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By Dr. Paul Stoltz

Introduction

Ancestor worship, or communio sanctorum (the Latin) has been under discussion amongst theologians for many decades now. Much has been written, much has been said, many seminars on the topic have been held, and yet, it is still under the spotlight amongst theologians.

Therefore the field of our topic is not only very wide, but also very controversial. From the early missionaries who rigidly forbid any form of communio sanctorum to the most liberal postmodern theologian who argues that communio sanctorum needs to be part of the Christian’s worship: it remains a burning issue in the development of a relevant Christo-centric African Christianity.

To try and address such a crucial issue in one paper would definitely not do justice to the topic. There are so many contributing factors that need to be addressed and explained: worldview, culture, theological presuppositions, hermeneutics, cross-cultural communication, modern theological and cultural trends, doctrinal views, and inculturation/contexualization, to just mention a few.

In order to streamline the topic at hand this paper would move from a theological evangelical perspective. This paper would argue that within the Biblical culture there is no place for worship of any other gods, except the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: The Elohim and El Shaddai. However, it would argue further that within the context of the African culture, certain traditional cultural rites could exist that can be considered as preparatio evangelica to the writing of a relevant Christian African Theology.

It should also be said that it is never easy to evaluate foreign cultural rites and passages as the dynamics of any foreign culture will never be fully understood by the interpreter/facilitator/anthropologist. The question would then arise immediately as to whether an outsider should be given the opportunity to address issues. Fashole Luke (in Anderson & Stransky 1976: 135) a well known African Theologian addresses this question by saying: “ it (the writing of an African Theology) should be looked upon as a medium by which Africans and non Africans can think together about the fundamental articles of the Christian faith in Africa. The quest must be ecumenical and all inclusive”.

Ecumenism would guide the discussion and evaluation not to be one-sidedly initiated. To be all-inclusive would ensure that the evaluation would incorporate all tools needed and available to come to a sound, reliable and just conclusion.
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