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MINISTERIUM - Journal of Contextual Theology Published by Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria VOLUME 1 MAIDEN EDITION JUNE, 2014 EDITORIAL BOARD Editor Peter O. Okafor Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria Deputy Editor Vitalis Anaehobi Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria Members Elochukwu E. Uzukwu, C.S.Sp. Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA Gregory Nwachukwu Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria Christopher I. Ejizu University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Paulinus Odozor, C.S.Sp. University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA Uchenna A. Eze Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria Francis Oborji Pontifical Urban University, Rome Editorial Assistants Cletus O. Ekwosi & Fidelis Izuakor Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria Editorial Consultant Peter Damian Akpunonu Villa Mount Carmel, Onitsha, Nigeria EDITORIAL Peter O. Okafor History is at last made. Blessed Iwene Tansi Major Seminary, Onitsha offers the academic world and the reading public the maiden edition of her theological journal titled Ministerium - Journal of Contextual Theology. The brand of theology that she offers is known as contextual theology which is a theology based on the understanding that the context where theology is happening is determinative. This theological perspective thrives on the assumption that a genuine theology is articulated with reference to or dependent on the events, the thought forms, or the culture of its particular place and time. In embarking on this onerous theological project, we believe that there are three main sources of such a theology, namely, scripture, tradition and concrete human experience in a particular culture and society. By focusing on contextualization of theology, this journal offers not only to Africa but to the entire world a forum for a theology that is relevant and up to date according to different contexts. In the first article, The Challenge of Contextual Theology, Peter O. Okafor argues that theology without context is not really a theology. He indicates that even though contextualization has assumed a more prominent place in contemporary theology, it is not to be taken as a new concept for it has always been there in the heart of all genuine theologizing, starting from the biblical times till our day. Considering contextualization as another way of referring to the servant role of theology, he argues that theology today should be rooted in context by modelling the incarnation in its methodology. In this way, contemporary theology would be relevant and thus, able to meet the real needs of both its ecclesial and cultural context. In the second article titled, From War to Dance: Beyond the Metaphor of ‘Holy Ghost Fire,’ Lawrence Nwankwo, argues that as a result of the influence of Pentecostalism, the Holy Spirit has come to be predominantly invoked as fire which is deployed to destroy one’s enemies and so open up the flow of one’s blessings. In consonant with a time honoured dictum, Lex orandi, lex credendi, les Vivendi, Nwankwo holds that how one prays and worships reflects what one believes in and determines how one lives. According to him, an examination of the belief system and the way of life supported by the vision of warfare behind the invocation of ‘Holy Ghost Fire’ shows the need for a shift of emphasis and new framework or root metaphor. In a deft theological master stroke, Nwankwo proposes ‘dance’ as this new metaphor for reflecting on divine action. In this light, he presents the Holy Spirit rather as the thread that weaves and interweaves peoples with one another and with God. In the third article, Development as African Theology Today, Vitalis Anaehobi argues that the history of theology is the history of human problems and man’s effort to solve them relying on what God has revealed about himself and about his creation which has man as its crown. He contends that if man should cease to pay attention to history, he will equally cease to be in true relation with God. To illustrate this, he examines the activities of the missionaries who evangelized the Eastern part of Nigeria. He also studies the teaching of the Fathers of Vatican II. This helped him to discover that they were attentive to the signs of the time in the life of the people to whom the gospel was addressed. Noting that development is the sign of the time for Africa today, Anaehobi argues that no genuine African theologian should avoid focusing on it. Consequently, he proposes development as African theology today. Inculturation of the Christian faith in African cultures and traditions involves the creative integration of authentic cultural values by the Gospel in such a way that faith becomes culture, so that the Church may have deeper roots among the people. In this direction, Christopher Ejizu, in the fourth article, Better Late than Never: The Dialogue of Ofo, Igbo Indigenous Ritual Symbol and the Roman Catholic Faith, calls for a creative dialogue between Ofo, the Igbo indigenous ritual symbol and the Catholic faith. He argues that this dialogue which is long overdue was given a big boost by the favourable position of Vatican II with regard to dialogue with non-Christian Religions and the subsequent favourable disposition towards non-Christian religions which has prevailed in the Universal Church since Vatican II. In the fifth article, Religious Syncretism in Our Rural Church Communities: Problems and Challenges, Paschal-Paul Okeke gives a fascinating account that touches the practice of Christian faith in the context of culture. A recurring thematic in the entire work concerns the many frictions and tensions in the lives of many professed Christians, which result from the tendency to hold on simultaneously to those elements of traditional worldview that are incompatible with Gospel imperatives. The author argues that syncretism has both negative and positive implications. According to Okeke, to come to grips with the negative syncretism and the deep crisis of faith among the Christians today, there is need for authentic inculturation of Christianity as well as the application of the transforming power of dialogue, listening and integral education. For him, the war against syncretism requires a renewed theological and pastoral commitment by both the clergy and the laity, so as to elicit sustainable peaceful growth in the faith. In the last article, The Holy Spirit and the Youth in Africa, the author – Ferdinand Nwaigbo focuses on the ecclesial witnessing of the youth in the Church and human society, a witnessing sustained by the Holy Spirit. Noteworthy is the author’s ability of reading the signs of the time. Consequently, he argues that “today as many young people are distancing themselves from Christ and their Catholic roots, there is a need for youth catechesis in developing a mature and adult faith in an ecclesial community and bearing witness to Jesus, called Christ.” He also makes an important case for adequate training of youth chaplains in higher theological education so as to equip them with sound knowledge and techniques of imparting the Christian doctrines to the youth. Ministerium – Journal of Contextual Theology Vol. 1 (2014) 1-14 THE CHALLENGE OF CONTEXTUAL THEOLOGY Peter O. Okafor Blessed IweneTansi Major Seminary, Onitsha, Nigeria. [email protected] Introduction Theology is commonly defined as “faith seeking understanding” (fides quaerens intellectum). Since what we mean is Christian theology, we can also define it as Christian faith trying to understand the things of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. As Jesus is the Word made flesh, he is God in context, sharing our condition in the human culturally conditioned world. He was a male, a first century Jew, and shared the culture of his own people. In this mystery of the incarnation, he made use of all that is familiar to us, in order to communicate his divine life and grace. This is the way for theology to follow if it is to remain relevant in today’s world. Theology must be contextual. It must speak to man where he is. It must address human questions and concerns in the light of the faith. In this way, theology is no longer simply a study of God but a study of what God says and does in a context. This is because we Christians believe in God who is present and active in each local context – in the face of neighbour and stranger, in the depths of human culture and experience, or in the life we seek to build together. That is why theology ought to be contextual. It is not just a matter of academic analysis, it rather emerges from a life of prayer and practice – in a community that meets God in Word and Sacrament, that listens to the wisdom of Tradition, and that seeks to discern and respond to his presence and action in the world. It is therefore the contention of this article that the challenge of contextual theology is the challenge of relevance. Every genuine theological reflection must show its relevance by engaging consciously the context of its theologizing. 1. Definition of Contextual Theology In his book, Models of Contextual Theology (1992), the American Catholic theologian, Stephen B. Bevans gives a classic definition of contextual theology as: a way of doing theology in which one takes into account the spirit and message of the gospel; the tradition of the Church; 1 Okafor: The Challenge of Contextual Theology the culture in which one is theologizing; and social change within that culture, whether brought about by western technological process or the grass-roots struggle for equality, justice and liberation. Bevans here goes beyond classical or traditional theology by positing three main sources for contextual theology, namely, Scripture, tradition and socio-cultural context in which one is theologizing.

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