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Patriotism and Nation Building: Perspectives from the Life and Utterances of Ephraim Amu
The deepest and most significant aspect of the heritage of any nation lies in her people. A people’s dignity, worth and value can be measured by their human resources. More important than mineral wealth, more significant than financial capital and of more value than land and property, are the leaders of thought and character, that a communal or social group can lay claim to. Towering above the tallest buildings, reaching deeper than the roots of ancient trees, are society’s icons, doyens of a people’s life and culture. Often unrecognized in their lifetime, sometimes vilified or else silenced by political forces, these persons represent a people’s legacy and gift to humankind. Such was Dr. Ephraim Amu, native of Peki Avetile, son of West Africa’s “Gold Coast”, scholar, teacher, musician, ethicist, and preacher.
In this book, Prof. Laryea has by careful and detailed research, rendered an invaluable service to posterity in unearthing and making available the life, works and public speeches of Dr Ephraim Amu. Thoughtfully selecting over sixty of Amu’s sermons spanning a period of 50 years (1937 – 1986), Laryea enables us to more deeply enter the inner thoughts and expressions of one of Ghana’s most illustrious sons, thus allowing us into the veritable engine room of the composer of Ghana’s national song, “Yân ara asase ni”, crafted by Amu in 1929. In doing so he has also opened up and thrown light upon very significant periods in the nation’s history.
₵160.00 -
Ephraim Amu: Nationalist, Poet and Theologian (1899-1995)
“This book about Owura Amu is at once history and theology, a fitting tribute to a man who started ‘doing’ African theology before the academic theologians of Africa came on the scene to ‘invent’ and name it…All who have told or heard ‘the legend’ of preaching in Ntama must read the full debate.” — Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Director, Institute of Women in Religion and Culture, Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon
“Ephraim Amu — teacher, preacher, patriot and musician — was a significant representative figure in the movement from colonial to independent Africa. Dr Laryea provides a fascinating portrait of a remarkable man, illuminating the cultural, social and religious issues of Amu’s times and the dynamics of his relations with others. Amu’s Christian faith and practice are explored in a most helpful way; one begins to realise why the portrait of this church teacher came to appear on Ghanaian currency notes.” — Andrew F Walls, Akrofi-Christaller Institute, Akropong; University of Edinburgh and Liverpool Hope University
“I will like to congratulate Dr Laryea for undertaking this detailed study of Amu, first for the painstaking manner in which he conducted his research and the comprehensive nature of the oral and documentary sources of information on the varied aspects of the life of Amu he brings together, which makes this study a veritable compendium of data for both scholars and writers interested in the humanistic story of this great personality.” — J.H. Kwabena Nketia, Emeritus Professor
“This book makes an excellent contribution to studies on Ephraim Amu’s philosophy of culture and his reflections on the relation between African culture and Christian theology, a relation that has been a resilient theological problem. This book is rewarding reading.” — Kwame Gyekye (FGA), Emeritus Professor of Classics and Philosophy
₵350.00