Christian Tsekpoe - Changing Metaphors in African Theologies скачать в хорошем качестве

Christian Tsekpoe - Changing Metaphors in African Theologies

The incursion of globalization presents both opportunities and challenges for mission in Africa. This is especially visible among the younger generation whose cultural perspectives have been influenced by global digital cultures. Although the youth in Africa are very much aware of their indigenous identities, they also participate actively with their peers elsewhere around the globe. They do not just follow; they are part of virtual communities and contribute to the current global cultural and pop trends. They are neither bound by culture, geography nor ethnicity. As a result of these global interactions, many of the pre-colonial theological metaphors, which have been accepted as authentic grassroots African theologies, seem to have become less meaningful to emerging generations. Analysing contemporary oral sources such as songs, prayers, poetry and everyday conversation among young Africans, this paper argues that there is a seismic shift in theological metaphors that speak meaningfully to the contexts of emerging Africans. The paper argues that many young people in contemporary Ghana, for example, do not see mmoatia (dwarfs) and sasabonsam (forest monster) as symbols of threat; they have new threats. Some young Africans will need to reconstruct their understanding to identify with Jesus as ‘ancestor par excellent’. A theology that describes Jesus as a hunter could be so impotent in the face of contemporary realities of some young people in Ghana, just as Western theologies did in Majority World countries few decades ago.