Some Current Trends of Christianity in Africa

This article examines three trends in current African Christianity. Its denominational fragmentation is currently marked by the coexistence of three major groups: the “churches that emerged from the apostolic process of Christian antiquity”; the “churches born from Western missionary processes”; and the “African revivalists” (African initiated churches and African Pentecostal churches). The African revivalists are characterized by doctrinal and institutional creativity that largely draws on Africa's historical trajectory, with its challenges of a sociocultural, identity, and economic nature. This “fragmented African Christianity” inevitably has a diverse view of African cultures, ranging from a positive viewpoint on one end of the scale and radical rejection on the other, and including various patterns of taking over Christian heritage with the goal of giving new value to the formally scorned African identity. This diversity of attitudes in turn prompts overall judgments on Christianity in Africa, which range from praise to suspicion regarding the pertinence of this religion on the continent. This complex shape of current African Christianity is not an obstacle to the Ad Gentes mission, whose current dynamism is increasingly marked by the phenomenon of African emigration. All of this represents a great challenge for ecumenism, because a trend toward a “religion market” is taking the lead over collaboration and search for Christian unity. This is why it is important to recognize the quality of this African missionary Christianity, whose fragmentation is quite original.     

哈纳克的《论马克安》

哈纳克是德国教会史家和神学家,自由主义新教神学的主要代表;而马克安是使徒之后奥古斯丁之前最重要的教会史人物。哈纳克学术研究的一个重心所在就是马克安,他穷一生心力研究马克安的结晶就是《论马克安》。本文从哈纳克的学术地位、马克安在灵知思想和基督教会历史中占据的独特的位置,以及《论马克安》的所阐述的义理等三个方面为中译本的《论马克安》作引介。     

Celibacy and Free Love in Early Christianity

Abstract

Mainstream Christianity places the defence of marriage and the household at the centre of Christian identity. It is therefore noteworthy that in the first two centuries of Christianity marriage was attacked from a variety of standpoints as incompatible with full Christian commitment. The best documented attack came from the Encratite movement, which held that all Christians are called to a life of sexual abstinence. It first surfaces in the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, where Paul defends the right to marriage but treats his opponents with notable respect. It can be argued that Encratism follows from the Pauline Gospel, and that Paul, in refusing to follow the logic of position to this conclusion, was guilty of inconsistency and timidity. Marriage was also attacked by those who wished to replace marriage with sexual communism. Epiphanes, On Righteousness, attacks marriage as part of a system of exclusive property rights that contradicts the original will of the Creator. Epiphanes was much indebted to the Cynic movement, as Encratism was also. Both Encratism and so-called ‘libertinism’ shared the same rejection of the narrow interests and the traditional family, and dreamt of a recovery of Paradise. Whether this recovery was attained by renouncing sex or by liberating it can be seen as a secondary question, where opposite views could be held in the context of the same radical interpretation of the Gospel, an interpretation that deserves serious attention even today.     

The Christianization of African Traditional Religions

In studies of the historical growth and spread of Christianity in Africa, the focus has been too much on Christianizing African social and religious institutions and structures, and not enough on African traditional religion itself, which needs to be addressed by Christianity. This article addresses the core – that is, the theology and worldview – of the African traditional religion. It argues that this core needs to be Christianized and shows how this can be done. In order to achieve this task, the article uses a new theological method, a “systematic theology” of African traditional religion, as the basis for a theological method of engagement and interaction of religions and worldview. This new method explains in practical terms how Christianity can effectively Christianize African traditional religions and worldviews.     

