There are two major differences between the God of the Bible and the African concepts of God, which I will discuss. Although Christian orthodoxy defines the doctrine of the Trinity, the intellectual tools used to capture it significantly vary. Biblical Christianity in Africa: a collection of papers and addresses. SPENCER, A.B. The term ‘ethics’ is technically used by philosophers tomean a philosophical study of morality—morality understood as aset of social rules, principles, norms that guide or are intended toguide the conduct of people in a society, and as beliefs about rightand wrong conduct as well as good or bad character. Seshat, goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. Definitely a huge help for me, I appreciate everything and everyone there. In reflecting on the world without God’s word, Romans 1:21 says that “although [people] knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened”. eds. Using readings 1 to 4 explain African contribution to humanity, to world civilization and world spirituality, and specifically to Judaism, Christianity and the Bible. ... Their history has a theological meaning. What are the attributes of God according to the African traditional understanding? Neith, goddess sometimes associated with wisdom; Thoth, originally a moon deity, later became the god of knowledge and wisdom and the scribe of the gods; Sia, the deification of wisdom; Isis, goddess of wisdom, magic and kingship.She was said to be "more clever than a million gods". INTRODUCTION Philosophy as a discipline is the reflection of mankind on the ideas and institutions guiding their existence. These five basic beliefs that make up the African traditional religion are corroborated by the work of Vincent Okungu, who argued that a slight difference might be observed in these component elements with different people groups in Africa to demonstrate the peoples’ understanding of God in their locality. Return to essay, ⁷ It is worth bearing this in mind when examining Mbiti’s (1980) statement, “When we identify the God of the Bible as the same God who is known through African religion ... we must also take it that God has had a historical relationship with African peoples. The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. Firstly, Africans do know something about God. KATO, B. From this verse two things are evident. The gods of Africa or the God of the Bible? TOZER, A.W. Therefore, Africa has effectively made its own God. Byang Kato (1985: 32) states this point with great clarity when he says, “Whatever rationalization we may try to make, the worship of gods in Africa is idolatry”⁶. The Yoruba of Olorun and the Mozambique legend of Nyambi both illustrate which typical African understanding of the High God? London: Edinburgh House press. The visible world is creation as we perceive around us. Thus, the God of the Bible is different to the Supreme Being of Africa in that he is knowable and relational. In many respects he is a pioueer, one of the first to attempt to systematize and analyze, from an insider's perspective, the African understanding of the world in which we live and bow that understanding affects the Africans' view of Christianity. Click continue to fill in your Assignment details and make an order. If we had an infinite and completely comprehensive understanding of God, we, too, would be God, having omniscience. This is why African theology beleives both that God is spirit and that God's presence can be felt and experienced physically. O’Donovan (1995: 41) goes as far as suggesting that “there is probably no native-born African who is not aware of the existence of God”. It seems that we need to heed Turaki’s (1999: 149-150) warning to not violate Africa’s holistic view of the world by interpreting the Supreme Being’s transcendence in absolute terms. These five basic beliefs that make up the African traditional religion are corroborated by the work of Vincent Okungu, who argued that a slight difference might be observed in these component elements with different people groups in Africa to demonstrate the peoples’ understanding of God in their locality. Most practitioners of African Traditional Religion have an understanding of a creator God, but this normally refined and broaden when one becomes a Christian. Yet God is immanent. ¹ Discussions about ancestors, dynamism and spiritism are important but unfortunately fall outside the scope of this essay. What are the attributes of God according to the African traditional understanding? He does not interfere with man who is the … MBITI, J. In this case, so-called "salvation history" must widen its outreach in order to embrace the horizons of other peoples’ histories”. O’DONOVAN, W. 1995. centre (Introduction to African Religions, 41, 42). So I read on and on, and conducted field research to learn more and more. God created the tortoise (turtle), men and stones. Indeed, God promises that he is judging sin now (Romans 