The Accra Confession and Public Theology in African Christianity: The Ghanaian Experience
Issue: Vol.9 No.8 August 2023 Issue Article 4 pp. 385-398
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023984 | Published online 3rd August, 2023.
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The study examined the Accra Confession as a Public Theology document and how it provides theological resources for Christian responses to contemporary social challenges in Ghana. The faith document that was developed in Ghana invites the church to participate in Christian public witness. It affirmed the importance of the gospel in addressing contemporary social and economic challenges and recognizes the need for the church to maintain a prophetic voice in the face of oppression, exploitation and exclusion. The article argued that the Public Theology document provides the necessary resources that are needed for the public witness of the church in Ghana after its almost two decades in existence and therefore any form of disconnection and silence need to be identified and addressed. Ghana is currently confronted with developmental challenges like poverty, hunger and unemployment. The faith document contains the necessary theological perspectives that the church needs in the effort to pursue social change. It’s awakening and continuous conversation in the church definitely will contribute to the Christian public witness in Ghana. The study recommended that churches must integrate the theological insights in the Accra Confession into their churches’ structures and Christian education programmes. It further recommended awakening and continuous conversation of the Accra Confession in congregations. Using the qualitative research method, the author examined available materials on the Reformed church and theology to throw more highlights on the issue. Attention was further given to reports from the WARC gathering at Accra in 2004 in which the author was a participant.
Keywords: Accra Confession, Public Theology, African Christianity, Christian Public Witness.
Anquandah, James. Agenda Extraordinaire: 80 Years of the Christian Council of Ghana, 1929-2009. Accra: Asempa Publishers, 2009.
Gutierez, Gustavo. A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation. Orbis, Maryknoll, New York. New York: Orbis Books , 1988.
Kim, Sebastian. Theology in the Public Sphere: Public Theology as a Catalyst for Open Debate. London: SCM Press Ltd, 2013.
Joint Press Statement by the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference Issued in Accra on May 18, 2016.
Leith, John H. An Introduction to the Reformed Tradition: A Way of Being the Christian Community. Westminster John Knox Press, 1981.
Mante, J.O.Y. The Accra Confession. 24th General Assembly of World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Accra: Sonlife Printing Press, 2004.
Opuni-Frimpong, Kwabena. “An Exploration into the Public Theology of the Basel Missionary Society in Ghana.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, April 28, 2023, 145–56. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023941.
———. “Doing Public Theology in African Christianity: A Reflection on Communiques by Churches in Ghana.” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 7, no. 11 (November 15, 2021): 190–200. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20217111.
Stott, John. Issues Facing Christianity Today. London: Marshall Morgan &Scott. London: Marshall Pickering , 1984.
Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong (PhD) is Senior Lecturer in African Christianity at the Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi – Ghana.
Opuni-Frimpong, Kwabena. “The Accra Confession and Public Theology in African Christianity: The Ghanaian Experience, “ E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 9 no.8 (2023): 399-407. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023984
© 2023 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).