African Theology in Its Social Context

African Theology in Its Social Context

Author: Benezet Bujo

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2006-03-29

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 1597526169

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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 in African Context

Christian Theology in African Context

Author: Eshetu Abate

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781942304098

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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.


Hearing and Knowing

Hearing and Knowing

Author: Mercy A. Oduyoye

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2009-07-01

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1606088610

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I would urge everyone to receive this book with openness and understanding. Written by an African Christian woman, it is a serious attempt to speak of the fullness of the Gospel to the specific African context. As one individual's struggle to give account of the hope that lies in her, it is a passionate and sincere work, and a welcome contribution to the growing genre of religious literature known as liberation theology. The author seeks not only to speak to us but also to move us and bring us to different ways of 'hearing and knowing.' She has succeeded with me. -Lamin Sanneh Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard University This book is a remarkable synthesis of history, theology, and missions. It is one of the most important books of the decade because it is written by a Ghanian Christian woman who resides in Nigeria and has travelled the world-over demanding that we no longer allow traditional theological puzzles to go unexamined. Oduyoye's writings are like a breath of fresh air to women in ministry and in the church. -Katie G. Cannon Episcopal Divinity School Amber Oduyoye is Africa's leading woman theologian. In this book we meet a woman of faith reflecting in a scholarly and meditative way on Christianity in Africa. Learned in both the Western and African theological traditions, Professor Oduyoye brings constructive criticism to bear on each in the interest of promoting a wider community of wholeness. -Peter J. Paris Princeton Theological Seminary


Towards an African Narrative Theology

Towards an African Narrative Theology

Author: Joseph Healey

Publisher: Orbis Books

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 574

ISBN-13: 1608331873

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Reflects what traditional proverbs used in Christian catechetical, liturgical, and ritual contexts reveal about Tanzanian appropriations of and interpretations of Christianity.


Theology and Identity

Theology and Identity

Author: Kwame Bediako

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-06-01

Total Pages: 527

ISBN-13: 1610974409

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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.


The Church as Salt and Light

The Church as Salt and Light

Author: Stan Chu Ilo

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-06-16

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 1630879614

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This book is an attempt at a critical, constructive, and creative theological praxis of social transformation in Africa. The authors apply a multi-disciplinary approach to examining how Christianity in Africa is engaging the problems of Africa's challenging social context. This is a prophetic work that applies the symbols of "salt" and "light" as ecclesiological images for reenvisioning the path towards procuring abundant life for God's people in the African continent through the agency of African Christianity. The contributors to this volume ask these fundamental questions: What is the face of Jesus in African Christianity? What is the face and identity of the Church in Africa? How can one evaluate the relevance of the Church in Africa to African Christians who enthusiastically embrace and celebrate their Christian faith? In other words, what positive imprint is Christianity leaving on the lives and societies of African Christians? Does the Christian message have the potential of positively affecting African civilization as it once did in Europe? What is the relevance and place of African Christianity as a significant voice in shaping both the future of Africa and that of world Christianity?


Faith in African Lived Christianity

Faith in African Lived Christianity

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-09-16

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 9004412255

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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.


African Public Theology

African Public Theology

Author: Sunday Bobai Agang

Publisher: Langham Publishing

Published: 2020-04-30

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 1783688130

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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.