BOOK
REVIEW:
Christian
Education in the African Context:
Proceedings of the African Regional Conference of the
International Association for the Promotion of Christian Higher Education,
Harare 4-9 March 1991.
For too long, adult
education has been dominated by secular philosophies and ideologies. To a large
extent, Christians have been silent so that a Christian voice has hardly
developed in the halls of academic learning. Although we have trained pastors
and evangelists in our seminaries, we have not made inroads into the secular
university, so that we hand over our children to a bombardment of ungodly ideas
as they enter such a formative stage of their lives. This book is indeed
refreshing in its concern to provide very real Christian perspectives in this area
of so much influence, hitherto so neglected by Christians.
Consisting of papers
delivered at the weeklong conference in Harare, this volume primarily seeks to
examine the contemporary world from a radically biblical Christian perspective.
The association was formed to foster communication and cooperation amongst
scholars committed to Christian Higher Education. Its goal is to promote
reformation in scholarship and to determine the consequences of a Christian
worldview as it applies to a variety of national situations in a changing
Africa.
From the challenges of
traditionalism, racism, nationalism, and militarism to scientism, historicism,
etc., the volume explores the innumerable ideologies that hold our continent in
its grip. An outstanding paper in this regard was forwarded by Dr. Nlenanya
Onwu, Dept. of Religion, University of Nigeria. Onwu identifies the present
attachment to pagan culture, the colonial legacy, rise of secular ideology, the
strength of Islam, poverty and under-development as the pervading problems of
Africa. He argues that to meet these challenges we need to think more
creatively about the meaning of Christ in the various cultural contexts and
ecosystems. For the African, he believes, the call to historical criticism,
social origins analysis, and ecclesiastic/community reconstruction is an
emergency.
Interestingly, Onwu
identifies a stultifying definition of theology as the reason for our failure
to stem the tide of increasing distortions of truth. The objective approach to
the teaching of Christianity as a mere disinterested critical pursuit of the
knowledge of religion over the last few decades has detracted from the
relevance of Christian study. This conservatism in many theological schools in
Africa has often not helped the cause of Christianity in changing Africa today.
What is needed, argues Onwu, is “a categorical set of ideas, principles and
values by which we guide and regulate our theological education towards a
creative direction for the enhancement of our spiritual
development
and the achievement of our national, social, economic and political
objectives.”
In other words, he cries out for a new theological consciousness that will be
formulated in such a way that the gospel challenges the various contexts of the
continent - a theological education that is thoroughly biblical, genuinely
contextual and wholesomely evangelical. Only then does Onwu believe that
Christian educators will become real agents of change in our contemporary
Africa. What a plea for our desperate continent!
The article by Prof. J.J.Venter,
Dept of Philosophy, PU for CHE, entitled From Machine World to God-World:
a changing (western) worldpicture and its worldview implications for Africa
provides another revealing analysis. With the movement towards a new organistic
picture of the world (which has its roots in the new physics of this century),
away from the established mechanistic worldview, Venter notes that by expanding
the “living being” picture to every aspect of life, the divine is introduced and
opens the way to ancient pantheistic mysticism. Finding its modern form in the New
Age Movement, this organistic worldview reveals many similar features to the traditional
African life view and has the potential to attract many an African student. To confront
such an organistic picture of the world thus provides one of the new tasks for Christian
Higher Education.
Particularly for us as
South Africans, the paper by Prof. J.L. van der Walt, Faculty of
Education, PU for CHE, “Education
in South Africa since 1976 and the future possibility of Christian Education”,
was exceedingly relevant. Van der Walt showed how over the last few decades the
government has usurped forms of authority that it did not in principle have a
right to, by prescribing the philosophy that had to be adhered to in schools and
the regulations for admission to schools. That this philosophy, known as
“Christian National Education”, should have certain Christian attachments is even
more damaging to the christian cause. At present, this prescribed philosophy,
in many ways, rightly bears the brunt of attack for change. In these circumstances,
the most Christians can hope for in a new South Africa is a government which
will not prohibit an education rooted in christian principles, but will allow religious
freedom in society in general. Sadly, the CNE philosophy led many to believe that
christian education would always be a reality in South Africa and lulled many parents
to think their task of ensuring christian principles in school education had
been taken over by the government. Clearly much careful analysis needs to be
made in this sphere - much soul-searching, much repentance at our complacency
and then a programme of renewal needs to be followed. May God help us in this
crucial area of societal life.
It is my hope that a
review of these few articles has wet your appetite for a really worthwhile
read. It is encouraging to see adult education taken seriously from a christian
point of view. Especially In South Africa, there is such a dearth of material
and human resources in this field. This book provides a valuable contribution
to make good that deficiency. Its main value may lie, if only to awaken the
christian world to the enormity of the battles being waged upon the
intellectual front. We cannot allow these battles to be fought without a very
serious and thoroughly christian voice – the implications for our children, our
nation, economics, politics - in fact, all areas of life - are too great not to
stand up and take notice. God help us in this task - we do have much to contribute.
Amen.
Guy Hartley
Many to Many Issue 3 February 1993