VOICES OF INCULTURATION IN AFRICA
IN THE PAST, IN THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
Keywords:
INCULTURATION IN AFRICA, Mission TerritoriesAbstract
When one speaks of inculturation, the mind would ordinarily race to
the “mission territories” where people want to be rooted in their
cultures but desire to be Christians as well. At one level, this is wrong
because the Christian life itself is inculturation: Christian faith
requires continuous movement to a better relationship with Christ. At
another level, inculturation is needed more in those places where
Christianity is still young; where the language, symbols and gestures
of Christianity are unfamiliar to its adherents. Africa is one such
place. It is the desire to remain fully African and fully Christian that
makes inculturation a privileged discussion in African Christian life.
When one looks carefully at the joy and hopes, pains and anxieties of
life of faith in Africa, one would see a domineering concern about
inculturation. Inculturation gets attention because many pastors are
ever desirous to explain the gospel in a manner that makes sense to
the mind and heart of people in Africa. The anxiety comes, not on
whether there is a need for inculturation, but on how to proceed
about it. This paper sets out to examine the experiences of the African
Christians in their efforts to remain authentically African and truly
Christian through inculturation efforts. I call those efforts ‘voices’
because at one time, one hears dissent, at another affirmation; at one
moment, off notes, at another harmony. To capture the high, low and
level waves that those voices produce, I have opted for a historical
narrative of the efforts of inculturation in Africa. What is encouraging
is that when one interprets the Christian life in Africa through its
inculturation efforts, one has a high hope that the desires of the
pastors are genuine and are actually addressed. The hope is based on
outstanding results already on the ground, the current enthusiasm
and vitality with which Africans discuss inculturation and a clear
vision for the future. One can only wait, pray and work for a deeper
incarnation of Jesus in African soil, attitude and mentality.
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