African Christian Theologies and the Impact of the Reformation

African Christian Theologies and the Impact of the Reformation
Author: Heinrich Bedford-Strohm
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
Total Pages: 461
Release: 2017
Genre: History
ISBN: 3643908202

One of the strongest heritages of the Reformation for Christianity was to return to the central role given to the Bible, translated in local dialects. Christianity expanded thanks to the translation of the Bible in vernacular languages worldwide. Most importantly, the people who had been victims of prejudices of race supremacy could now have access to God in their own language, culture, and idioms without intermediaries. It is largely thanks to Bible translations that the majority of those churches in Africa, born of European mission activities, continued to develop positively after the end of the colonial age, and that independent African churches emerged. (Series: Theology in the Public Square / Theologie in der Ã?Â?ffentlichkeit, Vol. 10) [Subject: African Studies, Christian Studies]

Theology and Identity

Theology and Identity
Author: Kwame Bediako
Publisher: OCMS
Total Pages: 532
Release: 1992
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 9781870345101

This book is all about Jesus.nbsp;The words recorded in it were written about Jesus over 2000 years ago. Yet today his message of peace hope love and forgiveness still resonates with people of all races nationalities educational and economic backgrounds. Some like what he said while others disagree with what he said. But almost everyone finds him intriguing. nbsp;The story of Jesus comes to us from four different authors Matthew Mark Luke and John written over a period of nearly seventy years. The message and uniqueness of Jesus remain the same but each author tells the story from his perspective and for his purpose. Some writers wrote more; others wrote less. nbsp;But what if we could read it as one single story from beginning to end This book does just that by combining the four reports of Jesusrsquo; life into a single chronological story.nbsp;Through this book you will take a new look at Jesus his life his miracles and his teachings and be able to come to your own conclusion about him.nbsp;Produced in cooperation with the International Bible Society.

African Reformation

African Reformation
Author: Allan Anderson
Publisher: Africa World Press
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2001
Genre: Africa, Sub-Saharan
ISBN: 9780865438842

This studay provides an overview of the numerous African initiated churches that came into being during the 20th century in the various different parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Written by an acknowledged expert on Christianity in Africa, it also examines the reasons for the emergence of these religious centres that have resulted from the interaction between Christianity and African pre-Christian religions.

Engaging Religions and Worldviews in Africa

Engaging Religions and Worldviews in Africa
Author: Yusufu Turaki
Publisher: Langham Publishing
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2020-04-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1783688416

In a world of increasing globalization, we live amidst a clash of cultures, religions, and worldviews – each battling for the human heart and mind. In this in-depth study, Yusufu Turaki offers a theological framework for engaging this clash of perspectives in Africa, where traditional African religions, colonialism, and exposure to Christianity have each had a lasting impact on contemporary African worldviews. Professor Turaki undertakes a systematic analysis of the nature of African Traditional Religion, its complex history with Christianity, and the need for African Christian theology to address its cultural and historical roots effectively. He provides both a conceptual framework and practical guide for engaging African cultures and religions with compassion, understanding, and a firm foundation rooted in scriptural truth. This book is an excellent resource for students of religion and theology, as well as those interested in Africa’s traditional heritage or drawn to the important work of cross-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.

Kwame Bediako

Kwame Bediako
Author: Tim Hartman
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2022-02-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506480454

Ghanaian theologian Kwame Bediako presses all Christians to question their own theological commitments. He does so by rethinking Christian identity in light of cultural identity and the shortcomings of colonialism. Bediako's quest to be both African and Christian informs what it means to be Christian in a secularized Europe and North America. Far more than just chronological and biographical, Tim Hartman's analysis of the arc of Bediako's theology demonstrates that Bediako's vision of Christianity as a non-Western religion allows it to serve as a resource for World Christianity amid the exponential growth of Christianity in the Global South. Hartman points to how Bediako sidesteps the influence of Western thought by rooting African Christianity in a twin heritage of pre-Christendom patristic theology and precolonial traditional religious practices of Africa. Bediako expands the canon of theological resources available for Christians by eliminating the distinction between gospel and culture. Since there is no such thing as a pure theology for Bediako, culture itself becomes a source of divine revelation through the incarnation. Hartman's study of Bediako helpfully corrects inaccurate portrayals of African Christianity. The growth of African Christianity should not be feared, nor mischaracterized as narrow-minded or too conservative. Bediako asserts a polycentric understanding of the Christian faith based in grassroots theologies and the beliefs of actual Christians. While Bediako agrees that Christianity in Africa (and the Global South) is the future of the Christian faith, he rejects assumptions that the Christian faith needs to be yoked to political power. Instead, Bediako offers an alternative understanding of politics based on democracy and nondominating power. Both Bediako and the book offer a way forward in thinking about questions of religious pluralism. African Christianity has never known cultural hegemony as African Christians have always lived with Islam and African traditional religions. Bediako offers a theology of "Jesus is Lord" while appreciating the integrity of Islam and traditional African religions. In the end, the book presents an African Christian theologian who values--and does not simply reject--African traditional religions. Bediako believed that traditional African religions, far from being demonic, served as evangelical preparation for the Christian faith and as the substructure of African Christianity, and that African religious imagination was the foundation for the Christian faith worldwide. As Hartman shows, the more distinctively African Bediako's Christianity became, the more suited that theology became for the world.

