A Critique of of John Mbiti's Understanding of the African Concept of Time

Abstract

"In many respects he is a pioueer, one of the first to attempt to systematize and analyze, from an insider's perspective, the African understanding of the world in which we live and bow that understanding affects the Africans' view of Christianity. His works stand as both an encouragement and a challenge to all who are interested in the Church in Africa. He is an encouragement in paving the way for greater understanding of the African perspective on religion and the resulting insights in contextualization that come from his analyses. He is a challenge to all of us who have a desire to understand the African mindset with a view to developing a relevant theological approach for this continent. In this brief article, we will seek to analyze Mbiti's understanding of what he considers to be the key concept for understanding the religious and philosophical perspective of the African, the concept of time. 1 This evaluation will be divided into three major sections beginning with a look at Mbiti's understanding of the African View of Time. This will be followed with an evaluation of Mbiti's analysis and a discussion of the implications of his view for contextualization."