Mission in a Post Modern World: Issues of Language and Dependency in Post-Colonial Africa

Abstract

The communication revolution has made texts and languages available to people who, it is here suggested, might not have the cultural components needed to use them in the same way as native speakers. Introduced languages have in much of Africa eclipsed indigenous knowledge from opportunity for home grown development. Africans flocking to Western languages supported by numerous Western subsidies, leaves African ways of life concealed from the West. Western languages can be used to undermine the West. The inadequacy of English in Africa is illustrated by the contrast between the holistic and dualistic worldviews; English being dualistic is a poor means for expressing African holism. This makes the use of English in and for Africa inherently confusing. It is proposed that indigenous development be encouraged through challenging and encouraging African theology on its own terms, by encouraging some Western missionaries to use African languages and resources in their task.

A Foolish Proposal? Vulnerability as an Alternative Attempt to Contribute to Decolonisation and Reconciliation in Post-Colonial South Africa

“…Secondly, it does not challenge the underlying structures and divisions of class, space and often culture which usually have a racial dimension as well. Instead, it risks creating or perpetuating dependence (Harries, 2010: 329, 2013b: 246 f.), turning White people into patrons of African clients (Harries, 2018b: 4), as well as cultural alienation. The recent university protests appear to confirm the latter.…”

Improving Access To Ministerial Training Through The Use Of Electronic Devices: A Qualitative Study Of Educators In Developing Nations

“…Learning about and teaching in light of other cultures can take on several different methods. Harries (2010) advocates that missionaries should learn to teach in traditional African languages instead of English in order to convey the concepts more precisely. Even when the national language is English, Naidoo (2017) warns that care must be taken to realize that the majority of the texts, journals, and organizations which publish theological content originate in the West and do not necessarily take other cultural contexts into consideration.…”

“…Morris (2017) also expressed frustration that much of the religious literature used to train pastors in Latin America is translated directly from English to Spanish and it never gets translated into the languages of the indigenous churches let alone getting translated culturally into their particular setting. Furthermore, it is impossible to convey theological truths to people who live and think in a holistic world via a language (English) that is designed to be used in a dualistic world (Harries, 2010). Niuatoa (2007) argued that Christian theology in Samoa must be taught in light of the understanding that their cultural values influence their understanding of what the Bible says and that in turn influences how they live out their faith in their specific cultural environment.…”