Keith Ferdinando
The Triumph of Christ in African Perspective
Carlisle UK: Paternoster, 1999. 450 pages, paperback, £30

This magisterially composed book addresses a complex of topics that are of utmost relevance to African Christianity. And it does so in a manner that displays the best of evangelical biblical scholarship. Ferdinando has served for many years in Africa, first in Congo/Zaire and most recently in Uganda. The book's unifying theme is the all-encompassing "triumph of Christ" as a manifestation of the universal sovereignty of God. Written from the perspective of Africa, it seeks to transform a traditional pessimistic religious perspective by focusing on the significance of Christ's sinless life and sacrificial work of redemption on the Cross. In light of the Lord's overwhelming victory over all the forces of wickedness, both biblical demonology and African occult are revealed for what they are, and relegated to their temporary, subordinate and subdued place in this world, as they await their ultimate destiny in God's final judgement. Ferdinando supports this fundamentally optimistic and encouraging message through a detailed study of the relevant materials of Scripture for the proper biblical response to an ever-threatening dominion of darkness. No controversial issues are ignored. Ferdinando shows that syncretism or accommodation to ancestral beliefs, practices, values, and/or perspectives is not the answer. Only an ever-deeper, personally applied understanding of what God has already done and will do for us in and through Jesus the Christ will do. Ferdinando's biblically-based optimism is as spiritually educative as it is personally contagious. This should be one of the very first books that Christians in Africa read in the new year.

David A. Shank,
Prophet Harris, The 'Black Elijah' of West Africa
Abridged by Jocelyn Murray. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994. 325 pp, hb, $165

William Wade Harris (c. 1860-1929) of Liberia led a remarkable mass movement to Christianity in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire in the early part of the last century. Framed out of doctoral research under the direction of Harold Turner, Andrew Walls and Adrian Hastings at Aberdeen, and including extensive bibliographic and ethnographic materials, Shank offers insightful commentary in this comprehensive study of Harris, which initially comprised over 800 pages in three volumes. Students of African church history and theology owe Jocelyn Murray a great debt for her editorial work in condensing the book down to its present more manageable size! The first section offers a tight, nuanced summary of the history (and controversies) of Harris from 1910 to 1929. The second section looks at Harris' life prior to 1910, and together these two sections lay the foundations for the third section, which is the most important in the book. In it Shank explores Harris' life, prophetic thought patterns, and spiritual dynamics in light of the missionary and colonial context against which he framed God's call on his life. The postscript places the ministry of Harris in the larger context of African Christianity. Richly interspersed with anecdotal pieces about the setting in which Harris ministered, the book sets out the prophetic worldview of this unique personality in the history of African Christianity, and makes him come alive to the contemporary reader, while satisfying the scholar's desire for extensive illustration and documentation from original sources. The condensation of the book at times makes for such a dense style that multiple readings may be necessary for solid comprehension-but the extra attention required is well-rewarded in the end. This is an important book, and any library that specialises in materials relating to the African-initiated church movement, or to African church history or theology, should carefully consider whether its budget can stretch to include the acquisition of this valuable resource.

Gerald O. West, and Musa W. Dube, editors
The Bible in Africa: Transactions, Trajectories, and Trends
Leiden: Brill, 2000. 846 pp, hb $147/pb $60

This massive, diverse, and informative volume of essays is edited by Gerald West of the University of Natal and Musa Dube of the University of Botswana. The stated aim of their interdisciplinary effort is "to present...as wide a sense of the presence of the Bible in Africa as possible." The volume presents a far-ranging set of essays on a variety of topics written in depth from many different perspectives, and thereby admirably accomplishes its major objective. The standard has now been set for some serious follow-up research, which will undoubtedly include a significant amount of critical response. The 38 articles are grouped into four major sections. Part 1-Historical and Hermeneutical Perspectives; Part 2-Particular Encounters with Particular Texts; Part 3-Comparison and Translation as Transaction: Part 4-Redrawing the Boundaries of the Bible in Africa. The volume concludes with an extraordinary contribution in its own right, Grant LeMarquand's comprehensive and definitive "A Bibliography of the Bible in Africa", exceeding 160 pages! Generally speaking, the essays are well written; some are rather more complex and technical than others, but on the whole they should all be accessible to most advanced-level readership, and serve as a good entry point for surveying the expanse of biblically-related studies in Africa. Readers will surely not agree with everything that has been written here, whether in terms of content, method, interpretation or conclusion; hopefully they will be stimulated to undertake their own investigations in response. As such this is an immensely valuable multi-purpose study text in and for Africa.

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