IGWEBUIKE THEOLOGY OF OMENANI AND THE CRISIS OF THE MISSIONARY BIFURCATION OF HORIZONS

Abstract

African theology points to the fact that every particular situation or context calls for a particular theological reflection, that is, if the theological reflection is to make meaning within that unique circumstance. It is within this context that the Igwebuike theology of Omenani emerges in relation to the understanding of culture as the seed of the Word of God, which already pre-existed in Africa even before the emergence of the Western missionaries. The purpose of adopting this idea of culture as the seed of the Word of God is to enhance the reconciliation between the African and Christian/Western ’worldhoods’. This piece presented the African culture as an important element in evangelization in Africa, as it is the spirit that animates the African people. It further emphasized the indispensability of integrating the African worldview in the communication of the gospel to the people of African. It, therefore, located the seed of the Word of God in the Omenani (the law of the land) of the African people through which they were able to achieve holiness, even before the advent of the gospel. It observed that the failures of the missionary enterprise were majorly because of missionaries’ lack of openness to the African religion and culture. The identification of Omenani as the seed of the Word of God showed that culture is not an enemy of the gospel, but an instrument for its transmission.. The purpose of this study is to bridge the bifurcation created by the missionaries between the Christian and African ‘worldhoods’. The theoretical framework employed in this research is the Igwebuike sympathetic and non-derogatory framework, which emphasizes evangelization with a sense of understanding. It is a polite and humane approach, and excludes the influences of bias in the process of knowing and relationship.