Mother-Tongue Theology: Akan Christian Christological Re-interpretations

Aidan Kwame Ahaligah

doi:10.38159/pecanep.2020071

Abstract

The importance of the mother tongue in the planting and growth of African Christianity has been stressed by scholars such as Lamin Sanneh and Kwame Bediako. Bediako, for instance, states that “the ability to hear in one’s language and to express in one’s language one’s response to the message which one receives, must lie at the heart of all authentic religious encounters with the divine realm.” The paper discusses how the translation of the Bible and the use of the mother-tongue—has facilitated the production of new theological idioms by Akan Pentecostals/Charismatics in particular and Christians in general. Particularly, the paper discusses how the use of the mother-tongue has contributed to the re-interpretation of classical theological concepts such as Christology. Christ as an Ancestor and Christ as Healer-Duyefo is among the topics to be discussed in this paper. Keywords: Mother-Tongue Hermeneutics, Akan, African Christology, Pentecostal-Charismatic, Translation, Gospel.

Highlights

Lamin Sanneh in his argument on the translatability of the Christian religion notes that “Christianity, from its origins, identified itself with the need to translate out of Aramaic and Hebrew, and from that position came to exert a dual force in its historical development.”2 From its origins, Christianity has taken language and culture seriously
The importance of the mother tongue in the planting and growth of African Christianity has been stressed by scholars such as Lamin Sanneh and Kwame Bediako
Mother-tongue hermeneutics practically bridged the gap between traditional religious experiences and Christianity

Summary

Introduction

Lamin Sanneh in his argument on the translatability of the Christian religion notes that “Christianity, from its origins, identified itself with the need to translate out of Aramaic and Hebrew, and from that position came to exert a dual force in its historical development.”2 From its origins, Christianity has taken language and culture seriously. The paper analyses how the traditional Western concept of Christ has been interpreted in Akan Pentecostal and Charismatic theology.16 Important to the topic under discussion are key terms such as the Akan of Ghana, incarnational, dialectical and dialogical models, which will merit some definition.

Results

Conclusion