This article investigates how Mbiti articulates the theological reflections on the understanding of God from an African perspective. Mbiti systematises data of the African concepts of God in a set of Western Christian doctrinal systems. He presupposes a continuity between the Christian and the African concepts of God, and overemphasises the similarities. Mbiti regards African Traditional Religion(s) (ATR(s)) as monotheism and as a praeparatio evangelica, and maintains that the Christian God is the same as the God worshipped in ATR(s). In Mbiti's theology, negative attributes of the African God, which are irreconcilable with the God of the Bible, are not critically evaluated, and the concept of the Trinity is not articulated. In this article, the notions of African monotheism and of ATR(s) as a praeparatio evangelica are criticised. This article claims that what African theology needs is to clarify the Christian concept of God, and to articulate the understanding of God within a Trinitarian context. INTRODUCTIONGlobalisation can create the illusion of homogeneity. When all are connected, all seem to be similar. This, however, can create illusions. Religion is intrinsically connected to culture and needs to be viewed as such (Adogame 2016:5).African theologians primarily intended to formulate "a theology cooked in an African pot" (Ukpong 1984:19) African theology 1 can broadly be distinguished between a "theology of inculturation" and a "theology of liberation" (Martey 1993:69; Nyamiti 2001:3). Martey classifies the two major theological directions into four theological trends based on four different points of departure, namely African inculturation theology; African liberation theology; Black theology in South Africa, and African women's theology. This article will be limited to African inculturation theology that endeavours to bring the African culture and traditional religiosity to bear on African theology (Parratt 1987:147-149; Bediako 2000:6). This theology attempts to make Christian faith be rethought, reformulated and reexpressed from within an African religio-cultural form that is familiar to people's thought patterns and way of life.Specifically, this article is intended as an investigation of how John Mbiti has shown a continuing interest in relating the gospel to the African cultural context, and reflects theologically on the understanding of God within a Christian theological framework, aiming to achieve a dialogue and integration between the Christian faith and the traditional African religiosity. FORMATION OF AFRICAN THEOLOGYThe articulation and formation of modern African theology emerged in the 1950s and gained momentum in the 1960s (Mbiti 1998:146). African theology, however, did not emerge in a historical or social vacuum. Various factors prepared and accelerated the emergence of modern African theology prior to the 1950s.
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