The blood of Jesus is a popular theme in African Christianity with deep roots in the Bible and African traditions (see Machingura and Museka 2016). Before the arrival of European and African missionaries, blood was an important symbol in many African religions and was used for a variety of ritual purposes. The missionaries realised this and emphasised the power of the blood of Jesus in their sermons and hymns. Soon African Christians took up the theme, developing it in new ways.
The spread of African Christianity from Africa to the entire world is one of the most fascinating things about the religious landscape of the twenty-first century. African Christians have been migrating to other continents in large numbers over the past five decades. The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), for example, states that it is present in 197 countries around the world — most of their members are Nigerians who have migrated from their homeland to these countries.
Philip Jenkins has highlighted the demographic shift of Christianity from the North to the Global South which includes Christians on three continents: Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Despite this development, the churches in Asia and Africa continue to focus their attention primarily on Christians in the West. Nevertheless, in the past two decades African Christians have begun to make contributions to theological thinking in South Asia.
Za mtu ni mbili–akili na haya.
The [best qualities] of a person are two—intelligence and modesty.
A Swahili proverb is apt in honouring our deeply cherished brother, Fr. Prof. Laurenti Magesa (1946-2022). News of his passing on August 11, 2022, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, prompted outpourings of grief and respect from across Africa and beyond.
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