Faith, Spirituality, and Praxis

Great strides have been taken during the last fifty years in the production of academic Christian theology in Africa. This, however, represents only a tiny fraction of the theologizing that is taking place on the continent. A far larger part is found in unwritten forms at the grassroots – which is where this groundbreaking book will take you. Tracing the contextual, cultural, societal, inter-religious and existential dynamics that are shaping African Christianity today, it offers a deeply textured account of a profound movement of faith. Scholars from across southern and western Africa have come together to create a kaleidoscopic collection that sheds light from many angles on the lived experience of Christianity that is found at the heart of innumerable African communities today. If you aim to understand contemporary Africa and/or contemporary Christianity, you will not want to miss this book. - Kenneth R. Ross, Professor of Theology and Dean of Postgraduate Studies, Zomba Theological University, Malawi African Christian Spirituality is the understudied side of African Christian Theology. This book bridges that chasm between theology as a grassroots endeavor and the expressions of implicit, spontaneous, or oral spirituality, through the activities of the indigenous pneumatic churches that have shaped what counts as Christian in religious Africa. The book teaches us that we cannot understand spirituality from an African perspective without looking at it from the perspective of the ordinary Christians who express it in church and live it out in the public sphere. - Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Baeta-Grau Professor of African Christianity and Pentecostal Theology, Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Accra, Ghana Faith and spirituality blossom in Africa. In this fascinating contribution, Professor Peter White brings together some of the brightest African minds in the fields of religion and Christianity to explore the faith, spirituality, and praxis of African Christians. The research provides valuable insights into the indigenous theologies of African Christians. Important themes include African Initiated Churches (AICs), black theology movements, and liberation theology movements. The various contributions succeed in offering an exhaustive exploration of African grassroots theologies. The emphasis on lived religion and the practical dimensions of African churches adds to the value of this important resource for scholars, theologians, and practitioners. With appreciation for a great book! - Nelus Niemandt, Rector Hugenote Kollege, Wellington, South Africa, and Emeritus Professor in Missiology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria. This book has certain triune beauty. It is a union of history, theology, and social ethics in the study of African Christianity. The aesthetic feature of its scholarship is rooted in grassroots theology of African churches. The contributors with an unrelenting excellence and unbridled intellectual stimulation have given us a volume that takes seriously the lived experiences of faith in Africa’s ecclesia communities. This brilliant book should occupy a lofty place in our theological libraries. This book has certain triune beauty. It is a union of history, theology, and social ethics in the study of African Christianity. The aesthetic feature of its scholarship is rooted in grassroots theology of African churches. The contributors with an unrelenting excellence and unbridled intellectual stimulation have given us a volume that takes seriously the lived experiences of faith in Africa’s ecclesia communities. This brilliant book should occupy a lofty place in our theological libraries. - Nimi Wariboko, Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics, Boston University, USA Peter White and his contributors creatively reignite African theology by structuring its study around faith, spirituality, and praxis; anchoring theological study in thematics that address the evolution of theology in Africa, the grassroots and social impact of theology, spirituality, healing, music, identity, culture, comparative and interfaith studies. These themes compel a reinterpretation of African theology by a new generation of theologians that must now re-imagine theology in a contested, complex, and challenging postcoloniality where citizens yearn for a rejuvenation of an ecclesial praxis that is grounded on a rigorous theological imagination and praxis. - Elias Kifon Bongmba, Harry and Hazel Chavanne Chair in Christian Theology and Professor of Religion, Rice University, USA Great strides have been taken during the last fifty years in the production of academic Christian theology in Africa. This, however, represents only a tiny fraction of the theologizing that is taking place on the continent. A far larger part is found in unwritten forms at the grassroots – which is where this groundbreaking book will take you. Tracing the contextual, cultural, societal, inter-religious and existential dynamics that are shaping African Christianity today, it offers a deeply textured account of a profound movement of faith. Scholars from across southern and western Africa have come together to create a kaleidoscopic collection that sheds light from many angles on the lived experience of Christianity that is found at the heart of innumerable African communities today. If you aim to understand contemporary Africa and/or contemporary Christianity, you will not want to miss this book. - Kenneth R. Ross, Professor of Theology and Dean of Postgraduate Studies, Zomba Theological University, Malawi African Christian Spirituality is the understudied side of African Christian Theology. This book bridges that chasm between theology as a grassroots endeavor and the expressions of implicit, spontaneous, or oral spirituality, through the activities of the indigenous pneumatic churches that have shaped what counts as Christian in religious Africa. The book teaches us that we cannot understand spirituality from an African perspective without looking at it from the perspective of the ordinary Christians who express it in church and live it out in the public sphere. - Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Baeta-Grau Professor of African Christianity and Pentecostal Theology, Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Accra, Ghana Faith and spirituality blossom in Africa. In this fascinating contribution, Professor Peter White brings together some of the brightest African minds in the fields of religion and Christianity to explore the faith, spirituality, and praxis of African Christians. The research provides valuable insights into the indigenous theologies of African Christians. Important themes include African Initiated Churches (AICs), black theology movements, and liberation theology movements. The various contributions succeed in offering an exhaustive exploration of African grassroots theologies. The emphasis on lived religion and the practical dimensions of African churches adds to the value of this important resource for scholars, theologians, and practitioners. With appreciation for a great book! - Nelus Niemandt, Rector Hugenote Kollege, Wellington, South Africa, and Emeritus Professor in Missiology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria. This book has certain triune beauty. It is a union of history, theology, and social ethics in the study of African Christianity. The aesthetic feature of its scholarship is rooted in grassroots theology of African churches. The contributors with an unrelenting excellence and unbridled intellectual stimulation have given us a volume that takes seriously the lived experiences of faith in Africa’s ecclesia communities. This brilliant book should occupy a lofty place in our theological libraries. This book has certain triune beauty. It is a union of history, theology, and social ethics in the study of African Christianity. The aesthetic feature of its scholarship is rooted in grassroots theology of African churches. The contributors with an unrelenting excellence and unbridled intellectual stimulation have given us a volume that takes seriously the lived experiences of faith in Africa’s ecclesia communities. This brilliant book should occupy a lofty place in our theological libraries. - Nimi Wariboko, Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics, Boston University, USA Peter White and his contributors creatively reignite African theology by structuring its study around faith, spirituality, and praxis; anchoring theological study in thematics that address the evolution of theology in Africa, the grassroots and social impact of theology, spirituality, healing, music, identity, culture, comparative and interfaith studies. These themes compel a reinterpretation of African theology by a new generation of theologians that must now re-imagine theology in a contested, complex, and challenging postcoloniality where citizens yearn for a rejuvenation of an ecclesial praxis that is grounded on a rigorous theological imagination and praxis. - Elias Kifon Bongmba, Harry and Hazel Chavanne Chair in Christian Theology and Professor of Religion, Rice University, USA