Reconstruction Theology in Sub-Saharan Africa

A Responsible Reconstruction Theology for Today’s Africa Jean-Marie Hyacinthe Quenum, S.J. The epochal event of the end of the Cold War has opened to Africa south of the Sahara desert a new era of hope and great expectations. Since the1990s, there is everywhere in Sub-Saharan Africa a desire to reconstruct the socio-economic and political systems of post-colonial countries in order to provide a framework for a genuine process of sustainable and integral development. A thematic theology of reconstruction connected to the real life of people in the new world order after the Cold War is designed to respond to the myriad challenges of African preoccupations, questions and dramatic situations. The Christian reconstruction theology is a contextualized vision of common good rooted in the experience of Jesus of Nazareth proclaiming the values of the Kingdom of God in dialogue with the process of democratic governance in sub-Saharan Africa. The Christian reconstruction theology dedicated to the welfare of the human person in just, free and loving communities dealing with the political projects of improved economic life of the people. The focus of reconstruction theology is in the advocacy of human rights Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations Organization on December 10, 1948. , the people’s full participation in law-making and in community-building in Africa south of the Sahara desert. This Christian reconstruction theology seeks to contribute to the promotion and preservation of justice, peace and reconciliation. It lays a new foundation for all politics in rebuilding the sinful structures of the societies that generate the socio-economic poverty, suffering, marginalization and death. The reconstruction theology was first advocated by the Kenyan scholar J. N. K. Mugambi as theologian and writer. Mugambi, J.N. K. From Liberation to Reconstruction. African Christian Theology after the Cold War. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers. 1995. John Mary Waliggo of Uganda John Mary Waliggo. Struggle for Equality: Women and Empowerment in Uganda, AMECEA Gaba Publications, Spearhead nos. 158-160, 2002. and Charles Villa –Vicencio of South Africa are well known as leading activists of reconstruction theology. This theology is inspired by the biblical narrative of Nehemiah’s reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem. It implies the idea of rebuilding the deposit of faith to fit with contemporary needs of a just and loving society. It aims at the practical reconstruction of human institutions to bring about social change and economic transformation in the light of Jesus’ message of love and peace. Why was reconstruction theology an important promising task for the African Church in the 1990s? How is the theology of reconstruction relevant to various ecclesial contexts at the eve of the second special synod of bishops for Africa? What are the achievements of the theology of reconstruction in today’s Africa? Why was reconstruction theology an important promising task for the Church of Africa in the 1990s? In the 1990s, the Church of Africa made a public commitment on the burning issues of democratic governance, justice, peace and integrity of creation. By taking an active part in the political reconstruction of their countries, Christian believers from Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi have been in the forefront of the struggle for social change. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu after the fall of apartheid worked hard for a reconciled South Africa in truth. They have promoted genuine forgiveness, restorative reconciliation, and active nonviolence over the evil and dehumanizing apartheid policy. They showed through their reconstruction theology how forgiveness, reconciliation and nonviolence play a crucial active and indispensable role today in the peace process both locally and internationally. Catholic Justice and Peace Commissions throughout Sub-Saharan Africa issued statements about the dignity of human person and the need to promote common good against the background of violation of human rights and rampant corruption. They strongly condemned all forms of tribalism and sexism wherever they were practiced. Archbishop Isidore de Souza of Cotonou played a major role in the democratic transition of the republic of Benin. Many Christian believers were involved in constitution reforms in Africa, south of the Sahara. The catholic Church in line with Gaudium et Spes sharing the joys and sorrows of the people of Sub-Saharan Africa have been involved in the public sphere, promoting civic education, lobbying, advocacy of human rights, resources centers and training agents for social transformation. As an active member of civil society, the Church of Africa has used its moral influence, its religious expertise and the means of mass communication to foster the democratic culture in the making in most countries of tropical Africa. The Church has encouraged multi-party system, free and transparent elections, public debates on socio-economic issues and has educated the faithful to hold African rulers accountable to