AbstractWorld Christianity has been described as ‘the great Christian fact of our time and the great Christian resource of our time’. Andrew Finlay Walls and Ogbu Uke Kalu emerged as pioneering figures responsible for the making and shaping of this field of study and research. Together, they brought about a renewed consciousness of the multicentric, multilingual and multicultural nature of Christianity. Their research altered the course of the study of Christian history, missions, ecumenics, the nature of conversion, and world religions. It redefined the conventional understanding of the interaction between Christianity and culture and, more broadly, between God and humanity. In memory and celebration of these two giants of World Christianity, this article points to some of the significant contributions of Ogbu Kalu and Andrew Walls to the field and draws on discussion in the two special panels held in their honour at the third World Christianity Conference at Princeton Theological Seminary, 3–6 March 2021.

AbstractThe Nigerian scholar Ogbu Kalu (1942–2009) was one of the leading writers on African church history, especially African Pentecostalism. His works addressed a wide array of topics including mission, politics, economics, education, culture, gender, ecology, inter-religious violence and immigrant African Christianity. This chapter examines Kalu’s approach to church history as a theological and ecumenical exercise, an ‘empowerment project’ for the whole ‘people of God’. It analyses his Africanist perspective which privileged the contribution of African protagonists, and his insistence upon a contextual reading of the history of evangelicalism and Pentecostalism in Africa.

AbstractIn this review article some of the key ideas presented in the scholarship of Ogbu Kalu on African Christianity generally, and African Pentecostalism specifically, are discussed. The review commends Professor Kalu for broadening the historiography of Pentecostalism beyond North America and Europe to global phenomena with multiple access points. It further praises Kalu for pioneering the role of cultural moorings upon the shape of African Christianity. The review however highlights the limitations of a purely contextual and historiographical approach, and invites the discourse to participate in the broader global historical and theological Pentecostal conversation.

AbstractThis collection of essays presents the theological, pedagogical, and disciplinary framework on which multicultural theological education is built. While many seminaries and divinity schools have expressed their commitment to create diverse communities of faculty and students, fewer schools have developed methods of learning and teaching that...

AbstractThe Dr. Ogbu Uke Kalu Center for Christianity and African Culture (Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria) is an archival center for documents related to Christianity in Africa.

AbstractAdequate educative literature that gives insight into the evolutionary process of Christianity in Africa has been lacking, and the fact that scholars often provide homogenized views of the religion makes it inherently difficult to understand the procedural process of the spread of the religion there. Ogbu Kalu is an inspiration in the discourse of Christianity as a religious identity that continues to spread and take a variegated dimension in the African continent. To that extent, his body of works has offered a different and crucial direction to understanding Christianity and its gradual evolution in Africa. This work examines this scholar’s brave contribution to understanding Christianity, its evolutionary peculiarities, and how it interfaces and interacts with African indigenous religious systems. From giving elucidatory and revelatory insights into Protestant Christianity to giving an incredible evaluation of Pentecostalism, Kalu has made himself an indispensable voice in the discourse of Christianity in Africa. Among other things, he has intoned that the Pentecostal character of African Christianity is inspired by indigenous spirituality, thus collapsing the gap between the indigenous spirituality and the one brought by crusaders of Christianity. In the long run, his works have consented to the argument that Africans tend to reorganize the Christian religion, drawing inspiration from their indigenous spirituality. This work, therefore, provides a very insightful examination of his scholarly contributions to highlight major arguments he raises on Christianity.

AbstractThis article uses Africa to illustrate that Pentecostalism in Africa did not originate from Azusa Street but churches that emerged from the Azusa phenomenon have participated in mission in Africa and influenced the character of contemporary expressions of the diffused movement. But local actors are constantly reshaping the movement. With reference to Pentecostalism in Africa, this article intends to argue that Pentecostal historiography differs from missionary historiography with regard to issues like geography, time, indigenous roots, the different forms of the movement and its theology.

AbstractThis article uses Africa to illustrate that Pentecostalism in Africa did not originate from Azusa Street but churches that emerged from the Azusa phenomenon have participated in mission in Africa and influenced the character of contemporary expressions of the diffused movement. But local actors are constantly reshaping the movement. With reference to Pentecostalism in Africa, this article intends to argue that Pentecostal historiography differs from missionary historiography with regard to issues like geography, time, indigenous roots, the different forms of the movement and its theology.

