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University of Ghana the Mission of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Politics in Ghana

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University of Ghana the Mission of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Politics in Ghana University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF GHANA THE MISSION OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH AND POLITICS IN GHANA BY EMMANUEL KOJO MANU AWUAH (10442754) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (M.PHIL) STUDY OF RELIGIONS DEGREE JULY, 2016 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis with the exception of references made from other scholarly works which have been duly acknowledged, is the original product of the researcher. This work was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Rose Mary Amenga- Etego and Dr. Harry L. K. Agbanu of the Department for the Study of Religions, University of Ghana. No part of this research has been presented in whole or in part to other institutions for any award. The researcher bears responsibility for all errors in this easy. Signature…………………………………. ………………………………. Emmanuel Kojo Manu Awuah Date (Student) Signature………………………………… ………………………………. Dr. Rose Mary Amenga-Etego Date (Supervisor) Signature…………………………………. ………………………………. Dr. Harry L.K. Agbanu Date (Supervisor) i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACTS This thesis deals with the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church and politics in Ghana. Basically three schools of thought have been considered in this research namely sectarianism, “Christendom”, and the “Position of Balance”. The underlying issues that have been considered are: Adventist stances on voting, standing for elections, joining political parties, holding political office, political activism, social causes and political alignment of the Seventh-day Adventist church. This research made use of multiple approaches including historical and missiological approaches to explore the conflict that ensues among Adventists on the subject of politics. Data collection was through primary and secondary sources. It was observed by this research that, the religiosity of individual Ghanaian Adventists influence their behaviour toward public issues. Though Adventists in Ghana have the same creed, they do not have the same point of view. People who turn to be liberal in politics turn to be liberal in religion. On the other hand, those who interpret the bible and the writings of Ellen G. White literally, hold conservatives views in religion and politics. The issue is that the political stand of Adventists in Ghana is not homogenous. This thesis finds that pioneer Adventist had strong aversion for politics as shown in various statements they made against political involvement in the formative years of the church. However, there has been a shift in policies in line with the church’s relationship with the secular world and other churches. As such they accept secular notions that are not in conflict with their dogma. The thesis has established that politics has both perils and opportunities for Christians. There are dangers of compromise of principle and corruption of values when politics becomes all-absorbing. Conversely there are advantages for missionary endeavours for the Adventist church in Ghana. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my wife Christiana Amoakowaa for her forbearance while I wrote this essay. I also dedicate it to my children Kwasi Dankwa Awuah of Valley View University, Yaa Kani Awuah also of V.V.U. and Adwoa Amoakowaa Awuah of Benkum Senior High. Furthermore I dedicate this work also to my mother Yaa Bour, a retired kitchen staff of Bagabaga College of Education, Tamale, and my late grandmother Afua Bour for their investment in me. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My highest gratitude goes to the Transcendent One for the opportunity granted me to add quality to my person through pursuance of higher education. I am happy to acknowledge the generous attention of Dr. Rose Mary Amenga-Etego whose comment and criticism have done much to lessen the imperfections of this work. I am indebted to the Department for the Study of Religion and its Head of Department, Rev. Dr. G. Ossom-Batsa for enabling me in various ways to produce this work. I also want to express my profound gratitude to my wife, Christiana Amoakowaa and my children Kwasi, Yaa, and Adwoa for their support and understanding while I took time to write this thesis. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACTS ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... v CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 BACKGROUND TO STUDY .................................................................................. 1 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................ 5 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....................................................................................... 7 1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH .......................................................... 7 1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY .................................................................................................. 8 1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................ 8 1.7 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 10 1.8 METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION ................................................................. 11 1.8.1 Primary Sources ........................................................................................... 11 1.8.2 Secondary Source ......................................................................................... 13 1.8.3 Limitation ..................................................................................................... 13 1.9 LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................................ 14 1.9.1 Literature Review (History of the S.D.A. Church) ...................................... 15 1.9.2 Literature Review (Ellen G. White Comments of S.D.A. and Politics)....... 17 1.9.3 Literature Review (S.D.A. and Missions) .................................................... 19 1.10 CHAPTER ORGANIZATION ............................................................................. 20 v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 1.11 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ...................................................................... 21 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................ 22 MISSION HISTORY OF S.D.A. CHURCH IN GHANA.................................................. 22 2.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 22 2.2 THE HISTORY OF ADVENTISM ........................................................................ 25 2.3 HISTORY OF ADVENTISM IN GHANA ............................................................ 29 2.3.1 Beginning of the work in Central Region .................................................... 29 2.3.2 The Spread of Adventist Mission to Asante ................................................ 34 2.3.3 Adventism in Greater Accra......................................................................... 38 2.4 SOME MAJOR ADVENTIST BELIEF ................................................................. 40 2.5 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 46 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 49 POLITICS AND THE ADVENTIST MISSION ................................................................ 49 3.1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 49 3.2 POLITICAL ARGUMENTS IN THE FORMATIVE ERA OF THE S.D.A CHURCH ..................................................................................................... 50 3.3 ADVENTIST INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS AND PARTISAN ALIGNMENT ......................................................................................................... 53 3.3.1 Holding of Political Office ........................................................................... 62 3.3.2 Voting ........................................................................................................... 65 3.4 CONTEMPORARY ADVENTIST IN POLITICS ................................................ 69 3.5 ADVENTIST WOMEN AND POLITICS IN GHANA ......................................... 71 3.6 ADVENTIST INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIAL CAUSE ......................................... 78 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.7 THE ADVENTIST AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM .............................................
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