Introduction

Defining African Christian thought has always been a contentious matter. It is contentious not only because of the arguments relative to how the subject should be delineated but also because defining “Africa” itself is highly ideological. It is highly ideological in the sense that definitions of Africa are often intended to serve specific purposes and as such they sometimes conceal or distort what Africa is. For some, for example, Africa is black Africa while for others Africa is north of the Limpopo River and south of the Sahel. Each definition has an agenda. Thus, when it comes to defining Africa, there may be no ideological-or interest-free zone in which one may stand to describe what one is talking about.1 The best one may hope to do is to clearly describe what one means by Africa and why one thinks that is what Africa should mean. How Africa is defined seems to have a direct bearing on the delimitation of African Christian thought.