Developing a Christian Apologetics Based On the African Christological Themes Edward Wekesa Wanyonyi Kibabii University 9.1 Abstract In the Researcher’s view, Africa is no longer a dark continent characterized by people who are physically and spiritually obscure and that therefore nothing good could come out of her. As it were, the imagination of the westerners conspired with ignorance and prejudice to an understanding that gives Africa a false image on the religious global platform. On the contrary, Africa should and is capable of developing her own Christology and soteriology that appeal and endorses the religious curiosity of her people. African Christianity has the right to answer the question posed by Jesus in the scripture based on her own understanding of who Christ really is in the African world view. Therefore in this paper, the researcher is poised to provide an apologia to the text in (Mark 8:27-29) based on the African Christological themes. “Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets" "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ." (Mark 8:27-31 NIV). To the African Christians, Jesus is the Savior, but yet pictured in several ways as provided for in different communities. In essence Jesus Christ is to be defined and propagated based on his role in meeting diverse needs in the African society. In addition, this paper is an attempt to pursue the continuous African response to the quest for a renewed understanding that seeks to revive the old age African interaction of the gospel as perpetuated by the first and second century apostolic fathers. It seeks to continue the rich African Christian heritage and legacy as founded by key Apologists of African origin such as Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen. In addition as indicated by O’Donovan, “the historical fact is that Christianity came to Africa before it came to Europe and North America. This can be seen in the story of the Ethiopian official in Acts 8:27-39.” (2009, 5).The paper subsequently examines the different themes ascribed to Christ and how these themes can provide A Christological Apologia in the African context. The paper discusses how Jesus fits into the African perception of Christ as the Great Ancestor, priest or Prophet and Mediator cum intermediary. He is also perceived as Chief/ King, Redeemer or deliverer and Liberator. Key words: Christological themes, Apologia, soteriology, African Christianity, Ancestor, Salvific. 9.2 Introduction Africa, a continent that is just re-organizing her- self and healing from the post-colonial effects, is experiencing enormous challenges. The problem of refugees, hunger and disease, political instability and in some countries dictatorship forms a strong base for their belief and trust in the divine. In addition, Africa is indeed a mother of all religious groupings as Mbiti has said “Africans are notoriously religious, and each people has its own religious system with a set of beliefs and practices. Religion permeates into all the departments of life so fully that it is not easy or possible always to isolate it.” (Mbiti, 1969, 1) Therefore based on this truth, Africa stands vulnerable to all sought of religious abuses as expressed in the many interested religious groups represented by among others, African indigenous religions, Islam, Hinduism, and a wide variety of countless Christian sects. Such experiences do form the basis for developing an apologetic response to her view of Christ. In essence, the emphasis that Jesus Christ is accorded should show one whose solidarity with the people is unquestionable. He should be one that identifies with those people who suffer, who are oppressed, who are hungry, and who are weak and yet provide an answer to the many distortions in the orthodox Christianity as seen in her religious experiences. 9.3 Background information McGrath, in his book ‘Bridge Building’ defines Christian apologetics as “…an apologia for the Christian faith- a presentation and defence of its claims to truth and relevance in the great market- place of ideas.”(1992, 9), and as Dyrness says, “The need to defend Christianity against its accusers is as great today as at any other time in its history. On every hand one hears complains of secularism and tales of the great success of cults and new faiths. Such dangers continue to make apologetics necessary.” (1983, 12) Therefore based on this truth, an attempt from an African view to answer the question “Who is Jesus?” as in (Mark 8:27-29), is an attempt to form a thesis of an African Christology and interpretation. This paper is based on biblical teachings a bout Christ and the cultural relevancy from an African perspective as revealed through Christological themes of her cultures. It is based on the understanding that Africa has every right to formulate her own Christology and response to who Christ is but yet her interpretation of who he is should not be one that undermines who he really is in the orthodox faith. Schreiter in answer to the question as who Jesus is and should be to the African people says; If Peter understood Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah of the Contemporary Jewish thought, the African response to the above question must reflect African consciousness. The efforts by forces of colonialism to exterminate and suppress the African religious consciousness have not succeeded, and today African people are asserting their own experience of God and their own reflection of how that God relates to them. In African religious tradition, God relates to people in concrete, experiential, and practical terms rather than in mystical and spiritual manner (Schreiter, 1991, 56). In the same light, the Ghanaian protestant clergyman Emmanuel Martey, as quoted by Stinton, echoes the same sentiments as he pointed to the same Christological question that Jesus stressed to his disciples in Mark 8: who others and then who they themselves thought he was. John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets, as well as Messiah- was all derived from Judaism. His disciples used their religious understanding and experience to answer the reality of Jesus. So what African theologians are arguing is that in answering the Christological question, one cannot ignore one’s previous religious understanding and experience. That’s why some of us go back into African traditional religion and African culture, to see what symbols are there, which will help us to understand who Jesus Christ is for the African. (Stinton, 160) It is on this understanding that the researcher intends to critically isolate Christological themes as expressed in the African cultures and way of worship, as a basis of their understanding as to who Jesus Christ is, and in addition make it a point of departure for the Christian apologetics. 9.4 Christological themes in African cultures and their apologetic response As Healey and Donald have said “African tradition and values can indeed broaden, deepen and enrich the universal Christian faith and praxis. At the same time the Christian faith and gospel message challenge and illuminate African culture and traditions” (1996, 27) in the same light, the African Christological themes can form a reliable basis for apologetics in her continent and beyond. And as Archbishop Tutu has said in Kwame Bediako’s book …It is reassuring to know that we have had a genuine knowledge of God and that we have had our own ways of communicating with deity, ways which meant that we were able to speak authentically as ourselves and not as pale imitations of others. It means that we have a great store from which we can fashion new ways of speaking to and about God, and new styles of worship consistent with our new faith. (Bediako, 1999, 2) Understanding the Christological themes in African perspective towards the aspect of ‘Jesus of Africa’ is key in pursuit to answering the great question of “who is Jesus?” The African perspective as revealed in different phases will give several answers. In Africa, Jesus is seen and believed among many as the healer, Liberator, Redeemer/Saviour, Chief/king, the great ancestor, Mediator/ intermediary and prophet/priest, among others. As Robert J. Schreiter says; The concept[s] of Christology of such traditional African Christians are practical, dynamic, living and basically based on real-life experience, and a comprehensive African notion of religion and of God taking off faithfully from the gospel message and African culture and notion of man…their concepts of Christology revolve around genealogy, rites of passage - birth, baptism, Eucharist, and death; kinship and community aspects; such titles as mediators, redeemer , saviour, liberator and healer are pregnant with meaning for these indigenous African Christians. (1991, 62) This paper shall critically look at each of these aspects as clearly seen and understood in Africa. However this is done with an understanding that Jesus is more than all the perspectives presented in the understanding of who He really is in this African view. Just like what C.F.D Moule as quoted by Diane B. Stinton says; Just as, in the new testament period, Christ was recognized, indeed, in terms of various familiar categories and yet each time proved to be too big for that category and burst out of it in startling ways, so one might deduce, by extrapolation from this, that he would continue to confront each generation in the same way –familiar, yet startling, recognizable yet always transcending recognition, always ahead, as well as abreast: the ultimate from whom each generation is equidistant.