Biblical basis'. For him, "nothing can substitute for the Bible" As with African Traditional Religions and other aspects of African culture, the Bible has enjoyed a respected status and place in African theology. "Any viable theology must and should have a biblical basis", declared Mbiti, more than a decade ago. Similarly, Fashole Luke declared that "the Bible is the basic and primary source for the development of African Christian Theology". To underscore the significance of the Bible in the construction of African theology, Mbiti also says: “Nothing can substitute for the Bible. However much African cultural-religious background may be close to the biblical world, we have to guard against references like "the hitherto unwritten African Old Testament" or sentiments that see final revelation of God in the African religious heritage”.

Four basic types of African Christian theology

Inculturation Theology

. The first and the oldest of these is African inculturation theology, simply referred to as African theology. Briefly stated, this theology is an attempt to give African expression to the Christian faith within a theological framework. It involves a conscious engagement of European Christian thinking and African religious thought in serious dialogue for the purpose of integrating Christianity into the life and culture of African people. 
     Furthermore, inculturation theology is a form of contextualization. The context into which the Gospel is placed in this case is usually the traditional African culture. The non-formal inculturation of the Gospel in the African context is as old as the African church. The preaching and praying and singing of African Christians throughout the history of the African church are forms of the inculturation of the Gospel. Often these forms of inculturation are in the local African language. That is why, Anglican priest John Samuel Mbiti rightly states that “aided by the biblical revelation and faith in Jesus Christ,” Africans built their approach to Christianity on a foundation that already existed in traditional African religions. However, African cultures that have adopted Christianity view religious practice and salvation quite differently from European cultures. Mbiti holds that a respectful understanding of the differences can help to ensure the viability of the Christian church in Africa.
 But the formal inculturation of the Gospel into the African context began in the middle of the twentieth century. “The real starting-point of African theology came from a European Franciscan missionary in the Belgian Congo, Placide Tempels[4].” In 1945 his Bantu Philosophy was published in French. But “the first African who can be called an African theologian was Vincent Mulago, a Catholic priest from the then Belgian Congo[5].” The year 1956 saw the publication of his Ph.D. thesis in French on the “Bantu Vital Union.” In the same year Alexis Kagame published his “The Bantu-Rwandan Philosophy” in French. That year also saw the publication of a collection of articles under the title Des Prêtres Noirs s’interrogent, or “Black Priests Ask.” Formal African inculturation theology began in Francophone Africa. But Anglophone Africa soon followed suit. The 1960s saw a flood of materials on African Christian theology, both in the French and English languages (European languages!) and both by Roman Catholics and Protestants. In 1969 the All-Africa Conference of Churches in Abidjan said that “African Theology is ‘a theology based on the Biblical faith of Africans, and which speaks to the African language.
     The inculturation of the Gospel was done to make the Gospel relevant to the African situation. In 1983, Osadolor Imasogie wrote, “Christianity, for many Africans, remains a foreign religion. . . . It is only when incarnation takes place that Christianity ceases to be a foreign religion[6].” Even Byang Kato said, “Contextualize without compromise.[7]” But the results of this inculturation exercise have been mixed. At times the result has been pure syncretism or a return to African traditional religion. Gabriel Setiloane said that “we have learnt nothing new about religion from the missionaries. . . . But we Africans are bringing something to Christianity: a view of Divinity much higher, deeper, and all-pervasive.[8]” Bolaji Idowu concluded his book on African Traditional Religion by praising a “faithful remnant whose loyalty to the religion of their forbears will continue steadfast.[9]
     Unfortunately, the African culture is changing rapidly. The African culture is becoming more urbanized and westernized. Many of our young people are far removed from the traditional African religion. It seems that inculturation theology is neglecting the pressing social issues in our society.

