Gospel Ferment in Malawi

R. Ross

Description

This book is a collection of essays written in the early 1990s. Some are an attempt to think theologically about the social and political changes and challenges that Malawi was navigating during those years. Others are critically reflecting on the nature and content of the Christian faith as it was coming to expression in an African context. The essays are a plea for relevancy and contextuality in Christian praxis and theological reflection in Malawi and, indeed, in Africa as a whole.

Informations

• Publié par: Luviri Press
• Date de parution: 14 juin 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789996098277
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

Extrait

Chrisîanity and Chair of the Scotland Malawi

contextuality in Chrisîan praxis and theological reflecîon in

concern for the translaîon of the Gospel of Christ... in such a

sign of hope in the midst of all the suffering, extreme violaîons of human rights, and genocides. I therefore hearîly commend

society and its potenîal for contribuîng towards social, poliîcal

which offers a range of books on

Gospel Ferm G ent o in s M p al e aw l i Ferment in Malawi:

Theological Essays

Kenneth R. Ross

Kenneth R. Ross

Luviri Reprints no. 6

Gospel Ferment in Malawi: Theological Essays

Copyright 2018 Kenneth R. Ross

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any from or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission from the publishers.

First Published by Kachere Series in 2001.

Published by Luviri Press P/Bag 201 Luwinga Mzuzu 2

ISBN eISBN

978-99960-98-26-0 978-99960-98-27-7

Luviri Reprints no. 6

Luviri Press is represented outside Malawi by: African Books Collective Oxford ([e-mail])

www.mzunipress.blogspot.com www.africanbookscollective.com

Printed in Malawi by Baptist Publications, P.O. Box 444, Lilongwe.

Gospel Ferment in Malawi: Theological Essays

Kenneth R. Ross

Luviri Press

Luviri Reprints no. 6 Mzuzu 2018

Luviri Reprints Many books have been published on or in Malawi that are no longer available. While some of these books simply have run their course, others are still of interest for scholars and the general public. Some of the classics have been reprinted outside Malawi over the decades, and during the last two decades, first the Kachere Series and then other publishers have achieved "never out of stock status" by joining the African Books Collective's Print on Demand approach, but there are still a good number of books that would be of interest but are no longer in print.

The Luviri Reprint Series has taken up the task to make those books on or from Malawi, which are out of print but not out of interest, available again, through Print on Demand and therefore worldwide.

While the Luviri Reprint Series concentrates on Malawi, it is also interested in the neighbouring countries and even in those further afield.

Luviri Reprints publish the books as they originally were. Usually a new Foreword is added, and where appropriate, new information has been added. All such additions, mostly in footnotes, are marked by an asterisk (*).

The Editors

Foreword

I look back on the early 1990s in Malawi as one of the most stimulating and formative periods in my life. I had arrived in Zomba in 1988, fresh from completing my Ph.D. at Edinburgh University and appointed as a Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the Uni- versity of Malawi’s Chancellor College. Very quickly my imagination was gripped by the country and its people. In particular, I was fascinated by the vitality of the church life to which I was introduced as a minister within the Blantyre Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian. I was fortunate to be a member of a University Department that was absorbed by its teaching and research responsibilities, rich in collegiality and boundless in ambition. From the first moment I stepped into the class- room I was bowled over by the quality of the students I encountered, several of whom remain close friends to this day. My particular responsi- bility was the introduction of a Theology degree programme, the first in Malawi’s history. No sooner was it established than a dynamic programme of postgraduate studies was developed, gathering an outstanding cohort of part-time M.A. and Ph.D. students. The Department was also remarka- bly active in publication, founding the Kachere Series, which would immeasurably enrich Malawian literature during the following years. Meanwhile Malawi itself was going through years of dramatic change. After thirty years of a one-party dictatorship and police state, the end of the Cold War and of apartheid in South Africa heralded a time of political transition for Malawi. The multi-party era began in 1992-93, with a Pastoral Letter from the Roman Catholic Bishops proving to be the trigger of far-reaching social and political change. Soon Malawi would have multi- party elections and a democratic constitution. The sense of new-found freedom and hopefulness was palpable. At the same time, this was the period in which HIV and AIDS began to cast its deadly shadow over Malawi, with friends and colleagues being cut off in their prime and society being shaken to the core. It was in this creative, buoyant and challenging environment that my own theological formation was taking place. My twin reference points, on a daily basis, were the unfolding drama of Malawi’s political transformation and the deep experience of faith in which I shared both in the University context and in the rural congregation of Nkanda, near Zomba, where I was serving as pastor. I felt I was caught up in a “ferment” that was, at one and

the same time, the profound inculturation of Christian faith in the African context and a transforming movement within Malawian society. These two were closely intertwined and I discovered a theological calling in the attempt to understand and interpret what was taking place around me. The result was this book: a collection of essays that I wrote during the early 1990s. Some are an attempt to think theologically about the social and political changes and challenges that Malawi was navigating during these years. Others are critically reflecting on the nature and content of the Christian faith as it was coming to expression in an African context. What was occurring was the culmination of a 100-year process that had begun, so far as much of southern Malawi is concerned, with the work of th the Blantyre Mission of the Church of Scotland in the late 19 century. Seeking to understand what was occurring at the end of this 100-year process sent me back to its beginning. So a couple of the essays are historical, examining in particular the contribution of David Clement Scott who led the Blantyre Mission from 1881 to 1898. Deeply immersed in Malawian life, language and culture, Scott was an early exponent of inculturation as the way forward for Christianity in Africa. For me, he was a prophetic figure whose sensitivity to the dynamics of faith and culture in the Malawian context remained highly relevant to the situation prevailing a hundred years later. This book can be no more than a snapshot of how one young theologian was thinking during the years 1990-94, in some ways pivotal years in Malawi’s modern history. I am grateful that it can remain available through the Luviri Reprints and hope that it may provide some useful perspectives and stimulus to others who seek to make a theological contribution at times of “ferment”, both in Malawi and elsewhere. Kenneth R. Ross Netherlorn, Argyll May 2018