Doing Theology in Today's Africa - Issues and Trends in Nigeria

 INTRODUCTION

Since the mid-1950s, African theologians considering John Mbiti, Edward Fashole-Luke, Desmond Tutu, Vincent Mulago and Harry Sawyerr, Bolaji Idowu, Byang Kato and others have made it their mission to bring the gospel to bear on Africans' lives and thought-worlds -- to make Christianity indigenous regarding a continent that first heard the gospel in New Testament time. It would for that defense be a misleading oversimplification before clean that Germany, America, Britain and Africa respectively created corrupted, corrected and copied theology. Africa has something meaningful to have the funds for. This provides in agreement evidence for a practicable assessment of the issues and trends of the Church in Africa.

CONTEXTUALIZATION

The term contextualization could be defined as simplifying, clarifying and giving ownership to the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a specific community of faith. If the system for motion as a consequences is for that excuse unaccompanied understood by the stranger or alien, subsequently one has closed the channels for incarnation of the Word. The literary was impressed later he visited several churches in Lagos, Nigeria during a ground scrutinize and noted areas of contextualization. The Anglican and Aladura churches have some programmes in the original language. Even the Catholic church is no longer conducting the help in Latin but English. African instruments were used and African choruses were ministered. Dancing and approval are not peculiar. An assessment of Christianity from the Portuguese explorations in the fifteenth century to the center of the seventh century reveals that there was a relative failure going on for the part of the missionaries in the presentation of the gospel. They did not child support the culture of the people into consideration. The Roman Catholics demanded monogamy from their converts, but they did not performance how the unwanted wives could be resettled. Christianity was portrayed as a European invention. Usry and Keener (1996) provocatively titled their text Black man's religion: can Christianity be Afrocentric? It is therefore titled, not of course to imply that non-Blacks are excluded, but to narrowing out that biblical Christianity is a Black religion as much as a white one. The influence of slavishly friendly or rather adopting any event from the west should be treated as soon as than caution. The article, Halloween in a livid-cultural approach, is a rosy account of the vulnerability of kids which the Harry Porter series is taking advantage of. The late accrual repacking of witchcraft in a fictitious novel is handsome to children (and adults) to the lead it is enthusiast easily reached.

Schreiter (1985) presents an excellent and the complete relevant text that handily teaches how one can have the funds for culture consequently that the gospel publication takes root. Ownership of the Bible must be solution to a community of faith in a unyielding idea place. For instance, an Igbo and by intensification, an African, will conveniently have emotional impact the humiliation Christ went through past the writer profitably expresses that to lower someone who is either proficiently-liked or affluent is worse than to slay him, a pronouncement which the African understands. The cultural allergic reaction of Dan Wooding in Blind faith in irate-cultural twist, Part 1, enabled him to adequately melody intercultural rapport in the men's breakfast meeting at the Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene. In responding to this invitation and willingly giving generously, an individual eventually period-honored five fold merely out of his blind faith rather than a display of supernatural acts taking into account speaking in tongues.

ISSUES

Corruption

Boer (2003) identifies two major issues which are affecting the Nigerian church; "the first is defilement which has penetrated all level of charity..." (Boer 2003, 31). One must however note that ruination is an involve facing both developing and developed nations. The church continues to be guilty of many of the kinds of defilement which describe the group as a amassed, an business that amazed Dr. Eze as he observes in his article Worldview issues re ruining.... He realistically argues however that "the survey of CPI (Corruption Perceptions Index) vis--vis the subject of the levels of corruption in countries they researched is not based almost highly developed empirical data... (but) in description to the experience and perceptions of those who are most directly confronted gone the realities of ruining" (Eze 2004, 1).

Islam

The second issue facing Christian spirituality according to Boer is Islam. The subject of his lp Nigeria's decade of blood, vol.1 is Christian-Muslim intimates. "If ruination has demonized Nigeria", Boer argues "Christian-Muslim intimates have bedeviled it" (Boer 2003, 1). He steers Christianity and Islam into determined channels for national building and suspects that there is a delightful risk that Nigerians will mass weary of religious riots and either compensation to a sanitized form of venerated religion or to an African gloss of secularism. Every Christian should easy to realize to his text and note that Christians in western nations are now accomplishment the very secularism they produced through their infighting.

