The Routledge Handbook of African Theology

Elias Kifon Bongmba, Elias Kifon Bongmba

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781351607445
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theologie & Religion
• Subtopic: Theologie

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.

Part I

Theological method

1

Theology today in Africa

Elias Kifon Bongmba

The Routledge Handbook of African Theology is designed to invite readers to explore aspects of ­theology in Africa. We set out to present a volume that captures elements of theology on the continent as a way of giving readers a snapshot of what some of the leading theologians and scholars think today. We asked the contributors to focus on introducing the theological idea, define it, give readers an overview of the theological motif, theoretically, historically, or thematically, as a way of documenting the history of the theological concept. Contributors also had the choice of developing the theological motif or offering a critical constructive narrative and laying out new theological positions. The positions expressed remains those of the individual scholars and theologians. The goal was to cast a long glance on the history of theology in Africa, by going on a journey with the authors, as they explore specific topics. We are delighted to offer this volume as one of the snapshots of theological adventures in Africa that should serve as a conversation starter and reference work on selected topics in African theology. This book is a reference work that provides targeted insight to invite a broad and robust theological dialogue in the African context.

The history of theology in Africa is as old as the Christian tradition. Mission and colonial practice contributed to its development. In response, assertions of black personality and personhood emerged during the early trans-Atlantic dialogues, and the development of Pan-African ideals began to lay down the seeds of theology. Such theological definitions appear in the work of scholars like Edward Wilmont Blyden, and in the postcolonial moment, African theology received one of its most unequivocal intellectual stances in Des prêtres noirs s’interrogent. The modern history of theology in Africa is rich because of its constructive engagement with the history of the ecclesial community, but also has a resistance movement which has asserted a theological will to define the faith tradition with African perspectives while remaining true to the Christian tradition. African theology has grown in critical dialogue with Christian history but has remained entangled with global forces of Christianization, domination, and liberation by balancing global and African specificity in the theological enterprise.

The Handbook explores theology in Africa from different angles. The chapters are written first from an interdisciplinary perspective, and articulations reflect each contributor’s interpretation of the topic. We aim to give a broad interpretive view on the issues as a way of inviting further critical dialogue. Given that methodological orientation, our positions are broad critical overviews that are tentative and open for critical assessment and dialogue. Where individual contributors take a stand on a theological idea and present a compelling argument, they do so in a spirit of critical dialogue, which aims to persuade readers who may not agree with the doctrinal position articulated. Second, we write with postcolonial thought in mind, even when it is not clearly stated. Postcoloniality emerged in Africa and most of the majority world during the era of decolonization and has been revitalized in recent decades to rethink the perennial and debilitating impact of the imperial order. Postcoloniality as a discourse and practice has opened a robust and contested dialogue on the idea of the “postcolony,” which is not only an idea but in many ways an amalgamation of socio-political and economic arrangements, which dominate everyday life for people in the majority world. The critical dialogue of postcoloniality questions both the imperial order and its legacies and the world that has emerged from the rubble of the empires of domination. What has emerged in many ways has also compromised the will to thrive that has engendered a battle which, for lack of a better description, has been marked by the ongoing survival of not the fittest, but of those who control power and resources.

The debate on postcoloniality is crucial to theology in Africa today. As contributors to this volume, we claim and argue that as theologians, we follow the path blazed by our pioneers who believed that theology was a critical discipline for the survival and thriving of human freedoms; the building of vibrant political communities; and the cultivation of a culture of respect, dignity, and responsibility. It is no surprise that theologians articulated some of the earliest political discourses in Africa. One might think that this is a presumptuous statement to make, but we must not forget that the theological contribution has been significant. One only has to think of V.Y. Mudimbe’s The Invention of Africa, one of the most invoked texts in African studies, to notice that after he mapped the invention of Africa through a gnosis that imposed, as it attempted to crush, the thriving of African gnosis and the African will to think and “be,” Mudimbe turned to what he famously described as the African pris de parole and discussed the significant contributions of Africans. Mudimbe discussed the work of Edward Wilmont Blyden, Alexis Kagame, Vincent Mulago, and Fabien Eboussi Boulaga. These theologians rejected imperialism in all its forms, yet articulated an African will to determine their future even as they sought to bring down ideologies of domination.¹ Michel Foucault, whose critique of power provided the architectonic on which The Invention of Africa was structured, drew many of his ideas from theological writings. It is, therefore, not surprising that in the recent critical appraisal of postcoloniality, theologians have come full circle to reclaim a discourse which they pioneered so powerfully on the eve of independence. Postcolonial thought was not only a critique and rejection of colonial domination but also a reaffirmation and reclaiming of black life, thought, and praxis.

