Syncretism
The winds of change that swept through Africa in the sixties brought more than political independence. Christianity became indigenized in a truly astonishing way. Patrick Johnstone in The church is bigger than you think (1998) puts it this way:
'Never before in history has a whole continent seen such a radical change. with Christianity gaining more than 50% of the population in a single century. The spiritual turning to God has, sadly, not impacted the politics of the continent.'
He goes on to chronicle the litany of calamities that have since befallen the continent. He suggests why things have worked out so tragically in spite of the colossal numbers that have accepted the gospel. He observes futher that: 'Some groups have been more syncretistic.'
The main reason the spiritual impact has not been felt in other areas of life is syncretism.
There are numerous examples of syncretism, some outlined below:
- There was 'Chrislam' in Nigeria - an attempt to marry Christianity and Islam.
- There was Bishop Milingo in Zambia who had to be recalled to the Vatican when his healing ministry overstepped the mark by the use of 'animistic ritual and paraphernalia. '
- There was Kimbangu in central Africa who founded the largest independent denomination in Africa - 5 Million in 1984. One researcher found that Kimbangu's name replaces that of the Holy spirit in many Kimbanguists hymns.
- There is what I call 'double think.' This is the tendency by African Christians to hold two or more contradictory world views without any major torment of the soul. This paradigm for instance, allows many African Christians to refuse to countenance voting for someone from a different ethnic group while at the same time espousing the Christian virtue of the equality of all people. A similar dynamic is at play I believe, when Christians are accused of participating in ethnic cleansing if not abetting it.
It seems to me that the way to combat inauthentic world views is by the faithful teaching of God's word. The Philip project is designed to equip the students from Africa with some skills during their time in the UK to correctly and persuasively teach the word of God and then to ease them into a network of like-minded bodies and organisations in their countries of origin where they will use their skills.
Out Of Touch Evangelism
In their book Secularism in Africa Shorter and Onyancha (1997) report :
'In absolute numbers, the unchurched are growing to more than half of the total population (of Nairobi) - around 1.5 million. The figures produced by the Nairobi church survey are a serious indication that urbanisation and church attendance are related and that what happened in the nineteenth century in Europe is happening all over again in Africa'.
What is surprising to the casual observer is that secularism is a problem in Africa. Churches and evangelistic crusades by the likes of Reinhard Bonke, Morris Cerullo and others are packed out. But this is only one side of the story. The other side of the tale is distressing. University and business communities are remarkably secularised. The vast majority of them would never darken the door of a church or a church event. In spite of this, Christians are very largely not equipped to engage the secularised with the gospel. This project targets the secularised by proposing to train students who will on their return to Africa be competent to reach the university and the business community with the gospel.
African Students Do Not Normally Appropriate The Resources Offered By UCCF.
My limited investigation shows that the main reason few students from Africa are to be found in the CUs is predominantly cultural not theological. You finish up with a situation whereby because they are uncomfortable with the CU scene they throw out the baby with the bath water. Crucially the training needed most in Africa is what the African students deny themselves: the faithful handling of God's word in study and in its proclamation. They also deny themselves the skills which the church in the west is acquiring rather late in the day; reaching the secularised with the gospel.
It has been argued, unconvincingly in my opinion, that the west has little to teach the church in Africa. In certain respects that is true; but only in certain respects. The church of Christ has a lot to learn from one another.
Others have argued even less convincingly that training non westerners in the West makes them lose their identity. Under this project, the teaching that the students receive will be Bible based and evangelical; besides the formal component of the training incorporates 'Culture Watching.' The fear of loss of identity is not only unfounded but rather patronising.
Reaching Business And University Communities In Africa.
Targeting the business and university communities means that future and present leaders in Africa will get to hear the gospel. These are the two groups that the current evangelism efforts largely miss out for want of skills to reach them.
Islam is gaining ground in Africa as elsewhere in the world. I want to see the students taking full advantage of the training offered by The CMF through 'Ishmael my brother' conferences. (The Christian Medical Fellowship - CMF - is one of the professional groups within UCCF. For a few years now, they have been publishing 'Isa Masiah' a journal dedicated to helping students face the challenge of Islam. They also run 'Ishmael my brother' conferences for university students. Jay Smith, perhaps the leading Christian apologist in the Islam-Christian debate teaches at those conferences.
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