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Ubuntu: I in You and You in Me
For Christians, practicing Ubuntu means entering deeply into the compassionate, forgiving love of Gospel.
As defined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.
The African spiritual principle of Ubuntu offers believers a new and radical way of reading the Gospel and understanding the heart of the Christian faith, and this new book explores the meaning and utility of Ubuntu as applied to Western philosophies, faith, and lifestyles.
Ubuntu is an African way of seeing self-identity formed -through community. This is a difficult worldview for many Western people, who understand self as over, against, or in competition with others. In the Western viewpoint, Ubuntu becomes something to avoid—a kind of co-dependency. As a Christian leader who understands the need, intricacies, and delicate workings of global interdependency, Battle offers here both a refreshing worldview and a new perspective of self-identity for people across cultures, and of all faiths.
As defined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.
The African spiritual principle of Ubuntu offers believers a new and radical way of reading the Gospel and understanding the heart of the Christian faith, and this new book explores the meaning and utility of Ubuntu as applied to Western philosophies, faith, and lifestyles.
Ubuntu is an African way of seeing self-identity formed -through community. This is a difficult worldview for many Western people, who understand self as over, against, or in competition with others. In the Western viewpoint, Ubuntu becomes something to avoid—a kind of co-dependency. As a Christian leader who understands the need, intricacies, and delicate workings of global interdependency, Battle offers here both a refreshing worldview and a new perspective of self-identity for people across cultures, and of all faiths.
171 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 28, 2012
I read a book about Buddhism once. The general idea was that, rather than think about the past or the present, one should live in the now, focusing on the present moment in its fullness. I found this concept to be incredibly alien, and while I'm not diminishing this way of thinking (I barely understand it), I admit that it had limited appeal. There are some ways of thinking that are terrifically hard to grasp, and the whole "Just Be" thing is one of them.
The concept of ubuntu is similar. Essentially, ubuntu tells us that we can only be human together, or that I am because we are. Ubuntu focuses on the connections between individuals, and asks us to believe that our identity as members of a community is as important--if not more important--than our individual lives.
As Saavik the Vulcan would say, "A difficult concept."
I found this book fascinating (now I'm quoting Spock). I know very little about African theology, and the author did an excellent job writing about how African Christianity, viewed through the prism of ubuntu, results in a tremendously different interpretation of the Gospels than the Western interpretation. Rather than Enlightenment rationalism, or Aristotelian dualism, ubuntu Christianity focuses on the immanence of God in all things, especially people. Everything is connected, and the relationships that arise from these connections are meant to reflect the love of God, who is both Creator and creating. No one, the author tells us, can be human alone.
Much of the author's focus is on Archbishop Demond Tutu of South Africa, who is one of my favorite people. Tutu's chairing of S. Africa' Truth and Reconciliation committees was a living example of ubuntu in action: peaceful and honest accountings of past wrongs, along with forgiveness, while recognizing that God is in every single person,and that the relationships between persons must be healed in order for growth and love to restored.
Ubuntu is a remarkable idea, and one that I find much more palatable, comprehensible, and inspiring than staring at a lotus flower and trying to levitate off my prayer mat. The God of the African Christians is very different than the God of Western Christians. We could learn a great deal from the Africans, I think, since Christianity in Africa is exploding while Christianity in the West is receding. I will ponder this idea of ubuntu further.
The concept of ubuntu is similar. Essentially, ubuntu tells us that we can only be human together, or that I am because we are. Ubuntu focuses on the connections between individuals, and asks us to believe that our identity as members of a community is as important--if not more important--than our individual lives.
As Saavik the Vulcan would say, "A difficult concept."
I found this book fascinating (now I'm quoting Spock). I know very little about African theology, and the author did an excellent job writing about how African Christianity, viewed through the prism of ubuntu, results in a tremendously different interpretation of the Gospels than the Western interpretation. Rather than Enlightenment rationalism, or Aristotelian dualism, ubuntu Christianity focuses on the immanence of God in all things, especially people. Everything is connected, and the relationships that arise from these connections are meant to reflect the love of God, who is both Creator and creating. No one, the author tells us, can be human alone.
Much of the author's focus is on Archbishop Demond Tutu of South Africa, who is one of my favorite people. Tutu's chairing of S. Africa' Truth and Reconciliation committees was a living example of ubuntu in action: peaceful and honest accountings of past wrongs, along with forgiveness, while recognizing that God is in every single person,and that the relationships between persons must be healed in order for growth and love to restored.
Ubuntu is a remarkable idea, and one that I find much more palatable, comprehensible, and inspiring than staring at a lotus flower and trying to levitate off my prayer mat. The God of the African Christians is very different than the God of Western Christians. We could learn a great deal from the Africans, I think, since Christianity in Africa is exploding while Christianity in the West is receding. I will ponder this idea of ubuntu further.
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August 14, 2023Atheists and agnostics may hesitate to read a book by an ordained Anglican priest. But Michael Battle was ordained by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, author of God Is Not a Christian. Their idea of God is infinitely bigger than any of the puny limiting categories devised by any organized religion. It is based on the African idea of Ubuntu, I in you and you in me or I am because you are - the interdependent worldview. A very helpful perspective especially for Westerners to unlearn I think therefore I am and recognize anew the essential foundation of the old anti-apartheid slogan, "An injury to one is an injury to all."
November 9, 2023
Introduces a concept made popular by the late Bishop Desmond Tutu, bringing it into conversation with Western and African thinkers.
January 20, 2013
Disappointed. Too much god. Not enough Ubuntu.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews