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Pillay, Hendrick. "Black theology and black consciousness towards developing a black theological hermeneutic for South Africa /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1991. http://www.tren.com.
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Jacob, Emmanuel Manikum. "A South African theology of liberation : retrospect and prospect." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.360034.
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Vellem, Vuyani S. "The symbol of liberation in South African public life a black theological perspective /." Pretoria : [S.n.], 2007. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-10232007-161813/.
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Solomons, Demaine Jason. "Liberation or Reconstruction : A critical survey on the relevance of Black theology in light of the emergence of Reconstruction theology." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2010. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_9485_1318849530.
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The purpose of this investigation is to discuss the relevance of Black theology in light of the emergence of reconstruction theology. It offers a critical survey of a range of contributions on this issue, questioning whether scholars who have used Black theology as a form of self description should shift emphasis, from the paradigm of liberation to reconstruction. The significance of this study has to be understood within the context of the proposal to redirect African theological initiatives from liberation theologies to reconstruction theology. The basis for this call was the end of apartheid in South Africa, which signalled the independence of all countries on the African continent.
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Chemengich, Emmanuel. "Ideology and interpretation in Luke 1-2 a critique of Itumeleng Mosala's black materialist hermeneutics for (South) Africa /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN) Access this title online, 2005. http://www.tren.com.
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Rodriguez, Miguel. "Confrontational Christianity: Contextual Theology and Its Radicalization of the South African Anti-Apartheid Church Struggle." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5466.
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This paper is intended to analyze the contributions of Contextual Theology and Contextual theologians to dismantling the South African apartheid system. It is intended to demonstrate that the South African churches failed to effectively politicize and radicalize to confront the government until the advent of Contextual Theology in South Africa. Contextual Theology provided the Christian clergy the theological justification to unite with anti-apartheid organizations. Its very concept of working with the poor and oppressed helped the churches gain favor with the black masses that were mostly Christian. Its borrowing from Marxist philosophy appealed to anti-apartheid organizations. Additionally, Contextual theologians, who were primarily black, began filling prominent leadership roles in their churches and within the ecumenical organizations. They were mainly responsible for radicalizing the churches and the ecumenical organizations. They also filled an important anti-apartheid political leadership vacuum when most political leaders were banned, jailed, or killed.ID: 031001426; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Adviser: Ezekiel Walker.; Title from PDF title page (viewed June 19, 2013).; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2012.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-149).
M.A.
Masters
History
Arts and Humanities
History
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Mpetsheni, Lungile. "Ubuntu - a soteriological ethic for an effaced umntu in a post 1994 South Africa : a black theology of liberation perspective." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/75269.
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This thesis sets out to explore Ubuntu as a soteriological ethic for the liberation of an effaced umntu in the post 1994 South Africa from a black perspective. It is conducted from the perspective of Black Theology of Liberation and it sets out on the premise that Ubuntu is consonant with the objectives of Black Theology of Liberation. It is theoretically informed by Ramose’s position of Ubuntu as African philosophy and Dussel’s theory of modernity as an extension of the European influence to the other parts of the world. The effects of that extension of the European influence have been dire to the peoples who were colonised and the effacement of umntu has been one of the consequences of that influence. The post 1994 South African society still bleeds from the effects of that dominance, which reached its zenith during colonial and apartheid periods. Those periods were characterized by acts of ukunxaxha (hamartos – missing the mark) and an assault to the image of God. The 1994 transition became a change of face politically, but the socioeconomic conditions are still averse to the nonpersons. Umntu continues to be undermined, marginalised and denigrated. Umntu is wounded and broken. The study explores Ubuntu as a strive towards wholeness and further explores ukunxaxha, guided by the Ubuntu philosophy from the perspective of Black Theology of Liberation.
In its findings, the study upholds Ubuntu as an African philosophy and as a progression towards wholeness. The study discovers that umntu has been effaced under the influence of modernity in its various manifestations from context to context, which in South Africa were colonialism, apartheid and current wave of globalisation, corruption and greed. The study proposes Ubuntu as a liberative soteriological ethic where umntu lives in harmony in a three-dimensional relationship of the living dead, the living and the yet-to-be-born, another aspect of wholeness. Ubuntu fosters communalism, interconnectedness and interdependence. The fulcrum of Ubuntu is umntu ngumntu ngabantu. The epistemology of Black Consciousness and Black Theology of Liberation shows that Ubuntu remains a relevant soteriological ethic for the liberation of umntu. Ubuntu buyahlangula, buyakhulula. The study, thus, proposes a new community of Ubuntu that will promote human dignity, equality, peace, justice and prosperity. That community is based on the three pillars, namely just socioeconomic order, unshackled church and academia. That is a revolution. The Accra Confession provides the basis to deal with the empire towards the establishment of a just socioeconomic order. There is need to lift the poor for them to stand up against empire in all its manifestations. There is need for decolonising the mind in all the three spheres – society, church and academia. Black Theology of liberation has a big role to play in this venture. The expropriation of land should be done with the main motive being to promote the dignity of the effaced people.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
Dogmatics and Christian Ethics
PhD
Unrestricted
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Padgett, Keith Wagner. "Sufferation, Han, and the Blues: Collective Oppression in Artistic and Theological Expression." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1276627655.
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Ritter, Sabine A. "Black theology in South Africa a case study /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1996. http://www.tren.com.
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Mosala, Itumeleng J. "Biblical hermeneutics and black theology in South Africa." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8395.
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Bibliography: leaves 225-250This study seeks to investigate the use of the Bible in black theology in South Africa. It begins by judging the extent to which black theology's use of the Bible represents a clear theoretical break with white western theology. The use of concepts like the “Word of God", “the universality of the Universality of the Gospel", “the particularity of the Gospel”, “oppression and oppressors" and "the God of the Oppressed" in black theology, reveals a captivity to the ideological assumptions of white theology. It is argued that this captivity accounts for the current political impotence of black theology as a cultural weapon of struggle, especially in relation to the black working class struggle for iberation. Thus while it has been effective in fashioning a vision on liberation and providing a trenchant critique of white theology, it lacks the theoretical wherewithal to appropriate the Bible in a genuinely liberative way. This weakness is illustrated in the thesis with a critical appraisal of the biblical hermeneutics of especialiy two of the most outstanding and outspoken black theological activists in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Dr Allan Boesak. The fundamental weakness of the biblical hermeneutics of black theology is attributed to the social class position and commitments of black theologians. Occupying and committed to a petit bourgeois position within the racist capitalist social formation of South Africa, they share the idealist, theoretical framework dominant in this class. Thus in order for black theology to become an effective weapon of struggle for the majority of the oppressed black people, it must be rooted in the working class history and culture of these people. Such a base in the experiences of the oppressed necessitates the use of a materialist method that analyses the concrete struggles of human beings in black history and culture to produce and reproduce their lives within definite historical and material conditions. The thesis then undertakes such an analysis of the black struggle and of the struggles of biblical social communities. For this purpose a materialist analysis of the texts of Micah and Luke 1 and 2 and is undertaken. This is followed by an outline of a black biblical hermeneutical appropriation of the texts. It is concluded that the category of "struggle" is a fundamental hermeneutical tool in a materialist biblical hermeneutics of liberation. Using this category one can read the Bible backwards, investigating the questions of which its texts are answers, the problems of which its discourses are solutions. The point of a biblical hermeneutics of liberation is to uncover the struggles of which the texts are a product, a record, a site and a weapon. For black theology, the questions and concepts needed to interrogate the biblical texts in this way must be sought in the experiences of the most oppressed and exploited in black history and culture. What form such an exercise may take is illustrated by a study of the book of Micah and Luke 1 and 2. Two significant findings follow.The class and ideological contradictions of black history and culture necessitate the emergence of a plurality of black theologies of liberation. Similar contradictions in the Bible necessitate a plurality of contradictory hermeneutical appropriations of the same texts.
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Sampson, Courtney Dale. "The captivity of the Bible in South Africa : toward a pastorally concerned biblical hermeneutics." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17131.
