CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 The task of this chapter
In the preceding Chapter, we outlined the manner in which Nyamiti's theological construct is rooted in Bantu belief in and practices of ancestor veneration, specifically in terms of the role and authority of ancestors. We also saw how Nyamiti uses the traditional Christian doctrines in relation to the Bantu thought- patterns in framing his ancestor christology and ecclesiology. Against that background, we now turn to a theological critique and evaluation of his theories.
This will then allow us to analyse the validity of his interpretation of Christ as the ancestor of the Church in Africa. But before that, let us quickly review what we tackled in chapters two and three in terms of comparison in order to give us a framework of evaluating Nyamiti's christology and ecclesiology.
5;2 A consideration of the traditional Christian doctrine and the African (Bantu) worldview
In chapter two we considered the classical traditional Christian doctrine with particular reference to christology and ecclesiology, whereas, in chapter three we looked at the African (Bantu) cosmology with particular reference to their existential thought-patterns. I do not want to repeat what we discussed in those chapters, but rather I want to raise some important issues that I learnt resulting from looking at the two worldviews (traditional Christian doctrine and the Bantu thought-patterns ).
Although the existence of the Supreme Being whom we can term here in the Christian thought-pattern as God, and in the Bantu thought-pattern, for example among the Pedi, as Modim0 , the two worldviews have different conceptualisations of the Supreme Being. While reading through chapter two one discovers that the traditional Christian doctrine depicts the true God at work in and through the true human being, Jesus the Christ. The classical Christian doctrine continues saying that God became human in the person of Christ in order to save humanity from sin. Through faith, fellowship with Christ is made possible. Being one with Christ means that we are one with each other, "Body of Christ". This implies that God discloses himself and works out his salvation not only through Christ, but also through us, his Body.
If we look at the Pedi religion for example, Modimo (Supreme Being) is not experienced as a person with whom one can have fellowship. Although Modimo is believed to be the source of all power in the universe which has impact on life, Modimo is far removed from the people as reflected in chapter three. Vital-force according to the Pedi as we saw in chapter three originates from Modimo who in turn channels it to humanity through ancestors, then ancestors channel it to their descendants; thus Modimo is the source of life. This Bantu spiritual dimension seems to be bound to biological or sociological thought-pattern, while in the Christian counterpart this is not the case. This has already been explained in the preceding paragraphs.
There is quite a big difference between the person of Christ and that of the Bantu ancestors. The Bantu thought-pattern is that once the potential ancestor dies, he/she lives in the spiritual world and never in physical form, but Christ's death and existence in the spiritual realm is of different nature. According to the Christian teaching, Christ died and rose from the dead. His disciples saw him in person after he had resurrected. He lives and reigns in the world in unity with his father and the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever. Ancestors are the products of the community, Christ is not, he is God incarnate. The existence of Christ does
not depend on the community, but ancestors count on the community. That is why ritual sacrifices are made to them. The ancestors among the Bantu as shown in chapter three have greater command over the dynamistic powers. They can use their power to protect and bless, or to punish their descendants. That is why they demand recognition from the living kin. Failure to recognise ancestors leads to hardships in the community. Christ's mission in the community is a mission of deliverance from the power of darkness (hardship inflicted by the enemy-devil to the society). Christians depend on the risen Christ for authentic human existence for he is the true God. He does not get power from anywhere, himself is 'life'.
According to my observation in chapter three concerning ancestors, ancestors are mediators only in the sense that they have a greater share in the dynamistic power emanating from the Supreme Being. In relation to Christ, Christ is himself the divine power in that he is God incarnate. Christ is omniscient and omnipotent, all authority and power is upon him in heaven and on earth. Christ's significance for the Christians also lies in the fact that he is the source of new humanity in which through faith Christians share in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is a parallel to the belief that the ancestors are the source of life force of the community. They are only parallels in a formal sense, but not in terms of contents.
The first chapter of the gospel of John portrays Christ to have been with God from eternity and will ever be with God in eternity. The Bantu ancestors are not said to have existed with the Supreme Being before they came into existence in the community as part and parcel of it. They are just a community's product unlike Christ. Although Christ lived in history, he had pre-existed according to the words postulated in John's gospel (first chapter).
There is also another point to be observed between the traditional Christian . doctrine and the Bantu word-view. Christ's function in the Church as postulated
in section 2.5 of chapter two postulates him as a person who bestows the Holy Spirit who unites believers as a sign of love to the Church. He (Christ) does not want any ritual sacrifice from his followers in order to commune with them. In chapter three, the Bantu concept of communion and communication between the ancestors and the living members of the community is highly considered to be a pivotal point of veneration of ancestors. The living members of the community and the deceased are believed to interrelate as a community. Here, the living kin offer rituals and sacrifices in the form of libation to their deceased members of the community to keep the unity and communion. The traditional Christian understanding of Christ's role in the Church is that he nurtures and strengths his Church without reciprocity, Le, pouring of libation.
Having pinpointed some differences that exist between the two word-views (the traditional Christian doctrine and the Bantu thought-patterns), we now turn to look at the strengths (flaws) and limitations (weaknesses) of Nyamiti's theological construct.