INTR 532 Bibliographies: African Theologies

Biblio Format	Annotation
Abe, G. O. "Theological Concepts of Jewish and African Names of God." Asia Journal of Theology 4:2 (1990): 424-429.	Names are significant in both African and Hebrew contexts. This paper looks at names of God in Hebrew and various African contexts and compares them.
Abijole, Bayo. "St. Paul's Concept of Principalities and Powers in African Context." Africa Theological Journal 17:2 (1988): 118-29.	Concept of world powers very much part of Paul's thinking and theology; this is explored and the relevance to the contemporary African context is discussed.
Abogunrin, S. O. "The Total Adequacy of Christ in the African Context." Ogbomoso Journal of Theology 1 (January 1986): 9-16.	The church in Africa today is concerned about indigenization and contextualization It needs to be equally concerned about the dangerous heresies of syncretism, of the direct and indirect denial of the uniqueness, power and adequacy of Christ, and of the denial of the completeness of our salvation in him and through him. The question of the uniqueness and total adequacy of Jesus Christ is given emphasis in every New Testament book. For reasons of space and relevance, however, we shall limit this discussion to two passages in Colossians (1:13-23; 2:8-3:5). The aim of this article is to examine the Colossian heresy and see how it relates to Christianity in Africa, with particular reference to the uniqueness of Christ, his conquest of principalities and powers and the fulness of the salvation provided for man once and for all by God through Christ's atoning death and resurrection.
Ackermann, Denise. "Engaging Freedom: A Contextual Feminist Theology of Praxis." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 94 (March 1996): 32-49.	My purpose in this paper is to explore the contribution of a feminist theology of praxis in which the notion of 'liberating praxis' is a central concern to the present South African context. The actual histories of living women and other marginalized and oppressed people struggling against race, gender and class oppressions are an important source for my reflections.
Adeyemo, Tokunboh. "African Contribution to Christendom." Scriptura 39(1991): 89-93.	There is a myth out there that asserts that since the church in Africa is financially poor, there isn't anything it can offer to the rest of the church worldwide. This is untrue. I shall delineate some of the African religious wealth the church in Africa can contribute to Christendom. In this article Christianity in Africa is deemed to be making six contributions to world Christianity. Although the church in Africa is poor, it has much to offer by way of its holistic world view, people-centredness, community orientation, expressive worship, adaptability in mission, and the will to cooperate. The latter is seen particularly in the flourishing of the ecumenical association of evangelicals in Africa,
Adeyemo, Tokunboh. "An African Leader Looks at the Churches' Crises." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 14:3 (July 1978): 151-60.	In his article, the new head of the Association of Evangelicals of Africa and Madagascar describes both external and internal crises facing the churches of Africa. He examines various current ideas from many sources, especially ''New African Theology. " At the same time, he outlines reasons for being hopeful about the future of evangelicals.
Adeyemo, Tokunboh. "Ideas of Salvation." Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 16:1 (1997): 67-75.	Outlines various approaches to salvation found in world religions, including ATRs and the Christian faith.
Adeyemo, Tokunboh. "The African Church and Selfhood." Evangelical Review of Theology 5:2 (October 1981): 212-223.	From Acts 15, should the Gentiles be circumcised in order to become Christians? or should the Jews be Hellenized so as to be Christians? This is the question that churchmen in Africa are asking today. Before we can worship Jesus Christ the Lord, do we have to be European Christians? Does God understand our Yoruba or Swahili language if we address Him in that language? These are some of the questions that selfhood raises and that are addressed in this article. Sections include the crisis of selfhood, the language of selfhood, the dynamics of selfhood, the expressions of selfhood, the implications of selfhood, and the values of selfhood.
Adeyemo, Tokunboh. "Towards an Evangelical African Theology," Evangelical Review of Theology 7:1 (April 1983): 147-54.	In this essay our attention is focused not so much on the questions of, how, where, what and who should do theology for the Church in Africa as on the discipline itself. Because of this, we have given more space to part two of the paper than to its first part. Nevertheless part one is necessary since it serves as compass in the task before us.
Akinade, Akintunde E. "'Who Do You Say that I Am?' An Assessment of Some Christological Constructs in Africa." Asia Journal of Theology 9:1 (1995): 181-200.	Christological reflection with what Jesus can do and what Jesus is doing within the African context, built on the presupposition of the necessity of examining both liberative and oppressive dimensions of Nigeria's Christian past.
Amoah, Elizabeth and Oduyoye, Mercy Amba. "The Christ for African Women." In With Passion and Compassion: Third World Women Doing Theology: Reflections from the Women's Commission of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, ed. Virginia Fabella and Mercy Amba Oduyoye, 35-46. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988.	"Christology" is a familiar word among Christian theologians and one that is quite able to stand by itself and be explicated as a theological issue and concept. The curiosity that arises-if any-will be in relation to the word "women" and the conjunction "and." The import of the conjunction is to my mind that of a question, which could be stated in various ways: What have women to do with the concept of Christology? What do women say about Christology? Is there such a thing as a women's Christology? Do the traditional statements of Christology take into account women's experience of life? What we shall do here is to share some thoughts on the Christ from the perspective of African women. To do this, however, it is undoubtedly of use and interest to begin with what African men say about Christ, since they have dominated the field of written theology. This will necessitate taking a look at scriptures and church history, alongside African Christianity and traditional religions, before coming to what the women of Africa wish to say about Christ.
Balia, Daryl M. "Ethiopianism in South Africa: Roots of Black Theology." Missionalia 25:4 (December 1997): 585-97.	The Ethiopian secessionist movements of the 19th century were the forerunners of the Black Theology movement of the late 1960s in South Africa. Nehemiah Tile was a key figure in this regard, since his Amatile movement was the first of many to secede from mission-founded churches. Ethiopianism, based on the slogan 'Africa for the Africans', gained ground in the late 19th century, as Mangena Mokone and James Dwane also joined. These 'first fruits' of Black Theology should be distinguished from progressive elites like Tiyo Soga and P. J. Mzimba, who were ambivalent regarding the struggle for black emancipation.
Bediako, Kwame. "Biblical Christologies in the Context of African Traditional Religions." In Sharing Jesus in the Two Thirds World: Evangelical Christologies from the Contexts of Poverty, Powerlessness, and Religious Pluralism, ed. Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden, 81-122. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.	A survey of the issues raised for Christian mission and dialogue with African traditional religions, for developing our understanding and presentation of Jesus, especially examining the understanding of Jesus in relation to the Ancestors and the African concept of Kingship. The writer appeals for a fresh approach to proclaiming Christ amidst African religions, since previous proclamation suffered from disregard of African religion and an inadequate apprehension of the Good News by the missionaries.
Bediako, Kwame. "How is Jesus Christ Lord? Aspects of an Evangelical Christian Apologetics in the Context of African Religious Pluralism." Exchange 25:1 (January 1996): 27-42.	Explores the evangelicals as they sojourn with the serious grappling with ATRs.
Bediako, Kwame. "Jesus in African Culture: A Ghanaian Perspective." In Emerging Voices in Global Christian Theology, ed. William A. Dyrness, 93-121. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.	Bediako's article takes its starting point from the theological meaning of his Akan cultural practices. In the light of this setting he turns his attention to the theological tradition of Christianity, especially the meaning of Christ's incarnation. He begins with an innocuous question: What does it mean to call Jesus the universal savior? But then he goes on to put an important twist on this confession: what now does it mean to call this universal savior, the savior of the African world? The question becomes more pressing in the light of the fact that the teaching of this Jesus in Africa has all too often not touched the African reality. These considerations bring us near the heart of the problem that he maintains confronts us now: how to understand Christ authentically in the African world.
Bediako, Kwame. "Jesus in African Culture." Evangelical Review of Theology 17:1 (January 1993): 54-64.	The author, a Ghanian of the Akan clan, struggles with his identity as an African and as a Christian and how he relates the gospel to the traditional beliefs and values of his people. He explores two areas: Jesus 'our Savior' who reigns over the spiritual realm and secondly, the relation of Jesus Christ to God (Onyame), creator and sustainer of the universe and to the ancestors. He argues that the rapid spread of Christianity among societies with primal religious systems occurs because Africans find in Jesus Christ the reality and spiritual experience that meets the needs and fears of their traditional religious beliefs and practices. He is careful to show that the gospel judges those elements of primal faith that are contrary to biblical revelation, replaces others and points to the 'new story' of the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He shows the importance of the Epistle to the Hebrews as a bridge to the knowledge of salvation in Christ.
