Byang Kato , livre ebook

Based on fresh research and presented with verve and insight, this study of Africa’s pioneering evangelical theologian, Byang Kato, represents a singular contribution towards a better, fuller understanding of Kato, his life and his legacy. It also represents an essential resource towards understanding the theological life of Africa’s evangelical community during the past half century. The author engages both with Kato’s own writings and with a considerable array of other literature relevant to the inquiry. He also addresses probing questions relating to Kato’s continuing significance, assesses with considered judgment, and encourages adjustments in common perceptions and misperceptions. This volume will be a benchmark for all Kato research going forward.
Paul Bowers, PhD
Former Director,
Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA) and International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE)
Byang Kato is arguably one of the greatest African evangelical theologians in recent years. In his theological fights against syncretism he is famously quoted to have said, “Let African Christians be Christian Africans.” With this statement, Kato was simply saying, in as much as Africans ought to radically leave tradition when they become Christians, they should do the same with Western culture, in ensuring that Christianity in Africa should not be westernized. Kato was the first African General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA). He is credited for a clear cut vision road map that has led to where AEA is currently. When asked what his vision for Africa was in 1974, Kato answered;
“African Christianity is being consumed by a dreadful disease. We must find a cure for our theological anemia .”
In the hour following that statement Kato spelled out four tools that he believed would support steady, responsible development of genuine Christianity across Africa:

1. We need evangelical African scholars writing and publishing African theology.
2. We need graduate schools in theology so that our best students do not leave the continent in order to learn: one school in French-speaking Africa in the west and another in English-speaking Africa in the east.
3. We need a journal. African scholars of theology will seek a place to publish their ideas and read the responses of their evangelical peers across the continent.
4. We need an accrediting agency to set standards of theological education and monitor the progress of schools in order to maintain those standards. Scholars throughout the world will want to know what African-educated theologians think about Jesus.
All these four vision pillars have been institutionalized and are now the infrastructural apparatus of the AEA. He was a man in the right place and at the right time. A visionary and a scholar of note, and an evangelical.
It is for this that Dr. Aiah Foday-Khabenje’s intensive labour on the life journey of this African intellectual and theological general is worth my endorsement. Aiah’s book is a laboratory or information bank, a mine of an important jewel of evangelical theology. Every evangelical will do well to have it in order to avoid common pitfalls and to fortify mainstay biblical conscience for the current generation and future posterity.
Master Oboletswe Matlhaope, PhD
General Secretary,
Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA)
Byang Kato: The Life and Legacy of Africa’s Pioneer Evangelical Theologian is a rare gem that discusses the contributions of a very important African figure and the father of African evangelicalism. African Christianity owes its vibrancy to men and women who were unwavering in their theological beliefs and ethos. Although he died at a very young age, Dr. Byang Henry Kato left an indelible mark in African Christianity that must be told, retold, protected and celebrated. Christian leaders, pastors, students and historians will find this book a rare resource. I highly recommend it without reservation.
David Tarus, PhD
Executive Director,
Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA)

Byang Kato
The Life and Legacy of Africa’s Pioneer Evangelical Theologian
Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje

© 2023 Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje
Published 2023 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
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ISBNs:
978-1-83973-667-4 Print
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Aiah Dorkuh Foday-Khabenje has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
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ISBN: 978-1-83973-667-4
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Contents

Cover


Abstract


Acknowledgements


List of Abbreviations


Chapter 1 Introduction


General Background for the Study


Problem Statement


Research Questions


Importance of Study


Research Design and Methodology


Delimitations of the Study


Overview


Chapter 2 A Synopsis of the Life and Times of Byang Kato


Introduction


Sources of Information for the Biography


Socio-political and Cultural Context of Kato’s Time


Birth and Early Childhood


Dedication as Fetish Priest and Rite of Passage to Manhood


Conversion to Christianity, Spiritual Formation and Elementary Education


Marriage and Family Life


Further Education


Vocation and Ministry


Background to Theological Debates


Global Engagement


Kato’s Tragic Demise


Byang Kato’s Accomplishments


Failures and Deficiencies of Kato


Conclusion


Chapter 3 Byang Kato’s Theological Legacy in Biblical Hermeneutics, African Christian Identity and Evangelical Theological Education


Introduction


Kato’s Hermeneutics


Kato’s Contribution to African Christian Identity


Kato’s Contribution to Evangelical Theological Education in Africa


Summary of Kato’s Theological Legacy


Kato’s Theological Pitfalls


Current State of the Church in Africa in View of Kato’s Theological Legacy


Contemporary Resonance of Kato’s Hermeneutics, Identity and Theological Education


Legacy of Mission and Culture Debates


Conclusion


C hapter 4 Theological and Biblical Foundations for African Christian Identity, Hermeneutics and Evangelical Theological Education


Overview


Tenets of Evangelicalism as Background to Kato’s Theology


H istorical Sketch of the Development of Evangelical Orthodoxy


Theological and Biblical Foundations of Kato’s Theological Legacy


Summary and Conclusion


Chapter 5 A Model for Biblical Fidelity in African Evangelical Christianity


Introduction


Outline of Kato’s Theological Construct


Description of Kato’s Theology


Summary


Chapter 6 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations


Introduction


Summary of the Study


Conclusions of the Study


Contributions of the Study


Recommendations of the Study


Bibliography


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Abstract
This study is an analytical biography of a pioneering church leader – Byang Henry Kato (1936‒1975) – in shaping African evangelicalism. The study explores Kato’s life story and theological legacy to contribute to leadership development and the maturing of the church in contemporary Africa. Specifically, the study explores Kato’s biblical hermeneutics, Christian African identity and contribution to evangelical theological education in sub-Saharan Africa, using empirical and qualitative approaches, literary review and field interviews.
Kato was immersed in African traditional religion as a child and was on course for succeeding his father as fetish priest when he converted to the Christian faith. He rose from that humble beginning to become a world class evangelical leader and scholar before his tragic death by drowning. Kato was a young Nigerian theologian and the first African general secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA), among other roles. He is renowned as the father of evangelical theology in sub-Saharan Africa.
Kato stood against the formidable ecclesial establishment of his time to contend for biblical fidelity over nationalistic loyalty. Kato’s a