Christianity
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A Brief History of Black Theology
I want to make a critical reassessment of the journals Black Theology in Britain: A Journal of Contextual Praxis[1] and its successor Black Theology: An International Journal.[2] At the time of writing, Black Theology: An International Journal remains the only academic publication dedicated to the articulation of Black theology in the world. With the demise of the Journal for Black Theology in Southern Africa, Black Theology: An International Journal (hereafter detailed as BTIJ) has assumed added importance for the furtherance of the critical conversation regarding the development of Black theology across the many contours of continental Africa and the African Diaspora. Black Theology in Britain Journal: Making Black Theology Visible…
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Health Crises, Medicine, and Religion
In 1862, a measles epidemic swept across Japan infecting more than 60% of people with a case fatality rate of almost 20% in some areas.[1] In response, people turned not only to the science of the day, but also to religion in their search for answers and remedies. Prints about measles known as hashika-e offered the general public advice on diet and lifestyle encouraging the afflicted to refrain from sexual intercourse and oily foods, for example. These documents simultaneously depicted deities such as Mugidono Daimyōjin (the god of wheat), whom people would attempt to ‘transfer the disease to…or…invoke…to lessen the severity of a case.’[2] In other words, religion and contemporary…
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The God we don’t believe in: Rowan Williams and Richard Dawkins on faith and atheism
Rowan Williams writes “…the examination of where the points of stress [between faith and atheism] are…allows us to test the resources of what we say as believers – and, ideally, to emerge with a more robust sense of those resources.”[1] Prominent among these points of stress is the perceived conflict between “science” (often used as a proxy for atheism) and “religion.” Here, taking as an example the dialogue between Williams and militant scientific atheist Richard Dawkins, I will outline ways of clarifying areas of belief and disbelief, consider whether belief is actually essential to faith and look at ways of separating the territories of science and religion. I will show…
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Practical Theology comes of age with “Together in Love and Faith”?
By any standard the publication of Together in Love and Faith: Personal Reflections and Next Steps for the Church (Oxford: Bishop of Oxford) in October 2022 is a remarkable work. It sets out the metanoia in thinking and action over discernment regarding same-sex relationships and marriage (p. 2) that has taken place in the Evangelical Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft and his recommendations on the subject for the Church of England. Reactions to its publication have inevitably been strong and diverse with respondents stating he has gone too far or not far enough. It is not my intention in this short paper to evaluate his arguments, rather I am wanting…
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Reflections on Dochirina Kirishitan and Foundational Instruction in Christian Practice
Basic instruction in Christian doctrine and practice, whether in the form of a catechism, a class before or after baptism or confirmation, or individual instruction from a clergyperson or layperson at another time, is common in many churches and Christian traditions. Such instruction arguably plays a foundational role in the trajectory of the life of faith for those who receive it. In so far as receiving such instruction is a shared experience of the members of a particular church community, it also serves to shape the character of a church as a whole. Through my university teaching and a travel opportunity, I was recently prompted to think again about the…
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Subverting Political Powers through the Power of Advent
Christianity has always been an act of translation. So argued the Gambian missiologist, Lamin Sanneh, who spent many of his years at Yale University. The tradition of advent, celebrated in many western Christian traditions, has travelled a long distance from medieval Europe to the urban towns and villages of the global South. Here in Africa, Christmas trees litter selfies on Instagram profiles. Christmas lights adorn various buildings in a way that enlightens the complicated courtship between faith and consumeristic ideals. Advent hymns ring through songs and prayers in liturgies across various churches in the city of Nairobi. What this act of translation has potential to do is to speak to…
