The African Heartbeat of the Divine: Experiencing God

In the African spirit, the Divine – often called Nana, a term evoking the gentle wisdom of a grandparent – is experienced as the ultimate loving parent. Whether envisioned as Father or Mother, the essence remains the same: Nana is the wellspring of boundless kindness and unwavering protection.

Mercy Amba Oduyoye, a renowned African theologian, reminds us that speaking of Africa is a journey across a vast and diverse landscape of experiences. Whose experience of God are we exploring? The primal connection to the Divine, deeply rooted in the land and expressed in ancient traditions like the building of pyramids and the vibrant annual festivals of West Africa? The profound faith of Muslims, their roots stretching back to the dawn of Islam, their voices echoing insha Allah across the continent? The vibrant faith of Christians, their histories intertwined with the continent’s evolving story? Africa is a mosaic of spiritualities, a home to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and countless others. Therefore, our exploration must acknowledge this rich multi-religious tapestry.

To focus our understanding, we will delve into the Primal Religions (African Religions, AR) as documented by recent scholarship, and the dynamic new expressions of Christianity emerging across the continent. Geographically, our gaze will be on Africa south of the Sahara. The insights shared here are drawn from the voices of Africans themselves – their traditional understandings articulated by early African theologians of AR, the powerful experience of God in South Africa during the struggle against apartheid, and the evolving image of the Divine being painted by African women through their creative works and theological reflections. But first, we must touch upon the fundamental nature of God within African cosmology and culture.

The Ever-Present God:

The biblical declaration, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God,’” finds no echo in traditional Africa. In his seminal lecture at Ibadan in 1974, Professor Bolaji Idowu engaged with the “God is dead” debate, asserting the foundational importance of belief in God for understanding humanity and the universe. He echoed the Tanzanian wisdom that just as all see the same sun, so too do all recognize the one God. Yet, Betty Goviden quotes the South African poet Malusi Mpumlwana, who poignantly asks if the God of the oppressor and the God of the oppressed can truly be the same.

In the heart of traditional Africa, untouched by external norms, God is experienced as an all-pervading reality, a constant participant in the lives of people. The everyday language of West Africans, in Oduyoye’s experience, reflects this deeply ingrained awareness. The Muslim’s insha Allah, the Yoruba Christian’s “DV” (God willing), and the Akan’s conviction that all is “by the grace of God” all speak to this pervasive presence. The Akan proverb, “Nsem nyina ne Onyame” (all things/affairs pertain to God), encapsulates this understanding. Nelson Mandela himself described the Xhosa traditional religion as characterized by a “cosmic wholeness so that there is little distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the natural and the supernatural.”

The Yoruba respond to prayer with Ase, the potent divine power through which Olodumare created and sustains the universe. This belief in God’s omnipresent power imbues the cosmos with a sacramental quality. The African worldview is rooted in a cosmology that recognizes a Source Being, the Supreme God, and other divine beings associated with God. As God is the foundation of life, nothing occurs without divine involvement. God is seen as eternally living, and this belief often extends to the understanding that even in death, human existence continues in another form.

The very language used to speak of God, the names by which God is known, reveals the African experience of the Divine. Early scholars like G. Parrinder, E. B. Idowu, and J. S. Mbiti documented numerous African names for God, highlighting that these are not mere labels but “descriptive of character and depict people’s experience of God.” These names, along with the rich tapestry of proverbs, songs, and prayers, continue to offer profound insights into the African understanding of the Divine.

Where words falter, symbols often take over. The Akan people of Ghana utilize the intricate Adinkra symbols, found on gold weights and royal regalia, many of which carry theophorous meanings. The star symbolizes dependence on God, not self. The symbol of hope expresses a yearning for divine favor. Another symbol embodies the reliance of the human spirit on God’s spirit. The well-known Gye Nyame encapsulates the belief that “without God nothing holds together,” God being the very foundation of existence. These examples illustrate the inherent limitations of language in fully capturing the profound experience of God.

