Africa's heartrending picture begs the question: Is Africa cursed? In this book, the author conveys a winning message - that there can be hope for Africa. He unwraps Africa's place in the Bible, wards off superstition and advocates Christians' active engagement in transforming Africa.

How old is prejudice against black people? Were the racist attitudes that fueled the Atlantic slave trade firmly in place 700 years before the European discovery of sub-Saharan Africa? In this groundbreaking book, David Goldenberg seeks to discover how dark-skinned peoples, especially black Africans, were portrayed in the Bible and by those who interpreted the Bible--Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Unprecedented in rigor and breadth, his investigation covers a 1,500-year period, from ancient Israel (around 800 B.C.E.) to the eighth century C.E., after the birth of Islam. By tracing the development of anti-Black sentiment during this time, Goldenberg uncovers views about race, color, and slavery that took shape over the centuries--most centrally, the belief that the biblical Ham and his descendants, the black Africans, had been cursed by God with eternal slavery. Goldenberg begins by examining a host of references to black Africans in biblical and postbiblical Jewish literature. From there he moves the inquiry from Black as an ethnic group to black as color, and early Jewish attitudes toward dark skin color. He goes on to ask when the black African first became identified as slave in the Near East, and, in a powerful culmination, discusses the resounding influence of this identification on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thinking, noting each tradition's exegetical treatment of pertinent biblical passages. Authoritative, fluidly written, and situated at a richly illuminating nexus of images, attitudes, and history, The Curse of Ham is sure to have a profound and lasting impact on the perennial debate over the roots of racism and slavery, and on the study of early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Africa Study Bible brings together 350 contributors from over 50 countries, providing a unique African perspective. It's an all-in-one course in biblical content, theology, history, and culture, with special attention to the African context. Each feature was planned by African leaders to help readers grow strong in Jesus Christ by providing understanding and instruction on how to live a good and righteous life--Publisher.

This book explores the biblical story of the Curse of Ham, and its relationship to the defence of slavery. It shows how during the Reformation period, the story began to be interpreted in new ways, that provided justification for the rapidly expanding, and extremely lucrative, Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Skilfully weaving together elements of theology, literature and history, this book not only provides a fascinating insight into the ways that issues of religion, economics and race could collide in the Reformation world, but also provides essential reading for anyone wishing to try to comprehend the origins of arguments used to justify slavery and segregation right up to the 1960s.

The rest of the world has moved forward whilst Africa has largely remained stagnant and has in many instances gone backwards. Africa's growth is hampered by self-inflicted problems: a palpable lack of visionary leadership; lack of accountability in government and the civil service; the cancer of corruption; the wholesale lack of service delivery; erosion of morality and societal values; the love of false prophets and allure of cheap grace; lack of respect for self, for others, for opportunities offered and for the rule of law. Anarchy reigns in many countries; the law seems to have accepted defeat and societies have been desensitised to abominable crimes. There has been an erosion too of national pride and patriotism, and a preponderance for abrogation of duty and an unwillingness to take responsibility. Those who care about Africa have gone through a gamut of emotions - from anger, frustration, pain, embarrassment and shame at the glaring lack of development in Africa and the seeming indifference of the ruling elite and the so-called leaders of African society. Who is to blame for the sorry state of Africa? The jockey who drove the horse of colonial oppression? Unscrupulous and greedy political leaders? Western powers? No! The real danger to Africa and the root of all its misery is the citizen - uncaring, unconcerned, self-absorbed, self-centered, quick to rush to support the indefensible, small minded and with a laisse faire attitude to life and everything; quick to complain about unemployment, corruption, poor healthcare systems, poor education, lack of services among others, but failing to acknowledge responsibility as the primary enabler of these through unqualified unyielding support of those so-called leaders, who wreak havoc and cause desolation and pain on nation states. Yes, it is the citizen who gives public consent to those who keep Africa in bondage. It is the citizen who litters the streets, gives poor service, oversees the breakdown of morality and family by not setting the right values and setting bad examples for their children. It's the citizen who does not keep time, provides poor service, enables crime and corrupt activities by looking the other way, refuses to look for the greater good in everything, but rather obsesses over self to the detriment of the whole. The intent of this book is to get conversations going; provoke and enrage Africans to be charged up enough to do something about the state of their beloved continent. Gandhi once reminded us, 'Be the change that you wish to see in the world'. Wake up from your slumber African citizen for when you do, Africa's immense potential and the fullness of its promise will be realized; Africa will awake and take its place among continents, and its member states, their rightful place among the nations of the world. Arise, sleeping Lion. Arise!!

The game under the tree looked like a hundred others Peters and Judy had at home. But they were bored and restless and, looking for something interesting to do, thought they'd give Jumanji a try. Little did they know when they unfolded its ordinary-looking playing board that they were about to be plunged into the most exciting and bizare adventure of their lives. In his second book for children, Chris Van Allsburg again explores the ever-shifting line between fantasy and reality with this story about a game that comes startingly to life. His marvelous drawings beautifully convey a mix of the everyday and the extraordinary, as a quiet house is taken over by an exotic jungle.

At the 1884-1885 Conference of Berlin a cartel of largely European states effectively set the rules for the partition of Africa, an event whose historical and structural importance continues to affect and shape Africa's contemporary international relations. This 'Curse' is a recurring theme in Adebajo's trenchant historical analysis, even though its main focus is on contemporary African issues after the Cold War. The first part of the book examines Africa's quest for security with three essays on Africa's security institutions such as the African Union and sub-regional bodies; another on the political, peacekeeping, and socio-economic roles of the United Nations (UN) in Africa; and a third on Africa's two UN Secretaries-General between 1992 and 2006: Egypt's Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Ghana's Kofi Annan. The second section of the book focuses on Africa's quest for leadership, and five chapters examine the hegemonic roles of South Africa, Nigeria, the United States, China and France on the continent. The five chapters in the final section of the study analyse Africa's quest for unity, and examine the roles and significance for Africa of six historical figures: Mandela, Mbeki, Kwame Cecil Rhodes, Obama, and Gandhi; as well as assessing the African Union and the EU in comparative perspective.