Book Summary
Imagine, for the longest time, being told only negative things about what, and, who you are. Then imagine getting some window of dispensation to re-imagine what and who you are as a constructive theological formulation. This is the academic endeavor in which Dr. Kimathi engages.
Kimathi makes a case that the Kenyan “Akũrinũ church” vernacular theology is one example of how Africans continue to deflate the colonial onslaught upon their humanity by reimagining a theology built, not on imported notions of Darwinian human progression, but on the wealth of African cultural values.
This theology not only contests colonial dehumanization of African understanding of the divine, but showcases that understanding as a comparative equivalent to western theologies. Dr. Kimathi shows how a culturally self-assured African people work to reclaim their sense of human worth, dignity and confidence — a people who live in a continent that remains an enigma of wonder and resilience to the world.
This book would be very useful for Biblical scholars and Theologians, African studies, Post-colonial Studies, Identity politics studies and the general public seeking to understand the role of African Christian religion in shaping human destiny.
