Theology, Culture and Sustainable Development in Africa

En face des dangers de la globalisation qui menacent les cultures et les peuples et en raison de son accent sur la dignité humaine, cet article présente la Théologie comme un outil véritable pour la préservation de l\u27identité culturelle. En utilisant des termes de développement, ce travail critique la toile de fond anthropologique et philosophique du développement comme une simple croissance économique. Il suggère en outre une structure de développement intégral qui s\u27intéresse à l\u27échelle de valeur afin de fournir des plans répétitifs pour le bien du développement de la personne humaine. Il examine aussi son implication pour le développement intégral en Afrique

The Church in Africa: Salt of the Earth?

This book is an attempt at a critical, constructive, and creative theological praxis of social transformation in Africa. The authors apply a multi-disciplinary approach to examining how Christianity in Africa is engaging the problems of Africa\u27s challenging social context. This is a prophetic work that applies the symbols of salt and light as ecclesiological images for reenvisioning the path towards procuring abundant life for God\u27s people in the African continent through the agency of African Christianity. The contributors to this volume ask these fundamental questions: What is the face of Jesus in African Christianity? What is the face and identity of the Church in Africa? How can one evaluate the relevance of the Church in Africa to African Christians who enthusiastically embrace and celebrate their Christian faith? In other words, what positive imprint is Christianity leaving on the lives and societies of African Christians? Does the Christian message have the potential of positively affecting African civilization as it once did in Europe? What is the relevance and place of African Christianity as a significant voice in shaping both the future of Africa and that of world Christianity

Globalization and African Catholicism: Towards a New Era of Evangelization

This paper argues that evangelization takes place within the context of globalization, the phenomenon that integrates the economic, cultural, social, political and religious dimensions of human existence towards improved standard of living for humanity. While acknowledging the potential dangers of globalization, especially the expanding income disparity, marginalization, secularization, consumerism, the tendency towards monoculturalism and imperialism, the author advocates daily personal encounter with the person of Jesus as the springboard of Christian spirituality. This paper concentrates on the impact of globalization on African Catholicism’s appropriation of Pope Francis’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium for a new evangelization and recommends important changes in African Catholicism’s way of being Church

The Prospect of Humanising Development Discourse in Africa through Christian Anthropology

The invention of development as public discourse began with US President Truman’s 1949 speech that trumped up an illusion of global material prosperity based on a total restructuring of the ‘developing’ world on the model of development and material achievement of the West. Truman argued that this painful process was the only recipe for world prosperity. After decades of serious engagement on development discourse and multiple implementations of successive theories, the situation of the developing countries has not improved as rapidly as expected. At the same time, the developed countries are experiencing various forms of financial crises. This article acknowledges the professionalisation of development discourse, and proposes humanising development discourse in Africa in the light of Christian anthropology. This vision of integral development promotes the common good on the basis of God’s love and respect for the uniqueness of the human person