The Church and Politics

Bernard Boyo

Description

The Church and Politics offers an introduction to African political theology that is thorough, practical, and deeply powerful. From traditional power structures to the political ramifications of colonialism, Dr. Bernard Boyo provides a foundation for understanding Africa’s contemporary political concerns in their cultural and historical context. Alongside this overview of African political history, Boyo traces the impact of Western missionaries, evangelicals, liberation theology, and African theologians on the church’s understanding of itself and its role within society.
This book critiques the emphasis on individual salvation that has so often led the church into abdicating its societal responsibilities and provides an exegetical analysis that firmly roots political engagement within a scriptural framework. The church, we are reminded, has a mandate to bring justice and righteousness into every aspect of human experience. As we follow Christ, it is not just our personal lives that should be transformed but our communities and even our nations.

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 10 mai 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 11
• EAN13: 9781839734670
• Langue: English

Extrait

All across Africa, thoughtful Christians are crying out for guidance on how to apply their faith to public affairs. Our God loves justice, good governance, and right relationships in society and commerce. The Bible says much about these things, and so have Christian thinkers down through the ages. But why do so many African preachers have so little to say about it, and how does this body of teaching apply to the African scene? Professor Boyo addresses these questions with this timely and strategic book. May it be read widely. May it be put to good use.
Joel Carpenter, PhD
Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity,
Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
This important book is part of a growing number of African voices speaking back to colonial and missionary forces that have been so influential in framing Africa’s history. It is a deeply researched and biblically balanced reflection on African political theology today. Evangelicals around the world, and especially in the United States, have much to learn from this conversation.
William Dyrness, DThéol
Senior Professor of Theology and Culture,
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA
The sustained confluence between the African Christian faith and its growing influence in Africa’s social life on the one hand, and manifestation in Africa of a strand of politics that pulls back, dictates, and demeans on the other hand, continue to confound African Christian thought. How do we deal with this apparent anomaly that has changed the shape of Africa’s social life? How did this debilitating social order germinate and thrive right under the watchful eyes of the church and its agents, or did the African church become a willing ally of the political elites?
In this book, Prof. Bernard Boyo offers a definition of the relationship between theology and politics, but more importantly, he reminds us of the innovative interplay of the two as practiced by the churchmen of Africa’s yesteryears – John Henry Okullu, Alexander Muge, David Gitari, Manases Kuria, and Timothy Njoya. We know that the theology and practice of these churchmen motivates for greater contemporary contribution, although in their time they contributed directly to Kenya’s second liberation. Additionally, this is a case for Africa’s rising voice in theological definition.
I highly recommend this book for curious graduate students, churchmen, and students of religion and politics. It is a handy conversation for those who seek to hear and engage with Africa’s current voice in the much-debated area of church and politics.
James Kombo, PhD
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Vice Chancellor,
St Paul’s University, Limuru, Kenya
Context is critical for authors writing on any theme in African societies. Context shapes the political theologies and engagements of many African people and societies. Bernard Boyo’s book The Church and Politics: A Theological Reflection achieves this very well by thoroughly illuminating African social, political, and theological engagements in historical, colonial, and post-colonial African societies. A leading African theologian and practitioner, Professor Boyo reflects on an area that is not very well researched. Using exegetical analysis as well as his own personal reflections and observations of the African social-political scene, he articulates the role of African-grounded political theology to produce an excellent book that also privileges African peoples’ voices as they do theology and create theology in a highly contested socio-political, religious, and theological space. I highly endorse this wonderfully written and multi-disciplinary book to theological and academic libraries in Africa and beyond. I also highly recommend it to students of African theology, politics, religious studies, political science, history, anthropology, and many other disciplines.
Damaris Seleina Parsitau, PhD
President, African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR)
Former Director, Institute of Women Studies (IWGDS),
Egerton University, Kenya

The Church and Politics
A Theological Reflection
Bernard Boyo

© 2021 Bernard Boyo
Published 2021 by HippoBooks, an imprint of ACTS and Langham Publishing.
Africa Christian Textbooks (ACTS), TCNN, PMB 2020, Bukuru 930008, Plateau State, Nigeria.
www.actsnigeria.org
Langham Publishing, PO Box 296, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 9WZ, UK
www.langhampublishing.org
ISBNs:
978-1-83973-414-4 Print
978-1-83973-467-0 ePub
978-1-83973-468-7 Mobi
978-1-83973-469-4 PDF
Bernard Boyo has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
Requests to reuse content from Langham Publishing are processed through PLSclear. Please visit www.plsclear.com to complete your request.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-83973-414-4
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
The publishers of this book actively support theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but do not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. The publishers do not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB
Contents

Cover


Foreword


Preface


Introduction


A. Politics and Problems


B. Theology and Politics


C. Politics and Culture


Part One The Problem in African Political Engagement


1 Requirements of an African Political Theology


A. Relevance and Validity


B. Communalism and Ethnicity


C. Biblical


2 Trends in African Political History


A. Slavery and the Slave Trade


B. Precolonial Political Structure


C. Colonial Political Structure


D. Postcolonial Political Structure


3 Characteristics of Traditional African Politics


A. Diversity of Cultures


B. Communal and Tribal Affiliation


C. The Place of Women


D. Land and Inheritance


E. Property and Wealth


4 Contemporary Issues in African Politics


A. Democracy


B. Power


C. Poverty


Part Two Theological Approaches to Politics


5 Political Theological Thought


A. Missionary Thought


B. Evangelicalism


C. Liberation Theology


D. African Theologians


6 The Bible and Politics


A. Old Testament Political Thought


B. New Testament Political Thought


7 Politics and Praxis


A. Elections


B. Constitutionalism


C. Human Rights


D. Governance


E. Injustice


F. Corruption


G. Power


Conclusion


Bibliography

Endnotes
Foreword
The Church and Politics brings to the surface the continued importance that religion holds in African life, not only in terms of numbers of believers, but also regarding the varieties of religious experiences and its links with politics. Coinciding with the wave of democratization and globalization efforts on the continent, a notable growth of the public presence of religion and its political referents in Africa is being witnessed. Alongside “development,” religion will remain a hot issue in the future political trajectory of the continent. Its renewed presence in public spheres has also led to new understandings of what religion means and how it figures into both nation building and identity politics. This will prolong the challenges associated with the role and status of religion in the “secular state model” found in most African countries. Can these states, while “besieged” by believers, maintain neutrality among diverse worldviews, and if so, how?
The book analyzes historical, political, and sociological dimensions in order to investigate the African experience of the non-secular and its persistence. It is argued that since the independence of most of the African states, there has been a systematic political endeavor to secularize society. However, the macro-economic situation and politico-religious conflict has served to favor the strengthening of a communitarian experience and to counteract the process of secularization. The two forces seem to go for an equilibrium to allow for mutual existence of the state and the theological proponents of the essence of society.
The two main areas in the book broadly cover: (1) The Problem in African Political Enga