Christianity in Transformation
The rise of African Christianity among the AmaXhosa of the Eastern Cape
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21609129 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joel Mokhoathi (0000-0002-4786-5488) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 149-164 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-10 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Acta Theologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1015-8758 • E-ISSN: 2309-9089 |
| Publisher | University of the Free State (PUBLISHER • ZA) |
| DOI | 10.38140/at.vi.5842 |
| Language | EN |
This article explores the roots and expansion of African Christianity – that is, the synthesis of Christianity and AfricanTraditional Religion among the amaXhosa tribes of the Eastern Cape. This form of synthesis appears to have been an age-old problem of the Christian church, beginning with the missionary epoch, and up to contemporary times, and it is still not acknowledged. It appears that conservative Christians, in particular, undermine this realism. Reflecting on the character and life of Ntsikana, who was both a Xhosa Christian prophet and a diviner, this article debates the acceptance of African Christianity by indigenous converts as a way of transforming or contextualising Christianity to communicate with the African religious heritage. Using a qualitative research approach, in the form of document analysis, the article found that African Christianity amongthe AmaXhosa of the Eastern Cape has existed for a long time and has become an acceptable form of expression intransforming Christianity to communicate with the African cultural context
| Highly cited | No |
|---|