their communities. The aim of reconstruction theology in sub-Saharan Africa is to make God who is life for human beings, present in the world of the socio-political, cultural, economic and legal institutions. The entire reality of human existence became the place where the action of God is revealed in order to commit African Christians to the active transformation of sinful structures that produced abject poverty, injustice, oppression, imperial rule, patrimonial states, divisions and gender imbalance. Paying close attention to the “signs of the times”, in the 1990s, African Christian theology of reconstruction brought the light of the Gospel to socio-economic problems faced by the people of Africa in changing historical situation after the era of the Cold War. As a theology of dialogue, the African Christian reconstruction theology presented the Gospel message to the historical situations of the 1990s. Every aspect of the life of people in sub-Saharan Africa is related to the message of Jesus Christ who came in the world to rebuild the close intimate family relationships between human beings called by God to a common destiny. Called to build the unity of human family in various forms of communities, all Africans are invited by reconstruction theology to value religious differences as constructive ways of being in dialogue of life in search of communion with all God’s creatures. In the midst of the atrocities in Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Church of the 1990s played a prophetic role by speaking up clearly and loudly about the violations of human rights and by denouncing the alarming social injustices coupled with the unbalanced economic order. As prophets of hope, Church organizations joined the civil society to spread human rights culture, constitutionalism spirit, good governance in social practices and interactions. The realities of justice, peacemaking, reconciliation and solidarity became the social concerns of the people of God in Africa south of the Sahara desert. The African Christian reconstruction theology has provided in the 1990s a very good and helpful reflection about the process of democratic culture in the making in Africa, south of Sahara. The interaction of this theology with the lived experiences of political reforms and economic restructurations have been valuable in fostering social development needed to hand over the power of decision-making to the people oppressed by greedy politicians and self-interested elite. With African Christian Reconstruction theology the Church as the people of God is involved in ongoing activities of justice, peacemaking and reconciliation. The Church is seen as a redemptive community following the footsteps of his Lord as the voice of countless people who undergo many sufferings and hardships in their daily lives. Relevant to the living situations and conditions of people, the African Christian reconstruction theology empowered Christian believers in their paths toward their missionary responsibilities of evangelizing various outrageous systems that denied human rights. The Church of Africa, in the 1990s has been instrumental in rebuilding unity and peace. Its message of freedom, of equality, of universal brotherhood and sisterhood irrespective of tribe and nation, of solidarity, of justice, peace and reconciliation has shaped the new political life of the 1990s. Fully and completely committed to rebuild the foundations of sub-Saharan African societies, reconstruction theology took the message of love of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of reconciled diversity. The main effort of reconstruction theologians is to show that differences can enrich and lead to the recognition of others. So there is no need to exclude or reject others in their personal, social and cultural orientations. Differences should not separate. Differences should not be absolutized. Differences should be shared and reconciled in order to find a basic consensus. On the basis of reconciled differences, a theological insight of reconstruction will attempt to translate the passion for unity into political realities. Committed to the new order brought about by the end of the Cold War, reconstruction theology defended the various rights of the human person in sub-Saharan Africa. The hermeneutical method of the theology of reconstruction is based on the interpretation of “the signs of the times”. In the 1990s the sub-Saharan African world was full of social evils: inequalities and miseries as a reflection of economic and political injustices, dictatorship and the harshness of everyday life, the militarization of African states, the arbitrary detention of citizens judged dangerous for national security, the painful refugee situations, the negative implications of the service of debt, unemployment, epidemics, pandemics of malaria and AIDS, food deficits, the bloodshed of rebellion movements and protracted civil wars. People were disillusioned about the hopes and expectations of the last thirty years of independence. All sub-Saharan African countries were threatened by claims to individual rights in opposition to post-colonial authorities. Reconstruction theology as the