REVIEWS

Faith and Understanding, Paul Helm, Edinburgh University Press 1997 God, Reason and Theistic Proofs, Stephen T. Davis, Edinburgh University Press 1997 An Introduction to Pastoral Care, Charles V. Gerkin, Abingdon Press 1997 A Preserving Grace. Protestants, Catholics and Natural Law, Michael Cromartie (ed), Ethics and Public Policy Center and Eerdmans 1997 Laughing Gods, Weeping Virgins: Laughter in the History of Religion, Ingvild S. Gilhus, Routledge 1997 Visions and Longings. Medieval Women Mystics, Monica Furlong, Mowbray/Cassell 1996 Women Confronting the Holocaust In Spite of the Horror, Jutta T. Bendremer, Edwin Mellen Press 1997 Political Christianity: A Reader, David McLellan (ed), SPCK 1997 Freedom of Religion and Belief. A world report, Kevin Boyle and Juliet Sheen (eds) Religion Without Transcendence?, D.Z. Phillips and Timothy Tessin (eds) Contemporary Philosophy of Religion, Charles Taliaferro A Feminist Philosophy of Religion: The Rationality and Myths of Religious Belief Jewish Perspectives on Christianity, Fritz A. Rothschild (ed) Allah in the West. Islamic Movements in America and Europe, Gilles Kepel Qur'ān, Liberation and Pluralism: an Islamic Perspective of Interreligious Solidarity against Oppression, Farid Esack Ambrose, Boniface Ramsey OP (The Early Church Fathers ed Carol Harrison) The Quest of the Historical Gospel: Mark, John and the Origins of the Gospel Genre, Lawrence M. Wills The Gospel of Luke, Joel B. Green (ed), (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) Moral Leadership in a Postmodern Age, Robin Gill, T.&T. Clark 1997 Ethics and the Old Testament, John Barton, SCM Press 1998     

Wrestling with a Wounding Word: Reading the Disjointed Lines of African American Spirituality

This essay examines African American spirituality as a complex web of arguments constituted by and shaped around a struggle with Christianity. With these arguments, this essay examines the dominant way in which Afro-American spirituality is defined, along the lines of an essential African reality. This definition is shown to be a part of the struggle against Christianity. The positing of this essentialist definition is also a form of spiritual practice which points to a deep longing for freedom from the continuing power of the colonialist's theologically derogatory vision of the African. However the effect of this definition is to render all Christian articulation and expression of the African transparent, pointing always and only to their blackness. Thus Afro-spirituality as it is commonly articulated re-establishes the colonialist vision of the African as always presenting a theological alterity, an inauthentic Christian.     

God So Loved the World

The account of the near sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22, often referred to as the Aqedah, has been profoundly influential, both directly and indirectly, in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theological reflection. This article seeks to explore some Christian insights into the use of the motif of the sacrifice of Isaac, suggesting that its use is fundamental to understanding the theme of Christ’s love in the Gospel of John, in particular the link between love, sacrifice, and unity. With a brief exploration of two artworks by Marc Chagall, The Sacrifice of Isaac and the White Crucifixion, it will also raise questions as to what this might mean for the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.     

SHORT NOTICES

Books reviewed:
Mercy Amba Oduyoye. Beads and Strands: Reflections of an African Woman on Christianity in Africa. Kwame Bediako. Jesus and the Gospel in Africa: History and Experience. Kä Mana. Christians and the Churches of Africa: Salvation in Christ and the Building of a New African Society. Reviewed by David Tonghou Ngong
Sarah J. Dille. Mixing Metaphors: God as Mother and Father in Deutero-Isaiah. Reviewed by Mark Brummitt
Mary E. Shields. Circumscribing the Prostitute: The Rhetorics of Intertextuality, Metaphor and Gender in Jeremiah 3.1–4.4. Reviewed by Mark Brummitt
Hasia R. Diner. A New Promised Land: A History of Jews in America. Reviewed by Michael A. Chester
David Booy (ed.). Autobiographical Writings of Early Quaker Women. Reviewed by Sally Bruyneel
Frank Jehle, William B. Eerdmans. Ever against the Stream: The Politics of Karl Barth, 1906–1968. Reviewed by Peter Kalve
William F. Storrar and Andrew R. Morton (eds). Public Theology for the 21st Century. Reviewed by John Armson
Flemming Rutlege. The Battle for Middle-Earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings. Reviewed by Christy Lohr
Charles E. Curran. The Moral Theology of Pope John Paul II. Reviewed by Bernadette McNary-Zak
Nancy Roth. An Invitation to Christian Yoga. Nancy Roth. Spiritual Exercises: Joining Body and Spirit in Prayer. Reviewed by Christy Lohr
Edward L. Cleary and Timothy J. Steigena (eds). Resurgent Voices in Latin America: Indigenous Peoples, Political Mobilization, and Religious Change. Reviewed by Andrew Dawson
Margaret Benefiel. Soul at Work: Spiritual Leadership in Organizations. Reviewed by Christy Lohr     

