THE RITUAL OF BLOOD SACRIFICE AS EVIDENCED IN COLOSSIANS 1:20 AND ITS IMPLICATIONS IN AKAN TRADITIONAL CULTURE

• Main Author: Brown, Laud A.
• Other Authors: CAROLYN OSIEK
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: Texas Christian University 2008
• Subjects: Brite Divinity School
• Online Access: http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-01092008-123419/

The subject of this thesis is The Ritual of Blood Sacrifice as Evidenced in Colossians 1: 20 and its Implications in the Akan Traditional Culture. It first explores the traditional Akan cultural worldview in terms of their concepts of God, deities and ancestors. Then it deals with their concept of sacrifice by looking at three examples of ritual sacrifice: the Ritual Killing after the Death of a Chief, Human Sacrifice for Victory, and Sacrificing Living People. After an exegesis of Col. 1:20 within the context of the Christ Hymn, the thesis examines some elements of human sacrifice in the Greco-Roman world and describes the wider early Christian understanding of Jesus death as a sacrifice. This analysis will help us to engage those aspects of Akan theology and cosmology that have a direct correlation with the Akan-language translation of the Colossians Hymn. Drawing on examples from recent newspaper articles on ritual killings in Ghana, the thesis tries to determine the rationale for these sacrifices within the traditional Akan context. The thesis draws the conclusion that for Pentecostal-Charismatic believers Christs death on the cross is a blood ritual sacrifice that meets the sacrificial needs of the Akans; however Christs sacrifice is more efficacious and superior to the Akan traditional ritual sacrifices for maintaining the cosmological balance within the universe in regard to peace, protection, prosperity and power.