Bachelor of Arts in Theology

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The African Concept Of Marriage And The Inculturation Process
(Tangaza University College, 2003) Muichavali, Benedict
Culture is a set of meanings and values that organize human life and a world view In the life of each individual and especial!) the faithful. there are particular significant and decisive moments for discerning Gods call and embracing the mission entrusted M Him. Inculturation enables the local church to li e the best of the tradition oi her people in a w a\ that full integrates them within the life and message of Jesus Christ.
Lasallian Formation and The Bilen Marriage Covenant: A Case for Inculturation
(Tangaza University College, 2002-03) Iyob, Aron
The main purpose of this paper is to enrich the Lasallian formation program in Eritrea by incorporating into it some elements from the Blin marriage tradition. Therefore, Chapter I deals with Lassallian religious formation, the Lasallian charism, Lassallian spirituality and the identity of the De La Salle Christian Brother. The second chapter deals with Blin marriage. It explains who the Blin people are, their concept of marriage, the way they intermarry, and how they handle engagement and marriage. The third chapter deals with how the elements of Blin marriage can be incorporated into Lassallian religious formation in Eritrea. As for the methodology followed for this research, the author has mainly used books written regarding Blin people, and others which have similarities in cultural concepts, and conducted interviews with few Blin people who have deep knowledge regarding Blin marriage.
Inculturation of The Rites Of Passage Among the Ewe of Togo Case Study: Twins, Pastoral Quest
(Tangaza University College, 2002-02) G. Vignidah, Aristide
Working for reconciliation is one of the biggest challenges of the Church in her mission to the world, especially to Africa where wars, ethnic clashes and hatred have divided the continent and the peoples among themselves. It is a great task particularly for the Church of Cote d'Ivoire, which is facing the biggest treat of its existence since its independence in 1960. For forty years, Cote d'Ivoire enjoyed a stability that envied all the other countries of the west-African sub-region, faced with war and coups. Its economic success attracted people from neighbouring countries, and its main city Abidjan nicknamed, "la perle des lagunes „t because of its strong development, far ahead of all other capitals in the region, was the pride of the continent. However, since September 2002, after a foiled coup attempt, Cote d'Ivoire is divided between a rebel held North predominantly Moslem and a Government held South, predominantly Christian and animist. The causes of this war arc numerous, but the main point now is to know how to reach a lasting peace and reconcile the Ivorians with themselves. This is the big task of the Church today in that country. Being ourselves from Cote d'Ivoire, we know how much this war has affected the people of the country, who were used to peace and stability; we know the level of anger and frustration in the hearts of all, being Moslems or Christians. In fact, the Church is held between the anger of her Christians in their accusations, justified or not, towards Moslems of supporting the rebels, and her mission to proclaim Christ's teaching of love and of forgiveness towards the neighbour and even the enemy. She is also facing the anger of the Moslems in their accusations, justified or not, towards Christians of discriminating them. She has the duty to preach and work for justice. So our objective in choosing this topic is to bring out some suggestions that can help the country in its process of reconciliation. For we believe that a true reconciliation can be effective if it is done through forgiveness and love. And this we know, it is not something easy to achieve. So we will start by presenting the actual situation of the country. Presenting the socio-religious situation might help understand the political situation which follows, where after two years of war, the country is still divided into two. Presenting all these will help understand the dilemma of the Church. The second chapter, which is the biblical understanding of reconciliation, is an analysis of especially the New Testament references for reconciliation, forgiveness and love. We will refer to the teachings of Jesus and of Saint Paul that might help the Christians in their difficult mission of reconciliation. The last part, mission of reconciliation in Christ, is where we want to give our suggestions, adding them to what the local Magisterium is already trying to do. These are the pastoral challenges of the lvorian Church, and even though they are not easy, in Christ, the Church will succeed in her mission of reconciliation.