The chapters in Part I address sources and selected methodological approaches to theology in Africa. Chammah J. Kaunda, in his chapter, discusses the sources for theology in Africa, highlighting contextuality as the grounds of diversity in theological reflection that avoids grand narratives but also reaffirms African resources for theological thinking. The African context builds on the multiplicity of cultures as necessary resources for theology. Kaunda analyzes several definitions of theology in Africa, arguing that most theologians insist that African theology should be drawn from and respond to the “African life, realities, cultures, philosophies, and faith … in historical context.” Such theology should reflect on the Gospel in the light of African cultures. Kaunda argues with African cultures in mind that theological thinking draws its materials from the Bible, African religious culture, African philosophy, Christian history in Africa (including mainline churches and African Initiated Churches), and other literary products and fundamental ideas by African thinkers. Kaunda argues that both Charles Nyamiti and John Mbiti have asserted that the Bible is the primary and irreplaceable source of theology.² African women theologians have turned to the Bible to offer a robust critique of patriarchy that continues to compromise the lives of women in Africa and stresses the importance of scripture as a source for theology.³ Jesse Mugambi turns to the Bible to adopt the biblical motif of reconstruction for a theology of reconstruction in Africa. Embracing the Bible as a source for theology must not absolutize the Bible, especially if one thinks of the crucial role the Bible has played in colonial domination. Instead, what is called for is a critical reading of sacred texts that offer new insights for Africans to address the human condition today. A critical dialogical reading of the Bible would open doors for considering the impact of local religious beliefs and practices on theological understanding.⁴

Second, indigenous religions are an essential source of African theology. While departing from Mbiti’s view that indigenous religions served as a preparation for the Gospel, Kaunda argues that the Christian tradition has a lot to learn from African religions because of their salvific dimensions. A sustained engagement with African religious thought is crucial because it will offer scholars the tools to develop a broad theological perspective. John Pobee called on theologians to draw theological resources from African music, mythology, proverbs, prayers, arts, and ritual performances to develop a relevant theology for Africa.⁵ In a similar vein of thought, Henry Okullu argued that African theologians ought to “go first to the fields, to the village church, to Christian homes to listen to those spontaneously uttered prayers before people go to bed. We should go to the schools, to the frontiers where traditional religions meet with Christianity.”⁶ Therefore an interreligious dialogue that takes every religious tradition seriously is necessary to build an authentic theology in Africa.

In his chapter, Odomaro Mubangizi explores the relationship between theology and philosophy in Africa. Mubangizi draws materials from Western philosophy, African world view, contemporary African philosophy, history of theology in Africa, and the Bible to make a compelling case for dialogue between philosophy and theology. He grounds his argument on methodological pluralism to build “a bridge between African philosophy and theology by integrating insights and approaches from the Western tradition, African traditional religions, social sciences, as well as from Hebrew Bible and New Testament.”

Mubangizi articulates significant themes in African philosophy and theology through an analysis of the sources and methodologies, illustrating with charts the main themes and leading actors in modern African philosophical and theological scholarship. He uses a holistic approach to knowledge; draws from local knowledge systems, mythology, and rituals; and argues that there is a triadic cosmic system that connects God, humanity, and the cosmos as a basis for spirituality and philosophy in communion with all reality as a basis of liberation.⁷ Ubuntu has emerged as a significant philosophical concept, which encompasses all dimensions of life and individuality and a sense of belonging to a community that has its practices that shape well-being.⁸ Ubuntu conceptually allows us to address philosophical anthropology, social ethics, ecology, politics, economics, ecclesiology, and rituals of initiation. Mubangizi argues that an integrated epistemological system in Africa should embrace theology, philosophy, and the natural and social sciences (and we should add the human sciences). This will provide a methodological holism and promote comparative studies. He illustrates this idea with charts and maps out the themes as well as African theologians who have addressed those topics and promoted the imperative of liberation, inculturation, and social justice.

Central to his analysis is the notion of inculturation, by which he means the grounding of philosophy and theology in Afric...