AFRICAN LIBERATION THEOLOGY
One of the challenges of talking about African Liberation Theology is talking about African theology itself. I say this, because there is a tendency in Western Christianity to believe that Christian theology is Euro-centered, and the failure to acknowledge that the African roots of Christian theology are much, much older than than the emergence of colonial Western Christian theology. Some of the most well-known Christian theologians from the early days of Christianity came from Africa. Among them are Tertullian and Augustine.
African Liberation Theology is not a mere clone of Latin American Liberation Theology. The diverse and rich culture of Africa, in addition to its unique experience of Christianity, represents a fresh challenge to those seeking to understand African notions of liberation (Ferm, op. cit. p. 59).
One of the many reasons why there is reticence and resistance towards African theology in general, and African Liberation Theology in particular, is because of the notion that anything that comes out of Africa is inferior and even bordering on the demonic. The Western theological enterprise is permeated by blatant racism, i.e. that notion that "white is right," and "universally valid in all times and in all places." Therefore, the thinking goes, any theology coming out of the African continent must be "inferior" at best and "demonic" at worst.
As is well known, the Christian Church has existed in Northern Africa since early times. Especially prominent was the Christian community in Alexandria (Egypt) at the time of Clement and Origen in the second and third centuries. Later, in the fifth century, the Coptic Church of Egypt, which still flourishes today, emerged as an Egyptian nationalist movement opposing Byzantine imperialism. But it was not until the fifteenth century, with the arrival of Portuguese explorers, that Africa south of the Sahara came into contact with Western Christian imperialism. By the nineteenth century, Christian missionaries were spreading throughout sub-Saharan Africa, usually joining forces with Western colonial powers in exploiting the inhabitants, their lands and resources, with a "prophet, antilock, we have the truth, you don't" attitude. As a result, racism and the aftertaste of slavery have deeply infected relationships between blacks and whites throughout Africa from the first colonial settlements to the present generation (Ferm, op. cit. p. 59).
Thus, although stressing liberation from social, economic, and political oppression like its Latin American obverse, African Liberation Theology is deeply concerned with racial oppression. This component is especially strong in South Africa, where racism in the form of apartheid had been extremely virulent. Both African and North American black theologians have faulted Latin American theologians for failing to take the racial component seriously (Ibid.).
James Cone, the father of African-American Liberation Theology suggests the following:
The Latin American theologians' emphasis upon the class struggle, with almost no mention of race oppression, made black theologians suspicious of their white European identity (Sergio Torres and John Eagles, eds.; The Challenge of Basic Christian Communities (Maryknoll, N.Y., Orbis Books, 1981, p.266).
The question that I raise is here is whether Cone's question is a valid one. I raise that question because I am not sure that Cone gives as much emphasis to class as he does to race. This is not to say that one is important than the other. This theologian is of the persuasion that if theology is to be truly liberate, that the emphases on class, gender, nationality, orientation, and race must be concomitant, i.e. that they all must be dealt with equally.
Ruvimbo Taker of Zimbabwe note the following:
The fact that the cultures of the Indians and blacks have been ignored seems to indicate why they are absent from the larger participation in Latin American life. The rich cultural attributes of the Indians and the blacks have been ignored by the Church in conformity with the ruling dominant class (Torres and Eagles, op. cit., p. 258)
Once again the issue of race, and also of ethnicity appears to be the dominant theme in the minds of some African theologians as well as in the minds of people like Cone and possibly other African American theologians. Should the issue of race take precedence over all the other issues previously mentioned? This theologian says "Absolutely not!"
John Pobee points out:
With the exception of the Republic of South Africa, racial prejudice is not so bad in Africa as in America...Consequently, African theology, though interested in liberation, is not preoccupied with liberation as much as black theology is (Toward an African Theology. Nashville:Abingdon, 1979, p.39).
In addition, African theologians have in recent years had a far greater appreciation for indigenous religions than have their Latin American counterparts. Even the African churches have begun to show a willingness to incorporate indigenous beliefs and practices into their teachings. This, however, has not always been the case. The early missionaries who came from the First World brought with them a westernized version of Christianity that looked upon the African blacks as heathen and Africa itself as the "empire of Satan." These missionaries were convinced that either the Africans had no religion at all or what religion they had was pagan. In fact, perhaps the most potent factor in the development of independent churches throughout Africa was the failure of mission programs of the established churches to come to terms with the African religious heritage (Ferm, op. cit., p. 60).
Even today, the "indigenization" issue has not failed to generate controversy. On the one hand, the Christian churches would have difficulty coming to terms with certain African customs-for example, polygamy. On the other hand, some theologians, especially in South Africa, have complained that the return to African roots has amounted to a digression from the burning social, racial, and economic issues of the day. Unlike most of their Latin American counterparts, African theologians have been more sharply divided between those who favor indigenization as a way of liberating the oppressed. Indeed, the latter group would not consider the former group to be liberation theologians in the true sense of the term. It is surprising to discover that many African theologians, for whom indigenization is important in liberating African religion from foreign intrusion, are less involved than most South African theologians in the social problems that impede human liberation (Ibid.).
How then shall we begin a discussion of African Liberation Theology? There are no easy answers to this question. In subsequent articles, we will focus on how it functions in South Africa. We will also consider a brief historical sketch of Christianity prior to the emergence of black theology on the 1960's. ( Ibid.).
In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona
Past Visiting Professor of Theology
Tainan Theological College/Seminary
