African Origins of Monotheism

African Origins of Monotheism recasts an African knowledge of God in a new and original way. It aims to recapture concepts of God as originally reflected upon by pristine African religious thinkers. Muzorewa is seeking after the traditional African understandings of the Divine, which trace their origins back before the rise of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Monotheism, he maintains, is the ancient view of God, ubiquitous across the continent of Africa; indeed, monotheism comes "out of Africa." The book challenges the way that the idea of God has been manipulated by Eurocentric agendas, by colonizers, enslavers, and empire builders, all of whom were using God-talk to achieve their own personal ends. In African thinking, the God concept is guided by a sense of the presence of the all-pervasive and omnipresent God, which has instilled in the people a sense of respect for life at all costs. Thus, respect is not based on a commandment or on fear but on a propensity for affinity. "Gwinyai H. Muzorewa's African Origins of Monotheism is a seminal work in theology, history, and cultural studies. Not since the work of John Mbiti has an African scholar taken on the issues of African theology with such insightful and critical interpretation. This is sure to be one of the important books of our times." --Molefi Kete Asante, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA "This book is a timely contribution to the ongoing debate of broadening theological assumptions about God and the world we inhabit." --Jimmy G. Dube, United Theological College, Harare, Zimbabwe "Muzorewa reflects with exceptional clarity, balance, and insight on the different names and concepts of God. Worshiping a monotheistic God is something an African does not have to think twice (about) because that has been their way of life since time immemorial. This book is a timely, balanced, essential reading for those interested in the richness of African theology." --Beauty R. Maenzanise, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe Dr. Gwinyai H. Muzorewa is a professor of theology at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, the first degree-granting historically black university in the United States. He has authored, among other books, The Origins and Development of African Theology and An African Theology of Mission, and is editor of Know Thyself: Ideologies of Black Liberation.