The common ground for
all the shades of charismatic dynamism is focus on personal feeling about
God’s presence through the Holy Spirit, and on the various manifestations of
the Spirit in daily life. Charismatic Renewal has gained foothold in
practically every major denomination in the churches originating in the
North Atlantic. This fact has made ecclesial identity rather complex ,
especially in the older denominations. On the one hand, Christians missing a
stronger sense of religious feeling and visible, miraculous, manifestations
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, no longer need to leave their traditional
denominations in favour of Pentecostalism On the other however, it is
obvious that charismatic enthusiasm has introduced a great deal of
Pentecostal theological influences, and many of the older denominations are
not quite clear how the deal with the consequences These tendencies are
clearly visible in Africa, as elsewhere They are perhaps even more manifest
in Africa than in many other areas One reason is that in Africa religion
plays a more visible role in individual and social life, at a time when
African Christianity is expanding rapidly in terms of numerical growth. It
is impossible to ignore the impact of these movements in Africa today. Thus,
for the older churches in Africa, the issue at stake is how to deal with
charismatic tendencies amongst both the clergy and the laity.
The task of
Reconstruction requires the input of all members of the community. Those who
have technical skills in all professions will voluntarily place them at the
disposal of the Reconstruction process, for the common good of the whole
community both in the long term and in the short term. The semi-skilled and
unskilled members of the community also contribute their labour towards the
process of Reconstruction, each according to the sector where their work is
needed. The pedagogy of Reconstruction concentrates on encouraging all
members of the community to direct all energy and resources to the task of
rebuilding, vigilantly safe-guarding the freedom which has already been won.
In contrast, the pedagogy of Liberation focuses all attention to the war
against the oppressor, and also demands on every member of the community to
be a fighter — even when non-violence is chosen as the strategy for
Liberation. The pedagogy of Reconstruction presupposes that the work-force
knows the task at hand. In contrast, the pedagogy of Liberation presupposes
that only the commanders know the terrain and the logistics of the war or
struggle. When the war ends, the strenuous task of Reconstruction begins.
But the logic of Liberation requires Reconstruction, in anticipation of
victory. This book explores the role of Christian Theology in the processes
of both Liberation and Reconstruction.
This ninth volume in
the African Christianity series deals with ‘democracy’—an issue that is very
pertinent to public debate in Africa today. The contributors creatively
explore the theme of ‘democracy’, noting its openness to a wide variety of
meanings and interpretations. The book lucidly documents the fact that
although in practice ‘democracy’ may not be perfect or easily attainable,
its tenets are worth promoting in every society and nation everywhere. The
Church has a responsibility to engage itself in this endeavour, beginning
with itself and radiating its exemplary teaching and action throughout the
rest of society. Appreciating the role of the Church as an agent of
reconciliation, the book urges for the enhancement of that role in every
nation. The book extends the challenge to Africans in general—and
theologians in particular, to critically reflect on the democratization and
reconciliation processes in their respective nations, in order to facilitate
a meeting of minds concerning the destiny of Africa.
This volume is the
eighth in the ongoing series produced by the ecumenical symposium of
theologians from East Africa. The emphasis of the volume’s subject matter is
timely considering the turmoil that the continent of Africa has been
subjected to in the recent past. This volume addresses two closely linked
issues; the rampant violence in Africa and a search, indeed a cry for
reconciliation and peace. With varying approaches and degree of emphasis,
each contributor has discussed the two issues. The various faces and facets
of violence as discussed in the chapters of the book, nevertheless, testify
to the reality and magnitude of violence not only in Africa, but in the
world as a whole What is significant is the recognition by each contributor,
that reconciliation and peace are not only necessary, but viable and
feasible and that religion, and in particular Christianity, and the diverse
African heritage can be utilized towards this end. As a result, material
contained herein will serve not just as a theological text but as a
challenge to individuals, to the church and other institutions to search for
and eventually realize peace in Africa and beyond.