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Bibliography: pages 92-95.Various contemporary Liberation methodologies of Biblical interpretation have generally failed to find a firm enough footage amongst communities of the oppressed. This is so, in spite of the fact that these methodologies are born out of the struggles for liberation of these communities. Most of the people who have a relationship with the Bible, are quite ignorant concerning the human element in the production of the Bible. This ignorance, amongst others, results in a subservient and uncritical approach to the Bible. This is essentially the issue that this thesis wants to address. Chapter one deals with the human origins of both the Old and New Testaments. This is followed by a chapter on methodologies of biblical interpretation. Both in essence seek to highlight and celebrate our humanity by highlighting the human element in our understanding of the Bible. Chapter two also deals with the question of what constitutes a sacred text. Chapter three is a critical reflection on existing Liberation theologies and particularly looks at Liberation theology in Latin America, Black and Prophetic theology in South Africa and Feminist theology. The perception of the Bible which are influenced by these theologies are used in developing a hermeneutical starting point which does not regard the Bible as the absolute and ultimate Word of God, but as a source in the Christian tradition. Chapter four is an attempt to show how the ethos of a denomination influences the way in which people understand the Bible. It is then argued that it is impossible for anybody to follow the Bible literally because of the ways in which various factors such as socio-political, economic, psychological and tradition influence our interpretation of what is read in the Bible. Furthermore, people do not in reality accept the Bible as the absolute Word of God although most seem to claim that it is and Biblical scholars and theologians have this as their hermeneutical starting point. Given these arguments, people do have a special relationship with the Bible and it is a meaningful religious symbol to many who find solace, comfort and direction in it. The Bible must be seen in the context of the community of faith and therefore it must be studied in that context. Any hermeneutics must take the needs and limitations of these communities seriously as Biblical scholars are challenged to be sensitive about the faith of the people for whom the Bible remains a holy and inspirational source, especially if they are victims of oppression. The concluding section challenges Bible study facilitators to question their own hermeneutics in the light of the evidences of this thesis and to see the empowerment of the oppressed as a priority in the presentation of the Bible. This is the underlying issue of importance throughout the thesis, i.e., how the Bible can be appropriated by communities of the oppressed who adhere to the Christian faith, in the struggle for liberation and transformation.
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Lapoorta, J. J. "Black theology : a quest for a true humanity in South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14341.
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Bibliography: leaves 150-158.The Apartheid ideology and political system in South Africa has caused blacks to experience their blackness negatively. Being black is the reason for their pain and suffering. This is not merely a political problem but in its deepest sense it is a theological problem because it has caused doubt in the hearts and minds of blacks, as to whether they are created in the image and likeness of God. Apart from that Apartheid also presented itself as a command of God, and as such it is a pseudo- religion. In the thesis this problem is examined from a biblical-theological perspective. Chapter one looks at humans created in the image of God, the dignity which implies their right and their equality before God. After investigating the insight of a cross-section of theologians, it is clear that the dignity of all people irrespective of race and colour is beyond dispute. Chapter two examines the black experience against the biblical background. Despite the theoretical consensus regarding human dignity, blacks are experiencing their blackness in a negative sense. The reason for this is the negative anthropology of white theology. Chapter three discusses the emergence of the critical conscious- ness towards the negative anthropology. The Black Consciousness philosophy played a positive role in countering this negative anthropology. Black Theology used these insights to develop a positive anthropology. It brought awareness of human dignity, but it did not lead to action. Chapter four discusses the total liberation from all situations of oppression, exploitation and dehumanization. The basis for this liberation is found both in the Old and New Testaments. In this regard the Exodus Paradigm and the Nazareth manifesto play significant roles as biblical models for total liberation. From these paradigms it is concluded that Yahweh in the Old Testament is the Liberator of the oppressed, and that New Testament salvation in Christ, links up with the Exodus model in which God sides with the oppressed. Biblical liberation and salvation is not merely spiritual but involve the total human. Chapter five looks at the sources from which Black Theology draws in an attempt to define its positive anthropology. Apart from the already mentioned biblical sources and Black Consciousness ' it also draws from the black experience and the Traditional African Religions. The final conclusions are that black theology brought a new appreciation to the fact that blackness is a gift of God and not a curse. The liberation of humans, an important emphasis in black theology is firmly grounded in the scriptures and involves the total being. That black theology is not racism in reverse, nor is it an ideology, but a quest for humanity, firmly grounded in the biblical tradition.
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Pretorius, Jacques Gerhard. "Towards a spirituality for authentic liberation in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001543.
