Was the Bible Meant for Africans?

Africa’s colonial history has contributed to a complex and often strained relationship between African people and the Bible.

Many South Africans debate whether the Bible truly contains the word of God, or whether Christianity is a Western belief system centred on a foreign god and introduced through colonial influence.

Some argue against the Bible’s relevance to Africans, often expressing views such as, “I can’t believe in the Bible because it was given to us and used to control us.”

The World Mission Society Church of God believes in the authenticity of the Bible that testifies about the Second Coming Christ Ahnsahnghong and God the Mother, who have come to this earth in the flesh for the salvation of mankind.

The Church of God has over 7500 churches in 175 countries, including African countries such as South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Madagascar, and more.

Should Africans then discard the Bible on the grounds that it has no relevance to African culture or faith because it was brought to the continent by colonial settlers? Let’s take a closer look and examine this insistence.

The Bible Does Not Belong to Settlers or Colonialists

Should we reject the Bible simply because it was brought by colonial settlers? If so, should we also reject aspects of Western civilisation such as modern infrastructure, technology, or systems we rely on today?

However, this is clearly not the case, as our daily lives are made more convenient by many things that were introduced during the colonial era.

While colonial powers may have used the Bible for harmful purposes, its message was not intended to justify colonisation but to teach about God the Creator and the path to salvation.

This is no different from many things in the world that can be used for good or harm, depending on who is in control of them such as money, power and much more.

How African Culture and Christianity Share Common Values

African cultural values such as ubuntu, strong family, community bonds, good character, and neighbourliness are among the most prominent characteristics of African culture.

Christian communities also reflect these values. Jesus consistently teaches love, peace, and compassion toward all people, including one’s enemies: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you…” (Luke 6:27), and “Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

What Is the Purpose of Worship?

Although Christianity and African culture share these similarities, there are still fundamental differences between the two, particularly in the purpose of worship.

Many people, particularly Africans who view the Bible as a foreign religion, argue that African societies had their own gods who were worshipped long before the arrival of Christianity.

Then, what is the purpose of worship?

1 Peter 1:9 … for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Putting these two verses together, we can see that the purpose of worship is to seek salvation or eternal life, which God has placed in the hearts of all people.

Then, who can give us this salvation already placed in our hearts? Should it not be the same Creator who made all things and placed eternity in the hearts of all people?

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The original Hebrew text of the Bible uses the term Elohim, which appears over 2,500 times in the Old Testament, to refer to God, a word that directly translates to “gods” in the ordinary sense.

Would we know about God Elohim who created the heavens and the earth and created mankind in His own image and likeness without the Bible?

Africans may have worshipped other gods before encountering the Bible; however, these deities are not the Creator of the heavens and the earth and cannot grant eternal life.

Does it, then, make sense for humanity to have any object of worship other than the Creator?

Jeremiah 10:11 Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.

Not only will God Elohim, the true Creator, ultimately judge and destroy all other gods that man created and worshipped, but those who persist in worshipping them will also share in that judgment.

The Knowledge of God in Africa Before Colonialism

Various biblical passages indicate that knowledge of God Elohim existed among African peoples long before the colonial era.

Genesis 15:13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.

The nation God was referring to here was Egypt, where the Israelites would be enslaved for four hundred years before being delivered through God’s mighty power after they celebrated the Passover.

The Pharaoh of Egypt acknowledged God’s power after the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn.

Exodus 12:31 During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.

The Bible, through the writer of Psalms, prophesied that Egypt and Cush, identified as present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt, will submit to God the Creator.

Psalms 68:31 Envoys will come from Egypt; Cush will submit herself to God.

There is also the account of the Ethiopian eunuch in the Book of Acts.

Acts 8:27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

The Ethiopian eunuch, who met Philip on his way to Jerusalem to worship the God of the Bible, was baptised shortly after hearing about Jesus Christ.

Salvation Is for the Jews and Gentiles

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross removed the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, making salvation available not only to Israel but to all who believe in the God of the Bible.

Romans 3:22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

Romans 3:29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,

Since God declared that He is not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, it follows that all peoples and nations would have the opportunity to come to the knowledge of the true Creator.

The fact that the Bible was spread widely in Africa through missionaries and settlers should not diminish its message or purpose.

Its aim is to bring the knowledge and light of God to those living in spiritual darkness, who do not yet know the Creator who freely offers the gift of eternal life to all who earnestly seek Him.

Let us study the Bible diligently so that we may come to know God Elohim, who is the Spirit and the Bride, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and receive the free gift of the water of life and enter the kingdom of heaven.