scholarly journals Occultism in an African context: a case for the Vhavenda-speaking people of the Limpopo Province

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Mashau
Keyword(s):  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
The World ◽  
African Worldview ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Traditional Religion

Occultism in Africa is as old as the primal religion itself, or what came to be known as African Traditional Religion (ATR) in mo- dern times. It dates back to time immemorial. Occultism in Africa has taken various forms and has manifested in different ways over the ages, i.e. spiritism, divination, witchcraft and ma- gic. The underlying premise of African occultism is the belief in a spiritual world with spiritual forces that have power to inflict harm on the living. In the traditional African worldview suffering of every sort – illness, barrenness, drought and death – is nor- mally explained in personal terms: “there is always somebody”. This “somebody” often belongs to the world of the occult: a “spirit” has brought pain to human beings and must therefore be repelled or accommodated. This is very common among the Vhavenda-speaking people of the Limpopo Province. This ar- ticle seeks to investigate how occultism is practised among these people and to provide a reformed perspective as to how people who are suffering under demonic attacks can be helped. Contrary to other Christian traditions that see exorcism as the only way out, reformed theology suggests a missio-pastoral approach in dealing with the problem.

scholarly journals The Burning Bush (Ex 3:1–6): A study of natural phenomena as manifestation of divine presence in the Old Testament and in African context

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Adamo
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Natural Phenomena ◽  
Divine Presence ◽  
African Christianity ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Traditional Religion

The purpose of this article is to attempt to sketch a new reading of Exodus 3:1–6 in African context. After the analysis of the text and various interpretations of the burning bush, this article attempts to survey the various uses of the word fire/lightning/thunder in the Old Testament and in African indigenous religious tradition (Yoruba tradition). In this case, the legends of Sango, the Yoruba Divinity, are important examples of interpreting the existence of fire/lightning/thunder as a sign of God’s presence. Although the meaning of fire/lightning/thunder in the Old Testament and African traditions is very similar, the author does not subscribe to the notion that African Christianity and African traditional religion are the same. However, the similarity has some important implications for African Christianity despite the differences.

scholarly journals The concept of diseases and health care in African traditional religion in Ghana

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter White
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Traditional Healing ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
African Traditional Religion ◽  
The Government

As human beings we sometimes in one way or another become sick, and therefore go for treatment depending on our choice of treatment (religious perspective or Western medical treatment). Although African traditional religion is not against a Western medical way of treatment or healing process, its followers believe that there are some diseases that Western medicine cannot treat, and therefore need spiritual attention, as it is sometimes practiced in churches. This article discusses the African traditional view regarding disease, causes of disease, how disease is diagnosed and treated, with a special focus on Ghana. The article also describes the role of the diviner or the African traditional priest or what others may term as ‘herbalists’. The advantages and disadvantages of the African traditional healing process are considered. The article concludes by discussing African traditional healing in the context of a contemporary health care discourse, as well as a proposal for dialogue between traditional healers, Western medical practitioners, the government of Ghana, and the governments of various countries where this issue may be applicable, to build a consensus in addressing health issues.

scholarly journals Metamorfozy Platońskiej „metafory słońca” (Respublica 509b) w hetero- i ortodoksyjnej teologii (I-III w.): gnostycyzm, Klemens z Aleksandrii i Orygenes

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 21-58
Author(s):  
Damian Mrugalski
Keyword(s):  
First Principle ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Clement Of Alexandria ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Complete Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject

The metaphor of the sun, in which Plato (Republic 509b) compares the idea of the Good to the sun that dwells above the earth yet affects the phenomena occurring on it, was an inspiration for both heretical and orthodox theology in the first Christian centuries. The Gnostics, Clement of Alexandria and Origen all believed that God, like the Platonic idea of the Good, is radically transcendent in relation to the world, but at the same time is the cause of everything that exists in it. Unlike Plato, who believed that the idea of the Good is knowable and can be the subject of science, the Christian theologians of the first centuries believed that God was like a blinding light. This means that God, according to them, though intelligible, is unknowable in His essence. Therefore, God cannot be the subject of science. Another modification of the Platonic metaphor was the introduction of the element of sunlight, to which the philosopher from Athens did not refer. For the Gnostics, the rays of the sun were “eons” – spiritual beings that existed in the space between the first principle of all things and the material world. For Clement and Origen, the light that comes from the sun was the Son – the power and wisdom of God. In contrast to the Gnostics, who believed in the progressive degradation of the spiritual world through successive emanations, the Alexandrian Fathers believed that the Son possessed all the knowledge of God and therefore revealed to man the true God. Yet the revelation of God by the Son, and even the grace that assists human beings in the process of learning about God, do not give man complete knowledge of the essence of God. Thus the Gnostics, Clement and Origen, despite some doctrinal differences, all accepted the concept of the radical transcendence of God on the ontological and epistemological levels.

