BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
broader understanding of the people’s culture. It is also important to
realize that the Holy Spirit that has been at work since creation still
works in all people’s cultures today. In an attempt to capture the creative
agency of how indigenous Africans transact with the Bible, I share Ge-
rald West’s (2004:2) view that, whether literate or not they hear, remem-
ber and retell and even remake biblical themes in their contest for politi-
cal space. The Bible, written centuries ago, can still speak to our present
life situation. The relationship between humanity and creation follows
from the blessing of God and the command to subdue the earth and rule
over every living creature (Gen.1.28).More so,the Bible has become deci-
sively political, because as never before it deals with divinely power and
the direction in which politics develops (Branson, 1983:83). This has
become more evident that the impact of all our factors of life in Africa
such as economic, political, and morals do affect human life and all
Christians as individuals. Most African countries and some nation states
of the West have accordingly found it possible to blend the scripture and
politics. The great ethical challenge in the life of an individual African
Christian is that there is no individual prospect except as incorporated in
social and cultural structures of the day in which he or she lives. The
Bible provides us with the ethical responsibilities in dealing with politi-
cal issues. According to Patrick Kalilombe (1995:421-435), the Bible is
the basic tool for human liberation as it strongly condemns those who
use positions of power or privilege to take advantage of the poor, the
marginalized, or the powerless. No doubt this is a political act which is
clearly sanctioned from the Bible as in Col 3:11. His view is also shared
by the Ecumenical Association for African Theologians in one of its
inaugural declaration which states that:
The Bible is the basic source of African theology, because it is the primary
witness of Gods revelation in Jesus Christ. No theology can retain its Chris-
tian identity apart from scripture... Through a re-reading of the scripture in
the social context of our struggle for our humanity, God speaks to us in the
midst of our troublesome situation and the Bible serves the purpose of lib-
eration (Final Communiqué: Pan–African Conference of Third World Theo-
logians, Dec 17-23, 1977).
The role of the Bible in African politics is however ambiguous as Mest-
ers has reminded us it can be a force for liberation or a force for oppres-
sion. He warns that if it is treated as a finished document, that must be
taken literally as it is, then it will be an oppressive document (Mesters
1983:124). In the past the Bible has often been invoked in such a way as