Browsing by Author "Amenga-Etego, R.M."
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Item Language, Literature, Prayer, and Music Repertoires as Sources of African Christian Spirituality and Values(SAGE, 2021) Amenga-Etego, R.M.; Kwakye, A.N.O.; i Emeka-Nwobia, N.; Onovoh, P.; Fretheim, S.Every interreligious encounter produces a cross-fertilization of ideas and values. To what extent is the Christian-African indigenous religious encounter mutually impacting? And what aspects of the African worldview make it receptive to Christianity? This article addresses these questions by engaging the underexplored phenomena of African literature, music, and prayer as sources of African values and spirituality, as well as of Christian theology. Through in-depth interviews, focused group discussions, participant-observation, along with archival data and African literary works, it argues that the wealth of African metaphors and values therein richly express African spirituality, values, and Christian theology.Item Marriage Without Sex? Same-Sex Marriages and Female Identity Among the Nankani Of Northern Ghana(Ghana Journal of Religion and Theology (GJRT), 2012-12) Amenga-Etego, R.M.Marriages, same-sex or otherwise, are undertaken for varied purposes. Yet, like many other African societies, the preservation 01 lineages has remained a core factor for contracting marriage among the Nankani of Northern Ghana. Woman to woman marriage among the Nankani is one of the practices set in place to sustain genealogies or the immortality 01 one 50 ancestry. Although situated within the traditional religio-cultural system of the people, woman to woman marriage which is the only overt form of same-sex marriage, contravenes both the projected religious and moral code. This raises critical concerns. Among these are the current discourses around the role of women in African religions, the role of women in sustaining patriarchy, the place of same-sex marriages, sex, and female identity in traditional African societies. This essay examines the aforementioned concerns From a Nankani daughter and woman ~'perspective.Item The Mission of Apostle Kwadwo Safo of Kristo Asafo Christ Reform Church(University of Ghana, 2012-05) Nkrumah, E.B.; Atiemo, A.O.; Amenga-Etego, R.M.The dialogue between religion and science and technology has ranged for years. Science and technology has been seen as being oppose to religion because it depends on logical proof to all existence while religion on the other hand is based on revelation as the basis of truth and existence. They are therefore viewed in modern times as two opposing departments even though at the same time they complement each other. The role of the contemporary church is not only to help the congregation spiritually but also attend to their physical needs. One of such churches is an African Independent Church with the name of Kristo Asafo Christ Reform Church. This church was founded by Apostle Kwadwo Safo. The founder seeks to address the needs or problems of not only the church but Ghana and the whole of Africa through science and technology as a fulfillment of the objectives of his call. This therefore set the tone for the thesis; to research into the science and technological activities of Apostle Kwadwo Safo and the Kristo Asafo Christ Reform Church and examines how it is impacting on the lives of people. To achieve the set objective of the thesis, therefore, the study used a multi-dimensional approach such as historical, phenomenological and theological approaches in its investigation. These approaches helped in tracing the personality of Apostle Kwadwo Safo, his call and the establishment of the church. They also helped in identifying the beliefs and practices of the church and the basis of his adventure into the area of science and technology. The researcher utilized tools such as questionnaires, interviews and participant observation in the data collection processes. The research revealed that Apostle Kwadwo Safo set out to undertake the scientific and technological activities not to amass wealth for his own interest but as a fulfillment of a divine call that enjoined him to save the African continent from its economic and scientific setback. The research also revealed that Apostle Kwadwo Safo has established a Technological Training Centre where scientific and technological parts and equipments such as car engines, stabilizers, welding machines, amplifiers, electronic drums etc are made. He is also into the provision of educational and health facilities, agriculture as well as real estate development. The research showed that these developments are viable and have the potential for further growth.Item Pre-Burial Rites in Tutu in the Akuapem Traditional Area of Eastern Part of Ghana(University of Ghana, 2014-07) Gyamerah, S. K.; Amenga-Etego, R.M.; Sarbah, C.E; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Arts, Department of ReligionsThis study was largely inspired by a desire to illustrate the uniqueness of the Amaneb[ rite, a pre-burial rite, of the people of Tutu in the Akuapem Traditional Area in the eastern part of Ghana, and shed light on the relevance for its continuous observance in contemporary Tutu society. The phenomenological approach was employed to guide