Poverty in Ecclesiastes and Akan Culture for African Development Agenda: A Dialogical Reflection on the Church’s Role

Abstract

The AU Agenda 2063 gives much space to the poor and vulnerable in its plan for authentic development in Africa. Paradoxically, some African ethos and culture hardly recognize the place of the poor and accord them any dignity as if they have nothing to offer to the community. This paper explores Ecclesiastes’ paradigmatic voice on the discrimination of the poor to reveal views about the poor from an Akan perspective. It employs a dialogical reading of Ecclesiastes and Akan proverbs that emphasize discrimination and injustice to offer proposals on how African Christians can contribute to the affirmation and inclusiveness of the poor. The Africa we want where poverty is reduced cannot be achieved if the Christian Church and theological educators do not critically look at the Akan proverbs that negatively shape a people’s worldview about the poor and offer new proposals for development.