The Blessing of Africa: The Bible and African Christianity
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
According to some estimates, Africa will soon have the highest concentration of Christians in the world. But African Christianity has had a long and conflicted history. Even today, modern misinterpretations of Scripture argue for God's curse upon the dark-skinned peoples of Africa.
In this comprehensive study, Keith Burton traces the story of biblical Africa and the place of the Bible in the land of Ham. Beginning with the Old Testament, he explores the geography of biblical Africa and moves beyond stereotypical discussions of African ethnicity and identity. He then chronicles the African presence in the church from the New Testament onward, paying particular attention to the growth of Islam in Africa as well as the impact of European colonialism and the slave trade. Coming to the modern era, he examines the achievements of African Christianity and visionary efforts to adapt and reclaim Christianity for the African context.
Burton invites readers to discover anew the relevance of the biblical narrative for African Christians as well as Scripture's influence on African Christianity. This invigorating work places the story of the Bible and African Christianity in a wider global context and challenges readers to think differently about history and the biblical world.
- Helps to see that all roads do not lead to Rome
- Makes solid sense of what is happening biblically, theologically and historically
- Demonstrates the point that Africa can by no means be ignored in the study of the history of the chosen people in the Bible
The Land of Ham: Defining Biblical Africa
- The Table of Nations in Genesis 10
- Defining the Territory of Cush
- Defining the Territory of Misrayim
- Defining the Territory of Canaan
Family Reunion: Africans in the Bible
- Identifying the Africans in Cush
- Identifying the Africans in Misrayim
- Identifying the Africans in Canaan
Growing Pains: The Bible in Emerging African Christianity
- The Development of Christianity in Palestine
- The Development of Christianity in North Africa
- The Development of Christianity in Arabia and Ethiopia
Total Eclipse: Islam's Distortion of the Biblical Message
- The Influence of the Bible on the Koran
- The Growth of Islam in Biblical Africa
Hostile Takeover: Europe's Manipulation of the Biblical Message
- The European Crusade Against Islam
- The Struggle for Control in the Ethiopian Church
- Mission and Colonization in Sub-Saharan Africa
Free at Last: The Bible and African Liberation
- The Decline of Christianity in Islamic Africa
- The Shortcomings of Ethiopian Christianity
- The Impact of Christianity on Sub-Saharan Africa
This is indeed a landmark publication as it is an invaluable contribution on the specificity of African Christian theology that has blossomed in the last thirty-five years since J. S. Mbiti's seminal article of 1972. I wholeheartedly commend The Blessing of Africa to all, especially Africans and African Americans who want to appreciate the Bible as the basis of African Christianity and its theology in the world today.
—Ukachukwu Chris Manus, professor, Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and author of Christ the African King and Intercultural Hermeneutics of the Bible in Africa
Keith Augustus Burton, in his new volume, The Blessing of Africa: The Bible and African Christianity, helps us to see that all roads do not lead to Rome. There is at least one highway that tends southward toward Ethiopia and even to the lands beyond its rivers. As Augustine said, 'God hath foretold that the Church should be in Africa.' Dr. Burton's familiarity with the sources and his broad historical view make it possible for him to paint a vivid picture of Yahweh's word at work in the 'land of Ham.' In a day when historians, religion teachers, journalists and even filmmakers are rushing to grasp the significance of Africa's sudden turn toward Christianity, Burton makes solid sense of what is happening biblically, theologically and historically. He deserves our thanks. You will agree as you read it.
—Charles E. Bradford, president (retired), Seventh-day Adventist Churches in North America
I found this book fascinating and have learned from it considerably, both on matters I have previously studied and on material that was new to me. On points where my views differ, Burton has challenged and stimulated my thinking.
—Craig S. Keener, professor of New Testament, Palmer Theological Seminary, and coauthor of Black Man's Religion and Defending Black Faith