Navigating the River: Christianity and African Culture in Meaningful Engagement

Dr. Bruce Riley Ashford offers insightful perspectives on the intricate dance between Christianity and culture, a relationship particularly nuanced and vital within the African context. His analysis reveals three primary stances that resonate deeply with the African experience:

1. Christianity Against Culture: The Fortress and the Fierce Encounter

This initial perspective posits Christianity and culture as inherently opposing forces, locked in a struggle for influence. The church is positioned as a distinct entity, standing firm against the tide of cultural trends. This view finds particular resonance in African contexts where rapid modernization and globalization are perceived as eroding traditional values and introducing foreign ideologies that clash with Christian beliefs. Many African Christians may feel increasingly marginalized as certain cultural norms shift away from traditional Christian ethics, facing mockery or rejection for their faith by influential voices in media, politics, and even within their own communities.

Within this framework of opposition, Ashford identifies two compelling analogies that speak powerfully to the African experience:

• The Church as a Sacred Enclosure (Oluggya): Drawing on the imagery of a traditional African homestead with its protective enclosure (oluggya in some Ugandan languages), this analogy portrays the church as a sacred space, a sanctuary offering refuge from the perceived spiritual dangers of the outside world. The emphasis is on creating a boundary, a protected zone where believers can preserve their faith and values from contamination. This resonates with the historical experience of some African Christian communities seeking to maintain their distinct identity in the face of cultural pressures. However, just as an overly fortified oluggya can isolate its inhabitants, this stance risks creating an artificial separation from the very communities the church is called to serve. Ashford’s point about “man-made barriers” creating an illusion of safety from sin rings true here. Sin, like weeds, can sprout within the most fortified enclosure. This mindset can lead to a rigid legalism, dictating strict rules of engagement with the wider society, hindering the church’s ability to be a transformative presence within its cultural context. It risks obeying only half of Jesus’s call to be in the world but not of it (John 17:14-16), effectively silencing the powerful voice of the Gospel within the very culture it seeks to avoid. The “comfy little bubble” can become a spiritual stagnation, hindering the vibrant exchange between faith and life.
• The Church as a Courageous Warrior (Omulwanyi): This analogy adopts a more active and confrontational stance, envisioning the church as a brave warrior entering the arena to combat the perceived evils within the surrounding culture. This resonates with the African understanding of spiritual warfare, where evil forces are believed to actively seek to undermine good. Biblical calls to “wage war against what is evil,” to “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11), and to “resist the devil” (James 4:7) find strong echoes in this perspective. However, as Ashford cautions, this mindset can easily slip into seeing the battle as being against people rather than against the underlying sin. In an African context where community and relationships are paramount, this can lead to division and alienation. God’s ultimate aim for the church is one of redemption and reconciliation, not destruction. The “unbelievers” within the cultural landscape are not simply enemies to be vanquished but individuals in need of healing and restoration, like “drowning people in need of a lifeboat.” The church, therefore, is not solely a military camp but also a “hospital for the sick,” engaging culture not through aggression but by consistently pointing towards the ultimate healer of brokenness.

2. Christianity of Culture: The Reflecting Pool and Uncritical Embrace

The second perspective presented by Ashford advocates for a welcoming embrace of the surrounding culture, integrating it into the life of the church. This view acknowledges the inherent creativity and dynamism within African cultures, recognizing that not all cultural shifts are negative.

• The Church as a Cultural Mirror (Endabirwamu): This analogy depicts churches that actively strive to reflect the prevailing cultural norms and values, seeking relevance and connection with their immediate context. In an African setting, this might involve incorporating indigenous music, art forms, or social structures into worship and church life. Ashford rightly points out that “God has enabled all people—Christian or not—to make good and valuable contributions in the cultural realm,” citing positive historical transformations like the fight against injustice, movements that have found resonance within African struggles for liberation and human rights. However, the danger lies in uncritically adopting cultural trends without discerning when culture deviates from God’s principles and elevates idols – be it the pursuit of wealth and status, the allure of sensual pleasures, or even distorted notions of progress and freedom that undermine communal values. The crucial question for the African church becomes: can it embrace the richness of its cultures without inadvertently embracing aspects that contradict the Gospel? Ashford notes that proponents of this view often hold their cultural context in high regard, perhaps disagreeing with minor aspects but largely seeing it as an ally. They tend to view cultural advancements as positive developments for the church to readily adopt. While acknowledging God’s design for humanity to create culture and recognizing the presence of truth, goodness, and beauty within it, this mindset risks failing to adequately discern the corrupting influence of sin on certain cultural expressions, potentially leading to a dilution of the distinctiveness of the Christian message and a weakening of its prophetic voice within the African context.

3. Christianity In and For Culture: The Ambassador and the Guiding Star

Ashford presents a third perspective, one that offers a more balanced and ultimately more transformative approach for Christianity’s engagement with African cultures:

• The Church as Christ’s Ambassador within the Community (Omubaka wa Kristo): This perspective envisions African Christians as representatives of Christ, deeply embedded within their cultural contexts but with an unwavering allegiance to God’s Kingdom. They are “in the midst of and for the good of their cultural context,” their lives marked by both obedience to God’s commands and a compelling witness to His transformative power. Drawing on the powerful image of ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20, this view understands believers as representing a different reality while fully participating in their current one. God, in His sovereignty, has created the very framework that allows African cultures to flourish and evolve. Humans, within this divine design, are the shapers and carriers of these cultures.
• Ashford makes a crucial distinction: “Every cultural context is structurally good, but sometimes directionally corrupt.” Therefore, the call is not to withdraw from African cultures or to blindly embrace them, but rather to live authentically within them (structurally) while actively seeking to steer their trajectory towards Christ and away from idols (directionally). As ambassadors, African believers immerse themselves fully in their cultures, striving to understand their nuances, speak their languages, and identify their deepest longings – not to endorse everything, but with the ultimate aim of revealing how Christ is the only one who can truly satisfy those often well-intentioned but ultimately misdirected desires. Ashford emphasizes that “every aspect of human life and culture is ripe for Christian witness.”
• Whether it is through art, music, storytelling, community building, or addressing social injustices, every dimension of African culture provides an arena in which Christians can articulate the message of Christ through their words and embody His character through their actions. This perspective encourages a posture of gratitude for the richness and diversity of African cultures, recognizing the inherent good within them, while simultaneously committing to redirecting what is not good towards Christ and the holistic well-being of African societies. The church becomes a guiding star, illuminating the path towards Christ within the unique and vibrant landscape of African culture.