Bachelor of Arts in Theology

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    Incarnation of Christ is the Foundation for Inculturating the Gospel
    (Tangaza University College, 2006) Malugao, Dioscop
    Missionaries, messengers of God's Words are often exposed to different cultures. The main aim of their presence in the mission areas is to implant the Gospel message in the heart of the people. How to do it? Is it possible to insert the Gospel message without considering the mentality of the people which is very much influenced with the existing culture? Indeed, inculturation is one of the essential tasks among missionaries. Inculturation in mission is challenging because we are dealing here with cultures which origin is as complex as the origin of humanity. Out of its complexity, some missionaries have somehow overlooked its importance. Others might have tried to work on it in their respective parishes but their approaches have remained questionable. Certainly, a lot of things have to be improved in this area. What are the approaches which can be of help to respect the existing cultures without neglecting or overlooking the Gospel message? We consider here the rich experience I had with the Basukuma people. It is an ethnic group in Tanzania which is unique and culturally known for their richness. Many books have been written about them out of love and interest. Besides my experience with them, I have also read some of these books. This is how the seed of love and interest towards the Basukuma vegetated with the desire to deepen my knowledge and understanding of their culture. In general, if we take into consideration the Basukuma culture, this paper would not be able to contain adequately the broadness of this culture. The focus here is mainly to look at a certain practice; the incorporation of the newly born child into the clan. We do some social, cultural and religious analysis but it is not enough to exhaust the beauty of it. Anyhow, the practice of the incorporation of the newly born child into the clan is still important among this people and it has still a great influence on their mentality. Moreover, this practice contains a lot of values that would help us to enlighten our approach in the field of inculturation. To strengthen the pillars of this study, let us also acknowledge some theological insights which have contributed to the development in the field of inculturation. We shall focus on some views of inculturation among the first Christian Missionaries, inculturation in Africa and the modern day understanding of inculturation according to some theologians. However, it is inadequate to talk about inculturation without considering its Christological Foundation. In addition, we shall include the Incarnation of Christ, focusing on "self-emptying" with its Biblical interpretation, some hints of Church's Fathers view and the Incarnation in Vatican In the application, we shall see how we can appreciate the traditional values in the light of the Christian values and how does it affect my missionary approach in the field of inculturation. Focusing on one practice serves only as an example but the approaches and applications will remain essential.
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    A Retreat Conference on the Gospel Message to the Youth
    (Tangaza University College, 2007) Kidus, Weldegiorgis
    This retreat on the Gospel message is for the youth aged approximately between 17-25 years. The youth are not a separated group of people but they are a group that forms part of the church, as the people of God. As a matter of fact, the youth are challenged by the present world's situation and not being committed to Jesus in the Church. Yes, the youth are the future leaders of the Church and the society at large but something hinders them not to accept this fact and see forward. Some youth are incapable of realizing their good talents in them. At timcs they appreciate the Church less; to the extend of being pessimistic. Many Christians rather Catholic youth take Christian life just for granted. They think to be a Christian, the most important thing is just to be baptized, and that is all. And they forget to take seriously their responsibility of following Jesus in whom they are baptized as Christians. Those who don't have strong faith, try to move from one church to another. At last they even lose their little faith they have in God. Therefore, it is everybody's responsibility to understand them and give quick solutions to their challenges; and also to accept them as they are.
