The doctrine of God in African Christian thought : the Holy Trinity, theological hermeneutics, and the African intellectual culture / by James Henry Owino Kombo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kombo, James Henry Owino.

Series:

Studies in Reformed theology ; v. 14.

Studies in Reformed theology, 1571-4799 ; v. 14

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trinity--History of doctrines.

Trinity.

God--History of doctrines.

God.

Theology, Doctrinal--Africa.

Theology, Doctrinal.

Christianity and other religions--African.

Christianity and other religions.

Africa--Religion.

Africa.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (312 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Christian faith knows and worships one God, who is revealed in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. This is the meaning of the doctrine of the Trinity in Christian thought. Although Christian orthodoxy defines the doctrine of the Trinity, the intellectual tools used to capture it significantly vary. At different times and in different places, Western Christianity has, for instance, used neo-Platonism, German Idealism, and the conceptual tools of the second-century Greeks. Taking elements from the known African intellectual framework, this book argues that for African Christians, the respective pre-Christian African understanding of God and the Ntu -metaphysics, in particular, function as conceptual gates for an attempt towards articulating the Trinity for African Christian audiences.

Contents:

Prologue

pt. 1. The doctrine of the Trinity : the Bible and the Church Fathers. An analysis of the biblical roots of the doctrine of the Trinity

The emergence of the doctrine of immanent Trinity

pt. 2. Western theologies' responses to the doctrine of the Trinity. God as essence

God as an absolute subject

God as community in unity

Issues in the Western reinterpretations

pt. 3. The doctrine of God in African inculturation theology. The African conceptual framework

The notion of God among the African peoples : the accounts of B. Idowu, J.S. Mbiti, and G.M. Setiloane

Moving beyond the African notion of God: clearing ground for the doctrine of the Trinity

pt. 4. From the African concepts of God to the doctrine of the Trinity. God as the 'Great Muntu' manifested by the Son and the Holy Spirit

Fostering the view of God as the 'Great Muntu' manifested by the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Notes:

Originally presented as the author's thesis (D. Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-292) and indexes.

ISBN:

1-282-39704-4

9786612397042

90-474-2022-5

OCLC:

609847258

Publisher Number:

10.1163/ej.9789004158047.i-298 DOI