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A spirituality which facilitates authentic liberation is one which intuits the evolutive nature of human development. Justice and compassion are biblical descriptions of a liberation effected by the Holy Spirit in and through persons. The development of persons towards being able to embrace such qualities is set within three interconnected paradigms: a theological paradigm, a psychological paradigm, and a socio-historical paradigm. The theological paradigm sees the creative process as continuing an evolutive movement towards the wholeness of persons, society and the cosmos. Within this, persons are defined as created co-creators with God, and are given the responsibility of participating in the process which will achieve this goal. This paradigm is reflected in the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin concerning the evolution of consciousness within each material form, towards union in God. The psychological paradigm suggests that the evolution of consciousness within persons gives rise to the probability of the emergence of levels of consciousness capable of initiating and sustaining the manifestation of justice and compassion. In this evolutive process a boundary is perceived by persons between the ego-body as 'self' and the environment as 'not-self'. This boundary prohibits the emergence of the qualities of justice and compassion in human consciousness. The developmental process is constituted by the integration of the 'not-self' into the 'self' at each stage, facilitating the emergence of a consciousness which takes responsibility for the environment as 'self'. The socio-historical paradigm is defined by the perspectives on the world held by the poor. The spirituality emerging from within this paradigm is initiated through encounter with Jesus. It is concretized in a preferential option for the empowerment of the poor, which facilitates and sustains the integration of 'self' and the environment. An examination of the Latin American base Christian communities shows the characteristics of Church life and structure which facilitate the Church becoming the locus of development towards authentic personal and social liberation. The structure of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa is evaluated in this light, in order to encourage clergy and laity to rise towards their full personhood in God.
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Holgate, David A. "Persuasuve conflict: an hermeneutical model for interpreting Galatians in the context of the South African church." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001542.
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This study looks at how to interpret Paul's letter to the Galatians in the contemporary South African church. It aims to provide a Bible study method for doing this which accounts both for the context in which interpretation takes place and for the requirements of exegesis. To this end, use is made of a combination of contextual Bible study methods and a recent multidimensional exegetical model, all of which are currently employed in South Africa. Initially, the study surveys a range of recent critical approaches to the Pauline epistles, particularly as these are employed by South African scholars working on Galatians. The fact that different exegetical approaches focus on different dimensions of the text, reveals the usefulness of a multidimensional exegetical model. The multidimensional exegetical model of Rousseau, which functions within a communication paradigm, is then introduced as an exegetical guide. To meet the second requirement of this study, the question of contextual exegesis is examined. Particular use is made of the hermeneutical approach of liberation theology, with its three mediations of social analysis, theological reflection and practical implementation. The central part of this study explores the implications of contextual interpretation and multidimensional exegesis of Galatians. The pre-canonical, canonical and contemporary contexts which affect the understanding of Galatians are discussed, and the multidimensional exegetical model is used to introduce the Galatian letter as a whole. The last part deals with the practical questions of group Bible study. The exegetical and hermeneutical theory developed earlier is simplified to provide a contextual Bible study method and this method is applied to three pericopes from Galatians. The task of bridging the gap between the university and the church is not an easy one, nor one which is solved by a single Bible study method. The exegetical and hermeneutical questions raised here point to the need for ongoing interaction between South African community of biblical scholars and those involved in the everyday life of the South African church
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Jung, Manfred. "Theological reflections on the spread of Islam and attitudes in churches : a case study on three black townships in Cape Town." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50506.
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Forrest, Martin R. "Christology from below : an examination of the black christology of Takatso Mofokeng in the context of the development of black theology in South Africa and in critical relation to the christological ethic of Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14338.
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Bibliography: leaves 188-197.This thesis examines the framework for a Black Christology constructed by Takatso A.Mofokeng in The Crucified Among the Crossbearers (1983) and evaluates this work with the Christological assistance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The emergence of Black Theology in South Africa since the early 1970s is placed in the context of the black struggle for liberation and the philosophy of Black Consciousness. The result, theologically, is seen to be an anthropological concentration, an affirmative doctrine of oppressed humanity and a concern with human liberation. An identity with the suffering and liberative commitment of Jesus, together with a rejection of oppressive concepts of divinity, is shown to have led to a Black Christology based on engagement with the human history and struggles of Jesus. The message to whites is interpreted as a call to accept and repent of the guilt of the oppressors. Reflecting the early emphasis of Black Consciousness on the transformation of the black self-understanding, this is held to be Black Theology's first stage concerned with the perspective of the black oppressed as the privileged position from which to understand the Bible and the Christian faith. This biblical approach is seen to be common ground shared with most African Theologians, though some gave greater theological significance to the African experience. A second stage of Black Theology is then described, corresponding to a shift in the Black Consciousness movement towards critique of the material structures of society. Theologically the results of this shift are described as a more critical attitude to the biblical texts, in terms of their class interests, and the giving of greater weight to the black praxis of liberation as primary theological data. Bonhoeffer's Christology, unfolding in the context of the ethical demands made by his resistance activities, is then described to highlight the fact that in a situation of conflict and division, a Christological ethic reaches beyond solidarity to engage in vicarious action on behalf of others. Bonhoeffer is used to stress Black Theology's call to committed whites to stand in guilty solidarity with their people and repent on their behalf. It is then seen how Mofokeng draws on the work of J.Sobrino to engage contemporary liberation struggles with the history of Jesus and to give Christological significance to the struggles of those with whom Christ is in solidarity, as the work of his Spirit. It is also seen how Karl Barth is used to strengthen Mofokeng's concern with the birth of black people as acting subjects of their own history. With the insights of Bonhoeffer's Christological ethic it is concluded that Mofokeng overstates black solidarity, taking insufficient account of black divisions and conservatism. Mofokeng is seen not to apply his own historical methodology consistently, leading him to underestimate the theological importance of the failure of the poor to remain in solidarity with the dying Jesus, and the significance of the faithfulness of his women followers.