Bediako, Kwame. "The Doctrine of Christ and the Significance of Vernacular Terminology." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 22:3 (July 1998): 110-11.	Anyone familiar with the writings of contemporary African theologians will be aware of the preference for referring to Jesus Christ in terms derived from African tradition, terms such as Ancestor, Healer, Chief, and Master of Initiation. In response, some theologians (mainly non-Africans) have expressed concern about this prevalence of "African" images that appear to relegate to the background biblical terms for Christ. It has even been suggested, following surveys done at the grass roots, that African Christians in fact prefer biblical titles for Jesus, such as "Savior" and "Messiah" to those derived from African tradition. The question may therefore be asked whether there is a contradiction here, or whether other factors need to be considered in order to arrive at a more accurate understanding of the dynamics of the perception of Jesus Christ in the African context.
Bediako, Kwame. "The Roots of African Theology." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 13:2 (April 1989): 58-65.	When seventy years after the Edinburgh Conference the expression "Christian Africa" becomes current in a major publication of a leading African theologian (see John Mbiti, 1986), it may be worthwhile to investigate whether it is the view at Edinburgh, Westermann's judgment, or Cragg's intuition that has prevailed. What, insofar as it can be discerned, underlies the African apprehension of Christianity at the specific level of religious experience? What are the theological roots of Christianity in Africa as a historical reality in African life, as African Christians themselves, and particularly African theological writers, perceive them?
Bediako, Kwame. "The Significance of Modern African Christianity--A Manifesto." Studies in World Christianity 1:1 (1995): 51-67.	A 5-thesis manifesto proposing the way to move forward in studying Christianity in the African context.
Birkett, Margaret. "The Inculturation of the Gospel Message from the Context of African Women Theologians." Feminist Theology 5 (1994): 92-105.	In this paper I attempt a review of inculturation from the perspective of African women theologians. In doing this I first look at the theological context from which these women come to the question of inculturation. They have emerged from a group of 'Third World' theologians and are a sign of what can happen when the people from the Third World unite in order to empower one another. The second part of this paper looks briefly at the content of the African women's view of the inculturation of the Christian message. It is not possible here to deal with the whole of their theology, I therefore confine my examination to a study of their Christology: how does the African woman view the person of Christ? African women are an important resource in the process of inculturation as they bring with them their own cultures from the perspective of educated women. This involves them in a critical approach which includes an evaluation of their culture and challenges Christians everywhere to take. the women's view seriously in order to 'bring about a new creation'. In the third part of the paper I examine more closely the sources of the theology expressed by African women theologians as 'third-way theology' in order to understand their methodology. I shall compare their method(s) with the hermeneutical cycle described by C. Rene Padilla,' and Schreiter's Contextual Model.' In my conclusions I evaluate the contribution of these women within my own context as a European woman ministering with Nigerian women.
Bosch, David J. "God in Africa: Implications for the Kerygma." Missionalia 1:1 (April 1973): 3-20.	This paper is prompted by the conviction that in the past far too genuinely little theological reflection has been devoted to the implications of the traditional African concepts of God for the proclamation of the Christian Gospel. Many similarities were often pointed out and many analogies constructed, but this was usually done on a rather superficial level, without going into the existentials underlying the traditional African and Scriptural concepts respectively. A serious reexamination of our message from this angle is an urgent priority, but in order to be able to do this, we need a thorough theological and socio-cultural evaluation of the traditional African concepts of God--something which has so far largely been lacking. We shall now attempt to understand at least something of this traditional attitude, looking at it not so much from an ethnological as from a theological angle. Some possible implications for our Christian kerygma will be hazarded in the concluding part of this paper.
Bosch, David J. "Missionary Theology in Africa." Indian Missiological Review 6:2 (April 1984): 105-139.	Surveys written theology (essentially what Bosch refers to as missionary theology) south of the Sahara by Africans as seen in published monographs.
Boshoff, Carel. "Christ in Black Theology." Missionalia 9:3 (November 1981): 107-25.	To concentrate on the Christology of Black Theology we need a clear vision of the situation in which Black Theology functions, the character of theology from a Black Theological viewpoint and finally the position of Christ in that structure. At the end we should make an effort to identify the hermeneutics of Black Theology and evaluate it in the light of Scripture.
Bowers, Paul. "Evangelical Theology in Africa: Byang Kato's Legacy." Evangelical Review of Theology 5:1 (April 1981): 35-39.	Review and apologetic for Byang Kato's book Theological Pitfalls in Africa, and concludes: Pitfalls represents a new direction in the theological debate, and, whatever the flaws, stands as a pioneering attempt in a critically necessary task for all true African Christian thinking. Pitfalls remains Kato's spirited challenge to African Christianity to move from theological complacency to theological responsibility and alertness, in the quest for a Christianity that is "truly African and truly biblical".
Bryant, Robert H. "Towards a Contextualist Theology in Southern Africa." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 11 (June 1975): 11-19.	In what follows I shall be presenting a brief and somewhat tentative indication of how one would attempt to formulate or, better, to do Christian theology contextually within Southern Africa today. Black theologies represent one important effort to interpret the Bible and the Christian message contextually in Southern Africa. Will theologies of this type succeed better than some of the theologies formulated by whites in Southern Africa and elsewhere in resolving the dilemma of being able to communicate the "good news" about the one God revealed in Jesus Christ in terms concretely related to the pains and joys of the groups they feel called to serve, while at the same time not permitting their words to become twisted to become propaganda unable to see beyond the interests of those groups? It is too early to know the answer.
Burleson, Blake Wiley. "John Mbiti's Theology as a Reflection of the Archaic Notion of Corporate Personality." Africa Theological Journal 21:2 (1992): 164-87.	Explores Mbiti's criticism of the individualism missionaries exported to Africa and the implications of a corporate approach to ethics, ecclesiology, Christology, and eschatology.
Buti, Sam. "Black Theology--What Is It? In Facing the New Challenges: The Message of PACLA, December 9-19, 1976, Nairobi, ed. Michael Cassidy and Luc Verlinden, 227-31. Kisumu, Kenya: Evangel Publishing House, 1978.	Black theology, by offering a new way of theologizing, desires to be helpful in discovering the truths about Black and White people, about their past and present, and about God's will for them in their commonwealth. Black theology sincerely believes that it is possible to recapture what was sacred in the African community long before white men came--its solidarity, respect for life, humanity and community. It must be possible not only to recapture it, but to enhance it and bring it to full fruition in contemporary genuine community. Life beyond much struggle and despair, beyond reconciliation will not come without some conflict. it will come through faith and courage. For Blacks this is the courage to be Black. Yet this need not be another worldly dream. It is as real as Africa itself. One is only human because of others. With others, for others, is Black theology. It is authentic. It is worthwhile. It is in the more profound sense of the word, Gospel truth.
Chikane, Frank. "The Incarnation in the Life of the People of South Africa." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 51 (June 1985): 37-50.	In trying to develop a better understanding of the meaning and implications of the incarnation in the life of the people in southern Africa we are going to first review critically the prevailing Christological models from which we can extract the various conceptions or misconceptions about this Logos that became flesh. We shall include here the models advanced by African Theology, theology of the African Indigenous Churches and the Black Theology of Liberation. The second part of this paper, which will naturally be the most difficult, will engage in a struggle for a reconstruction of this concept of incarnation and the development of a new understanding of it. Our goal is to come up with a "new incarnation" which will then produce in us a new life which we shall "live in the flesh by faith in the son of God". (Gal. 2:20)
Cochrane, James R.; Henderson, Ian W.; and West, Gerald O. Bibliography in Contextual Theology in Africa. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: Cluster Publications, 1993.
Daidanso, ma Djongwe. "An African Critique of African Theology," Evangelical Review of Theology 7:1 (April 1983): 63-72.	Explores African theology, introducing the background and sources and three main tendencies: 1) ethnotheologians who consider ATRs as valid as Christianity; 2) syncretistic theologians who are torn between the politico-socio-religious analysis and the quest for African identity and 3) evangelical theologians who work in context of an infallible Word of God and appropriately critical attitudes towards their context. Concludes with critical remarks in four categories: 1) terminology and definitions; 2) the foundation; 3) the contents; and 4) areas of application.
Daneel, M. L. "African Christian Theology and the Challenge of Earthkeeping." In The Relevance of Theology for the 1990s, ed. J. Mouton and Bernard C. Lategan, 435-76. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council, 1994.	Daneel examines the religiously based ecological conservationist activities of the AZSM (Association of Zimbabwean spirit mediums)--a traditionalist organization consisting mainly of spirit mediums, chiefs and ex-combatants, currently operating in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe. In this movement the inspiration derived from the ancestral world and traditional high-god cult during the liberation war (chimurenga) is extended into the field of ecology, manifesting in the successful mobilization of rural communities in tree-planting campaigns. AZSM activities undoubtedly pose a challenge to Christian churches in Africa. A description is given of new patterns of dialogue between African traditionalists and Christians emerging in the context of tree-planting ceremonies. An attempt is also made to trace the challenge of earthkeeping to an African Christian theology in terms of ecologically contextualized sacraments (which include the ritual reinterpretation of conversion and sin), a new approach to the inspiration of ancestors in church life, and an ecological interpretation of the triune God.
Daneel, Marthinus L. "African Independent Church Pneumatology and the Salvation of All Creation." Theologia Evangelica 25:1 (1992): 35-55.	Attempts to show that the richness of the Spirit's involvement in these AICs was never obscured by prophetic preoccupation with historically and contextually determined issues as a given period in history. Prophetic involvement in the political liberation struggle and the concomitant image of the Holy Spirit as liberator of the oppressed, for instance, quenched neither the missionary spirit and zeal for individual conversions, nor the propagation of eternal salvation in the present yet still coming Kingdom of God.
Daneel, Marthinus L. "The Encounter between Christianity and Traditional Culture: Accommodation or Transformation?" Theologia Evangelica 22:3 (1989): 36-51.	The main focus of this paper is on the influence of four theological traditions (Catholic, Reformed, African theologians, and AICs) on emerging concepts of God in African Christianity. An attempt is made to assess the extent to which these traditions contribute towards an understanding and experience of God within the orbit of daily living.
Daneel, Marthinus L. "Towards a Theologia Africana? The Contribution of Independent Churches to African Theology." Missionalia 12:2 (August 1984): 64-89.	It would be impossible to qualify in full the nature of the positive contribution of the Independent Churches to universal theology in the course of a single conference paper. The focal point of this paper is to highlight their significance for a theologia africana in terms of their approach to the African traditional world view and religion. For in their own way they are evolving a relevant theology of religions, not in written form but preached out and enacted in symbolic ritual. Their religious life in itself represents a rudimentary and unsophisticated, yet in many respects original and genuine process of contextualisation. They create the kind of context in which dialogue and confrontation between the Christian message and traditional religion takes place consistently. I shall first of all attempt to qualify the process of dialogue and then reflect on a few of the implications for a contextualised concept of God and particularly for a relevant Christology, which, after all, represents the heartbeat of all Christian theology.
de Carvalho, Emilio J. M. "What Do the Africans Say That Jesus Christ Is?" Africa Theological Journal 10:2 (1981): 17-25.	The great variety of African, expressions of Christian faith allows us to answer this question dogmatically. The experience of the Africans that "offered their hands, i.e., themselves, to Christianity" by means of the missionaries, varies from people to people. But there is a common basis. It is from this encounter between the African religion and Christianity and also vice versa, that "an African experience" of the Jesus Christ of the Bible came about. There arose what James H. Cone calls "a different African option," an, indigenous theological thought, an answer of the black African People to the revelation, of God in Jesus Christ. The Word became flesh also in the African situation and dwelled among us!
de Carvalho, Emilio J. M. "Who is Jesus Christ for Africa Today?" Africa Theological Journal 10:1 (1981): 27-36.	This paper is just a small essay; an effort to gather some of the experiences around this Jesus, who is at the same time God's revelation of the African religion and Christianity. It is an attempt to draw an outline of the complex and many-sided African testimony of this Jesus Christ taught by the Church, and to appreciate the consequences of this "encounter of Africa with God in Jesus Christ."
De Gruchy, John W. "Confessing Theology." In Doing Theology in Context: South African Perspectives, ed. John W. de Gruchy and Charles Villa-Vicencio, 162-72. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1994.	Confessing theology is concerned with the faith and obedience which he behind the historic creeds and confessions, and which are expressed in particular situations. Of course, we are not suggesting that doing Confessing theology is the same as engaging in the act of confessing Jesus as Lord, for like all theology, Confessing theology is a second-stage operation, a reflection on the witness of the church, in this instance on confessing Jesus as Lord within particular contexts. At the same time Confessing theology also prepares the way for the church to confess its faith in new situations, both by reminding it of its obligation to do so and by helping it to understand what such a confession may mean within new historical moments. Confessing theology today recognizes the legitimacy of a plurality of theological approaches, and of the need to be in critical correlation with them. It also recognizes the dangers of rhetoric against heresy. At the same time, Confessing theology insists that there are parameters and boundaries to what Christians believe and confess, and that time and again it is necessary to recognize the arrival of a status confessionis or kairos and therefore of heresy. Hence Confessing theology continues to insist that it is always necessary that the church stand for the truth of the gospel in a way which is dear and uncompromising, and that at some moments this requires a recognition of heresy and a corresponding confession of Jesus as Lord.
De Gruchy, John W. "South African Theology Comes of Age." Religious Studies Review 17 (1991): 217-223.	A seminary professor in the United States is reported to have told one of our American graduate students at the University of Cape Town that he should study with us because South Africa has become one of the significant places to do theology today. The comment reflects a remarkable change of perspective from not so long ago when it was assumed, not least by South Africans, that the place to study theology was Europe or North America. Without minimizing the importance of the many institutions of theological reflection in South Africa, the developments in them and the role which a variety of administrators and teachers have played in them, it nevertheless remains true that South African theology has reached maturity largely because of the context within which it is being done, because of the contribution which at least some theology has made to the struggle against apartheid, and because the insight, experience, and challenge that all of this generates is of wider ecumenical and academic significance.
De Gruchy, John W. "Theologies in Conflict: The South African Debate." In Resistance and Hope: South African Essays in Honour of Beyers Naude, ed. Charles Villa-Vicencio and John W. De Gruchy, 85-97. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985.	It is only now at the end of the colonial period, under the impact of the dynamics of a changing social, political and ecclesiastical environment, that we have begun to perceive how much of our theology is wedded to particular interests that are contrary to the gospel. While European theology might accuse African theology of syncretism, or black theology of ideological captivity, much European theology is guilty of both. If the present theological conflict has done nothing else it has forced upon us the need to face these issues and the need to question the usefulness and validity of imported, undigested and regurgitated theologies, and to work more consciously towards a genuine contextual theology for South Africa. In such an endeavor the theological heritage of Europe, liberated from a colonial mentality, racism, and its captivity to a secularized Western world view, and the theological heritage of Africa will no longer simply confront each other, but interact in the service of the gospel of the reign of God in Jesus Christ, in our context.
Demerest, Bruce. "The Quest for God in African Ways." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 18:2 (April 1982): 99-101.	Reacting against Western foreign policies, many African leaders have abandoned Western theology in favor of new forms of African theology. That is not the urgent need, but rather a biblical theology clothed in African dress for the African soul.
Dickson, Kwesi A. and Kalilombe, P. A. (Moderators) "Development of African Theologies." Mission Studies 2:1 (1985): 93-96.	A diversity of approaches to and opportunities for African theologies was highlighted in this workshop discussion. The wide-ranging exploration addressed such questions as: What is theology? What does it mean to "do theology" in Africa? What is the theologian's starting point'.) What is the situation to be addressed? What trends have emerged as African theologians have addressed situations in Africa? What is the relation between academic and popular ways of talking about God? What is the role of the Bible in the theological task? Accepted definitions of theology emphasized three components: an experience of encounter with God in. Jesus Christ; reflection on this experience in terms of the human situation; and expression of that reflection in the people's language, this conceived broadly to include mother tongue, patterns of preaching, art, music, dance and other expressions. It was pointed out that when theology becomes explicit, that is simply the articulation of the experiences and perceptions of God already implicit in the Christian praxis of the People of God and, more generally, the human family.