Liberation theology

The second is African liberation theology, which, though a late starter, having appeared only about a decade ago, is becoming very popular in most parts of Africa. There are three subcurrents in this theology. One is based on the indigenous socioeconomic system, the second takes after the Latin American model, and the third involves a combination of elements from both approaches. They seek genuine human promotion in the context of the poverty and political powerlessness of Africa, and take the form of Christian reflection within the context. Like black theologians, the liberationists believe that the gospel has a liberating message for Africans in their state of poverty, oppression, and exploitation[10].  Though young, these theologies unquestionably excel in terms of output.
     Instead of focusing on the traditional African culture, liberation theology is passionately concerned with rectifying the glaring injustices in our society. Liberation theology began in this continent in South Africa, taking the form of Black Theology. Alan Boesak and Desmond Tutu are two early representatives of South African Black Theology.
     In the 1970s Black Theology came to South Africa. In 1972 Essays on Black Theology was published in Johannesburg but was banned by the government before it reached the bookstores[11]. In the 1970s Desmond Tutu and Allan Boesak were leaders of the Black Theology school of thought. But John Mbiti accuses Black Theology of reductionism. He wrote, “What I view as an excessive preoccupation with liberation may well be the chief limitation of Black Theology. . . . Black Theology cannot and will not become African Theology. . . . Black Theology hardly knows the situation of Christian living in Africa, and therefore its direct relevance for Africa is either nonexistent or only accidental. . . . African Theology is concerned with many more issues, including all the classical theological themes, plus localized topics[12].
     In the subsequent years, liberation theology moved beyond racial issues. Socioeconomic liberation has become a major concern of liberation theology. Allan Boesak even accuses James Cone of reducing liberation theology to the racial issue. Instead, Black Theology should focus on total liberation. “It focuses on the dependency of the oppressed and their liberation from dependency in all its dimensions—psychological, cultural, political, economical, and theological.[13].
     For Bénézet Bujo the main problem is “the mass poverty of Africa.” Although some church leaders have spoken out on behalf of the poor, “it must be said that the church of Africa has been a silent church.[14].  Jean-Marc Éla supports Bujo’s call for economic liberation[15]. There are other forms of liberation theology in Africa. Feminist theology is an example. Mercy Oduyoye, for example, focuses on the unique situation of women in Africa, including their oppression[16].
     Liberation theology is a theological response to the problems of poverty and injustice in our society. Liberation theology is a cry for justice. Liberation theology stands in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets and of Jesus Christ himself. Unfortunately, liberation theology has often been one-sided.
     We conclude that African liberation theology is a contextualization of the Gospel into the context of injustice and poverty within Africa. It is a cry for justice in our unjust world. We must recognize the presence of massive corruption and injustice in many Christian countries and states on this continent. We desperately need justice in Africa. But this should not be done to the neglect of the liberation of the individual from the guilt and effects of sin.

Reconstruction theology

     Reconstruction theology in Africa has been the latest theological project coming out of Africa, beginning in 1990 it has gradually established itself and from 2003 a number of publications have come out on the subject. Since the early 1990s theologians have been looking for new ways to interpret the gospel in Africa, in light of the changing circumstances in the continent. Prominent among the themes that have been suggested is the “Reconstruction Paradigma”. As Dr. Jessy N. K. Mugambi of the University of Nairobi says, this interpretation seeks to elaborate from the scriptures the aspects that portray God and his people re-creating a new world order. Reconstruction Theology then offers the Christian basis for recreating anew the African social economic reality from a scriptural perspective.
      Reconstruction theologians however approach pertinent issues, such as food crisis, child abuse, the AIDS pandemic and poverty in a unique and inspiring way. On the food crisis they use the Biblical basis of passages where God feeds his people in the Old and New Testaments as a proof that God wants people to have enough to feed on. While the Israelites were in the Desert, God gave them enough to eat until there was some left over. The same experience is repeated with Jesus and His disciples, where out of only five loaves and two fish, there was a total of 12 baskets of left over after the disciples had had to their satisfaction. Mugambi suggested that African Christianity should shift her theological gear from the paradigm of liberation to that of reconstruction. He suggested that:

Reconstruction is the new priority for African nations in the 1990s.The churches and their theologians will need to respond to this new priority in relevant fashion, to facilitate this process of reconstruction. The process will require considerable efforts of reconciliation and confidence-building. It will also require reorientationand retraining [17]..

