Christian Religion (C.R.E) Form 1 Questions and Answers

Topic Seven: Selected Aspects of African Religious Heritage

Question a: Explain African beliefs about God (or qualities)

• African beliefs about their God are found in their proverbs, myths, songs, prayers, narratives, and religious ceremonies.
• God was believed to be a supreme being who was beyond human understanding.
• The African communities believed that God was all-powerful – omnipotent.
• They believed that God’s power is expressed in natural occurrences such as thunder, earthquakes, floods, and volcanic eruptions.
• God is believed to be all-knowing – omniscient.
• He is limitless and knows, hears, and sees everything.
• He is also omnipresent – meaning he is everywhere at all times.
• Transcendent – beyond human understanding; because of this transcendent nature, Africans found it impossible to represent him using physical representations. They viewed him as being far yet too near them.
• He was seen as the provider and sustainer of creation.
• They believed that God is everlasting. He has no beginning or end.
• God is merciful.
• They believed he is incorruptible.
• African communities associated God with justice.
• Physical features were often seen as a representation of the awesome power of God. This is why large mountains, thick forests, and unique rock formations were used as shrines.
• Africans viewed God to be mysterious.

Question b: Describe the African understanding of the Hierarchy of Beings

Hierarchy of Beings

• God as the creator occupies the highest rank in the hierarchy of being – creator.
• The Divinities: Came next and control natural forces in the universe, created by God.
• The Common Spirits: Comprise spirits of people who died a long time ago.
• Ancestors (living dead): Spirits of those who died recently and are still remembered by the living.
• Human Beings: Consist of the living and the unborn.
• Animals and Plants: Come next – for man’s use as food and sacrifice to God.
• Last (7th) are non-living things such as mountains, rocks, rivers, caves, dwelling places of God and Spirits.

Question c: Describe the Role of the Ancestors to the Living

• The ancestors acted as intermediaries between God and human beings.
• They communicated the problems and wishes of human beings to God.
• God and the spirits used the ancestors to express their wishes concerning human beings.
• The ancestors welcomed those who died to the spirit world.
• They helped to preserve the culture and standards of a community.
• The ancestors blessed the living and corrected them through punishment.

Question d: What was the responsibility of the living towards God?

• To show gratitude to God and give thanks to Him as an acknowledgement that He is the giver of life.
• To honor, worship, and adore God by praying to Him for their needs.
• To pray to Him during or before a war, before planting, etc.
• To obey and trust Him.
• To take care of God’s creation.
• To teach children about God.
• To appease Him through sacrifice.

Question e: Describe the Traditional African ways of worshipping God

• Sacrifice: They were used to ask God’s favour, thanksgiving, to avert evil and ask for forgiveness, before planting and after harvest, epidemics, birth, naming, invitation, weddings, funerals, etc. for different reasons.
• Offerings: Foodstuffs e.g. grain, honey, beer, milk were offered in recognition of God as owner of property and provider.
• Prayers and invocations: The commonest act of worship. A continuous activity done anytime as the need arises.
• Song and dance: People were involved both physically and spiritually. This brought the community together.
• Blessings and Salutations: Expressed in greetings and farewells e.g. “Go with God”, “God be with you”.

Question f: What were the African ways of venerating and communicating with the spirits and ancestors?

• Venerating means showing respect to somebody.
• Spirits and ancestors were venerated because they were believed to be senior to human beings and closer to God.
• Sacrifices were offered to them as ways of venerating them.
• Pouring libation was done.
• The living invited them during ceremonies such as birth, invitation, marriage, and burial.
• They consulted diviners, mediums, and medicine men to keep in contact.
• The living named after them – thus they became immortal and members in the physical world again.
• Their names were mentioned during prayer.
• By maintaining their graves.
• Giving them proper burial ceremonies.

Topic Eight: African Moral and Cultural Values

Question a: What is the significance of the kinship system?

• Kinship means being related either by blood or marriage.
• The kinship system was important in the traditional African society because of the following factors.
• The kinship system regulated people’s behavior towards each other. This promoted peaceful and harmonious relationships.
• It promoted cooperation among community members especially in times of difficulty.
• It helped to ensure that the disadvantaged members of the community were taken care of.
• The living dead and the ancestors were part of the African kinship system. This showed concern for the families or relatives they left behind.
• The kinship system led to the preservation of cultural identity.
• It provided a peaceful way of settling disputes with the elders acting as arbitrators.
• It ensured fairness and transparency in sharing out inheritance.
• The kinship system united the members of a family and clan by giving them a sense of belonging.
• It helped people to establish new relationships, especially through marriage.
• Kinship ties regulated marital customs, rules, and regulations. People who were related in any way could not be allowed to marry.

Question b: Outline and explain factors contributing to harmony and mutual responsibility in the Traditional African Society

• Good morals: Every member of the community was expected to do the right thing according to the norms of the community.
• Participation in communal activities: Members of the community were expected to participate in communal activities e.g. wrestling, dances, and communal work.
• Sharing: People shared ideas and even property, which created harmony among the people.
• Division of labor: Tasks were distributed according to one’s age and gender to avoid conflicts in roles.
• Rules: In Traditional African Communities, elders, men, youth, and women had their respective roles to play that enhanced harmony in the community.
• Virtues: Virtues like generosity, obedience, kindness, and honesty were encouraged since they contributed towards harmonious living.
• Religious beliefs and practices: A common belief in God, the spirits, and ancestors created a sense of togetherness.

Question c: What was the purpose of bride wealth in the Traditional African Society?

• It was a way of thanking the bride’s family for taking good care of her.
• It was a form of compensation to the bride’s parents because the woman would now belong to another family.
• It was a sign of contract that the man would marry the girl and they would live together until death.
• It represented evidence of the groom’s ability to take care of a wife and a family.
• It was a sign of generosity on the side of the man.
• It initiated a long-lasting friendship between the families of the groom and the bride.
• It cemented a marriage.
• It was a symbol of the marriage covenant between the bride and the groom.
• Bride wealth served as an outward seal of the marriage contract.

Question d: Explain the role of medicine-men in the African Communities and their relevance today

1) Medicine men

• They are also referred to as healers, herbalists, or traditional doctors.
• They identified illness and their causes.
• They identified appropriate treatment and prevention measures for the illness.
• They averted the effects of a curse.
• They offered sacrifices and prayers to God and the ancestors.
• They prepared charms for protection against witchcraft and evil spirits.
• They gave medicine to increase fertility in both people and animals.
• They acted as counselors, guiding people on all issues of life.

2) Relevance in Modern Society

• Modern medicine has not fully displaced herbalists.
• Medical doctors and scientific researchers today work side by side with traditional healers since herbs are used to make modern medicine.
• Some people still believe that there are some illnesses that cannot be treated in hospitals; hence, they turn to herbalists.
• Some people also believe that medicine people who practice magic have the power to change their fate.