Abstract
The eight articles published in this issue of the International Bulletin of Mission Research, as well as seven additional articles to appear in the April 2022 issue, are fruits of the African Theological Advance, a research initiative funded by the Templeton Religion Trust and administered by the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The initiative provided funding and support for two-year research and curricular development projects to African Christian scholars, in theology and other disciplines, working in theological seminaries or universities with postgraduate theology programs. All projects addressed gospel-and-culture issues in Africa by drawing on interdisciplinary methods and insights.
The initiative called on researchers to focus on one of the following four areas: African spirituality and values; science and religion, particularly in the area of health and healing; religious innovation and competition; and forgiveness, peacemaking, and reconciliation. The reader will note the four topical areas in the articles published here.
Conceptually and methodologically, the research initiative sought to foster fruitful cross-fertilization between social scientists, religious studies experts, and theologians. Programmatically, this cross-fertilization took place during a weeklong workshop in March 2019 in Pretoria, South Africa, where the researchers brought progress reports of their work, and then during a weeklong culminating conference, held in March 2020 in Kigali, Rwanda, with the presentations of research findings. In Pretoria and in Kigali, the teams of researchers, who were from southern, eastern, and western Africa, enjoyed rich opportunities for interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration.
Fifteen papers were presented during the Kigali conference, which was attended by all grant recipients, mentors, research directors, selection committee members, and invited keynote speakers. All papers benefited from feedback, comments, and suggestions from conference participants. Sustained interaction across disciplines and different regions of Africa enhanced the quality of the research projects and the final products. The eight articles appearing in this issue are as follows:
Charles Nkomo, Waiting for the Moon, 2018, 24″ x 36″ acrylic on canvas. Used with permission of the artist. To view this and other color paintings by Nkomo, go online to www.marymartinart.com/charlesnkomo.html. A Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity partner, Nkomo finds fulfillment as an abstract expressionist. He was born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city, near Matobo National Park. “My artwork celebrates the daily life of the people living in my country,” he says, “while others are simply timeless abstracts.”
African spirituality and values
“Language, Literature, Prayer, and Music Repertoires as Sources of African Christian Spirituality and Values,” by Rose Mary Amenga-Etego, Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, Ngozi Emeka-Nwobia, Paul Onovoh, and Sara Fretheim.
“The Relationship between Human Flourishing and Religious Support in Ethiopian Evangelical Churches,” by Lidetu Alemu Kefenie, Seblewengel Daniel Woldegiorgis, Misgana Mathewos Detago, and Bekele Deboch Anshiso.
Science and religion
“African Christianity and the Intersection of Faith, Traditional, and Biomedical Healing,” by Bernard Boyo, Michael Bowen, Scholastica Kariuki-Githinji, and James Kombo.
“Christian Medical Mission from the Perspective of Batswana Faith Healers,” by Lovemore Togarasei, Lesego Gabaitiri, Rebecca Kubanji, Tshenolo Jennifer Madigele, Sana K. Mmolai, Tinoonga Shanduka, Abel Tabalaka, and Amon Marwiro.
“Health and Integrative Wellness: Mapping Wellness and Its Cultural Psychology in Contemporary Africa,” by Matthew Michael, Nathan Chiroma, and Hauwa’u Evelyn Yusuf.
Religious innovation and competition
“Language Practices as Religious Innovation: The Case of Pentecostal Charismatic Churches in Xenophobic Contexts,” by Ignatius Swart, Elina Hankela, and Henrietta Nyamnjoh.
“Innovation or Competition? A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Divine Healing Practices of Pentecostal Africans in Africa and the Diaspora,” by Robert Kuloba Wabyanga, Henrietta Nyamnjoh, and Abel Ugba.
Forgiveness, peacemaking, and reconciliation
“The Churches, Gukurahundi, and Forgiveness in Zimbabwe,” by Ezra Chitando and the late Nisbert T. Taringa.
The research that produced these outstanding articles offers insights useful for scholars of religion and for theological educators in Africa and beyond.
Footnotes
Funding
The research project received a grant from the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, which was funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, Nassau, Bahamas.
Author biography