BEYOND FALSE PIETY AND RESIGNATION: APPROPRIATING THE OLD TESTAMENT VIOLENT PORTRAYALS OF GOD IN POST-COLONIAL AFRICA

Abstract

The systemic use of violence in God’s name by colonialists, slave-traders, inquisitors, crusaders, etc., has made believers and unbelievers wonder whether the God of the Old Testament himself, rather than his believers, is not the one to blame as morally problematic. In other words, does not the violence perpetrated in God’s name proceed from the fact that YHWH himself is a violent god, and therefore not worthy of human worship and praises? In this essay, I address the question of how to handle biblical texts depicting divine violence (direct and indirect violence) within the current context of violence and trauma. The purpose of the essay is to suggest some ways in which violent images of God can be useful/therapeutic to African traumatized communities.