Dickson, Kwesi A. (Moderator) "Development of African Theologies." Mission Studies 1:2 (1984): 53-61.	Notes on discussion from a workshop on the development of African theologies. The need to make the Christian faith more relevant, given the inadequacies of indigenization as popularly conceived, gave rise to much discussion which yielded the expression African Theology. The term African Theology has been the center of some controversy, especially as it has been seen by some to represent simply an attempt to disguise African religion, labeling it as Christianity. The expression is indeed likely to be misunderstood if it is not properly explicated, for quite legitimately, it could be used to describe the articulation of African traditional religious thought. However, as it is used by those who question the relevance of Christian life and thought as propagated by emissaries from the West, it is meant to represent a radical rethinking of faith in Christ, having in mind the African's religio-cultural, socioeconomic and political circumstances. Indeed, with the formation of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians in Tanzania in 1976, the thinking of African theologians was situated within what may be loosely described as Liberation Theology.
Draper, J. A. "‘For the Kingdom Is Inside of You and it Is Outside of You": Contextual Exegesis in South Africa [Lk 13:6-9]." In Text and Interpretation, ed. P. H. Hartin and J. H. Petzer, 235-257. 1991	In attempting to formulate a contextual hermeneutic for South Africa, I accept the reading of the Bible by ordinary people as the presupposition and goal of the whole enterprise (Mesters 1983:125-130; cf. Schottroff & Steggemann 1986:vi; Boff 1987:150). I have attempted to avoid an entirely subjective reading of the text, although the crucial question of `truth' may remain elusive or even insoluble. I concur with Ricoeur in his determination to `resist the temptation to separate truth, characteristic of understanding, from the method put into operation by disciplines which have sprung from exegesis' (Ricoeur 1981:19; cf. Bauckham 1989:16-17) 9 This paper is an attempt to respond methodologically to the challenge of the Kairos Document in the production of a contextual exegesis that can empower an appropriation of meaning from the New Testament text by those engaged in the struggle for democracy in South Africa today.
Dwane, Sigqibo. "In Search of an African Contribution to a Contemporary Confession of Christian Faith." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 38 (March 1982): 19-25.	Concludes: I would plead for two things. The first is that any definition or expression of the faith should not so stress the discontinuity between Christianity and culture, or more specifically, primal religion, as to suggest that what God does in creation is radically different from what he does in the unique historical dispensation in the Judaeo-Christian revelation. Secondly, I want to plead that the recognition of the legitimacy of different theological slants arising out of the awareness that there are different perceptions of the one divine reality, and different experiences of his grace, be extended to the developing of theology in non-Western idiom. I want to plead that this should be seen not as a regrettable phenomenon to be tolerated for the sake of peace, but as the inevitable and desirable manifestation of the blossoming of the Christian faith in Africa.
Dzobo, Noah K. "African Ancestor Cult: a Theological Appraisal." Reformed World 38:6 (1985): 333-340.	The African devotion to his ancestors has been taken as the singular characteristic of African religions awareness. This devotion and its object, however, have been misinterpreted and misrepresented both by many foreign and African students of the indigenous African culture. The main purpose of this paper is to present a careful analysis and exposition of this very important African cultural material and to examine it for any theological and philosophical significance which it may have for the development of the Christian faith on the African continent.
Eitel, Keith E. "Contextualization: Contrasting African Voices." Criswell Theological Review 2 (1988): 323-334.	The innovative focus of Christian theology is shifting to the developing countries of the world. Regions where western missionaries have labored for centuries are now producing theologians who are critiquing the past and forging the future form of the Church around the world. Admittedly, cross-cultural application of the gospel message has been problematic at times. Many well-meaning, but culturally insensitive, missionaries have made the mistake of transplanting an ethnocentric form of Christianity. Contextualization of Christian theology attempts to solve the resulting dilemma. It is both the most necessary and the most dangerous task facing theologians from the developing world. Contextualization is necessary for Christianity to be relevant to Africa, for example, and to lessen the foreignness associated with the church. It, is dangerous because the end product can easily be neither Christian nor African if the method used to contextualize increases the likelihood of syncretism. A context dominant methodology, as opposed to a scripture dominant one, enhances the potential for distorting, biblical truth. This article illustrates these two contextualization methods by evaluating the contrasting thought of two African theologians, John S. Mbiti and Byang H. Kato. The materials for analysis are Mbiti's theological constructs for African theology and Kato's critique of those constructs.
Ekeya, Bette. "The Christ Experience of African Women Doing Theology." In Third World Women Doing Theology: Papers from the Intercontinental Women's Conference, Oaxtepec, Mexico, December 1-6, 1986. ed. Virginia Fabella and Dolorita Martinez, 178-83. Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians, 1987.	A Christological methodology of "doing theology" may be understood to mean the ways in which knowledge of God and the Divine will for humankind and the universe are revealed in the person and mission of Jesus Christ; and how, since this revelation was given to Africa, the African women in particular have accepted and continue to accept and proclaim the message of salvation which Jesus Christ is and should be in their lives and in the lives of those persons with whom they interact daily. It is essential first of all to speak of how Jesus Christ is known to the African woman. Who is Jesus Christ to the multi-cultured variety of cultural experiences and dimensions: from the very traditional to the ultra-modern. Perhaps it is better to speak first of the religious milieu in which the African woman was before Christ was introduced and preached to her.
Etuk, Udo. "The Theology of Contextualization in Africa: A Cover for Traditional Cultural Revival." Concordia Journal 11 (1985): 214-222.	The article shows that recent calls for the Africanization of Christianity (or contextualization) are an inversion of the perennial Christian task of evangelizing not only Africa but the whole world. To accomplish this, a number of practices from African traditional cultures are highlighted, and it is argued that these practices are inconsistent with the centrality, uniqueness, and soteriological role of Jesus Christ. Contextualization theology, the article argues, is fueled by several factors including political-cultural awakening. There can and needs be renewals in forms of worship which are culture-bound without compromising the essential gospel message. Also in Catalyst 16:3 (1986): 201-20.
Fashole-Luke, E. W. "Footpaths and Signposts to African Christian Theologies." Bulletin of African Theology 3:5 (Jan.-June 1981): 19-40.	As per the title; explores the boundaries and issues of African Christian theological development.
Fashole-Luke, E. W. "The Quest for African Christian Theologies." In Mission Trends No 3: Third World Theologies, ed. Gerald H. Anderson and Thomas F. Stransky, 135-50. New York: Paulist Press, 1976.	There has been more progress in the last fifteen years toward developing African Christian theology than in the previous century. Dr. E. W. Fashole-Luke at the University of Sierre Leone, West Africa-in reviewing what has been achieved thus far says that "the nature of the quest for African Christian theologies is to translate the one Faith of Jesus Christ to suit the tongue, style, genius, character and culture of African peoples." While an important beginning has been made, the future agenda, he says, "is gargantuan." Among the tasks to be tackled are: "the interpretation of the Bible in the African context"--but there are few African biblical scholars; the relation of Christian faith to African traditional religion--"conversion to Christianity must be coupled with cultural continuity"; and Christology--"there are no signs that Christological ideas are being wrestled with by African theologians." Who should participate in the quest for African Christian theologies? Fashole-Luke says it "should be looked upon as a medium by which Africans and non-Africans can think together about the fundamental articles of the Christian faith in Africa. The quest must be ecumenical and all inclusive." This is a shortened version of a paper presented at the consultation on African and Black Theology, Accra, December 1974, and is reprinted from The Ecumenical Review for July 1975.
France, Dick. "Questions Concerning the Future of African Christianity." Evangelical Review of Theology 3:1 (April 1979): 27-36.	Works through issues of relevance to the future of the African church: the growth of African theology, relating appropriately to African culture, facing social and political issues. Proposes that the greatest single need is the development of theology that is both uncompromisingly biblical and authentically African.
Gaiya, Musa A. B. "Contextualization Revisited." Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 13:2 (1994): 117-26.	We do not intend to go into the debate on contextualization of the Gospel message in Africa or African theologies but we attempt to accentuate a rather neglected aspect of contextualization of the Gospel in Africa, the role played by European missionaries. Our methodology is therefore historical rather than theological.
Gehman, Richard J. "Doing African Christian Theology : A Response and a Revelation." Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 15:2 (1996): 85-113.	A recent issue of MET (14.1 1995) contained an article by Augustine Musopole in which he critiqued the book, Doing African Christian Theology: An Evangelical Perspective by Richard J. Gehman. Musopole observes that "most" of what is written in the book is not new. The one new contribution, according to Musopole, is a suggested method of doing theology. The second part of this article is a revelation of what is actually taking place in the doing of theology, using the method described in the book.