There is a deep-seated belief that all blessings and well-being originate from God, and that delayed well-being is simply a matter of divine timing. As a Lutheran World Federation document on AR states, “AR holds that the world and nature are good gifts that God entrusted to human beings: they provide nourishment for life, security and home for our bodies.” This experience of God as benevolent is a vibrant thread woven through African spiritualities, often reinforced by the Abrahamic faiths.

Experiencing the Enduring Faith:

The ongoing exploration of Christian missions has spurred deeper inquiry into the theology of religions, interreligious dialogue, and the interplay between the gospel and diverse cultures, leading to a renewed appreciation for the religions of “the other.” Within this context, AR is understood as “an indigenous system of beliefs and practices integrated into the culture and world views of African peoples.” This original spirituality embodies the African experience of God and permeates all cultural norms, shaping human relations through the belief in our shared belonging in God – “Onyame nti” (because of God, or for the sake of God), we act or refrain from acting. God is experienced as the singular creator and sustainer of all, expecting humanity to relate to God as children and to one another as siblings, with reverence for the earth and the natural world.

The belief in the unity of God is intertwined with the understanding of the unity of the cosmos. God’s sustenance and goodness are evident in both rain and sunshine. While dark clouds might be interpreted by some as divine anger, even this “anger” ultimately manifests as the blessing of rain. Excessive rain or floods, however, are often attributed not to God directly but to the displeasure of nature spirits or wronged ancestors. God is seen as providing what is sufficient. The experience of God as inherently good poses a profound question when confronted with the reality of evil. Traditional understandings sometimes suggest that both good and bad originate from God, with the belief that “when God gives you disease, God also gives you the cure.”

The total reliance on God in AR is evident in prayer. God is the ultimate recipient of all supplications, with libations invariably beginning with an invocation of the Divine. This God has been present with Africans from the beginning, featuring prominently in prayers, greetings, blessings, and even curses. The potent curse, “God will pay you back,” reflects the belief in divine justice, though its use is often discouraged due to the potential for unintended consequences. In AR, it is not God who directly suffers from human wrongdoing but the individuals themselves. However, when suffering arises from external evil, the Creator of all humanity is believed to demonstrate concern. Behind the unspoken curse lies the expectation of God’s impartial judgment, the awareness that God sees injustice and exploitation. Crucially, God is experienced as the protector of the weak. When vulnerable individuals escape harm, it is often attributed to divine intervention.

The immediacy of God in African life is further reflected in theophorous names, such as the Akan Nyamekye (gift of God) and Dardom (depend on God). Yoruba names beginning with Olu or Oluwa also speak to the human experience of the Divine. These names embody an African ontology centered on God as the source of life and unity, whose sovereignty is unquestioned. Blessings are experienced when ideals like unity, community, care, faithfulness, and steadfastness prevail among people, for in these qualities, God is encountered.

God is intimately experienced as the good parent, the grandparent Nana, a source of profound loving-kindness and protection. Whether addressed as Father or Mother, the underlying sentiment of close connection remains. The existence of God was never a point of contention; the constant endeavor was to discern God’s active presence in the world. The questions pondered were: Does God take sides? If so, whose side and why? The African experience of God is that ultimately, the Divine aligns with the vulnerable and with justice. God remains beyond complete human comprehension – “Nsa baako ntumi nkata Onyame ani” (no single hand can cover the eye of God) – leading to a recognition of diverse paths to and experiences of the Divine, shaped by the circumstances of daily life.

A Contemporary Shift in God-Talk:

The South African experience vividly illustrates how traditional Christian language about God can be adapted to reflect the lived reality of God’s presence. Alan Boesak, writing about Isaiah Shembe (1870-1935), the founder of an African Independent Church (AIC), recounts the powerful statement within his church:

You my people, were once told of a God who had neither arms nor legs, who cannot see, who has neither love nor pity. But Isaiah Shembe showed you God who walks on feet and who heals with his hands, and who can be known by men.