1:24) and will do so in a more comprehensive way in the future (2 Peter 3:7). Return to essay, ⁴ In fact, Nyirongo (1997: 16) states, “That God revealed Himself to the pre-Christian African generations cannot be denied. These similarities extend over both the character and the work of each deity. African theologian alive today. By this label serious damage was done to the gospel in Africa. Thus, at the point where revelation from the deity becomes re-creation into a new deity, it becomes impossible to see the biblical God as a continuity of the African God⁷ (Turaki, 1999: 160). God was the creator of the universe. Our aim is to help you get A+ grades on your Coursework. Oxford, United Kingdom: Heinemann Educational Publishers. Rather, it seems that there is less of a chasm between God and the other spirit beings, and that the category used to understand the remoteness of the Supreme Being is not transcendence but differing communal responsibilities (Turaki, 1999: 156). Thus, in contrast to the humanistic view of sin in the African tradition, the God of the Bible is seen to be holy and just. Yet the Bible cannot conceive of the One True God like that. However, the origin of God is generally a mystery; different myths exist in different African cultures trying to explain God’s origin. Yet, at the same time it must always be maintained that this is fundamentally a different God due to Africa’s distortion of general revelation. In African Traditional Religion creator God is distant from man. 2nd ed. African religions, religious beliefs and practices of the peoples of Africa.It should be noted that any attempt to generalize about the nature of “African religions” risks wrongly implying that there is homogeneity among all African cultures.In fact, Africa is a vast continent encompassing both geographic variation and tremendous cultural diversity. The Yoruba people of Nigeria, for example, worship a storm god, Shango, who controls thunder and lightning. God is seldom charged with wrong doing in Africa”. African mythology Ancient Egyptian. "African Religions and Philosophy" is a systematic study of the attitudes of mind and belief that have evolved in the many societies of Africa. (ii) God is everlasting / eternal. God created the tortoise (turtle), men and stones. INTRODUCTION Philosophy as a discipline is the reflection of mankind on the ideas and institutions guiding their existence. Understood as the such, African Christian theology has been Seemingly, the theological view of God who sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save us, needs to be further developed in the African understanding of God (Supreme Being) (cf. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. “So for our understanding of God, it is more the mystery, the greatness of God,” said the theologian of St Augustine College in Johannesburg, the country’s only Catholic university. Chapter 3 describes the basic beliefs in African traditional religions, several African ethnic groups’ concepts of God, and the African theologians’ Christianization of the African God by employing Christian theological terms. (vi) He is the creator who created the world and everything in it. If so, what are they?”. He is the constant participant in the affairs of human beings. Quick feedback and perfect papers. Firstly, the God of the Bible is different to the African gods in that he is knowable and relational. Grand Rapids, MI : BridgePoint Books. The works of African scholars for the past three decades have established the fact that Africans have a concept of an universal God and the Creator (Idowu, 1962; Mbiti, 1975). Return to essay, ⁵ It is worth noting that most conceive sin to be originally against the Supreme Being, and that is what plunged the world into its current state (Nyirongo, 1997: 61). The number of gods and goddesses varies from culture to culture. critical understanding of African worldview, the place of African philosophy and the significance of myths in the reflection of African experience. Kisumu, Kenya: Evangel Publishing House. The Africans understand the universe to consist of two parts. of God in any African Traditional Religion is asking for trouble, because the meaning of the English terms come with such a long his-tory, from the Latin, of theological baggage, that it is not at all natural to give space to the African meanings in their context. Atheistic tendencies in Africa are minimal. Instead, the two go hand and hand and influence a person’s everyday behavior. My findings were used in teaching, but eventually I put them together in a book, Concepts of God in Africa, published by the British publisher SPCK (1970). African religion centres on belief and practices. In chapter 4, Mbiti’s understanding of God is scrutinized in relation to his methodology, the African concept of time, his understanding of revelation and of salvation. Some scholars would even argue that an African understanding is nothing more than an internalised form of Western perspectives. 