Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement

The Akan community of Ghana has a large Christian following. Nonetheless, many Akan believers still consult traditional priests for protection, wealth, and power. This happens not because these Christians doubt the theological fact that Christ offered an atonement, but because they do not consider...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: I. Boaheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2023-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7787
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1823859020461506560
author I. Boaheng
author_facet I. Boaheng
author_sort I. Boaheng
collection DOAJ
description The Akan community of Ghana has a large Christian following. Nonetheless, many Akan believers still consult traditional priests for protection, wealth, and power. This happens not because these Christians doubt the theological fact that Christ offered an atonement, but because they do not consider the atonement as providing them with adequate protection against evil forces. This situation makes the quest to closely investigate their concept of Christ fairly urgent and useful. To address the issue, there is the need to project Christ’s power over evil forces. One of the models of atonement that is helpful in this regard is the Christus Victor which emphasises the victory that Christ won over Satan and his host through his death on the cross. This research, therefore, aims to give contextually express the Christus Victor motif of Christ’s atonement from an Akan Christian perspective. This research is based on literature involving theological and ethical analyses of, and reflections on the Christus Victor model of atonement and how it can address the Akan Christian need for spiritual protection and economic liberation. The resulting theology is a contextual theology that incorporates the biblical world view, the Akan world view, and the Christus Victor model of atonement. Thus, the article seeks to bring about positive reforms in Akan religio-ethical beliefs and practices, and hence empower Akan Christians not only to discontinue their reliance on traditional powers, but also to have complete trust in Christ’s atonement alone as means of providing them with all their physical and spiritual needs.
format Article
id doaj-art-ddffd3d04f91491389e68eff77d8803e
institution Kabale University
issn 1015-8758
2309-9089
language English
publishDate 2023-12-01
publisher University of the Free State
record_format Article
series Acta Theologica
spelling doaj-art-ddffd3d04f91491389e68eff77d8803e2025-02-11T09:30:01ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892023-12-0143210.38140/at.v43i2.7787Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonementI. Boaheng0Christian Service University College, Ghana The Akan community of Ghana has a large Christian following. Nonetheless, many Akan believers still consult traditional priests for protection, wealth, and power. This happens not because these Christians doubt the theological fact that Christ offered an atonement, but because they do not consider the atonement as providing them with adequate protection against evil forces. This situation makes the quest to closely investigate their concept of Christ fairly urgent and useful. To address the issue, there is the need to project Christ’s power over evil forces. One of the models of atonement that is helpful in this regard is the Christus Victor which emphasises the victory that Christ won over Satan and his host through his death on the cross. This research, therefore, aims to give contextually express the Christus Victor motif of Christ’s atonement from an Akan Christian perspective. This research is based on literature involving theological and ethical analyses of, and reflections on the Christus Victor model of atonement and how it can address the Akan Christian need for spiritual protection and economic liberation. The resulting theology is a contextual theology that incorporates the biblical world view, the Akan world view, and the Christus Victor model of atonement. Thus, the article seeks to bring about positive reforms in Akan religio-ethical beliefs and practices, and hence empower Akan Christians not only to discontinue their reliance on traditional powers, but also to have complete trust in Christ’s atonement alone as means of providing them with all their physical and spiritual needs. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7787
spellingShingle I. Boaheng
Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement
Acta Theologica
title Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement
title_full Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement
title_fullStr Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement
title_full_unstemmed Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement
title_short Nkunimdie Christology: An Akan contextual expression of the Christus Victor motif of atonement
title_sort nkunimdie christology an akan contextual expression of the christus victor motif of atonement
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7787
work_keys_str_mv AT iboaheng nkunimdiechristologyanakancontextualexpressionofthechristusvictormotifofatonement