MODELS OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN CHRISTOLOGIES IN AFRICAN THEOLOGY

Abstract

Christianity has existed in Nigeria for more than one hundred and thirty-nine years as in other African countries. Yet the attitude of Christians seems to prove that Christianity is only skin deep. The extent of Christian presence in most African countries is not reflected in the moral situation of the African society. Recently, there seem to be a resurgence of neo-paganism mainly among the youth as seen in some African countries like Nigeria.  All these testify to the fact that the real meaning of Christian life is not yet properly understood by the people. Invariably, this means that people have not properly understood Christ, His person and His teaching. In order to achieve our purpose, the researcher employed the culture area method and analytical method in approaching the research topic, the Models of African Christologies. The researcher found out that two models of African Christologies, namely ancestral model of African Christology and non-ancestral model are elements that are derived from categories which are authentically African and speak immediately to the African's consciousness. Trying to understand Christ through the African lens will really help Africans to comprehend Christ better.