Salvation in African Christianity

Salvation in African Christianity
Author: Rodney L. Reed
Publisher: Langham Publishing
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2023-10-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1839739290

“What must I do to be saved?” That question, raised in the book of Acts by the Philippian jailer, is a question for the ages. Yet what, even, does it mean to be saved? Is salvation for this life or the next? Is it purely spiritual or does it have physical and material implications? Can salvation be lost? Do we determine who will be saved or does God? What role does Christ play in salvation? Such are the seemingly unending questions soteriology strives to answer. In this eighth volume from the Africa Society of Evangelical Theology, African theologians articulate their understanding of salvation – and its widespread implications for life and practice – in conversation with Scripture and the rich diversity of an African cultural context. Salvation is examined from historical, philosophical, and theological lenses, and scholars address topics as wide-ranging as conversion, ethnicity, fertility, poverty, prosperity, the Trinity, exclusivism, African Pentecostalism, rural community, eschatology, wholeness, and atonement. It is a powerful exploration of the holistic nature of salvation as articulated in Scripture and understood by the African church.

The Impact of Reformation on the Historical and Social Development of Christianity in South-South Nigeria

The Impact of Reformation on the Historical and Social Development of Christianity in South-South Nigeria
Author: Emeka Ekeke
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 117
Release: 2015-02-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3656889341

Doctoral Thesis / Dissertation from the year 2013 in the subject Theology - Historic Theology, Ecclesiastical History, grade: 3.49 (A), ( Atlantic International University ) (Social and Human Studies), course: Religious Studies, language: English, abstract: Reformation was a great movement that began in Europe in the fourteenth century with far reaching implications on the religious, historical and social development of Christianity globally. It opened a new door of opportunity for missionary efforts around the world and culminated in the massive missionary expeditions of the eighteen and nineteen centuries. The main thrust of this study was to investigate the impact of Reformation on the historical and social development of Christianity in South-South Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of this study, five hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Literature review was carried out according to the variables of the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of one thousand (1000) respondents was randomly selected for the study. The selection was done through the stratified and simple random sampling technique. The questionnaire was the main instruments used for data collection. The instruments were faced validated by the supervisor who vetted the items developed. The reliability estimate of the instruments was established through the test-retest reliability method. Pearson product moment correlation analysis was employed to test the hypotheses under study. Each hypothesis was tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the analysis revealed that, cultural development of Christianity, slave trade, educational development, development of health institutions and historical development in Nigeria significantly relate with Reformation. Based on the findings of the study, it was among others, recommended that those cultural nationalists who denigrate the missionary enterprise in Nigeria and Christianity in general should start appreciating their efforts as having contributed in no small measure to the development of the country.

The Kingdom of God in Africa

The Kingdom of God in Africa
Author: Mark Shaw
Publisher: Langham Global Library
Total Pages: 456
Release: 2020-07-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 183973020X

African Christianity is not an imported religion but rather one of the oldest forms of Christianity in the world. In The Kingdom of God in Africa, Mark Shaw and Wanjiru M. Gitau trace the development and spread of African Christianity through its two-thousand year history, demonstrating how the African church has faithfully testified to the power and diversity of God’s kingdom. Both history students and casual readers will gain greater understanding of how key churches, figures and movements across the continent conceptualized the kingdom of God and manifested it through their actions. The only up-to- date, single-volume study of its kind, this book also includes maps and statistics that aid readers to absorb the rich history of African Christianity and discover its impact on the rest of the world.