Over at The American Spectator, Mark Tooley examines the continued pattern of condescension and patronization demonstrated by mainline Protestant denominations, in their dealings with their more conservative (and soon to be more numerous) African counterparts.
Liberal church activists are reluctant to acknowledge that African Christianity has a firm mind of its own, preferring condescendingly to portray it as primitive and easily manipulated by conservative U.S. religionists. It is true that much of African Christianity is new, somewhat similar to fast growing, early American frontier revivalism in its earnest faith, populism, and strong sense of the supernatural. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia of 2001, Africa was less than 10 percent Christian in 1900 but was over 45 percent Christian by 2000. (This compares to Islam’s growth in African from 32 percent to 40 percent.) About 20 percent of the world’s Christians now live in Africa, and rates of active church attendance are higher in Africa than in much of old Christendom. One Congolese bishop estimated that more Congolese are in a United Methodist Church on a typical Sunday than in all the United States.
Yes. Liberals are liberals, so they condescend . . . well, that’s not necessarily true, but it is of whom Mark Tooley is speaking. The point of prayer for African Christians is that they reject prosperity teaching. I’m told it is rampant, in part b/c of the evil preachers teaching it from the States.
Ah, a subject for which I can relate….
We’ve just had our week of international prayer where our church members pray 5 hours, (5 to 10), in the AM and 5 to 10 in the PM, (5 to 10). We try to time this loosely with our missions in Africa and other missions in other parts of the world.
One of our schools in Africa has 1300 students and the total of other students in our other schools there is about 2000, if memory serves. I use the word, “our” very loosely.
Convert from Islam to Christianity and become rich is a hot item in Africa. It has many many proponents. It results in a lot of sad Africans, too. Give your little money to the pastor/church/God and he will make you so wealthy, you wouldn’t know what to do with all the money he will give you. Sounds like they listen to late night TV in the US, heh?
Ancestor worship, Islam and many “gods” are worshiped as well….sometimes along with Christianity.
Pastors there often not too well versed in the Bible, but most do the best they can.
Our pastor and others from our church put on pastoring seminars 2 to 4 times a year. Other churches do too.
Sometimes a national pastor will get after another one because the second one has taken a little drink of alcohol. But, both will fight for the right to bed any woman they try for.
Satan has a lot of work going on in Africa too. His servants have been there a lot longer than our missionaries.