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Christianity and African Culture

1996
Christianity and African Culture

Author: Klaus Fiedler

Publisher: BRILL

ISBN: 9004104976

Category: Social Science

Page: 262

View: 721

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Christianity can find a home in African culture. This book describes attemps - of varying degrees of success - to integrate Christianity and African culture. It analyses how Tanzanian Christians redefined their roles in reaction to the cultural approach presented by the missionaries.

Christianity in Africa as Seen by Africans

1962
Christianity in Africa as Seen by Africans

Author: Ram Desai

Publisher: Denver : A. Swallow

ISBN: STANFORD:36105005317891

Category: Africa

Page: 144

View: 414

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Adjei.--Christianity and clitoridectomy, by J. Kenyatta.--Christianity and the Bantu, by D.D.T. Jabavubu.--Christianity and Ashanti, by K.A. Busia.--The new religion in East Africa, by J. Kenyatta.--Albert Schweitzer; an African image, by N. Sithole.--The contribution of African culture to Christian worship, by J.H. Nketia.--The Christian church and African heritage, by E.A. Asamoa.

African Perspectives on Culture and World Christianity

2017-05-11
African Perspectives on Culture and World Christianity

Author: Joseph Ogbonnaya

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

ISBN: 9781443891592

Category: Religion

Page: 231

View: 148

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Unlike the global North, “the ferment of Christianity” in the global South, among the majority of world people, has been astronomical. Despite the shift in the center of gravity of Christianity to the global South, intra-ecclesial tensions globally remain those of the relationship of culture to religion. The questions posed revolve around to what extent Western Christianity should be adapted to local cultures. Should we talk of Christianity in non-Western contexts or of majority world Christianity? Is it appropriate to describe the shift as the emergence of global Christianity or world Christianity? Should Christianity in the global South mimic Christianity in the global North, or can it be different in the light of the diversity of these cultures? Can Africans, Asians, Latin Americans, Europeans and North Americans – the entire global community – speak of God in the same way? This book is devoted to examining varieties of the intercultural process in world Christianity. It understands culture broadly as a common meaning upon which communities’ social order is organized. Culture in this sense is the whole life of people. It is the integrator of the filial bond holding people together and the various institutional structures – economic, technological, political and legal – that guarantee peace and survival in societies, states, and nations, both locally and internationally. As this book shows, the centrality of culture for world Christianity equally showcases the important position the scale of values occupies in world Christianity.

African Traditional Religion in the Modern World, 2d ed.

2015-05-28
African Traditional Religion in the Modern World, 2d ed.

Author: Douglas E. Thomas

Publisher: McFarland

ISBN: 9781476620190

Category: Religion

Page: 292

View: 194

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African traditional religion encompasses a variety of non-dogmatic, spiritual practices followed by millions around the world. Some scholars argue it is related to the Nubian religion of Egypt’s Dynastic Period. In an expanded second edition, this book examines the nature of African traditional religion and describes common attributes of various cultural belief systems, with an emphasis on West Africa. Principal elements studied include sacrifice, salvation and culture, modes of revelation, divination, and African resilience in the face of invasion and colonization. The religious experiences of black people throughout the Americas are also covered. The author finds the cosmology, symbolism and rituals of the Yoruba culture to be the fundamental bases of African traditional religion, and draws similarities between the oral and written literature of West Africans and that of New World practitioners. The influence of Islam and Christianity is also discussed. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Christianity and African Traditional Religion and Worldview

Christianity and African Traditional Religion and Worldview

Author: Professor Yusuf Turaki

Publisher: Otakada Inc

ISBN:

