Why study Christian history? Knowledge (or ignorance) of history impacts identity: “a past is vital for all of us—without it, like the amnesiac man, we cannot know who we are” and thus “what is the past of the African Christian” will remain a prime question for African theology (Walls 1978, 13).
On 15 June 2023, Shri Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of Union Commerce and Industry, claimed that India and Africa are “natural partners with historical and cultural ties” (Government of India 2023). It is hard to imagine that these ties do not include theological exchange, considering that there is a history of intercultural exchange between the two (Shankar 2021).
Recent Christian ecotheology has emerged in the wake of Lynn White Jr.’s assertion that Christian theology promotes environmental destruction and is the cause of the modern ecological crisis (Gottlieb 2004, 201). Conversations in this field have paved the way for African ecotheology, which aims to contribute to local and international ecological discourses by reflecting on the underlying causes of and solutions to environmental degradation in African contexts and around the world.
Ever since the South and West came into contact, there have been various interactions and relations which have had both positive and negative consequences. These interactions continue today in various forms. Two spheres of this South-West interaction dating back to the first contact are Christianity and commerce. While both parties have developed significantly in both areas, independently and cooperatively, there is still room for improvement, especially when Christianity and finance merge in Christian missions.
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