Gehman, Richard J. "Will the African Ancestors Be Saved?" Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 14:2 (1995): 85-97.	Focus on a difficult question which needs more extensive treatment by evangelicals in Africa who will explore carefully the whole question of salvation of those who have never heard the Gospel. A burning question that will not go away is this: "Will any of the forefathers in Africa, who never heard the Gospel, be saved?" This question arises repeatedly. "What will happen to our fathers who lived before the Gospel was brought to Africa? Will they spend eternity in hell?" This difficult question that brings much pain and concern and is the focus of the article.
Giblin, Marie J. "Taking African History Seriously: The Challenge of Liberation Theology." In The Future of Liberation Theology: Essays in Honor of Gustavo Gutierrez, ed. Marc H. Ellis and Otto Maduro, 129-138. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989.	Two insights of Gutierrez impacted the author in her work in Tanzania. These two insights, 1) the centrality of commitment to struggle against injustice and 2) the unity of salvific history, are shared by African liberation theologians as well. Jean-Marc Ela, a Cameroonian priest, highlights the injustice of the cultural omination imposed on Africa as well as the politico-economic domination. The two issues cannot be separated. The church in Africa needs a more integrated notion of salvation that considers the church's role in the past and responds to people's situations today. These insights of liberation theology present fundamental challenges to the way missionary groups envision their role in Africa. In this article I would like to explore these insights and their implications for mission in Africa.
Gitari, David. "The Claims of Jesus in the African Context." International Review of Mission 71:281 (January 1982): 12-19.	If the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to have a deep impact on the African people, so that "they may have life and have it abundantly", then we must allow the Gospel to speak in the cultural situation of the Africans. Issues discussed include feeding the hungry, the meaning of "man" (person) and implications (e.g., refugees and politics).
Goba, Bonganjalo. "Doing Theology in South Africa: A Black Christian Perspective, An Invitation for the Church to be Relevant." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 31 (June 1980): 23-35.	What I propose to do in is paper is to participate in a theological pilgrimage that has already begun in South Africa to provide a prolegomenon which hopefully will become a full blown, mature theology of liberation. Such a theology must be born within the context of the black Christian community as it participates in the struggle. In other words, what I am hoping to achieve here is to provide an outline for a black communal Christian praxis, one that is dynamic in its orientation and passionate in its commitment to God's liberation activity in history in Jesus Christ.
Goba, Bonganjalo. "Emerging Theological Perspectives in South Africa." In Irruption of the Third World: Challenge to Theology, ed. Virginia Fabella and Sergio Torres, 19-29. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1983.	What I have tried to do in this report is to give a bird's-eye view of the developing trends in theological reflection in the South African situation, without attempting a full critique of everything that is coming out of South Africa. What must be clear is that there are many challenges and risks ahead. These challenges are an invitation to the whole South African Christian community to be involved concretely in the praxis of liberation before it is too late. I believe that critical theological reflection in solidarity with other theological groups in the Third World will make an important contribution to the liberation of all humankind. One thing is beyond dispute: as long as there is oppression and dehumanization in the Third World, the challenge of doing theology and of siding with the oppressed will continue. It will continue until the kingdom of God breaks through in our respective situations.
Goba, Bonganjalo. "Towards a 'Black' Ecclesiology: Insights from the Sociology of Knowledge." Missionalia 9:2 (August 1981): 47-58.	There is no doubt that one burning issue in contemporary theology is the problem of developing a relevant theological hermeneutic. Today when we talk about contextualization we are actually wrestling with the problem of hermeneutics--one which takes our historical context very seriously. There are many types of contextual theologies, which are all attempts to formulate a relevant theological hermeneutic. This highlights the fact that theology does not fall from heaven but is colored by our experience. This is true also of our understanding of the Church. It is not my intention to spell out the role of theological hermeneutics since there are many studies which do that. My hope is to share insights from what is known as the Sociology of Knowledge. I propose to describe it briefly and then show how it influences my own attempt to develop a Black ecclesiology.
Gqubule, Simon. "What is Black Theology?" Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 8(September 1974): 16-23.	Explains Black Theology in the southern African context. Concludes: Black Theology is an attempt to present the Christian gospel to the Black man relevantly with all its liberating power in the broadest sense of the word. It seeks to present Christian truth in an African dress, in the African idiom, with African insights, through the experiences of the Black man. It seeks to understand the Incarnation as the rooting of Christ in the hurly-burly of the Black man's life. It sees the crucifixion of Christ as representing the crucifixion of the Black man in shanty towns outside the towns and cities of this land where every slum becomes a Calvary. However, the Black Theology movement can only have meaning when the ebony sons and daughters of Africa themselves write and sing the glories of Him who called them "out of darkness into His marvelous light."
Hastings , Adrian. "On African Theology ." Scottish Journal of Theology 37:3 (1984): 359-374.	Just as in the classical theological era of the fourth and fifth century, the churches of Antioch, Alexandria and the Latin west had their own distinct and recognizable theologies so today it should be anything but surprising that the churches of Africa develop their own 'African Theology'. The term, certainly, is now much used. How much does it signify? Is it a reality or rather an aspiration? Is there in fact a recognizable 'African Theology' in existence? Again, is it something for Africans consciously to pursue? If the term is in one way undoubtedly helpful, may it not also--at least if overemphasized--mislead both practitioner and observers? 'African Theology' is obviously a proper denotative term for referring to theology as written or expressed by Africans or in Africa. Two basic questions which may be asked are, first how much more weight than that it can rightly bear at present as indicative of a recognizable school or tendency of theology and, secondly, whether it is something deliberately to be cultivated. How far can it be consciously, even self-consciously, pursued?
Hearne, Brian. "Christology is Basic to Inculturation." In 32 Articles Evaluating Inculturation of Christianity in Africa, ed. Teresa Okure, Paul van Thiel, et al. 89-96. Kenya: AMECEA Gaba Publications, 1990.	Any talk (or action!) about "inculturating" the Christian faith, must be seen in the fight of the mystery of Jesus Christ, and not just as efforts to make a system or an institution more "meaningful' to people of different cultures. Christology is at the very heart of any theology of inculturation It may, therefore, be useful to offer some tentative reflections on this point in a study devoted to the topic of "inculturation". A good starting-point may be to contrast two famous papal sayings about the Church in Africa. In 1969, in Kampala, Paul VI told the African Bishops: "You may, and you must have an African Christianity!". In 1980, in Nairobi, Pope John Paul 11 told the Kenyan Bishops: "Not only is Christianity relevant to Africa, but Christ, in his members, is himself African!" It is no accident that Pope John Paul II's deep sense of the mystery of the person of Christ (expressed so well in his first encyclical, "Redemptor Hominis", for example) should lead him to a more personal--in the sense of centered on the person of Christ--expression of what Pope Paul VI had said. His statement, in particular, has the most far-reaching consequences for a theology and practice of inculturation, and most of this short article Will simply be an attempt at elucidating the Christology, that seems to lie behind this dramatic statement.
Hearne, Brian. "Liberation Theology and the Renewal of Theology." AFER 26 (1984): 357-368.	Introduces liberation theology to an African audience. Discusses Marxist insights as they apply in liberation theology, ten contributions of liberation theology to theology as a whole, and four areas for dialogue [1) God's action in history seems to be over-simplified and even mythologized; 2) the ambiguity of human existence is obscured by some elements of liberation theology; 3) the impression is sometimes given that a stress on the resurrection of Christ leads necessarily to political and ecclesial 'triumphalism'; and 4) the eschatological dimension of Christian faith, especially the fact that all humans must die, seems not to be taken seriously enough by liberation theology].
