Concepts of salvation, African and European : prolegomena to African Christian theology
The perception of God, man and salvation, which are related notions, are further bound up with the question of cosmology. A given primary interpretation or revelation (i.e. the meaning) of the world is the raison d'etre of a given religious system. God is meaning; meaning is whatever God (or 'God') is to a given religious system or culture-world; for instance, life (hence our term, ankhological), or mind (hence our nousological term). To both Jewish and traditional African religions God is life. This understanding pervades the biblical data. Jesus is its greatest expresser. The earliest Jewish Christianity had kept to this ankhological perception of God despite the disagreement over whether the Father is still the immediate source and focusser of meaning; Paul and Hellenistic Jewish Christianity maintained that Jesus is, since his resurrection, its immediate focusser; Palestinian Jewish Christianity rejected this 'modification'. The initial mass conversion of the Gentiles meant an inevitable clash between the ankhological and the nousological perceptions of God; the nousological perception was the bequeathment of the Greek world. The Gentile Church's insistence that the biblical data be brought within the
Okafor, Stephen Orabazinalum
Philosophy
Concepts of salvation, African and European : prolegomena to African Christian theology. The perception of God, man and salvation, which are related notions, are further bound up with the question of cosmology. A given primary interpretation or revelation (i.e. the meaning) of the world is the raison d'etre of a given religious system. God is meaning; meaning is whatever God (or 'God') is to a given religious system or culture-world; for instance, life (hence our term, ankhological), or mind (hence our nousological term). To both Jewish and traditional African religions God is life. This understanding pervades the biblical data. Jesus is its greatest expresser. The earliest Jewish Christianity had kept to this ankhological perception of God despite the disagreement over whether the Father is still the immediate source and focusser of meaning; Paul and Hellenistic Jewish Christianity maintained that Jesus is, since his resurrection, its immediate focusser; Palestinian Jewish Christianity rejected this 'modification'. The initial mass conversion of the Gentiles meant an inevitable clash between the ankhological and the nousological perceptions of God; the nousological perception was the bequeathment of the Greek world. The Gentile Church's insistence that the biblical data be brought within the
concepts salvation african european prolegomena african christian_theology perception god_man salvation related notion bound question cosmology give primary interpretation revelation mean world raison give religious system god meaning mean whatever god_god give religious system culture world instance life hence term mind hence term jewish traditional african religion god life biblical data jesus great early jewish christianity keep perception god despite disagreement whether father still immediate source meaning paul hellenistic jewish christianity maintain jesus since resurrection immediate palestinian jewish christianity reject modification initial mass conversion gentiles mean inevitable clash perception god perception greek_world gentile church insistence biblical data bring within