     Thus, Mugambi contended that, in the New World Order,ii the figure of Nehemiah, unlike that of Moses, gives us the mirror through which we are enabled to spot our mission to remake Africa out of the ruins of the wars –“against racism, colonial domination and ideological branding[18]”. He further contended that the shift from liberation to reconstruction which, to him, began in the 1990s, and involves discerning alternative social structures, symbols, rituals, myths and interpretations of Africa’s social reality by Africans themselves, “irrespective of what others have to say about the continent and its people[19]” (Mugambi 1995:40). The resources for this re-interpretation, he argued, “are multi-disciplinary analyses involving social scientists, philosophers, creative writers and artists, biological and physical scientists[20]” (Mugambi 1995:40).
     But, A Kenyan theologian, Joseph Wandera, was critical of Jesse Mugambi’s work. He said:

There is still so much deconstruction to be done before reconstruction can start. There is a saying among the Africans that ‘we should chase away the wild cat before we begin to warn the chicken against wandering carelessly’. Africa still suffers from marginalisation of all kinds, including its theology[21].

     Anyway, these Reconstruction theologians do recognize the need to include findings and expert help from other academic disciplines in solving the numerous African problems. Indeed it is this willingness to dialogue and work with other African experts, that these theologians usher in hope for a theology that can truly work for human development. Important questions relating to how the barriers of language and content of the various disciplines will be broken need to be answered. 

Prosperity Theology 

     Prosperity theology is a major African “Christian” theology that is usually neglected in the academic textbooks. Often Prosperity theology is joined together with African evangelicalism[22]. Since Prosperity theology is so dominant in Africa, it needs to be treated as a separate African Christian theology. It is defined as the teaching that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the “sowing of seeds” through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings.
     The context of this contextualized theology is again the modern African context. The context is the contemporary—and often urban—Africa with its social and economic problems like poverty, unemployment, school fees and barrenness.
     Prosperity theology holds to some of the same presuppositions as African evangelicalism. It believes in the power of prayer and the possibility of miracles. It believes in the power of Jesus to meet the daily needs of individuals. It also believes in the power of Jesus to overcome evil spiritual powers.
     But Prosperity theology differs significantly from African evangelicalism. Prosperity theology assumes that every Christian has a right to be prosperous. Prosperity theology assumes that God will make every Christian prosperous if the believer does the right things.33



Prosperity theology assumes that a faithful Christian will be rich. It assumes that poverty is an indication of lack of faith. But this is not Scripture’s teaching. Despite the general truths of the Sinaitic covenant in Deuteronomy 28, righteous people sometimes suffer. The book of Job makes this clear. Prosperity theology is a form of what Martin Luther calls the theology of glory.
     Theologians of glory focus on one’s own prosperity instead of the prosperity of the other person. But for Luther, the theology of the cross is the theology of the agape love that Jesus taught and exemplified. Sometimes this agape love will result in personal suffering. The theology of the cross offers salvation through justification by faith which manifests itself in a life of agape love to one’s neighbor.34
     Prosperity theology is a syncretistic form of Christianity. It is a deviation from African evangelicalism. Usually it is a non-formal theology. But since it is so prominent in Africa, it should be included as a distinct type of African Christian theology.
     However, it is important to notice that Early missionary theology preached the necessity of faith in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven. But this theology tended to be individualistic and other-worldly. Salvation was for the individual believer in heaven above. Early missionary theology tended to neglect this present world. The kingdom of God for them was the church. Therefore Christians should not get involved in politics since politics was worldly. Christianity was a Sunday religion. Christianity was about conversion of the soul, not the body.
     In contrast to early European and American missionary theology, African evangelicalism is now much more interested in this world. Contemporary African evangelicalism has put the Gospel into the modern context of poverty, suffering, unemployment and disease. African evangelicalism believes that Jesus is the answer to these problems.
     It is thus necessary to believe in Jesus as one’s personal Savior. Faith in Jesus will guarantee eternal life in heaven. But faith in Jesus will also provide solutions to our problems on this earth.
     African evangelicalism believes in miracles today. Early missionary theology believed in miracles in the time of Jesus but was less clear about miracles today. African evangelicalism believes in the power of prayer and the real possibility of miracles in our Christian life today.
Paul Gifford writes: “The popular Christianity we encountered [in Africa] . . . was not concerned with a renewed order or any ‘new Jerusalem’, but with a job, a husband, a child, a car, an education, a visa to the West. It was about succeeding in this realm.” He says that the missionaries taught hardship in this life in exchange for happiness hereafter. But “the missionary legacy has vanished with scarcely a trace, for it is terrestrial rewards that feature so prominently in African Christianity today[23].”
     This theology also believes in the reality of the spirit world. While liberal European theology thought that spirits did not exist, early evangelical missionary theology taught the reality of good and bad spirits in the Bible times. But African evangelicals speak of the reality of good and evil spirits today. African evangelicals teach the power of Jesus to defeat the evil spirits in our present context today. This new evangelical theology is an indigenous form of African Christian theology. Often it is non-formal theology. It is an African contextualized theology distinct from inculturation theology, liberation theology or missionary theology.

