Africa and the Kingdom Of Peace and Justice
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Date
1998-02-16
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
STRUCTURE:
The work is divided into four chapters. The first chapter discusses the
Kingdom of God in Africa. This should be relevant in this essay as we cannot understand the
whole discussion about the values of God's Kingdom without grasping what we mean by that
kingdom and an understanding of Africa and her natives before receiving the message of the
Kingdom. The Second Chapter deals with Africa and the question of Peace. This chapter will
make us understand peace from the African view point. The discussion will revolve around
the scriptures, African traditional concept of peace and the modern African situation. This is
because peace as one of the values of the Kingdom was lived by the people of God and when
Christ came he taught about peace and the Church today is an agent of that peace.
Chapter Three deals with Justice in Africa. This aims at showing us the traditional
way the Prophets acted on issues of justice. It will also help us to understand the most basic
norms of African social morality, namely justice in its different categories and practice. It will
also highlight the theology of justice and how the values of peace and justice can be fully
integrated into the daily pastoral life of the Church.
It should be noted that the discussions in chapters one, two and three begin with a
biblical survey. This is not by accident but well intended because our faith, our morality and
our evangelization is grounded in scripture.
, Chapter Four brings forward the discussion on the African Church and her future
mission. This attempts to read the African Church in the 21st century and single out some
aspects that would be crucial areas of apostolate.
The general conclusion gives a general view of the discussion. The end notes are
intended to indicate the theoretical sources as well as to show what historical and empirical
materials have been utilized. Also an attempt has been made to convert some of the end notes
into a bibliography attached to the essay at the last pages. The bibliography serves to indicate
any book or source that was referred to during research. It includes a list of both written and
oral sources (informants).
Finally, the essay as a whole is not a systematic and comprehensive treatment of
justice and peace issues in Africa. An enterprise worthy of this name would have to deal with
vast materials which could not be contained in this short essay. Numerous theological
questions and practical issues of great importance are dealt with only in passing if at all. For
example, little is said about the overall content of moral life of Christians in African society.
Nor are practical questions of the social implications of the equality of women and men; of
the rich and poor; of tradition and modernity; of sacred and secular, dealt with except
tangentially. Also the reader will have to bear with some generalizations since most of the
time an example will be given either from one country or ethnic group while the argument has to portray the general African view.
However, I hope this essay would provide some illustration of the kind of work that
still needs to be done if the African Christian is to address the problems affecting him or her
in this continent.
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Keywords
The Kingdom Of God in Africa, Africa and the Question of Peace, Justice in Africa, The African Church in the 21st Century