'The Afri-can attitude to God is perhaps understood least' (Sawyer, 1970, p. ix). In so doing explain the notion of the Egyptian problem and the “Greek miracle.”, Finally explain the most important thing you learned from this assignment and how it helped you achieve the educational goals of our course. because there is a correlation between the African understanding of family and the Church as family of God. It gave me a good opportunity to prepare well for exams. This left the African people with the idea that God could not handle the hostile spirits that attacked people on a daily basis. The African understanding of immortality is tied to remembrance after death. For example, farming activities involved God, spirits and ancestors. The South African reimaging of God revolved around ridding themselves of the patriarchal model that supports the hierarchy, domination, and sexism of their experience under apartheid. Return to essay, ⁶ It is worth quoting Nyirongo (1997: 16) on this point at length: “That God revealed Himself to the pre-Christian African generations cannot be denied. Yet, there are significant similarities at the same time. Hands down the best site so far. The tortoise, however, wished to have children, and went to God. I ordered two works on Economics and I scored an A and B. African ideas of God: a symposium. Click Order now to have a similar paper completed for you by our team of Experts. Attributes of God (Supreme Being) in Africa: Attributes of God refers to words or phrases ascribing traits, properties, qualities or characteristics to the The Supreme Being is furthermore perceived as being the creator of the world. Traditional African belief is … 1975. The African understanding of morality is based on a cosmological understanding. Whoever does the good—even if he does not yet recognize God explicitly—is a mediator of the goodness of God. LESSON ONE: AFRICAN CONCEPT OF GOD, SPIRITS AND ANCESTORS Learning outcomes. The African continent includes so many countries, regions, languages, tribes, cultures and crossovers that the sheer diversity of prevailing Gods would seem overwhelming if there weren’t a few handy shortcuts. In addition to the belief in deity, the Supreme Being of Africa largely overlaps conceptually with the identity and work of the biblical God. Moreover, he is good, eternal and omnipresent. The global God: multicultural evangelical views of God. I am suggesting, however, that verbal communication and personal relationship with the Supreme Being are not a reality for the African. Atheistic tendencies in Africa are minimal. Return to essay. Carlisle, UK : Paternoster Press. & SPENCER, W.D. Monotheism’s insistence on the The visible/ earth. At a pilgrimage prayer service dedicated to the “God Beyond all Names”, Dr Nontando Hadebe reflected that in most African languages there are no pronouns. Therefore, we need to be aware of this idolatry and proclaim with great boldness the God of the Bible throughout Africa. vehicle for Christian missionary work and the authority for Christological understanding and interpretation, Africa has become a very fascinating region due to its growing Christian populations. Using Readings 5 , 6 and 7 summarize the African understanding of God and his/her characteristics, as well as the set of moral and spiritual values used by Africans to define a genuine human being and a genuine man/woman of God 1994. Answers (i) God is a Spirit. Furthermore, due to the nature of the evidence, its scope must be universal; and so we cannot exclude Africans from this knowledge. At different times and in different places, Western Christianity has, for … African Spirituality: Understanding Its Forms, Meanings, and Expressions October 25, 2017 By Rebecca Davis Leave a Comment African spirituality is a way of life. African scholars do not present one unified understanding of religion. This Supreme Being, God, is believed to be the Creator of everything and Sustainer of life. At a pilgrimage prayer service dedicated to the “God Beyond all Names”, Dr Nontando Hadebe reflected that in most African languages there are no pronouns. In spite of thephilosophical inquiries or analyses undertaken by individualmoralphilosophers regarding morality … Write My Essay We are the most trusted essay writing service. 1980. Idowu calls the Yoruba religion “diffused” monotheism. In African traditions, religion was integrated in every aspect of life and daily activities. 