“Critically
reconstructing ancient texts, history and a community of scholars is an
unfinished task. Although scholars in Africa and elsewhere are working in
different contexts, they are involved in a common process. Fresh insights
into Biblical wisdom and faith are needed from Africa, Asia, Europe, the
Americas and elsewhere if scholarship is to grow and flourish. In this
respect, colleagues in Africa have a unique contribution to make.” Prof.
Bernard Lategan, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
“From my own studies
of the New Testament in the context of the Graeco-Roman world with its
cultures and religions 1 can see great simi larities between the struggles
of the early church and your struggles in post-colonial Africa. The New
Testament contains enormous resources for understanding your struggles, if
you hold them against the background of the early church. In order to tap
these resources, however, careful theological hermeneutics is needed.”
Prof. Hans Dieter
Betz, University of Chicago, USA; Past President, SNTS.
“As the past
President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Socistas it was a great
experience for me to take part in the Hammanskraal Conference and meet a
number of first rate African scholars and learn from their papers. The
lasting effect of the Conference will be enhanced by the present book in
which the papers are made available to a wide range of readers.”
Prof. Peder Borgen,
University of Trondheim, Norway; Past President, SNTS.
One of the things
biblical scholars have realised throughout the recent decades is that our
interpretation of the bible emerges from the encounter between the ancient
texts on the one hand and our contexts on the other.
When thirty scholars
from Eastern and Southern Africa and two from Nor way — came together in the
beautiful Convent of the Dimesse Sisters in Karen, south of Nairobi to
discuss various aspects of the relationship between Africa and the Old
Testament, the question of localisation was of vital importance. The Karen
area, situated at the foot of the Ngong Hills, became to us an Africa in
miniature:
Here we experienced
some of the silence and freshness of the Savannah, but here we also
experienced some of the noise and pollution of the metropolis. And in this
context of the mixed experiences we repeatedly asked ourselves: What does it
mean to interpret the Old Testament in Africa today? There is, of course, no
plain answer to this question. The whole colloquium — and now this book, a
collection of the papers read at the colloquium — is an attempt to answer.
This answer comes in five parts.
This volume is the
third in an on-going series investigating various features of contemporary
African Christianity. It is concerned with African moral theology and
African Christian ethics. Moral theology deals with the principles that
influence, or should influence the behaviour of Christians. The sources of
Christian morality are Scripture, teachings of the Church, reason inspired
by faith, and in the African context, some of the teachings derived from the
African heritage. From the African perspective, life is regarded as an
integral whole, and religion is the fabric that binds it together. The
Papers in this volume, although wide—ranging, should be studied with this
understanding.
The volume covers
various topics pertaining to moral theology, from the perspective of the
contributing African theologians. The series as a whole highlights the
view—point of African Christian theologians with regard to the perennial
themes of Christianity in the context of contemporary Africa.
The reconstruction
paradigm is an inter-faith, inter-denominational and multi-disciplinary
enterprise. In a continent where wars, drought, famine, land mines and other
pernicious effects of political instability indiscriminately affect men,
women and children, the reconstruction task cannot be achieved in isolation.
For, without the co-operative efforts of believers and non- believers,
Christians and non-Christians, it will be impossible to surmount the
problems faced by African societies today. Specifically for African
churches, the reconstruction paradigm implies enabling theologians as well
as Christians in places of public responsibility to contribute to the urgent
reconstruction task, from perspectives informed by Christian faith and
critique.
Reconstruction and
renewal are thus new forms of theological hermeneutics developed by African
theologians to bring full humanity to the people of this continent. With
this new hermeneutic, Africans have initiated a process of theological
renewal in Africa — a new theological beginning that calls for
epistemological innovation in theological reflection.
Valentin Dedji,
originally from Benin, currently lives and works as the minister in charge
of St. Mark’s Methodist Church in London. He is also involved in theological
education at several Universities in the UK. He obtained his doctorate in
Theology from Cambridge University.
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