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Christ and Church in the Liberation Theology of Laurenti Magesa

LAURENTI Magesa is a prolific African theologian. He has authored and co-authored a number of books and articles which cover a wide range of issues about African Christianity, African Church life, social and political structures in post-independent Africa, to mention but a few. The theme of liberation cuts through a good number of his theological writings. The purpose of this brief study is to highlight through the analysis of key texts Magesa's understanding of Christian liberation. To achieve this, passages from the various writings ofMagesa will be grouped into three related themes, namely, Chritsian liberation, Jesus Christ as liberator and the African Church as agent of liberation. The theme of liberation cuts through a good number of the theological writings of Laurenti Magesa. The aim of this brief essay is to highlight, through the analysis of relevant texts, Magesa's understanding of Christian liberation. The method employed in this study is expository and analytic.This means that a substantial number of major texts taken from the various writings of Magesa have been grouped thematically rather than chronologically, and analyzed to expose the author's theology on the chosen themes. This study is divided into three related sections. The first one, studies how Magesa perceives Christian liberation. The hallmark of this part is to identity cardinal points upon which Magesa builds his theology ofliberation. The second part studies how Magesa understands and portrays Jesus Christ as the liberator in the African context. The last section outlines how he understands the Church as existing to further the liberating ministry of Christ in Africa today.