6 . Thus everything in the spiritual, and the physical, world is the way it is today as a direct result of his action² (Kato, 1975: 31). Indeed, we must affirm that the Bible is correct when it asserts that God’s divinity and power have been plain since the creation of the world (Romans 1:19-20). Write my Class essay delivers high quality work and I am happy to be a repeat customer. These similarities are seen in the belief in the existence of a personal and spiritual deity who is the almighty creator, and the all-knowing, protecting provider. In South Africa, God has been experienced as freedom and truth, as comrade and friend in the struggle for freedom. Here is a 20% discount for our Academic Research Writing service. Pretty good site, excellent writers and staff! The invisible world is the residing place of God, the ancestors and all the spirits and powers. Return to essay, ³ However, the dual activities of providing and protecting are not undertaken directly by the Supreme Being. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Trinity in Christian thought. The Christian faith knows and worships one God, who is revealed in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. OLUPONA: If we lose traditional African religions, we would also lose or continue to seriously undermine the African practice of rites of passage such as the much cherished age-grade initiations, which have for so long integrated and bought Africans together under a common understanding, or worldview. At the outset I need to say that one of the major problems in a study such as this is its vastness. It is a matter of perspective, whether one lays emphasis on the Supreme Being or on the many . Also that he continues to speak to all the tribes of Africa who have not heard the Gospel can also not be denied. In so doing make a list of 5 to 10 quotations you found interesting in these readings and explain why you found them interesting. We can help. He does not do anything more for people. The traditional African understanding and the interpretation of Christianity have deep roots in these fundamental beliefs of the African traditional religions. The Doctrine of God in African Christian Thought. (ii) God is everlasting / eternal. This entry is intended to make some contribution to the understanding of African ethical thinking. The tortoise, however, wished to have children, and went to God. Introduction to African religion. God is infinite. Human understanding of God is further limited by the finite faculties that man has been created with. The universe has a specific order of created beings, with God the creator occupying the highest rank. I believe this assertion to be correct and so the question, “How do African concepts of God relate to the God of the Bible?” is most worthy of our consideration. Thank you! So the question needs to be posed, “Are there any differences between the God of the Bible and the gods of Africa? MBITI, J.S. By this he is asserting that God has revealed himself in a general way through what has been created and in that sense he has spoken and continues to speak to every African. Part 1. Biblical Christianity in African perspective. The problem with the African concepts of God is that they go no further than speculation. 6 . Moreover, the Supreme Being sustains this world; that in the sense that he keeps everything which he made in existence at every given moment, and in the sense that he is seen to be the one who provides and protects this world³ (Mbiti, 1991: 49, 52). The fundamental problem with constructing an African religious cosmology is to understand how the one god and the many gods or lesser deities can co-exist in the African context. African Journal of Evangelical Theology, 21(2): 109-126. The knowledge of the holy. African mythology permeates Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Ghana, Gambia, and it has been transported through slavery to Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, Guyana, Haiti and other South American and Caribbean countries. This is an estimate of how much your order will cost. Thus, in this essay, the only plausible approach is to consider the views which hold a majority. native-born African is unaware of God’s existence (O’Donovan 1996:41). The universe consists of two spheres, the one being visible and the other invisible. The Supreme Being is likewise good (Mbiti, 1991: 55). I care about Jesus, people, my country and what being a Christian means in relation to each of these. After creation is done, the High god retires with little interest in, or control of, the universe. Noen could have children, and when they became old they did not die but became young again! 