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TASKS OF A THEOLOGIAN IN AFRICA TODAY
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.
A Reflection on African Christian Theology
E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies
The African heritage and identity have been intensely religious. Africans carry along their religio-cultural background and tradition wherever they go and in whatever they find themselves doing. Africans embraced Christian theology while having already imbibed and appreciated African theology and identity. Being religious beings, African Christians have sought to appreciate Christian theology through the lens of African theology and heritage. This paper establishes that African Christian theology should go beyond championing African heritage and identity. It should rather be proactive and go a step further to address the challenges and ills of human society in the African setting. This will make it worthy as a source of hope for hopeless Africans in their religious existence. Using secondary data resources from the internet, and published and unpublished literature in the form of books and journal articles, this work discusses African Christian theology and the way forward. It is th...
African Theology in the 21 st Century: Mapping Out Critical Priorities
There is a dialogue taking place in the area of African Theology; " do we call it African Christian theology or African Theology and how it relates to the African culture " ? Depending on where one sits, any name will carry the day as long as it fulfills the academic desire intended. What is important is the dialogue that is taking place between the Bible and the African culture. Here, we shall take the name " African Theology " as the norm. It is evident in almost all ways that from a walk which is based on the mapping of African theology or from the wide variety of current understandings of its nature and task, there are several priorities in African Theology. A number of theologians today argue that the priorities of African theology are many. These include providing a clear and comprehensive dialogue between African culture and the Bible in relation to the African faith. They argue that the Bible has also been translated into local languages in order to enable the African cultures to become intelligible in the way they relate to the scriptures. On the other hand, others have prioritized the definition of African Theology so that they can deal with it from their perspective of African Traditional Religions. Also, others want to prioritize African Theology as a reflection of the praxis of Christian faith within a relatively deprived community. Therefore, this article seeks to briefly provide some priorities in African Theology, such as liberation, reconstruction, and poverty reduction theologies. In this study, we will proceed to explore the need for a definition of African Theology, how it relates to African Christian faith, and the challenges posed by African Theology to the Christian faith. We will conclude with the general guidelines on formulating the priorities of African theology.
There is an ongoing challenge in defining African theology because of two important reasons: (1) the quest for a definitive African theology is a fairly recent pursuit and (2) the vastness and diversity of the African continent. Given this, this article presents the complexity of defining African theology and its methodological approaches through a background sketch of the development of African theology. Regardless of many definitions of African theology and its purposes, the article acknowledges African Christian theology as theology that should be derived from the interplay between Scripture, Christian tradition and African cosmology. In deriving theology from the aforementioned aspects, African theology should also seek to develop contextual African theologies with global relevance. In this way, African theology can claim its space in the universal church. Although we are conscious of the values and challenges associated with the task of doing African theology, we argue for its necessity. We further argue that if the centrality of Scripture is maintained in the African theological endeavour, it will cause African theologies to have some shared reference point with other Christian theologies and hence engaging globally, while contributing unique African perspectives to global theological discourse.
Doing African Christian Theology: Some Non-negotiable Essentials
E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies
Missionary Christianity was introduced into Africa by Western and American missionaries whose theological framework shaped Christianity in Africa. Since theology is contextually informed, missionary theological formulations failed to meet Africa’s needs in many respects. In response, the African church began a quest for an African-brewed theology that is culturally sensitive and contextually relevant. For some time now this quest has engaged many African scholars; yet, no scholarly consensus has been reached regarding the nature and methodology for African Christian theology. This article contributes to the ongoing discourse by examining the emergence and development of African Christian theology and afterward, outlining some essential features that must characterize African Christian theology to make it accessible to and acceptable by the African Christian community. It is a literature research based on critical examination of related publications on African Christian theology. The...
2020
Specific Christological models help define the spirituality of African peoples. A Christianity that creates meaning for any people must be integrated anthropologically. This study investigates some selected Christological models that helped shape the spirituality of Africa and its integration in the Christian faith. Spirituality has a definitive role in defining African people. The socio-cultural life of Africa is the foundation that Africans relate to other spiritualities; therefore, both the corporeal and the divine are inseparable in the hermeneutical, anthropological narrative of Africans. Some aspects of African Christological models are consistent with Scripture and these functional Christologies unveil a culture of pragmatic relevance in ever-changing societies. Although critiques on the lack of missional contextualization of Christianity are overwhelming in academia, nevertheless, a study of some of these perspectives makes Christ the center of the history of African spiritu...
