Life and Death Matters: the Practice of Inculturation in Africa

Gittins, Anthony J.

doi:10.1163/157338301x00081

Cited by 4 publications

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“…The freedom for self-theologising must be introduced and maintained' (Stutzman 1992:107). Anthony Gittins (2000) agreed that every human being has a history that must be connected with in the contextualisation process. According to him:…”

Section: Deconstructing Contextualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation as schemes of power relations

Igboin

2023

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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Western imperialism and colonialism have tremendously affected the epistemological conception of Africa and Africans. In the same vein, early missionaries did not countenance the cosmologies and lived experiences of the Africans in their interpretation and application of the Bible. On the contrary, they imposed Western epistemologies and theological images on Africa. Although much work has been carried out in these areas, little attention has been devoted to how contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation are exercised in power struggles: the power to define what counts for Africa and Africans as they daily deploy the resources of the Bible. The author argues that contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation are schemes of power relations on the one hand and of owning the Bible on the other, rather than mere methods of biblical hermeneutics in Africa. As schemes of power, they reject imperialist agenda of unequal barter of cultural exchange claimed as civilising the African. Presenting contextuality as a finished product is a violation of the rights of Africans to productively apply the Bible as a text seeking understanding in a different clime from the West; it is also a denial of the reality of interculturality, and thus it ignites the need for decolonisation. By utilising conceptual analysis as a framework, it is argued that these schemes are beyond hermeneutical methods but have the power to resist the suffusing influence of Western theological suffocation in Africa.Contribution: This study argues that contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation are not mere hermeneutical methods for studying the Bible in context; they are instruments of struggle to liberate it from Western epistemological stranglehold.

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Section: Deconstructing Contextualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation as schemes of power relations

Igboin

2023

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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“…Others recognize that inculturation, understood descriptively, operated long before the term and its self-conscious missionary espousal (Gittins 2000;Bevans and Schroeder 2004;Sanneh 2009). Inculturation thus produces Christian vitality in Africa even when unrecognized or unconscious, analogous to what some call 'localization' (Howell 2008;Lado 2009), others 'indigenization' (Essamuah 2003) or the creation of 'folk Christianity' (Höschele 2007;Blanco 2009).…”

Section: Two Recent Ethnographies Of African Christianitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classifying African Christianities, Part Two: The Anthropology of Christianity and Generations of African Christians

Kollman

2010

J Religion Afr

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Current approaches to classifying African Christianities include generalizing approaches like Ogbu Kalu's assertion of ongoing revival and particular studies associated with the anthropology of Christianity. Here I argue for a generational approach to African Christian communities, noting what has been achieved and what remains to be done.Two recent ethnographies show the promise in the anthropology of Christianity for fruitful comparative approaches to African Christianity. Dorothy Hodgson's study of Catholic evangelization of the Maasai and Matthew Engelke's examination of a Zimbabwean independent church both develop concepts-inculturation and semiotic ideology, respectively-that prioritize African theological work in making Christianity suitable for African believers. Such conceptual approaches can include African Christians overlooked in past classifi cations and promote insightful comparisons. However, concepts that off er a comparative framework to address sociological belonging to mission-founded churches are still needed for a generational approach to African Christian communities.

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Global Integration of Catholic Missions in the United States Today

Zago¹

2001

International Bulletin of Missionary Research

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Life and Death Matters: the Practice of Inculturation in Africa

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation as schemes of power relations

Contextuality, interculturality and decolonisation as schemes of power relations

Classifying African Christianities, Part Two: The Anthropology of Christianity and Generations of African Christians

Global Integration of Catholic Missions in the United States Today

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