COLONIAL MISADVENTURE AND THE MISJUDGMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICA

Abstract

This paper reappraises the missionary enterprise in colonial Africa focusing on the misadventure of colonialism which led to some degree of misinterpretation and misapplication of Christianity in the African continent. The nineteenth century European colonization of Africa left a sour taste in the mouth of Africans. The European colonizers ill-treated the African people and pillaged the entire continent for about a hundred years. They devastated traditional African societies and economies, and carted away her natural resources to the metropole.These European colonizers identified themselves as Christians and pretended that their mission in Africa was one of altruism, to wit, to answer to the Whiteman’s burden of bringing salvation, civilization and commerce. They entered Africa at the same time with the European missionaries who introduced Christianity to sub-Saharan Africa and collaborated or used same to accomplish their colonial purposes. This is bad for the nineteenth century missionary movement and for the Christian religion inAfrica. This paper while condemning the abuses of early Christian missionaries and colonialists in Africa; concludes that there was high level of abuse of the religion in Africa by the early European missionaries and colonialist in the continent. The paper however, cautions against rejecting the religion as a result of the past abuses.