Trinity and Inculturation offers a renewed examination of the naming of God in the context of contemporary fundamental theology and African inculturation theology.
In the past decades, missionary discourse has developed an intentional theological awareness of the intricacies of African traditional religions. Its aim of counteracting the prevalent devaluation of African culture throughout history, however, has come at the expense of foundational components of Trinitarian theology. Trinity and Inculturation seeks to reconcile the disjunction between theology and Christology present in African inculturation theology by re-centering the conversation on the Trinitarian nature of the Christian God revealed through Jesus Christ and the activities of the Holy Spirit.
Father Bede Uche Ukwuije uses the work of German theologian Eberhard Jüngel, and more specifically his idea of the humanity of God, to overcome the dependence of African theology on Western theism. Through this dialogue, Ukwuije crafts a thorough, Trinitarian argument that calls for a reconsideration of fundamental Christian apologetics and the renewal of Christian mission and interreligious dialogue.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One. The Problem of Naming God in African Theology of Inculturation
1. Debate on the the Definition of the African Human Being and the African Idea of God in the 18th-20th Centuries.
2. African Literature and the Defense of African Identity
3. The Naming of God in African Theology of Inculturation
Part Two. The Humanity of God
4. The Jüngelian Doctrine of God's Humanity
5. The Jüngelian Doctrine of God's Being
6. The Humanity of God and Anthropology
Part Three. Towards An Unapologetic Theology of Inculturation
7. Speaking About God in Africa on the Basis of God's Humanity
8. Thinking the Identity of the African Human Being on the Basis of the Humanity of God
9. The Humanity of God as Regulator of the Specifically Christian Way of Inhabiting the Social Bond
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index of Proper Names
Index of Words
About the Author :
Bede Uche Ukwuije, C.S.Sp., is a Nigerian Roman Catholic priest and a Spiritan missionary. He is a professor of theology and vice-chair of the Department of Theology at Duquesne University, and serves as the president of the Governing Council of the Spiritan International School of Theology, Attakwu-Enugu, Nigeria. He is the author of numerous publications, including The Trinitarian God.
Review :
"This book offers a profound and immensely rich reflection on the Christian belief in the Trinity by setting up a conversation that includes Western philosophy, African religious anthropology, and African Christian inculturation theologians, as well as Christian writers in contemporary times." —Anthony Akinwale, O.P., author of Charism and Contradiction
"Trinity and Inculturation is a solid work of fundamental theology. The work sets up critical dialogue between the Lutheran theologian Eberhard Jüngel's Trinitarian doctrine of 'the humanity of God' and the naming of God in African theology of inculturation evidenced in the doyens of African literature, African religions, and African theology." —James Chukwuma Okoye, C.S.Sp., author of Genesis 12–50: A Narrative-Theological Commentary
