Musicians and composers in African Christianity
Date
2019-01
DOI
Authors
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
[In 2004, Eritrean gospel singer Helen Berhane was arrested during a raid on a secret Bible study and thrown in jail for evangelizing through her singing. During her two-year imprisonment, she wrote many songs that are sung in Eritrean Christian communities today. In another restrictive African country, missionary outreach using the JESUS film yielded no response among the population for six long years. Finally, one day, a local believer appeared at their headquarters to tell them that he had translated the script, put it to music, and taught it to his compatriots. This new musical composition unlocked the message of the film for the local people and resulted in the founding of forty-eight new churches.
These stories illustrate how the creation of indigenous music is central to the development of African Christian communities.]
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Copyright 2019 Dictionary of African Christian Biography. All rights reserved. Reproductions, with appropriate citation and credit, may be made for noncommercial educational purposes. Revision or editing of this content, the creation of derivative works, posting on websites containing advertising, and all other commercial uses require the express written consent of the Journal of African Christian Biography.