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5 - Africa, East and West

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Diane Stinton
Edited by
John Parratt
Diane Stinton
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer and Chair of Theological Research, Daystar University, Nairobi
John Parratt
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
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Summary

HUNGERING FOR AFRICAN THEOLOGY

A true story is told of a missionary who went to a remote area of northern Tanzania to proclaim the gospel among the Maasai, a famous warrior people:

One day he was explaining to a group of adults the saving activity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He told how Jesus is the Saviour and Redeemer of all humankind. When he finished, a Maasai elder slowly stood up and said to the missionary: ‘You have spoken well, but I want to learn more about this great person Jesus Christ. I have three questions about him: First, did he ever kill a lion? Second, how many cows did he have? Third, how many wives and children did he have?’

(Healey and Sybertz 1996, 76–7)

The Maasai elder's questions pose a deep challenge that is not merely theoretical. On the contrary, this incident demonstrates a real crux in the living faith of millions of Christians across East to West Africa today: how can the gospel be proclaimed authentically and effectively in response to the questions of African people and in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them?

Type
Chapter
Information
An Introduction to Third World Theologies , pp. 105 - 136
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2004

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  • Africa, East and West
    • By Diane Stinton, Senior Lecturer and Chair of Theological Research, Daystar University, Nairobi
  • Edited by John Parratt, University of Birmingham
  • Book: An Introduction to Third World Theologies
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511801587.005
Available formats
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Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Africa, East and West
    • By Diane Stinton, Senior Lecturer and Chair of Theological Research, Daystar University, Nairobi
  • Edited by John Parratt, University of Birmingham
  • Book: An Introduction to Third World Theologies
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511801587.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Africa, East and West
    • By Diane Stinton, Senior Lecturer and Chair of Theological Research, Daystar University, Nairobi
  • Edited by John Parratt, University of Birmingham
  • Book: An Introduction to Third World Theologies
  • Online publication: 05 June 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511801587.005
Available formats
×