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Browsing School of Theology by Author "Alegbemi, Martin Kehinde"

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    Liberating Africa: A Missionary Challenge
    (Tangaza University College, 2000) Alegbemi, Martin Kehinde
    Standing on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, panning round, one sees a continent in distress. Looking north, south, cast and west, one sees and hears of hunger, war, famine, starvation, killings, domestic violence, unemployment and chains of other social evils. Although Africa is in pain, she is also a continent with hope, one blessed with lots of natural and human resources. Africa has survived very hard and difficult times and longs for a better tomorrow. With Christ's ever redeeming presence continually shining on her, she can hope for a brighter future. Seeing in Christ's mission the liberation of the human race, we can say that Christianity essentially seeks to liberate and bring about a day of salvation. The question is what role can Christianity play in the teligious, socio-political and economic distress facing this continent? This poses a challenge to the missionary nature of the Church. The challenge is that of relevance. Christianity has to wake up to the day to day life of the people in its mission as well as in its theology. It is the aim of this paper to present a response to this challenge. The overall objective is an arrival at a necessary theological foundation that empowers one to face the challenge of a preferential option for the poor within an African context. As such, we need a theology that is people-centred and one that will empower us to face this challenge. It should be a theology that calls God's people into 'being- for —freedom' in the world. We hope to arrive at an African liberating and missionary theology, which will be of great relevance to the people's situation, as well as being an essential tool for future missionaries. The tenets arrived at, should as much as possible be relevant to situations that need an option br the poor even outside Africa. One of the common approaches is to take Africa as a small entity with basically the same problem. This approach is both right and wrong. Basically, Africa is a suffering continent. We shall get as much as possible relevant inputs from any of the countries. It is hoped that whatever conclusions we arrive at might in one way or another be applicable to various African countries. As a launch of our response, chapter one of the work will be on 'Liberation Theology: A new way of doing theology'. Since the approach of this work is to see the Christian liberating rol- in the complex situation of Africa, such a role ought to be based on a theology. Our choice of Liberation theology is not because it is a recent theology in its systematic form, but as a theology that is down to earth in that, it focuses on the daily life of the people. We shall examine its content, development, and its methodology, its missionary dimension and how it can be a paradigm of African liberation. Accepting liberation theology from our first chapter, chapter two will examine the faces of Africa. I lere, we shall examine the situation of Africa by applying the 'see' as the first of the trilogy of liberating praxis. This will involve a search into the religious situation, sustainable development, and the political situation. We shall end this chapter by posing the need for 'judge' to unravel the root cause of African degradation. Chapter three as the application of 'judge', the second of the trilogy will begin with a social analysis and theological reflection. With those two considerations, we shall posit the structure of sin as the root cause of African degradation. Upon that will follow an attempt at identifying the various areas of the challenges so as to be able to act concretely. The identification will range from theology and inculturation to issues of gender and development. The areas identified will form the ground for our missionary response in the next chapter. Providing concrete solutions from a missionary perspective which, is also the application of 'act', the last of the trilogy of liberating praxis is what this last chapter hopes to arrive at. Our response will be a positing that. the solution to African problems is far beyond the numerous international conferences, political systems, economic policies, international organisation and numerous 1\1(i0s. An integral and full emancipation is possible with the uprooting of the structure of sin. The uprooting will be possible through recourse to Jesus as the master liberator and a positing of various ideas and channels. The conclusion will be an attempt at laying a foundation for an African liberating and missionary theology.