scholarly journals African same-sexualities and indigenous knowledge: Creating a space for dialogue within patriarchy

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindiwe P. Mkasi
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
South African ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Sexuality Research ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
African Culture ◽  
Western Discourse ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Traditional Religion

Current debates on homosexuality claim to give voice to the voiceless but only target the youth whose concern for freedom and rights differ markedly from older, more traditional concerns. Recent debates on same-sexualities are framed in a modern discourse and leave no room for traditional epistemologies. This article argues that knowledge of same-sexualities in African communities requires a far more complex narrative that is inclusive of indigenous knowledge and culture and of the older generations that uphold them. South Africa has gone through many changes and there is a need for new knowledge to face new challenges that come with democracy. The assumption here is that some issues need attention in contemporary societies which have never been properly investigated. One such issue is African same-sexualities. Although there is a need to interrogate the issue of freedom of speech from Western theoretical impositions, same-sexuality research needs to be contextualised and analysed through the eyes of indigenous societies. This could be achieved by creating space for debates between traditional and modern communities.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article addresses African indigenous same-sexualities using indigenous ways of knowing to unpack the practice. The article suggests a different approach on African same-sex practice based on ancestral knowledge found in African traditional religion and in African culture. It will further demonstrate how this practice relates to issues of gender and religion in the South African context. It also disapproves Western discourse on African sexuality based on human rights approaches and transformation that ignore African cultural practice that affirm life.Keywords: African Traditional religion; gender;same sexualities;Indigenous knowlegde

scholarly journals The indigenisation of eco-theology: The case of the Lamba people of the Copperbelt in Zambia

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lackson Chibuye ◽  
Johan Buitendag
Keyword(s):  
Mining Industry ◽  
Ecological Crisis ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
The People ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Traditional Religion ◽  
Mother Earth ◽  
The Impact

This article shows how eco-theology could and should be indigenised in an African context using the Copperbelt in Zambia as a case study. The ecological crisis worldwide has given rise to the call for everyone to work together to start caring about our natural environment. In theology, the response to this call received the name eco-theology. By means of a literature review, ethnographic information and governmental legislation, the article tries to illustrate how eco-theology could and should be indigenised in an African context using the Copperbelt in Zambia as a case study. This article makes an attempt to contribute to the needed ecological renewal by reinterpreting two traditions that inform thinking on the Copperbelt: Christianity and African traditional religion. The supernatural belief of the Lamba people is no longer embodied in this creation, and it is not too late for the people to form any indigenous environmental protection movement to protect the sacredness of mother Earth from further contamination and exploitation by strengthening, maintaining and respecting the traditional teachings and the cultural laws. Obedience to God’s command to tend creation is a quest for continued creation by humans, so that value is added to what is already in existence. This is embodied making the place we live in more beautiful, appealing and peaceful. Fruitfulness with sustainability becomes core values for interdependence and earth keeping.Contribution: We wish to address the ecological situation of the mining industry in Zambia from a theological perspective by assessing the impact of the copper mining and processing industry on humans, their environment and nature and by showing how the traditions of African traditional religion (ATR) thought can be transformed into tools to oppose this ecological disaster.

scholarly journals African Traditional Religion in Contemporary Africa: The Case of Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Yaw Sarkodie Agyeman ◽  
Samuel Awuah-Nyamekye
Keyword(s):  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
General Survey ◽  
World Religions ◽  
Indigenous Religion ◽  
Adequate Theory ◽  
The World ◽  
African Traditional Religion

Globalisation does not permit any religion to be an island to itself. Indigenous  cultures  all  over  the  world  bear  the  brunt  of  a consequent  of  globalisation--religious  pluralism.  On  the  continent of  Africa,  the  five  major  world  religions,  notably  Christianity  and Islam, are slugging it out against each other and, most of the time, collectively  against  the  indigenous  religion  of  the  African.  Besides the challenges religious pluralism poses to the indigenous religion, Africa, like never before is being opened up for investment and the intrusion  of  the  mass  media  and  the  internet.  This  paper  is  a general  survey  examining  how  the  traditional  religion  of  the African is responding to these realities using Ghana as a case study. It  aims  at  an  understanding  of  the  current  manifestation/s  of  the religion.  The  paper  observes  that  syncretism  has  been  used  to analyse  the  current  expression  of  the  religion,  but  the  paper  takes the  position  that  syncretism  is  not  an  adequate  theory  to  explain current  developments  in  the  religion.  It  rather,  advocates thetheories  of  the  market  and  religious  field  as  additional  theories to  explain  current  developments  in  the  religious  space  in  Africa, and  for  that  matter,  Ghana.  The  paper  notes  that  though  there  is competition  in  the  market,  especially  from  impinging  religions especially  Christianity  and  Islam,  opportunities  have  been  opened to  the  indigenous  religion  making  it  to  assume  a  transnational posture. It concludes that the future of African Traditional Religion will  largely  depend  on  its  ability  to  respond  to  market  realities  in order to be continuously relevant to contemporary society. 

