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African theology as liberating wisdom : celebrating life and harmony in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana /
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In African Theology as Liberating Wisdom; Celebrating Life and Harmony in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Botswana , Mari-Anna Pöntinen analyses contextual interpretations of the Christian faith in this particular church. These interpretations are based on the special wisdom tradition which embraces monistic ontology, communal ethics in botho , and the indigenous belief in God as the Source of Life, and the Root of everything that exists. The constructing theological principle in the ELCB is the downward-orientated and descending God in Christ which interprets the 'Lutheran spirit' in a liberating and empowering sense. It deals with the cultural mythos which brings Christ down into people's existence, unlike Western connotations which are considered to hinder seeing Christ and to prevent existential self-awareness.
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1 online resource (xiv, 419 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004245976 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
In search of foundations for African Catholicism : Charles Nyamiti's theological methodology /
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This study deals with the interaction between neo-Thomism and African traditional thinking in Charles Nyamiti's theological methodology. The approach of the study is groundbreaking as it is the first monograph published on the theological method of any African theologian. The question about the position and relevance of Western philosophical-theological systems in a non-Western context also has a wider relevance concerning contextual theologies in general. Nyamiti's theology is a germane and a fruitful choice for the study of this issue because of his programmatic attempt to build a coherent African Roman Catholic theological system. His theology is also well-known for its strong African flavor in elaborating theological questions within the framework of orthodox Roman Catholic doctrine.
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1 online resource (vii, 326 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 289-323) and index. :
9789004320031 :
0924-9389 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The doctrine of God in African Christian thought : the Holy Trinity, theological hermeneutics, and the African intellectual culture /
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The Christian faith knows and worships one God, who is revealed in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Trinity in Christian thought. Although Christian orthodoxy defines the doctrine of the Trinity, the intellectual tools used to capture it significantly vary. At different times and in different places, Western Christianity has, for instance, used neo-Platonism, German Idealism, and the conceptual tools of the second-century Greeks. Taking elements from the known African intellectual framework, this book argues that for African Christians, the respective pre-Christian African understanding of God and the Ntu -metaphysics, in particular, function as conceptual gates for an attempt towards articulating the Trinity for African Christian audiences.
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Originally presented as the author's thesis (D. Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-292) and indexes. :
9789047420224 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
African ethics : Gĩkũyũ traditional morality /
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African Ethics: Gĩkũyũ Traditional Morality by Hannah Kinoti was prompted by the author's concern about the decline of moral standards among the Gĩkũyũ in modern Kenya. Western education and increased interaction with other cultures had made the society more complex and sophisticated. At the same time, social evils like corruption, robbery, prostitution, broken homes and sexual promiscuity were on the increase. "While this is happening," says the author, "African culture is often referred to in the past tense as if it is no longer relevant." She wished to discover what were the virtues that, prior to the introduction of western civilization, held society together and formed the basis of its morality. She decided to examine some of the key virtues (honesty, generosity, justice, courage and temperance) that were highly valued in traditional Gĩkũyũ culture. She then compared the understanding and practice of these virtues by three groups: old people (who had had first-hand experience of traditional life), middle-aged people and young people. The results of this study should appeal to researchers and teachers of African traditions, culture, religion and ethics. Equally, students of comparative ethics should find this a valuable source of information on traditional ways of maintaining behaviour that made for harmony in society. Young Africans wishing to get a deeper understanding of their roots should also find this work of great interest.
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1 online resource (286 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-259) and index. :
9789042030893 :
0928-141X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christianity and the African Imagination : Essays in Honour of Adrian Hastings /
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During the twentieth-century, Christendom shifted its centre of gravity to the Southern Hemisphere, Africa becoming the most significant area of church growth. This volume explores Christianity's advance across the continent, and its capturing of the African imagination. From the medieval Catholic Kingdom of Kongo to a transnational Pentecostal movement in post-colonial Zimbabwe, the chapters explore how African agents - priests and prophets, martyrs and missionaries, evangelists and catechists - have seized Christianity and made it theirs. Emphasizing popular religion, the book shows how the Christian ideas and texts, practices and symbols, which have been adapted by Africans, help them accept existential passions and empower them through faith to deal with material concerns for health and wealth, and to overcome evil.
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1 online resource :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004245112
9789004116689
Christian remnant-African folk church : Seventh-Day Adventism in Tanzania, 1903-1980 /
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The growth of Christianity in Africa during the twentieth century is one of the most fascinating shifts in the history of religions. This book presents a history of the Tanzanian Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is representative of this shift in many respects: slow beginnings, struggles over cultural issues, the emergence of a unique church life combining denominational heritage and African elements, frictions with governments, and the development of popular theology. Yet Tanzanian Adventism also exemplifies an important phenomenon which has been given little attention so far - the transformation of minority denominations to dominant religions. This study breaks new ground in analyzing how the Adventist "remnant" developed into an African "folk church" while attempting to remain true to its original ethos.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [559]-600) and index. :
9789047422686 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Proverbs and the African tree of life : grafting Biblical proverbs on to Ghanaian Eve folk proverbs /
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In Proverbs and the African Tree of Life Dorothy BEA Akoto-Abutiate juxtaposes chosen sayings from Proverbs and selected Ewe Folk proverbs using the agricultural metaphor of "grafting," which she calls a "hermeneutic of grafting." Though these two sets of sayings come from completely different cultural contexts, Akoto argues that folk sayings/proverbs, which abound in Africa, should be considered as an already mature, established tree on to which a piece of the biblical tree is spliced or engrafted to produce hybridized fruits that have uniquely different tastes than the fruits of each tree individually. This metaphorical grafting process allows the message of the Bible (in Proverbs) to be understood, imbibed and appropriated in Africa.