In these churches, Africans encountered a God of love and compassion, directly addressing the South African dilemma of a God seemingly endorsing injustice. The experience of God as healer and companion became central, and the “exodus” from white-led churches to AICs, Boesak argues, was a profound theological statement. Further theological reflections arising from the South African experience of God are compiled in Black Theology: The South African Voice, edited by Basil Moore. Africans in South Africa experienced God as actively working through many envoys, a stark contrast to the missionary portrayal of AR as idolatrous and godless.

The AICs played a crucial role in re-establishing African ways of speaking about God within the vocabulary of African Christians. The experience of racism in South Africa included a Christian God perceived as a boss (akin to the oppressive secret police) favoring the dominant group. Black theology challenged the notion of a partial God who favored the white race and subjugated Black people. A renewed understanding of God as compassionate and just was essential. Revelation was understood through lived experience, as South Africans, both Black and white, encountered God’s presence and essence anew. This collection of essays bears witness to this profound experience.

In the context of apartheid, where white individuals positioned themselves as arbiters of humanity, articulating the concept of the Source Being in meaningful terms was a significant challenge. God in the apartheid system was depicted through patriarchal and hierarchical lenses, reinforcing the oppressive regime. Traditional Christian theological terms like omniscience and omnipotence fueled authoritarianism and offered no solace to a people who understood God as abhorring slavery. Africans found white authority at odds with their traditional philosophy, where authority stemmed from serving the unity and well-being of the entire community, not from power over others. Their fundamental experience of being human was rooted in life-affirming relationships, leading to images of God that emphasized liberation, unity, and wholeness.

God needed to be experienced as the source of humanizing relationships characterized by love, truth, justice, mercy, and kindness. New language emerged as South Africans, both those of African descent and those awakened to the evils of apartheid, began to experience God as freedom. God as freedom became a powerful theological symbol. They moved away from anthropomorphic language that perpetuated sexism and embraced relational expressions. In their contribution to Black Theology, Sabelo Ntwana and Basil Moore state that while “God is love” signifies a personal God who loves, “God is freedom” represents the liberation witnessed in their history, calling them from oppression to wholeness. God is this wholeness found in the spaces of mutual affirmation of dignity and worth, expressed through love, truth, honesty, justice, and caring warmth. God, they asserted, cannot be confined to any created object.

Mokgethi Motlhabi declared that the Church itself had become an oppressive human institution, stating that “Only God is freedom.” Therefore, their freedom was reflected in the image of God. Motlhabi’s experience in the South African context led to the understanding of God as “both creator and liberator to all people in their entire situation, not only religious but also social, political and economic” – a call to the holistic cosmology of AR that also resonated with biblical teachings. In South Africa, God was experienced as freedom, truth, comrade, and friend in the struggle for liberation.

Women’s Experiences of God:

The South African reimagining of God was deeply intertwined with the need to dismantle the patriarchal model that underpinned the hierarchy, domination, and sexism experienced under apartheid. The editors of Black Theology: The South African Voice recognized that “The symbol ‘person’ for God attracts both gender and color and has strong overtones of authority,” and that the traditional Christian notion of a male God had detrimental consequences. They asserted that a “Black theology of liberation that is relevant to South Africa cannot afford to perpetuate any form of domination, not even male domination; if its liberation is not human enough to include the liberation of women, it will not be liberation.” The constitution of the new South Africa reflected this inclusive vision, shared by many African women and articulated by the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians.

Within the Church in Africa, where men and clergy often presume to speak for God and demand women’s obedience, experiencing God as empowering and liberating can be challenging. Women often encounter a God who seemingly ordains their subordination, requiring them to serve without being served. God is presented as the creator of women, with bodies deemed sources of sin and impurity. God is experienced as the origin of women’s oppression, and Jesus as the reason for their exclusion from sacramental roles. This is the God the Christian tradition often expects women to love and obey.

However, many women perceive this as a substitution of male will for divine will. They experience God differently, resisting cultural codes that obscure the divine image in women. They find God empowering them with a spirituality of resistance to dehumanization. The androcentric Bible and Church have not been able to fully distort women’s direct experience of God as a loving liberator.

