Ubuntu, Jesus, and Earth: Integrating African Religion and Christianity in Ecological Ethics

Africa faces problems of ecological devastation caused by economic exploitation, rapid population growth, and poverty. Capitalism, residual colonialism, and corruption undermine Africa's efforts to forge a better future. The dissertation describes how in Africa the mounting ecological crisis has religious, political, and economic roots that enable and promote social and environmental harm. It presents the thesis that religious traditions, including their ethical expressions, can effectively address the crisis, ameliorate its impacts, and advocate for social and environmental betterment, now and in the future. First, it examines African traditional religion and Christian teaching, which together provide the foundation for African Christianity. Critical examination of both religious worldviews uncovers their complementary emphases on human responsibility toward planet Earth and future generations. Second, an analysis of the Gwembe Tonga of Chief Simamba explores the interconnectedness of all elements of the universe in African cosmologies. In Africa, an interdependent, participatory relationship exists between the world of animals, the world of humans, and the Creator. In discussing the annual lwiindi (rain calling) ceremony of Simamba, the study explores ecological overtones of African religions. Such rituals illustrate the involvement of ancestors and high gods in maintaining ecological integrity. Third, the foundation of the African morality of abundant life is explored. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, ancestors' teachings are the foundation of morality; ancestors are guardians of the land. A complementary teaching that Christ is the ecological ancestor of all life can direct ethical responses to the ecological crisis. Fourth, the eco-social implications of ubuntu (what it means to be fully human) are examined. Some aspects of ubuntu are criticized in light of economic inequalities and corruption in Africa. However, ubuntu can be transformed to advocate for eco-social liberation. Fifth, the study recognizes that in some cases conflicts exist between ecological values and religious teachings. This conflict is examined in terms of the contrast between awareness of socioeconomic problems caused by population growth, on the one hand, and advocacy of a traditional African morality of abundant children, on the other hand. A change in the latter religious view is needed since overpopulation threatens sustainable living and the future of Earth. The dissertation concludes that the identification of Jesus with African ancestors and theological recognition of Jesus as the ecological ancestor, woven together with ubuntu, an ethic of interconnectedness, should characterize African consciousness and promote resolution of the socio-ecological crisis.

CRISTIANISMO ETÍOPE A PARTIR DA EXPERIÊNCIA ÉTNICA NARRADA EM ATOS 8, 26-40

Torna-se muito importante demonstrar as experiências cristãs que existiram e coexistiram juntas ou/e imersas nas culturas extrapalestinenses e que exerceram protagonismo no anúncio do querigma. São experiências cristãs vividas e realizadas no período do cristianismo primitivo, e que, sem dúvida, contribuíram significativamente para o seu processo de expansão. Apresentamos a perícope Atos 8,26-40. Trata-se do episódio de Filipe e o Etíope. Acontece um deslocamento do eixo geográfico-missionário de Samaria ao caminho que desce de Jerusalém a Gaza , retornando a Cesaréia. O texto abre o horizonte das experiências cristãs a outros povos e nações, representadas nesta perícope pela figura do Etíope eunuco. Partindo de Atos 8,26-40, na perspectiva da redação lucana como ponto de partida, por meio dos procedimentos exegéticos e dos recursos histórico- literários, apoiado no referencial teórico dos conceitos de etnicidade e fronteiras étnicas, nós pretendemos investigar a possibilidade de uma experiência cristã vivenciada na Etiópia, que se constrói etnicamente desde as identidades que interagem na perícope e que apontam ao imaginário do universo simbólico do Etíope. Assim, resgataremos na exegese bíblica pautas hermenêuticas para a nossa prática teológico-bíblica-pastoral no horizonte das identidades e fronteiras étnicas do universo afro americano e caribenho.

