Many colonial ideologies are being disseminated in churches as Christian virtues, and many a preacher is unsuspecting. I recall, for example, a renowned preacher teaching on the authority of Scripture that he would not prostrate before a king in the land because the traditional king represents a different kingdom than that of Christ. For this preacher, prostrating to a seated king would be an act contrary to the truth of Scripture. Or consider another widespread nuptial example. Almost all over Africa, traditional wedding arrangements have been relegated to “engagements” status. The intending couple is not allowed to consummate the union until a church wedding, considered the real deal, is performed.
The damages of colonialism and slavery linger on as they color culture, faith, and politics. The cosmic acid of Eurocentrism is yet dissolving the framework of Africa leading to the continent’s progressive disintegration. The examples above are instructive. While I am no fan of cultural stasis, I am convinced that blatant colonial influences are behind such acts. Not only is it enormously unlikely that a tight case may be made for not honoring a king – the way that it is culturally expected, there also is no such thing as a “biblical wedding.” “Biblical wedding” is simply a European Wedding style with no biblical sanction whatsoever. Sub-Sahara Africa’s encounter with (a weaponized version of) Christianity resulted in the gradual erosion of much of Africa’s values and mores. Although an unadulterated form entered Africa before the era of colonization, many Africans today adhere to “colonized Christianity”—a form of Christianity with Western theological lenses and practices resulting in the whitening of God as well as subtly subjugating the people. Ultimately, this form of Christianity perpetuates Eurocentrism in Africa.
Since colonization and its version of Christianity robbed Africa of much of her original assets, we venture to recover them and celebrate Africa by telling of her past and present heroines and heroes, examining her metaphysics and engaging with her (pre-colonial) cultural practices afresh. Moreover, we strive to sift the weeds from the harvest to differentiate that which is authentically Christian from beliefs and practices that derived from colonization. We hope to empower individuals, even those who would deny that Christianity is true, to distinguish between the Christianity that was baptized in Eurocentrism and politics and authentic Christianity, the original faith set forth by Christ and preached by His apostles.