Download or read book African Theology in Its Social Context written by Benezet Bujo and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2006-03-29 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Theology and Social Issues in Africa written by Francis Anekwe Oborji and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2020-11-22 with total page 649 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Volume speaks to us from the heart and engages the socio-political concerns in the Nigerian context through the lens of a theological approach. The author reflects historically the numerous consequences of the amalgamation of the ethnic groups of different orientations in Nigeria into one socio-political structure of the colonizers interests. This sociopolitical structure raises several questions than answers it pretends to offer the indigenous people. From a Nigerian point of view, the articles in this volume critically challenge the unjust formation of any nationhood in the Africa context. It points out how the sustenance of an unjust nation formation betrays the creed on which such a nation is established. “Truth conquers all” is the spirit with which this Volume is written. It is the truth that will set a nation like Nigeria free from the spirit of confusion and unperceived religio-socio-political syncretism. The awareness emanating from this volume suggests liberating steps from the unsuspicious colonial interests and the sustained feigned relationship with the colonizers which militate against the socio-political and economic growth, and theological orthodoxy of such a growing nation.
Download or read book A Future for Africa written by Emmanuel M. Katongole and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-05-09 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civil war, famine, genocide, AIDS--the peoples of Africa have endured horrific human tragedies. Those crises plus widespread economic, political, and social instability have combined to produce what some consider a dire and nearly hopeless situation. Even as this book was going to press, the leaders of the G-8 nations were meeting to talk about what could be done to "aid Africa" in these critical times. A careful look at history would indicate that the answer must come from within Africa and from the African people themselves, not from other nations or the economic programs and solutions they propose. The rapid rise of a Christian social ethics movement as an alternative perspective focused precisely on addressing Africa's challenges using the spiritual resources of its own people is providing a hopeful solution and a timely and powerful coping mechanism for African peoples. One of the leaders of this movement is Emmanuel Katongole, a Catholic priest from Uganda. In A Future for Africa, Katongole wrestles with concrete problems like the AIDS epidemic and widespread military conflicts, as well as fundamental, systemic ones, like poverty, corruption, and tribalism. He then offers faith-filled solutions based on the power and example of Christian community and Christian moral imagination. Katongole's radical message is that a political ethic based on Christian principles as taught in the Scriptures is the necessary foundation for healing, reconciliation, and rebuilding the continent.
Download or read book African Public Theology written by Sunday Bobai Agang and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa needs leaders and Christians from every walk of life to rediscover their identity and purpose in all spheres of society. African Public Theology sounds a clarion call to accomplish this vital task. God created all humans equally, intending for us to live in community and take responsibility for the world around us – a mandate we need to act on. Through faithful application of Scripture to contexts common in the continent today, contributors from across Africa join as one to present a vision for the Africa that God intended. No simplistic solutions are offered – instead African Public Theology challenges every reader to think through the application of biblical principles in their own community, place of work and sphere of influence. If we heed the principles and lessons that God’s word has for society, culture and public life, then countries across Africa can have hope of a future that is free from corruption and self-promotion and is instead characterized by collective stewardship and servant-hearted leadership.
Download or read book Religion and Human Security in Africa written by Ezra Chitando and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-02-08 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Across diverse countries and contexts in Africa, religion has direct implications for human security. While some individuals and groups seek to manipulate and control through the deployment of religion, religious belief is also a common facet of those working towards peace and reconciliation. Despite the strategic importance of religion to human security in Africa, there are few contemporary publications that explore this issue on an international scale. This volume redresses that imbalance by examining religion’s impact on human security across Africa. Written by an international team of contributors, this book looks in detail at the intersection of religion and security in a variety of African contexts. Case studies from a diverse set of countries including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and more, are used to illustrate wider trends across the continent. Acknowledging that religion can be used to incite violence as well as encourage peace, the chapters employ an interdisciplinary exploration of the ethics, sociology, and politics around these issues. This is much needed volume on religion’s capacity to effect human security. It will, therefore, be of significant interest to any scholar of religious studies, African studies, political science, the sociology of religion, and anthropology, as well as peace, conflict, and reconciliation studies.