the data collection. On the research field, the researcher employed interviews, participant observation and purposive sampling techniques to gather the required data. The researcher has employed Victor Turner’s famous theory of ‘Liminality’, to ground the discussion. Among other findings, the rite is seen as a mandatory liminal rite, which encompasses some aspects of religio-cultural beliefs and practices of the people of Tutu and that any attempt to modify or change it is met with strong resistance by the custodians of the community. The performance of the rites also revealed that their resistance was due to certain values cherished and revered by the people. Among them include the resolution of conflicts and seeming contradictions to bring reconciliation between the material and the spiritual, to initiate smooth transition of the deceased to ancestral home, to advocate the solidarity and communality of indigenous living for a common purpose and as a means to enforce the moral values of the community. It can be concluded that the continuous observance of this rite and similar indigenous practices of the AIR or its functional equivalent, in spite of the contemporary social change has entrenched itself and may never wholly disappear. Indigenous religious beliefs and practices will continue to manifest its resilience over the other religious traditions. However, there is the need to perform a study to find out among other issues the correlation between such indigenous religious beliefs and practices and the development of the indigenous societies.Item Reconstructing Sacred Space. The Place and Relevance of Abasua Prayer Mountain in Contemporary Ghanaian Christianity(University of Ghana, 2012-07) Okyere, P.K.; Omenyo, C.; Amenga-Etego, R.M.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, School of Arts, Department of ReligionsSacred spaces and their attendant pilgrimage attractions are prevalent in almost all religious traditions in the world. People‘s belief in the presence of the luminous or transcendent reality at places and the possibility of their interaction with the luminous through prayer rituals, do not only define those places as sacred, but are also some of the major reasons for pilgrimage to such places. Thus, the traditional notion of sacred places as spaces for prayer, worship and divine revelation is virtually ubiquitous in all discourses on sacred spaces. In addition to the spiritual significance of sacred places is their potential in bringing about human development. This however has not attracted much scholarly attention. In this work, therefore, the researcher uses the Abasua Prayer Mountain in Ghana as a contextual example to argue that the relevance of sacred spaces should not be limited only to their traditional functions as places for pilgrims‘ encounter with a transcendent reality. Rather, owing largely to the massive pilgrimage attractions to those places, they are also relevant in promoting development in four thematic areas: spiritual, mental, physical and social. An eclectic methodology including historical, phenomenological and theological models were used to guide the data collected. On the research field, the researcher employed interviews and participant observation to gather the needed field data. The researcher has used Clifford Geertz‘s social-anthropological approach to ground the discussion. It was found out, among others, that even though the Prayer Mountain promotes human development in the above - mentioned four thematic areas, it directly and sometimes indirectly stifles development. In this sense, the Abasua Prayer Mountain phenomenon in contemporary Ghanaian Christianity has been described as a paradox in this study.Item Women in the Methodist Church Ghana: A Case Study of Three Selected Women(University of Ghana, 2012-10) Antwi, G.; Yeboahi, B.; Amenga-Etego, R.M.This study examined the contributions of women in the Methodist Church Ghana (MCG) which is one of the mainline Churches in Ghana. The study aimed at finding out the contributions of women to the development of the Methodist Church Ghana. The researcher concentrated on three selected women in the Methodist Church Ghana. They are Reverend Mrs. Patricia Foli, Mrs. Georgina Baiden, and the late Mrs. Agnes Afriyie Amankwaah. The main methodology of the study is phenomenological approach. The major research tools were interviews and administration of questionnaires, important literature on the research topic was reviewed. The main finding was that the women in the Methodist Church have contributed significantly to the development of the Methodist Church Ghana. The study made known that through the help of women in the Methodist Church Ghana some under privileged children have gotten access to higher education. Again the three selected women have also contributed to the development of the Methodist Church for instance, one of them has established an organization in the Church and through their activities a lot of women have been drawn to the Church. This study is very significant in that it would serve as a source of document to the Methodist Church to understand the challenges facing women in the Church. Finally, this study would serve as a catalyst for further study on women in the church as a whole.