By incorporating ancestors into Christian theology, African theologians clearly flirt with danger — and they know it. Tertullian (160-225 A.D.) was an early African thinker who made numerous doctrinal contributions and was the first known theologian to coin … July 6th, 2017. African theologians have influenced the church remarkably throughout the centuries. His efforts to eradicate AIDS, poverty, anti-LGBT sentiments, and human rights violations earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Along with my mentors, colleagues and friends. Athanasius of Alexandria (AD 293–373). 17 African American Women Theologians You Should Know About By Emmanuella Carter I have studied at Christian schools my entire life. This in turn makes the description and assessment ~t much more challenging.Thus Africa's influential university departments of religion have usually But the relationship to ancestors is so basic to the African sense of selfhood and society, and the pastoral problems created by negative and foreign approaches to the issue so widespread and destructive, that theologians feel compelled to attempt such a synthesis. Today, we consider three African theologians who left an indelible mark in Christendom. Many African-Americans, Christian and non-Christian, do not realize that some of the most influential of these theologians and pastors originated from northern Africa. exponent of African theology and to acquire the title „African Theologian,” there are some indispensable requirements.6According to him, and many concur, the scientific recommendable definition of African Theology is double-pronged; African theology in its etymological sense, and African theology … Dr. Keri Day is the Associate Professor of Constructive Theology and African American Religion at Princeton Theological Seminary. Athanasius was born in Alexandria, a grand metropolis of the early centuries, around AD 293. Desmond Tutu is known for his anti-Apartheid activism in South Africa. African theology is a fairly recent pursuit, as well as the vastness and diversity of the African continent. The first black Archbishop of Cape Town, he has also been the Bishop of Johannesburg. This chapter introduces Catholic theology in Africa. Perhaps confusion about their origins begins within the Christian tradition itself. in… 110 Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 21.2 2002 approaches to African Theology. 1 Notably, West (2008) explores key elements found in African Biblical hermeneutics. SUMMARY. During this period Christianity flourished and produced some of the major theologians of the patristic period, and then survived with difficulty after the rise of Islam. He places emphasis on the place of the ‘real flesh and blood African reader’ towards appropriating Courtesy of: Dr. Keri Day. Honored to have made The Global Church Project's list of 17 African American Women Theologians You Should Know About. The first of these runs from the beginning of Christianity to ad 1500. After graduating from high school, I went on to pursue a B.A. The encounter between Africa and Christianity is divided into three periods. From there, the Gospel spread to Africa and African thinkers began influencing the theology of the early church. She is the founder of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, an organization that encourages African women to research, write, and publish their own books and articles on “African issues” and concerns (Biola University Database: Christian Educators of the 20th Century).” For your reading list: Born to the son of an African prince and a free mother, he attended an interracial school, an institute run by abolitionists and had private tutors.