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This book is a collection of Rev. Dr. Eshetu Abate's essays originally published in different books and journals. The significance of the essays for churches in Ethiopia and beyond can be described in two ways. First, they were written during the last period of the Socialist government of Ethiopia and the first decade of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (between 1990 and 2002). This time signifies the years in which Ethiopia was going through social, economic, political, and religious changes. Eshetu, as a prominent theologian and pastor, reflects on issues that the Ethiopian communities faced during those periods. Second, Eshetu is one among few Ethiopian theologians who have initiated the conversation about Christian theology from an African perspective. He understood his own context, which included the crucial, existential issues that African Christians were facing, to be the legitimate context out of which Christian theology should emerge. He did so without compromising the centered-ness and uniqueness of Christ. Eshetu was a theological thinker, pastor, and a leader of considerable reputation. Through his lectures and writings, he has contributed to the development of theology in an African con-text. In his leadership and life testimony; he was able to influence his students, who later became leaders in different churches and organizations throughout the world. Eshetu died of cancer on December 28, 2011, in California.
Increasingly, theologians from non-Western lands demand that theology be done in a new, non-eurocentric way. First published in German, 'African Theology in Its Social Context', by one of Africa's most respected theologians, meets this challenge. Bujo takes traditional African values to the horizon of contemporary social issues: extreme poverty, mass unemployment, rapid urbanization, changing family life. His underlying concern is for the African people and for the models they will choose for their society, their economy, their church. Bujo begins with Jesus. Asking how Christ can be seen as an African among Africans, Bujo identifies Jesus as Ancestor -- the One from Whom all life flows. He goes on to define distinctively African roles for the church, clergy, and lay people alike. From the standpoint of African legal and religious traditions -- many far older than those of the Western church -- Bujo describes pastoral approaches to such issues as death and marriage in Africa. This original and challenging work shows how Africans need not change culture to be called children of God; and how, indeed, Christianity can become a source of fullness of life for Africans.
Christian theology evolves out of questions that are asked in a particular situation about how the Bible speaks to that situation. This book, African Christian Theology, is written to address questions that arise from the African context. It is intended to help students and others discover how theology affects our minds, our hearts, and our lives. As such, it speaks not only to Africans but to all who seek to understand and live out their faith in their own societies. Samuel Kunyihop understands both biblical theology and the African worldview and throws light on areas where they overlap, where they diverge, and why this matters. He explores traditional African understandings of God and how he reveals himself, the African understanding of sin and way the Bible sees sin, and how the work of Christ can be understood in African terms. The treatment of Christian living focuses on matters that are relevant to Christians in Africa and elsewhere, dealing with topics such as blessings and curses and the role of the church as a Christian community. The book concludes with a discussion of biblical thinking on death and the afterlife in which it also addresses the role traditionally ascribed to African ancestors.
In this book, African Christian theology is introduced as a Kpelelogical reflection about life in the context of Africa, which exists in the context of the cosmos. Kpelelogy is the ontological mode of being grasped by the agape of God in Christ by grace through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. By this mode, African theology is introduced by way of a definition, a principle of paradox, and a description, as well as a critical view of the works of African theologians. It examines the issues of method, criteria, and sources of doing theology in Africa and introduces the method of Kpelelogy as an African theological method. This is explored further as a holistic theological method that is conscious of its being in existence, and its life in history, that is driven by faith in the triune God in a pneumatic experience that has been termed in this book as the Kpelelogical ontological mode. The book is ecumenical in view of its engagement with Christian tradition. It presents a Kpelelogical theology that is concretely African and universally Christian in the Okpelejen Wulormor—the cosmic Jesus Christ who is and was, but beyond the munus triplex (Priest, King and Prophet, threefold office of Jesus Christ) that is to come. Hence it is a theology which embraces elements of Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theological insights in the African context.
This volume offers constructive and contextual theological discussions that uphold Christian teaching and beliefs to promote a life with dignity in the African continent, based on practical theological beliefs. The authors discuss different thematic topics among which issues of health and healing that are pertinent in Africa and have perpetuated misleading theologies. The book also addresses issues of wealth and poverty in the context of faith which is critical in the context of misleading theologies. It articulates how prosperity gospel has propelled a paradigm shift in understanding materia
Faith in African Lived Christianity – Bridging Anthropological and Theological Perspectives offers a comprehensive, empirically rich and interdisciplinary approach to the study of faith in African Christianity. The book brings together anthropology and theology in the study of how faith and religious experiences shape the understanding of social life in Africa. The volume is a collection of chapters by prominent Africanist theologians, anthropologists and social scientists, who take people’s faith as their starting point and analyze it in a contextually sensitive way. It covers discussions of positionality in the study of African Christianity, interdisciplinary methods and approaches and a number of case studies on political, social and ecological aspects of African Christian spirituality.
Reflects what traditional proverbs used in Christian catechetical, liturgical, and ritual contexts reveal about Tanzanian appropriations of and interpretations of Christianity.
Thomas C. Oden surveys the decisive role of African Christians and theologians in shaping the doctrines and practices of the church of the first five centuries, and makes an impassioned plea for the rediscovery of that heritage. Christians throughout the world will benefit from this reclaiming of an important heritage.
‘Biblical Exegesis in African Context’ explores how the Church in Africa can affirm its uniqueness in terms of the African identity and experiences, and at the same time, remain faithful to the gospel message. The volume begins with an explanation of exegesis and hermeneutics, and the agenda for the rest of the book is set. The second chapter deals with textual criticism, which is the task of determining the originality of a biblical text. In chapter three, issues related to the context of the text are considered, after which the volume proceeds to examine the various literary forms present in the Bible— prominent among them being— Narrative, Law, Poetry, Prophecy, Wisdom Literature, Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and Revelation. The authors then dedicate the next chapter to discussions on socio-rhetorical interpretation. The final chapters of the book deal with matters solely related to the context of Africa; this part intends to equip readers to be able to interpret the Bible from African cultural perspectives and then apply the gospel message meaningfully to the life of African Christians. Chapter seven deals with the emergence and historical development of African Biblical Studies (ABS), noting its relevance and how Africans can benefit from it. The main contention of the chapter is that Africans will better understand and apply God’s word to their lives if they read the Scriptures in an African way. The volume then explores how African languages can be used to derive the meaning of scripture and apply it to real-life situations. Here, the authors contribute to the development of MTBH by developing a methodological framework for this interpretative tool. The next chapter of the volume deals with mother-tongue theologizing in Ghana. The final chapter considers the legitimacy of female leadership in the Church within the African context through the examination of two Pauline texts. This volume will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate seminary students, students of Biblical Interpretation in religions departments, as well as practicing pastors.
Follownig an introduction that charts the growth and development of African theology, Parratt examines the differing theological assumptions and methodologies throughout the continent. He also shows how Africans are rethinking the central dogmas of the Christian faith - Scripture, God, christology, the church, and eschatology - and evaluates Africa's political theologies, giving special attention to theological approaches to African socialism and to South African black theology.