Vince L. Bantu
Författare till A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity's Global Identity (Missiological Engagements)
Om författaren
Vince L. Bantu (PhD, The Catholic University of America) is assistant professor of church history and Black church studies at Fuller Theological Seminary and is the Ohene of the Meachum School of Haymanot.
Verk av Vince L. Bantu
A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity's Global Identity (Missiological Engagements) (2020) — Författare — 62 exemplar
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Medlemmar
Recensioner
Statistik
- Verk
- 2
- Medlemmar
- 69
- Popularitet
- #250,752
- Betyg
- 2.3
- Recensioner
- 2
- ISBN
- 6
Church historian and professor, Vince L. Bantu happens to be one of those poised researchers. Professor Bantu addresses his reader directly and honestly about Christianity, the dominant Western culture that projects a particular expression of that faith, and the perception it has on different cultural groups. Bantu’s argument is mainly historical, reaching into the early days of Christianity. The data Bantu sites start from the 1st century onward, across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. There’s a lot of information, so prepare to do some cross-checking if you love history and you want to follow the added threads he leaves. However, if you are looking for an itemized apologetic (or a defense) against popular critiques made by detractors, this is not that type of book.
While the book is dense in terms of historical data, Bantu’s message is clear: Historical Christianity is reflected within many different cultural groups shortly after Pentecost and the Apostle Paul’s missionary trips, and not just an invention by colonialist to enslave Africans. The well-known Antebellum South was a culture within the U.S., and their distorted version of Christianity merely reflected their beliefs in racial superiority.
Bantu offers several solutions in his closing chapter: Within the Gentile world Christianity (the main orthodoxy that God is triune, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Jesus is both God and human who rose bodily of the dead) is represented within a range of people groups or cultures. That we should have an awareness of the fact that the dominant Western culture and Christianity which reflects from it, is still one culture among many. From a Western vantagepoint, cultures and practices from Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East (e.g., styles of worship, music, food, language, or dress) are not an ethnic form of Christianity, but is in fact, Christianity. In his conclusion, he offers a slight caution on evangelism or missionary work within the current zeitgeist: to share the Gospel with other cultures only when invited to do so.
What type of reader is this book for? It’s for those who have a familiarity with history and those who are looking for other perspectives outside of their own.
The book is an excellent read if you are a student of history and are interested in viewpoints outside your own. But if further deep dives into history are not your thing, or you were looking for a comprehensive detailed listing of the defense for Christianity within the current wave of detractors, than you may need to look elsewhere.… (mer)