From Cross to Crescent: Religious conversion of Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong

This paper analyzes the religious conversion of the migrant Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong from Christianity to Islam. Religious conversion is found to result primarily from their romantic involvement or inter-marriage with Pakistani men. Their conversion behavior is analyzed in the light of the socio-political situation of their respective countries and the religious and cultural expectations of their community. Rambo's stage model of conversion is used to understand and explain the conversion processes.     

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Liberating Paul: The Justice of God and the Politics of the Apostle, Neil Elliott The Ecclesiology of Karl Rahner, Richard Lennan The Theology of the Gospel of John, D. Moody Smith Peace in Ireland: Two States, One People , David Bleakley The Illusion of the End , Jean Baudrillard Consciousness and the Mind of God, Charles Taliaferro Spirituality of the Third World: A Cry for Life , K. C. Abraham and Bernadette Mbuy-Beya (eds) Europe: Was It Ever Really Christian? The Interaction between Gospel and Culture, Anton Wessels Religion in Europe: Contemporary Perspectives, Sean Gill, Gavin D'Costa and Ursula King (eds) Media, Communication, Culture: A Global Approach, James Lull King Alfred's College of Higher Education Christianity: Its Essence and History, Hans Kting Justice, Courtesy and Love: Theologians and Missionaries Encountering World Religions 1846-1914, Kenneth Cracknell An Ethics for Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics, Donald W. Shriver Jr Rethinking Metaphysics , L. Gregory Jones and Stephen Fowl (eds) Grace and Responsibility: A Wesleyan Theology for Today, John B. Cobb     

IS CONTEMPORARY MORAL THEORY FOUNDED ON A MISUNDERSTANDING?*

[Christianity] has enriched philosophy with far more definite and purer concepts than it had been able to furnish before; but which, once they are there, are freely assented to by Reason and are assumed as concepts to which it could well have come of itself and which it could and should have introduced…. Even the Holy One of the Gospel must first be compared with our ideal of moral perfection, before we can recognize him as such [Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgement , tr. Bernard; p. 410n and Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals , tr. Lewis White Beck; p. 30].     

Assessing Christianity in Africa's Transforming Context

The dramatic shift in the demographics of African Christianity in the last century necessitates new analysis of its present shape, multivalent relationship to its colonial past, relationship to the African Indigenous Churches, and likely major contribution to the shape and leadership of Christianity in the future.     

K. H. TING'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONTEXTUALIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA

The spirituality and theology of Chinese Protestant believers and pastors is rooted in the profoundly conservative Evangelical‐revivalist and Pietistic missionary background of the Chinese church. Bishop K. H. Ting (b. 1915), the most prominent church leader and theologian of the Protestant church of China during the last decades, intends to broaden the narrow theological scope of the Chinese Christians. He emphasizes Trinitarian theology, natural theology, the theology of creation, and ethical principles common to all human beings. On the basis of these concepts, Ting attempts to find points of contact between the Christian faith, on the one hand, and traditional Chinese culture and modern secular Chinese society, on the other. Some critics of K. H. Ting claim that he is trying to introduce into Chinese Christianity liberal theological views which would eventually destroy some of the main pillars of the Evangelical faith. The present essay argues that this, in fact, is not the case; rather, K. H. Ting speaks for theological perspectives which belong to the theological mainstream, the ecumenical heritage of classical theology commonly accepted by a large number of both Protestant and Catholic theologians. Moreover, the essay points out that the contextualization of Christianity in China has been successful in adapting the Christian faith and life to the social, historical, and political context where the Chinese Christians live today. But the cultural aspect of contextualization, or inculturation, is just in the beginning. Younger Chinese theologians have a great challenge in facing the question: How to relate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to five thousand years of Chinese cultural experience, and how to connect this with various global cultural, economic, and other influences which so deeply affect the life of all people on this planet?     