AbstractConcerning themselves with the problematic nature of African Christian identity, the contributors to this book adopt various cultural, historical, national and educational perspectives in order to reflect on the problem of African identities in a world dominated by Western ideological and religious systems.

AbstractSince the 1970s, the Presbyterian Church in Nigeria (PCN) has been experiencing the challenge of the dynamic growth of Charismatic groups among its members, particularly youth. Unlike the pneumatic challenge of the AICs, which absorbed much from the indigenous religious tradition, the Charismatic movement was a pneumatic challenge emerging from within the teachings of the mainline churches, as young people sought to create a new religious space for themselves. By using Conflict Theory Analysis, the author identifies three layers of conflict brought about by Charismatisation in the PCN, but examines only the theological and ecclesiological dimensions, at the third (ideological) level of the conflict. The PCN used an encapsulation strategy to contain the flood of young people leaving, which ironically led to the further Charismatisation of the church. Charismatics identify the kindred atmosphere and resonance between African and biblical worldviews, which means that they renegotiate their identity. This dynamic renegotiation of gospel and culture contests the inherited traditions and exacerbates the conflict.

AbstractAn exciting event occurred in 1969 when the pope visited Uganda. He told his hosts that ‘you must have an African Christianity. Indeed, you possess human values and characteristic forms of culture which can rise up to be capable of a richness of expression of its own, and genuinely African.’ The audience was stunned, as if he were reversing the story of centuries of European relationship with Africa; as if he were proclaiming release from a relationship that suffocated in favour of one that recognised the pluralistic context of mission. It was as if Europeans finally acknowledged that after many years of missionary presence, an African expression of Christianity had emerged. That speech turned attention from patterns of insertion to modes of appropriation and their consequences, especially as the numbers of Christians in Africa had grown enormously. Perhaps being a musical people, African responses to the pope’s declaration could be traced in various liturgical initiatives and musical symbols. It meant that the story of African encounter with the gospel should privilege African initiatives and yet be told in an ecumenical and irenic manner.

AbstractWhat is Pa divination in Nigeria? Who or what is Mami Water? Does a single African spirituality exist across all Indigenous cultures, even after their contact with Western religions such as Christianity? In this illustrated book, a perfect introduction to the fascinating world of African religion, spirituality, and cosmology, writers from Margaret R. Miles and Kathleen O'Brien Wicker to Ogbu Kalu and Abdulkader I. Tayob lead us into discussions of the diversity of African spiritual traditions and the forms and patterns that link them. Special topics include Dagbamba, Haitian Vodun, shrines, divination, candomble, and Sufism and the role of Islam

AbstractKing James I's reign was a landmark in the history of the Anglican Church. His religious settlement included the codification of the canons which gave definition and cohesion to the church and reformed her adminstrative machinery. But this touched off a pamphlet war as puritan propaganda sought to force a reappraisal of the settlement. They alleged that bishops harassed and deprived hard-working, conscientious, loyal clergymen who merely rejected the ceremonies. The bishops employed young apologists to discredit the opposition and plead for conformity. They claimed that only thirty to sixty puritan clerics were deprived.

AbstractPatterns of conversion to Christianity in Nigeria indicate that paganism collapsed more rapidly among the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria than among the Yorubas of the southwest. Early missionary accounts, dubbed as “missionary historiography,” have explained this phenomenon by the presence and labors of white missionaries. This is the white factor in the missionary enterprise. “Nationalist historiography,” however, has challenged “missionary historiography” by focusing on the role of black “native agents” in evangelization. Black replaces white color. This paper analyzes six cogent reasons why the presence of white missionaries elicited a favorable response to Christianity among the Igbo.

