The Bible and African Culture

Humphrey Waweru

Description

How can African theology survive the self-repetition of mere cultural apologia or contextualization-stereotypes, and mature into a critical theoretical discipline responding to the challenges of the postmodern world-order? Dr. Humphrey M. Wawe contributes here a sound theological reflection using the hitherto unused methodological paradigm of mapping the inroads in the �transaction� between the Bible and African culture.

Informations

• Publié par: Zapf Chancery Publishers Africa Ltd.
• Date de parution: 25 mars 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789966040091
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

TheBibleand African Culture

Zapf Chancery Tertiary Level Publications

A Guide to Academic Writingby C. B. Peter (1994) Africa in the 21st Centuryby Eric M. Aseka (1996) Women in Developmentby Egara Kabaji (1997) Introducing Social Science: A Guidebookby J. H. van Doorne (2000) Elementary Statistics by J. H. van Doorne (2001) Iteso Survival Rites on the Birth of Twinsby Festus B. Omusolo (2001) The Church in the New Millennium: Three Studies in the Acts of the Apostlesby John Stott (2002) Introduction to Philosophy in an African Perspectiveby Cletus N.Chukwu (2002) Participatory Monitoring and Evaluationby Francis W. Mulwa and Simon N. Nguluu (2003) Applied Ethics and HIV/AIDS in Africaby Cletus N. Chukwu (2003) For God and Humanity: 100 Years of St. Paul’s United Theological College Edited by Emily Onyango (2003) Establishing and Managing School Libraries and Resource Centresby Margaret Makenzi and Raymond Ongus (2003) Introduction to the Study of Religionby Nehemiah Nyaundi (2003) A Guest in God’s World: Memories of Madagascar by Patricia McGregor (2004) Introduction to Critical Thinkingby J. Kahiga Kiruki (2004) Theological Education in Contemporary Africaedited by GrantLeMarquand and Joseph D. Galgalo (2004) Looking Religion in the Eyeedited by Kennedy Onkware (2004) Computer Programming: Theory and Practiceby Gerald Injendi (2005) Demystifying Participatory DevelopmentFrancis W. Mulwa (2005) by Music Education in Kenya: A Historical Perspectiveby Hellen A. Odwar (2005) Into the Sunshine: Integrating HIV/AIDS into Ethics CurriculumEdited by Charles Klagba and C. B. Peter (2005) Integrating HIV/AIDS into Ethics Curriculum: Suggested ModulesEdited by Charles Klagba (2005) Dying Voice (An Anthropological Novel)by Andrew K. Tanui (2006) Participatory Learning and Action (PLA): A Guide to Best Practiceby Enoch Harun Opuka (2006) Science and Human Values: Essays in Science, Religion, and Modern Ethical Issues edited by Nehemiah Nyaundi and Kennedy Onkware (2006) Understanding Adolescent BehaviourDaniel Kasomo (2006) by Students’ Handbook for Guidance and Counsellingby Daniel Kasomo (2007) Business Organization and Management: Questions and Answersby Musa O. Nyakora (2007)

(Continued on page 224)

The Bible andAfricanCulture MappingTransactional Inroads

The Rev. Dr. Humphrey Waweru, (PhD) Lecturer, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

Zapf Chancery Eldoret, Kenya

First Published 2011 ©Humphrey M. Waweru All rights reserved.

Cover Concept and Design C. B. Peter

Associate Designer and Typesetter Nancy Njeri

Copyediting Dr. Phyll Chesworth

Editor and Publishing Consultant C. B. Peter

Printed by Kijabe Printing Press, P. O. Box 40, Kijabe.

Published by

Zapf Chancery Publishers Africa, C/o St. Paul’s University P. O. Box Private Bag - 00217 Limuru, Kenya. Email: [e-mail] Mobile: [phone] This book has been printed on fully recyclable, ISBN 978-9966-1506-3-9 environmentfriendly paper.