Inculturation of Marriage Among the Bemba People of Zambia
(Tangaza University College, 2002-02) Misengo, Theophan
One of the deepest aspirations and desires that the Bemba have and long to see fulfilled is marriage. When we have some knowledge about their marriage encounter, it will help us to understand on the way they respond to their Christian faith. This understanding is important for our pastoral work as ministers of the Word of God. A good number of marriages, among the Bemba, are traditional ones. Some of these Christians prefer traditional marriage to ratified marriage in the church. Among the Bemba, there are polygamous families and polygamy is accepted. Within their marriage practice, there are some elements that do not conform to Christian values. At the same time, the Bemba are in favour of Christianity. The Christian and traditional point of view have to meet and embrace each other somewhere. In Africa today, inculturation continues to be an urgent issue. The Bemba should experience the Good News of the Gospel in their cultural situation. Traditional marriage practices should be enriched by the Gospel message and vice-versa. Christianity has to grow in an African environment where each Christian will feel at home. The issue of traditional marriage has persisted since the early missionaries. The early missionaries addressed this matter with less success. The search for better understanding of traditional marriage continues. The church should look for suitable ways by which to accept traditional marriage. In the process of reinterpretation of the Bemba traditional marriage, the Bemba community and the church should be faithful to each other.
The Challenges Facing Modern African Christian Families in Respect to Human Dignity and Remedial Approaches with Particular Reference to Kenyan Situation
(Tangaza University College, 2009) Muiruri, Edwin, Gichaga
Nowadays there are thousands and thousands of consecrated religious people living in different communities in different parts of the world. Are they all leading a harmonious and meaningful life in their communities? Are they all happy with their community members? The answer may not be a positive one always, because there are conflicts and misunderstandings in our religious communities. One of the contributing factors present in the great majority of religious communities is multicultural nature of the local community. This we can state is a mark of modem consecrated community life. This reality call for an awareness on the part of all and concrete steps towards an inculturation of the Gospel in these settings
Veneration of Ancestors as a Vital Element of African Tradition Religion And The Possibilities of Its Inculturation In The Catholic Church in Africa.
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02-07) Dominik, Waclaw
In 1842, at the end of his retreat, before leaving for India, Marion Brasillac, the future founder of the Society of African Missions wrote several ideas that were to be his guidelines for mission. In his diary he noted: "Here are the special resolutions I made at the end of the retreat: I. To be a missionary with all my heart. 2. To neglect nothing for the advancement of God's work. 3. To seize every opportunity of preaching God's word. 4. To use every means I have - all my strength, all my study and effort - to contribute towards the formation of a native clergy". These words have been a point of reference for hundreds of SMA missionaries who following the example of our Founder, gave their lives in the service of people of African origin. Today, almost 144 years after the foundation of our Society, I want to engage myself definitively in the service of the African Church, as a missionary, especially among those who have not yet heard about Jesus Christ. The political, social, economic situation of contemporary Africa is a complicated one. It is within this context that I want to go to proclaim the Good News of salvation of Jesus Christ. My 9 years of formation helped me to find my own answer to the question 'Why do I want to spread the Gospel in Africa'. However, as good as this answer may be, lam convinced that it is not enough to be relevant to people among whom I am going to work. The basic question I have to find answer to, in line with the charism of SMA and my personal gifts. is 'How', by what means. I am to do so as to be relevant to people having their wn, highly structured culture'. This work is an attempt to give answer to this question. It is also an attempt to present a particular way in which the second and the third resolution of Marion Brasillac, mentioned above are understood by me in the present situation of Africa. To proclaim the Gospel among those who have not yet heard about Jesus Christ and have their own culture and religion, it is necessary to know the position of the Catholic Church concerning other religions and their relationship to Christ. For this reason, the first chapter deals with this issue. Further in the first chapter, after having looked at the position of the Church towards world religions with a special attention to African Traditional Religion, we will present the process of inculturation as the most appropriate way of proclaiming Jesus Christ in the contemporary Africa. People in Africa have very rich cultures, with their particular religious background. This culture is very different from my native Polish culture. It is distinct to such an extend that I find it indispensable to be well acquainted with this culture before starting my ministry. That is the reason for choosing such an approach in the second chapter. It would be impossible to look at all elements of African culture and religion. That is why I have chosen to look at the notion of ancestors in African Traditional Religion. There are basically two reasons for this choice: ancestors play a very important role in Africa and they have a special place in the