AbstractA significant aspect of the religious scene in the early Stuart period was the survival of vibrant religious nonconformity in spite of Bancroft's “reconstruction of the English Church.” Historians have recently concentrated on the periods of excited religious politics under Elizabeth and the latter part of Charles I's reign and have tended to accept Hacket's Restoration apology that there was no serious opposition to official religious policy in the intervening years. But attempts to explain the phoenix-like rise of Puritanism in Caroline England by reference to socio-economic disequilibrium are not fully satisfactory.Decades ago, Roland G. Usher, who did much to highlight Bancroft's reconstruction, explained the origins of the resurgent Puritanism of the Laudian period by pointing to the mid-Jacobean period. W. H. Clark concurred: lax ecclesiastical administration under Abbot made it possible for Puritans to re-group, starting from about 1614. Both men assumed that there had been effective enforcement of the new Canons of 1604, and of the official policy enunciated at the Hampton Court Conference, until Abbot came on the scene. Analysis of the Church court records indicates that this was simply not so. The number of Puritans continued to rise while vigorous enforcement was spasmodic.Ironically, the years to which Usher and Clark attributed the origins of Caroline Puritanism were in fact the period when enforcement was possible. First, the Pamphlet War aroused by the new settlement had died down. Second, only two bishops, John King and George Mountain, held the See of London between 1611 and 1628.

AbstractCommentators have emphasized the explosion of Christianity. Africa may he recovering the importance it had in early Christianity. However, growth could be traumatic and challenging. One factor to take into consideration is ministerial formation because the quality of a church's stewardship may depend on the quality of its messengers. Missionary practice of theological education was vitiated by a racism that delimited the range and curricula of African education. Internal critics from missionary homelands, as well as nationalists, challenged this by promoting indigenised curricula, open access and creative pedagogy. By the late 1940s, colonial governments began to found universities. In the next two decades, nationalists and the educated elite made further efforts to liberate theological education. By the early 1980s, proponents of theological education by extension (TEE) essayed to contextualize the curricula and environment of formation, and reduce costs. TEE failed because of a host of reasons, including logistics and the African love of certificates. Other reforms included the formation of regional ecumenical associations to design relevant curricula, and establish accountability and quality control. The Roman Catholics increased the number of African centres for postgraduate training. However, the insurgence of Pentecostalism scrambled the models of theological education. Inheriting “the mantle of Elijah” became a metaphor for short-circuiting long years of ministerial formation. Rapid expansion put much pressure on the need for personnel By the 1990s, churches that had been displaced from the education field by imploding new states, re-entered the field at the cost-intensive tertiary level. The growth of Christian universities has immense import for African Christianity. Recently, educated and professional Pentecostals engaged in inter-regional mission have developed new models of “theological education by engagement” to supplement the mushrooming Bible colleges that hardly seek accreditation. Other title-loving “men of God” acquire doctorates from offshore agents and some fake ones. Old hands can hardly recognize the vibrant terrain anymore!

AbstractThe proliferation of Charismatic and Pentecostal movements is a prominent feafure of the modern face of Christianity in Africa. They cannot be ignored as they seek to reconstruct Christian reality in the African environment. Charismatics are Pentecostals operating within the mainline churches so, for convenience's sake, we shall refer to both as Pentecostals.

AbstractThe papers collected in this volume were presented at the First Annual Conference of the Centre for Igbo Studies of the then Imo State University, Okigwe, Nigeria, now Abia State University, Uturu. The conference was held on 11-13 July 1991, and its theme was Igbo politics. The papers are grouped in five parts: 1. Theoretical perspectives (Arthur Nwankwo, Ogbu U. Kalu, Jude C.U. Aguwa, U.D. Anyanwu) - 2. Political systems (C.B. Nwachukwu, S. Ibiam Arunsi and J.U. Ugoji, R.O.E. Maduka) - 3. Cultural perspectives (Afam Ebeogu on Igbo onomastics; Jude C.U. Aguwa on the influence of religion on Igbo politics; Emma O. Inyama on religion and politics; U.D. Anyanwu on gender and Igbo politics; J.O.J. Nwachukwu-Agbada on Chinua Achebe; J.I. Okonkwo on traditional communication; Ogbonna Onuoha on the significance of oratory in Igbo politics) - 4. Economic perspectives (A.I. Nwabughuogu, Gloria I. Chuku, C.B. Nwachukwu and Aja Akpuru-Aja) - 5. Contemporary situation (E.M. Anosike on town unions, Emma O. Inyama on traditional rulership, Evaristus O. Anyaehie on the Igbo narrative 'Omenuko', N.I. Omenka on the church and leadership, Hearts G. Ahamefule-Ofoeze on the Nigerian nation-State, Okechukwo Okoro on the Egbema community, P.A. Ezikeojiaku on poetry, Rose Acholonu on Igbo women, E.E. Okpara on Igbo voting behaviour).