17
Van, Deventer Wilhelm Visser. "Poverty and a practical ministry of liberation and development within the context of the traditional Venda concept of man." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/2394.
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Buttelli, Felipe Gustavo Koch. "E a luta continua: propostas para uma teologia pública libertadora para o desenvolvimento construída em diálogo com a reflexão teológica sul-africana." Faculdades EST, 2013. http://tede.est.edu.br/tede/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=441.
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Esta tese de doutorado procura apontar alguns caminhos para a teologia pública no contexto brasileiro de modo que mantenha uma identidade com a tradição teológica da América Latina da teologia da libertação. Para atingir este objetivo, usou-se como recurso o diálogo com a reflexão teológica sul-africana pós-apartheid, que, como se procurará demonstrar, trilhou caminho semelhante na formulação de teologias públicas mais afeitas ao contexto democrático. Inicialmente, será oferecido um apanhado histórico da África do Sul, bem como uma breve reflexão sobre o processo de transição política que resultou no contexto democrático atual. No segundo capítulo serão mencionadas algumas características sociopolíticas da África do Sul durante e após os mandatos dos presidentes Nelson Mandela e Thabo Mbeki. Serão apontados alguns desafios atuais do contexto sul-africano, advogando-se por certa correspondência com desafios que são enfrentados no Brasil. No terceiro capítulo será oferecida uma leitura dos sinais dos tempos por teólogas e teólogos sul-africanos contemporâneos, identificando desafios para a teologia e para as igrejas no contexto atual. O quarto capítulo fará, além de uma breve exposição de percepções de teologia pública, um mapeamento de três tipos de teologias públicas sul-africanas: teologias anti-apartheid, teologias de transição e teologia pública atual. No último capítulo será feita uma abordagem de teologia pública enquanto teologia para o desenvolvimento, identificando modos através dos quais essa teologia pública permanece conectada à tradição da teologia da libertação e, ainda assim, apresenta uma abordagem adequada aos desafios dos contextos democráticos brasileiro e sul-africano.This doctoral dissertation seeks to point out some ways for a public theology in a Brazilian context so that it maintains identification with the Latin American theological tradition of liberation theology. To achieve this objective, dialogue with the South African post-apartheid theological reflection was used as a resource tool, which, as we will try to show, took a similar way in the formulation of public theologies more suitable for the democratic context. Initially, we will offer an historical overview of South Africa, as well as a brief reflection about the political transition which resulted in the actual democratic context. In the second chapter some sociopolitical features of South Africa will be mentioned during and after the presidential terms of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. Some actual challenges will be pointed out, showing similarities with the challenges faced in Brazil. In the third chapter we will offer a reading of the signs of the times by contemporary South African theologians, identifying some challenges for theology and the church in the current context. In the fourth chapter we will show, besides a brief introduction to some perceptions of public theology, a mapping of three types of South African public theologies: anti-apartheid theologies, transition theologies, and the actual public theology. In the last chapter an approach will be made which considers public theology as theology for development, identifying ways through which this public theology remains connected to the tradition of liberation theology and still presents an adequate approach to the challenges of the Brazilian and South African democratic contexts.
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Kritzinger, J. N. J. (Johannes Nicolaas Jacobus) 1950. "Black theology : challenge to mission." Thesis, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/23627.
