{"id":13868,"date":"2017-09-07T15:20:04","date_gmt":"2017-09-07T22:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=13868"},"modified":"2017-09-08T18:13:10","modified_gmt":"2017-09-09T01:13:10","slug":"africa-and-christianity-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/africa-and-christianity-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa and Christianity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa and Christianity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thomas C. Oden, the author of How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind<\/em>, successfully overcomes his Caucasian, American, United Methodist, and Wesleyan bias when he characterizes Africa as the geographic cradle and \u201cseedbed\u201d for historic Christianity.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Oden provides the reader with a chronological survey of an Afrocentric ancient world, early African Christian fathers, and the important African contextual events that he believes shaped and influenced post 1st<\/sup> Century Christian thought.\u00a0 His narrative portrays a passionate and persistent campaign for African recognition by the global Christian community.\u00a0 His goal is to inform, inspire, and challenge new African Christian academics to adopt his cause, champion a rebirth in African scholarship, prove his thesis, and achieve the appropriate theological recognition for Africa\u2019s historical contribution to modern day Christianity.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBlack Africa\u201d is the racist designation for some of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that Oden says have reconciliation challenges with North Africa.[3]<\/a> My wife and I lived, served. studied, and ministered alongside indigenous people groups in the countries of Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa.\u00a0 We attended local churches in the bush, and international churches in the city.\u00a0 We praised and worshiped the Lord with over 30 different cultures from the African continent and with expatriates from other countries.\u00a0 We made lifelong friends, and informally adopted six young girls that we continue to support as they grow into adulthood.\u00a0 In all my seminary studies and experiences with the new generation of African moruti\u2019s<\/em> (preachers) I never sensed a strong resentment or racial hostility towards the western influenced missionary.\u00a0 Yes, we had a lot to learn on how to live and operate in a collective, tribal based culture; but for the most part the people were very forgiving and tolerant of the lekgowa<\/em> (white person).\u00a0 If we showed respect, tried our best to learn and use their language, greetings, and customs while reflecting the image of Christ, we were welcomed into their tribes, huts, homes, and lives.<\/p>\n

According to Barnes book review, Oden characterizes the problem coming from racism, prejudice, and false assumptions that permeate the Western Christian mindset and thereby weaken the historical role and legacy of Africa\u2019s original contribution to Christendom.[4]<\/a>\u00a0 I agree with his problem, but do not think he goes deep enough as an author of systematic theology to identify and expose the cause of the problem, Satan.\u00a0 In my experience, discernment, and based on the word of God, I believe that any weakening, distortion, or diminishing of Africa\u2019s role or influence in the advancement of Christianity is because of the interference by the rulers, forces of darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Oden\u2019s fix for Africa\u2019s apparent loss of historic influence in Christianity is found in his appeal to a new generation of young Africans symbolically positioned at the \u201cfeet\u201d of their historical ancestors.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 While I think Oden has a very philosophical solution to his African recognition problem, I believe he would be better served to focus these same young Africans at the feet of Jesus and study to learn the ways of God, in obedience and faith to the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 In conclusion, Oden is a good read for students with very little cross-cultural exposure and a helpful primary resource and reading list for additional inquiry and investigation into the African influence and contributions in historic Christianity.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Additional Comments on Oden:\u00a0 While he only refers to the influence of evil twice in the entire book, he shows deep a theological understanding of the influence of spiritual warfare as dark forces try to split churches and create disunity in the Christian world.\u00a0 For example, when commenting on the state of ecumenism in the world church he acknowledges the negative impact of relativism by saying, \u201cWhen moral relativism puts on the face of being absolutely true, then ironically it proves itself to be neither true nor absolute.\u201d[8]<\/a> Out of the seven ways that Odens says Africa shaped Christianity I identify best with Africa\u2019s early conciliar patterns that formed the ecumenical movement before the first meetings of the fledgling Christian council meeting at Nicaea in 325 A.D.[9]<\/a><\/p>\n

In summary, Oden overcame his worldview and changed his personal and theological paradigm to invest and investigate Africa from the ancient origins of Christianity.\u00a0 As another westerner who lived in and loves Africa I agree with his assessment that \u201cAfrican ecumenism\u201d is making a comeback.[10]<\/a> One example of how new Christians deep inside Africa are reaching the world is seen through \u201cMacha Works,\u201d which took the internet into the bush and gave it away to the tribes.[11]<\/a>\u00a0 I saw lives changed by Christ, and then saw discipleship multiply through the villages new ability to connect with other tribes, other countries, and the world.\u00a0 Finally, I agree with the Oden\u2019s idea that the heart of Africa is a \u201cliving, organic unity of the body of believers in Christ.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Thomas C. Oden, How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity.<\/em> (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2007) Kindle Edition, Location 237.<\/h6>\n
[2]<\/a> Ibid.<\/h6>\n
[3]<\/a> Ibid., 643.<\/h6>\n
[4]<\/a> Andrew Barnes. \u201cHow Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Recovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity.\u201d Church History<\/em> 77, no. 4, 2008) 1108.<\/h6>\n
[5]<\/a> Ephesians 6:12, \u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and flood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.\u201d ESV.<\/h6>\n
[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Ibid., How Africa Shaped<\/em>, 1048.<\/h6>\n
[7]<\/a> “How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity.” Publishers Weekly<\/em> 254, no. 41 (October 15, 2007): 57. Academic Search Premier<\/em>, EBSCOhost<\/em> (accessed September 6, 2017).<\/h6>\n
[8]<\/a> Ibid., How Africa Shaped<\/em>, 964.<\/h6>\n
[9]<\/a> Ibid., 371.<\/h6>\n
[10]<\/a> Ibid., 901.<\/h6>\n
[11]<\/a> Gertjan van Stam and Gerard van Oortmerssen. “Macha works!.” (2010).<\/h6>\n
[12]<\/a> Ibid., How Africa Shaped<\/em>, 901.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa and Christianity Thomas C. Oden, the author of How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind, successfully overcomes his Caucasian, American, United Methodist, and Wesleyan bias when he characterizes Africa as the geographic cradle and \u201cseedbed\u201d for historic Christianity.[1]\u00a0 Oden provides the reader with a chronological survey of an Afrocentric ancient world, early African Christian fathers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"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":[2,1018,1017,953],"class_list":["post-13868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-httpblogs-georgefox-edudminlgpcohortlgp8","tag-lgp8","tag-oden","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868","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\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13868"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13952,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13868\/revisions\/13952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}