Every generation must ask itself whether it is fulfilling Christ's mandate. Our lack of fire and zeal for evangelism has greater societal and historical consequences than we realize. the previous article, (read here) We have seen a brief portrait of the lukewarmness in evangelization that has delayed the gospel in Africa. Let us look at the example of the Kingdom of Kongo, and the Kingdom of Benin.
“The Portuguese arrived on the African coast in the 15th century. After an exchange of hostages, the king of Kongo accepted the arrival of missionaries. If the missionaries had been on fire, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, if they had preached the true gospel; and if they had devoted as much energy to evangelism as the traders and the crown had devoted to the acquisition of territory, slaves, and goods, what gains could have been made for the Kingdom of God! A church was indeed founded.
In 1491, Nzinga, the monarch of Kongo, was baptized and ordered his nobility to convert. The kingdom became a 'Christian' kingdom, and this lasted for two hundred years. King Nzinga's son and successor, King Afonso, defined the theology of the Kongo Church with the help of Portuguese missionaries to reflect local religious concepts. Local priests were trained, the language codified, and Kikongo dictionaries were compiled. The terms used for spirit, God, and saint were borrowed from existing spiritual vocabulary, thus blurring the distinction with local religions. Emma George Ross asserts that 'Christianity was accepted not as a new religion that would replace the old, but rather as a new syncretic sect that was fully compatible with the old structures.'
King Diogo, Nzinga's grandson, possessed missionary fervor and successfully worked to spread the religion in rural areas. The Portuguese, unable to exert control over this Church, chose to abandon it. They stopped ordaining new priests, thus forcing Diogo and successive monarchs to develop a class of lay people to teach and dispense the sacraments. And this is how the Church functioned for two hundred years. But decline was inevitable, as real conversion was so questionable.
A similar scenario occurred in the Benin Kingdom, in present-day Nigeria. In 1514, Oba (King) Esigie (1504–1550), after contacting Portuguese traders, sent ambassadors to King Manuel of Portugal. He reportedly requested priests. Catholic priests arrived in 1515 to impart the Christian faith to them. King Esigie's son and successor, as well as some of the chiefs, were baptized.
Several churches were built, including the Aruosa N'Akpakpava, which still stands today. The king himself is said to have converted. But instead of receiving the fire of the Holy Spirit, he received firearms from the Portuguese. His successor, Oba Orhogbua, was educated by the Portuguese, first in Sao Tome and later in Portugal. The story is interesting because he is the founder of Lagos and Badagry, which would, centuries later, play a key role in the slave trade.
But again, Christianity had little real impact, perhaps precisely because of the obvious syncretism. Today, the Holy Aruosa Cathedral is a church whose spiritual leader is the Oba of Benin and which does not use the Bible. What a waste of time! They have their own holy book and the priests are dressed like Catholic priests. They do not pray through Jesus; they claim to address God directly. They consider that everyone, Muslims, Christians, animists, have a relationship with God.
It is clear that Europeans were more concerned, upon their arrival in Africa, with trade than with souls and that, in some cases, they were only concerned with Christianization when it promoted trade… The true evangelization of Africa had to wait for the evangelical revivals in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries which inspired a new wave of missionary activity.”
This article is an excerpt from the book The Fire of God.
The Fire of God (click)
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