Postures of Social Engagement: Reflections on Christianity after Rwanda’s Genocide
Emmanuel Katongole, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove Wednesday, 9 June 2010
That Rwanda, the most thoroughly evangelized country in Africa, was the site of an unimaginable genocide is a sign that we have to rethink the notion of a "Christian nation." But we cannot think critically about Rwanda without also focusing our energy on the so-called Christian nations that continue to send missionaries into the world. What should Christian "missions" look like after the Rwandan genocide? In the aftermath of colonialism, how should Christians engage the social systems of which we are a part?
In this essay I will discuss three main ways in which Christianity has positioned itself vis-à-vis the dominant story of Rwanda. I want to show that these postures, even though they were able to achieve some good throughout the church's history in Rwanda, were insufficient to radically alter the direction of the story that eventually led to the 1994 genocide. Even more importantly, I want to show how these postures, though still popular today, are not sufficient if Christianity is to offer a genuinely distinct identity in the world.
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