1985. Indeed, they can go no further because, although humans can pray to the Supreme Being in certain situations (O’Donovan, 1995: 42), he never interacts with, or personally reveals himself to, the people of Africa (Turaki, 1999: 160). {"cookieName":"wBounce","isAggressive":false,"isSitewide":true,"hesitation":"20","openAnimation":"tada","exitAnimation":"bounceOutUp","timer":"","sensitivity":"","cookieExpire":"30","cookieDomain":"writemyclassessay.com","autoFire":"","isAnalyticsEnabled":true}, Header Button Label: View writing samples. God was at the top of African … I recommend this source. As Christians we must believe that if Africa is to have any hope in God her God must be the God of the Bible. Rather, the Supreme Being commissions other beings in the spiritual hierarchy to undertake these tasks. The S… African understanding of religion acknowledges the existence of an invisible spiritual world and simultaneously maintains that all things are united and interconnected (Thorpe 1992:112). Complimenting this power, the Supreme Being is seen to have complete knowledge (Mbiti, 1991: 56), to be present everywhere (O’Donovan, 1995: 41), and to be eternal (Nyirongo, 1997: 11). In this communication he has told people what he is like and he has offered them the possibility of relationship. OLUPONA: If we lose traditional African religions, we would also lose or continue to seriously undermine the African practice of rites of passage such as the much cherished age-grade initiations, which have for so long integrated and bought Africans together under a common understanding, or worldview. Very often He “resides” in high unreachable mountains. This ordering is what is referred to as the hierarchy of beings. The difference between the Western and African idea of God may be understood as a difference of names due to languages. African mythology covers a vast area. In African-American Christian worship God is known and understood as the One who sides with the weak and oppressed. sense, African Christian theology is the understanding, presentation and concrete interpretation of the Christian faith in accordance with the needs, aspirations, thought-forms and mentality of the people of the black continent. (vii) God is All-understanding and knows everything. Oneness of God joined its moral vision with the traditional activities, which have opened the way to the triumph of the African traditional religious followers in their expectations of life and spiritual satisfactions. Africans believed in existence of a supreme being who lived in mountains, clouds and the sky. Nyirongo (1997: 63) helpfully adds, “The responsibility belongs to those who are physically alive, but more especially to the ancestral spirits who are the custodians of the community”. The snares of African traditional religion in perspective. If we had an infinite and completely comprehensive understanding of God, we, too, would be God, having omniscience. In this second edition, Dr Mbiti has updated his material to include the involvement of women in religion, and the potential unity to be found in what was once thought to be a mass of quite separate religions. critical understanding of African worldview, the place of African philosophy and the significance of myths in the reflection of African experience. In the African traditional religions, ancestors were never considered demonic or as part of evil spirits (2007;383). Attempting to distill the religious beliefs of about 1 billion people is no small task; especially when these people are at no point static in their beliefs. Return to essay, ² There is some argument about whether the Supreme Being created ex nihilo or merely organised some type of existing matter. Have you completed your assignment? Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers. By this Africans understand that God is not only kind, but that he does not do wrong. The African continent includes so many countries, regions, languages, tribes, cultures and crossovers that the sheer diversity of prevailing Gods would seem overwhelming if there weren’t a few handy shortcuts. Yoruba, West Africa god of war and iron Olorun Yoruba, West Africa sky god and supreme deity deity. In contemplating this point Gehman (2005: 320) helpfully states, “Whatever tragedy is experienced is blamed on witchcraft or the living-dead. He has no physical form and is invisible. The critical understanding of God in Zinza tribe: Perception of Waha on God, Mode of worship, Position of women in worship, Weakness of their worship and Criticisms on worship. Supreme God, as with Yahweh in the Old Testament, but instead they became gods in themselves, because these intermediaries re-quested or required cultic worship, ritual and exigencies that are foreign and inadequate in the description and understanding of the angelic intermediaries of the Old Testament. Secondly, Africans have distorted their knowledge of God. Since the beginning of time the biblical God has revealed himself through communicating verbally with human beings; in fact, he has done so finally through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-4). This belief, just as in the case of the previous one, has a theological basis – the plurality of divinities ( polytheism ). GEHMAN, R.J. African traditional religion in biblical perspective. Africa Christian press. Very outstanding. O’Donovan (1995: 41) goes as far as suggesting that “there is probably no native-born African who is not aware of the existence of God”. African spirituality is a way of life. Tozer (1994:11) famously suggests that “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us”. Is the African concept of God an effective praeparateo evangelica for African Christianity? These basic beliefs are: 1. Noen could have children, and when they became old they did not die but became young again! http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1746, « Worth Hearing: Showbread - Matthias Replaces Judas. 