The Gospel of John, a theological masterpiece, challenges African Christians to embrace the mystery of Christ beyond literalism. Unlike the Synoptics, John mutes Jesus’s humanity, emphasizing His divine “I Am” claims (John 10:30, 36). This non-literal approach aligns with African spirituality’s embrace of transcendence, as Kwame Bediako notes (Bediako, 1995). Yet, John’s text, when taken… Read more »
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“What Would You Carry?” by Ray Schellinger
In February 2020 Ray Schellinger undertook a journey walking with Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. He walked from Palmira to Mondomo, a journey of 100 kilometers, a small section of the 2,000 km trek many refugees take from Colombia and into Peru. We are posting some of Ray’s FB posts from along the way. If you… Read more »
“Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism” by Philip Kakungulu
Literalism has chained the African church to colonial distortions, fueling tensions over sexuality, gender, and justice. Jesus, an oral teacher, left no written words, and the New Testament, written decades later in Greek, cannot claim inerrancy (John 8:6). Paul’s letters, the earliest Christian writings, show no knowledge of Jesus’s supernatural birth (Romans 1:3-4), revealing scriptural… Read more »
“Thoughts at the End of the Journey with Refugees” by Ray Schellinger
In February 2020 Ray Schellinger undertook a journey walking with Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. He walked from Palmira to Mondomo, a journey of 100 kilometers, a small section of the 2,000 km trek many refugees take from Colombia and into Peru. We are posting some of Ray’s FB posts from along the way. This is… Read more »
“Mimetic Issues of Violence” by Philip Kakungulu
Mimetic desire—the urge to covet what others have—fuels violence across Africa, from Rwanda’s genocide to Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ laws. René Girard’s theory reveals how peace built on scapegoating, such as targeting the LGBTQ community, is inherently violent (Girard, 2001). In African spirituality, all are equal under the sun (Mbiti, 1990), yet colonial legacies entrenched division, making… Read more »