| John Samuel Mbiti (born 30 November 1931) is a
Christian religious philosopher. He is an ordained Anglican
priest, and as of 2005 a canon. Born in Kenya, Mbiti studied in
Uganda and the United States, taking his doctorate in 1963 at the
University of Cambridge, UK. He taught religion and theology in
Makerere University, Uganda from 1964 to 1974 and was
subsequently director of the World Council of Churches'
Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland. He has held visiting
professorships at universities across the world and published extensively on philosophy, theology and African oral traditions. Mbiti's seminal book, African Religions and Philosophy (1969), was the first work to significantly challenge Christian assumptions that traditional African religious ideas were "demonic and anti-Christian". His sympathetic treatment of traditional religions was based on massive field work. Mbiti is clear that his interpretation of these religions is from a firmly Christian perspective, and this aspect of his work has sometimes been severely criticized. Mbiti's research interests include theology in Africa and Asia, and ecumenism. He has also collaborated on a book of African proverbs, collected from across the continent. As of 2005, Mbiti is an Emeritus professor at the University of Bern and parish minister to the town of Burgdorf, also in Switzerland.(wiki) GO BACK |
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