PhD Theses

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14194/2796

Browse

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2

An Analytical Biography of Byang Henry Kato (1936-1975): His Theological Legacy and Contribution to Biblical Hermeneutics, African Christian Identity and Evangelical Theological Education
(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, South Africa) Foday-Khabenje, Aiah Dorkuh 1958-; Asumang, Annang
This study was an analytical biography of a pioneering church leader— Byang Henry Kato (1936‒1975)—in shaping African evangelicalism, in the subject area of Historical Theology. The purpose of the study was to explore Kato’s life story and theological legacy to contribute to leadership development and maturing of the church in contemporary Africa. Specifically, the study explores Kato’s biblical hermeneutics, Christian African identity and contribution to evangelical theological education in sub- Sahara Africa, using empirical and qualitative approaches, literary and field interviews. Kato was a young Nigerian theologian and the first African General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA), among other roles. He was renowned to be father of evangelical theology in sub-Sahara Africa. Kato was immersed African traditional religion, as a child and was on course for succeeding his father as fetish priest when he converted to the Christian faith. Kato rose from humble beginnings to a world class evangelical leader and scholar, before his tragic death by drowning. Byang Kato made important theological contributions, contending for biblical fidelity on a number of issues related to relationship between traditional African religions and Christianity. He was opposed to much of what other influential liberal-leaning African theologians of his time taught. He raised an alarm and warned the Church in Africa about the theological pitfalls—syncretism and universalism and advocated for discontinuity with the African traditional religious worldview, especially aspects that were inconsistent with Scripture. Unprecedentedly, Kato helped to establish a number of premier theological institutions, to remedy the theological pitfalls in sub-Sahara Africa. Exploring some theoretical and biblical foundations demonstrated that Kato’s views were mostly consistent with mainstream evangelical perspectives. The findings and data collated formed the basis of constructing a corpus of theological material that characterised Kato’s theology, which I have dubbed as Katoan theology.
Christening a nation: A critical theological investigation of declaring Zambia a Christian nation
(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, 2023) Mumba, Gabriel; Mzondi, Modisa
Christening a nation: A critical theological investigation of declaring Zambia a Christian nation is a study contributing to the ongoing discussion concerning the theological implications surrounding the declaration of Zambia a Christian Nation, and how the Church in Zambia should respond to the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation? The study is shaped after Osmer’s (2008, 199—217) four tasks of practical theology namely: (i) the descriptive task (what is going on?), whose main objective was to have an all-inclusive consultation to understand the factors that influenced the declaration of Zambia a Christian nation, (ii) the interpretive task (why is it going on?), which helped to historically understand what related literature teaches about christening a nation, (iii) the normative task (what ought to be going on?), which discussed what the Bible and theologians teach, vis–à–vis christening a nation, and (iv) the pragmatic task (how might we respond?), which discussed some critical theological implications of declaring Zambia a Christian nation, and further offered a pragmatic response of the Church in Zambia. In this regard, the study used a qualitative explorative–descriptive approach. Christening Zambia and the subsequent declaration of Zambia a Christian nation aroused discussions among stakeholders like the religious mother bodies, government and other interested parties to understand its objective. Therefore, the declaration of Zambia a Christian nation presents some good prospects to the Church in Zambia of fulfilling the great commission of Jesus Christ, while at the same time it is a challenge when its biblical and theological basis is not properly considered.