Transmission Trouble: Clashes in English Language Theological Education in Africa (original) (raw)
Related papers
Africanisation as an agent of theological education in Africa
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2017
This article focuses on the response of Africanisation to Western theological education in Africa, which has for centuries become a theological problem for the African context. In this 21st century, Africanisation is at the centre of the African discourse and focuses on the realities of our African context. Therefore, theological education in Africa should be Africanised in order to seriously engage the aspects of Africanisation. The struggle against colonial education was to ensure that Africa is liberated from unjust educational oppression, socio-economic oppression, poverty, racism, political oppression and gender injustice. In this regard, Africanisation is an agent to address the introduced Western theological education in Africa. Yet the two concepts, namely commercialisation and commodification, have an influence on theological education in Africa.
The Role of Western People in Theological Education for Africa Today: An Appeal for “Vulnerability”’
Mission Round Table , 2024
Those to whom the missionary is financially generous should not be the same people with whom they do key ministry. That way they will be known for generosity, while their relationships with people with whom they minister will not be built on foreign finance. In summary, some Western missionaries should engage in theological training and other ministry in Africa using indigenous languages and resources.
An Africanised theological education
STJ | Stellenbosch Theological Journal
The transformation of theological education in the context of Africa has motivated this research. It discusses ways an Africanised theological education could help integrate knowledge with understanding and wisdom. The article stresses the need for theology students to be given more time for practical learning. It also stresses that epistemological diversity should be adopted so that nobody’s knowledge acquisition preference is neglected. It also stresses the need for theological education to help students to be integrated into their cultural diversity. It finally stresses that students be exposed through teaching to their African predecessors for inspiration. It concludes that a meaningful Africanised theological education is possible if steps are taken to integrate the above-mentioned points it stressed into theological education in Africa.
Theologial Education in Africa Using Indigenous Languages
Insights Journal for Global Theological Education, 2021
My research finds that theological education in English in East Africa creates several problems: 1) It keeps indigenous believers from communicating their faith directly in their heart-language. 2) It does not account for variations between regional dialects of English. 3) English may be used only to ensure orthodoxy to satisfy Western patrons. 4) Thanks to use of English, theological education can be perceived as a path to financial or 5) spiritual power. 6) Use of English positions “Africanness” as a failure and does not deal honestly with the African context. To overcome these problems, I advocate for theological education in Africa in indigenous languages.
Acta Theologica, 2013
During the past five decades the heartland of global Christianity has shifted to the Southern hemisphere. This places the responsibility of future Christianity predominantly in the hands of church leaders in these regions. It is therefore crucial to critically reflect on how effective theological education is to produce competent church leaders, especially in Africa. This article aims to give an overview of the challenges theological education in Africa is currently facing, and then to provide a macro vision of the major moments in the development of the international discourse on theological education over the past five decades. This comparison will inform practitioners about the relevance of current models used for theological education in Africa. By highlighting the relevance of these various models and how they relate to challenges in Africa, this article contributes to research on the development of new and alternative frameworks for theological education in an African context. 1 This article is based on the doctoral dissertation "Theological education in an African context: Discipleship and mediated learning experience as framework" by W.P. Wahl, University of the Free State 2011. 2 The names and scholarly works of these scholars will be discussed in section three of this article (under the heading: "The discourse on theological education").
THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN AFRICA, book
This is a collection of essays on theological education in Africa and where I have a chapter. It is important that post graduate students in the relevant field refer to it - as prominent scholars in Africa have chapters in it
Breaking through the Language Barrier in Global Theological Education
Didaktikos 3.1 (July 2019): 14-17.
What should aspiring biblical and theological scholars do in the face of dismal professional prospects? This essay advances the radical proposal that academics learn a new language and then teach through that language medium to speakers of languages other than English for the benefit of the global church and academy.
The Implications of Disconnect in Translation on Gospel work in Africa: Bible translation in context
Pneuma Review, 2016
Theological education, even in indigenous languages, can be uninspiring to African people if its implicit underlying pre-suppositions remain European. Use of European-languages as educational media minimises the likelihood of deep connection with African ways of life, but often has the pragmatic plus of being accompanied by outside funds. A preference for use of outside languages in formal contexts in Africa arises in part from African people’s desire to protect their own tongues and ways of life from outside ‘attack’. These and other observations that point to a disconnect in translation between African and European languages speak powerfully to Bible translation concerns. They suggest that translation should be facilitated locally, and not be processed through Western pre-suppositional screens. They point to a need for Bible translators to spearhead a wider movement in which Christian mission from the West engages local contexts and languages, especially in theological education. Wider dissemination of linguistic expertise that is currently captive to Bible translation communities will encourage more people to advocate for the use of indigenous language Bibles, and in turn begin to facilitate an escape from the linguistic naivety represented by the hegemony of European languages in theological education in Africa.
A critical engagement with theological education in Africa: A South African perspective
Reformed Theology in Africa Series, 2021
In this book, a critical engagement with theological education in Africa is offered. As the book originates from South Africa, it is presented from a South African perspective although contributors are situated accross the African continent and abroad. The common denominator is, however, that all contributers are, in some way or another, invested in theological education in Africa. The main contribution of this collaborative work is to be sought in the insights it offers on four main areas of theological education: a historical and current orientation on theological edcuation in Africa, some paradigm shifts in theological education in Africa, ministerial formation needs versus theological education challenges and a critical reflection on elective models and methods. This book presents an original and innovative research of scholars involved in theological higher education, as it is grounded in the respective fields of interest of each contributor. It contributes to a better understanding of the complex African theological higher education landscape, a complex landscape that is experiencing even greater challenges since the dawn of COVID-19, which is noted in the research findings. Methodologically, the work draws on a combination of methods, including literature studies, empirical work and, in some cases, sectional offerings from doctoral studies, as indicated in the various chapters. The centre target consists of scholars in the field of higher theological education in Africa. No part of the book was plagiarised from another publication or published elsewhere before.