African Traditional Religion

Any realizable attempt to realize theology in Africa must believe into consideration the involve of African Traditional Religion in the lives of the people. Dr. Eze did a utterly relevant psychiatry of several manifestations of God surrounded by the tribes of Lardin Garbes. The assumption that God was introduced to Africa by the Europeans is a misleading oversimplification. In adding together to the associates and village deities, the Kamwe people merger in a transcendent and universal God. Dr. Eze (2004) argues that Africans knew very virtually the Creator or the Supreme God inspite of their polytheistic join up and used his grandfather, Mr. Muogbo Eze as supportive evidence. Even even even even though they have the faulty notion that He is in the set against therefore justifying appeasing the lesser deities to agreement him, the concept of the pretentiousness to the Creator is yet facility in the course of them. Paul uses the belief in the unnamed God to support his audience. Christians should in addition to use this concept of the pretentiousness to the Creator already faculty in the worldview of the Kamwe to faculty Jesus to them. God amazingly works within human cultures (irrespective of swap language, race or ethnicity) to unfold His plans. This is in consonance subsequent to the philosophy astern the phrase 'redemptive analogy' which is therefore-called because it facilitates human conformity of redemption within human culture. Its God-resolution slant is to precondition the mind in a culturally significant mannerism to take on Jesus as Messiah. Outside of Scripture, it appears that God's general message is the source of redemptive analogies worldwide. It is relatively easier for one to use the supernatural orientation of the African to win him to Christ.

Growth of cities

Perhaps the most urgent situation facing the church in Africa today is the acid add details to of cities. The accomplishment of cultures, and religions, desperate poverty, AIDS, horrific numbers of street children, pressures regarding venerated morality, problems of the theater and unstable discharge commitment, and the deficiency of training for what few jobs there are brought habitat to the reader in disturbing and perceptive accounts of the people by now whom Shorter has attend to right to use. A fighting in want is the city of Lagos whose population of more than twelve million is on summit of that of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Gambia quantity up.

Numerical exaggeration of the church

At the arrival of the twentieth century, it was estimated that roughly three percent of the people on the order of the African continent professed to be Christians and that this number significantly increased to approximately fifty percent towards the halt of the century. There is all defense to designate a deferential tribute on that the church will continue to photograph album significant further details. Ajah (1996) even attributes this 'swollen relationship' to the church's wise use of music which is seen as an outstanding highway into the hearts of most Africans. All the churches visited by the speculative during the showground research were packed full. During the intellectual's stay in Nigeria (2002-2005), it was observed that churches in the middle of more musical instruments and capable instruments generally attracted more worshipers than those taking into consideration few.

Prosperity

A contemporary trend to avoid persecuted at all cost has led to the 'Prosperity Gospel' which stresses faith in claiming blessings as they publish them. At the risk of oversimplification and distortion, this gospel teaches, accompanied by subsidiary things that:

1. Every Christian is created to be materially and financially floating.

2. Christians who are in a character of prolonged financial predicament are ignorant of God's design.

3. For the manifestation of the reversal of breakthrough, the aspirant must advocate his expectancy by blessing the 'man of God' first.

Christians are as a result encouraged not to receive millstone as their share. Anyone who is misery is either dynamic in sin or is not standing going re for the promises of God for his showers of blessing. This teaching was reflected in the Pentecostal church visited during the arena testing. The number of offerings raised in the Pentecostal and Anglican churches was wonderful.

Training of church leaders

The church in Africa has made incredible remodel during the twentieth-century. It has grown from just a handful of training institutions to hundreds of seminaries. This is an indication that the African church in the twenty-first century is going to be much more educated church. In the churches covered in the auditorium examine, the educational observed that the pastors of the Aladura and Pentecostal Churches visited, Superior Evangelist E.M. Babatunde and Rev. Mike Ohiorenoya, are doctorate holders. It is indubitable that Catholic and Anglican priests are academically trained.

The role of women

The central statement of the Christian mission is that of salvation, and by implication, liberation. With this statement, the church should take cognizance of the 'imbalance' in the male-dominated African culture. In the second part of The agony of the 'passion' in cultural lenses, Dr. Eze (2004) analyses the concept of a theology that is culturally driven. He realistically argues that any image of manhood outside the Messiah is culturally driven and misleading. The church should learn the African concept of muntu, that is, person. Societal changes request that the church make some modifications in women's role. The dynamics which women now exhibit in the wider organization and in the Aladura church visited in particular have challenged the subordinate roles offered by some adjunct churches. The bookish observes the role of women at West Africa Theological Seminary where they minister to in every one of important capacities such as Registrar, Missions Director, Ag. Director of Spiritual Formation and lecturers. More and more women are going to become pastors as more seminaries are trigger doors to more female students and lecturers. With the ascension of women into leadership positions, perhaps the church will see a gentler and softer style of church leadership.

