AFRICAN CLAIMS TO CHRISTIAN ORIGIN

Resumen

Christianity is a religion that is common and has a wide spread in Africa and especially in Nigeria. There are now a number of denominations of Christians in all major cities of the different countries except in the cases of countries that are predominantly Islamic, especially in the Northern part of the continent. Most of these predominantly Islamic countries used to be very Christian, especially up to the seventh century AD when the forces of Islam ran through Africa. I have asked myself severally: How and when did Christianity actually come into the continent? Who proclaimed or propagated the faith in Africa? Why is it that the same adjective ‘Christian’ has never been used to suffix the name of the continent Africa? I have heard it said severally about Europe. These musings are the basis behind this paper. It is a bid to trace the origin or source of Christianity in Africa. I hope to discover the places that were Christian and How diffused was the faith in the continent and what were the achievements and influence of the faith in Africa? Things are further complicated by the fact that from the very first few pages of the Bible the names of certain African cities can be found mentioned. One hears the name of Egypt and Ethiopia so frequently in the Jewish Scriptures.