pyramid of life. Because of this special place, some other elements of African Traditional Religion are going to be mentioned. The process of inculturation is not an easy one and usually requires a deep theological knowledge of Christianity and of local customs. These are the reasons for looking at the ways in which others considered the process of inculturat on of ancestor veneration. The second part of the third chapter deals with my personal proposals how to use this veneration in the practical situation of the proclamation of the Gospel in Africa at the beginning of the XXI century. The Christian approach to African Traditional Religion as presented above, seems to be well grounded in the Gospel and in the contemporary teaching of the Church. It is, basically, an approach of openness, of respect and of humility. We are aware that we do not 'bring God' from outside, but we try to discover his presence in African religious beliefs. This approach helps to achieve two things. First, we carry on the process of evangelisation as Jesus Christ asked us to do (cf , Mt 28: 19-20). Secondly, it allows us to deepen our own faith and understanding of God's action in the world. Looking at the mysterious ways in which God is to be found in ancestor veneration of African people, we can only stand in awe and repeat the words of the psalmist:
Toward A Model for an Igbo Christian Spirituality
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Nwachuicvvu, Peter
As many scholars have noted, there has been an increasing interest in spirituality since Vatican Id Council. This has been evidenced by the number of people who enroll in spirituality courses each year, many writings on spirituality, number of workshops on spirituality designed to foster the lived experience of the spiritual life. People wonder why there is this increasing interest in spirituality. This should not be surprising because the church since Vatican II has focused on the importance of inculturation of the gospel values in the different cultures. Perhaps, the most effective way of doing this is through an understanding of local spiritualities. Spirituality being a lived experience, the progressive, conscious striving toward personal integration through self- transcendence within and toward the horizon of ultimate concern,' could be a good perspective from which to assess and appreciate the cultural context of the gospel values. Spirituality deals with day to day striving towards one's life goal. When we come to Africa, we may ask ourselves, what is that that an African strives for and how is he or she living out this life project? According to John Mbiti, Africans are notoriously religious. Religion penetrates all the aspects of life so fully that it is not easy to isolate it.2 This means that the principle which controls an African's day to day striving lies in his or her religion. Similarly, the principle which governs the life of an Igbo person in Nigeria, is his or her religion. This implies that in all their life activities, religious beliefs is a guiding force. But when we examine the attitudes of the Igbo Christians today, we are forced to ask, how far has Christian values penetrated their life and their daily activities? Thus one wonders, is Christianity making any impact among the Igbos who are committed to religion and whose religious values guides all their activities? According to an English saying, "there is no smoke without fire." When I look at many Igbo Christians, I wonder what actually is the force behind what I can call a "double lifestyle" and their inconsistent adherence to the gospel message. Contemporary Igbo Christians manifest elements of "double religious consciousness" and are not completely faithful to the gospel message. "Double lifestyle or religious consciousness," is the situation where, one is a Christian and at the same time an adherent of traditional religion. One may attend Christian worship in the morning, and in the evening go to the traditional priest's shrine or participate fully in the traditional worship practices. My experience of this "double lifestyle" and unfaithfulness to the gospel message during my 1999 long vacation (May to August 1999) which I spent in some Igbo Christian communities raised many questions in me. First, what is the force that makes Igbo people to live as both Christians and believers in traditional religion simultaneously? Second, how rooted is Christianity among the Igbos, and how meaningful is Christianity to them? Lastly, how far has Christianity been incarnated in the Igbo culture? This essay, therefore, aims at examining the root cause or the force behind this "double religious consciousness," and will attempt to show how Christianity can solve this problem. This search for the cause of the "double religious consciousness"is examined from the perspective of spirituality. Spirituality in this essay is considered to be the underlying principle behind any human behaviour. This principle is considered to be the root of all human actions and the core of any human existence. In order to achieve the aim of this project, we shall divided the work into three chapters: Chapter one examines the concept of spirituality. It analyses the Christian and African Indigenous spiritualities. Chapter two focuses on aspects of African spirituality as they are found and lived in the Igbo traditional community. Then, chapter three is dedicated to establishing a model for an Igbo Christian Spirituality. In this case, the need for inculturation, the process of and approaches to inculturation of the gospel message in the Igbo culture are identified and analysed. This is followed by a general summary and conclusion of the work. This essay is based on an evaluation of existing literature relevant to the topic of study. The literature analysed include both Christian and African theologians' texts. Furthermore, particular attention is paid to the daily life