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1 online resource (pages) :
9789004274471 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Catholic Pentecostalism and the paradoxes of Africanization : processes of localization in a Catholic Charismatic movement in Cameroon /
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The anthropological literature on religious innovation and resistance in African Christianity tended to focus almost exclusively on what have come to be known as African Independent Churches. Very few anthropological studies have looked at similar processes within mission churches. Through an ethnographic study of localizing processes in a Charismatic movement in Cameroon and Paris, the book critically explores the dialectics between 'Pentecostalization' and 'Africanization' within contemporary African Catholicism. It appears that both processes pursue, although for different purposes, the missionary policy of dismantling local cultures and religions: practices and discourses of Africanization dissect them in search of 'authentic' African values; Charismatic ritual on the other hand features the dramatization of the defeat of local deities and spirits by Christianity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-240) and index. :
9789047442950 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Esotericism in African American religious experience : "there is a mystery"... /
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In Esotericism in African American Religious Experience: "There is a Mystery" ... , Stephen C. Finley, Margarita Simon Guillory, and Hugh R. Page, Jr. assemble twenty groundbreaking essays that provide a rationale and parameters for Africana Esoteric Studies (AES): a new trans-disciplinary enterprise focused on the investigation of esoteric lore and practices in Africa and the African Diaspora. The goals of this new field - while akin to those of Religious Studies, Africana Studies, and Western Esoteric Studies - are focused on the impulses that give rise to Africana Esoteric Traditions (AETs) and the ways in which they can be understood as loci where issues such as race, ethnicity, and identity are engaged; and in which identity, embodiment, resistance, and meaning are negotiated.
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1 online resource (xxi, 406 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-387) and index. :
9789004283428 :
1871-1405 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Megachurches and social engagement : public theology in practice /
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This book is the first detailed academic study of megachurches in the UK. In particular, it explores the nature and significance of social engagement by megachurches in the context of London. The research contains empirical case studies of two Anglican and three African diaspora Pentecostal churches. As well as exploring the range of social engagement activities provided by these churches, the study offers explanations in term of theological motivations and the influence of globalisation. Subsequently, the book outlines the importance of the findings for the relationship between church and society in the contemporary context, addressing the implications for social policy and practice. The book advances discussions in public theology, megachurch studies, Pentecostal and Charismatic studies and ecclesiology.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004402652 :
1876-2247 ;
Mongrelisation /
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Mongrelisation is a critical re-interpretation of why diversity and inclusion matter. It is a corrective that grants dignity and worth to those the 'mongrel' epithet is set to insult. Drawing on African moral traditions of Ubuntu and Maat, it contends that mongrelity-the reality that we are products of mixing and crossing-is too central in our histories, biologies, ecologies, and cultures not to be carefully humanised. The figure of the mongrel that it puts forward is akin to the hybrid, Creole, and coyote. This book includes cosmopolitan, mestizo, and Afropolitan perspectives.
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1 online resource (156 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004755291
Professional women in South African Pentecostal Charismatic churches /
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This book gives a unique insight into the changing shape of contemporary religion examining the new role that Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity plays in the lives of young, professional, black women who are enjoying career success and becoming part of South Africa's new middle class. Amongst these women an interesting relationship has emerged between work and religion as they feel that the social networks and self confidence they gain from their religious communities are as important as their spiritual experiences. But not all the women who join these churches remain, and this book explores why some women leave the churches in which they had previously felt they gained so much.
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Revision of author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Warwick, 2006 under title: Women of valour : professional women in South African Pentecostal churches. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [275]-295) and index. :
9789004193642 :
0169-9814 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Islamic Philosophy in the Maghreb during the Early Modern Period : Aḥmad al-Wallālī's (d. 1716) Philosophy of Monotheism (Ashraf al-Maqāṣid) /
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This monograph endeavors to chart the development of kalām and Islamic philosophy during the early modern Maghreb. The primary focus is on the Moroccan thinker Ibn Yaʿqūb al-Wallālī (d. 1716) and his text Ashraf al-Maqāṣid fī Sharḥ al-Maqāṣid. It sheds light on al-Wallālī's contribution to Islamic philosophy by examining his interpretation of some topics in epistemology, metaphysics, and physics. It also involves the reception of al-Rāzī's (d. 1210) and al-Taftāzānī's (d. 1390) works in the Maghreb. The book attempts to offer a re-evaluation of the prevailing claims in the scholarship that has dominated the region, asserting that the engagement with Islamic philosophy in the Maghreb continued beyond the time of al-Sanūsī (d. 1490).
