3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANITY AND THE IMPACT OF THE REVIVAL MOVEMENT IN THE NORTH WESTERN DIOCESE OF THE
5.6. Sin as Understood among the Revivalists
The Abalokole or the "saved ones" utterly reject some of the African customs that they think endanger their Christian faith. Munga describes this period as the "old life" when one was a "
worldly person" and lived accordingly. She adds:
Before they were saved they had lived bad lives. Many were alcoholics, adulterers and fornicators, dancers, thieves cigarette smokers and liars. Many indicated that although they were born in Christian homes and were baptized and confirmed, they were only nominal Christians (1998:119).
Byarugaba agrees with Munga by stating that the "saved ones" understand themselves as a special group of Christians because Jesus Christ has saved them from sin. To them, sin is prostitution and other sexual offences such as adultery and fornication, smoking and drinking alcohol, robbery, infidelity in marriage, or incest (2000:4). A saved person is one who has confessed that Jesus Christ is the Lord (God who answers), and lives according to God's desire. Such a person is safe because the good spirits of God protect him or her (Ps. 91).
Living outside God's plan, the denial of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and living without following God's orders define sin in the Revival Movement. In other words, Abalokole movement is telling us that sin is anything that hinders free and spontaneous fellowship between human beings themselves. Joseph Lweyongeza adds that to be saved therefore means a return to the plan of God. Implicit in this is the understanding of a time when a person discovers that in the past he or she was lost (Interview with Joseph Lweyongeza, Itongo, 12/7/2002). Here it can be argued that these descriptions of people in the "old life"
can sometimes simply be fabrications. In other words people were not really liars or fornicators etc, but these words are used simply to refer to them before conversion.
This understanding of the concept of sin leads the writer to argue that the scope of sin is limited to the moral level and it has nothing to do with being born with a corrupt nature. In repentance the Abalokole emphasize public confession of sins where one confesses by the enumeration of one's sins. In confession one enumerates sins that one has committed against
in accord with the Lutheran theology of sin because in confession we meekly ask God's forgiveness of sins that we have committed against His will. Therefore we confess the sins that we remember and those that we do not remember. God out of his mercy forgives us all our sins, provided that there is true repentance.
Repentance is the beginning of Christian renewal. A renewed life in Jesus Christ bears good fruits. The Abalokole highlight that faith without good works is dead. To them good works are indications of change brought about by believing in Jesus Christ. This means that a true and faithful Christian will do works of charity even though these works are not the basis of one's salvation in Jesus Christ. A Christian is saved by grace in Jesus Christ. Faith and works are inseparable. For that reason a change in loyalties is proven by the nature of the works even if people have Christian names and they attend Holy Communion. Those under the Lordship of Jesus Christ perform good works. Good works follow faith in Jesus Christ and not otherwise.
Mugambi sees the danger facing the Abalokole community as being other worldly, even though Christians are ordinary individuals who must live and have their being in this world (1989:54). Mutembei does not support the concept of total rejection of the African ways of worshipping God, which were described as idolatry by the Abalokole extremists. He says "so that Christ could be worshipped according to the indigenous ways of worshipping God, which people had already internalised and were used" (1993:38).
Recent studies made by African scholars such as Nyamiti, Mbiti, Idowu and others have argued that the Abalokole are wrong in their attitude to the African religions and cultural heritage. Scholars such as Nyamiti have demonstrated that we can understand Christ in terms of our African religions and cultural roots (1984:15-63). Charles Nyamiti, a Catholic priest from Tanzania has been one of the most notable for his attempt to construe Christology in an African way in relation to ancestors. His general idea is that Christ who is an ever living mediator is the "Ancestor par excellence." Father Nyamiti does a very fascinating, creative work, using the basic African traditional religious ancestral concept of ancestors that is popular among traditional Africans South of the Sahara (1984:19-70). The writer believes that Nyamiti's study is very crucial on the subject of Christology because Africans have accepted Christ as their incarnated saviour. In fact, Nyamiti's concept of the ancestor can be regarded as a true "preparatio evangelica" for the Christian doctrine on Christ as the unique
ancestor of humankind, and that His ancestor-ship is the highest accomplishment of its African counterpart.
For Revivalists the time of bondage to sin was the time of perishing under Satan and being under God's wrath. Munga maintains that:
When sin is realized, a Mulokole will blame the sinful nature of his or her own body ( desires of the flesh, or devil or the appealing hopelessness of this world). In the circumstances, therefore man's situation between the fall and redemption can be discussed under three distinct topics; the flesh generally called in the Abalokole circle " the Old Adam or the Old creation" " the subtleness of Satan and his power of darkness over man" and "the world."
A Mulokole is often dualistic in many points of views, for example, for him there is this world of evil and the spiritual world which is holy. There is the old creation and the new creation.... Darkness and light, heaven and hell, Satan and God (1998:94-95).
So far we need to ask ourselves a very important question. Are these Christians called Abalokole Lutherans? A very simple answer is yes. Because they believe that they are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. And that it is by the grace of God in Jesus Christ that our
sins are forgiven. Their weaknesses in the understanding of sin in a rather limited scope cannot be taken as a reason for establishing the fact that they are not Lutheran Christians.
They belong to the Lutheran Church, but they long for and emphasize the fact that baptised Christians are expected not to continue to lead a sinful life on the grounds that salvation is by grace. They repudiate the notion of regarding grace as something cheap. They highlight that a Christian by virtue of his or her faith in Jesus Christ has to remain faithful by leading a repentant life. That is why they consider themselves as people who walk in the light. They are no longer under the power of sin. Christ to them is the victor. He has defeated sin and death on the cross.
The Abalokole challenge and encourage each other to confess and repent of sin and to gain victory over it. This is a good habit among the Abalokole and other church members might learn from them. Repentance and confession of sin are important to each believer. A mature
faith in Jesus Christ leads to a repentant life. Salvation in the life of a Christian is experienced throughout his or her life. Even though the eucharist and baptism are sacraments of grace other Christians should not take for granted the fact that justification by grace is something cheap. Hannah Kinoti says "it cost Christ a shameful death, a painful death, Christ was utterly broken, and the sinner must be broken at the foot of the cross" (1989:68). Thus the rest of the Christian community have to respond to the message of the cross, respond and confess their sins as the Abalokole lead and live out their faith.
Kibira argues that laws formulated by the Abalokole are not necessarily accepted as the ordinary official code, because these laws point towards a contradiction of the Gospel which is reduced so that only polygamy and superstition are now declared to be the only reasons that may hinder a Christian from receiving Holy Communion (1974:50).
The writer of this thesis says that although the Ten Commandments are mentioned as the moral code that should guide the conduct of human beings, there is a list of don'ts which have become characteristics of the Abalokole.
In the present day, we can see that in the North Western Diocese, sin theoretically is based on adultery and superstition (KKKT/DKMG Constitution 1982:46-50). For this reason, Niwagila challenges the North Western Diocese that "in the North Western Diocese, Church discipline has been practised from the pietistic point of view in which sexuality has been regarded as the source of immorality" (1988:365).
It is the writer's opinion that Niwagila is correct because a Christian is not happy with suspension as a disciplinary measure, because marital and sexual errors are the same as the pastor who squanders the Church funds or a politician who squanders the state funds. This is a theological issue that should be discussed in the Church.
5.7. The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Haya Lutheran Christians in their