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This thesis proposes that Christian mission in South Africa
should be understood in terms of liberation. To achieve this aim,
the author listens attentively to Black Theology, and then
responds from a position of solidarity to the double challenge
which it poses: a negation of traditional mission and an affirmation
of liberating mission. Since black theologians grapple with
the concrete implications of their blackness, a white theologian
needs to make a consciously white =esponse in order to do justice
to it.
Since Black Theology emerged out of the Black Consciousness
movement and developed in dialogue with it, the study begins with
an examination of the theory and praxis of the Black Consciousness
movement. Then follows an overview of the two phases of
Black Theology in South Africa, in which the emphasis is placed
on the organisations and events which embodied this approach,
rather than on individual theologians.
In the systematic analysis of Black Theology, attention is first
given to the element of negation. In this section the five inte=related
dimensions of South African Christianity which cause
black suffering are examined. Then an analysis is made of the
element of affirmation: the liberating action proposed by black
theologians for the eradication of suffering and the attainment
of new human beings in a new South Africa. Since Black Theology
has an holistic understanding of mission, attention is given to
personal, ecclesial and societal dimensions.
The final section is a white response to this double challenge.
First, it develops the notion of liberating mission and conversian in the white community. Secondly it establishes a number of
fundamental criteria for liberating mission. This final part
draws conclusions from the analysis done in the earlier parts,
and asks critical questions about some aspects of Black Theology.
In this way the basis is laid for white involvement in liberating
mission and for ongoing interaction with Black Theology.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
D. Th. (Missiology)
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Nakah, Victor. "A comparison of African Evangelicalism with South African Black theology and Indian Dalit theology." Diss., 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1549.
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Evangelicals have an unquestionable heritage for involvement in the world and its social problems and the Bible provides a basis for a liberative gospel. For the God of the Bible is not only a God of love and peace, but also of justice and he is therefore on the side of the poor, oppressed and suffering. he has given us a spirit of engagement with the world as salt and light and not escapism. As we give serious consideration to the challenges of liberation theologies, we need to hear the voice who calls his people in every age to go out into the lost and lonely world (as he did), in order to live and love, to witness and serve like him and for him and that is what African Evangelicalism is all about.Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics
M. Th. (Religious Studies)
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Morris, Allen William. "Prophetic theology in the Kairos tradition : a pentecostal and reformed perspective in black liberation theology in South Africa." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/25907.
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This study focused on the ‘silence of the prophets’ in the post-apartheid era. It
sought to understand why the prophets, who spoke out so vehemently against
the injustices of apartheid, did not speak out against the injustices of the
government after 1994 even when it became blatantly apparent that corruption
was beginning to unfold on various levels, especially with the introduction of the
so-called Arms Deal. Accordingly, the study singles out Drs Allan Boesak and
Frank Chikane who were among the fiercest opponents of the apartheid regime
before 1994.
The study traced the impact of the ideological forces that influenced Boesak and
Chikane’s ideological thinking from the early Slave Religion, Black Theology in
the USA and Liberation Theology in Latin America. Black Theology and Black
Consciousness first made their appearance in South Africa in the 1970s, with
Boesak and Chikane, among others, as early advocates of these movements.
In 1983, Boesak and Chikane took part in the launch of the United Democratic
Front (UDF) in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. This movement became the voice of
the voiceless in an era when the members of the African National Congress
(ANC) and Pan African Congress (PAC) had been sent into exile. It also signalled
a more inclusive and reconciliatory shift in Boesak and Chikane’s Ideological
thinking. Whereas Black Consciousness sought to exclude white people from
participating in the struggle for liberation, the UDF united all under one banner
without consideration for colour, race, religion or creed. After the advent of liberation in South Africa in 1994, it became increasingly
obvious that corruption was infiltrating many levels of the new government. But
the prophets were silent. Why were they silent?
The study presents an analysis of the possible reasons for this silence based on
interviews with Boesak and Chikane as role players and draws conclusions
based on their writings both before and after 1994. Overall, the study concluded
that they were silent because they had become part of the new political structures
that had taken over power.
To sum up, the study demonstrates the irony of prophetic oscillation and
concludes that no prophet is a prophet for all times. Thus, as a new democracy
unfolds in South Africa, the situation demands new prophets with a new
message.Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D. Phil. (Theology)
22
Jacob, Solomon. "A critical study of Christology in Latin American liberation theology and Black theology with a view to formulating a relevant Christology for South Africa today." Thesis, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/11386.
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Mukuka, George Sombe. "The impact of Black consciousness on the Black Catholic Clergy and their training from 1965-1981." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5949.
