Bantu Philosophy of Life in the Light of the Christian Message

The Bantu Philosophy of life is a type of praeparatio evangelica which not only assimilates the reality of the person of Jesus Christ and his message but is also the cultural medium through which Christ and his message are understood, interpreted, lived and expressed. «Theological inculturation» in this context implies a critical evaluation of Bantu's understanding of life; a comparative approach between the Bantu and the Old Testament; and the identification of the uniqueness and radical novelty which the Gospel presents to the Bantu. The Christological realities of the Kingdom of God and the resurrection of Jesus are presented as fundamental aspects of the Christian message which are not only new to the Bantu's traditional religiosity but also challenge the Bantu to a radically new way of life. The encounter between the Bantu Philosophy of life and the Gospel lays an authentic interculturation, integral liberation and development for which the contemporary Bantu of Western Uganda are striving. Here is a theological reflection which lays a foundation to what may be described as «an African Vitalistic Theology».