CAMINHOS PARA DESCOLONIZAR A PRÁTICA MISSIONÁRIA DA IGREJA AFRICANA

Abstract

In recent years, the African church has been the target of strong accusations from many natives. It is identified as an institution that was complicit in the colonization process and one of those largely responsible for the loss of identity and abandonment of many local cultural practices. According to its accusers, the African church served as the repository of Western theology that shaped the lives of natives to European standards. This article recognizes that the missionary model of the African church is still Western in origin, and was implemented in a context of colonization in which the value of the colonizer's culture was overestimated to the detriment of local culture. And, to understand the colonization of Africa, a brief historical retrospective is made that highlights the reasons for colonization and the sedimentation of the Western vision in relation to the African people and culture. The author argues that the genuine gospel of Christ respects all cultures, and instead of deforming them, it transforms and purifies them. Nowadays, some African churches understand that there is a need to search for alternatives for a new theological-missionary model that respects and values ​​the local culture and that responds to the questions of those around them. The African church is therefore challenged to put the Bible and local culture in dialogue to develop a missionary practice relevant to its context.