promoter of fundamental human rights is based on equal dignity of all human beings (Gen 1:27). It calls for the protection of the poor and powerless that lives in dehumanizing situations. Rooted in the world of socio-economic poverty, reconstruction theology made an option for the African victims of the unjust international economic system. The socio-economic poor of sub-Saharan Africa are the marginalized in international trade. They are ignored as not contributing much to the creation of wealth in the international community. They remain needy and deprived of essential goods for human fulfillment. “The international trade system today frequently discriminates against the products of the young countries for the developing countries and discourages the producers of raw materials. There exists, too, a kind of international division of labor, whereby the low cost products of certain countries, which lack effective labor laws or which are too weak to apply them, are sold in other parts of the world at considerable profit for the companies engaged in this form of production, which knows no frontiers. The world monetary and financial system is marked by an excessive fluctuation of exchange rates and interest rates, to the detriment of the balance of payments and the debt situation of the poorest countries John Paul II, Sollicitudo rei socialis, Bombay, Daughters of St Paul, 1988. no.43. .”Challenging the unjust laws of the land, the reconstruction theology fights for education, freedom and fellowship. Its aim is the growth of the human person living in peaceful coexistence with the other members of a just and loving community. Tinyiko S. Maluleke, a missiologist in the faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of South Africa, Pretoria, made a criticism about the paradigm shift of reconstruction theology in these terms. “My main critique of both Mugambi and Villa- Vicencio is in their assumption that the end of the “cold war” has immediate significance for ordinary Africans and that the so-called new world order is truly “new” and truly “orderly” for Africans. Yet as Mugambi himself rightly points out a few times in his book, Africa’s problems of poverty, war, dictatorships and American bully-boy tactics are unlikely to decrease because of the “new world order”. In fact, the “new world order” is not only likely to relegate Africa into a “fourth world” but it will also impose its own prescriptions on African countries. One such prescription is “democracy” or its semblance. I have also been critical of the fact that both Mugambi and Villa-Vicencio appear to minimize the values of previous African Theologies of both inculturation and liberation Maluleke, Tinyiko S. “Half a century of African Christian Theologies. Elements of the emerging agenda for the 21st century” in The Church and Reconstruction of Africa, Theological Considerations /Edited by J.N.K. Mugambi-: All Africa Conferences of Churches, Nairobi, 1997. .” Taking into consideration the constructive criticism and remarks of Tinyiko Sam Maluleke does not invalidate the purpose of reconstruction theology that seeks for the regeneration of social and intellectual foundations of sub-Saharan African societies. The ordinary Africans may not be aware of all the implications of the end of the Cold War but they are affected by the events like the democratic process, structural readjustment and the effects of globalization in domestic politics. Reconstruction theology is a new way of doing theology rooted in African modern cultures in the making. Inculturation theology and African liberation theology are not outdated. They find a better expression in the new paradigm of reconstruction theology directly concerned with the disastrous socio-economic and political situations that challenged African Christians to solve today’s problems with critical reflection and adequate planning. As a practical theology, reconstruction theology contributes to answer a large range of problems created by the new era of the end of the Cold War. If the chronological starting point of reconstruction theology is the end of the Cold War, the living reality of this new way of doing theology is African today’s experience of human suffering and Christian hope. Reconstruction theology stresses the urgent need at this particular time of history to rebuild various houses of sub-Saharan Africa by restoring the best insights of their cultural heritage. Reconstruction theology is a call to recreate new structures of communal life by reorganizing and reforming the ways of life of sub-Saharan Africa to suit the vision of happiness and fulfillment in today’s world. It is an appeal to renovate the world of suffering people by mobilizing their energies for economic transformation. The undeniable contribution of reconstruction theology to African Christian theology consists in selecting the values of sub-Saharan African cultural heritage through the process of deconstruction in view of rebuilding something familiar and ideally suitable for the new era of the end of Cold War. How is the theology of reconstruction relevant to various ecclesial contexts at the eve of the second special synod of bishops for Africa? The