Creation in the Image of God: Human Uniqueness from the Akan Religious Anthropology to the Renewal of Christian Anthropology Eric Baffoe Antwi
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Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 1-1-2016 Creation in the Image of God: Human Uniqueness From the Akan Religious Anthropology to the Renewal of Christian Anthropology Eric Baffoe Antwi Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Antwi, E. (2016). Creation in the Image of God: Human Uniqueness From the Akan Religious Anthropology to the Renewal of Christian Anthropology (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1509 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. CREATION IN THE IMAGE OF GOD: HUMAN UNIQUENESS FROM THE AKAN RELIGIOUS ANTHROPOLOGY TO THE RENEWAL OF CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Rev. Eric Baffoe Antwi May 2016 Copyright by Rev. Eric Baffoe Antwi 2016 CREATION IN THE IMAGE OF GOD: HUMAN UNIQUENESS FROM THE AKAN RELIGIOUS ANTHROPOLOGY TO THE RENEWAL OF CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY By Rev. Eric Baffoe Antwi Approved February 10, 2016 ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. Elochukwu E. Uzukwu, C.S.Sp Dr. Gerald Boodoo Professor of Theology Associate Professor of Theology (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Dr. Maureen R. O’Brien Associate Professor of Theology (Committee Member) ________________________________ ________________________________ Dr. James Swindal, Dean, McAnulty Dr. Maureen R. O’Brien Graduate School of Liberal Arts Chair, Department of Theology Professor of Philosophy Associate Professor of Theology iii ABSTRACT CREATION IN THE IMAGE OF GOD: HUMAN UNIQUENESS FROM THE AKAN RELIGIOUS ANTHROPOLOGY TO THE RENEWAL OF CHRISTIAN ANTHROPOLOGY By Rev. Eric Baffoe Antwi May 2016 Dissertation supervised by Dr. Elochukwu E. Uzukwu, C.S.Sp The Judeo-Christian belief, based on the bible, is that “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1: 27). This dissertation explores the Akan understanding of the human person to shed further light on creation of human beings in the image of God and to understand and demonstrate the corresponding uniqueness of the human being among God’s creatures.With the help of the Akan context, we note that every human being possesses a spark of God. God, who is relational, shares relationality with human beings. Through the use of Akan anthropology, we identify creation “in the image of God” to mean that every human being is created through the agency of parents, who also share in the image of God through their birth. Our interpretation is that the okra is the soul and is consideredthe “spark of God” in the human being. The honhom, which refers iv to the breath of life, is treated as the breath that God breathed into human beings to make a human a living being (Gen 2:7). We equated the breath of God with the Holy Spirit who gives life. We propose to demonstrate the possibility of human relationships through the Holy Spirit. At the moment of conception, every human being derives some elements from his/her father and mother and elements from God. These elements from the three sources (God, mother, and father) combine to make a person a human being. Though humanity derives certain elements from the three sources, it is the holistic person that reflects God’s image in the sense that through the various elements humanity is able to relate and communicate with God, neighbor, and the world. The holistic human person enables us to clarify that humanity is both physical and spiritual. With the help of the Akan anthropology, we successfully show that knowledge of the human being starts with the relationship between God and human beings, which extends to other humans and the universe, thus offering a further insight into the meaning of being created in the image of God. Our conclusion is that when a Christian is asked the question, “What exactly in the human being points to the image of God?” he/she will be able to respond that there is a “spark” of God in every human being. We therefore renew Christian anthropology through the method of contextualization with the Akan culture to disclose the hidden presence of God in the human being. We demonstrate that theology functions exactly as the manner in which religion makes sense within a given culture. As the people in the culture understand their world and make meaning of it, they can also share their insight with others. Human beings have become a source of theology in addition to scripture and v tradition. Human beings are created in God’s image and are relational and unique within God’s creation. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This dissertation would not have been successful without the prayers and support of family, friends and parishioners. I am especially indebted to Father William A. Anderson, D. Min., Ph.D., Sister Anne Francis Bartus, CSJ, D. Min., Most Reverend Joseph Osei-Bonsu (Bishop of Konongo-Mampong Catholic Diocese, Ashanti, Ghana) and Most Reverend Michael J. Bransfield (Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston Catholic Diocese, West Virginia, U.S.A). I am also grateful to my mentor, Dr. Elochukwu E. Uzukwu C.S.Sp., for his helpful guidance and encouragement, which have been a major driving force through my graduate studies at Duquesne University. My sincere gratitude goes to Dr. Maureen R. O’Brien and Dr. Gerald Boodoo, members of my dissertation committee. Finally, I am indebted to Dr. Carlos Brossard, Dr. Marie Baird and the professors at Duquesne University who not only showed great dedication in making themselves readily available for consultation whenever needed, but also have always encouraged me throughout my graduate studies. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………….......iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………............…vii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………….......viii INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….............1 0.1 The Problem……………………………………………………………………….............1 0.2 The Scope and Methodology……………………………………………………….......... 4 0.3 The Value of the Study……………………………………………………………...........8 0.4 The Structure of the Dissertation…………………………………………………............9 1. THE AKAN PEOPLE OF GHANA: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT: THE COSMOLOGY, BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF AKAN 1.1 An overview of Ghana and its people…………………………………………….. 15 1.2 A Short History of Ghana…………………………………………………………. 17 1.3 Modern Trend of Ghana’s Political History……………………………………......24 1.4 Ethnic Groups and Languages in Ghana……………………………………………25 1.5 The Akan People……………………………………………………………………30 1.6 Family Relations………………………………………………………………….. .33 1.7 The General Description of the Akan Language Group……………………………34 1.8 The Migration of the Akan and its Linguistic Impact………………………………37 1.9 The Akan Cosmology…………………………………………………………….....41 1.9.1 God has left the Earth and Retired into Heaven…………………………………..42 1.9.2 Deities, Spirits, and Ancestors are God’s Media………………………………….44 1.9.3 Names and Attributes of God……………………………………………………..49 1.9.4 Prayer……………………………………………………………………………...52 1.10 Religions in Ghana…………………………………………………………………54 1.11 The Akan Theory of the Conception of the Human person………………………. 57 1.12 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….61 viii 2. THE AKAN ANTHROPOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY 2.1 The Akan Anthropology: The Composition of the Human Person………………….65 2.1.1 Okra as a Life-Force…………………………………………………………….... 67 2.1.2 Okraas Double…………………………………………………………………….68 2.1.3 Okra as Operational during Sleep………………………………………………… 71 2.1.4 Only Human Beings Possess Okra……………………………………………….. 73 2.1.5 Okra as an Object of Worship………………………………………………….….74 2.2 Sunsum……………………………………………………………………………... 76 2.2.1 Sunsum as Okra……………………………………………………………….........76 2.2.2 Sunsum as Divine………………………………………………………………… 77 2.2.3 Sunsum as the Basis of Character………………………………………………… 79 2.2.4 Sunsum as a Shade or Shadow……………………………………………………. 79 2.2.5 Sunsum as Strong or Weak……………………………………………………….. 80 2.2.6 Sunsum as Earthly………………………………………………………………… 80 2.2.7 Sunsum as Pre-existent……………………………………………………………..81 2.2.8 Sunsum as Ntoro………………………………………………………………...…81 2.3 Ntoro…………………………………………………………………………….....83 2.4 Honhom…………………………………………………………………………….87 2.5 Saman………………………………………………………………………………87 2.6 Sasa………………………………………………………………………………...88 2.7Mogya………………………………………………………………………………...88 2.8 Summary of the Akan Understanding of the Human Person………………………88 2.9 Some Akan Philosophers and their views on Human Constitution………………….90 2.10 Views of Some Neighbors of Akan on the Human Constitution…………………...98 2.10.1 The Ga…………………………………………………………………………….98 2.10.2 The Ewe…………………………………………………………………………..99 2.10.3 The Yoruba……………………………………………………………………...101 ix 2.10.4 The Kotoko……………………………………………………………………...102 2.11 The Human Person and Community………………………………………………105 2.12 The Hebrew View of the Human Person………………………………………….112 2.12.1 Rûah (Ruach)……………………………………………………………………112 2.12.2 Nephesh (Nepeš)………………………………………………………………...113 2.13 The Role of Bible Translators in Akan Understanding of the Human Person…….114 2.14 The Power of Translatability of the Christian Message (Bible-Theological Terms)…………………………………………………………………………….116 2.14.1 Colonialism…………………………………………………………………......121