In this first interview after his resignation, Cardinal Sarah may be justified in not believing that “the struggle between progressives and conservatives has any meaning in the Church” since they are ideological and political categories. However, it may be difficult justifying his concluding affirmation that […]
The grassroots and widespread experiences of African christians continually demonstrate that a feature of intercultural translatability of the christian faith was unleashed in the processes of Scripture translation into vernacular languages of Africa. This means that “the central categories of Christian theology – God, Jesus […]
Was Cardinal Sarah, as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, ideologically acting in opposition to (effectively sabotaging) the reforms of Pope Francis? There was a 12 months lag between the Pope’s written request (14/12/2014) for Cardinal Sarah’s decastry […]
This article published in 2017 provides some opposite narrative background to Pope Francis’ acceptance of the resignation of Africa’s Cardinal Sarah. What it interprets as a conspiratorial design to edge him out from the next conclave, may as well be read as early enough indications […]
Christianity’s legacy of white supremacy in the Americas and colonialism in continental Africa implicates it in a racism that continually leaves peoples of African descent in disadvantage. As such, it is true that the continued presence of European images of God, formation materials, clergy and […]
If numerical dominance assured by faith makes World Christianity predominantly African as Jenkins predicts, it becomes a matter of urgent spiritual responsibility for African christians to re-consider “what” quality of christian faith will advantageously position Africa’s increasing demography in the coming world scene as well […]
The projected numbers will certainly fill African christians with pride. But will the quality of religious faith be worth it for Africans and the world at large? How will African Christianity, the way it is going today, impact that future scenario? There are already more […]
Should “frequency of worship attendance” and “regularity in prayer” as benchmarks for judging christian commitment be enough for African Christianity when it has not effectively inspired a better quality of lives – spiritually, morally and socio-economically – for a substantial percentage of the people? Christianity […]
The significance of Mercy Amber Oduyoye, fondly identified as the “mother of African women’s theologies,” goes beyond carving space for African women in Christian theology. It expands to the very being and identity of African Christianity within global Christianity. Oredein highlights this as Oduyoye’s greatest […]
Liberia, Africa’s first independent nation, remains important for the 19th century christian missionary enterprise in Africa. It demonstrated a realization that Africans responded better to missionaries of African descent. In spite of her christian history, Liberia is still a struggling nation. The fact that “transformation […]
In this ever-relevant interview, Nigeria’s Prof. Jacob Olupona confesses a conscious negotiation of his christian and African identities in a representative demonstration of the continuity of African religions in African Christianity. The details offer ideas on what makes for the complex manifestations of African Christianity. […]
How deep does the ambiguous relationship of African Christianity with African spirituality, at once drawing life from it but also condemning it as pagan, run? Can African Christianity truly survive, if it does not critically and maturely acknowledge African spirituality and the structures that carry […]
Christianity has demonstrated to be a faith that is culturally open-ended and so carries a core message that resonates and can be fully integrated with all cultures in their distinctive identities. Rather than variations that ape monolithic universal denominational frameworks of collaboration, can constructively opening […]
Like the African spirituality continuous within it, African Christianity builds and nurtures on the conscious cultivation and mobilization of spiritual power as a resource for the management of reality. In fact, every religion is ideally about divine supernatural powers manifesting in natural reality. However, effective […]