2013
This study investigates how Mbiti and Oduyoye articulate their understanding of God in connection with the African traditional religio-cultural heritage to make the concept of God to become relevant to African Christians and to help African Christians feel at home in the Christian faith. Chapter 1 briefly describes the background of the study, the problem statement, the purpose of the study, the research hypothesis, methodology, delimitation, and structure of the study. Chapter 2 provides a historical sketch of origins and development of African theology and diverse types of African theology. This chapter maintains that African theology emerged not only as a theological reaction to the dominant Western interpretation of the gospel in Africa, but also as a theological attempt to secure the African cultural identity by reaffirming the African past. Chapter 3 describes the basic beliefs in African traditional religions, several African ethnic groups' concepts of God, and the African theologians' Christianization of the African God by employing Christian theological terms. This chapter concludes that it is not possible to presume a homogenous or one unified concept of God in Africa. One and the same God whom all Africans have worshipped is not real. In chapter 4, Mbiti's understanding of God is scrutinized in relation to his methodology, the African concept of time, his understanding of revelation and of salvation. Mbiti has maintained African monotheism and ATR(s) as a praeparatio evangelica and has arrived at his conclusion that the God revealed in the Bible is the same as the God worshipped in ATR(s). This chapter criticizes Mbiti's way of Christian theological interpretation of anthropological data of the African concepts of God. Chapter 5 presents Oduyoye's understanding of God, her methodology, the status of African women in ATR(s) and the African church, her appreciation of salvation, of the Bible, and of the locus of experience. In Oduyoye's theology, women's experience becomes a crucial factor for doing theology, and © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a vi salvation is understood as liberation from all oppressive conditions. Her understanding of God is closely connected with the theme of liberation. Chapter 6 examines the similarities and differences between the two theologians' understanding of God, critically compares their way of understanding the interplay of the gospel and African culture, and categorizes the two theologians' ways with their models of contextualization: Mbiti's gospelculture oriented model of contextualization and Oduyoye's gospel-liberation oriented model of contextualization. By a comparative-dialogical study of the two theologians' models of contextualization, this chapter attempts to make a dialogue possible between the two, and suggests the interculturation model of contextualization in which each theology keeps its own theological characteristic and has an open mind to learn from the other through mutual understanding. It aims to overcome the absolutism of contextualization, syncretism, cultural relativism, and provincialism, to keep a balance between locality and catholicity, and to affirm cultural identity and Christian identity. On the basis of the interculturation model of contextualization, this chapter proposes some criteria for African Evangelical theology in order to do a biblically faithful and practically relevant theology in Africa. This study also suggests some guidelines to articulate the understanding of God so that it has theological relevance and legitimacy to African Christians as well as to Christians worldwide. Chapter 7, as the final chapter, gives a general summary and concluding suggestions for further research related to the subject of African theology. © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a © © U Un ni iv ve er rs si it ty y o of f P Pr re et to or ri ia a ix
PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE IN AFRICAN THEOLOGY, AND AFRICAN CHRISTIANITY
African Christianity in Local and Global Contexts: A Festschrift in Honour of Rev Prof. Isaac Deji Ayegboyin FNAL @ 70 (Religious Studies Series, Volume 7), 2019
Africans are pluralistic in doctrines and uphold the concept of God-gods. African Christian Theology is comparable to Meme with a variety of hangers and in search of an Identity. Western thinkers robe African theological reflection with a primitive identity. Africa nature, formative factors, and philosophical convictions are foundational and synoptic in appeal. Hence in contextualizing Christianity, the African cultural and religious heritage cannot be reasonably differentiated, which raise critical and ethical questions. The paper addresses the challenges confronting 21st century African Christianity. The methodologies adopted were developed from a diversity of traditions using analytic philosophy, phenomenology, historical, and biblical hermeneutics. There is a rich ironic variety of African theology, which includes inspiration, dependability, and authority of the Scriptures. The paper identified nine points' challenges and top philosophical issues confronting African Christianity and proffered solutions. The paper, therefore, concludes that addressing these dynamics are ways to facilitate the growth and development of African Christianity and sustain the theology.
A HERMENEUTICAL INQUIRY INTO AFRICAN CHRISTOLOGIES
THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY FAR WEST REGIONAL MEETING, 2019
A contextual application of biblical doctrine ultimately derives from a contextual hermeneutic. What interpretive guidelines are critical to the development of a genuinely vernacular expression of theology in a local context? The paper surveys some developments in the prolific field of African Christian Theology. The hermeneutical basis of a distinctly African theology appears largely built upon pre-Christian worldviews and spirituality. The paper traces the methodology of the “afrocentric hermeneutic,” which assumes that a genuinely vernacular African theology requires a radical continuity between Old Testament concepts and practices and primal religions and worldviews. The paper considers some case studies in African Christologies that exemplify the exegetical, theological, and practical problems that result from detaching cultural readings from the authorial intent of Scripture, namely the tendency to innovate error and propagate syncretism in the local churches. The paper evidences the need for mission theorists to move beyond the non-critical reporting of aberrant contextual theologies and instead aid in the formation of a biblically tenable global theology on the basis of a biblically faithful hermeneutic. If the goal of contextualization is the transformation of biblical meaning into local significance, then the vernacular expression must be biblically legitimate and reliable otherwise contextualization has not occurred. With this goal in mind, the paper urges for a reevaluation of the afrocentric hermeneutic, and suggests parameters for the biblically faithful application of Scripture in the local African church.
African Theology: A Short Definition
A lot has been written on African Theology yet little progress has been made in making it recognising it in the world wide theological reflection. This paper is to add weight to the case for African Theology. It has been argued here that the name itself is not necessary as it quickly adds weight to the unwanted title. What we need in Africa, is to do biblical address theology that seeks to address the unique African situation.