CRISTIANISMO ETÍOPE A PARTIR DA EXPERIÊNCIA ÉTNICA NARRADA EM ATOS 8, 26-40

Torna-se muito importante demonstrar as experiências cristãs que existiram e coexistiram juntas ou/e imersas nas culturas extrapalestinenses e que exerceram protagonismo no anúncio do querigma. São experiências cristãs vividas e realizadas no período do cristianismo primitivo, e que, sem dúvida, contribuíram significativamente para o seu processo de expansão. Apresentamos a perícope Atos 8,26-40. Trata-se do episódio de Filipe e o Etíope. Acontece um deslocamento do eixo geográfico-missionário de Samaria ao caminho que desce de Jerusalém a Gaza , retornando a Cesaréia. O texto abre o horizonte das experiências cristãs a outros povos e nações, representadas nesta perícope pela figura do Etíope eunuco. Partindo de Atos 8,26-40, na perspectiva da redação lucana como ponto de partida, por meio dos procedimentos exegéticos e dos recursos histórico- literários, apoiado no referencial teórico dos conceitos de etnicidade e fronteiras étnicas, nós pretendemos investigar a possibilidade de uma experiência cristã vivenciada na Etiópia, que se constrói etnicamente desde as identidades que interagem na perícope e que apontam ao imaginário do universo simbólico do Etíope. Assim, resgataremos na exegese bíblica pautas hermenêuticas para a nossa prática teológico-bíblica-pastoral no horizonte das identidades e fronteiras étnicas do universo afro americano e caribenho.

CRISTIANISMO ETÍOPE A PARTIR DA EXPERIÊNCIA ÉTNICA NARRADA EM ATOS 8, 26-40

Torna-se muito importante demonstrar as experiências cristãs que existiram e coexistiram juntas ou/e imersas nas culturas extrapalestinenses e que exerceram protagonismo no anúncio do querigma. São experiências cristãs vividas e realizadas no período do cristianismo primitivo, e que, sem dúvida, contribuíram significativamente para o seu processo de expansão. Apresentamos a perícope Atos 8,26-40. Trata-se do episódio de Filipe e o Etíope. Acontece um deslocamento do eixo geográfico-missionário de Samaria ao caminho que desce de Jerusalém a Gaza , retornando a Cesaréia. O texto abre o horizonte das experiências cristãs a outros povos e nações, representadas nesta perícope pela figura do Etíope eunuco. Partindo de Atos 8,26-40, na perspectiva da redação lucana como ponto de partida, por meio dos procedimentos exegéticos e dos recursos histórico- literários, apoiado no referencial teórico dos conceitos de etnicidade e fronteiras étnicas, nós pretendemos investigar a possibilidade de uma experiência cristã vivenciada na Etiópia, que se constrói etnicamente desde as identidades que interagem na perícope e que apontam ao imaginário do universo simbólico do Etíope. Assim, resgataremos na exegese bíblica pautas hermenêuticas para a nossa prática teológico-bíblica-pastoral no horizonte das identidades e fronteiras étnicas do universo afro americano e caribenho.

Striking a Balance:Christianity and the Challenges of Long-Term Human Security in Zimbabwe

African evangelical/Pentecostal/charismatic (EPC) Christians-previously dismissed by scholars as apolitical-are becoming increasingly active socially and politically. This chapter presents a case study of an EPC congregation in Harare. It demonstrates how the congregation provides short-term human security by responding to the needs of the poor, while at the same time creating space where people can develop the "self-expression values" necessary for long-term human security. The case study also demonstrates that even under authoritarian states, religious actors can actively choose to balance the immediate demands of short-term human security with the sometimes competing demands of long-term human security. Policymakers can benefit from a greater understanding of how religious actors strike this balance and from a greater appreciation of the variability, flexibility, and religious resources of EPC Christians in such contexts.

Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in South Africa & Zimbabwe: A Review

Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in southern Africa. This article explores its social and political roles, drawing primarily on examples from South Africa and Zimbabwe to illuminate wider trends across the continent. It considers the main competing assessments of Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity in Africa: (1) it is dominated by the ‘prosperity gospel’ and therefore stunts real economic growth and development; (2) it is primarily an apolitical faith that distracts people from their suffering; and (3) it is a Western import that disables the development of African cultures. It concludes that Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity in South Africa and Zimbabwe has included all of these elements. But recent research indicates that Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity is increasingly a socially and politically active religion that is surprisingly well-placed to meet people’s economic and material needs, to empower people to participate in civic and public life, and to promote reconciliation between previously opposing groups.

In Whose Image: The Emergence, Development, and Challenge of African-American Evangelicalism

The current era of American Christianity marks the transition from a Western, white-dominated U.S. Evangelicalism to an ethnically diverse demographic for evangelicalism. Despite this increasing diversity, U.S. Evangelicalism has demonstrated a stubborn inability to address the entrenched assumption of white supremacy. The 1970s witnessed the rise in prominence of Evangelicalism in the United States. At the same time, the era witnessed a burgeoning movement of African-American evangelicals, who often experienced marginalization from the larger movement. What factors prevented the integration between two seemingly theologically compatible movements? How do these factors impact the challenge of integration and reconciliation in the changing demographic reality of early twenty-first Evangelicalism?

The question is examined through the unpacking of the diseased theological imagination rooted in U.S. Evangelicalism. The theological categories of Creation, Anthropology, Christology, Soteriology, and Ecclesiology are discussed to determine specific deficiencies that lead to assumptions of white supremacy. The larger history of U.S. Evangelicalism and the larger story of the African-American church are explored to provide a context for the unique expression of African-American evangelicalism in the last third of the twentieth century. Through the use of primary sources — personal interviews, archival documents, writings by principals, and private collection documents — the specific history of African-American evangelicals in the 1960s and 1970s is described. The stories of the National Black Evangelical Association, Tom Skinner, John Perkins, and Circle Church provide historical snapshots that illuminate the relationship between the larger U.S. Evangelical movement and African-American evangelicals.

Various attempts at integration and shared leadership were made in the 1970s as African-American evangelicals engaged with white Evangelical institutions. However, the failure of these attempts point to the challenges to diversity for U.S. Evangelicalism and the failure of the Evangelical theological imagination. The diseased theological imagination of U.S. Evangelical Christianity prevented engagement with the needed challenge of African American evangelicalism, resulting in dysfunctional racial dynamics evident in twenty-first century Evangelical Christianity. The historical problem of situating African American evangelicals reveals the theological problem of white supremacy in U.S. Evangelicalism.

Engaging with the promises of education : African refugee students in Australian secondary schools

The research reported in this paper investigated the engagement of students who arrived in Australian secondary schools as refugees from Africa. Enrolment of large cohorts of refugees from Africa is a relatively new phenomenon in the English-speaking West. The literature provides evidence that emotional engagement with the promises of schooling is strong for many of the young African refugees. Students envision successful professional careers as doctors, engineers, lawyers, and IT experts; they envision returning to their country as professionals able to help the people. The question investigated in this paper is: How does schooling in Australia impact on young African refugees’ education and career aspirations? Engagement is understood in Bourdieuian terms as dispositions to be and to become an educated person. This is a disposition which entails fundamental belief in the value of the stakes of schooling. The data analysed in the paper were produced in a study undertaken in the state of Queensland where 5000 of the 39 000 African refugees who have arrived in Australia since 2000 have settled. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students and their parents and teachers after arrival in an intensive language school, and then after transition to a regular secondary school. The findings show both the durability and malleability of educational dispositions in conditions of dramatic social change occasioned by refugee experience. Engagement in the stakes of schooling is both built and eroded as students flee their homelands for countries of refuge. Previously unimaginable educational dreams are possible for some; but for others, long-held dreams become unattainable. The paper concludes with recommendations for better supporting young people through this re-shaping of self.