Diploma in Religious Formation

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Browsing Diploma in Religious Formation by Author "Akeriwe, Raymond M."

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    Traditional African Funeral Celebrations, A Challenge for Mission Today
    (Tangaza University College, 2003) Akeriwe, Raymond M.
    Traditional African Funeral celebrations, A challenge for mission today: Case study of Navrongo/ Bolgatanga Diocese (Nav/Bolga Dio,), Upper East Region (HER) Ghana, West Africa. This is my contribution to the on going discussion on an area that has for a long time posed a pastoral problem in my area of study and a bid to forge a way forward in coming up with an acceptable and workable proposal as far as African traditions and Christian values are concerned. My purpose in this work as an African, and an indigen of the Nay/ Bolga Dio. [UER Ghana] , is that, I consider the issue of death related rites to be of great concern to the local people. It is an area that touches on the very lives of the people, as such a close look at it may give us a clearer understanding of the phenomenon of death and its effects on the people. There is an identity crisis here, who are we? Western Christians or African Christians? Christians of this diocese are first and foremost African, before becoming Christian, people with a culture that defined their whole world view and perception of life. This is an area of real concern for the African Christian in that she/he is tom between tradition, cultural demands and the Christian faith. There is the need to protect one's place in the African hierarchy which is very important to the elders. This defines one's place too in the here after, therefore all that is necessary [ Living an exemplary life, good moral and religious standing] to get to the other side must not be overlooked. Initial perceptions of African Traditional Religion (ATR) by the early Europeans, missionaries were very much distorted, biased and damaging. ATR was described as evil, barbaric, primitive, diabolic', thus converts were uprooted completely from what they believed and knew and introduced to a whole new way of life, religion and culture. Many lost their identity through this and those who have come after them have since not found their faith and place in the traditional set up. With the current of inculturation blowing across the Church today, there is need for a rethinking on the life of the Church on the continent of Africa. There is a need for an inner reconciliation of many Christians in Africa, Nav/Bolga Diocese particularly, who live in deep conflict between their sincere belonging to Christ and their need to treasure the gifts bestowed on them by God through ATR. The Churches focus today should be geared towards a progressive development of authentically African forms of Christian life, celebration and thought. This brings about an enrichment of the catholicity of the Church as her message is constantly re-expressed in the Church and religious traditions which show the active presence of God's generous providence at work in every human context throughout human history. As Fr Domingues (mcd) rightly puts it [in his course presentation notes for Tangaza college - Inter-religious dialogue. 2000] ATR is of a great theological value to Christianity. It is the concrete historical way in which God has providentially been, somehow dialoguing with millions of persons, in their social, cultural and religious lives. Their concrete religious practices, traditions, belief systems are the concrete context in which God offered them some light on his own mystery. In a special way, God communicate and dwells with them. There is a context in which God offers African cultures the Holy Spirit, in such a way that they have a real possibility of answering to God's invitation of becoming partners in the paschal mystery of Christ. [(IS 22] . There is a real possibility of finding in ATR some real revelation of God [in her rites, art, poetry, proverbs etc] and some genuine human response to it in faith. This encounter and response however does not exclude that fact that such revelation and faith be mixed with much human sinfulness, corruption, in the concrete cultural, social and religious life of the African peoples.