Heijke, J. P. "Africa: Between Cultural Rootedness and Liberation." In Missiology: An Ecumenical Introduction: Texts and Contexts of Global Christianity, ed. A. Camps, L. A. Hoedemaker, M. R. Spindler, and F.J. Verstraelen, 265-80. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.	It is risky to offer prognoses as though, after all, we did possess universal insight. But we may perhaps stress one point in conclusion: A consensus exists with regard to the distinction between the African and the North Atlantic understandings of personhood. In the African view the human person is not a point of origin, one who has to validate himself or herself by new ideas, original behavior, or fresh contributions to culture, not an individual who has to fight for himself or herself and somehow make it on his or her own as an orphan. In the African view a person is a point of convergence where many lines from the past come together. It is of a person's essence, first of all, to receive. Apart from the social fabric of which he or she is a part, a human being is nothing. The sense of being supported on every side by the past is much stronger than the invitation to add something new. Language, interpretations, skills, insights, and security all await the African at birth. That which the African has received is infinitely more important than what he or she can bring about. This rootedness in kinship, this priority of gratitude over any drive to achieve, constitutes a sounding board for the gospel and for theological and pastoral reflection, one to which we of the North Atlantic world are not accustomed. The fruitfulness of an authentic African way of doing theology will, hopefully, be brought into an ecumenical, intercultural dialogue and contribute to the healing of our one-sidedness. When this happens, the cultural and economic spheres will presumably intersect.
Hinga, Terese M. "Jesus Christ and the Liberation of Women in Africa." In The Will to Arise: Women, Tradition, and the Church in Africa, ed. Mercy Amba Oduyoye and Musimbi R. A. Kanyoro, 183-94. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992.	Hinga, a Kenyan, analyzes how feminist theologians have sought a form of liberation in Jesus Christ. According to Hinga, the majority of African Christian women confess and accept Jesus Christ as the liberator and perceive Jesus as savior, personal friend, healer, and liberator.
Hinga, Teresia. "Inculturation and the Otherness of African: Some Reflections." In Inculturation: Abide by the Otherness of Africa and the Africans: Papers from a Congress (October 21-22, 1993, Heerlen, the Netherlands) at the Occasion of 100 Years SMA Presence in the Netherlands, ed. Peter Turkson and Frans Jozef Servaas Wijsen, 10-18. Kampden, the Netherlands: J.H. Kok, 1994.	Christian incarnation in Africa is not synonymous with a great adaptation of Christian faith in traditional faith it needs. Thus, the question of inculturation is more than a question of cultural idiosyncrasies and how these can be accommodated within the framework of Christianity. The question of inculturation is an essential aspect of the need to apply the gospel as a liberative principle in all aspects of the social historical contexts in Africa. Thus, inculturation, instead of dignifying the need to abide with the otherness of Africans, should point to the need to abide by the dignity of the Africans and the need for self definition. It means a preparedness to allow the African to say 'this I am', and to refrain at all times from saying to him/her 'you are that'. It means, a preparedness to accept his rejection of extraneous definitions that are the culmination of the process of 'othering' which has been the bane of the Africans in history.
Hollenweger, Walter J. "The Theological Challenge of Indigenous Churches." SEDOS Bulletin (1990): 244-246.	This article does not discuss the amazing numerical growth, vitality, and diversity of non-white indigenous churches or new religious movements--It looks rather at the challenge of these churches for our own theological thinking. In general the growth of the indigenous churches is part and parcel in the shift of the center of gravity of Christianity from the West to the South. These indigenous churches present us with three challenges. These are: 1) to recognize a return of Christianity to its roots; 2) to search for a new ecumenical and intercultural theology; and 3) to search for the practicalities of such an intercultural theology. Three topics are proposed as particularly important: dreams and visions; healing of the sick; and propositional and oral communication.
Hovland, Thor Halvor. "The New Paradigm of African Theology." Africa Theological Journal 22:2 (1993): 91-106.	African theology has a paradigm which fits neither Western nor liberation theologies. Characteristics of the new paradigm are explored and concluding reflections on Christology are given.
Ikenga-Metuh, Emefie. "Contextualization: A Missiological Imperative for the Church in Africa in the Third Millennium." Mission Studies 6:2 (1989): 3-17.	This essay will argue that in the third millennium, the emphasis of evangelization in Africa will shift from "primary evangelization" or "extensive evangelization" to "pastoral evangelization" or intensive evangelization i.e. deepening and nourishing the faith of those who have accepted Christ. In that situation the role of contextual theology becomes indispensable. The paper will outline the signs of the times in Africa in the third millennium, and the areas of cooperation between missiology and contextual theology to meet its challenges.
Ikenga-Metuh, Emefie. "Contextualization: A Missiological Imperative for the Church in Africa in the Third Millennium." SEDOS Bulletin (1990): 144-151.	This essay will argue that in the third millennium, the emphasis of evangelization in Africa will shift from "primary evangelization" or "extensive evangelization" to "pastoral evangelization" or "intensive evangelization" i.e. deepening and nourishing the faith of those who have accepted Christ. In that situation the role of contextual theology becomes indispensable. This paper will outline the signs of the times in Africa in the third millennium, and the areas of cooperation between missiology and contextual theology to meet its challenges. Concludes: Contextual theology is a type of theology which takes the evangelistic aspect of theology seriously. Like every theology it seeks for the clarification of the received faith. But the clarification it seeks is one that will benefit those to whom it is addressed. It may want to be philosophical but it uses the language and concepts of the people it addresses. It is a theology which addresses issues and tries to find answers to the problems of people who live in that particular context. The gospel has now been preached in many parts of Africa for about a hundred years. The Church in Africa has come of age and has to answer the question: "Who is the Christ."? Africa must answer the question for itself, with its own resources and in its own context, if the answer is to be meaningful. It has already begun to make tentative answers in the emerging African theologies--Inculturation Theology, Black Theology and Liberation Theology.
Ikenga-Metuh, Emefie. "Towards an African Theology of Man." Africa Theological Journal 11:2 (1982): 143-50.	Concerned with both an African Christian biblical theology and a theology of ATR in relation to human beings.
Imasogie, Osadolor. "African Theology: The Development of Theological Thought in Nigeria." Baptist Quarterly 34 (1992): 390-397.	The task before this writer, therefore, is to reflect on a viable and productive process for developing theological thought that is informed by the recaptured theological insight which has been sketched above. In his attempt to execute the task, the author intends to treat the matter under two headings: (1) a brief description of various scholarly approaches, and (2) points to be considered in developing African Christian theology.
Imasogie, Osadolor. "The Church and Theological Ferment in Africa." Review and Expositor 82:4 (1985): 225-236.	Because the mission of the church in Africa is redemptive witness to the saving presence of God in Christ, it must take African world view, traditional religions, and the concomitant self-understanding more seriously than heretofore. This need has been heightened by the new politico-religious, intellectual, and cultural ferment. This calls for new mission strategies involving both the missionary societies and the nationals in authentic partnership in planning and executing missionary activities. Additionally, theological education curricula should be contextualized to ensure effective ministry to parishoners' perceived needs, enabling them to become co-proclaimers of Christ in lifestyle--the ultimate goal of missions.
Kalilombe, Patrick. "Black Theology." In The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology in the Twentieth Century, ed. David F. Ford, 193-216. Oxford: Blackwell, 1989.	Kalilombe describes black theology in North America, black Africa, and South Africa, with the representative figures being James Cone, John Pobee, and Allan Boesak. He traces the momentous and rapid developments, the differences, the growing cooperation and the outstanding issues and problems.
Kato, Byang H. "Black Theology and African Theology." Perception 6 (October 1976): 1-8.	It is my sincere prayer that the exploited Africans under any regime on our continent will soon find justice and liberation. But my greatest concern is for the three hundred million Africans who have not yet had the experience of Jesus Christ. It is therefore the responsibility of the sixty million African Christians to share Christ with this vast majority so that they might find true eternal liberation. The main purpose of this lecture is to reemphasize the Christian message and its relevance to contemporary Africa, as opposed to the confusing voices we hear today. Let me first point out that Black Theology is different from African Theology, though the two concepts are not mutually exclusive. Black Theology which became evident among the blacks of the United States of America in the 1960s seeks to emphasize black consciousness and thereby discover the dignity of the black man. African theology lays emphasis on the dignity of the African by playing up African culture and African traditional religions. It is my intention to shows that "African Theology" is distinct from "Christian Theology" as it may be expressed by African theologians using African thought forms.
Kato, Byang H. "Christianity as an African Religion." Evangelical Review of Theology 4:1 (April 1980): 31-39.	Discusses the relevance of Christianity to Africa today. He notes that despite claims to the contrary, Christianity is a religion truly an African religion and of enduring contemporary relevance. The greatest need of the church is to live up to the claims we make as Christians and promote the Christian message to all areas of life and everywhere possible as true ambassadors of Christ. Concludes with 7 recommendations: 1) know the truth and defend it, 2) discern the voices, 3) reject moratorium but promote self-reliance, 4) evangelize or perish 5) contextualize without compromise, 6) pray for and be prepared for revival; and 7) become more missionary minded.
