Some interesting thoughts from the late Dr. Kwame Bediako.
1. Comparison between initial Christian mission to Northern Europe and missionary activity in Africa
2. The utilization of pre-Christian elements that persist into a Christian era
For more information about African Christianity, see our recent post in the Global Theology Countdown.
(Video is extra interview bites from Dr. Kwame Bediako for a documentary film project on African Christianity produced and directed by James Ault in 2009)
Marilynne Robinson is an American author whose writing has carried subtle Christian messages and found resonance among wider circles, most recently a review in the New Yorker magazine. Allison Backhous has a recent piece in ThinkChristian.net considering her approach to creativity and the impact it can have on society.
This leads her to a question, can art be both true and evangelistic? Continue reading
A new format we’re trying here on the blog is the Global Theology Countdown, where we will break down a large topic into more easily accessible parts, linking to other sites for those who would want to go deeper.
This post covers Contemporary African Christianity and we welcome contributors to share on a different context or more information regarding Christianity in Africa. Enjoy! Continue reading
Adrian Warnock has a post about 11 things Muslims agree with Christians about Jesus. How can a functioning Christology be made out of this to turn the corner from interfaith dialogue to ecumenical dialogue? Continue reading
A quick thought from a friend about the significance of non-Europeans in the foundation of continental theology. He hits the nail on the head that theological reflection is not restricted to Europeans and provides the opening of a larger conversation about how contemporary non-Western theologians can be more adequately incorporated into the life of the church.
Originally posted on Job and the Storm:
Some (small) food for thought:
Much of orthodox Christian theology owes its success to the work of African and Asia-minor thinkers. Regarding the former, one need look no further than the North African theologians. Augustine, Tertullian and Cyprian are just a handful (and what a handful!). One could also throw in there for good measure Origen (from Alexandria, Egypt) and Athanasius (Also Egyptian. Fun fact: he was derisively nick-named the “black dwarf” because of his physical appearance). And the Asia-minor thinkers? Look no further than the Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nanzianzus), residents of what is now Turkey and undisputably important theologians.
All of the thinkers mentioned above are powerhouses who contributed enormously both to Orthodox theology and Western thought generally. And none of them are European. Before Barth, Tillich, Multmann, etc. there were the African and Asian thinkers who laid the foundation for centuries to come. Granted, they were themselves part of the Roman Empire which traded in both Roman and Greek ideas; however, it is (to my mind, at least) an important fact of history for present cultures whose own past prejudices looked down upon the intelligence of African, Asian, and other cultures. There is, I think, a significant and tragic irony in the midst of it all. Modern Western cultures (i paint broadly here, forgive me) who until quite recently believed in scientific evidence that pointed away from the intelligence of African peoples were themselves indebted to African thinkers and people like the “black dwarf.”