Category: Social Science

Page: 593

View: 367

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There are many books that have addressed the subject of this book: "How should Christianity approach the study of the African traditional religions". Christian scholars with different Christian traditions and backgrounds have propounded many methods. This book is the latest addition to this on-going debate. The book develops a method of approaching the African traditional religions from an integral Biblical perspective. It stresses the primacy Of the Bible and Biblical revelation as legitimate basis of defining African traditional religions, cultures and worldview. The book argues very strongly that African religion, cultures and worldviews have to be subjected to Biblical authority, definition and teachings, Christianity as a religious system with its sets ot beliefs, practices and religious life does not meet an empty traditional African mind, but one, which is already preoccupied with the African traditional religious thought. It is this preoccupied traditional religious and cultural mind which receives, understands, interprets and applies Christianity in Afrfca. This traditional religious thought is neither dormant nor docile, but has the power of perception, conception, understanding, interpretation and application. When it receives Christianity, it has the capacity and the ability to re-cast and transform it into its own categories of thought and mentalities. Thus, the profound and dominant influence of this traditional religious thought on African Christians must be recognized and taken very seriously. The nature and the theological basis of the traditional beliefs in (1) gods, (2) divinities and (3) spirits are examined. These beliefs are defined and interpreted In the light of (1) the traditional religious worldview and (2) the Biblical and Christian theology. The theological implications of these traditional beliefs for doing a Biblical and Christian theology in Africa are highlighted. The spiritual phenomenon of the traditional religions is well established. Furthermore, the nature and the theological basis of the traditional beliefs in the mystical, mysterious and unseen powers and forces are also examined. The power phenomenon of the traditional religions is also well established. The centrality ot man in the traditional religious worldview is also well established and this is addressed from the Biblical and Christian teachings on man. The relevance of the traditional theological, philosophical and moral and ethical foundations and the nature and meaning of man are analysed and examined in the light of the Biblical teachings and Christian theology. The primary objective is to understand the inner logic and workings of the traditional religious thought and its religious beliefs and practices. Religious concepts, perceptions, meanings, realities, behaviour and practices that are derived from this traditional religious system are presented and defined in the light of the Bible and Christian theology.

FOUNDATIONS OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND WORLDVIEW

2006-01-01
FOUNDATIONS OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND WORLDVIEW

Author: Professor Yusufu Turaki

Publisher: Otakada Inc

ISBN:

Category: Social Science

Page: 210

View: 830

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This book is an introduction to the foundations of African traditional religions and worldview. The theological basis of the traditional belief- in (1) gods, (2) divinities and (3) spirits are examined. These beliefs are defined and interpreted in the light of (1) the traditional religious worldview and (2) with some clarifications from the Biblical and Christian theology. The theological implications of these traditional beliefs and worldview are essential for developing and formulating a relevant Biblical and Christian theology in Africa. The traditional theological, philosophical and moral and ethical foundations and the nature and meaning of man are analysed and examined. RELIGION AND SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY This chapter defines and interprets the African traditional religious system and worldview. It is divided into four major parts. The first gives a general functional definition of religion; the second defines and interprets the theological foundations of the traditional religious system and worldview; the third defines and interprets the philosophical foundations of the traditional religious system and worldview and the fourth defines and interprets the moral and ethical foundations of the traditional religious system and worldview. One of the major difficulties faced in this study, was the choice of literature. Anyone who is familiar with the amount of literature and the general terrain of the African traditional religions knows that not much has gone beyond the classics of the pioneers. Creative and innovative studies and works have not gone that much beyond the Idowu’s and the Mbiti’s. The comparative, anthropological, phenomenological, historical and the descriptive methods have dominated the scene. The few works on the theological and Biblical methods are in themselves not comprehensive, systematic and coherent. Much of the approach from Biblical theology has remained stunted at the level of perspectives. Such studies do set out to study the traditional religions and cultures from the Biblical Perspectives. The valuable knowledge gained in such studies has yet to be given a serious theological and methodological

Shaping the Society Christianity and Culture

2012-05-03
Shaping the Society Christianity and Culture

Author: Pastor Stephen Kyeyune

Publisher: Author House

ISBN: 9781468579949

Category: Religion

Page: 552

View: 948

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African theology involves theology that reflects the original thinking of African people. Many African have expressed a need for the theology that reflects the original thinking of African peoples. Some theologians have recklessly labeled every aspect of African culture to be evil whereas others have expressed contempt regarding Christianity wrapped in Europeans culture. Having stayed away from my culture for more than twenty years, I have encountered several cultural shocks. My personal experience has induced me to invest time into intensive researching on the issue of culture and Christianity in anticipation to help somebody puzzled and drowned in confusion. I mean somebody who will not draw a diving line between the two aspects of lives. Within every cultural background setting, there is a godly culture that is not in conflict with Christianity. The culture of man apart from God equals to corruption. God created culture and He sent His Son to restore and to preserve the moral values of the cultures. The godly culture of man should therefore not be in conflict with the culture of the Bible. This topic has been produced in a series of teachings in different volumes of books for deeper clarification. I advise you to read all of the series available for your spiritual growth. Pastor Stephen Kyeyune

