The Need for a Cameroonian Social Theology from the Book of James

There are a number of reasons why a contextual theology that addresses social concerns is needful for the evangelical churches in Cameroon and why James’s Epistle is a suitable basis for such a theology.

Firstly, the social intent of James’s ethics has not received much attention in the scholarship appraisal on the Book. There are lots of trustworthy literary works on the theme of theological ethics in the Epistle of James. Many of these works tend to focus on personal ethics. They fall short of emphasis on the local church’s collective involvement in social concerns. Personal commitment to ethical life in community is fundamental. In addition, James’s ethical paradigms give impetus to collective concern for community transformation.

Secondly, there is a biblical warrant for the church’s involvement in community change efforts.
The Church as the custodian of Kingdom ideals has a biblical mandate to participate in a holistic improvement of the world order by collective means. It is worth stating that social concern is not to be an end in itself or the kingdom itself per se. It is the church’s involvement in God’s vision for restoring divine order in a world ravaged by sin. It adorns God’s kingdom, making it more attractive to those who are outside of the church.
According to the Book of James, social concern is a means by which saving faith goes public. James admonishes the Jewish believers saying, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do”(James 2:18). The church needs a theology that defines and explains this “showing” of her faith in the community. Churches in different settings may construct theologies peculiar to their own contexts but should conform to general biblical principles. James’s theological ethics offers such principles, which could be helpful in constructing a social theology for the churches in Cameroon.

Thirdly, liberal approaches to contextualization have forced Cameroonian protestant evangelicals either to downplay or retreat from contextual theology. For instance, Western conservative evangelicals rightly criticized the Social Gospel Movement for limiting the kingdom of God to a new social order. The proponents of this avant-garde theology believed that the new social order would be ushered in only through social reform. In the same way, the Ecumenical Movement has been criticized for allegedly limiting missions to social concern and the campaign for justice. It was initially for this reason that Western evangelicals retreated from social work.
In the same way, liberation theology, which has been expressed in Africa in the form of Black theology, theology of decolonization, and Ethiopianism have failed to emphasize the authority of the Bible in responding to various social and political situations in African contexts. Instead, most of these models while emphasizing one’s struggles in his socio-cultural environments, and dialogue between faith tradition and experience have largely failed to underscore the biblical authority over all.

Most evangelicals agree that community and context play an important role in theology, but regard with suspicion any theological formulations that downplay biblical authority. It is partly for this reason that Protestant Churches in Cameroon have not invested much effort in social change theologies. It is therefore a necessity to engage in the formulation of a social change theology that is supportable on biblical grounds.

Fourthly, context demands theologies of social change. Experiential realities have often produced theological reflections on such situations. Africa is a continent with complex turmoil. The African church was forced to react to colonialism with the theology of decolonization. Apartheid in South Africa provoked an African form of Black theology. Prosperity theology has been a way of reflecting on economic poverty in African societies. These theologies and the different ways of involvement have their pros and cons.
The Catholic Church in Cameroon through her Episcopal Conference of Bishops has been at the forefront of addressing corruption in the country. Protestant churches have been timid in the guise of separation between church and state. The church can always with humilty make a contribution to the moral and social progress of a nation without overlapping church and state. Generally, African protestant theologians have lost their fervor for social theology. This is due in part to the disappearance of some large-scale social problems; for instance colonialism and Apartheid. But poverty, disease, corruption, intertribal disputes and other social crises still abound in the church and communities in Cameroon that require the church’s attention.