Kato, Byang H. "Eschatology in Africa: Problems of Hermeneutics." In Readings in Dynamic Indigeneity, ed. Charles H. Kraft and Tom N. Wisley, 465-92. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1979.	Kato critiques Mbiti's discussion on eschatology in Africa, positing that Mbiti gives too much. Kato is an African with a more conservative (dispensationalist) western theological training than Mbiti's. He, thus, sees Mbiti as a contributor to theological syncretism and universalism in Africa. Two chapters have been lifted from Kato's book to grasp the significance of the struggle in theologizing with cultural distinctives in mind. The focus here is eschatology. Both Kato and Mbiti are involved in a fundamental theological debate. Their controversy revolves around the extent to which culture influences the ultimate exposition and interpretation of Scripture. Kato charges Mbiti with universalism at almost each turn of a sentence. He concludes with a ten point proposal designed to safeguard Biblical Christianity in Africa from syncretistic theologies like those of Mbiti. Kato may have failed to grapple with the cultural issues as thoroughly as Mbiti but the questions he raises are fundamental to the process in which both he and Mbiti are engaged. Perhaps Kato's approach is too western. But perhaps Mbiti is also too western and the answers Africa seeks remain for a future generation of less indoctrinated Africans to discover.
Kato, Byang H. "Theological Issues in Africa." Bibliotheca Sacra 133:530 (April-June 1976): 143-152.	Introduction to theological issues in the African context from a conservative evangelical perspective.
Kavale, Festus. "A Biblical Study of Witchcraft." Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 12:2 (1993): 114-31.	Witchcraft remains an issue for the Church in Africa yet many second and third generation Christians are confused about what to think of witchcraft and how to handle those who are caught up in its power. When people seek to use the power of witchcraft there is always a high price to be paid in terms of spiritual decline and physical damage. The biblical position on witchcraft is outlined showing that God condemns the practice not only for violating the first commandment but also for damaging the person. The author concludes that instead of condemning those caught up in witchcraft the modem pastor should show concern, "affirm the biblical teaching of the reality of witchcraft and give God's reasons for prohibiting it."
King, Fergus J. "Angels and Ancestors: A Basis for Christology?" Mission Studies 9:1 (1994): 10-26.	In his book Christian Origins, Christopher Rowland describes, as a feature of Inter-Testamental Judaism, the concept of the "angelic mediator," that is, of the righteous man ascended into heaven who intercedes for his people. In much African Traditional Religion, a similar role seems to be given the ancestors, whose continued existence in a metaphysical state which takes them "nearer to God" allows them to help their descendants on earth. The purpose of this paper is to give a brief overview of the concepts of "angelic mediators" and "ancestors" and to see whether or not these different beliefs share common features which could be applied to the development of local theologies.
Kinghorn, Johann. "Reflections on the Task of Theology in Africa." Scriptura 39(1991): 94-103.	This article reflects on the task of theology as an intellectual enterprise in the mode of Western analytical thought, in view of the challenges posed by 'Africa'. It addresses primarily the question in European circles of theology within Africa, what their particular task should be. Five areas of interest are pointed out: the need to develop a sophisticated theology capable of dealing with 'structural' social issues, the inter-religious debate; adequate ethical foundations, reexamination of 'eccesiology,' and the need for theological social theory.
Kinney, John W. "The Theology of John Mbiti: His Sources, Norms, and Method." Occasional Bulletin of Missionary Research 3:2 (April 1979): 65-67.	Clearly theology develops in a context, but it cannot develop with blinders on. An authentic theological contribution must be aware of and come to grips with the relevant observations and questions that develop in relation to it. The questions and observations presented here address the sources, norm, and method in the theology of John Mbiti.
Kiwovele, Judah. "An African Perspective on the Priesthood of All Believers." In Theology and the Black Experience: The Lutheran Heritage Interpreted by African and African-American Theologians, ed. Albert Pero and Ambrose Moyo, 56-75. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988.	Permit me to sketch some suggestions about what the priesthood of believers in Africa could look like. No matter what the circumstances, we must keep a self-critical perspective, particularly in connection with the relationships we attribute to the living-dead and the living members of a family and kinship circle. Prayer to the living-dead, even to apostles, for protection and help is a denial of our faith in which we say that it is only through Jesus that we come to the Father. Sacrifices offered to the livingdead likewise are denials of our stated faith that Jesus is the only sacrifice for sin. For us to pray and offer sacrifices to our ancestors is to make them into gods. For us to ask the living-dead to intercede on our behalf before God denies that in Christ we have direct access to the loving God who gives us grace and peace.
Klem, Herbert V. "Yoruba Theology and Christian Evangelism." Missiology 3:1 (January 1975): 45-63.	Explores Yoruba ATR as a key to the structure of appropriate theology and resulting evangelism among the Yoruba.
Kritzinger, J. N. J. "Black Eschatology and Christian Mission." Missionalia 15:1 (April 1987): 14-27.	The scope of this paper is more limited than that announced in the original conference programme. It does not deal with 'The eschatology of Black and Liberation Theology' but only with the eschatology of Black Theology, and specifically with South African Black Theology. I have done this in order to adopt a consciously contextual approach to the theme under discussion. Since Black Theology is a liberation theology, many 'liberational' elements will appear throughout the paper, but 'liberation theology' will not be treated as a general phenomenon; the focus will be on this specific liberation theology and its view of the future.
Kurewa, J. W. Zvomunondita. "The Meaning of African Theology." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 11 (June 1975): 32-42.	The plea of African Theologians today is that African Theology needs all the encouragement of those who have a vision of the reign of Christ and a relevant theology of the faith on this great continent. If Christianity has come to Africa to stay, African Theology is inevitable. In future, all those who will come from beyond the borders of this great continent may have an opportunity, not always to teach, but also to learn a theology of a people of God in Africa. Concludes: African Theology is a theology which comes out of the experience of a people of Africa; it is a theology based on biblical faith--a theology which seeks to speak to African communities relevantly and distinctly. It is a Christian theology which recognizes the reality of the African experience of God around Christ Jesus in the midst of African experiences and culture.
Kurewa, J. W. Zvomunondita. "Who Do You Say that I Am?" International Review of Mission 69:274 (April 1980): 182-88.	The question, "But who do you say that I am?" is now posed by the risen Christ to the African Church. The question demands a christological response with African authenticity. We have to say who Christ Jesus is from the African perspective--to express who he is and what he is doing, in our midst. We cannot answer this question adequately without knowledge of our culture and our composite religious experiences as African people. As a United Methodist of Zimbabwe, brought up in the Shona culture, Kurewa seeks to demonstrate how indigenous cultural insights enable us theologically to say with confidence who Christ Jesus is. In Zimbabwe Christians say that Jesus is our brother; our sacrifice, our liberator, and our Mhondoro or Mudzimu, which forms the outline for this article.
Lagerwerf, Leny. "African Theological Journals in 1995." Exchange 25:3 (September 1996): 285-304.	Goal is to point out the important developments in Africa as seen through the journals.
Lagerwerf, Leny. "African Women Doing Theology--A Survey." Exchange 19:1 (April 1990): 1-69.	Survey of the scene of theologizing among African women; deals with meetings, methodology, socio-cultural issues, women in the Bible, women and men in the church, Christology, and mariology.
Londi, Boka di Mpasi. "A Theology for African Churches." In Trends in Mission: Toward the Third Millennium: Essays in Celebration of Twenty-five Years of SEDOS, ed. William Jenkinson and Helene O'Sullivan, 53-62. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1991.	If, when we speak of theology, we mean a body of ready-made formulae or abstract concepts, then we can say that Africa has no theology, and there is no reason to believe that Africa needs one. In Africa, theology appears as life, as intellectual vitality emerging from a faith that is lived by all the People of God. It has three elements: 1) Expression. To be alive and viable, to live and to survive, faith needs to be expressed. 2) Personality or identity. In Africa there is no such thing as an isolated individual. The person is an open world, a related center, a "being with," a miniature community. 3) Culture. Culture simply means the specific vital expression of the human personality. In Africa today it is difficult to separate the work of theological thought from these three constant factors: expression, personality, culture. There is one word that contains all three: inculturation.
