Sources of theology in Africa

Africa, with its diverse cultures and unique worldviews, has its own sources for speaking of God. Any guide to the search for an African theology in the Christian tradition must be examined from God’s perspective with an underlying African worldview.

Biblical Christian theology is based on the Bible, and systematic theology draws some of its influence from accepted ecclesiastical traditions during the immediate post-resurrection era. The Bible and the tradition of the church form the two main sources of the accepted Christian theologies in the different sects and denominations.

God’s discourse on African tradition has long been a mixture of oral tradition and experience passed down through the centuries. In addition, the influence of the two main religions of the world plus cultural factors also contribute to this discourse and of great influence is the traditional religion itself.

The lack of documentation of any form of religious literary corpus has made the African traditional religion the subject of much criticism, doubts and descriptions. Some refer to traditional religious practices as animism or paganism. But it should be noted that the religious practices of pre-Christian Africa must be accepted as a reflection of past experiences, which have been inherited.

The call for an African theology should ignore these factors. In addition, the sources; That Africans have experienced the phenomenon of deity will contribute much to the expression of whatever theology may result. There is always the impossibility of an “improvised” theology because Christianity at its core is a historical religion. The sources of African theology, although not acceptable in some Christian sectors, are very important for doing theology.

Nature

Omasogie says that, before and including the medieval period when Christian became famous in Europe, there was no serious problem in accepting the reality of the spiritual realm. In such an atmosphere, it was easy to feel the presence of God in nature and to symbolize that presence in the use of material elements, which were considered as concrete samples of his presence.

In simple terms, nature served as a revealing factor in understanding the Supreme Being to some extent. There is no different thinking in this perspective with respect to pre-Christian Africa. Whatever discussion or evaluation was made of the Supreme Being, it was by virtue of the observation of nature and its activities in the absence of any written scripture on God and creation. Therefore, there are a variety of stories in traditional African religion about God, creation, man, etc.

For example, rain is considered one of God’s greatest blessings. While the Bantu-speaking groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the sheep in Togo, Ghana and Benin regard thunder as the voice of God, the Gikuyu of Kenya regard thunder as the movement of God. On the other hand, the Yoruba in Nigeria regard thunder as an indication of God’s wrath.

The general belief about the divinities is that they were created by God to fulfill specific functions. As creatures, some West African societies regard them as sons or messengers of God. These divinities can be made to look like male or female beings and given places of residence such as hills, rivers, trees, rocks, seas, or even certain animals.

Consequently, some of these natural elements in some African communities are revered and held in high esteem as factors, which are inhabited by spirits that are related to the Supreme Being in one way or another. For example, in some communities, women may not go well to a village with their slippers on or their heads uncovered.

Traditional cultures

Religion and culture in Africa are intertwined and it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish between what is purely religious and what is simply part of the cultural complex. Most cultural activities include some religious activities. They may involve pouring libations on the spirits of the ancestors or casting an enchantment on one spirit or another.

Byang Kato says that religion is the heart of culture. A change in religion requires a readjustment of culture.4 There are some cultural activities that have no religious significance. For example, polygamy in Africa is more of a performance of cultural value than a religious one. The kinship aspect, which controls the social relations between the people of a given community, is highly significant in African culture. It determines the behavior from one individual to another.5 So a crime of adultery in a typical Mende culture in Sierra Leone is more of a sin against the community than against God.

But it is quite evident that, although there may be no connection between culture and religion, in some; In many cases, many cultural representations provide the basis from which truths about God can be deduced. In such a case, the sacrifices to the Spirits are cultural practices with a religious meaning.

The influence of Islam

Islam has had more influence on traditional religion and culture in Africa than Christianity. To some extent, Islam has accommodated itself to influenced or ignored many traditional practices in contrast to what Christianity has been to traditional practices. Consequently, many; a discourse on God in African theology may have an Islamic theology stain. According to Islamic teaching, anything that happens in this world is within the will of God because that particular event has God’s stamp of approval. Therefore, such a fatalistic belief is held by a large percentage of Muslims and Christians alike.

African traditional religion

African traditional religion forms the largest source from which African theology is drawn. Since it is a religion with no written codes or special revelations, all of its teaching about God and creation is drawn largely from observations of nature and assumptions. Consequently, while most African traditionalists would suggest that religion proposes monotheism, the multiplicity of objects of worship and veneration may suggest a shift from the monotheistic position strongly held by Christians and Muslims alike.

African traditional religion is a powerful influence and a large number of African nationalists would like to maintain the cultural value of most practices regardless of religious implications. For example, some African theologians; they have tried to design a Christian theology based on the traditional mode of African religion. Harry Sawyerr and E. Fashole-Luke, former professors at the University of Sierra Leone, argue that African ancestors have a role in the doctrine of the communion of saints as presented in the ecclesiastical.

Nyamiti and Bujo, both African Christian theologians, are cited by John Parrat, using the concept of African ancestry to elucidate Christology. In Nyamity’s view, Christ can be regarded as an ancestor because simply as the human ancestor; establishes a link between the spiritual world and that of the living, so that Jesus by His crucifixion establishes a mystical link between God and the Christian community. Bujo, on the other hand, believes that Jesus is the first ancestor, but transcends all others.

Society

Society as a source of theology includes all forms of human activity and interaction: political, economic, social, ethnic, etc. These factors have become complex every day to the point that certain characteristics of them are easily addressed by any religion. These aspects or characteristics have become points of debate and arguments from which atheoagies are built.

Conclution

In conclusion, I must reiterate here that all these sources of theology seek to present concepts of God based on what has been delivered or experienced. It can be argued that they are not sufficient to arrive at a universally accepted African Christian theology, as there are so many features in them that they are totally unacceptable to Orthodox and even Evangelical Christianity. But African theology moving away from Christian dominance draws heavily on these sources, and they are undoubtedly issues that we must grapple with as we move to see how far we can do theology in Africa.

FINAL NOTES

1 Osadolor Imasogie. Guidelines for Christian Theology in Africa (Accra: Africa

Christian Press, 1983) p. 56.

2 Tokunboh Adeyemo. Salvation in the African Tradition (Nairobi: Evangel Publishing

House, 1977) p. twenty-one.

3 Kofi Asare Opoku. West African Traditional Religion (Singapore: PEP, 1978) p. 54.

4 Byang H. Kato. African Cultural Revolution and Christian Faith (Jos:

Challenge Publications, 1976) p11

5 John S. Mbiti. African Religions and Philosophy (London: Heinemann, 1969) p. 104.

6 John Parrat. A Guide to Doing Theology (London: SPCK, 1996) p. 52.

7 Ibid, p. 53.