Worship Of God the Creator Among The Agikuyu And Christian Worship
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Date
1997-02
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
As a student in the Seminary, I have had chances of participating in pastoral
activities during the holidays. I have attended various masses in the parishes where I
visited and talked with many of Christians living there. What I noticed is that apart
from the funeral masses there was a decline in the number of Christians attending.
There was virtually no attendance at weekday masses. The priest in Matiri parish told
me that even public prayers particularly devotional which used to draw quite an
attention had declined. Interviewing the Christians on the situation a number were
uncertain whether it was necessary for them to come to the church to pray. Many were
indifferent about public worship and preferred sometimes to remain at home on
Sundays.
This is what attracted me to research on worship, not to give answers to
current problems but to be aware of the underlying causes.
Another phenomenon that drew my attention was the observation that people
were comfortable with a kind of double life; being fully professed Christians yet
easily lured to cultural practices incompatible with the Christian Faith. The parish
priest of Pawaga Parish in Iringa, Tanzania, complained that the Gospel message was
not readily accepted by the people once the traditional healing systems were
condemned.
With the Synod of Africa the theme of inculturation was featured significantly.
It encouraged the incarnation of African values that are compatible with the Christian
faith. This has in fact challenged theologians and students in theology to put research
in this field as a priority. The Church to called to re-discover the peoples relationship with God as expressed in their worship and with the guidance of the Spirit has to
venture into the field of peoples experiences.
In my essay I am raising a general question: Does the Agikuyu way of
worshipping the Creator have anything of value, confronted by the Christian
approach to God? I will research on the Agikuyu origin (creation), their conception of
God the Creator and how they arrived to it. Then I will look into some elements in
Christian Worship. Finally there will be a discussion on some aspects of influence the
two ways of worship have on a Kikuyu converted to Christianity. This will be looked
at from the standpoint of improving his or her way of worship.
Description
Keywords
Agikuyu, Worship of God, God The Creator Among The Agikuyu, The Origin of the Agikuyu, God the Creator Reveals Himself to Man, Names of God the Creator, The Conception of God the Creator, The Agikuyu Response to God, Prayer, Sacrifices, The Sacred Tree, The Stages of Communion and Invocation, Worship in Spirit and Truth, A Kikuyu Christian Worshipper