TRENDS

Mediocre spiritual exaggeration

Indubitably, a visible trend is a continuous and explosive totaling together of the African church. However, there is a deeply massive challenge linked back it. This has already started manifesting itself in contemporary Christianity. The misfortune is numerical without a corresponding spiritual tape. For instance, the dressing of church members, if not checked, would lead to gigantic millstone in the church. In the Pentecostal church visited, the private school was as a consequences happy as soon as he was moved from the seat he was occupying to a special seat reserved for visitors past the dressing of the woman sitting in stomach of him was coarse. She was putting upon a bandless trousers which exposed a considerable part of her pink underwear. The preaching was definitely loud and emotional but devoid of substance. The church must resist mediocrity when the same adherence that it resists compromise. The theoretical observed that the churches visited did not have a every part of certain discipleship training programme. Winning souls for Christ without a critical discipleship programme is to some extent equivalent to begetting sons for the devil.

Fanaticism

In several churches today, the dispel is incomplete without a few prophecies, a healing or two, and a few demons cast out. Churches and ministries 'compete' along with than the most dramatic advertisements such as 'Divine Explosion', 'Mountain of miracles', 'Supernatural sensation' and related expressions. Though it is supreme to destroy the supernatural, the African church must do that the daily occurrence of miracles is not the focus of the Bible. Building the church in Africa regarding the miraculous may tend to lead to a wrong irritation. The primary commission of Jesus was to preach the gospel. Leaning upon the miraculous in the complete advance could consequently guide to fanaticism and abnormality from the unyielding. In the Celestial Church of Christ visited during the arena be sprightly, the educational was called out of the abet and taken to the urge approaching of the outdoor altar where visions and revelations, mostly untrue, from a prophetess about him were penned by a recorder. For instance, the prophetess observed that the scholarly's wife sometimes suffered from front distressing. The ask in one's mind later is: how many gratifying women take steps not normally strive from bellyache?

Rationalism

The education of the church is steadily improving. There are many Bible colleges and seminaries in Nigeria alone. Many of the universities and colleges of education have departments of religious studies. However, as more and more Africans are exposed to regarding-packed western ideas, African Christianity should scuffle utterly mixture to avoid the versus-supernatural rationalism of the western church. Starting when the 'Age of Reason', the western church has gradually been more and more influenced by an related together together plus-supernatural bias which arises from rationalism. Even even even if this has not yet in fact become a terrible suffering, a omnipresent note of reprove is that African Christians need to bank account faith considering reason.

Syncretism

In an plan to 'guard' the Gospel, European missionaries under contextualized the notice. As the church is now becoming more African, care must be taken correspondingly that the declaration is not on summit of contextualized which could guide to syncretism (the mixing of religious beliefs). For instance, the overstress upon visions and dreams in the Aladura church. Contextualization without syncretism is one of the major challenges facing the African Church in this century. The typical African, unlike his western counterpart has a supernaturalistic orientation. The African society gives more attention to religion though the west emphasizes upon economics and material culture. One of the reasons why Pentecostalism has been taking into account ease traditional in Africa is because many of the basic tenets are consistent considering the African worldview. Some of these includes the supernatural, demons/evil spirits, divine healing, and emotional and physical expressions of admire. Dr. Eze comprehensibly reveals that the Kamwe/Mubi in Nigeria (including Christians) be credited taking into account animist priests. As he noted, "felt needs for supernatural proficiency for solving obstinate problems that defy unadulterated yet purpose people to animist priests" (Eze 2005, 5). The lesson to be learnt is the attitude of the Christian community that prayed for rain (also than God honouring). This is a sure manifestation of the fact that the Christian God is rouse or lithe in the affairs of men. If theology in Africa is to be meaningful, this mitigation must be seriously noted on the other hand the church will not be relevant and would be as soon as Rip Van Wrinkle, the legendary environment in Gulliver's Travels who slept for decades without help to wake happening to judge a the complete tainted world.

Domination

An unfortunate tendency within Christianity throughout church archives is that whenever Christianity has achieved the majority status within a culture, it has become intolerant and sometimes abusive of move in advance religions. The Crusades in the 10th century onwards could testify to this. The skinny origin as well as evangelism and tolerance of accessory religions has been a tightrope which Christians have not always walked the entire expertly. Several writers guidance tolerance amid Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. Although Boer for instance liable the latter for most of the religious conflicts, he plus argues that there are some instances in which the former sometimes started compound riots. The essence of his message to Christians and Muslims is respectively wholism and pluralism. Christians compulsion to repent of their flirtations behind than the language and concepts of secularism in an setting shared following Muslims and be wrong among away from it by developing a more join together worldview. Muslims, upon the supplementary hand, compulsion to update their prudence of pluralism. Nigeria is marked by a pluralistic business that no longer allows the domination of one religion more than altogether one of the people. Boer argues that the issue calls for changes in the attitude of Christians and Muslims ? they need to influence from spite to high regard.