Download or read book Poverty the Bible and Africa written by Isaac Boaheng and published by HippoBooks. This book was released on 2020-08-31 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poverty reduction is a worldwide concern, yet if the church is to play an effective role in its alleviation, an approach that is both biblical and contextual is required. In Poverty, the Bible, and Africa, Isaac Boaheng formulates a theology of poverty that engages Scripture, African traditional wisdom, and contemporary African concerns to create a paradigm for understanding and alleviating poverty in Africa. Boaheng highlights that, whatever our cultural context, God frowns upon materialism, extravagance, and love for riches; yet the author also demonstrates why a contextual theology must address people’s societal and cultural needs alongside spiritual ones. If we desire a model for poverty reduction that is both theologically sound and contextually appropriate, we must facilitate an encounter between the teachings of Scripture and the socio-economic, political, and religious realities of a particular context. Combining in-depth cultural analysis with careful exegetical reflection, this book offers refreshing insight into the challenge of confronting poverty in Africa. Boaheng’s approach, however, is relevant far beyond the continent and is transferable to any context where others are seeking to effectively understand and combat poverty.
Download or read book Theology and Identity written by Kwame Bediako and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-06-01 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kwame Bediako examines the question of Christian identity in the context of the Greco-Roman culture of the early Roman Empire. He then addresses the modern African predicament of quests for identity and integration. Theology and Identity was one of the finalists for the 1992 HarperCollins Religious Book Award.
Download or read book The Church and Development in Africa Second Edition written by Stan Chu Ilo and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-10-20 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Stan Chu Ilo offers an integral theology of development and a critical social analysis of different development theories and practices in the world, especially in Africa. Ilo offers a comprehensive biblical, anthropological, and theological foundation of the principles and praxis of Catholic social ethics from the Second Vatican Council to Pope Francis. Drawing from the social encyclical Charity in Truth, Ilo shows how Catholic social teaching responds to some of the challenging questions and concerns of our times in relation to human rights, ecology, globalization, international cooperation, development and aid, human and cultural development, business ethics, social justice, and the challenges of poverty eradication. He creatively applies these principles to the social context of Africa, and lays a groundwork for sustainable Christian humanitarian and social justice initiatives in Africa.
Download or read book Religion and Poverty written by Peter J. Paris and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2009-11-25 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Ghanaian scholar of religion argues that poverty is a particularly complex subject in traditional African cultures, where holistic worldviews unite life’s material and spiritual dimensions. A South African ethicist examines informal economies in Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, and South Africa, looking at their ideological roots, social organization, and vulnerability to global capital. African American theologians offer ethnographic accounts of empowering religious rituals performed in churches in the United States, Jamaica, and South Africa. This important collection brings together these and other Pan-African perspectives on religion and poverty in Africa and the African diaspora. Contributors from Africa and North America explore poverty’s roots and effects, the ways that experiences and understandings of deprivation are shaped by religion, and the capacity and limitations of religion as a means of alleviating poverty. As part of a collaborative project, the contributors visited Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, as well as Jamaica and the United States. In each location, they met with clergy, scholars, government representatives, and NGO workers, and they examined how religious groups and community organizations address poverty. Their essays complement one another. Some focus on poverty, some on religion, others on their intersection, and still others on social change. A Jamaican scholar of gender studies decries the feminization of poverty, while a Nigerian ethicist and lawyer argues that the protection of human rights must factor into efforts to overcome poverty. A church historian from Togo examines the idea of poverty as a moral virtue and its repercussions in Africa, and a Tanzanian theologian and priest analyzes ujamaa, an African philosophy of community and social change. Taken together, the volume’s essays create a discourse of mutual understanding across linguistic, religious, ethnic, and national boundaries. Contributors. Elizabeth Amoah, Kossi A. Ayedze, Barbara Bailey, Katie G. Cannon, Noel Erskine, Dwight N. Hopkins, Simeon O. Ilesanmi, Laurenti Magesa, Madipoane Masenya, Takatso A. Mofokeng, Esther M. Mombo, Nyambura J. Njoroge, Jacob Olupona, Peter J. Paris, Anthony B. Pinn, Linda E. Thomas, Lewin L. Williams
Download or read book Issues in African Christian Theology written by Samuel Ngewa and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian theologians in Africa are faced with three conflicting worlds: Christian faith, African culture and modern culture. In spite of the commitment of Christian theologians to live by biblical teaching, there is a tendency for them to become involved with issues in their environments, causing tension. The salient issues confronting Christianity in Africa are examined from an evangelical standpoint. Eighteen African scholars, from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, together with colleagues from the US, contribute perspectives grouped into four parts: The Task of African Christian Theology; The Foundations of African Christian Theology; Christ and the Salvation in African Christian Theology; and The Spirit, the Church and the Future in African Christian Theology.
Download or read book African Theology in Images written by Martin Ott and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2007 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a revised and updated edition of the comprehensive study of the role of art in the process of inculturation in Africa, first issued in 2000. The study is a substantial contribution toward a theology of inculcation in Africa, and enriches the debate on indigenous African and Christian artistic traditions. It represents the first systematic theology constructed in and from Malawi that establishes a theology of symbolic expression in Africa.
