- Gaborone, South-East, Botswana
Sandra Freeman
University of Manchester, Religions and Theology, Graduate Student
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Within the trichotomy of fear-power, shame-honor, and guilt-innocence culture paradigms, sub-Saharan African cultures typically have been labelled as fear-power cultures. However, a growing body of research, including from Africans... more
Within the trichotomy of fear-power, shame-honor, and guilt-innocence culture paradigms, sub-Saharan African cultures typically have been labelled as fear-power cultures. However, a growing body of research, including from Africans themselves, asserts that this categorization has created a blind spot to the realities of honor-shame that permeate every facet of African life. This article identifies and explores the ways in which honor-shame dynamics are evident in sub-Saharan African cultures and proposes ways to address these issues for a clearer communication of biblical truth and effective evangelism and discipleship with the goal of genuine heart and worldview transformation.
Research Interests:
Africa has become known as the most corrupt region in the world, and yet the majority of people in most sub-Saharan countries identify as Christian. Efforts at ethics education are often unsuccessful and seen as westernization, so... more
Africa has become known as the most corrupt region in the world, and yet the
majority of people in most sub-Saharan countries identify as Christian. Efforts at
ethics education are often unsuccessful and seen as westernization, so traditional
Ubuntu has been promoted as a solution. Because Africa is an honour-shame based
culture with an orality context, kinship-loyalty and honour toward the words and
wishes of cultural elders has also been observed as contributing to the problems which
Ubuntu wants to solve, often resulting in nepotism. Furthermore, it has been said that
such morality is relative depending on who in the cultural hierarchy is being honoured,
and truth is vested in ‘who’ says it rather than in discerning ‘what’ is said. Therefore
it has been suggested that a higher moral standard that could change loyalties would
need to become part of an African’s mindset. This thesis proposes that a stronger
understanding of the doctrine of Christ as ‘the Word’ would not only bring a higher
moral authority, but an ultimate authority of relationship-loyalty which would surpass
all others. Furthermore, in both the living and written Word, the divine Christ moves
morality and truth from relative according to the variable wishes and words of human
cultural elders, to objective, certain and knowable clarity, as coming from God. Christ
- ‘the Word’ does not just bring a new western ethical theory, but because he is divine
in his humanity, coming ‘from above’, his humanity is not tied to one ethnicity and
thus his ethics are supra-cultural. This supreme authoritative clarity could thus enable
African Christians to live according to a higher eternal honour both within the church
and out in the workplace for the good of the continent and the glory of God.
majority of people in most sub-Saharan countries identify as Christian. Efforts at
ethics education are often unsuccessful and seen as westernization, so traditional
Ubuntu has been promoted as a solution. Because Africa is an honour-shame based
culture with an orality context, kinship-loyalty and honour toward the words and
wishes of cultural elders has also been observed as contributing to the problems which
Ubuntu wants to solve, often resulting in nepotism. Furthermore, it has been said that
such morality is relative depending on who in the cultural hierarchy is being honoured,
and truth is vested in ‘who’ says it rather than in discerning ‘what’ is said. Therefore
it has been suggested that a higher moral standard that could change loyalties would
need to become part of an African’s mindset. This thesis proposes that a stronger
understanding of the doctrine of Christ as ‘the Word’ would not only bring a higher
moral authority, but an ultimate authority of relationship-loyalty which would surpass
all others. Furthermore, in both the living and written Word, the divine Christ moves
morality and truth from relative according to the variable wishes and words of human
cultural elders, to objective, certain and knowable clarity, as coming from God. Christ
- ‘the Word’ does not just bring a new western ethical theory, but because he is divine
in his humanity, coming ‘from above’, his humanity is not tied to one ethnicity and
thus his ethics are supra-cultural. This supreme authoritative clarity could thus enable
African Christians to live according to a higher eternal honour both within the church
and out in the workplace for the good of the continent and the glory of God.