This third edition of the Oguaa Journal of Religion and Human Values deals with topics that border on the very existence of humans and of the relevance of their spirituality. The issue of the environment has become key in global governance. In "The Deficit of Environmental Leadership in Africa & Its Implication for Theological Education in the 21st Century" Ben-Willie Kwaku Golo outlines some roots of our enduring environmental malaise in Africa and explores their correlations with the problem of leadership. He further explores some theological, ethical and social issues that necessitate theological concern and their implications for theological education as a response. Finally, he offers some approaches to theological education for environmental leadership in the 21st century Africa. "Every soul shall taste of death," so states the Qur'an. Death ceremonies are therefore an important part of human societies and the way societies treat their dead is one of the distinguishing features of societies. In "Celebrating the Dead: A Phenomenological Study of Janazah Practice Among Selected Muslim Organisations in Osun State, Nigeria," R.I Adebayo explores the different ways that various Muslim groups in the Osun State conduct the Islamic ceremony of the dead, known as janazah. It is interesting how people of the same faith, in this case, Islam, differ in their treatment of the dead. In "Reclaiming Eve: A Re-Reading of Humanity's Origin (Genesis 2 & 3)" Augustine Mary-Mensah challenges the long held belief that Eve is the source of evil and that her singular action triggered humankind's fall from the garden of Eden. Indeed this belief has been partly responsible for the second rate treatment of women in society. Using the very same biblical verses that have demonized Eve, Mary-Mensah shows that we can re-read the bible with gender neutral lenses that will put both Eve and Adam on an even keel and make them equally culpable with respect to the fall from grace. Contextualisation of Jesus and the Bible are important subjects for both practitioners of Christianity and academics. Oftentimes people characterize Islam and Christianity as "foreign religions" which have no grounding on the nature and culture of African societies. Again, when academics discuss Africa, the temptation is to lump all African societies together as if they shared everything in common. So instead of talking about Ga or Asante or Nzema belief, people talk about "African belief." Prof. Anum shows that the Christian faith and Jesus as a liberating figure can be as relevant for the Ga as it can be for any other African people. He shows that the Ga people have a different conception of ancestral worship and which can be grounded in their Christian faith differently from what pertains among the Akan. The issue of the source of indigenous African morality is a vexed one. While some would want to ascribe only religious considerations to what is morally acceptable, permissible, obligatory and desirable in indigenous African societies, others are of the view that there are other equally important factors involved in the determination of African morality. This third edition of the Oguaa Journal of Religion and Human Values is a must read for academics, students and policy makers alike. It has an important wealth of resource for shaping the future of African societies.
About the Author: The aim of the Department of Religion & Human Values at the University of Cape Coast is to promote excellence in the study of religion and human values. The Department is concerned with making the study of religion relevant to the social, economic and political needs of society. In doing this, the Department promotes research on religion and society in the areas of Ethics and Philosophy, African Tradition Religion, Islam and Christianity both as separate phenomena and in so far as there has been and continues to be a cross-fertilisation between these faiths. The policy of this journal is therefore to give equal opportunity and space to scholars in these fields to present scholarly and insightful research in these areas of study. Every effort shall therefore be made to ensure that every edition of the journal has at least one article from each of these areas. This is the third edition of the journal. The journal is published once in a year. We hope to maintain a very high standard of scholarship and originality as far the articles we publish are concerned. Our aim is to make this journal the journal of reference in Africa as far as the study of religions is concerned. Oguaa is the ancient and indigenous name of Cape Coast. It is the name by which the natives refer to their town. In Ghana, Oguaa is the citadel of learning and academic excellence. We have thus named the journal, the Oguaa Journal of Religion and Human Values, first to recognize its setting as being within the Oguaa Traditional Area, and secondly to reflect the town's tradition of academic excellence, which this journal hopes to promote.