Notes sur le Culte des Orisa et Vodun: Pierre Fatumbi Verger and the Study of “African Traditional Religion”

2013 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-294
Author(s):  
Alessandra Brivio
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Middle Passage ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
African Religions ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Traditional Religion ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
Methodological Position

AbstractThis article examines Pierre Verger’s Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun à Bahia, la Baie de tous les Saints, au Brésil et à l’ancienne côte des esclaves en Afrique and aims to investigate his position in relation to the study of religion, Vodun in particular, in the African context, and his contribution to the construction of an “African traditional religion” paradigm. In Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, Verger intended to make a comparative analysis of “African sources” and “Brazilian remnants” in order to ascertain what had survived the middle passage. This article seeks to highlight the innovative perspectives Verger introduced to the study of religions in Africa, perspectives that included a wide use of historical sources and a deep involvement in field research, and to point up his different methodological position on the two sides of the Atlantic. In Africa he sought pure tradition, while in Brazil he emphasized the modernity of the African religions that proved able to survive the Atlantic passage and resist the hegemonic powers of the New World.

In Dialogue With African Traditional Religion

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-34
Author(s):  
Francis Anekwe Oborji
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Traditional Religion ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Full Understanding ◽  
African Traditional Religion ◽  
God's Grace ◽  
Good And Evil ◽  
Positive Evaluation

AbstractAlthough there is some debate, Francis Oborji in this article argues that one should speak of African Traditional Religion (ATR) in the singular. He then reflects on five "essential aspects" of ATR--God and the human being, good and evil, sacrifice, ancestorship, and the afterlife and final end of human beings. After discussing several problems connected with a Christian approach to ATR, the author makes a positive evaluation of the practice of traditional religion as a supernatural reality that is a true preparation for a full understanding of God's grace in Jesus Christ.

“Utopia First!” A Machiavellian Conception of Solidarity in More's Utopia

Moreana ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (Number 209) (1) ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
Marie-Claire Phélippeau
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
Communal Organization

This paper shows how solidarity is one of the founding principles in Thomas More's Utopia (1516). In the fictional republic of Utopia described in Book II, solidarity has a political and a moral function. The principle is at the center of the communal organization of Utopian society, exemplified in a number of practices such as the sharing of farm work, the management of surplus crops, or the democratic elections of the governor and the priests. Not only does solidarity benefit the individual Utopian, but it is a prerequisite to ensure the prosperity of the island of Utopia and its moral preeminence over its neighboring countries. However, a limit to this principle is drawn when the republic of Utopia faces specific social difficulties, and also deals with the rest of the world. In order for the principle of solidarity to function perfectly, it is necessary to apply it exclusively within the island or the republic would be at risk. War is not out of the question then, and compassion does not apply to all human beings. This conception of solidarity, summed up as “Utopia first!,” could be dubbed a Machiavellian strategy, devised to ensure the durability of the republic. We will show how some of the recommendations of Realpolitik made by Machiavelli in The Prince (1532) correspond to the Utopian policy enforced to protect their commonwealth.

Conflict and Financial Scandal on History, Culture, and Politic

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (03) ◽  
pp. 20628-20638
Author(s):  
Anik Yuesti ◽  
I Made Dwi Adnyana
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
The World ◽  
Financial Scandals ◽  
Financial Transparency ◽  
The Church ◽  
Transparency And Accountability

One of the things that are often highlighted in the world of spirituality is a matter of sexual scandal. But lately, the focus of the spiritual world is financial transparency and accountability. Financial scandals began to arise in the Church, as was the case in the Protestant Christian Church of Bukti Doa Nusa Dua Congregation in Bali. The scandal involved clergy and even some church leaders. This study aims to describe how the conflict occurred because of financial scandals in the Church. The method used in this study is the Ontic dialectic. Based on this research, the conflict in the Bukit Doa Church is a conflict caused by an internal financial scandal. The scandal resulted in fairly widespread conflict in the various lines of the organization. It led to the issuance of the Dismissal Decrees of the church pastor and also one of the members of Financial Supervisory Council. This conflict has also resulted in the leadership of the church had violated human rights. Source of conflict is not resolved in a fair, but more concerned with political interests and groups. Thus, the source of the problem is still attached to its original place.

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