This volume offers constructive and contextual discussions to promote a life of dignity based on practical theology. The book discusses issues of health, healing, wealth, and poverty pertinent in Africa. Misleading theologies, like the prosperity gospel, contribute to practices in authority that contrast the teachings of God to respect others.
This Handbook explores the ways in which religion among the African people has been applied in situations of conflict and violence to contribute to sustainable peace and development. It analyzes how peacebuilding inspired and enabled by religion serves as the foundation for sustainable development in Africa, while also acknowledging that religion can also be a tool of destruction, and can be used to fuel violence and underdevelopment. Contributors to this volume offer theoretical discussions from existing literature, as well as experiences of practitioners, to deepen the readers’ understanding on the role of religion and religious institutions in peacebuilding and development in Africa. The Handbook provides reflections on possible future developments as well, thereby aligning with the goals of SDG 16.
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
Teaching and the research of theology and philosophy in Africa faces serious challenges: Contents and methods of study programs are often coined by European universalism. Tertiary institutions depend largely on foreign funding. This study analyzes the situation and suggests a closer collaboration.
Theology has a rich tradition across the African continent, and has taken myriad directions since Christianity first arrived on its shores. This handbook charts both historical developments and contemporary issues in the formation and application of theologies across the member countries of the African Union. Written by a panel of expert international contributors, chapters firstly cover the various methodologies needed to carry out such a survey. Various theological movements and themes are then discussed, as well as biblical and doctrinal issues pertinent to African theology. Subjects addressed include: • Orality and theology • Indigenous religions and theology • Patristics • Pentecostalism • Liberation theology • Black theology • Social justice • Sexuality and theology • Environmental theology • Christology • Eschatology • The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament The Routledge Handbook of African Theology is an authoritative and comprehensive survey of the theological landscape of Africa. As such, it will be a hugely useful volume to any scholar interested in African religious dynamics, as well as academics of Theology or Biblical Studies in an African context.
In this in-depth study of the legacy of Byang Kato, Dr. Foday-Khabenje traces his extraordinary life from a boyhood immersed in African traditional religion to his conversion to Christianity as a young man, his education in Nigeria and abroad, his global leadership within the evangelical church, his tragic, untimely death, and the long-lasting impact of his prophetic voice. In the realm of African theology, Kato is often remembered for the oppositional stance he took towards many of his contemporaries, arguing passionately for the dangers of universalism and syncretism and urging the church to place the Bible at the heart of African Christianity. Foday-Khabenje engages these debates while demonstrating that Kato’s contributions to the African church cannot be reduced to polemics. His biblical hermeneutics, perspectives on African Christian identity, and tireless work for the expansion of theological education in Africa are each explored and celebrated, along with their implications for the contemporary church in Africa and beyond. While nearly fifty years have passed since Kato’s death, his legacy is still as relevant as ever for a church facing the challenges of secularism and pluralism in the twenty-first century. In an age that seeks to de-emphasize the uniqueness of Christ, Kato’s testimony of the radical transformation offered by authentic biblical Christianity is good news for us all.
This volume highlights the relevance of globalization and the insights of gender studies and religious studies for feminist theology. It focuses on the changing global contexts for the field and its movement towards new models of theology, distinct from the forms of traditional Christian systematic theology and of secular feminism.
Christian theology, like all forms of knowledge, thinking and practice, arises from and is influenced by the context in which it is done. In Doing Contextual Theology, Angie Pears demonstrates the radically contextual nature of Christian theology by focusing on five forms of liberation theology: Latin American Liberation Theologies; Black Theologies; Feminist Informed Theologies; Sexual Theologies; Body Theologies. Pears analyses how each of these asserts a clear and persistent link to the Christian tradition through The Bible and Christology and discusses the implications of contextual and local theologies for understanding Christianity as a religion. Moreover, she considers whether fears are justified that a radically contextual reading of Christian theologies leads to a relativist understanding of the religion, or whether these theologies share some form of common identity both despite and because of their contextual nature. Doing Contextual Theology offers students a clear and up-to-date survey of the field of contemporary liberation theology and provides them with a sound understanding of how contextual theology works in practice.