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1 online resource (260 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004699205
Africa Unbound: Decolonial Pathways to Sovereignty and Liberation /
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This book redefines the debate on Africa's future by confronting the hidden continuities of colonial power that persist in economics, education, and governance. By revealing how structural dependency and epistemic subjugation still constrain the continent's autonomy, this book advocates for a radical reorientation toward self-determination grounded in African values, knowledge systems, and collective agency. The author engages both historical depth and contemporary urgency, offering a visionary blueprint for rebuilding Africa through decolonial thought, ethical leadership, and continental solidarity. Scholarly, provocative, and transformative, the book positions Africa not as a subject of history, but as its author.
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1 online resource (303 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004760967
Inculturation as dialogue : Igbo culture and the message of Christ /
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Although Africa is today often seen, because of its large number of Christians, as the future hope of the Church, a closer examination of African Christianity, however, shows that the Christian faith has not taken deep root in Africa. Many Africans today declare themselves to be Christians but still remain followers of their traditional African religions, especially in matters concerning the inner dimensions of their lives. It is evident that, in strictly personal matters relating to such issues as passage rites and crises, most Africans turn to their African traditional religions. As an incarnational faith, part of the history of Christianity has been its encounter with other cultures and its becoming deeply rooted in some of these cultures. The central question remains: Why has the Christian faith not taken deep root in Africa? This volume is concerned with answering this question.
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1 online resource (xvi, 227 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-227). :
9789401204606 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Mothering, public leadership, and women's life writing : explorations in spirituality studies and practical theology /
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In Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women's Life Writing , Claire E. Wolfteich presents a series of case studies in Christian spirituality, bringing mothers' autobiographical writing into focus for theological reflection. From the medieval mystic Margery Kempe to the twentieth-century activist Dorothy Day, from African American preacher Jarena Lee to labor organizer Dolores Huerta, the book mines women's first-person writing, surfacing critical issues for theological analysis. Listening deeply to these diverse maternal voices, the book advances creative theological reflection on work, vocation, time poverty, Sabbath, and spiritual guidance. Mothering, Public Leadership, and Women's Life Writing demonstrates the significance of the study of mothering for theology and spirituality studies and the import of life writing as an underutilized source for practical theology.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004350670 :
2352-9288 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Christology and evil in Ghana : towards a Pentecostal public theology /
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Pentecostalism has traditionally always been other-worldly in the sense that Pentecostals tend to believe that people's lives are controlled by unseen powers that are responsible for both good and bad. This makes people look for a power that is stronger than those of evil and can ensure that believers enjoy good health and prosperity. Pentecostals find this power in Jesus Christ, who is victorious over all evil powers, and therefore pray that Jesus will save them. For them, life is characterised by suffering and evil, but in Christ they are conquerors, and life is full of concrete blessings. Using songs and sermons, this book shows the main widespread beliefs of the leadership and grassroots members of the Church of Pentecost (Ghanaian Pentecostals) on Christology and evil. It discusses their fear of evil and their finding solace in the power of Jesus. The author supplements this attitude by the biblical calling to help build a just and peaceful society. He thus develops a theology of the public domain in which the church can make a difference by developing its diaconal services, establishing more educational institutions, and helping-together with people who want to collaborate-build a just and more affluent society with good healthcare and a literate and thriving population. This book balances on the interface between traditional African religious ideas and practices and Christian ideals for a more humane society.
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1 online resource (xi, 363 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401210041 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Locating Politics in Ethiopia's Irreecha Ritual /
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In Locating Politics in Ethiopia's Irreecha Ritual Serawit Bekele Debele gives an account of politics and political processes in contemporary Ethiopia as manifested in the annual ritual performance. Mobilizing various sources such as archives, oral accounts, conversations, videos, newspapers, and personal observations, Debele critically analyses political processes and how they are experienced, made sense of and articulated across generational, educational, religious, gender and ethnic differences as well as political persuasions. Moreover, she engages Irreecha in relation to the hugely contested meaning making processes attached to the Thanksgiving ritual which has now become an integral part of Oromo national identity.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-205) and index. :
9789004410145
The Foundations of Sufism : An Annotated Translation of <i>Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf</i> by Shaykh Aḥmad Zarrūq al-Fāsī (d. 899/1493) /
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Ahmad Zarruq, a 15th-century North African Sufi, turned his considerable intellect towards integrating theology, Islamic law and the spiritual path. His model of a jurisprudentially-grounded Sufism is as relevant today as when he presented it to a mediaeval audience, using an aphoristic style tailored to his educated readership. The current growth of puritanical movements in the Islamic world makes Zarruq's Foundations of Sufism a must-read for scholars, educators and those seeking to reconcile various interpretations of the faith. The author of this fresh translation, an Arabic and Classical Sufism scholar, consulted newly-discovered manuscripts in preparing his critical edition of this seminal work.
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1 online resource (300 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004540101