Book Book Reviews and Book Chapters

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Browsing Book Book Reviews and Book Chapters by Author "Sahaya, Selvam"

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    Marriage and Family In African Christianity
    (Acton Publishers, 2004) Sahaya, Selvam; Kyomo, Andrew
    Many Christian Families in Africa are in crisis. The crisis is about how to face change. Christian missionary activities, colonialism, westernization, urbanization, and other contemporary factors have destabilized African families and communities almost to destruction. The question is, will African families succumb to modernity or will they re-emerge with alternative stronger family structures? Every crisis is a challenge and an opportunity. It is a challenge because the old models are no longer feasible in the changing social environment. The pangs of this re-birth generate great anxiety. It is an opportunity because something more beautiful may eventually emerge. Our own creative reflections, discussions and assessments are vital contributions towards the reconstruction of African families. The Tanzanian Theological Colloquium (TTC) focused on this crisis during the Third session in Lyamungo, Moshi, in June 2002. TTC is an ecumenical circle of theologians. Most of them are in academic work, and the rest are pastors. The book deals with the theme of Christian marriage from both the doctrinal and the pastoral perspectives. It is both deductive and inductive in approach. Biblical exegesis is invoked at the same time that local experiences are cited for illustration and elaboration. The book takes both analysis and synthesis seriously. It is Pastoral in scope, and at the same time, biblical in emphasis. The contributors belong to a wide spectrum of Christian denominations. However, the views they express are based on their respective research, not necessarily echoing the official policy of their respective churches.
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    The Ubiquity of the Character Strengths in African Traditional Religion
    (Tangaza University College/ Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2012-07-10) Sahaya, Selvam; Joanna, Collicutt
    Positive psychology has relied on world philosophical and religious traditions for its understanding and classification of core virtues and character strengths and in demonstrating their ubiquity across cultures. However, in this endeavour, reference to African traditional religion (ATR) is minimal. The aim of the present qualitative study was to discern if the ubiquity of character strengths extends to ATR. The catalogue of Values in Action (VIA) was chosen as the coding template; some anthropological textual data on the life cycle of the individual, collected in Nairobi, Kenya, were used as the data set. Using a hybrid approach of deductive data analysis and inductive theme development, thematic equivalents were identified, and further validated with the help of other scholarly sources. Evidence of convergence with one or more anthropological domains was found for 18 out of the 24 character strengths. Citizenship and spirituality emerged as stronger themes, and elderhood rites featured as the most significant anthropological domain. A case is made for the African elder being a cultural paragon of character strengths.