Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson
Christian growth must not only be considered in terms of the growth of numbers. The growth in the church must also be considered in the level of depth and the quality of Christian conversion within a cultural milieu. The depth of the faith has a lot to do with how the Gospel speaks directly to th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Noyam Journals
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MOTBIT2021321.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797764968579334144 |
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| author | Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong |
| author_facet | Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong |
| author_sort | Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Christian growth must not only be considered in terms of the growth of numbers.
The growth in the church must also be considered in the level of depth and the
quality of Christian conversion within a cultural milieu. The depth of the faith
has a lot to do with how the Gospel speaks directly to the minds and hearts of its
hearers. Moreover, the Gospel can speak to the hearts and minds of its hearers when
the indigenous world views that condition the inner lives of the people are given
serious consideration. The study is a review of the major works of Sidney George
Williamson on the Christian faith and Akan culture in Ghana. As an early student
of the tension between the Christian faith and Akan culture and the challenges
of Christian identity, Williamson draws attention to the fact that Christianity can
adequately meet Akan Christian needs when it pays attention to the cultural world
view of the people it seeks to serve. The study as a qualitative one uses both
primary and secondary sources. Interviews and observations were conducted in
some Akan communities on the integration of Christian faith and Akan cultural
worldview. The study points to the fact that the construction of theology among
Akan Christians must be done from the inside to the outside and not from outside
to the inside, the approach that Western missionaries adopted. The spiritual needs
of Akan Christians will be adequately met when they hear the Gospel in their own
cultural understandings rather than theology done in the West offered to the Akan
in European worldview. The study further calls attention to the preparedness of
the churches in the Akan cultural environment for paradigm shifts in the Christian
faith and Akan Cultural engagements in post-missionary African Christianity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:04:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f01a0dd6516443d19cfb42395db75259 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2676-2838 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T20:04:18Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | Noyam Journals |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology |
| spelling | doaj.art-f01a0dd6516443d19cfb42395db752592023-08-02T02:15:50ZengNoyam JournalsJournal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology2676-28382021-09-01322131https://doi.org/10.38159/motbit.2021321Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George WilliamsonKwabena Opuni-Frimpong0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0382-0720Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-GhanaChristian growth must not only be considered in terms of the growth of numbers. The growth in the church must also be considered in the level of depth and the quality of Christian conversion within a cultural milieu. The depth of the faith has a lot to do with how the Gospel speaks directly to the minds and hearts of its hearers. Moreover, the Gospel can speak to the hearts and minds of its hearers when the indigenous world views that condition the inner lives of the people are given serious consideration. The study is a review of the major works of Sidney George Williamson on the Christian faith and Akan culture in Ghana. As an early student of the tension between the Christian faith and Akan culture and the challenges of Christian identity, Williamson draws attention to the fact that Christianity can adequately meet Akan Christian needs when it pays attention to the cultural world view of the people it seeks to serve. The study as a qualitative one uses both primary and secondary sources. Interviews and observations were conducted in some Akan communities on the integration of Christian faith and Akan cultural worldview. The study points to the fact that the construction of theology among Akan Christians must be done from the inside to the outside and not from outside to the inside, the approach that Western missionaries adopted. The spiritual needs of Akan Christians will be adequately met when they hear the Gospel in their own cultural understandings rather than theology done in the West offered to the Akan in European worldview. The study further calls attention to the preparedness of the churches in the Akan cultural environment for paradigm shifts in the Christian faith and Akan Cultural engagements in post-missionary African Christianity.https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MOTBIT2021321.pdfakan culturechristian faithlocal theologiessidney george williamson |
| spellingShingle | Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology akan culture christian faith local theologies sidney george williamson |
| title | Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson |
| title_full | Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson |
| title_fullStr | Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson |
| title_full_unstemmed | Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson |
| title_short | Christian Faith and Akan Culture in Ghana: A Review of Major Works of Sidney George Williamson |
| title_sort | christian faith and akan culture in ghana a review of major works of sidney george williamson |
| topic | akan culture christian faith local theologies sidney george williamson |
| url | https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MOTBIT2021321.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kwabenaopunifrimpong christianfaithandakancultureinghanaareviewofmajorworksofsidneygeorgewilliamson |