IS CHRISTIANITY A “NEWCOMER” TO AFRICA?
Rethinking the Religion-Political Conundrum in African Christianity
Abstract
In this paper, I argue that Africa is not alien to Christianity, and neither is Christianity a “Newcomer” religion to Africa. As Africa and Africans contributed immensely and significantly to the entrenchment of the Christian Gospel as well as the formulation of its theology, religion-political conundrum, namely, Western colonization and Prosperity Gospel/Theology engendered the suspicions and the distrusts laced towards Christianity by the post-colonial Africans- hence the need for a robust and wholistic theology that is devoid of the temporal contract of the Prosperity Theology but adequately responds to the religious, political, and socio-economic plights of post-colonial Africa. This article challenges the notion that Christianity is a "newcomer" to Africa by tracing its deep historical roots on the continent and emphasizing the significant contributions of Africans to Christian theology. It also critiques the religion-political conundrum, particularly the harmful influence of Western colonialism and the Prosperity Gospel, which has distorted the true message of Christianity in Africa.
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