African Traditional Religion Encounters Christianity

2017-11-07
African Traditional Religion Encounters Christianity

Author: John Chitakure

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

ISBN: 9781498244190

Category: Religion

Page: 238

View: 820

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Right from the beginning of humankind, God has never deprived a people of his grace and revelation. In fact, God uses people's environment and culture to communicate his will. There is no single religion that can claim to have the exclusive possession of God's revelation, for God is too immense to be confined within one faith. Hence, it was erroneous, blasphemous, and misleading for some of the early Christian missionaries to Africa to claim that they had brought God to Africa, a mentality that implied the non-existence of God in Africa before their arrival. Of course, God was already in Africa, but the missionaries either failed to discern his presence or just disregarded the traces of his existence. This book explores the religious beliefs, practices, and values of the indigenous people of Africa at the time of the early missionaries' arrival, with particular reference to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It also evaluates the extent of the missionarie's successes and challenges in converting Africans to Christianity. It finally surveys how African Christians have remained attached to the indigenous religious beliefs that used to provide answers to their existential questions.

Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Africa

2009
Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Africa

Author: Prince Sorie Conteh

Publisher: Cambria Press

ISBN: 9781604975963

Category: History

Page: 248

View: 498

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As is the case for most of sub-Saharan Africa, African Traditional Religion (ATR) is the indigenous religion of Sierra Leone. When the early forebears and later progenitors of Islam and Christianity arrived, they met Sierra Leone indigenes with a remarkable knowledge of God and a structured religious system. Successive Muslim clerics, traders, and missionaries were respectful of and sensitive to the culture and religion of the indigenes who accommodated them and offered them hospitality. This approach resulted in a syncretistic brand of Islam. In contrast, most Christian missionaries adopted an exclusive and insensitive approach to African culture and religiosity. Christianity, especially Protestantism, demanded a complete abandonment of African culture and religion, and a total dedication to Christianity. This attitude is continued by some indigenous clerics and religious leaders to such an extent that Sierra Leone Indigenous Religion (SLIR) and its practitioners continue to be marginalised in Sierra Leone's interreligious dialogue and cooperation. Although the indigenes of Sierra Leone were and continue to be hospitable to Islam and Christianity, and in spite of the fact that SLIR shares affinity with Islam and Christianity in many theological and practical issues, and even though there are many Muslims and Christians who still hold on to traditional spirituality and culture, Muslim and Christian leaders of these immigrant religions are reluctant to include Traditionalists in interfaith issues in the country. The formation and constitution of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL), which has local and international recognition, did not include ATR. These considerations, then, beg the following questions: - Why have Muslim and Christian leaders long marginalized ATR, its practices, and practitioners from interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone? - What is lacking in ATR that continues to prevent practitioners of Christianity and Islam from officially involving Traditionalists in the socioreligious development of the country? This book investigates the reasons for the exclusion of ATR from interreligious dialogue/cooperation and ATR's relevance and place in the socioreligious landscape of Sierra Leone and the rest of the world. It also discusses possible ways for ATR's inclusion in the ongoing interfaith dialogue and cooperation in the country; this is important because people living side by side meet and interact personally and communally on a regular basis. As such, they share common resources; communal benefits; and the joys, crises, and sorrows of life. The social and cultural interaction and cooperation involved in this dialogue of life are what compel people to fully understand the worldviews of their neighbours and to seek out better relationships with them. Most of the extant books and courses about interreligious encounters and dialogue deal primarily with the interaction between two or more of the major world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. This book fills a gap in the study of interreligious dialogue in Africa by taking into consideration the place and relevance of ATR in interreligious dialogue and cooperation in Sierra Leone. It provides the reader with basic knowledge of ATR, Islam, and Christianity in their Sierra Leonean contexts, and of interfaith encounters and dialogue among the three major faith traditions in Africa. As such, it provides for the first time a historical, chronological, and comparative study of interreligious encounters and dialogue among Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Sierra Leone. Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Africa is an important reference for scholars, researchers, religious leaders, missionaries, and all who are interested in interfaith cooperation and dialogue, especially among all three of Africa's major living religions-ATR, Islam, and Christianity.