The Routledge Handbook of African Theology

Abstract

Whether the history of Christianity is traced to before, during, or after the birth of Jesus, the Christian faith reached Africa within the first few years of its inception. Both written and oral secular and biblical (both New and Old Testament) sources indicate that vibrant cultural and commercial interactions existed between Israel and the Middle East long before the birth of Christ. The holy family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus sought refuge in Egypt soon after the birth of Jesus, and persons from North African communities were present at the Pentecost event.For a continent that has such foundational significance in Christianity, it is celebratory that we now have a systematic documentation of the history of Christian theology in Africa, thanks to Prof. Elias Kifon Bongmba. This has been long overdue. The handbook is so comprehensive that any reader interested in the development of Africa would find an opportunity to engage this handbook’s adventurous project on theology in Africa, which covers four broad thematic areas.Part 1 on theological method provides the reader with a robust discussion on the sources of theology in Africa, as well as selected methodological approaches to theology in Africa, including a tentative interpretation of the relationship between theology and African philosophy, and on inculturation as an indispensable conceptual resource for rational and authentic exploration, articulation, and practice of various theological themes in Africa today.Part 2 is on theological movements in Africa. It focuses on the need for dialogue between African religions and Christian theology; the revolutionary theology of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, an African feminist movement that actively engages women theologians and questions patriarchal postcolonial hierarchies; an assessment of four waves of Black theology in South Africa; the symbiotic and antagonistic planes of political and public theology in Africa; political theology in Kenya; and the role of faith leaders in promoting social justice.Additionally, part 2 proposes a conceptual shift of African theology from liberation to reconstruction. It also explores the theology of public health, ecumenical theology, theologies of development in the context of poverty, and some initiatives and missed opportunities in theological enterprise after Vatican II with regard to human identity and dignity.Part 3 focuses on specific regional and emergent theologies, including Joseph Wresinski’s theology of faith-based organizations in Africa, the theology of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, ecotheology, evangelical theology, holistic soteriology, narrative theology, postcolonial theology, the theology of African-initiated churches, theologies of sexuality, and the theology of peacemaking in Africa.Finally, part 4 offers seven chapters on biblical and doctrinal theology. The Bible is presented as a great resource for theological reflection, analysis, and articulation in Africa, but with due regard to context. This is illustrated in an analysis of Africa’s response to the Christological and eschatological problems of Christian theology, theology of salvation, patristic ecclesiology, biblical and dogmatic theology, and liturgical theology. All these chapters indicate the importance of context in theology but also the fact that Christ triumphs over all contexts.This is the most comprehensive documentation of Christian theology in Africa. Certainly, it achieves the stated goal of providing a snapshot “of theological adventures in Africa that should serve as a conversation starter and reference work on selected topics in African theology.” Going by this twofold goal, the book was not designed to answer but to raise questions, which it does with abandon, not just in the content but also in the choice of authors. The primary question is the question of identity: Who is a human person? Who is an African? Who is an African Christian? (Or a Christian African?) Even as some of the authors share reflections on some of these questions, the reader is still grappling with them by the end of the book. The handbook also raises questions of theology: What is theology? What is African theology? Is systematic articulation and practice of human response to revealed truths by Africans in their Christian lives best referred to as African theology or African Christian theology or Christian theology in Africa?Similarly, as much as the authors keep emphasizing the universality as well as the contextuality of theology, questions remain on the starting reference point of theology in Africa: Is it Christian history and tradition, or is it African history and traditions? In my reading of the handbook, I hear a resounding “yes and no” response from most of the authors. For me, this raises another question: Don’t indigenous African religions have a theology independent of Christianity? I wouldn’t consider it accurate that “the history of theology in Africa is as old as the Christian tradition.” I suspect that it is much older, older than the name “Africa,” which is itself an imperial enterprise.Still, to suggest that the history of theology in Africa is as old as the Christian tradition may translate to contradicting the decolonizing perspective of the handbook. This takes us back to the question of the definition of African theology, which is seemingly a chicken-and-egg question. Guess what? Such are the limitations of human life, much more of human knowledge—especially with every effort to compartmentalize it.Ultimately, I do not hesitate to endorse this text as a seminal, comprehensive, and authoritative reference material for Christian theology in Africa, an adventure that invites us to respond in both word and deed. We cannot commend the editor and the authors enough.