Teaching Documents by Diane Stinton
African Theology Worldwide, 2021
Developed in collaboration with scholars and librarians in Africa and around the globe, African T... more Developed in collaboration with scholars and librarians in Africa and around the globe, African Theology Worldwide is a new and developing, freely accessible online platform for African Christian Theology. Supported by the Protestant Theological University, and generously funded by the John Templeton Foundation and other donors, it contains a collaborative bibliography, bibliographical encyclopaedia articles, a research portal, and other supporting materials that direct researchers to the best available resources and provide access to a wide variety of online materials.
Papers by Diane Stinton
This thesis explores and analyses voices of contemporary African christology, integrating selecte... more This thesis explores and analyses voices of contemporary African christology, integrating selected textual and oral christologies from sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa. The critical concern for African Christians to College, Edinburgh, has provided an environment conducive to research in African Christianity. I am grateful to my first supervisor, T. Jack Thompson, for his ready availability and his attentive scrutiny of my thesis. With his expertise in African history, he has brought a cross-disciplinary perspective which has enhanced my theological research. I am also indebted to Professor David Kerr, Director of the Centre, for his active role in overseeing my research from beginning to end. His perceptiveness in nurturing the research process and his constructive critique have certainly left their imprint on the final product. The warm hospitality and personal support from both professors has enriched my academic experience in Edinburgh. Initial impetus for the present research stems from conversations with Professor Kwame Bediako in Nairobi in 1994. Since then, attending his lectures here at the Centre and continued dialogue have stimulated new thinking and deepened my understanding of contemporary African Christianity. In addition to his incisive supervision, I am especially grateful for his "Come and see" approach to studying christology in the Ghanaian context. The generous welcome I received from the Bediakos and the community at the Akrofi-Christaller Memorial Centre remains a highlight of my Ph.D. experience. More recently, Professor John S. Pobee has shown keen interest in the research project, offering penetrating responses and providing personal affirmation through the process. I particularly appreciate the critical feedback from these African scholars concerning the christologies arising across their continent. I also acknowledge the financial assistance which has made this research possible. The University of Edinburgh granted Overseas Research Students awards. My home church, Bethany Chapel in Calgary, Canada, assisted with living expenses, and Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to field research costs. Bethany Chapel and Daystar University provide home bases for me, and I am thankful for their part in this further equipping me for continued ministry in theological education in Africa. I would also like to acknowledge particular individuals for their assistance in the research process. Susanne Ottenheimer provided critical engagement on issues in qualitative methodology. Paul Mbutu in the Research Department at Daystar University offered his expertise in the logistics of field research in Kenya. Emmanuel Martey, Joseph Bansu and Solomon Sule-Saa assisted with logistics in Ghana, and E. K. Ako-Addo helped with translating Twi phrases in interview tapes. Kwame Mante-Bediako transcribed an interview containing considerable amounts of Twi. Likewise Tharcisse Gatwa transcribed one in French, and Martine Price edited my translation of the interview. I could not have completed the research without these valuable contributions, and I am indeed grateful. In addition, certain communities of African Christians extended themselves to me in unexpected ways. The Little Sisters of St. Francis adopted me for the week spent with them in Uganda, marking me for life with their Christ-like hospitality. I was also highly privileged to interact with the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians and the Pan-African Christian Women's Alliance in both Kenya and v Ghana. These experiences have served to deepen the esteem I have for the many African Christian women who have touched my life. Friends have stood with me throughout this venture, both here in Edinburgh and across the seas, and I thank God for the gift of each one. I must single out Eugene and Jan Peterson for their steadfast, prayerful support, and for generously donating 150 copies of The Message-New Testament. These were used as gifts of appreciation for those who participated in the interviews with me. I also thank the Centre staff, Anne Fernon, Margaret Acton, Liz Leitch and Caroline Brown, and the computing staff, Crystal Webster, Jessie Paterson and Bronwen Currie, for their practical assistance and for fostering community life. Deepest gratitude goes to my family for their unfailing love, unending encouragement, and unwavering faith in the final outcome. I especially honour my mother, Margaret Stinton, and my late father, Dr. Arthur Stinton. Without their deep vision of God's kingdom worldwide and their devotion to nurturing me in my vocation, this research project would not have come to life. For the profound privilege of witnessing Christ's presence in Africa, I thank God.
International Journal of Christianity & Education
2004/11/16. Part of a week-long look at justice issues. Theologian, Author
Religion and Social Reconstruction in Africa, 2018
2004/11/16. Explores issues of international injustice, poverty, AIDS, and other human relief eff... more 2004/11/16. Explores issues of international injustice, poverty, AIDS, and other human relief efforts. Part of a week-long look at justice issues. Theologian, Author
International Bulletin of Missionary Research, 2010
Journal of Reformed Theology, 2013
Under the subtheme of “Christology in the Context of World Christianity,” this article explores r... more Under the subtheme of “Christology in the Context of World Christianity,” this article explores recent developments in African women’s Christologies. The aim is twofold: first, to engage critically with the content of these current Christologies, and second, to consider one method for doing contextual theology, namely, the “pastoral circle” or “pastoral cycle.” Its four key dimensions of encounter/insertion, social analysis, theological reflection, and pastoral planning allow a flexible framework for probing the causative factors, the contextual nature, the theological methods, and the central motifs of African women’s Christologies, as well as their contributions to social transformation through the impact of individuals and institutions. The article concludes that interdisciplinary approaches like the pastoral circle, which advocate the integration of biblical, historical, theological and contextual perspectives, hold the greatest potential for constructive Christology today.
An Introduction to Third World Theologies
Church History, 2008
Cuban refugees, those who “practiced their religion on a regular basis and lived their lives in r... more Cuban refugees, those who “practiced their religion on a regular basis and lived their lives in relation to Catholic faith and tradition” (3). While the author stays true to his objectives, he could have rendered the exiles even more complex (which is his stated aim in the introduction) if he had written more comparatively. By exploring the experiences and lives of the Mariel boatlift Cubans, for example, those black and mulatto working-class Cubans who practiced Santerı́a alongside Catholicism, Poyo could have shown points of intersection and tension, creating a fuller portrait of exilic and racialized identities. Yet these are in the end minor critiques. Poyo has written a definitive book on a group of exiled Cuban Catholics that should be read by those who study U.S. Latino history as well as those in American religious history more broadly.
Journal of Reformed Theology, 2007
Widespread evidence indicates that Jesus Christ holds a most prominent place in popular cultures ... more Widespread evidence indicates that Jesus Christ holds a most prominent place in popular cultures across Africa south of the Sahara. In the present article, empirical data generated through qualitative research in Kenya, Ghana, and Uganda serve to illustrate similar phenomena attested across the continent. Initial description and subsequent theological analysis highlight two central aspects of these Christologies: Jesus as Immanuel—God with us—in Africa, and Jesus as the "image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15). Following a summary overview of Christological images in Africa, conclusions point out their significance to contemporary Christianity, particularly regarding the intrinsic relation between popular and academic theologies.
The Oxford Handbook of Christology, 2015
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Teaching Documents by Diane Stinton
Papers by Diane Stinton