African Christian reconstruction theology has developed from the perspective of human rights and practices of justice and community-building. The mystery of the Logos incarnate and his ministry of rebuilding human relationships originated from the Tripersonal God who cares for his creatures. The mission of the eternal Logos, the only begotten of the Father made human and empowered by the divine Spirit of love common to both Father and Son, has reached a process of self-giving in salvation history through the reconstruction of human interpersonal relations. The Church of Africa as the icon of the Trinitarian God, in the paradigm shift of reconstruction theology calls for social responsibility and perfect communion. The self-communicating Trinitarian God is involved in African history of the 1990s by the call of the incarnate Logos to share his dignity as Son with his sub-Saharan brethren by becoming their perfect model of conduct in practicing a right relationship in community-building. “In this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1Jn 4: 9). By living through Jesus Christ, the perfector of human bonds, African Christians are called to work for the welfare of their societies. Linked to the Son by the grace of divine filiations, African Christians are empowered by the Holy Spirit to struggle for the reconstruction of their social institutions by human means in history. African Christian reconstruction theology is the human effort to organize temporal societies in such a way that mutual love, mutual care, mutual sharing may become the animating principles and the driving force of good living. It emancipated people from hunger, malnutrition, famine, diseases, ignorance, all forms of oppression and socio-cultural exclusions. The dignity of the human person is stressed by taking into account the African reality and the basic and elaborate needs of people at the margin of history. The metaphor of reconstruction calls for a new exodus in time. People are no longer relocated by God but they are called by him to true conversion and responsibility. The call to true conversion and responsibility requires a daily hard work of creativity and innovation. Rebuilding the continent implies various solutions leading to constructive actions. The belief system of sub-Saharan Africa must be reconstructed with the Word of God, the social teaching of the Church and the wisdom of Christian activists. The theological relevance of reconstruction in sub-Saharan Africa is expressed in the new ways and means designed by the builders of inculturated faith to foster close human relationship. The 1994 first special assembly for Africa of the synod of Bishops has confirmed the insights of reconstruction theology by elaborating the model of the Church as Family of God. This new understanding of the Church as the Family of God made the process of evangelization open to inculturation, the daily practice of Interreligious dialogue, the promotion of justice and peace and the use of the means of social communication as tools for building a perfect communion and solidarity in sub-Saharan Africa. The Christian Great Jubilee of the year 2000 has prepared African Christians to face the ethical challenges of being poor in global and affluent society. At the eve of the second Synod of Bishops for Africa, the Church of Africa at the dawn of the 21st century defines itself as a servant of reconciliation, justice and peace. Reconstruction theology may help the family of God in Africa to move toward a renewed evangelization of the continent. The process of evangelization under the lead of reconstruction theology aims at introducing African Christians to a new approach of the mission of the Church in Africa, south of the Sahara desert. Today’s mission of the Church is seen as the incarnation of the Gospel in African modern cultures in the making. It means the promotion of social justice, peace and reconciliation. Today’s mission of the Church is related to the eradication of poverty and all forms of exclusions. The Christian mission supports the role of the church organizations in civil society for the advocacy of human rights, good governance and democracy. The means of the mission are dialogue, cooperation, cross-cultural exchange, inter-culturality and Christian activism nourished by the appropriation of Gospel values through prayer, critical reflection and planning. Inter-faith dialogue, Interreligious dialogue, theological dialogue and dialogue of life are at the heart of Christian mission today. Reconstruction theology is supportive of the new partnership of Africa on an international stage free of patronizing and ill effects of multinational corporations. At the eve of the special second synod of bishops for Africa, reconstruction theology seems to be the practical theology that starts from the African socio-economic context and then examines the impact of Gospel values in the varieties of situations that call for transformation in view of the reconstruction of the continent. By advocating for new structures of communal life, reconstruction theology is making a difference through its concern for human environment. The relevant strategies of