Challenges confronting African Church today

     Firstly, it is to be said that the Christian faith has remained largely alien to African believers in spite of the increasing number of Christians in Africa. A relevant African-theology is needed to establish continuity between African traditional life and the new faith. Having been colonized for several decades, many African people have lost their sense of identiíy and human dignity. The task of African theology is to help fulfill their African sense of humanity. This has not been accomplished.
     Secondly, The African continent has a history that is largely tragic, including socio-political, economic, and religious chaos[24]. Bad governance and manipulation of ethnic and religious differences have resulted in misery for the people[25]. Many Christians have fallen for lies and have been misled, leaving the church confused, discouraged, and betrayed. False dogma, endtime spiritual deception, and strange techniques in supernatural engagement are holding the church hostage. For example, the church recently past has suffered a storm of deceptions including the prosperity gospel, corruption, and hatred[26]. Societies around the globe have understood the role of the church as setting an example of Christian social life. The church has been seen as a custodian of moral principle, as a critical norm for biblical spirituality resulting in the reform of society. In Jesus' words, the love for God and neighbor underlies the teaching of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 5:13-14). Because of this, any failure by the church to love is a blow to the church’s commitment to society. In this respect, the weakness of the church has been her lack of love as a benchmark of biblical spirituality. Over and again, this lack of love has manifested itself in the lack of hospitality, selflessness, and compassionate lifestyle. The challenge of the church in Africa is attached to maintaining and practicing the love concept as a biblical spirituality and ethics. The idea of love as the central theme in Christianity seems to be defaced with current issues that weaken Christian experience with the world.
     Thirdly, Conservation, transformation, and renewal of both the spiritual and physical life of the people is key to the reform agenda[27]. Critical evaluation of Africa as a continent “portrays it as sick, starved, bleeding and crippled…economically Africa is living under debt[28].”  Reports indicate that Africa has suffered active conflict and human rights abuse[29]. In short, Africa is a "dark continent." There are diverse problems that need to be tackled by leaders called for the purpose of reconstructing the society. The portrayal of this is evidenced in the reform that should be made by the church in education, health, social, moral, and community life of the African people. An authentic African theology of Christian education will clearly show how the Christian faith can be effectively taught in Africa, using terms familiar to Africans, acknowledging and affirming that which is good in the sight or God in African tradition, while condemning and advocating a change from that which reprehensible in African culture and tradition, in favor of biblical lifestyles.
     Fourthly, the African church is finding itself in the middle of a multi-religious society. Though Christianity is still the majority religion in Africa, the African church will need to find answers regarding its position towards other religions. The church will have to address issues of tolerance towards people of other religions. The church will also need to guard against religious extremes, and position itself against such extremes. More often than not the Africa Traditional Religions are overlooked in the discussion on multi-religious societies. The African church cannot ignore their presence and the effect that they have on the African church. On the other hand, there is a concern that in spite of this phenomenal growth, the Church in Africa faces the challenges of justice, peace, unity, and reconciliation as seen in the numerous conflicts that bedevil the continent.

     Fifthly, inculturation is an urgent priority in the life of particular Churches, for the firm rooting of the Gospel in Africa. It is for Evangelization, a path towards full Evangelization and one of the greatest challenges for the Church on the continent on the eve of the third millennium. Consequently, the family is said to be the smallest Christian Community. The Church places a lot of emphasis on the role of the family in evangelization. However, stable families are dependent on rich cultural values and identity which are handed over from generation to generation. The modern African society faces great challenges in this area from the intrusive nature of modern means of communication (internet, social media, cell phones, satellite TV…) which carry social values that are alien to both African tradition and Christian faith. 
     Sixthly, it is clear in the Bible that “our God is a God of Peace (cf. 1Cor.14:33) and Christ is our Peace which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal.5:22). He is the one source of every genuine peace” “Sent by God and God himself, Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of peace, because he reveals and establishes in human history the fullness of divine life (Col. 2:9). This peace is a constant call of God for the Church and for everyone: "Seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow" (Is. 1:17). "This is what Yahweh asks of you, only this: to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).
     Based on this appeal, the duty of the Church is to promote justice and peace and its involvement in all spheres of human society with the light and leaven of the Gospel..
     Thus the Church in Africa feels specially called to intervene positively in order to help bring about the establishment of the rule of law and democratic processes. With political conflicts endlessly ravaging Africa, hampering social development in the process, the African theologian  have to go beyond academic theology, and then begin to reflect on the faith of the people, and to examine its foundations. . So, what are the tools which today’s African theologians could use, in order to take up these challenges?