of the Igbos, that is, their experiences and their nomenclatures. This enables us to explain more fully the inner feelings of the people based on their own experience and their expressions. Also, the essay is based on discussion with some Igbos and interview with some missionaries who have worked among the people. In selection of the key informants interviewed, consideration was given to those with pastoral experience among the Igbos. Ten informants were interviewed,' but out of this ten people, Fr. Declean was chosen as the Chief informant for more indepth interview. Rev. Fr. Declean has worked among the Igbos both as Parish Priest and also a lecturer in a Major Seminary for over twenty years. Also, coming from outside Igbo land and Nigeria, he was considered to be more appropriate to give an outsider's evaluation of indigenous Igbo Christians. The bible quotations in this essay are from The African Bible.' See
The African Value of Life: A Case of the Igbo and Inculturation
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Anichitkwu Ugwu, Stephen
The central concern in contemporary African Christian theological reflections on evangelization is how to help Africans respond positively to and accept the message of salvation. The core message of salvation is that God the Father, in His mercy and love, wills that all human beings be saved from their sinful human condition and then come to the dignity of sharing fully in His divine life. The divine life is a life shared by the Trinity: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That life is often called "eternal life," "a life of love", "the essence of God's existence" and it tells us how God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit existed together before creation. It is the life brought to all people by Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. This is the noblest value to which every human being is called for the purpose of attaining fullness of life. Sharing in that life means entering into a loving relationship with God the Father, uniting one's life with that of His Son and relying on the Holy Spirit for a transformation in love as Jesus rightly puts it, Al came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly" (Jn 10: 10). As a student of theology and someone who will be involved in the work of evangelization, I have been asking myself these questions: "After my studies, how am I going to present what I have studied, especially the above mentioned value, to my fellow Africans in general and my people the Igbo of Nigeria in West Africa in particular? Since people easily understand an idea related to their cultural values, what value would help the Africans to deepen their relationship with God? What value would help them to appreciate more the person of Jesus and his role in salvation?" While I was reflecting on all these questions, the word "life" struck me. Life is an important Igbo (African) value, an intrinsic good held in high esteem. It is what gives meaning to all the good things obtainable in Igbo society. Life as a value determines how all human beings are related to God, themselves, to each other and the world in which they find themselves. In fact, life is a value that determines how moral, social, spiritual or religious an Igbo person is, and how he or she understands and seeks the realisation of his or her destiny. Believing that life is an important value in Igbo society, I sought to understand this value better. I became more interested in ascertaining the depth of this value when I read from the Synod of African Bishops held in 1994 that we must develop a deep theological concern and reflection on African values if the effort to help Africans welcome Jesus Christ, as the one who fully reveals God and through whom they can deepen their relationship with God, is to bear much fruit. In their conference, the Bishops identified three African cultural values as good tools for theological reflection and inculturation: a religious sense, a sense of community and a sense of life! These values are evident among the Igbo. They are inseparable from each other. But for the sake of the scope of this study, we shall focus on life as an important value in Igbo society. Because the Igbo society sees life as its most important value strongly connected with God, it seems suitable as a basis on which inculturation could start and evangelization bear much fruit not only in Igbo society, but also in all African societies. This essay attempts to highlight the Igbo understanding of life as a value. The study recommends that this value be preserved, protected and promoted, lest it loses its meaning and significance. It also attempts to unveil the incompatibilities and the compatibilities of the Igbo value of life with the Christian's for the purpose of a proper inculturation. From this background, we could learn to see life as a strategic value for evangelization, not only in Igbo society, but also in any other African society. For that reason, this essay will further attempt to disclose the Christian view of the value of life. However, because the issues here are so complex, this essay is somewhat longer than originally anticipated. Reducing the number of pages, I felt, would have required eliminating material essential to the argument. And so I beg the reader's patience at the length. This essay has five chapters. Chapter one gives the clarification of some terms used in this work. Chapter two deals with the meaning of inculturation, its principles, its importance for the Church and for Africa, and the inculturation of the Gospel values into the Igbo society. Chapter three highlights the Igbo understanding of life as a value. Chapter four deals with the Christian teaching on the value of life and the possibility of inculturating that value into the Igbo value of life. And, chapter five gives us the general conclusion of this essay with some recommendations.