Acknowledgements

am glad that tradition provides this forum for publicly thanking I those special people who helped this book become a reality. For me, writing is a paradox: a mixture of loving it and hating it, of intense solitude and grateful community; and of personal beliefs freely expressed and needing the objective and loving scrutiny of trusted others. So it is to those trusted others, who invested so much time and careful attention to reviewing my manuscript, that I am deeply grateful to the editor of Swedish Missiological Themes for having published some of the chapters of this book as articles in a series of Swedish Missiological Themes’ Journals. I am also deeply grateful to my daughters Caroline Wambui Mwangi currently undertaking her Computer Science (Programming) course in Middlesex University London, Grace Wanjiru Mwangi currently undertaking Environmental Studies Community Development in Kenyatta University and Mary Waithera Mwangi who is currently at home waiting for her ‘O’ Level results for their time and support during the writing of this book and even typing the draft manuscripts. They are definitely the power behind the success of this book. But most of all, I am deeply grateful to my editor and publisher C. B. Peter. I have always loved and valued Peter’s deeply as my mentor who always tells young scholars ‘to publish or perish’. Working together on this project gave me an opportunity to develop a deep respect and appreciation for him as a consummate

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professional. He is the finest editor I have ever worked with- intuitively knowing when to push, support change, or accept, always with the goal of creating the finest book possible. He has been a joy to work with in this project. And finally, thanks to my wife Catherine Muthoni Mwangi, a nurse by profession for her cheers from the sidelines and the much- needed reminders to smell the roses along the way. Catherine made it her duty to remind me that a scholar is not a scholar unless one has published. I dedicate this book to her.

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Preface

here is good news in Africa! That is a paradigm shift in biblical T studies in Africa. This is important information for those whose steady diet of western biblical scholarship and research has begun to make them believe that the vast majority of Africans are not concerned with African culture in relation to biblical studies. It is true our African societies require a paradigm shift in biblical scholarship. What is not true is that most of our ordinary readers are not keen in contextual Bible study. They are the source to contextual Bible reading in our times, particularly the oral texts which are then compared to the written ones. In my opinion, it is time to engage in the dialogue that has silently been going on between the Bible and the African culture. We have to be involved in this conversation between the Bible and the African culture. The purpose of this book is to provide a platform for such a conversation in order to allow the African culture to interact with the Biblical culture. This paradigm shift is what the members of the African community and they alone share. However it is good to note that the invention of other new theories regularly, and appropriately, evokes the same response of resistance from some of the specialists on whose special competence they impinge. Western biblical scholarship has dominated the field for so long, where the African culture has only been discarded as unviable to be compared with the biblical culture. This book brings in a new theory of contrapuntal which in turn implies a change in the rules governing the prior practice of normal science.

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This therefore means that the proposal for a paradigm shift, from comparative, inculturation and indigenization to contextual and contrapuntal may not be received enthusiastically by the proponents of pure biblical scholarship as one might have thought. It does not mean the whole idea is wrong or will never pick up in African biblical scholarship. Rather, ‘new theories regularly provoke resistance from some of the specialists on whose area of special competence we impinge. But as time goes by, our logicality will be given attention. Nevertheless, a shift introduced by this book does not necessarily mean a complete break from the previous paradigms. For paradigm shifts do not have to change radically. Rather some elements of the previous paradigm still remain in the new as they guarantee harmony in the particular society that is adopting the new theories. This book is therefore written for those people with an interest in the way the African culture interacts with the biblical culture with similarities and differences to compliment each other. It is for people who do not know how to remain faithful to their culture as they engage with the new faith of Christianity. Hence this book handles subjects of interest such as age grading, marriage, dowry as well as reading the Bible through our own eyes.

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Acknowledgement

Preface

Introduction

Contents

Chapter One:African Culture and the Bible

Chapter Two:Kikuyu People

Chapter Three: Mapping the Transaction Between the African Culture and the Bible

Chapter Four: Methodologies for Transaction between the African Culture and the Bible

Chapter Five: Inter-Religious Transaction Between African Culture and the Bible

Chapter Six: African Culture and the Bible Transact in Worship and Mission

Chapter Seven: The Place of Women in this Transaction with Reference to John’s Gospel

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