Doctoral Degrees (Biblical & Historical Studies, Theological Studies & Ethics)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/7263

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African sacral rule and the Christian church : an investigation into a process of change and continuity in the encounter between Christianity and African tradition, with particular reference to Cameroon and Ghana.
(2003) Fossouo, Pascal.; Bediako, Kwame.
This investigation into a process of transformation was intended to explore the institution of African sacral rule in its relation to the Christian church and to provide a theological model, which could be used to establish a new mission field. The bulk of the work has been conducted through anthropological and historical methods crossing international boundaries and cultures within both sacral rule and the Christian church in Africa. The specific case studies have been the sacral rule of Grassfields people in Cameroon and the Akan in Ghana with focus on the Basel Mission and resulting churches. On the one hand, this comparative approach brought to light in-depth knowledge of the sacral ruler's encounter with the institution of the Christian church and its representatives. On the other hand, the investigation shows that with some preconceived ideas of sacral rule inherited from the missionaries who had established themselves in deliberate rejection of the existing system of government and the people involved, the African church leaders were put at a disadvantage. However, it has been demonstrated that in the process of struggle for survival and change, each institution has been partially assimilated by the· other. Those who have helped these two institutions to deepen their relationship through a genuine dialogue are outstanding Christians who occupied the position of sacral rulers in both Cameroon and Ghana. They have provided historical material on which an understanding of the cultural changes within sacral rule as well as the Christian church was based. The previous religious experience and knowledge of the sacral rulers are invariably used as a frame of reference for their understanding and interpretation of the Bible and their relationship with Christ.
Christianity as vernacular religion : a study in the theological significance of mother tongue apprehension of the Christian faith in West Africa with reference to the works of Ephraim Amu (1899-1995)
(2006) Laryea, Philip Tetteh.; Bediako, Kwame.
Ephraim Amu is a distinguished musician. He is well known for his advocacy on African tradition and culture. Amu's pride in the African personality has earned him a place in Ghana's hall of fame. It was in recognition of these achievements that his portrait was embossed on Ghana's highest currency, the Twenty Thousand Cedi note. But there is more to the Amu story. In this thesis I have drawn substantially on Amu's own works to demonstrate how, in fact, he is an exemplar of mother tongue apprehension of the Christian faith in Africa. Amu showed in his songs, diaries, sermons, letters, addresses and private papers that the mother tongue, in this case, Ewe and Twi can be used to express not only Christian experience but also to formulate theological ideas in an innovative and creative ways. Amu's credentials as "African statesman" and "a self-conscious nationalist" owe not so much to Pan-African ideologies as his understanding of African culture and tradition from a biblical perspective. Amu believed that the entire universe, including the African cosmos, was created by God from the very beginning as kronkronkron (pure), pepeepe (exact), and fitafitafita (without blemish). He wrestled with the problem of (evil) and how this may have polluted an otherwise unblemished creation. Amu also wrestled with the issue of human participation in God's work of creation and the extent to which humankind may have contributed to the desecration of creation. In spite of the pollution, Amu believed that creation can be redeemed and restored to its original status by cleansing with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. This belief led him to adopt a positive stance towards African culture and tradition. Amu demonstrated this particularly in the use of language. Most of his sermons and notable musical compositions are in Twi or Ewe. He kept a diary in his mother tongue, Ewe, for almost seventy years. Amu demonstrated that by using indigenous African languages it is possible to make a fresh contribution to theological issues and thereby present African Christianity as an authentic expression to God and capable of contributing to world Christianity. Apart from language, Amu believed that other elements in the African tradition could be employed to express the Christian faith. It is in this regard that his contribution to Christian worship, particularly the use of indigenous musical instruments, must be appreciated. Amu's realisation, that "There are deep truths underlying our indigenous religions, truths which are dim representations of the great Christian truths", led him to deal with the perception that
Mission on the margin : a case study on reformed mission prospects in Enkumane, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2010) De Haan, Marinus Jacob.; De Gruchy, Steve M.; Bediako, Kwame.
Since about 1960, a foreign missionary project, the ‘Reformed Mission Enkumane’, has been situated in eNkumane, a rural area on the banks of the uMkhomazi River in KwaZulu-Natal. In order to describe this missionary project and its role in the area, a study was completed of the following three topics: the history of the people in the eNkumane area, the history of three other missionary projects in the vicinity of eNkumane and the history of the Reformed Mission in eNkumane. It was found that some of the inhabitants of eNkumane trace their history back to the northern parts of kwaZulu and Swaziland, from where their ancestors fled during the first half of the 19th century and moved in a south-westerly direction. They resettled at the uMkhomazi, where around the middle of the 19th century, the British Colonial Government started to divide the area and allocate it as commercial farmland. During the second half of the 19th century, the migration of labourers towards industrial centres started to deprive the area of especially the male part of the population for the majority of each year. Out of the migrant labour system several social webs grew which extend into industrial urban areas as far as Durban and Johannesburg. The ongoing drain of especially men and youngsters from the area looking for employment in industrial urban centres is counterbalanced by the return of community members through retirement, sickness or failure to maintain jobs. As a result, whilst the eNkumane can be seen as constituting a marginal area with a residue population, the homesteads also function as nodes in wide social webs. At the time of arrival of the Reformed Mission in the area, three missionary projects had already been undertaken within a diameter of about 40 kilometres around eNkumane since the middle of the 19th century. A common characteristic of these projects was their focus on church, school, clinic and agriculture. Their missionary activities can be seen as a sharing of the Gospel with people in need across cultural barriers. The centre of each missionary project was a Mission Station, which in certain aspects simultaneously functioned as both a refuge and a threat to the surrounding community. At present, the former Mission Stations still comprise small congregations with a maximum of about 200 members. The Reformed Mission Enkumane is a missionary project of a church in The Netherlands, which history is characterized by a number of church schisms that resulted from the struggle for its orthodox identity, especially concerning the independent status of local church congregations. Although the missionary project led to the formation of four local Reformed Churches elsewhere in the southern part of KwaZulu-Natal, in the eNkumane area, the project only really settled in a marginal way through its involvement in funerals, prayer meetings and occasional gatherings. Nonetheless, the project can been seen as a good example of missionary work defined as the activities of a church moving beyond its own boundaries into the margins of God’s Kingdom. It offers a unique opportunity for people from different backgrounds to live, work and worship together.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Biblical & Historical Studies, Theological Studies & Ethics) by Author "Bediako, Kwame."