The Bible and Akan Traditional Religious Values: A Search For Dialogue

Abstract

In their quest to bring Christianity to Africa in general, and Ghana in particular, the missionaries downplayed and discarded the African traditional religious values. This separated Ghanaians, including Akans from their traditional religious values for the biblical values of the Judeo-Christian scriptures; making them Christians who are cut off from their traditional religious values. After engaging in a dialogue with the biblical values and Akan traditional religious values on a common platform, it was identified that there are basic concepts of commonalities that exist between them, which include common belief in God, family systems, sacrifices, naming ceremonies, prayers, belief in ancestors, etc. and areas of differences which must be refined using the Bible which is seen as the hermeneutics of culture and tradition. This helps to curtail the hypocrisy of many Christians and churches who practise these traditional religious values and provide them with a searchlight to rediscover and modify the elements in their traditional and religious values. In addition, it helps to dispel illusion, remove suspicion and minimise conflict, and to enable the Akans, Ghanaians, or Africans while maintaining their traditional religious values adhere to the teachings of the Bible.