AbstractWorld religions, especially christianity and islam, invaded Africa many centuries ago. These external religious forces have made great impacts and contributed to vast changes in African cultural, political and economic life. However, the study of their impacts on African traditional religion and society is remarkable for the absence of viable models or conceptual schemes to organize the increasing data.

AbstractThis article reflects on the 1996 Conference on World Mission and Evangelism. The relation between gospel, culture and mission is considered, especially from an Africa perspective, but not reserved to it in application. Apart from considering the problem of appropriate terminology to express the intricacies concerning the subject, a deeper search is conducted into the complex relationship between the believer, his mission to, and his distancing from divergent cultural sources and manifestations. Emerging perspectives are considered, which help to formulate mission strategies and historic viewpoints and attitudes. Knowledge of these perspectives is essential for a more responsible answering to the call made to all believers.

AbstractOne of the biggest attractions of the Pentecostal movement is its liturgy, which is partly expressed through music and dance. The growth of the popularity of Pentecostal music in Africa has been phenomenal. Its impact on the music scene and society in general is seen in the number of high profile secular or'juju'musicians who have become gospel singers, evangelists and pastors. It has also affected politicians and the celebrants of rites of passage who borrow freely from gospel music and dance. Focusing on this aspect of the movement, this article explores how Pentecostal music and dance traditions have attempted to supplant the'disco'music and dance of discotheques. It traces how the new musical tradition or gospel music originated and developed and how the Pentecostals who were initially wary of popular cultures negotiated between sacred and popular music and dance. Notes, ref., sum.[Journal abstract]

AbstractThis reflection sets out to achieve three goals: the key is to show the legacy of James Cone from a global perspective, specifically his contributions to the development of African  theology. The second  is the irony that Cone was influenced by Karl Barth’ s Barmen declaration in his response to the outrage against blacks in the United States in the violent late 1960s. This dimension has escaped scholarly attention. Thirdly, both Cone and the Barmen declaration influenced South  African theologians who scripted the Kairos Document. Each party contextualized the use of the strategy; but for all, confession served as a form of political praxis.

AbstractIn most West African countries Christianity does not constitute a majority. In spite of the jeopardy of the Western-African encounter, Christianity is vibrant and colourful in West Africa and has grown rapidly in the last three decades. But what is church history? It is a different genre of history with a circumscribed goal, a theological underpinning and a People-orientation. Its goal is to understand the pattern of the presence and meaning of the kingdom in the lives of communities.

AbstractThis collection of essays presents the theological, pedagogical, and disciplinary framework on which multicultural theological education is built. While many seminaries and divinity schools have expressed their commitment to create diverse communities of faculty and students, fewer schools have developed methods of learning and teaching that...

AbstractNsibidi is an ancient script which existed before the Europeans came. There has been a debate about the origin of nsibidi script. It was the Rev. JK Macgregor, who was deployed to teach in Hope Waddel Training Institution, Calabar, who opened a new vista on the study of nsibidi. It was PA Talbot who confirmed the Ekoi origin of the script. Macgregor's hypothesis was that it was of Uyanga origin. He made the mistake of considering Uyanga, which is after all Ekoi, to be an Igbo group. There is evidence of the diffusion of Ekoi culture throughout the Cross-River basin. Though various societies there use nsibidi, the language has been preserved mostly by the Ekpe Society. From Ekpe nsibidi spread along the precolonial trade routes. Yet, the monopoly of nsibidi as the secret language of Ekpe society is probably the product of cultural change. Even more complicated, it does appear that nsibidi was not always restricted to the use of secret societies. In the Cross-River basin nsibidi acquired at least four levels of meaning: secret language of secret societies; secret language of the Ekpe Society; secret code for messages; official language. Notes, French sum.

AbstractRespected authorities on the history of missions explore new territory in these chapters, probing from diverse angles the linkages between Christianity, nationalism, and the dissolution of the colonial empires in Asia and Africa. This work not only sheds light on the relation of religion and politics but also uncovers the sometimes paradoxical implications of the church's call to bring the gospel to all the world.