Redefining the theological task of African Church today

     The gap between Christian profession and Christian life in Africa can only be bridged by an effective Christian teaching ministry. The formulation of an authentic African theology and teaching the same will ensure that Christian teaching in Africa is done in line with biblical content and biblical examples of teaching. The essence of a theology of teaching would be an expression of what God commands to be taught, whom he commands to do the teaching, how he commands the teaching to be done, and where he commands the teaching to be done. 
     The objectives of the teaching would be the clear understanding of the principles of Christian life in the Bible, conviction of sin and repentance. The goals would be a people fully transformed into Christ-like lifestyles, prepared for life in heaven. This can be done successfully in Africa when theology is contextualized, and the method of communicating theology is familiar and acceptable to Africans. A contextualized theology in Africa, communicated through contextualized teaching in African societies is the essence of an authentic African theology of Christian education. In this perspective, The theologian in current times has three urgent duties:

The first duty of protecting Holy Scriptures involves more than just authentically communicating the Jesus story. While this aspect is at the heart of the theologian's role, it involves many different facets. These differing facets express themselves in :

Ø  The Honest Retelling of the Jesus Story
Ø  Understanding the context in which the Bible texts were written.
Ø  Coming to understand the Historical Jesus and the Jesus of Faith.
Ø  Understanding the primitive church's issues.
Ø   Keeping Alive the Memories of Those Who Came Before Us.
Ø  Reading these stories as dangerous memories that charge and reorient us
Iinterpreting these memories as dangerous (challenging, critical, hopeful)for today's world.

It means that the theologian helps prevent society from falling into the trap of utopic religion. If society is not mindful of its past failings living out its ideals, what will prevent it from failing again? It is the role of religion in society to constantly challenge its members to live better. The very human tendency is, however, to let religion become a justification for static social order that preaches values, but does not challenge people to live them out. Thus the theologian must be a guardian of true religion and not let it become complacent. Both context and subtext of theology presume certain social and economic values: they are political.

The second duty of the theologian is to challenge others to live their faith authentically in their cultural, social and political context.

The third duty of the theologian is to the methodology in which theological reflection takes place. We must recall that all theology is political in the sense that it assumes and promoted a vision of our poltical, economic, and social world, a notion of the fully human life, and the concrete social and economic tools to sustain this.
Too many theologians try to pull a trick of cunning, winning in theory or in advance as if Jesus gets us off the hook of acting the world. They will write about how people ought to live their lives without really living life themselves. This criticism is aimed at those who take the articles of faith and develop them rational within their minds instead of seeing how they should be lived out in the current age.
     A theologian must connect with the suffering of those around him, feel the claim of the suffering of others even in her technical theological discourse. In other words, he must run the race. In this way theologians live up to the exhortation of I Peter 3:15: "Be prepared to give an account of the hope that is in you."

Conclusion

     It is urgent that Africa has to re-build its cultural, economical, social, and political  ruins, from the destroyed infrastructures to broken societies. This task calls for a new form of theological discourse that must be developed by African theologians. Because, today, we notice that African theology, like other theologies, predominantly remains an intellectual exercise. Indeed it seems to have become 'a theology of theologians, by theologians, for theologians', instead of becoming 'a theology of the people, by the people, for the people'.
     Thus, we think that the task of African theologian today is to initiate a new perspective that can  transform the social life, and to initiate a discipleship of equals and the eradication of mass poverty. That can help Christians  to build an open society, which meets the needs of people, and restores their human dignity. It could be called a theology of responsibility.
      An African theology of responsibility  is the fruit of a genuine experience of God in Jesus Christ. It leads to a new life for others, and invites the faithful to assume responsibility for evangelization.
     The African Christian theology of responsibility wants to strengthen the motivation of the poor to share and to care for one another in Small Christian Communities, with the eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ. Their faith in him brings them to do justice. In a continent plagued with mass poverty, bad governance and Afro-pessimism, the Church as the family of God remains the anchor of hope. It ought to give the children of Africa, its women and men, a genuine experience of God.

