Resultaten voor 'joseph ogbonnaya'

1. Joseph , Ogbonnaya

Under the Shade Tree

World Christianity is concerned not with Christianity as a global cultural and theological monolith, but with local expressions of Christian faith around the globe. But Christianity's presence in and among the world's cultures is complex and contested. Evangelization has often been the religious arm of colonial expansion, and even authentically indigenous religious traditions have been swallowed up into linguistic and liturgical uniformity. Often neglected in the study of these phenomena is the meaning and role of the Bible and biblical interpretation in shaping local Christianities. Perhaps no modern expression of World Christianity more dramatically illustrates this neglect than African, especially sub-Saharan African Christianity. Under the Shade Tree investigates theologically and historically how the Bible was and is read in Africa and by Africans. The European Enlightenment provided a framework of biblical hermeneutics that still predominates in much of Europe and North America. But is it applicable to African Christian hermeneutics? What contextual experiences shape the interpretation of the Bible in those parts of the world not directly influenced by the Enlightenment? Ogbonnaya engages various ways of reading the Bible in much of Africa, bearing in mind the diversities and complexities of the continent. By studying the African origins of Christian hermeneutics, the key achievements of Enlightenment perspectives, and both the popular and scholarly approaches to the Bible in Africa today, Under the Shade Tree proposes a synthesis that pushes back against the way the Bible is used in Africa to support various forms of deceptions, fraud, and charlatan expressions of Christianity. It argues for critical study of the Bible as the word of God, not only for biblical scholarship but also for ordinary people's reading of the Bible.

The Church as Salt and Light

This book is an attempt at a critical, constructive, and creative theological praxis of social transformation in Africa. The authors apply a multi-disciplinary approach to examining how Christianity in Africa is engaging the problems of Africa's challenging social context. This is a prophetic work that applies the symbols of ""salt"" and ""light"" as ecclesiological images for reenvisioning the path towards procuring abundant life for God's people in the African continent through the agency of African Christianity. The contributors to this volume ask these fundamental questions: What is the face of Jesus in African Christianity? What is the face and identity of the Church in Africa? How can one evaluate the relevance of the Church in Africa to African Christians who enthusiastically embrace and celebrate their Christian faith? In other words, what positive imprint is Christianity leaving on the lives and societies of African Christians? Does the Christian message have the potential of positively affecting African civilization as it once did in Europe? What is the relevance and place of African Christianity as a significant voice in shaping both the future of Africa and that of world Christianity?

1. Joseph , Ogbonnaya

Lonergan, Social Transformation, and Sustainable Human Development

Description:Secular contemporary development discourse deals with the problems of societal development and transformation by prioritizing the human good in terms of vital and social values with the aim of providing the basic necessities of life through social institutions that work. While such an approach is profitable by promoting economic growth, it does not take note of other dynamics of social progress and development. Also, it fails to notice the consequences of development strategies on human flourishing, well-being, and happiness.Ogbonnayu argues for an integral approach to development by engaging in a fruitful dialogue between Bernard Lonergan's philosophical anthropology with contemporary development discourse, as represented in select theories of development, and in select principles of Catholic social teaching. It makes a case for social progress and transformation as emanating from human understanding. Also, it highlights the parts of Lonergan's theory that contribute to an understanding, specifically of his treatment of bias, and of the shorter and longer cycles of societal decline. In view of the reality of moral impotence and limitations, it considers the reversal of societal decline as possible through the supernatural solution of God's grace.Endorsements:""This text offers a weighty theoretical prolegomena to the concrete implementation of sustainable development throughout the vulnerable economic areas in the world.""--John Dadosky, University of Toronto""Joseph Ogbonnaya has produced a valuable book that contributes to the stock of knowledge both for theological studies in general and Lonergan scholarship in particular. . . . By retrieving and utilizing Lonergan's philosophical anthropology in this important discourse on development, Ogbonnaya has opened up a new area of intellectual activity, an area that if further investigated and developed holds a bright future, not only for theological education, but also for sociology and politics.""--Cyril Orji, University of Dayton""This book brings contemporary development discourse and Catholic social teachings into conversation with Lonergan's philosophical anthropology. . . . I highly commend this book, which presents a focused and well-researched application of Lonergan's work to a contemporary context of relevance.""--Thomas E. Reynolds, Emmanuel College, University of Toronto""This book . . . touches on themes related to economics, social justice, and cultural and historical differences, with core references to Africa and to the work of Lonergan on what it means to be human, on what makes for progress, decline, and redemption in human affairs.""--Thérèse Mason, Discovery Theatre for Adult Liberal LearningAbout the Contributor(s):Joseph Ogbonnaya is Assistant Professor of Theology, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the author of Deepening the Christian Faith (2011) and coeditor of The Church as Salt and Light (2011).