Forthcoming in 2021
Legacy: Wisdom from African Traditions and the Bible follows the format of books that explored resonances between the Bible and the other wisdom traditions and goes beyond them to explore of Africa’s great wisdom traditions. “Legacy” will include African versions of the Golden Rule, striking expressions of loving one’s enemies, and stunning African koans about losing your way to find your way. It compares over 150 proverbs from all over the continent with Bible verses and includes reflections on areas such as “Seeing,” “Love,” and “Speaking and Listening.” Africa has much to teach us. These proverbs reflect the underlying unity of the world’s wisdom traditions. In this moment, human beings are in a liminal space between an old paradigm that is no longer working, and a new paradigm whose shape we cannot yet clearly discern. Part of that old paradigm, of course, is the soul-deforming strain of racism. While grieving the civilizational encounter that never was, mutual and interreligious understanding has never been more urgent.