Download or read book African Public Theology written by Sunday Bobai Agang and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa needs leaders and Christians from every walk of life to rediscover their identity and purpose in all spheres of society. African Public Theology sounds a clarion call to accomplish this vital task. God created all humans equally, intending for us to live in community and take responsibility for the world around us - a mandate we need to act on. Through faithful application of Scripture to contexts common in the continent today, contributors from across Africa join as one to present a vision for the Africa that God intended. No simplistic solutions are offered - instead African Public Theology challenges every reader to think through the application of biblical principles in their own community, place of work and sphere of influence. If we heed the principles and lessons that God's word has for society, culture and public life, then countries across Africa can have hope of a future that is free from corruption and self-promotion and is instead characterized by collective stewardship and servant-hearted leadership.
Download or read book African Contextual Realities written by Rodney L. Reed and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2018-08-14 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone who has “eyes to see” acknowledges the growing importance of the African church to the future of global Christianity. But what does it mean for the church to take root in Africa? How should the message of the gospel and the practice of Christianity be contextualized for Africa? African Contextual Realities addresses many of the questions surrounding contextualization from a practical point of view and is the fruit of the 6th Annual Conference of the Africa Society of Evangelical Theology held in Nairobi in 2016. The book explores such questions as: • In what ways should the mission of God be universally recognizable in every cultural context? • In our efforts to contextualize, how do we avoid compromising the very gospel we are to proclaim? • How can the African church wean itself away from dependency on the Western church? • How does Christianity speak into some of the cultural and social issues arising out of contemporary African settings – issues like widow cleansing, Christian-Muslim relations, and peace-building? All those who are interested to learn more about the contextualization of African Christianity will find this volume to be an important resource.
Download or read book The Church and Politics written by Bernard Boyo and published by HippoBooks. This book was released on 2021-05-10 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Church and Politics offers an introduction to African political theology that is thorough, practical, and deeply powerful. From traditional power structures to the political ramifications of colonialism, Dr. Bernard Boyo provides a foundation for understanding Africa’s contemporary political concerns in their cultural and historical context. Alongside this overview of African political history, Boyo traces the impact of Western missionaries, evangelicals, liberation theology, and African theologians on the church’s understanding of itself and its role within society. This book critiques the emphasis on individual salvation that has so often led the church into abdicating its societal responsibilities and provides an exegetical analysis that firmly roots political engagement within a scriptural framework. The church, we are reminded, has a mandate to bring justice and righteousness into every aspect of human experience. As we follow Christ, it is not just our personal lives that should be transformed but our communities and even our nations.
Download or read book Religion and Social Reconstruction in Africa written by Elias Kifon Bongmba and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-13 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion has played a major role in both the division and unification of peoples and countries within Africa. Its capacity to cause, and to heal, societal rifts has been well documented. This book addresses this powerful societal force, and explores the implications of a theology of reconstruction, most notably articulated by Jesse Mugambi. This way of thinking seeks to build on liberation theology, aiming to encourage the rebuilding of African society on its own terms. An international panel of contributors bring an interdisciplinary perspective to the issues around reconstructing the religious elements of African society. Looking at issues of reconciliation, postcolonialism and indigenous spirituality, among others, they show that Mugambi’s cultural and theological insight has the potential to revolutionise the way people in Africa address this issue. This is a fascinating exploration of the religious facets of African life. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of religious studies, theology and African studies.
Download or read book Church We Want written by Orobator, Agbonkhianmeghe E. and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2016-08-18 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring essays from a broad range of contributors this book is a treasure for anyone interested in theological reflection from an African perspective and is a necessary resource for theologians and scholars working in a church that is steadily moving its center to the Global South.
Download or read book Governance and Christian Higher Education in the African Context written by David K. Ngaruiya and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2019-02-14 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Integrity, pastoral care and authority lie at the heart of Christian leadership and indeed, following Jesus in any capacity, and they are also critical in state governance and Christian higher education. The articles in this book, the product of the 2017 conference of the Africa Society of Evangelical Theology, address these themes and other topics relating to the spheres of government and education in Africa to enhance our understanding of the challenges faced in African contexts. A wide range of Christian scholar-leaders provide a way forward for other church and institutional leaders who are seeking to faithfully fulfill their responsibilities of stewardship and instruction. Corruption, civil disobedience, good governance and formation of Christian leaders are matters that are becoming increasingly relevant not only in many African countries but across the world, and this book is a valuable resource for thoughtful reflection and guidance on these important subjects.