These women articulate their experience of God through a theology of creation and the implications of the Christian affirmation that “God was in Christ.” Their Christology centers on Jesus as a friend and liberator who upholds the dignity of women’s humanity. They experience God in Christ as affirming the goodness of women’s sexuality, a factor often used in both AR and Christianity to diminish women, discriminate against them, and marginalize them from power and sacramental roles. The writings of African women theologians are filled with these powerful experiences.

Teresia Hinga, in The Will to Arise, describes an experience of God in Christ that resonates deeply with African women. They often portray Jesus as a friend and companion who helps them bear life’s burdens, a prophetic figure who challenges oppressors yet forgives sinners. In Jesus, women experience the God who is love. These experiences are affirmed with a resilient “nevertheless,” as women assert their inherent image of God despite societal sexism.

In the women theologians’ circle, reflections on God’s hospitality, African hospitality, and women in the household of God reveal their experience of God as the Great Householder who empowers all and welcomes everyone as children around a shared table. They express their encounters with a God who sustains in times of dire need and brings unexpected victory. They consistently attribute recognition and inclusion to the transformative power of God. Their experience of God involves affirming positive cultural beliefs while feeling divinely called to denounce and dismantle oppressive ones.

Despite the obstacles posed by sexism within the Church, women have steadfastly testified to their experience of God in Christ, the bringer of salvation. While critical of certain patriarchal aspects of biblical culture, they have nonetheless shared their encounters with the liberating God of the Bible in their own lives. Rereading Scripture, particularly the stories of women, has brought God closer and enhanced the sense of divine presence. Women experience God as groaning alongside them as they strive for a new Africa free from sexism and racism, poverty, exploitation, and violence.

All experiences of “love beyond self,” all that embodies justice and fosters life, are understood as expressions of God’s presence. Everything that elevates the dignity and worth of women is attributed to the Divine. Women who take the image of God in humanity seriously see it reflected in the faces of starving children and all those who suffer needlessly in Africa. When women live with care and compassion, they are embodying the caring God in whose image they are created. It is hoped that those who experience love, justice, and compassion will recognize the presence of God in these acts.

Building Up Christ’s Body:

How do these diverse experiences of God in Africa relate to the building up of the Body of Christ on the continent? How do churches respond to these encounters with the Divine? There is a resurgence of traditional African images of God within the AICs and, to a lesser extent, in the “Prosperity Christianity” that has gained significant traction in Africa. The AICs are often characterized as prophetic-healing-praying churches. Africans are drawn to these churches seeking to hear God through prophets, mirroring the traditional practice of divination in AR. They seek and experience healing of both body and soul, and the power of communion with God through prayer. Religion becomes a vibrant, lived experience, moving beyond formal gatherings devoid of African cultural expression. The growth of these churches suggests that they are meeting the deeply felt spiritual needs of the people, thus building up the Body of Christ.

The South African experience of God as liberator has inspired churches in other parts of Africa to challenge governments on issues of social justice and the well-being of the populace. Contemporary experiences of atrocities committed by Africans against other Africans lead to profound questions: “Where is God in all this?” “Whose side is God on?” Some have even concluded that God appears indifferent to the suffering in Africa. In other words, Africa experiences the absence of God when evil prevails, a sentiment shared by adherents of AR and Christians alike. Mandela’s recollection of a speech during his initiation poignantly illustrates this:

‘‘I know that Qameta (God) is all-seeing and never sleeps, but I have a suspicion that Qameta may in fact be dozing. If this is the case, the sooner I die the better, because then I can meet him and shake him awake and tell him that the children of Ngubengcuku, the flower of the Xhosa nation, are dying.”

The formal dismantling of apartheid brought widespread joy and a sense of divine intervention. The presence of God was palpable.

To truly build up Christ’s body, the liberating presence of God must be demonstrated. Empowering nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Sudan and Nigeria, to live creatively and justly with their differences will help