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
[2] Mbiti ,J. "The Biblical Basis
for Present Trends in African Theology", in Af ican Theology En Route , p. 83
[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).
[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).
[14] Bujo,B., African Theology in
its Social Context, trans. J. O’Donohue (Nairobi:Paulines Pub. 1992),p.66.
[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.
[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
[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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