Charismatic Appropriations of Edward W. Fasholé-Luke's Theologia Africana

Authors

  • Joseph Bosco Bangura North-West University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/ptcs.v15i1.26975

Keywords:

Theologia Africana, African Christian theology, Charismatic movements in Africa, Edward Fasholé-Luke, Sierra Leone

Abstract

Although scholarly literature about the theologies of newer Pentecostal and Charismatic movements (CMs) in Africa is growing, few attempts have been made to apply specific models proposed by the giants of African theology to the church contexts of Charismatic Movements. Mindful of the risk of oversimplification, the specific experiences of CMs in Sierra Leone makes this statement much more justifiable. In this article, I attempt to draw a connection between Professor Edward W. FasholéLuke’s Theologia Africana and the church context of CMs in Sierra Leone. Using Fasholé-Luke’s Theologia Africana, I argue that the CMs’ desire is to promote a theology whose shape, content and feature was not indexed upon imported theologies, but one that is solidly engraved in the hearts and minds of Africans. If this theology was to serve its intended purpose, which is to make the new convert both Christian as well as genuinely and authentically African, then it must be developed by Africans themselves. The article notes that this is exactly what transpired in Sierra Leone after the accession of CMs.

Author Biography

  • Joseph Bosco Bangura, North-West University

    Joseph Bosco Bangura (PhD, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands and the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven, Belgium) held various teaching and pastoral ministry positions in Sierra Leone and Belgium, before moving to NorthWest University, Potchefstroom, South Africa in October 2015, where he took up appointment as a postdoctoral fellow in the contextual/intercultural theologies of newer African Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. His latest article, “Hope in the Midst of Death: Charismatic Spirituality, Healing Evangelists and the Ebola Crises in Sierra Leone”, will appear in the April 2016 edition of Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Missiology.

References

Adogame, A. U. and C. Weisskoppel (eds). Religion in the Context of African Migration. Bayreuth: Eckhard Breitinger, 2005.

Akrong, A. “The Born Again Concept in the Charismatic Movement in Ghana”. Evangelical Review of Theology 35.1 (2011): 31–40.

Anderson, A. African Reformation: African Initiated Christianity in the Twentieth Century. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2001.

—. An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Asamoah-Gyadu, J. K. Contemporary Pentecostal Christianity: Interpretations from an African Context. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2013.

Bae, A. and B. C. Kamsler. Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) Records, 1975–2006. New York: Union Theological Seminary, William Adams Brown Ecumenical Library Archives, 2007 (rev. 2014).

Bangura, J. B. “The Charismatic Movement in Sierra Leone (1980–2010): A Missio-historical Analysis in View of African Culture, Prosperity Gospel and Power Theology”. PhD dissertation, ETF Leuven, Belgium/VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 2013.

—. The Matrix of African Pentecostal Social Action: A Study of the National Pentecostal Mission Sierra Leone. Brussels: WCM, 2015.

Bennett, D. J. Nine o’Clock in the Morning. Eastbourne: Kingsway Publication, 1982.

Burgess, S. M. and E. M. Van der Maas. The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.

Chukwurah, C. The Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the Renewal of the Church: A Contextual Appraisal from the Nigerian Perspective. Port-Harcourt, Nigeria: Catholic Institute of West Africa, 1998.

Clarke, C. (ed.). Pentecostal Theology in Africa. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publishers, 2014.

Cole, J. The Devil, Demons and Demonology. Freetown, Sierra Leone: New Life Publication, 1999.

Conteh, P. S. Traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians in Africa Interreligious Encounters and Dialogue. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2009.

Gifford, P. “A View of Ghana’s New Christianity”. In L. O. Sanneh and J. A. Carpenter (eds), The Changing Face of Christianity Africa, the West, and the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005: 81–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/0195177282.003.0005

Fasholé-Luke, E. W. “An African Indigenous Theology: Fact or Fiction?”. Sierra Leone Bulletin of Religion 11 (1971): 1–15.

—. Christianity in Independent Africa. London: Rex Collings, 1978.

—. The Churches’ Role in Development in Sierra Leone: Papers Read at the Clergy and Ministers Vacation Course Held at Fourah College April 21st–23rd 1981. Freetown, Sierra Leone: Department of Theology, Fourah Bay College, 1981.

—. Evangelism in Modern Sierra Leone. Freetown, Sierra Leone: Department of Theology, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, 1970.

