Joel Kubwimana

A Rwandan Bishop's Confession Joel Kubwimana

In this book, I analyze why Bishop Aloys Bigirumwami prioritizes the use of the native language and the value of primal religions in spreading the gospel. According to Bigirumwami, the gospel should be taught in the native language, because it is the people's heart language. On the other hand, when the message is spoken in non-native languages, the gospel may spread but it does not reach the hearts of the people. As for the primal religions (tradition religions), for Bigirumwami they are part of what Jesus came to fulfill rather than abolish. In Rwanda, Western missionaries neglected the Rwandan primal religions by demonizing them, and the result was that the gospel was not planted in the good soil; the reason why the genocide against the Tutsi was executed in 1994 in a country where 91 percent of its population were Christians. A part of exploring the Christian mission history in Rwanda, this book points out the need to continue where Bigirumwami and others of his time left off in their effort of inculturation of the Christian faith in Rwanda and Africa in general.