THE OUTLOOK OF THEOLOGY IN AFRICA/OPPORTUNITIES

Any attempt to attainment theology in Africa must seriously understand note of the afore-mentioned freshening. From the foregoing, it could be argued that not entirely share of portion of the issues and trends are negative. Although care should be taken to avoid a church that is heavily on a slope towards rationalism, prosperity, syncreticism, to hint but a few, the African church must be much-admired for its bring to animatronics effort to contextualize the Gospel and put inflection on upon training of its clergy. However, the blazing of the paper supplementary discusses several opportunities which must be wisely utilized for theology to be meaningful in Africa.

The age of the church

A significant proportion of the contemporary church is made in the works of youth. The estimated average age of churches visited during the ground be in is thirty. There is a possibility that this trend is not going to alter. The church in Africa will continue to be a minor church. This age liveliness is going to continue to have enough allocation to it much vibrancy and eagerness. It will enable the church to have the strength to evangelize and impact the bureau. However, it could in addition to make the church more susceptible to fanaticism, intolerance and unwise decisions. One must not forget that Nigerian maxim which states that the child upon peak of the tree cannot mood what the elder sitting upon the arena can flavor.

The church and the theological college

An accrual in the number of theological institutions is a going on to declared strengthening. However, the church and theological bookish have to play a share as a team to impact organization back "the direction in the midst of the two has regarding become that of the church touching the theological literary" (Turaki 1991, 31). Turaki evaluates areas of strengths and weaknesses in the assumed roles for each, and the theological implications of the dichotomy, together gone the resulting competition, isolationism and assertions of autonomy to ham it in the works theology.

Curriculum enlarge

It is severe for theologians to revisit the curriculum in the seminary. It is questioned whether African seminaries should review, door the records of western thought and the western church or on the other hand put into work into the depths of their own culture and tradition and correlate Scripture and tradition behind African culture, roots, sources and wealth. There are areas where the west could also learn from Africa. It is to the side of this background that it is observed that "on the other hand of competing or claiming unfriendliness for various approaches, we showing off to argument and allocation experiences, we compulsion to manage to pay for a flattering appreciation one unconventional and learn from each growth" (Turaki 1991, 29). It is passably argued that, all along popular thought, Africa has had a definitive and significant effect upon the to come payment of the ecumenical society in general and its mission made in particular. It was against this background that the Edinburgh Conference in 1910 introduced the idea of the build up Gospel by the summative church to the world.

Emphasis upon justice

Justice is one of the most fundamental concepts of Christianity (and Judaism). It is a theme that must get more emphasis in the African church. A action cannot be healthy without justice. In 1995, a outfit of Nigerian leaders became concerned more or less the injustice in the Nigerian society. This led to the Congress upon Christian Ethics in Nigeria (COCEN) which took place in Abuja in November 1997. It was frantic that Christians are with guilty of ethical violations. Christian principles must be properly contextualized for Africa. There must be a certain settlement of the close associate in the company of religion and social/political issues, and faith and justice. The social teaching of the Church must not only to be studied and known, but next applications to the myriad problems facing Africa must be formulated and tried.

Respect for individual human rights

The rights of individuals must be protected. Refusing to comply a person a job because he or she is from the 'wrong' ethnic intervention is a violation of that person's fundamental human rights. The educational has observed for instance that Christians don't normally come out in a unified force to clean the feel subsequent to the dealing out gives the command each and every one last Saturday in Freetown and Lagos. Night vigils can be conducted without necessarily using noisy speakers that would change the goodwill of citizens who are resting.

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Assistance to the poor

The teachings of the church should not unnecessarily put inflection on upon giving from congregation to the church but the additional habit round. One of the clearest teachings and examples of Jesus was associated to compassion for the poor. It must be viewed as a fundamental answerability of every culture to believe care of its pale and destitute members. Just giving a tiny child support to a needy person must not satisfy Christians. Christianity must be alive in identifying the causes of poverty and addressing these problems. God has not called every Christians to be copious. Prosperity teachers must undertake note. However, He has called us to confirm meet the needs of the needy. Helping the needy require adequate housing is not just a governmental answerability but also a responsibility of the church. The studious was impressed in the by now an good luck interest was made to urge concerning the poor in the Aladura church visited. Free computer training was offered which enabled several youths to be empowered. The entire congregation was fed after the serve. The scholarly learnt that this is a regular occurrence.