—. “Footpaths and Signposts to African Christian Theologies”. Scottish Journal of Theology 34.5 (1981): 385–414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0036930600055277

—. “The Quest for an African Christian Theology”. The Ecumenical Review 27.3 (1975): 259–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6623.1975.tb01173.x

—. Training for the Ministry in West Africa: Papers Read at the Third Annual Conference of the West African Association of Theological Institutions at the Institute of Church and Society, Ibadan, Nigeria, 23rd–26th August, 1976. Ibadan, Nigeria: West African Association of Theological Institutions, 1976.

Freeman, D. (ed). Pentecostalism and Development: Churches, NGOs and Social Change in Africa. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137017253

Hanciles, J. Euthanasia of a Mission African Church Autonomy in a Colonial Context. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.

Hocken, P. The Challenges of the Pentecostal, Charismatic and Messianic Jewish Movements The Tensions of the Spirit. Farnham: Ashgate, 2009.

Idowu, E. B. African Traditional Religion: A Definition. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1973.

—. Towards an Indigenous Church. London: Oxford University Press, 1965.

Kalu, O. African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195340006.001.0001

—. “Who is Afraid of the Holy Ghost? Presbyterians and the Charismatic Movement in Nigeria, 1966–1996”. Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Mission Studies 35.3 (2007): 5–29.

Kapteina, D. “The Formation of African Evangelical Theology”. African Journal of Evangelical Theology 25.1 (2006): 61–84.

Kim, S.-B. D. “Trends and Changes in World Christianity”. Torch Trinity Journal 16.1 (2013): 3–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0265378813502612

Logan, James. “Controversial Aspects of the Movement”. In M. P. Hamilton (ed.), The Charismatic Movement. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1975: 33–46.

Ludwig, F. and J. K. Asamoah-Gyadu (eds). African Christian Presence in the West: New Immigrant Congregations and Transnational Networks in North America and Europe. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2011.

Menzies, W. W. and R. P. Menzies. Spirit and Power: Foundations of Pentecostal Experience. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000.

Mwaura, P. “African Independent Churches: Their Role and Contribution to African Christianity”. In K. Bediako, M. Jansen, J. van Butselaar, A. Verburg and J. J. Visser (eds), A New Day Dawning: African Christians Living the Gospel: Essays in Honour of Dr J. J. (Hans) Visser. Zoetermeer, Netherlands: Boekencentrum, 2004: 96–101.

Nkansah-Obrempong, J. “The Contemporary Theological Situation in Africa: An Overview”. Evangelical Review of Theology 31.2 (2007): 140–50.

Ojo, M. A. The End-Time Army: Charismatic Movements in Modern Nigeria. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2006.

Omenyo, C. N. Pentecost Outside Pentecostalism: A Study of the Development of Charismatic Renewal in the Mainline Churches in Ghana. Zoetermeer, Netherlands: Boekencentrum, 2002.

Parratt, J. Reinventing Christianity: African Theology Today. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995.

Sanneh, L. O. Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture, 2nd edn. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008.

—. West African Christianity: The Religious Impact. London: C. Hurst, 1983.

Sawyerr, H., M. E. Glasswell and E. W. Fashole-Luke. New Testament Christianity for Africa and the World: Essays in Honour of Harry Sawyerr. London: SPCK, 1974.

Shyllon, L. E. T. and G. S. Anthony. Two Centuries of Christianity in an African Province of Freedom, Sierra Leone: A Case Study of European Influence and Culture in Church Development. Freetown, Sierra Leone: Print Sundries and Stationers, 2008.

Turaki, Y. “African Christianity in Global Religious and Cultural Conflict”. Evangelical Review of Theology 31.2 (2007): 127–39.

van der Laan, C. “Historical Approaches”. In A. Anderson, M. Bergunder, A. Droogers and C. van der Laan (eds), Studying Global Pentecostalism: Theories and Methods. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010: 200–214.

Wallace, D. B. “Granville Sharp: A Model of Evangelical Scholarship and Social Activism”. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40.4 (December 1998): 591–613.

Walls, A. F. The Missionary Movement in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission of Faith. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996.

Young, J. U. African Theology: A Critical Analysis and Annotated Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993.

Published

2016-03-31

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Bangura, J. B. (2016). Charismatic Appropriations of Edward W. Fasholé-Luke’s Theologia Africana. PentecoStudies, 15(1), 46-69. https://doi.org/10.1558/ptcs.v15i1.26975