The Bonhoeffer of Ethiopia (Abeneazer Urga)

The Biblical Mind

Amid persecution from the Marxist state and a fragmented Ethiopian church, Gudina Tumsa became a figure who advocated a holistic theology of justice, church unity in Ethiopia, and the health and strength of the church more broadly. In this episode, Dru asks Abeneazer Urga about his book The Bonhoeffer of Africa, a biography of Ethiopian theologian Gudina Tumsa. Tumsa's life has brought him comparisons to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Along the way, Dru and Abeneazer discuss the state of the church in Ethiopia, from its fourth-century roots to its Christological theology to the way the Western church differs from the modern Ethiopian church.

Abeneazer Urga teaches at the Evangelical Theological College in Ethiopia and is a member of Equip International. He specializes in New Testament and Missiology and has done work exploring holistic theology and theology from an African perspective.

Show notes:

• 0:00 The history of Christianity in Ethiopia
• 3:35 Modern Ethiopian Christianity
• 6:11 Christology in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
• 9:32 The persecution and influences of Gudina Tumsa
• 15:57 Tumsa in the United States
• 20:41 Practicing holistic theology
• 22:50 Unity of the Ethiopian church
• 25:53 The evangelical movement in Ethiopia
• 28:20 Tumsa and the youth of Ethiopia
• 29:55 Abeneazer's experience in modern Ethiopia and the United States

Show notes by Micah Long

Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.