The object of this section is to discuss the sources of African theology and how they have been incorporated into African theological discourse. It should be emphasized that
“a monolithic construction of African theology would be unrealistic, given the variety in the continent of historical experience, political systems (traditional and colonial), primal religion, and economies.”253 However, this diversity of African theologies and their respective methodologies does not, as observed by Congolese theologian Boka di Mpasi Londi “foreclose the existence of a much richer commonality. Therefore, without succumbing to the temptation to generalize, we can safely assert that beneath the divergences of African cultural religious systems lies a radical commonality.”254
However, it is argued by Mercy Oduyoye that “ in Africa there exist at least three broad theological trends: the traditional, the indigenized, and the contextual.”255 The traditional world view – by which I mean the anthropological world view of the African people in general, and the Bantu people in particular- offers an extraordinary wealth of theological resources. This implies that traditional Bantu communities are endowed with theological fecundity, which is inherent in their world view, including the sacramental nature of life, the existence of spirits and the vital force of the ancestors. Secondly, the indigenized theological perspective holds that the indigenous hermeneutical framework is valid for conducting African theological discourse. According to Oduyoye “the indigenizers begin from the position of the traditionalists, but they go on to ask how far the Hebrew
worldview and the Greco-Roman symbols that permeate the Bible and Christianity are
253 Oduyoye, Hearing and Knowing, 52.
254 A. E. Orobator, The Church as Family: African Ecclesiology in Its Social Context, Hekima College collection 5 (Nairobi, Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa, 2000), 29.
255 Oduyoye, Hearing and Knowing, 52.
understood by African Christians.”256 The third strand of African theology is what is referred to as contextual theology. This theology is much more expansive than the previous two. Oduyoye states that “contextualization here expands to include the politico-economic aspects of life and seeks to produce symbols and language that are universal and inclusive of Africa’s reality.”257
We have a lot to be grateful for regarding the emergence of contextual theology as it has garnered dynamism for the construction of a number of local theologies. Contextual theology is understood by Oduyoye as “a theology that aims to confront society with the Bible and intends to read the Bible from the perspective of the people.”258 In the case of Africa, we have seen the construction of three distinct theologies, namely: African theology, Theologia Africana and African Christian theology. African Theology, which has gained the most popularity among the three refers to “the theology of African
traditional religion.”259 In contrast Theologia Africana, a term first used by John Mbiti in 1963 is “an expression of a romantic attachment to the Latin Fathers of North America who made an immense contribution to what is now known as Western theology, the phrase could well serve as a common for both French and English speaking Africa.”260 According to Ukpong “the expression African Christian theology was first proposed by John Agbeti in 1972 as an alternative to African Theology.”261 It refers to the enterprise of Christian theology that is conducted using African socio-cultural categories. It should
256 Ibid., 53.
257 Ibid., 54.
258 Ibid.
259 Ukpong, African Theologies Now, 7.
260 Ibid.
261 Ibid.
be noted however, that the three approaches to the enterprise of theology in Africa are all legitimate designation and are often used interchangeably among academia. Such
theologies have important implications on the structure and mission of the Church.
Theologian Aylward Shorter notes on this score that “African Christians want a simpler and more congenial Church, not one in which they feel estranged by western forms that are irrelevant to their own cultural environment. They want a greater measure of
participation, of community experience and of communion with the Church’s leaders.
Such things are the demands of an oral culture and of the African religious imagination.”262
In the African consciousness, the world is profoundly interconnected. According to Magesa, “African perceptions of the universe consist of the interaction of various (ultimately divine) vital forces.”263 Hence, he surmises that the African consciousness perceives that “the world as a sacred abode of the life forces of God, the ancestors and diverse spirits is what gives human action necessarily sacred character.”264 Therefore, as observed by Bujo, “people are conscious of the benign presence of the ancestors
whenever they enjoy fullness of life. Good health, numerous progeny, healthy cattle, abundant crops: all these things are felt as signs of the ancestral blessing.”265
Ukpong argues that “the emergence and development of African theologies is a function of many circumstances or factors.”266 He postulates that “the major
262 Aylward SHORTER, Christianity and the African Imagination: After the African Synod, Resources for Inculturation (Nairobi: Pauline Publications Africa, 1996), 26.
263 Magesa, African Religion, 59.
264 Ibid.
265 Bujo, African Theology in Its Social Context, 25.
266 Ukpong, African Theologies Now, 6.
circumstances that seem to have created the climate for and to have actually provoked the rise of these theologies may be designated as: the cultural factor, the historical factor, the socio-political factor, the contribution of social sciences and the theological factor.”267 Among the historical factors that contributed immensely to the self-identifying theology which is rooted in theological anthropology and which embraces the three facets
elaborated above has been spurred by the dynamism and progress brought about by the ideas of the ecumenical assembly of Vatican II, which emphatically affirmed the religious experience of all peoples. I will tackle this matter in the next chapter, that is how African theological elements have found expression in the liturgy of the Church on account of the consciousness brought about by Vatican II. Nevertheless, it remains to be stated that African theology has three fundamental sources: the created universe, African social, political and historical reality, and Scripture. Part of the historical reality that shapes an indigenous theological framework includes, according to Oduyoye “Africa’s own history – its social institutions as well as its religious and cultural values in all their variety.”268 The Bible is a central source of African theology in that major themes of the Bible have a self-implication on the African consciousness. It is not in dispute that most African theologians, among them Mbiti “accept the claim of the PanAfrican Conference of Third World Theologians that the bible is the basic source of African theology, because it is the primary witness of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. No theology can retain its Christian identity apart from Scripture.”269 Themes such as liberation from slavery, natural catastrophes and calamities, and God’s intervention are elements which
267 Ibid.
268 Oduyoye, Hearing and Knowing, 52.
269 Appiah-Kubi and Torres (1979,81) in Muzorewa, The Origins and Development of African Theology, 27.
permeate the African experiential reality. Bujo surmises, “the religious perspective of Africa can be compared to what is nowadays called “narrative theology” which is in fact rooted in the Bible.”270 The significant aspect from the Bible which is the source of African theology is the Christ event. Jesus represents the yearnings of African theology in the dimension of the Messiah who gathers all of God’s children into one gigantic and flourishing human family. The African theological enterprise has been sustained by “the constant telling and retelling of the story of the Christ-event; Christian theology comes out of these events and narratives with which the people identify.”271