Towards An African Narrative Theology

Reflects what traditional proverbs used in Christian catechetical, liturgical, and ritual contexts reveal about Tanzanian appropriations of and interpretations of Christianity.

The existence of orphans is as inevitable to most African cities and the world as it is death. These orphans are caused by the death of one or both parents due to various reasons, including the scourge of HIV and AIDS. Being orphans, most of them are vulnerable to difficult lives because they have nobody to fend for them and take care of their lives. They lack adequate food, living expenses, school fees, and care since their current guardians are also in adverse economic situations. In such situations, orphans end up living a life of hopelessness and trauma, which makes them deeply remember their dead parents and the care they received from them before death. Following the vulnerable situation of most orphans, this book, through a study done in the Tanzanian context, challenges churches to extend their counseling and caring ministries to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC). It purports that the use of narrative approach is the most effective way to enter into the world of vulnerable children in order to provide pastoral counseling to them. This approach helps pastoral counselors to use life stories, proverbs, biblical narratives, plays, arts, songs, riddles, poems, symbols, and images as healing and coping mechanisms for OVC. Therefore, this book is helpful not only to churches and their ministry to orphans and vulnerable children, but also to those who care for orphans in their homes. Moreover, it will be helpful to children who live in adverse conditions worldwide to find ways to cope with their situations through the stories of children used inside this book.

This book engages the theology of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI in dialogue with African Catholic theological concerns and challenges. After an Introduction by Matthew Levering arguing that African Catholic theology is an important resource for the whole Church, the book contains ten chapters by African and non-African Catholic theologians. Paulinus Odozor investigates whether and, if so, how the God of Jesus Christ stands in continuity with the God known to African Traditional Religions. Paul Ọlátúbọsún Àdajà addresses faith and reason in light of the current African anthropological crisis. Tegha Nji and Valery Akoh connect Ratzinger’s idea of “pro-existence” with traditional African understandings of solidarity. Jacob Phillips compares the theologies of Robert Cardinal Sarah and Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI. Dennis Kasule examines the requirements of a New Evangelization for Africa, in light of the case of Uganda. Joseph Lugalambi proposes that the Catholic liturgies of Africa are in need of reform. Mary-Reginald N. Anibueze explores the Eucharist as a socio-communitarian event. Emery de Gaál reflects upon Ratzinger/Benedict’s theology of inculturation. Joseph Ogbonnaya treats Caritas in Veritate with a focus upon the case of Nigeria. Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai meditates upon Ratzinger’s understanding of political power.

Pickens (mission and cultural studies, Kentucky Christian College) examines Matthew Ajuoga's description of his role in the development of a very significant African-Initiated Church (AIC) and the story of his life and Christian experience. Ajuoga, a key figure in the East African Revival of the late 1950s, was a leader in the establishment of the Church of Christ in Africa-Johera, along with 16,000 former Anglican communicants and a handful of priests in Kenya. Pickens has collected and presented Ajuoga's largely oral Johera Narrative, complete with commentary and resources, which heretofore had only been available within Ajuoga's immediate religious community. In doing so Pickens has not only illuminated the largely unnoticed AIC movement but also created a template for similar work by scholars working with nontraditional primary sources. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

A Catholic Theology in a current African context remains a challenge for theologians. How can authentic African elements contribute to a catholic theological discourse that can contribute to a re-awakening of contextual theological reconstructions faithful to cultural contexts? This work responds by bringing into the dialogue one of the renowned German theologians, Karl Adam, and showing his success in his contextual theological project, but also evidencing his failures, and thereby setting boundaries for contextual theological constructions. Denis Mpanga is Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Kampala, Uganda, working as Fidei Donum priest in Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany. Dissertation. (Series: Communicative Theology - Interdisciplinary Communicative Theology - Interdisciplinary Studies / Kommunikative Theologie - interdisziplin�¤r Communicative Theology - Interdisciplinary Studies, Vol. 19) [Subject: African Studies, Catholic Studies, Religious Studies]

This book is a study of a Christian theology without words, focussing on theology in the Deaf Community. Deaf people's first and preferred method of communication is not English or any other spoken language, but British Sign Language - a language that cannot be written down. Deaf people of faith attend church on a regular basis, profess faith in God and have developed unique approaches to doing theology. While most Western theology is word-centred and is either expressed through or dependent on written texts, theology in the Deaf Community is largely non-written. This book presents and examines some of that theology from the Deaf Community and argues that written texts are not necessary for creative theological debate, a deep spirituality or for ideas about God to develop.