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    A Critical Study of Luther's Doctrine Of The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
    (Tangaza University College, 2002-02-14) Aleti, Chris
    Is Christ really present in the consecrated species of bread and wine? How does one come to know and perceive the presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Can human mind explain adequately the presence of Christ in the Eucharist? If so, what attitude can we develop? The use and perception of the Sacraments in the early Church provoked these questions but they still remain valid questions up to date. In this paper, we are going to discuss how Luther responded to these questions posed above. Our main point of focus is the approach of Luther to the questions posed above and we shall do this by using the views of others to challenge his concept of the real presence of Christ in the species of consecrated bread and wine. If we do not discuss the views of others in depth, it is because our focal point in this paper is only Luther and we cannot go extensively on the positions of others. In the first chapter, we shall explore Luther's passage from defending the proper use of the Sacrament to the development of his concept of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In this part, we shall only account for the internal debate on the doctrine of the real presence between Luther and his fellow reformers. The second chapter will tackle the agreements and divergences between Luther and the Catholics. This will focus on what the Catholics say to Luther's concept of the real presence and Luther's objection to some of the practices of Catholic Church. In the third chapter, we shall assess both the pastoral importance and application of the doctrine of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist for the life of the Church. We shall also spell out sonic of the important emphasis given by Luther that is vital for positive reflection of our convictions. The aim is to find the impact of the controversies on the ecclesial communities. We shall sum it with a general conclusion.
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    Humanity of Christ in the Spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila: Relevance for Today
    (Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Idiahi-Imoleh Ehigie, Daniel
    St. Teresa of Avila, the 16t1 century Carmelite mystic and Doctor of the Church, taught that prayer is "nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we known loves us." This became the foundation of her spirituality. For Teresa, the relationship with God did not lie in the abstract or sublime realm. It had to be real. Thus, "the abstract distant God was gradually 'concretized' for her in Jesus."2 Hence, the humanity of Christ plays a central role in the spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila. The humanity of Christ is by no means restricted to the spirituality of the religious family of St. Teresa, the Discalced Carmelites. It does hold a message for all Christians, and in a special way for the African. The aim of this essay is to shed some light on the role of the humanity of Christ in the spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila, underscore its importance in the spiritual life of Christians, and then present some applications within the African socio-cultural milieu. It is worthy of note that several theologians have done a lot of work in the area of contextualizing Christ°logy in different African cultures. I shall draw on some of their materials in this area. I have chosen to focus my reflections on Africa as a whole, and not any particular culture for some reasons. Firstly, no previous work has been done in relating any aspect of Carmelite Spirituality to any of the local cultures in Nigeria (my country of origin). An in-depth research in this area is certainly beyond the scope of this work. It is true that presently in Africa, most of the countries are going through lots of socio-economic problems that have continued to take their toll on the people unabated. Several of the problems are common to most African countries: ethnic conflicts, wars, poverty, starvation, unemployment, political instability, low per capita income, etc. Thus, the choice of Africa as the context is intended to give a panoramic picture of what obtains in the different countries.
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    Christian Privilege in St. Paul Appreciating What We Are As Sharers in the Sonship of Christ
    (Tangaza University College, 2001-02) Njoroge, Peter Githaiga
    After a close look at St. Paul's writings, I have observed an important element that often escapes our attention as Christians today: What Christ has done for us, and much more, what he has made of us; what we have become in and through Christ. It is the latter that we would like to magnify in this work. That we are so much a privileged people as Christians, and if we were more aware of this our dignity, we would have a new outlook of life. If a son of a royal family has been separated from his family from childhood, and comes to discover that he is born of a royal family and is re-united to this family, his whole life is changed. He will live with much more pride and confidence in life. Most of us Christians are ignorant of the dignity and the privilege that we have attained in Christ. But St. Paul enlightens us on it all. This is the reason for which we wish to highlight from the letters of Saint Paul this element of our sharing in the Sonship of Christ: sharing the life of God in and through the Son and our being sons in the Son and co-heirs with Christ. Therefore, God is our Father and as he said to his Son, so does he now say to each one of us; "you are my beloved son". As he gave the Spirit to his son, so now he does shower the same spirit to all who believe in the Son. We have become sons and therefore we have acquired rights and privileges as sons. All that the Father has done to his own Son, anointing with the Spirit, resurrection, glorification, eternal inheritance and so on, he will do for us his adopted sons. Even now, in union with the Son, we call God 'Abba' and he grants us everything that we ask in the name of the Son. We therefore ask ourselves, how is Christ's Sonship and in what way do we share in this Sonship? What was our condition before being sons in Christ and what is our state now that we are sons? Now we are sons, so what? Do we have any duties and obligations as sons?