AbstractIn this arcticle, Nigerian Ogbu Kalu utilizes two broad models that emphasize how religion reinvents daily life and culture, and how it does so by utilizing signals of transcendence in the sphere of human existence. Kalu argues that religion needs to be examined as a central category of cultural practice in which lived lives embody an evolving religious understanding of the ultimate meaning of life. Sociologists of religion may miss the driving force of religious power in religious movements by paying too much attention to functions of such movements in social structures. In all these, culture is the contested space. Kalu develops his argument by highlighting seven areas to illustrate the salience of the Penteocstal movement in reshaping cultures and religious landscapes: re-invention of self and life journey, daily life in the domestic domain, arts and aesthetics, communication, the individual and community at the social domain, religious life and public space.

AbstractPentecostalism is growing rapidly in Africa driven by a passion for mission. This paper argues that the contemporary Pentecostal movement has its roots in a youthful charismatic movement that arose among mainline churches in the 1970s. The profile of the origins is explored with two case studies from Nigeria and Kenya. The character of the movement and the strategies for mission changed in every decade. This paper explores the increased use of media technology from the 1980s, and the solution to manpower problems by creating Christian universities in the 1990s. At the same time, an eschatological missionary impulse to recover the glory of Africa in the end-times compelled new strategies. Soon, African Pentecostals in a process of reverse flow exploded in the global north. How can we critique all these from a broader missiological perspective? Le pentecôtisme et la mission en Afrique, 1970-2000 Poussé par une véritable passion pour la mission, le pentecôtisme est en croissance rapide en Afrique. Cet article situe les racines du mouvement pentecôtiste contemporain dans un mouvement charismatique de jeunes qui s'est développé dans les Églises historiques au cours des années 1970. Il explore le profil de ses origines à travers deux études de cas au Nigeria et au Kenya. Le caractère du mouvement et ses stratégies de mission ont évolué de décennie en décennie. L'article examine l'utilisation croissante de la technologie des médias à partir des années 80 et la résolution des problèmes de personnel par la création d'universités chrétiennes dans les années 90. En même temps, un élan missionnaire eschatologique en vue de regagner la gloire de l'Afrique à la fin des temps, entraînait de nouvelles stratégies. Bientôt, dans un processus de mission en retour, les pentecôtistes africains explosaient dans le nord mondialisé. Comment pouvons nous élaborer une critique de ces événements d'un point de vue missiologique plus large? Pentekostalismus und Mission in Afrika, 1970-2000 Der Pentekostalismus wächst schnell in Afrika, vorangetrieben von einer Passion für die Mission. Dieser Artikel behauptet, die aktuelle pentekostale Bewegung habe ihre Wurzeln in der jugendlichen charismatischen Bewegung, die unter den traditionellen Kirchen in den 70iger Jahren entstanden ist. Die Form dieser Ursprünge wird in zwei Fallstudien aus Nigeria und Kenia erläutert. Der Charakter der Bewegung und die Missionsstrategien veränderten sich alle zehn Jahre. Dieser Artikel studiert den verstärkten Gebrauch der Medientechnologie seit den 80iger Jahren und die Lösung des Personalproblems durch die Gründung von christlichen Universitäten in den 90iger Jahren. Zur gleichen Zeit zwang ein eschatologischer Missionsimpuls, der die Herrlichkeit Afrikas in der Endzeit wieder gewinnen wollte, zu neuen Strategien. Bald darauf begannen afrikanische Pentekostale in einer umgekehrten Flussrichtung in den Norden der Welt zu strömen. Wie können alle diese Phänomene in einem weiteren missiologischen Horizont kritisch analysiert werden? Pentecostalismo y misión en África, 1970-2000 El pentecostalismo crece rápidamente en África, impulsado por la pasión por la misión. Este artículo plantea que el movimiento pentecostal contemporáneo hunde sus raíces en un joven movimiento carismático que surgió entre las iglesias tradicionales en los años 70. Se explora el perfil de los orígenes en dos estudios de casos de Nigeria y Kenia. El carácter del movimiento y las estrategias de misión cambiaron en cada década. Este artículo explora el uso más generalizado de la tecnología mediática a partir de los años 80 y la solución de problemas con el personal a través de la creación de universidades cristianas en los años 90. Al mismo tiempo, un impulso misionero escatológico para recuperar la gloria de África en los tiempos finales obligó a nuevas estrategias. En seguida, los pentecostales africanos explosionaron en un proceso de flujo en contrasentido hacia el norte del mundo. ¿Cómo se puede criticar todas estas observaciones desde una perspectiva misionológica más amplia?