Dr Jimi ZACKA
Professor of New Testament and religious Anthropology



    




    













[1] AACC, Engagement,  Abidjan 1969, p. 114
[2] Mbiti ,J. "The Biblical Basis for Present Trends in African Theology", in Af ican Theology En Route , p. 83
[3] Muzorewa, Origins, pp. 96-97.
[4] Bujo, B,  African Theology in its Social Context, trans. J. O’Donohue (Nairobi:Paulines Pub. 1992), p. 53.
[5] Ibid
[6]  Imasogie, O., Guidelines for Christian Theology in Africa (Achimota: AfricaChristian Press, 1983), pp. 23-24.
[7] Kato, B., Biblical Christianity in Africa (Achimota: Africa Christian Press, 1985), p. 38.
[8] Setiloane, G., “Where Are We in African Theology?” in African Theology en Route, e. K. Appiah Kubi and S. Torres (Maryknoll:Orbis, 1979), pp. 59-65 (63).
[9]  Idowu,B.,  African Traditional Religion: A Definition (London: SCM Press, 1973), p.208.
[10] The main question is : how to speak about God in a continent where people are oppressed, exploited, deshumanized and are daily saddened.?
[11] Mbiti, J.“An African Views American Black Theology,” in Black Theology: A Documentary History. Vol. 1:
   1966-1979, ed. J. Cone and G. Wilmore (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1993), p 383 (379-80).
[12] Ibid, pp. 381-383.
[13] Boesak. A, Farewell to Innocence (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1977), p. 144.
[14] Bujo,B., African Theology in its Social Context, trans. J. O’Donohue (Nairobi:Paulines Pub. 1992),p.66.
[15] See Éla J.M., My Faith as an African (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1985).
[16]  Oduyoye, M., “Feminist Theology in an African Perspective,” in Paths of African Theology, pp. 166-81.

[17] Mugambi, J N K. The future of the church and the church of the future in Africa, in Chipenda, J B, Karamaga, A, Mugambi, J N K & Omari, C K (eds), The church of Africa: Towards a theology of reconstruction. Nairobi: AACC, 1991.
[18] Mugambi, J N K 2003a. Foreword, in Getui, M N & Obeng, E A (eds), Theology of reconstruction: Exploratory essays. Nairobi: Acton; p.128.
[19] Mugambi, J N K. From liberation to reconstruction: African Christian theology after the Cold War. Nairobi: EAEP, 1995,  p.40.
[20] ibid
[21] Wandera, J The voice magazine: A journal of St Paul’s United Theological College, vol 1. Limuru: Kenya, 2002..
[22] Evangelicalism is a Christian theology that takes Scripture seriously as the Word of God. Christian evangelicalism assumes the full authority and reliability of the Bible. It assumes the divinity of Christ, the satisfaction theory of the atonement, the need for conversion.

[23]Gifford, P., African Christianity: Its Public Role (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998), pp. 339-40.
[24] KHRC, "Human Rights Commission," Kenya Human Rights Commission, consulted May 21, 2013, http://www.khrc.or.ke.
[25] Onaiyekan, J. "More challenges for the church in Africa," at Africa Catholic Peacebuilding Network, consulted May 21, 2013, http://cpn.nd.edu/conflicts-and-the-role-ofthe- church.

[26] WO'Donovan, W., Biblical Christianity in Modern Africa (Carlisle, United Kingdom: Paternoster Press, 2000), 237
[27] Mugambi, J N K, Christian theology and social reconstruction. Nairobi: Acton, 2003,  p.53
[28] Mary N. Getui and Emmanuel A. Obeng, eds., Theology of Reconstruction: Exploratory Essays (Nairobi: Action Publishers, 1999), p. 262.
[29] Zeude,B.,  Society, State and Identity in African History (Addis Ababa: Forum for Social Studies, 2008), pp. 1-2

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