1999. “God saw what he had made, and saw that it was good” (Gn 1:31). (v) God is a provider, giver of life and provider of His creation. The encounter of Christian faith and African religion. Understanding God – Knowing Him Personally Another way of understanding God is to study the life of His Son, Jesus. Will definitely come back again.nCheers!!! KATO, B. This chapter concludes that it is not possible to presume a homogenous or one unified concept of God in Africa. Key words: Myths, communalistic, african philosophy, earth and God. Of each he created male and female. This very idea of Oneness of the Supreme Being is … Describe the African concept of his/her religion b. By this I am not suggesting that God has not revealed himself through what is commonly referred to as ‘general revelation’⁴. 2001. “So for our understanding of God, it is more the mystery, the greatness of God,” said the theologian of St Augustine College in Johannesburg, the country’s only Catholic university. This is what one finds when you walk into Africa, and this is what the anthropologists discovered early on, and the missionaries. The entry makes the African moral language its point of departure, for the language of morality gives insight into the moral thinking or ideas of the society. In light of the above it seems that we should affirm the similarities between the biblical God and the African God. During various rituals, such as naming, marriage, burial rites that were performed in sacred places, people gained religious understanding of life in traditional Africa. Either way, however, the world as we see it today is a direct result of the activities of the Supreme Being and so it is legitimate to say that he created this world. The African Traditional Religion is now seen as a possible model for interpreting some of the very difficult issues in Christology. Also that he continues to speak to all the tribes of Africa who have not heard the Gospel can also not be denied”. We can work on The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Patient Outcomes and Patient Care Efficiencies, We can work on Managerial economics – week 3 assignment – Assignment Help, We can work on A Firm’s Capital Structure, We can work on Teamwork in the Work Place, We can work on University of California Irvine North Korea Nuclear Program Discussion – Assignment Help, Egyptian origin of Monotheism (by Jan Assmann, German Egyptologist). God gave life to the tortoises and men, but not to the stones. “In West Africa,” said Parrinder, “men believe in great pantheons of gods which are as diverse as the gods of the Greeks or the Hindus. This knowledge of God through belief; became the cardinal point of the religion of Africans. These basic beliefs are: 1. God has not left himself without a witness in Africa; no, he has clearly spoken through what has been made. Key words: Myths, communalistic, african philosophy, earth and God. The traditional African religions or traditional beliefs and practices of African people are a set of highly diverse beliefs that includes various ethnic religions. The Seven African Powers of Creation The Philosophy of Physics, Astronomy & Khemistry unuwubu~ ~, low, So n ~ The Law of Creation ~As above, so it is below~ They say the purpose of creation is for God to increase. challenge experienced that has helped prepare some way in a professional provider of health care. In Africa, God is viewed in both immanent and transcendent dimensions. God is the Supreme entity to the adherents of the traditional religions of Africa and is considered to be the origin of everything in this universe. Carlisle, UK : OM Publishing. It was expressed by wearing various charms and believing in their power and through proverbs, folktales and myths. God, according to Africans manifests himself in physical phenomena, such as lightning and thunder. TURAKI, Y. 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Way of understanding God is known and understood as the home of God, Shango, controls... And just God says that sin is against the community and not against God⁵ ( Kato, 1975 42! Sophisticated understanding of God is viewed in both immanent and transcendent dimensions spiritual forces African. Collection of papers and addresses ; he is the reflection of mankind on the ideas institutions., he is knowable and relational one lays emphasis on the the African God likeness of God an effective evangelica... Posed, “ God has not revealed himself Africa is to secure one 's immortality Myths, communalistic African. Writing service the one True God like that the open about culture, ethics, literature Scripture!
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