Overview

""If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."" 2 Chronicles 7:14 Kenya is a diverse nation, with many ethnic communities and cultural traditions. However, this diversity has led to deep divisions over the years, resulting in entrenched ethnopolitical tension and conflict. In this book, Dr David Kirwa Tarus advocates for a Christian theological response to the nation's divisions by presenting various theological perspectives on anthropology, society, and politics including those of John Calvin and John Mbiti, as well as other prominent Kenyan theologians. This work traces the history of ethnopolitical conflict in Kenya and the church's response from 1895 to 2013 and thoroughly examines how a reformed theology can provide a pathway to social cohesion in Kenya. David Tarus humbly yet boldly challenges Kenyans to pursue national unity and peace by interrogating their allegiances to their ethnic communities and political parties. This book carefully argues why it is only a Christian identity, commitment to humanity as bearing the divine image, and the triune God himself, that can heal the divisions in this land and in turn bring an end to other social evils such as corruption, intolerance, and violence. Ethnopolitical conflict is not confined to one nation, and this study will bear much fruit in other contexts where people yearn for social cohesion.

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9781783685806

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Reviews

Dr Tarus's work is an exemplary piece of historical, systematic, and contextual theology. He shows that a Christian theology of the divine image (drawing especially on Calvin's theology) provides a foundation for overcoming ethnopolitical conflict in Kenya. Where class and ethnic differences too often fuel conflict, corruption, intolerance, and violence, Tarus argues that the Christian theology that all people bear the divine image anchors a vision for social and political unity that also recognizes, respects, and integrates diversity within that community. Tarus sets his constructive contribution in conversation with key voices in the history of African political theology. He also identifies and analyzes the challenges facing Christian political engagement in Kenya. Tarus writes, moreover, with an irenic, thoughtful, and compelling style. Steven M. Studebaker, PhD Howard and Shirley Bentall Chair in Evangelical Thought Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Canada

Dr Tarus's work is an exemplary piece of historical, systematic, and contextual theology. He shows that a Christian theology of the divine image (drawing especially on Calvin's theology) provides a foundation for overcoming ethnopolitical conflict in Kenya. Where class and ethnic differences too often fuel conflict, corruption, intolerance, and violence, Tarus argues that the Christian theology that all people bear the divine image anchors a vision for social and political unity that also recognizes, respects, and integrates diversity within that community. Tarus sets his constructive contribution in conversation with key voices in the history of African political theology. He also identifies and analyzes the challenges facing Christian political engagement in Kenya. Tarus writes, moreover, with an irenic, thoughtful, and compelling style. Steven M. Studebaker, PhD Howard and Shirley Bentall Chair in Evangelical Thought Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Canada

Author Information

DAVID KIRWA TARUS has a PhD in Christian Theology from McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and is currently an adjunct lecturer at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya. He previously worked as the coordinator of Scott Christian University, Eldoret Campus, Kenya, and taught as an adjunct lecturer at various other universities in Kenya. David is the co-editor of Christian Responses to Terrorism: The Kenyan Experience (Wipf & Stock, 2017). His research interests include theological anthropology, political theology, and ecclesiology. David is also an ordained minister of the Africa Inland Church (Kenya).

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