{"id":12987,"date":"2017-06-01T23:28:12","date_gmt":"2017-06-02T06:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=12987"},"modified":"2017-06-02T10:36:02","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T17:36:02","slug":"the-epic-story-that-must-be-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-epic-story-that-must-be-told\/","title":{"rendered":"The epic story that must be told"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thomas C. Oden author of How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind<\/em> challenges the Western Christian narrative of Christianity and its origins in Africa. \u00a0Oden states his purpose for his book in the beginning when he writes ” The thesis of this book can be stated simply: Africa played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture. Decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood first in Africa before they were recognized in Europe, and a millennium before they found their way to North America<\/em>.”[1] The narrative that has be retold presents a story that depicts a historical view that Africans were influenced by the North. It tells a story that Christianity was presented to Africans by the Europeans. \u00a0He argues that the history of Christianity extends further back than the distorted expression of Western and European accounts. The unfortunate reality is that the oral traditions of the African culture have not been passed on with the same value and appreciation as the European written history. The true history, he argues, is an epic story. One that must be told not by “outsiders” but by young africans who can continue on with sharing and embracing the story through oral tradition and other scholarly mediums. His intended audience is not just for Christians. He writes “hence this is not a story for a Christian audience only. It is not intended to be heard only by those already convinced. Nor is it a story whose audience primarily resides in academic settings. It is for seekers, skeptics, and for those convicted, but especially for the children of African villages<\/em>.”[2] His intentions is to\u00a0invite his intended audience to adopt and explore the truths of this narrative. From the beginning Christianity has always been told through story therefore the history of its orgins must continue to be told in the same vain. The core elements of this epic story of how African Christianity has shaped and influenced Western Christianity can be explained\u00a0in seven distinct ways:[3]<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Western notion of univeristy<\/li>\n
  2. The Christian exegesis of Scripture<\/li>\n
  3. Early Christian Dogma<\/li>\n
  4. Conciliar patterns that informed ecumenical decision-making<\/li>\n
  5. The birth of monasticism<\/li>\n
  6. Christian Neoplatonism<\/li>\n
  7. Rhetorical and Dialetical finesse<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Much of what he discusses in his book deals with the hard truths that negate \u00a0the altered history we, in the west, have so heavily asserted as foundational truths of the origins of our Christian faith. What is so interetsting to me is how much of what has originated in Africa ,and still is evident today, \u00a0also is reflective in our western practice of Christianity. This book while very informative ends with a challenge for further exploration and advancement of scholarship. His research and arguments are compelling. I am glad the story is being told and brought to the forefront. Although, I have not been to Africa [yet], I have always felt a strong connection to the African heritage of my ancestors. Oral traditions are\u00a0embedded in the African American culture . There is something to be said about when “our story is told by us to us”. I believe that is what Oden is advocating for to the young scholars. I saw his assertion as remorseful\u00a0and redemptive. In order for this epic story to\u00a0be ingrained in the spiritual fabric of not only the world, the continent, the countries and people groups it must be told with conviction and truth. To do that, it must be understood and affirmed by those outside but it has to be fully embraced and told from within.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    [1]\u00a0Thomas C. Oden, How africa shaped the christian mind: rediscovering the african seedbed of western christianity<\/i> (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2010), Location 42.<\/p>\n

    [2] Ibid, Location 75.<\/p>\n

    [3] Ibid, Location 312.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Thomas C. Oden author of How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind challenges the Western Christian narrative of Christianity and its origins in Africa. \u00a0Oden states his purpose for his book in the beginning when he writes ” The thesis of this book can be stated simply: Africa played a decisive role in the formation of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[953],"class_list":["post-12987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-oden","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12987"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13096,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12987\/revisions\/13096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}