AbstractMedia use is the most important explanation for the growth of charismatic and Pentecostal movements in contemporary Africa. It gave new value to the missionary strategy and radically reshaped the religious landscape in a way that'charismatized'the mainline churches. However, for reasons that the author begins by explaining, the following article reflects on Pentecostal cultural discourses rather than exploring how they use media. Cultural policy is the backdrop or foil to their media use.

AbstractIn the early 1990s Adrian Hastings, a consummate historian, theologian and social activist intoned that "Black Africa is today totally inconceivable apart from the presence of Christianity, a presence which a couple of generations ago could still be reasonably dismissed as fundamentally marginal and a mere subsidiary aspect of colonialism." An African theologian Kwame Bediako cast his mind back to the Edinburgh Conference of 1910 and traced the contours of this element of surprise in the transformation of African Christianity. He declared that African Christianity has now acquired a greater consciousness of its African identity and character. The great challenge for the future is how to be of service to Africa as it voyages into the political realm of the twenty-first century. Not only have "new dimensions" emerged in African Christian spirituality as Paul Gifford said, but the roles of Christian leaders in the contemporary political crises have grown tremendously. Bediako and Gifford cite Togo, Benin, Ghana, and Liberia in West Africa, Zaire, Malawi and Zambia in Central Africa and South Africa as examples.

AbstractIn the year 2000, a new phase of the dysfunctional power of religion exploded into the modern public space in Nigeria. Some regional states in the north of the country exploited a loophole in the 1999 constitution to declare themselves as sharia states. Debate on the constitutional legality, political, socio‐economic and gender implications of this development became complicated by ethnicity and regionalism. Soon, a vast array of human rights organizations around the globe joined the affray and employed the power of the media to protest the death sentence by stoning on some women accused of adultery. This paper is a historical reconstruction of the phenomenon using a case study of Safiyyatu Husseini of Sokoto State and her beautiful daughter, Adamah. While the political and socio‐economic perspectives are salient, the conceptual scheme privileges the religious discourse as the core of the issue from which the other connections could be unravelled. It explores the interior of the sharia laws on adultery. The international community hailed the power of the global connections and of the media when Safiyya was acquitted on appeal but many Moslems claimed that the interior of the sharia is perfumed with justice and mercy and that critics are blinded by ignorance. The case is useful for analyzing the resurgence of religion in the politics of an African country. The irony of applying a medieval law in the twenty‐first‐century is not lost.

AbstractAfrican immigration to North America has been rapidly increasing. Yet, little has been written about this significant group of immigrants and the particular religious traditions that they are transplanting on our shores, as scholars continue largely to focus instead on immigrants from Europe and Asia. African Immigrant Religions in America focuses on new understandings and insights concerning the presence and relevance of African immigrant religious communities in the United States. It explores the profound significance of religion in the lives of immigrants and the relevance of these growing communities for U.S. social life. It describes key social and historical aspects of African immigrant religion in the U.S. and builds a conceptual framework for theory and analysis. The volume broadens our understandings of the ways in which new immigration is changing the face of Christianity in the U.S. and adds needed breadth to the study of the Black Church, incorporating the experiences of African immigrant religious communities in America.

AbstractPrimal cultures are underpinned by world views which serve as reservoirs of indigenous knowledge. They are stored in proverbs and folk myths. From such myths people begin to construct how and why things are the way they are. Explanation aids prediction of space-time events and this enables control over the ecosystem. The author discusses the ambivalence in a sacralized world view or religious cosmology and the implications for the conservation of ecological resources. He explores how nonsustainable values are embedded in the African world view and African cultural practices. He delineates values which aid conservation and probes how to transform primal world views in Africa so as to prioritize these salient values. This involves changing the mind-set of society, guiding and motivating sociocultural frameworks to move on a sustainable path. Bibliogr.

AbstractProfessor Kalu presses us to take a fresh look at the ethical issues hiding behind the complexity of all patterns of change — political, economic and social — taking place in country after country in Africa today. He calls us to face realistically, yet with the buoyancy of faith, the part that biblical perspectives play in subduing our hubris and enabling us to understand the “vulnerability” of man and the limitations of even his best efforts to perfect human society.

