A Literature Review on Ubuntu Concept as a Panacea for African Ecclesiology: A Case Study of Harvest Revival Ministry Churches in Kenya

The study seeks to examine the approaches taken currently with regard to scholarship on ecclesiology from the patristic era, the medieval era to that of the reformation and beyond. The study evaluates the various ecclesiological approaches of various confessional traditions that have defined ecclesiology over time. In progression, the study examines contextual ecclesiologies with a focus on three specific cultural geographical environments of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This is because of the significance that these regions play in the current global shift within Christendom. African ecclesiology has been the centre of focus in an attempt to link all the discussed ecclesiologies with the African Christian thought. The study intends to review the Ubuntu concept and to capture the concept of the humanness of people in the African setting. The study intends to expose the gap in the literature demonstrating that the African conceptual framework can indeed be of use in articulating theology relevant to the African world. The study was keen to evaluate the contribution towards the development and construction of an African ecclesiology using the Ubuntu concept as a remedy to solve ecclesiological problems witnessed in Africa.

Àgbájọ Ọwọ́ : An African Moral Theory of Survival in the Age of Covid-19

This paper examines some of the moral questions surrounding the novel coronavirus, the cause of a new pandemic that just hit the world between late 2019 and early 2020. Coronaviruses are highly contagious and deadly infectious diseases, and victims are urged to do all within their power to ensure that the infection is not spread to healthy people. The central questions involved include the following: why should a person suffer and possibly die alone due to an infection that they must have contracted from someone else? Why should they choose to act ethically in the face of impending death? Why should people who have contracted the disease through no known fault of their own choice to protect others from contracting it? In summary, why should a person who has contracted coronavirus act selflessly? When the cure is eventually discovered, why should knowledge of it be democratized in a capitalist world? These are some of the questions that this paper addresses by juxtaposing Hobbes’ argument that human beings are fundamentally selfish with the African ethical theory of Àgbájọ ọwọ́. The paper argues that the moral theory, which enhances survival is best in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ubuntu Philosophy as a Technology for the Foundational Architecture of African Ecclesiology in Reference to Harvest Revival Ministry Churches in Kenya.

The study seeks to study the Christian narrative unearthing the wealth of resources inherent in it to act as a stimulant and a motivating force for the present church towards the much-desired immortality that is the mark of the finish. It is an account that dates back to the first century during the formation of the church to the present state of the church in her pursuit of an alignment to the eschatological roadmap stipulated in scriptures. The study employs the scholarship of the historical Christian narrative from the analogical perspective of a journey of the Israelites in the Pentateuch towards Canaan. This was a journey that was characterized by pulsations of moving and stopping based on the instruction and guidance of God. Similarly, the Christian story is one that is emphatic with regard to the involvement of God in the Christian journey. The study captures the dominant moves of God over the centuries and their significant contribution to the establishment and progress of Christianity and the key players in the entire process from the protestant movement to the Apostolic Reformation. This will facilitate the understanding of the church in her present state as a product of her past journey and development with regard to offering guidance and facilitation of Christian practice. It will help the church with regard to guidance to help her avoid falling into the pit that their forerunners fell into and also motivate her towards greater exploits for God.

Women and Church Ministry in Africa: Removing the Impasse Towards a Fruitful Theological Conversation.

Women in Africa, both in the traditional setup and in modern society form the cornerstone of the Church and society. They have spearheaded change in traditional and modern society and heralded the Gospel message on the African soil. Based on the formidable roles women played and the influential areas of authority they occupied in the social, economic, political, and religious dimensions of African traditional societies, such as priestesses, diviners, medicine women etc., I attempt to understand the role women play and the place they occupy in the Church and in society today taking the Catholic Church as a case study. The aim of this paper is to seek to understand the roles women play in society, as well as discerning how the roles could be promoted and improved for the betterment of the Church and society. For the discussion to achieve its objective, the following areas will be addressed: explore the place and the significance that traditional African society accorded to women; investigate the nature of women’s involvement in the life of the community as well as the precise roles that traditional society assigned to women; discover the place of women in Christianity and some of the roles the Catholic Church assigns to women members as documented; understand some of the challenges women face as members of the Church and the roles they play in enhancing the Gospel; and finally attempt to provide some recommendations in response to some of the challenges identified.

Changing Motivations for Woman-to-Woman Marriages among the Nandi of Kenya

In Africa, marriage was only seen to be complete if there were offspring and for that matter, male offspring. In cases of childlessness or bearing of only girls, woman-to-woman marriages were explored as an alternative to siring of a male offspring. An elderly childless lady or one bearing only girl children would marry a young girl who for one reason or another would be able to get offspring to inherit the name and the property of the older woman. However, in the present situation the practice of woman-to-woman marriage is facing various challenges, health, legal, economic, social and religious implications. In this paper we will look at the past and present status of the practice and then give a summary of the practice in the African continent in general, in Kenya and within the Nandi community in Nandi in particular. We will show how this practice was done in the past as discussed by the ethnographies and we will show some of the changes that have come up in the modern context. We will also use two modern case studies to highlight the challenges that this practice is facing in the modern situation. We will specifically discuss the challenge that this poses to the church and how the church can respond to it. In the end we will provide some theological guidelines to the church even as they provide guidance for the adherents who are faced with challenges on this matter

The Role of the Church in the Transformation of ‘No Sex Before Marriage’ Social Norm in Tanzania: From Shameful to Responsible Sex

