Author: Plaisance Rivoli M’bara
Imprint: Langham Academic
Description
Just as the world’s peoples are in desperate need of hearing the gospel in their own languages, they are equally in need of experiencing Christ’s ministry of reconciliation in their own contexts.
In this contextualized study of conflict and reconciliation, Dr. Plaisance Rivoli M’bara examines the factors contributing to the outbreak of armed conflict in Central African Republic in 2013, as well as those impeding reconciliation in its aftermath. He explores how the indigenous ritual of the blood pact (Mbuki) could strengthen the peacebuilding process in CAR, drawing on field research and secondary sources to establish Mbuki’s power as a tool for facilitating forgiveness, justice, and peace. By bringing this traditional practice into conversation with Scripture, Dr. M’bara demonstrates its potential for helping believers formulate a contextualized theology of reconciliation that would directly impact their ability to effectively witness to the nature of Christ and his kingdom in the aftermath of violent conflict. This is a powerful resource for theological practitioners, humanitarian aid workers, politicians, church leaders, and anyone working to restore peace in a war-torn world.
Endorsements
A creative part of the process of Christian conversion is the use of indigenous ideas that have been re-examined in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ as fundamentally mediated by the Bible. Dr. M’bara has demonstrated how the traditional idea of Mbuki (or Mbèlé), understood through the lens of Scripture, contributes to the national reconciliation narrative in the Central African Republic.
Rudolf K. Gaisie, PhD
Senior Research Fellow, Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Akropong, Ghana
This book, far from aiming at the Christianization of culture, helps scholars to understand how to interpret culture through the gospel. I recommend it to scholars in the field of peace and reconciliation in Africa, and especially to those who focus on African theology in their quest to interpret culture in the light of the gospel.
William Mbuluku, PhD
Lecturer in New Testament, Faculté de Théologie Evangélique de Bangui, Yaoundé, Cameroon
