STUDY OF RELIGIONS INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTIANITY

STUDENT NO: 10375166 THE INFLUENCE OF AFRICAN CULTURE ON CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY IN GHANA.

Right here in this country before the arrival of Europeans and Christianity, Gold Coastamong other African colonies had its own culture and traditions, which it cherishes to this present time. These are the traditions we now refer to as African Culture. This culture is unique in its own way. Every tribe had its own belief and practices that makes up its culture. The lives of the people here in Ghana was all there was to it. Christianity was first introduced to Ghana in1482. This religion was based on the life of Jesus Christ. The doctrine and practice of this religion is based on the teaching and works of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the perceived messiah of the Jews. Christians believe in one God as the creator of heaven and earth. African culturealso believed in one God who has power over all other gods,they also believed in smaller gods and that some natural objects like trees, mountains and river bodies contained spirits andin ancestors. They worshiped all they believed in and believe they were intermediary between them and the Almighty God. Christians on the other hand believed in Jesus as being the mediator to God. Both religions have common practice like the believe in sacred days,giving offering and sacrifice, just that some of them have different meaning. For instance the sacred day is mostly observed in Ghana as a day of rest for most of the spirit whiles that of Christianity is observed as a day rest for man after a long week. Ever since the arrival Christianity on the shores of Ghana it has taken different dimensions mostly caused by the influence of Ghanaian culture. First and foremost, when Christianity was first introduced in this country it was only taught in English and sometimes in Hebrew. The bible was intended to remain it original version. The church felt the translation of the bible may lead to its misinterpretation. They taught Ghanaians how to read the bible but since the language was not very clear when read in English and also the use of these foreign language was not yielding the desired result they

had to adopt an inevitable part of our culture that is our language. Ghanaians have a deeper understanding of their language so when it was later adopted by the church in spreading the gospel it proved rather effective than before. Now the Holy Bible is in almost every local language making it easier for the masses to accept the Christian faith. Furthermore, African culture by its way of singing and dancing has been imbibed into contemporary Christianity. When Christianity was first introduced in Ghana most of the song used in the religious worship were in the form of hyms and the instrument used were all foreign in nature. Ghanaians also express their culture through songs. The song sung in our culture is mostly vibrant and vigorous.This because they are used to invoke spirits when chanting and also boost morale of fighters. Now Christianity in Ghana has made use of these songs, the nature of songs sung in churches are such that when singing you will feel like dancing that is to say they are very vibrant. When you speak of songs as part of culture in Ghana it inevitable to leave the dance aspect of it. Every tribe in Ghana has a peculiar dance associated to it, for instance like kpalogo is to Gas. Christianity did not include any particular form of dance to its worship, so now every tribe freely express his orher culture through dance at church. In recent times the dance part of Christian worship has become so significant that to worship God without dancing to his glory is seen as not being in the spirit of God. In Ghanaian culture our ceremonies for the rite of passage are very significant. The way in which we express our self through funerals and marriage among other rites are very important to us. It says a lot about our valuesand how we cherish our traditions. Our traditional marriage for instance involve a lot of things. First the couple involved make known their plans to their parent or elderly person they are closer to, then if the males

family is in approval of the marriage they arrange to meet the girls family to make their intension formerly known with a drink preferably alcoholic. The female family then humbly accept the drink and ask to be giving some time to get back to the males family. If they are also in favor of the marriage, they schedule a date for the ceremony to take place. The final aspect of the traditional marriage takes place where the males family present gifts to the woman and her family. The male then pays the bride price to seal the marriage. Christian marriage on the other hand is very simple. The couple first make known their intention to their parent for approval. After that the couple make known their intention publicly which is the engagement. They attend series of counseling sessions and then the official ceremony now takes place in a church were they are blessed by an ordained Minister of God as husband and wife. But in recent times Ghanaians have added the traditional part of the marriage as a part of the whole the Christian rites of marriage and normally refer to it as the engagement ceremony which has to be done before the actual marriage in church. This here is another instance where our culture has been fused into Christianity. The influence of African culture on contemporary Christianity is not an issue that can be denied as existing even though it is not gravely noticed. Christianity in itself has to do with the way of life that is similar to what Jesus did live as human. Just as in the same way African culture has to do with the way they live. It entails every little aspect of their existence, so there is no way Ghanaians can practice Christianity without influencing it with their culture. In as much as African culture has influenced Christianity in that same way Christianity has also helped improve on the negative part of African culture. But as to whether the impact of African culture wasfor the better of Christianity is a matter that I

cannot determine. Issues related to religion cannot be deliberated upon by mere reasoning, it involve some what level of commitment and spiritualism. Also considering the fact about the presence of different groups of Christians, each and every one of them is entitled to an opinion as to whether it is good or bad. Your opinion rest in your faith. .