Theology : Systematic Theology / Dogmatics: General

The Bantu Philosophy of life is a type of praeparatio evangelica which not only assimilates the reality of the person of Jesus Christ and his message but is also the cultural medium through which Christ and his message are understood, interpreted, lived and expressed. -Theological inculturation- in this context implies a critical evaluation of Bantu's understanding of life; a comparative approach between the Bantu and the Old Testament; and the identification of the uniqueness and radical novelty which the Gospel presents to the Bantu. The Christological realities of the Kingdom of God and the resurrection of Jesus are presented as fundamental aspects of the Christian message which are not only new to the Bantu's traditional religiosity but also challenge the Bantu to a radically new way of life. The encounter between the Bantu Philosophy of life and the Gospel lays an authentic interculturation, integral liberation and development for which the contemporary Bantu of Western Uganda are striving. Here is a theological reflection which lays a foundation to what may be described as -an African Vitalistic Theology-."

Studies on Christology in contemporary Africa have been so far centred around the titles Liberator, Healer, Ancestor, Immanuel, Nganga and so on. Cast in such local categories, Christ is presented as fulfilling all cultures. Christ, the African King, one such effort, presents a fascinating ethnographical description of four African most celebrated traditional kingships. Ethno-historical data for biblical studies are uncovered. With the multi-disciplinary approach, the sketched African background furnishes the raw material for the elaboration of King Christology which has serious implications on liturgy, the ecclesial community and the African socio-political arena. The work is thus a cross-cultural presentation of NT theology in harmony with Africa's royal heritage. It points up, inter alia, rich ideas for contextualization and inculturation of Christianity in Africa.

Recent years have seen the publication of various sensationalist books on Jesus that are supported neither by the New Testament witness nor by mainline Christian beliefs. This book critically examines the best biblical and historical scholarship before tackling head on some of the keyquestions of systematic christology: does orthodox faith present Jesus the man as deficient and depersonalized? Is his sinlessness compatible with the exercise of a free human will? Does up-to-date exegesis challenge his virginal conception and personal resurrection? Can one reconcile Jesus' roleas universal Saviour with the truth and values to be found in other religions? What should the feminist movement highlight in presenting Jesus? This integral christology is built around the reurrection of the crucified Jesus, highlights love as the key to redemption, and proposes a synthesis ofthe divine presence through Jesus. Clear, balanced, and accessible, this book should by valued by any student reading systematic theology, anyone training for the ministry in all denominations, as well as interested general readers.

This text is designed for students and academics studying the doctrine of the incarnation. James Dunn clarifies in detail the beginnings of the belief in Christ as the Son of God and discusses the historical context of such beliefs. Exploring key titles and passages within the New Testament, he argues that the incarnation cannot simply be understood in terms of the "myth of heavenly or divine being come to earth", but should be grounded in the New Testament context of meaning.

With the growing awareness of cultural diversity, evangelicals are beginning to realize that "growing up into Christ in all things" (Eph. 4:15) is a corporate enterprise. Due to involvement in mission and international travel, many Westerners are beginning to realize how much they have to learn from different cultural traditions. LEARNING ABOUT THEOLOGY FROM THE THIRD WORLD is designed to introduce western Christians to discussions about theology going on in the Third World. The assumption is that western thinking about theology has not taken third world perspectives into account, and the day has come for us to bring these brothers and sisters into our conversations about Christianity. For the churches in this part of the world are rapidly becoming a significant force in the world and their leaders are becoming increasingly articulate about their faith (and about distortions the feel missionaries have introduced!). It is Dyrness' thesis that if we approach these sometimes unsettling writings as learners rather than teachers, we will find our own perspectives significantly altered. The maturity of the whole church demands this kind of inter-change. After an introductory chapter on the nature and problems of contextualization, the book gives major overviews of the theology of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Issues are presented in such a way as to show that each area of the world has developed a unique approach to theological issues, and that each perspective has something to contribute to the development of theology. To illustrate this a final chapter discusses Christology form this cross-cultural perspective and the conclusion sketches out ways in which both western and non-western traditions may interact to enrich theology.