Here Comes your King!

R. Ross

Description

More than twenty years have passed since this book was first published yet its themes remain vital for understanding the way in which Christian faith is coming to expression in a context like Malawi. It begins with Christology, with the question of the identity of Jesus Christ that is perennially at the centre of the Christian theological task. For a century and more Malawians have been hearing the proclamation, �here comes your king!" This has struck a chord in millions of hearts as individuals, families and communities have named Jesus Christ as Lord. It has also posed the challenge of discovering what this Lordship means in every dimension of life. Much of the rest of the book pursues this question as it explores how church identity has been formed and consolidated, how the faith has been a resource for the nation at critical moments, and the ways in which the faith has shaped national identity and helped to meet political challenges.

Informations

• Publié par: Luviri Press
• Date de parution: 21 septembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789996066351
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

Here Comes your King!

Copyright 2020 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 1998. Second Impression with new Introduction 2020 Published by Luviri Press P/Bag 201 Luwinga Mzuzu 2 ISBN 978-99960-66-34-4 eISBN 978-99960-66-35-1 Luviri Reprints no. 12 Luviri Press is represented outside Malawi by: African Books Collective Oxford ([e-mail]) www.luviripress.blogspot.com www.africanbookscollective.com Printed in Malawi by Baptist Publication, P.O. Box 444, Lilongwe

Here Comes your King! Christ, Church and Nation in Malawi Kenneth R. Ross Luviri Press Luviri Reprints no. 12 Mzuzu 2020

Foreword

More than twenty years have passed since this book was first published yet its themes remain vital for understanding the way in which Christian faith is coming to expression in a context like Malawi. It begins with Christology, with the question of the identity of Jesus Christ that is perennially at the centre of the Christian theological task. For a century and more Malawians have been hearing the proclamation, “here comes your king!" This has struck a chord in millions of hearts as individuals, families and communities have named Jesus Christ as Lord. It has also posed the challenge of discovering what this Lordship means in every dimension of life. Much of the rest of the book pursues this question as it explores how church identity has been formed and consolidated, how the faith has been a resource for the nation at critical moments, and the ways in which the faith has shaped national identity and helped to meet political challenges.

The book was a fruit of the fresh opportunity for contextual theology that came with the end of the thirty years of one-party rule in Malawi during which it was scarcely possible to develop socially critical theology. As Malawi during the mid-1990s sought to redefine itself in the post-dictatorship era, the initiatives in research, conference and publication that were fostered by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College provided one forum in which key questions couldbe addressed. It was in this particular crucible that the essays collected in this book were conceived and constructed. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight I am grateful for the stimulating environment and supportive community that enabled me to cut my teeth as a contextual theologian and offer the essays that were brought together to make this book.

History does not stand still. As we enter the 2020s those who attempt to do contextual theology in Malawi will need to consider a set of

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realities that differ from those that prevailed in the 1990s. Nonetheless, I hope that the essays collected in this book will retain some value both by offering methodological hints and by opening up lines of analysis that remain relevant. Therefore I am deeply grateful to Luviri Press for including this book in their reprint series and for the pleasure of collaborating together once again. If the reprint can be of any assistance to those who seek to bring theologicalperspectivesto bear on contemporary realities in Malawi or elsewhere, the effort will have proved its worth. Kenneth R.Ross Zomba Easter2020

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For Hester

and the people of Malawi who freely shared

their life and wisdom with us 1988-98

with thanksgiving and in hope

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Contents

Foreword

Series Editors' Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1. The Christological Task in Africa Today: Nicene Methodology Reconsidered

2. "Who do you Say that I Am?" Popular Christology in Northern Malawi

3. Contested Identity: Ecclesial Self-Understanding in Northern Malawi

4. Crisis and Identity: Presbyterian Ecclesiology in Southern Malawi 1891-1993

5. The Renewal of the State by the Church: the Case of the Public Affairs Committee

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8

10

11

14

38

59

85

107

6. Partnership in Mission and Postcolonial Politics: the Case of the Church of Scotland and the CCAP 131

7. Where were the Prophets and Martyrs in Banda's Malawi? Four Presbyterian Ministers

8. Christian Faith and National Identity

9. After Freedom: Christ's Kingdom and Malawi's Second Republic

Bibliography

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Series Editors' Preface

The Kachere Series is an initiative of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Malawi. It aims to promote the emergence of a body of literature which will enable students and others to engage critically with religion in Malawi, its social impact and the theological questions which it raises. An important starting point lies with the publication of essays and theses which until now have been inaccessible to all but the most dedicated specialist. It is also hoped, however, that the development of theological scholarship in Malawi will stimulate the writing of many new books. General works with popular appeal can be published as Kachere Books. Documents and essays, which are of value as sources for the study of religion in Malawi, can be published as Kachere Texts. Full-length treatises, the fruit of sound primary research which meet rigorous academic standards, are published as Kachere Monographs. The Editors intend the Series to contribute substantially to the growth of a body of knowledge in the area of theology and religious studies in Malawi. As important resources for study related to this field, we are confident that they will come to be prized not only within Malawi but in every academic centre concerned with religion and society in Africa.

This book by Kenneth Ross is the first in this series to tackle the issue of theological method and in particular method in Christology. Ross joins the Christological debate in the African context. In this respect he calls theologians involved in a quest for an African Christology to revisit the theological method of the Nicene Fathers. In addition to basing their Christology on involvement in Church life and the Bible, the Nicene Fathers believed that a scientific and properly critical Christian theology must be built on the apprehension of the divine revelation of Jesus Christ.Christ, Church and the Nationis a fitting subtitle to this book.

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The identity of the Church and the Church's engagement with the state are based on the proper understanding of Jesus Christ and the implications of following him as King. This study is specific to Malawi but its implications will certainly have a great impact on the wider Christological debate in Africa and abroad. It is in this spirit that we offer the book to our readers.

Kachere Series Editors Zomba, Sexagesima 1998

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