8B
LIGION/Slie €^i
Thursday, October 12, 2006
When prayer changes things
Continued from page 5B
identify as the island of Crete. At the time of
the exodus, the Philistines were already weU
established in their territory in Judges and 1
Samuel and are finally conquered by David.
After Solomon, however, the Philistines seem
to have a small revival of independence and
resume their role as the bane-source of harm
or ruin (per Merriam-Webster.com)-of Israel.
Although now gone, they left their name on
the region for Palestine is a derivative of Philis
tine. In matters of religion, the Philistines are
often pictured as polar opposites to the
Israelites. There seems to be no more degrad
ing title than to be called an “uncircumcised
Philistine” (see 1 Sam. 17:26).
The recovery of the precious Ark of the
Covenant is the occasion for Samuel’s call for
national repentance. He challenged his fellow
Israelites to put away their idol worship and
serve the one true Jehovah God.
African interpretation of the
Bible in 1,600-page book
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NAIROBI, Kenya-Biblical
scholar 'Ibkunboh Adeyemo
long ago decided something
was wrong with how the mes
sage of God was being spread
in Ainca, a continent where
competition for souls is fierce.
“The Bible was not written
against the cultural back
ground of Africans,” Adeyemo
told The Associated Press in
an interview this week. “The
Bible came through from
Western missionaries, and the
interpretation they gave was
based on their own cultural
backgroimd.”
That prompted the Niger
ian-born Adeyemo and other
scholars and theologians to
create Afiica Bible Commen-.
tary, a new 1,600-page book by
Africans, for Africans, using
African proverbs and idioms
to apply the Bible’s teachings
to contemporary problems
such as AIDS, corruption and
female genital mutilation.
Experts say the book is the
newest way for African pas
tors to energize their follow
ers. The tome was 12 years in
the making and provides
explanations of verses from all
66 books of the Bible.
Some of the book’s essays,
give guidance on Christian
behavior in today’s world. Sici
ly Mbura Muriithi, who teach
es at the Presbyterian Univer
sity in Kenya, refers to Gene
sis in her condemnation of
female genital mutilation,
which is practiced primarily
in parts of sub-Saharan
Africa and the Middle East
and usually involves removal
of a girl’s clitoris.
“God created the human
body and female sexuality
and declared them both
good,” Muriithi writes.
“Therefore, to abuse the body
in a way that destro}^ the
ability to appreciate one of
God’s gifts is an insult to his
creation.”
There are also passages
denouncing witchcraft.
“The Bible does not support
the doctrines of demons, evil
spirits and witchcraft that
derive from traditional
beliefs, but many professing
Christians are unaware of
what the Bible teaches on
this subject,” writes Samuel
Waje Kunhiyop, a professor
at the Evangelical Church of
West Africa Theological Sem
inary in Nigeria.
And a commentary on the
Book of Job urges Christians
not to lose their faith when
confronted with the hard
ships of living on the world’s
poorest and most corrupt con
tinent: “God has not
promised that because we are
believers we will not die a vio
lent death or suffer disaster.”
Joel Carpenter, director of
the Nagel Institute for the
Study of World Christianity
in Michigan, said the book is
a signal of a matming Chris
tian leadership in Africa.
Across Africa, home to an
estimated 900 million people,
Islam and Christianity are
both estimated to have about
400 million followers, with
traditional animist religions
making up most of the
remainder. As the animist
ranks dwindle, Muslims and
Christians are increasingly
competing for converts.
Except for parts of northern
Africa and Ethiopia, where
Christianity is traced to the
Apostles, missionaries only
starting arriving in Africa in
earnest in the 1900s, Carpen
ter said.
The Bible has been trans
lated into several African lan
guages and African scholars
have estabhshed themselves
as major theologians. But
most commentaries on the
Bible and general books on
Christianity available in
African bookshops are writ
ten by Europeans or Ameri
cans.
Africa Bible Commentary
“is a matter of critical mass.
Now you’ve really got the bib
lical scholars and the Protes
tant and evangehcal church
es that can do this work,”
Carpenter said. “And the
Bible is really hot literature.”
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