How to Respect the Religious Quasi-Other? Methodological Considerations in Studying the Kimbanguist Doctrine of Incarnation

This chapter outlines a methodology for theologically analyzing and assessing predominantly oral non-Western theologies. First, the two major existing approaches are deliberated upon, namely, the (cultural/social) anthropology of Christianity and ecumenical (systematic) theology.1 After exploring the pros and cons of both, a brief background of the Kimbanguist Church is presented, which serves as the case for reflecting upon methodological considerations. This is followed by an attempt to integrate the useful elements of both anthropology and theology. The whole exercise is conducted with the ecumenical theological agenda in mind, and therefore does not propose any value judgment on theological and anthropological or ethnographical approaches as such. The Kimbanguist doctrine of incarnation is used as the concrete material for methodological deliberations because of its critical situation at the moment of writing – the Kimbanguist Church is very close to becoming the first ever the grounds. Furthermore, it is a leading African Instituted Church with a rich oral theological tradition and deep involvement in the Kongo cultural heritage.