Challenges for writing Church History in Africa in a global age: A Zambian perspective

• Main Author: J. W. Hofmeyr
• Format: Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: AOSIS 1998-08-01
• Series: Verbum et Ecclesia
• Online Access: http://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/VE/article/view/1152

The purpose of this article is to discuss the six big challenges which should be taken into consideration in addressing the issue of doing and writing church history in Africa. The thesis of the article is that these challenges are not taken into sufficient consideration by the outside world as from a Third World perspective. Experts in the field of writing church history, in general, have stated and clearly articulated that no history is ever easy to write. What makes it particularly difficult to write church history in Africa, are the different perspectives on the establishment of the church on our continent. What we have, are pieces of information that have been distorted by prejudice and bias as each generation came to be. Addressing these challenges will, however, help us to overcome certain barriers in our study of African church history.