Loubser, J. A. "Apartheid Theology: A "Contextual" Theology Gone Wrong?" Journal of Church and State 38 (1996): 321-337.	How should one evaluate the remarkable methodological parallels between apartheid and contextual theologies? No serious comparison has been made to date. In the following study, such a comparison will be made as a contribution to the ongoing quest to develop an adequate contextual hermeneutic. In this regard some poignant lessons call be taken from apartheid theology, albeit sub contrario aspectu. For the purpose of this essay, apartheid is defined as a utopian, totalitarian system intending the unilateral separation of the black and white races in South Africa. Apartheid theology is therefore the theological system developed to support this system, with its roots going back to the early stages of South African colonialism.
Lugira, Aloysius Muzzanganda. "African Christian Theology." Africa Theological Journal 8:1 (1979): 50-61.	African Christian Theology is a new thinking out of African religious affairs within the context of African Christianity as related to Humanity in general and African peoples in particular. It is a discipline which has recently appeared on the African scene. For the sake of clarity the paper will proceed by considering African Religion the means by which Africans have from time immemorial had beliefs and practices concerning God as the Supreme Being. The Presence of Christianity as a base of theologising will be outlined. And African Christian Theology in Contemporary Africa will be discussed.
Machema, Alina Maente. "Jumping Culture's Fences." In Talitha, Qumi!: Proceedings of the Convocation of African Women Theologians, Trinity College, Legon-Accra, September 24-October 2, 1989, ed. by Mercy Amba Oduyoye and Rachel Angogo Kanyoro, 131-35. Ibadan: Daystar Press, 1990.	Today, Christianity has changed a lot of beliefs which customs and culture developed and the African woman, like her male counterpart, has the right not only to worship and take part in Christian activities but also to take part in national development. There are now women in Africa who are magistrates, policewomen, women theologians and in other fields which hitherto had been the sole domain of men. I therefore, encourage women theologians and all women of different ranks everywhere to jump out of this fence of customs and culture and work as hard as possible in order to spread the word of God to the best of their ability. Let us rejoice in God's mercy, for through his son Jesus, our liberator, we are all one as he regards us as sons and daughters.
Magesa, Laurenti. "Authentic African Christianity." In 32 Articles Evaluating Inculturation of Christianity in Africa, ed. Teresa Okure, Paul van Thiel, et al. 112-20. Kenya: AMECEA Gaba Publications, 1990.	The mistaken tendency of putting emphatic equation marks between the integrity of faith in Christ and the Western cultural, ideological, and practical embodiments in which it has historically come to Africa is, very happily, gradually disappearing from the way of thinking of the Church in this continent. Slowly but surely, we are realizing that Jesus Christ, the only transcultural reality, is the sole basis and criterion for making a theological judgment on any culture. We now know that it would be against the thinking of Vatican Council II, and even contrary to the mind of Christ himself, for the Church in Africa to insist on, or to allow itself to be in any way coerced into importing wholesale the theological conclusions of a particular culture and of applying them indiscriminately to its cultural situation and peoples. Some of those conclusions, no doubt, may be of practical value to us--the Church's catholicity implies an essential need for theological cross-fertilization far and wide. However, the necessity of reflecting upon, and incarnating them cannot be dispensed with. More and more we are coming to see that God's self-revelation in a given culture must be taken as the root of our theological reflection in order to impart the truth of the Christ-event effectively. A strong and meaningful theology, of necessity, should be deeply rooted in culture. Paradoxically, it must preserve its universal traits whilst inculcating its particular qualities. It must make sure that the Church in Africa is Catholic, and yet truly African.
Magesa, Laurenti. "Christology, African Women and Ministry." The African Ecclesial Review (AFER) 38:1 (February 1996): 66-88.	Advocates that we move from sexist and racist Christologies as well as Christologies of power and domination to a Christology of love, justice and mercy founded on the meaning of the mission and ministry of Jesus which reflects the empirical experience of African women as feminist theologians everywhere, and in Africa, are saying and should lead to a critical appraisal of structures of ministry towards true unity and communion in the Church.
Magesa, Laurenti. "The Present and Future of Inculturation in Eastern Africa." In Inculturation: Abide by the Otherness of Africa and the Africans: Papers from a Congress (October 21-22, 1993, Heerlen, the Netherlands) at the Occasion of 100 Years SMA Presence in the Netherlands, ed. Peter Turkson and Frans Jozef Servaas Wijsen, 57-71. Kampden, the Netherlands: J.H. Kok, 1994.	Inculturation in Eastern Africa has taken on two major orientations. We may refer to one as the official level of inculturation and to the other as the popular level. The official approach has almost exclusively been noetic or cognitive. I mean by this that above all it has relied on an intellectual analysis of principles and directives of Church teaching. From here it has attempted to relate the results of its analysis to African cultural realities through catechesis and liturgy. What I have referred to as the popular process of inculturation has taken an entirely different route. Rather than concern itself directly and immediately with cognitive notions in Christianity and culture, their analysis, differentiation, explication and synthesis, this process of inculturation has been basically intuitive and spontaneous, arising from within the African heart and soul. My experience both as university lecturer and parish priest in rural Tanzania indicates that the dialectic of inculturation in Eastern Africa has shifted. It is no longer primarily between missionary Christianity and African religion; it is fundamentally between official attempts at inculturation and popular Christian praxis. The official level of inculturation in the region has up to now been mainly deductive and intellectualist. Its impact on the spirituality of the people has been minimal, and even here it has tended to create an atmosphere of confusion among the religious orientation of those concerned. My argument is that, even though official pronouncements, catechesis and other pastoral strategies have definitely impinged on the popular praxis of the Christian faith, inculturation on this level has been deeper and spiritually more meaningful.
Magoti, Evaristi, W. F. "An African Theology of Death: The Plenitude of Human Life." Africa Theological Journal 20:3 (1991): 176-88.	A complete theology of death would require and exploration of four major questions: life, dying, death itself, and life after death. This essay confines itself to the first issue by dealing with the plenitude of life as a foundation to understanding the African concept of death.
Maimela, S. S. "Images of Liberation in Black and Feminist Theologies of Liberation." Theologia Evangelica 24:2 (1991): 40-47.	Despite differences of detail, both black and feminist theologies share the conviction that traditional theology has not adequately expressed all of human experience of God. Both theologies reject the traditional theology's portrayal of an authoritarian God, who, as the Supreme Ruler of the universe, establishes racial, class or sexist domination in every society. Instead both theologies try to construct a picture of a humane God who heard the cries of the little ones, and is willing to assume the role of being an advocate for the oppressed and defenseless sections of society.
Maimela, Simon S. "Black Theology and the Quest for a God of Liberation." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 82 (March 1993): 54-66.	Black theology, as part of the world-wide theological movement known as liberation theology, is directed against major social evils of our time and claims to offer a new way of doing theology that contributes to the overcoming of human oppression. It differs from other theologies by its conscious decision to take a stand for black humanity against white domination and oppression. Concludes: . . . in the struggle for liberation, the one and only truth which matters will be the one which proves itself effective, namely, liberating the black people from oppression, thus leading them to realize their fuller humanity--whether or not that truth is allegedly also found "revealed" in the Bible. By insisting that the divine truth consists in nothing other than an effective action which transforms our unjust world and untruthful human relationships (sin in the traditional language), black theology will consciously opt for pragmatic or moral criteria for evaluating truth-claims of all theologies, thus making it clear that the only God they are prepared and can afford to worship is the God who will truly further black liberation and the creation of a just and more humane world.
Maimela, Simon S. "Justification by Faith and Its Continuing Relevance for South Africa." In Theology and the Black Experience: The Lutheran Heritage Interpreted by African and African-American Theologians, ed. Albert Pero and Ambrose Moyo, 35-41. Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1988.	To be credible witnesses to God's unconditional acceptance of sinners, we Christians must first believe it, experience the joy of its liberating reality, and then put it into practice among ourselves and with others. Should we do this out of grateful obedience to God for granting us such grace in Christ, then Luther's doctrine of justification by faith alone may be relevant both to our present situation in South Africa and be the key to problems in human relationships elsewhere. That was God's will when he disclosed its liberating message to Martin Luther.
Maimela, Simon S. "The Twofold Kingdom--An African Perspective." In Theology and the Black Experience: The Lutheran Heritage

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