reconstruction theology respond to the needs of various African ecclesial contexts. This theological trend is best understood as the stewardship of creation in sub-Saharan Africa. Its nature is geared toward the reconstruction of just, free and loving sub-Saharan African communities. What are the achievements of reconstruction theology in today’s Africa? The mission of the theology of reconstruction is to make in sub-Saharan Africa : “the blind see again, and the lame walk, the lepers cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead raised up and the poor have good news preached to them”(Matt. 11: 4-5). The theology of reconstruction keeps actualizing the good news of the kingdom of God in the historical situations of sub-Saharan Africa. It challenged the corrupt rulers of the continent by proposing new ways of facing the crises of development characterized by the collapsing of the economic institutions and the deteriorating of education system. The reconstruction theology has encouraged economic reforms and helped elaborating new strategies of development for efficient investment. It has provided a framework for the creation of productive jobs and the launching of food production. The reconstruction theology has made constructive criticisms on the mechanisms of the trade system and the world monetary institutions. It has campaigned for the cancellation of debt. It has raised the world consciousness about the imbalance in the terms of trade and has suggested corrective measures to raise commodity prices. Christian activists influenced by reconstruction theology have raised the consciousness of people about the deterioration of geographical environment. As a creative attempt to shape a new future full of hope for Africa, reconstruction theology has been relevant for peacemaking, social justice and the protection of the environment. Reconstruction theology is linked with the creative Spirit of God speaking through today’s African Christian prophets. The same Spirit of God who wafted over the waters of creation (Gen 1:2) and transformed chaos into cosmos, is called upon African Christians by reconstruction theology so that they may build up a just, free and loving communities tailored to the sub-Saharan African context. Filled with the Spirit of God, African Christians are invited to be critical of their own societies. They are called to begin to form communities which will shape societies in radically alternative ways. The exemplary role of the earthly Jesus, as preacher, teacher, wonder-worker, community-builder, suffering servant and Lord is the model of their action. The earthly Jesus is the light and energy of stewardship of earth in sub-Saharan African context. The “building blocks” of reconstruction are love, solidarity, hard work, creativity, faith and hope. For reconstruction theology, the gift of God’s own self to the world occurs in the active life and hope of the Church making itself an agent of social and political change. The achievements of reconstruction theology are shown in the ways it promotes educational opportunities and works for human rights by challenging the political order. Some Concluding remarks The theological significance of reconstruction has a symbolic weight in the context of sub-Saharan African situations of extreme poverty. The theology of reconstruction is the presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in accordance with the consciousness raised by the end of the Cold War and the needs of sub-Saharan African people. By incarnating the Christian message in these modern African cultures, reconstruction theology is a discourse on Trinitarian God involved in the history and structures of life of the family of God. Designed for human welfare, reconstruction theology achieves its goal by connecting the Christian mystery with the appropriate socio-economic situations of sub-Saharan Africa. As an inculturated theology open to the modern issues of the continent, reconstruction theology is more concerned with the pastoral implications of its insights. Evolving in pastoral context, reconstruction theology is a way of approaching the perennial faith of the Church in the new perspective of African preoccupations. The profound convictions of reconstruction theology are based on the revealed God of the Christian tradition who empowers men and women to transform the world and to make it a better place for living in equal human dignity and solidarity. Reconstruction theology addresses the vital questions of today’s Africa. It explores various aspects of modern African cultures in correlation with the positive message of the rule of God preached by Jesus of Nazareth in line with the prophets of his people. Rooted in African modern cultures, reconstruction theology promotes an interdisciplinary methodology social analysis, faith reflection and plans for action. Reconstruction theology empowers a witness to Jesus Christ: “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:13-14). It calls for a change of mindset by providing to the Church of Africa a critical and theological reflection on Christian self actualization in the world. Jean-Marie Hyacinthe Quenum, S.J. [email protected] PAGE 8