The Necessity For Contextualisation Of Christianity In Tivland: A Case Study Of African Theology

The theological worldview of a Tiv man or woman is deeply understood when there are dislocations in the harmonious flow of life, occasioned by witchcraft and or demonic powers. Such occasions are been identified by the supernatural causes of problems through the activities of religious specialists, who through ritual appeasement would normalize the strained relationship either between them and the supernatural or between men and their neighbors. Nowadays, the Tiv Christians are becoming increasingly convinced that traditional approaches to theology do not really make sense within their own cultural patterns and thought forms. This unsatisfaction has given rise to the growth of many churches within Tivland apparently to address the cultural and environmental issues relating to the understanding of God, hence theology. The researcher is of the opinion that the growing identity of local churches is contributing to the necessity of the development of truly contextual theologies that would include and balance cultural identity, social change and popular religiosity with the elements of scripture and tradition. This paper therefore seeks to contextualise Christianity in the context of the African culture and recommends that the Christian churches in Tivland should encourage members to express their Christian values in an Africans.