Unisa Press
THE GOD IN US
How African spirituality ignited world religion and global civilisation
| Author: | Hlumelo Biko |
|---|---|
| ISBN: | 978-1-77615-130-1 |
| Number of pages: | 147 |
| This book is also available in electronic format | |
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| ISBN: | 9781776151318 |
About the book
In this book, God in us: How African spirituality ignited world religion and global civilisation. Biko advocates for the unitary source of all of the world’s major religions. The book underscores the fact that there are many ways in which humanity has sought revelation of God, yet there is a common inspiration behind humanity’s God concept. He does this by equally making a brief review of world religions without elevating one above the other. His analysis of world religions or faiths adopts a multi-interdisciplinary approach taking the reader through historical, archaeological and theological viewpoints to make juxtapositions.
Through this study, the reader is able to appreciate the many ways humanity has historically worshiped and connected with their Maker. He laments the way missionaries from Western countries connived with colonisers to use the Bible to indoctrinate Africans to become Christians while calling African ways of worship barbaric and backwards, insidiously and mischievously pushing the colonialism agenda.
God in us is a rich resource that helps the reader to understand the origins of human civilisation and how humans began to worship God, domesticate animals like sheep, invent astrology and create languages. Biko’s research also delves deeper into unveiling African indigenous knowledge systems and science that predate the arrival of the white man on the African soil.
He rejects the notion of Africa being depicted as a dark continent which needed to be taught the Western norms and values while abandoning their rich cultural heritage that is in harmony with biblical principles.
About the Author
Hlumelo Biko has spent the last 24 years as a black economic empowerment investor, an author advocating liberation philosophy and a social activist for the even distribution of education. In the first role, he has put together a twenty year track record successfully providing expansion capital to over 25 companies. He currently manages a $5 billion investment fund as part of Safrik’s strategic investments in Southern Africa. In his second role in society, he has published four books, The God in Us being the fourth, with a fifth book set to be launched early in 2024. In his last role, he is the chair of Thrive Foundation, a social network organisation which offers thousands of beneficiaries a 6 month self mastery and work readiness program to help unemployed people to get back to the workplace. The son of Steve Biko and Mamphela Ramphele, Hlumelo first attended high school in the Boston area (Buckingham Brown and Nichols), studied Politics and History at the University of Cape Town and then subsequently did graduate school work at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
Table of content
Acknowledgments vi
Preface vii
Introduction and background x
Chapter One: Africans and the Divine 1
Chapter Two: African Pantheism and the Sanatan Dharma 10
Chapter Three: The Old Testament and its African roots 28
Chapter Four: Understanding the origins and development of pantheism 44
Chapter Five: Who created the universe? Energy of Light, the Demiurge or God? 57
Chapter Six: Gnosticism and the testimony of Jesus 68
Chapter Seven: The rise and fall from grace of the Catholic Church 86
Chapter Eight: The spiritual scramble for Africa 97
Chapter Nine: Case Studies, Part One (Ethiopia, Bukongo and Akan) 103
Chapter Ten: Missionary Motives, Cultural Reproduction and Case Studies, Part Two 122
Chapter Eleven: Conclusion 141
Index 147