God, divinities and spirits in African traditional religious ontology

Ekeke, Emeka C.; Ekeopara, Chike Augustine

doi:10.5251/ajsms.2010.1.2.209.218

Cited by 14 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…As we have seen, there is a clear demarcation or difference between the Supreme Being, deities or divinities, and ancestral spirits. Ancestral spirits, on the other hand, are linked to the living community 11 .…”

Section: African Ontology: a Critical Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the Discourse on Human-Nature Relationship in African Traditional Religion and the Responses to the Environmental Change

John,

Enang

2022

BJBio

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The pantheistic view of nature enshrined in African traditional religious beliefs and thought systems has propelled a myriad of African scholars to assume that the environmental ethical position of ATR on human-nature relations is environment-centered. This is a result of the ineptitude of some scholars to critically analyze the complexity involved in the discourse on human-nature relations in traditional African religious beliefs, borne out of an ethnocentric mindset to eulogize ATR. An in-depth understanding of African traditional religious environmental ethics requires a full grasp of African ontology. On this note, to clear this age-old misconception about Traditional African notions on human-nature relations, this research aims at simplifying the complexity or ambiguity surrounding the discourse and brings to the fore the anthropocentric view of African Traditional Religion and environmental ethics on human-nature relations. The paper argues vehemently that African religious belief in human-nature relations is absolutely anthropocentric.

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Section: African Ontology: a Critical Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting the Discourse on Human-Nature Relationship in African Traditional Religion and the Responses to the Environmental Change

John,

Enang

2022

BJBio

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“…The hierarchical monotheism implies the transcendence of the Most-High; this is seen in the fact that no image is attributed to him (Ekeke & Ekeopara, 2010; Van Wing, 1956). He “stands alone in the African tradition” (Asante & Mazama, 2009, p. xxvi); hence, the false impression Schmidt had that He is “no longer worshipped because He is not feared.”…”

Section: The Bukongo and The Egyptian Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

African Indigenous Religion and Its Ancient Model Reflections of Kongo Hierarchical Monotheism

Luyaluka

2016

Journal of Black Studies

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The diversity of the African cultures led the scholars to the conclusion of the impossibility of a unique African indigenous religion (AIR); however, this view fails to account for the common spiritual elements found in Africa. Based on these elements, some scholars support the existence of a unique AIR, but these "common elements" are not found in every African culture. This article capitalizes on the scientific monotheism of the Kongo religion, the Bukongo, and its likeness to the solar religion of Egypt to improve the single-AIR approach and show the various AIRs to be results of the devolution of the original unique solar religion kept in the Bukongo. Contrary to the scholastic monotheism, demonstrated to be fallacious, the monotheism of the AIR is proven to be scientific through the use of a cosmological argument whose conclusions are mathematically convergent with Newtonian physics in its interpretation of the movements and stability of bodies at the astronomic and subatomic levels.

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“…(p. 199) She refers to other scholars (a. o. Mbiti) who have described the nature of the divinities. Ekeke and Ekeopara (2010) argue that these structures of thought are part and parcel of Africans:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sense of God’s presence in prayer

Immink¹

2016

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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The awareness of God’s presence and the experience of his works – key notions in practices of prayer – find reasonable doubt in our secular age. Meanwhile, there are, worldwide, many communities of faith where people enthusiastically pray and hold that they hear the voice of God. How can we understand this sense of God’s presence?In prayer, people express their hope and fear, and they do so with heart and mind. This subjective involvement is characteristic for prayer. At the same time, supplicants address God in the conviction that God is present and active. Critics of religion, however, criticise this ‘external’ realm of the divine and consider prayer a superstitious delusion. Passages of William James and John Calvin help us to get some insight in the ‘object’ of our religious consciousness. Furthermore, William Alston defends a non-sensory mystical perception of the divine. Using these insights, the author explores prayer as a conversation with God and reflects on the notion: hearing the voice of God.

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God, divinities and spirits in African traditional religious ontology

Cited by 14 publications

References 4 publications

Revisiting the Discourse on Human-Nature Relationship in African Traditional Religion and the Responses to the Environmental Change

Revisiting the Discourse on Human-Nature Relationship in African Traditional Religion and the Responses to the Environmental Change

African Indigenous Religion and Its Ancient Model Reflections of Kongo Hierarchical Monotheism

The sense of God’s presence in prayer

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