BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
“For Africans, the whole of existence is a religious phenomenon; man is a
deeply religious being living in a religious universe.”^3
Therefore when the African converts to Christianity it becomes his/her
life style. It is not easy to distinguish the secular and the spiritual and
the fact that a human being is a psychosomatic unit is very clear.
Mbiti explains how Christianity was brought to the African soil but la-
ments that “along the way it has been wrapped up with many layers of
cultures and histories and many layers of theologies and traditions.
These layers have both riches and weaknesses in them.”^4 He however
argues that “African religion has prepared the religious and spiritual
ground for many of its adherents to listen carefully to the teachings of
the Bible, to reflect seriously upon them, to find a high degree of credi-
bility in them, to discover meaningfully parallels between their world
and the world of the Bible, and in many cases to convert to the Christian
faith without feeling a sense of spiritual loss but to the contrary thereby
gaining a new outreach on their religious experience.”^5 He continues to
tell us about the role of the Bible and asserts:
Now that (the Bible) is available in whole or in part, in both African and
former colonial languages, it is exerting a tremendous impact on the reli-
gious scene in Africa. It is a major contribution to the spreading of Chris-
tian faith and in the building up of Christian presence and communities.
He adds that
African Christians use the Bible both in daily life and in the practical life of
the church as well as in academic reflection on theological issues in the light
of scriptures, the Bible links us with one another across the continent...At
the same time we belong to history and history is not static – so we are in
the process of change in which we are both active and passive. African
Christianity is being formed within this framework of change.^6
As Africans read or hear the bible read to them in their own languages
they see a confirmation of their own cultural, social and religious life in
the life and history of the Jewish people. They identify themselves with
the experiences in the Bible. They even see their colonization and libera-
tion in the Jewish life. They relive the exodus experience. They then start
(^3) Mbiti, African Religions and Philosophy, Nairobi: East African Educational Publ., 1969, p
15.
(^4) Mbiti, Bible and Theology in African Christianity, p 7.
(^5) Mbiti, Bible and Theology in Africa Christianity, p 11.
(^6) Mbiti, Bible and Theology in African Christianity, p 12.