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The Blessing of Africa: The Bible and African Christianity, By Keith Augustus Burton

The Blessing of Africa

The Bible and African Christianity

by Keith A Burton

The Blessing of Africa
Paperback
$36.99
  • Length: 294 pages
  • Dimensions: 6 × 9 in
  • Published: July 25, 2007
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • ISBN: 9780830827626

According to some estimates, Africa will soon have the highest concentration of Christians in the world. But African Christianity has had a long and conflicted history. Even today, modern misinterpretations of Scripture argue for God's curse uponthe dark-skinned peoples of Africa.In this comprehensive study, Keith Burton traces the story of biblical Africa and the place of the Bible in the land of Ham. Beginning with the Old Testament, he explores the geography of biblical Africa and moves beyond stereotypical discussions of African ethnicity and identity. He then chronicles the African presence in the church from the New Testament onward, paying particular attention to the growth of Islam in Africa as well as the impact of European colonialism and the slave trade. Coming to the modern era, he examines the achievements of African Christianity and visionary efforts to adapt and reclaim Christianity for the African context.Burton invites readers to discover anew the relevance of thebiblical narrative for African Christians as well as Scripture's influence on African Christianity. This invigorating work places the story of the Bible and African Christianity in a wider global context and challenges readers to think differently about history and the biblical world.

REVIEWS

"This is indeed a landmark publication as it is an invaluable contribution on the specificity of African Christian theology that has blossomed in the last thirty-five years since J. S. Mbiti's seminal article of 1972. I wholeheartedly commend The Blessing of Africa to all, especially Africans and African Americans who want to appreciate the Bible as the basis of African Christianity and its theology in the world today."Ukachukwu Chris Manus, professor, Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and author of Christ the African King and Intercultural Hermeneutics of the Bible in Africa
"I found this book fascinating and have learned from it considerably, both on matters I have previously studied and on material that was new to me. On points where my views differ, Burton has challenged and stimulated my thinking."CraigS. Keener, professor of New Testament, Palmer Theological Seminary, and coauthor of Black Man's Religion and Defending Black Faith
"Keith Augustus Burton, in his new volume, The Blessing of Africa: The Bible and African Christianity, helps us to see that all roads do not lead to Rome. There is at least one highway that tends southward toward Ethiopia and even to the lands beyond its rivers. As Augustine said, 'God hath foretold that the Church should be in Africa.'Dr. Burton's familiarity with the sources and his broad historical view make it possible for him to paint a vivid picture of Yahweh's wordat work in the 'land of Ham.' In a day when historians, religion teachers, journalists and even filmmakers are rushing to grasp the significance of Africa's sudden turn toward Christianity, Burton makes solid sense of what is happening biblically, theologically and historically. He deserves our thanks. You will agree as you read it."Charles E. Bradford, president (retired), Seventh-day Adventist Churches in North America
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One. The Land of Ham: Defining Biblical Africa
1. The Table of Nations in Genesis 10
2. Defining the Territory of Cush
3. Defining the Territory of Misrayim
4.Defining the Territory of Canaan
Part Two. Family Reunion: Africans in the Bible
5. Identifying the Africans in Cush
6. Identifying the Africans in Misrayim
7. Identifying the Africans in Canaan
Part Three. Growing Pains: The Bible in Emerging African Christianity
8.The Development of Christianity in Palestine
9. The Development of Christianity in North Africa
10. The Development of Christianity in Arabia and Ethiopia
Part Four. Total Eclipse: Islam's Distortion of the Biblical Message
11. The Influence of the Bible on the Koran
12. The Growth of Islam in Biblical Africa
Part Five: Hostile Takeover:Europe's Manipulation of the Biblical Message
13. The European Crusade Against Islam
14. The Struggle for Control in the Ethiopian Church
15. Mission and Colonization in Sub-Saharan Africa
Part Six. Free atLast: The Bible and African Liberation
16. The Decline of Christianity in Islamic Africa
17. The Shortcomings of Ethiopian Christianity
18. The Impact of Christianity on Sub-Saharan Africa
Conclusion
Appendix 1. Descendants of Ham and the Modern Locations of their Assigned Territories
Appendix 2. Shared Blessings: Hamo-Semitic Africans in the Land of Cush
Works Cited
Subject Index
Author Index
Name Index
Scripture Index

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ABOUT Keith Augustus Burton

Keith Augustus Burton

Keith Augustus Burton (Ph.D., Northwestern) is president of Life Heritage Ministries. He is also an adjunct instructor of religion at the Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, and previously served as a professor of theology at Oakwood College, Huntsville, Alabama.

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