Social norms comprise of “the rules and standards that are understood by members of a group, and that guide and/or constrain social behaviour without the force of laws. Social norms are the public rules of action and thought, acting as the backbone of societal habits, routines, and customs, and legal frames. In African settings, influence is organized mostly along with the gender, age, and religious structures. Religious people play the spiritual and advisory roles in the sexual activities of the adolescents. The standing norm drawn from the religious and social beliefs is “no sex before marriage.” In the communities where the research was done, sex was traditionally linked to marriage. Today more than ever, the Church is currently confronted with a divergence of opinion about sexual relationships and marriage. The reality of our society is the question as to whether the traditional understanding of marriage is still relevant as far as facilitating the believers to make meaningful and responsible choices. The intention of this paper is not to dismiss or under-value the institution of marriage, but rather to re-negotiate the structure of sexual matters in our modern society. The paper works with the concept of social norms in order to shed more light on the role of the Church in the transformation of social norms. Using a thematic analysis on a hypothetical case of a pregnancy of an adolescent in a community, data was interrogated with a series of questions for measuring norms, namely: who the reference group is, what is typical in the group, what is approved of in the group, and whether or not the social norm is conjoint or disjoint.

Sexual Harassment, Abuse and Healing in East Africa.

Sexual harassment is a serious problem in East Africa. Sexual harassment can occur where one person uses a position of authority to compel another person to engage in an otherwise unwanted sexual activity. Sexual harassment leaves inner wounds in a person that affect negatively their psychological and spiritual lives. In the context of Africa, often it is women who are the targets of sexual harassment but not always. This paper addresses one of the most pernicious violations of that trust. Not only in East Africa, but globally, children are traumatized by sexual abuse, harassment, and discriminatory behaviour at the hands of those on whom they rely for their well-being. In my ministry of teaching, giving motivational seminars and advising secondary school girls and boys in academic issues and in their process of growth through adolescent period, I personally have come across many similar cases. It provoked me to think about the problem. Therefore, in this paper I intend to address some of the issues of sexual harassment, give a brief explanation of what these experiences are, bring to awareness some of the causes, explore their impact on growth and development and propose some ways of enabling such victims to seek healing and integration

African Transition Rituals Celebrating Gender and Human Sexuality: Implications for African Christian Theology

Transition rituals are prominent practices among African traditional communities. Among the Gusii community of western Kenya the ritual is performed for both boys and girls. The boys are taken through circumcision while girls go through clitoridectomy. The ritual for girls is widely criticized and opposed by among others the Christian Church. The ritual for girls is resisted on several grounds, but it still persists. The question which many have asked is, why this persistence? This paper raises a number of arguments among them being that; in Africa, gender and human sexuality are celebrated through painful rituals. Men and women are made rather than born. In this discussion, I argue that opposition to clitoridectomy is ill informed, because it is the element of the pain that accompanies the ritual that is the reason why the ritual persists. The paper draws equivalents between the Gusii traditional transition ritual with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, namely that from a theological perspective, the rituals should be perceived constructively as preparatory for Christian evangelization as they point to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is suggested that the Church should view the rituals constructively instead of opposing them. This situation, among other factors, has over the years rendered ineffective the Church’s efforts at evangelization not only in Gusii community but also in other African communities where this ritual is upheld

Why Acholi Traditional War Rituals Cannot Reintegrate Female Lord’s Resistance Army Combatants: A Case Study of Kwero Merok War Ritual

The Acholi are Nilotic Negroes who are part of the Lwo speaking people who migrated from Bahr-el Ghazal in the Sudan about 1600 AD. A section of the Acholi community under the umbrella of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) waged a civil war against the sitting government of Uganda in 1986. LRA rebels abducted numerous children from Acholi-land and the neighbouring Lango community in northern Uganda regardless of their gender. The female returnees, whether they were recruited willingly or otherwise, are believed to have committed atrocities towards their own Acholi people during the period of insurgency. During their re-integration, these women were culturally challenged, not only for the atrocities they were believed to have committed while in the bush, but because of their status as women who violated their gender role status. The Acholi traditional culture does not approve of female combatants and some of the society members hold strong reservations regarding the new status of these women! They argue that the status of these former combatants who took lives of their own kin and kith is incongruent with Acholi perception of women as life givers, carer-givers and protectors! The article cautions that the stigma that the female returnees experience even after going through the different rituals is an indication that they are not fully reintegrated! Acholi traditional culture was in this case selected because it has been a pioneer through its traditional rituals to reintegrate these women in the Northern Ugandan community. However, it was noted in this article that cultural rituals such as kwero merok cannot fully reintegrate LRA female combatants.

Exploring Human Sexuality of the Single Adult in the Church Today: A Reflection of Single Women.

The family is an institution on which a nation is built. Where there are strong family structures, there are strong nations. This paper deals with a social sift whereby more and more adults are choosing not to marry and keep families but instead are opting to remain single. The discussion in this paper alleges that the needs of the single man or woman in the church are not taken care of. Consider for instance, that church programmes cater for the needs of children very well. The needs of the youth are meticulously catered for. Married people are served in elaborate family-life programmes and in a similar version, widows are provided for by religious and economic empowerment associations. But when it comes to the needs of the single adult, no provision is made to address exceptional needs such as management of sexual needs within that category. Bible writers specifically address other categories in the church, not so the single adult, man or woman. The church teaches the single adult to keep one’s sexual drive under wraps until marriage. The teaching regulates engagement in sex before marriage and out of marriage assuming that the person will eventually marry. This paper emphasizes the impact singlehood is posing to the people in the church including the life of the church today.