Paul's Movement in the Direction of Inculturation and Inculturating the Gospel among the Mbala in the Democratic Republic Of Congo
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Akaba Didier Delanote, Kimupipa
In reading the life of Paul, we know that Paul was left to determine whether salvation lay in Christ, or meticulous observance of the law. We shall see that Paul has to adapt his Jewish traditional heritage to his new Christian message. Paul brought therefore Christian modifications to his Jewish traditional beliefs. Hence, Paul's dilemma is more or less the same as that of Mbala. The Mbala must integrate Christianity and ancestral belief. Christianity for them is worn like a coat. In times of crisis, it is taken off. Given this understanding, our reflection is an attempt to discover Christ from the perspective of Mbala culture. We wish to show therefore how Christianity can be inculturated into our African cultures today, after the example of Paul. We are considering the Mbala culture. The Mbala are people living in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since our topic includes the movement in Paul's life from his pre-Christian life to his Christian life, and the direction of inculturation, we will undertake a critical investigation of events, developments, and experiences. We propose an analytical-comparative method. We need, therefore, biblical texts and sources about Paul to support our arguments. Our topic is addressed in three chapters. In our first chapter, we will try to present Paul as a fanatical defender of the pharisaic tradition, his face turned backwards to the past. Paul clings to his strong faith in the Mosaic tradition, which is salvation in meticulous observance of the law. In the second chapter, we will be concerned with the change that occurs in the life and thought of Paul to demonstrate his movement in the direction of inculturation. Hence, we shall see that Paul never intended to replace the Law as means of salvation and justification for Jews, but only to add Christ as a means of salvation for ethnic Gentiles. Thus, salvation is no longer meticulous observance of the law, but adherence to Christ Jesus. We shall discover this when we discuss Paul's encounter with Christ, that is, his conversion. In the third chapter, we will attempt to discover Christ's presence among the Mbala in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Here, we will deal with the inculturation of Christianity among the Mbala after, Paul's example. Finally, in the conclusion, we will summarize briefly our discussion of Paul's mission and inculturation.
Inculturation of Marriage among the Akamba of Kikumbulyu
(Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Munyao, Zachaeus
It is intention of this essay to study Kamba traditional marriage, and to offer reflections, which might inculturate Christian marriage in Kikumbulyu. Among the Kamba customs there are plenty of values, which are useful in building Christian marriage. Church leaders and believers hesitate to incorporate these cultural values into Christian marriage probably due to misunderstandings and lack of right information on what inculturation really means and what should be inculturated. It is, however, observed that "the people who have maintained their cultural heritage are more attracted by the spiritual churches, which have room for culturally related patterns.... ' Conservatism in the mainline churches has slackened the process of inculturation and as a consequence the faith has not had much meaning in Kikumbulyu, since the missionaries opposed African traditional practices such as traditional marriage. In his study on the history of Christianity in Africa, Baur attested that "independent churches spearhead the movement to inculturation."8

Bachelor of Arts in Theology

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