Missional Discipleship

Most communities of the world, and particularly in the continent of Africa, are multi‐faith and multicultural. Christianity is a major religion in the continent that has succeeded in persuading adherents of African traditional religions to switch off from their indigenous belief and switch on to Christian belief. 1 Christianity is not the only religious faith in Africa. It has other sibling monotheistic religions and other religious expressions. Christianity, being a mission‐oriented religious faith, has a mandate to bring about transformation as reflected in its sacred text, the Bible. This article will explore how the transformation is stimulated and sustained. Meanwhile, it is necessary to state that African people were religious people even before the advent of Christianity and Islam. As a result, religion plays a critical role in their public engagements. Nevertheless, what may be investigated further would be whether religion, and Christian faith in particular, influences the people to be good citizens/disciples as they engage in the socio‐political and economic life of the society. The article seeks to use the notion of missional discipleship as a compelling stimulus for inclusive transformation in African societies.     

The Gospels in the Muslim Discourse of the Ninth to the Fourteenth Centuries: An exegetical inventorial table (part I)

Whereas it is generally accepted that Muslim polemicists against Christianity habitually condemned the Gospels as corrupt, a surprising number in fact quoted from all four Gospels, and employed them in arguments that were both directed against Christian beliefs and constructed to defend Islam. This article brings together in tabular form more than 1270 Gospel references from 23 works by 20 Muslim authors, from the early third/ninth century to the early eighth/fourteenth century, and by means of a system of keys shows how they were deployed in support of a range of doctrinal points. The article is divided into four sections that appear in the four issues of ICMR vol. 14 through 2003.     

African Christian Scholars and the Study of African Traditional Religions: A Re-evaluation

The writings of African scholars who are committed to Christianity have been assessed negatively, particularly as regards the study of African traditional religions (ATRs). This article surveys the context that influenced African Christian scholars and illustrates why cultural nationalism features in some of their writings. While accepting the validity of some of the criticisms, this essay maintains that the writings of African Christian scholars remain important.     

New religious movements in Islamic West Africa

Christianity and Islam have interacted extensively with traditional African faiths to engender innovative religious developments known as 'New Religious Movements in Africa'. Although the majority of these movements have arisen out of the interaction with Christianity, a number of them have been inspired by Islam. The article, following an established paradigm for New Religious Movements, covers 'African-Related Movements' which are neo-primal, i.e. movements where the inner dynamic and basic structure derives from traditional faith to enable them to cope with new situations and the 'Synthetist movements' which reflect a real assimilation of Islamic elements, but are less ethnocentric and more universal in outlook. The former are referred to as 'Africanized neo-Islamic Movements' whereas the latter are called 'Orthodox New Islamic Movements'. Between these two are the 'traditional movements'. Reasons for the different effects of Islam and Christianity on African tradition and a comparison of Islamic and Christian movements are also presented.     

Freedom of Religion and The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark

This article investigates how Africans in Zululand, South Africa, viewed Lutheran missionaries in the 1950's. The main source is a thorough report Zulu pastor S. A. Mbatha gave in answer to a survey initiated by the Swedish missionary Helge Fosseus in 1957. Fosseus wanted to find out more about the causes of increasing African resistance to mission, church and Christianity. Mbatha replied that missionaries were seen by Africans as enemies in that they shared white South African society's prevailing attitude toward blacks. Missionaries were characterized as exploiters and betrayers. This negative image contrasts strongly with the picture the missionaries painted of themselves as Africans' friends and allies in the struggle against increasing discrimination. The last part of the article discusses possible causes for the large difference between the missionaries' self-understanding and the Africans' image of the missionaries.     

Toward Common Ground: Catholicism and Pentecostalism in African Christianity

After reviewing the great appeal of Pentecostal/charismatic spirituality as a religious phenomenon that has come to stay on the tapestry of the pastoral ecology of African Christianity, this article suggests a more dynamic and practical interface and collaboration with these movements by the Catholic Church in Africa, using the Vatican Council's embrace of ecumenism and dialogue.