AbstractAcross Africa, Christianity is thriving in all shapes and sizes. But one particular strain of Christianity prospers more than most — Pentecostalism. Pentecostals believe that everyone can personally receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as prophecy or the ability to speak in tongues. In Africa, this kind of faith, in which the supernatural is a daily presence, is sweeping the continent. Today, about 107 million Africans are Pentecostals — and the numbers continue to rise. This book reviews Pentecostalism in Africa. It shows the amazing diversity of the faith, which flourishes in many different forms in diverse local contexts. While most people believe that Pentecostalism was brought to Africa and imposed on its people by missionaries, the book argues emphatically that this is not the case. Throughout, the book demonstrates that African Pentecostalism is distinctly African in character, not imported from the West. With an even-handed approach, the book presents the religion's many functions in African life. Rather than shying away from controversial issues like the role of money and prosperity in the movement, it describes malpractice when it is observed. The book touches upon the movement's identity, the role of missionaries, media and popular culture, women, ethics, Islam, and immigration.

AbstractPower and poverty -- The changing faces of Christianity in Africa -- Ashes on our faces : the state, modernization, and poverty -- Sacred eggs on sacred faces : worldview, ecology, and development failure -- Poverty and Prayer -- Tools of hope : stagnation and political theology, 1960-1996 -- Beauty for ashes : Pentecostalism, power, and poverty, 1970-1996 -- Violent faces of religion : the dilemma of pluralism in Nigeria -- Daughters of Ethiopia : gender, power, and poverty in African Christianity

AbstractIn this multidisciplinary interpretation of world Christianity and the changing shape of the global religious landscape, scholars consider the complex dynamics shaping Christianity's recent expansion in all parts of the globe. They view the explanations of homogenization or American cultural influence as being necessarily limited and point to the far more varied intersections of external influence and indigenous appropriation. The geographical coverage and the voices from various corners of the globe exemplify the shift of Christianity's center of gravity away from the northern hemisphere. New voices, new methods, and new perspectives emerge here. Contributors: Afe Adogame Edith L. Blumhofer Joel Carpenter Paul Freston Anthony dela Fuente Jehu J. Hanciles Brian M. Howell Ogbu U. Kalu Sebastian CH Kim Philomena Njeri Mwaura John Parratt Dana L. Robert Brian Stanley Diane Stinton Feiya Tao Kevin Xiyi Yao

AbstractPapers presented at a workshop on African church history, held at Nairobi, August 3-8, 1986

AbstractA collection of essays concerned with the unity and purpose of human knowledge and culture in an African setting. The volume contains Chinua Achebe's essay 'Commitment and the African Writer' in which he discusses the development in African literature through the poetry of Equiano, Senghor and David Diop; and compares attitudes of African and European writers to committed literature and commitment as disenchantment and self-criticism in the post-colonial period. There are other notable essays on philosophy and languages. 'Towards an African Philosophy' addresses individual and cultural, and European and African approaches to philosophy; and attitudes towards moral questions in an African culture; and another contributor examines the role and status of African languages in intellectual activity and scientific discourse. Other subjects broached by individual writers are archaeology and the reconstruction of African heritage; music and dance; and the contribution of education and information to development and urbanisation.

AbstractTo collect, preserve, and make freely accessible biographical accounts and church histories – from oral and written sources – integral to a scholarly understanding of African Christianity.

AbstractReligion, History, and Politics in Nigeria is concerned with the problematic nature of religion and politics in Nigerian history. The book provides a lively and straightforward treatment of the relationship among religion, politics, and history in Nigeria, and how it affects public life today. By adopting various cultural, historical, political, and sociological perspectives, the text's contributors provide an excellent introduction to the volatile mix of religion and politics in Nigerian history, as well as a range of strategic choices open to religious adherents. The complexity of the relationship among religion, history, and politics is organized around four themes: indigenous values and the influence of Islam and Christianity, colonialism and religious transformation, the religious landscape of the post-colonial period, and the rise of evangelism and fundamentalism. The volume provides an insightful guide to contemporary history, contemporary religion, and contemporary politics, enabling the reader to reach informed and balanced judgments about the role in religion in Nigerian history and politics. This opens the door for serious examination and debate, and will be excellent for use by the general reader and in political science, history, and religion courses.