Most of the theology and church history that I’ve studied (and been exposed to) was passed along from the Western church tradition.
And I’ve been blessed to learn a lot from various theologians and thinkers like Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Thomas Merton, C.S. Lewis, and N.T. Wright.
However, I never knew about the early church history and Christian tradition that developed in Africa, the Middle East and Asia — and how the beautiful Christian theology and spiritual traditions in these regions reveals how Christianity is not a product of the Western world.
In this podcast, Dr. Vince Bantu talks with us about early African Christianity and what led him to pursue academic research into the origins of Christianity in Egypt, Nubia and the continent of Africa.
He also discusses the need for ethnic representation in our churches, the sins and destructive impact of systemic racism and white supremacy in our church history, ways for us to better support our BIPOC church communities during times of tragedy and trauma, and the powerful faith and example that our Black church has set for all Christians. He also shares ways that parents can help raise anti-racist children.
You can subscribe or download this episode on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe to the video series on YouTube.
You can listen (or download) the complete podcast here:
Here are some video clips from our conversation:
- • Cultural Alienation from the Gospel
- • Decolonizing Our Faith
- • Impact of White Supremacy
- • Dismantling Systemic Sin & White Supremacy
- • George Floyd & Christian Responses
- • How to Support BIPOC Christians
- • Ancient African Christianity
- • Council of Chalcedon
- • The Black Church
- • Raising Anti-Racist Children
You can catch the full video conversation on African Christianity & The Black Church here.
Dr. Vince L. Bantu
Dr. Vince Bantu (PhD, Catholic University of America) is an Assistant Professor of Church History and Black Church Studies at Fuller Seminary.
Dr. Bantu teaches primarily on Fuller’s Houston campus, where he also serves as a liaison to the William E. Pannell Center for African American Church Studies and networks with African American churches, pastors, and students. Additionally, he has years of pastoral experience in African American, Asian American, and Hispanic churches, as well as extensive involvement in multicultural urban communities. He also directs the Meachum School of Haymanot, which provides theological education for urban pastors and leaders.
He is the author of Gospel Haymanot: A Constructive Theology and Critical Reflection on African and Diasporic Christianity (2020) and A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity’s Global Identity (2020), as well as numerous articles on global Christianity, Syriac and Nubian Christianity, apologetics, justice, evangelism, and African American theology.
He holds a PhD in Semitic and Egyptian languages from the Catholic University of America and serves as co-chair of the Theology Committee of the Christian Community Development Association.
Dr. Bantu is also an MDiv graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary’s Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston, and served the Cambridge Community Fellowship Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a church-planting apprentice of Dr. Soong-Chan Rah.
He also served as a program coordinator for the Emmanuel Gospel Center. Dr. Bantu also holds a ThM in church history from Princeton Seminary and a BA in theology from Wheaton College.
Check out the full list of podcasts dealing with spirituality and social justice here.
