Biblical truth for African questions
Ask Bisrat Ask a question, look up a person, or explore a topic. Search across our articles, book reviews, sermon notes and Explore guides—from ancestors and African culture to church history, religious movements, faith and doubt.
Try searching: Augustine What does the ZCC believe? Can I honour my ancestors and still follow Jesus? Bishop Joshua Maponga
A place to begin
Questions already covered Is the Ethiopian Bible the oldest Bible? What are ancestors? Are ancestors demons? Who is God in African religion? Do Africans worship ancestors? Can ancestors carry prayers to God? What is Ubuntu? Is Christianity a white man’s religion? Must Christians reject African culture? Can a Christian attend an ancestral ceremony? Is lobola biblical? Does Christ fulfil African religion? What is Bisrat Apologetics? Can I be both African and Christian? Can the living communicate with the dead? Did Jesus speak to his ancestors at the Transfiguration? Does the cloud of witnesses mean the dead watch us? Can Jesus be called an ancestor? Can spiritual truth belong to one ethnicity? How do we test claims that the ancestors have spoken? How does the gospel answer fear of ancestors and curses? How should a Christian evaluate an African rite? Can Christians participate in birth and naming rites? Can a Christian take part in traditional initiation? What should Christians do with sacrifices and libations? Should a Christian wear isiphandla? Can Christians take part in bringing the spirit home? What if my family rejects my Christian decision? Did Africans know God before missionaries arrived? When does cultural adaptation become syncretism? Do biblical ancestors support ancestral veneration? What does ‘the God of Abraham’ or ‘the God of our fathers’ mean? Can saints or other departed Christians mediate for us? Does the ancestral worldview make sense on its own terms? What does Nongqawuse teach us about claims of ancestral revelation? Why can ancestral rituals become financially oppressive? Who decided that lobola should be ten cattle plus one? What is utsiki and can Christians participate? Is polygamy biblical because it is African? How should Christians approach funerals and mourning? How the answers work Search reads the published text of Bisrat’s resources and shows relevant passages with links to the full explanation. Prepared answers also draw on Lwandiso Dlokweni, Cultural Apologetics: African Questions and Biblical Answers, Volume One: Christ, Ancestors and African Rites (forthcoming). New resources published through the dashboard join the search automatically. Search covers published explanations and prepared book-based answers; source links lead to the full available discussion.