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Methula, Dumisani Welcome. "Black Theology and the struggle for economic justice in the democratic South Africa." Diss., 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18918.
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This study sets out to contribute to the expansive development of Systematic Theology and Black Theology, particularly in the struggle for economic justice in the democratic South Africa. The liberation of black people in South Africa and across the globe is the substantive reason for Black Theologies‘ existence and expression. The study‘s reflections on economic justice and Black Theology as sites of the intellectual focus and analysis is central to understanding the conditions of existence for the majority of South Africa‘s citizens, as well as understanding whether the fullness of life based on dignity and freedom as articulated in biblical witness, particularly John 10:10 is manifest for black people in South Africa. The study also seeks to identify, describe, analyse and understand the emancipatory theories and praxis, which entail a plethora of efforts they undertake to liberate themselves. Understanding and engendering the nexus of social practice and theological insights in the articulation of Black Theology as a particular expression of systematic theology, and drawing attention to the ethical foundations undergirding Black Theology, are important in demonstrating Black Theology‘s role and task as a multi-disciplinary discipline which encompass and engender dialogue within and between theory and praxis, and theology and ethics. This study thus suggests that since the locus of Black Theology and spirituality is embedded in the life, (ecclesial and missional) work (koinonia) and preaching (kerygma) of black churches, they have the requisite responsibility to engage in the efforts (spiritual and theological) in the struggle to finding solutions to the triple crises of unemployment, inequality and poverty which ravage the quality and dignity of life of the majority black people in post-apartheid South Africa. This study therefore concludes by asserting that, there are a variety of viable options and criteria relevant for facilitating economic justice in South Africa. These strategies include transformational distribution of land to the majority of South Africans, the implementation of heterodox economic policies which engender market and social justice values in the distribution of economic goods to all citizens. It also entails prioritization of the social justice agenda in economic planning and economic practice. In theological language, economic justice must involve the restoration of the dignity and the wellbeing of the majority of South Africans, who remain poor, marginalised and disillusioned. It also entails promoting justice as a central principle in correcting the remnants of apartheid injustices, which limit transformational justice which enables and facilitates equality, freedom and economic justice for all South African citizens.Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Systematic Theology)
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Maimela, Mabel Raisibe. "Black consciousness and white liberals in South Africa : paradoxical anti-apartheid politics." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17296.
Full textAbstract:
This research challenges the hypothesis that Biko was anti-liberal and anti-white. Biko's clearly defined condemnation of traditional South African white liberals such as Alan Paton is hypothesised as a strategic move in the liberation struggle designed to neutralise the "gradualism" of traditional white liberalism which believe that racism could be ultimately superseded by continually improving education for blacks. Biko neutralised apartheid racism and traditional white liberalism by affirming all aspects of blackness as positive values in themselves, and by locating racism as a white construct with deep roots in European colonialism and pseudoDarwinian
beliefs in white superiority. The research shows that Biko was neither anti-liberal nor anti-white. His own attitudes to the universal rights, dignity, freedom and self-determination of all human beings situate him continuously with all major human rights theorists and activists since the Enlightenment. His unique Africanist contribution was to define racist oppression in South Africa as a product of the historical conditioning of blacks to accept their own alleged inferiority. Biko's genius resided in his ability to synthesize his reading of Marxist, Africanist, European and African American into a truly original charter for racial emancipation. Biko' s methodology encouraged blacks to reclaim their rights and pride as a prelude to total emancipation. The following transactions are described in detail: Biko's role in the founding of SASO and Black Consciousness; the paradoxical relations between white liberal theologians, Black Consciousness and Black Theology; the influence on BC of USA Black Power and Black Theology; the role of Black Theologians in South African churches, SACC and WCC; synergic
complexities ofNUSAS-SASO relations; relations between BC, ANC and PAC; the early involvement of women in BCM; feminist issues in the liberation struggle; Biko's death in detention; world-wide and South African liberal involvement in the inquest and anti-apartheid organisations.History
D. Litt. et Phil. (History)
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Morris, Allen William. "Notions of God in the Crystal Tabernacle congregation: a black perspective." Diss., 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1921.
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Mashabela, James Kenokeno. "Dr Manas Buthelezi's contribution to Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa's struggle against apartheid in South Africa, 1970s-1990s." Diss., 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18844.
Full textAbstract:
This academic study provides a historical background to the unsung hero Dr. Manas Buthelezi. He is amongst many such heroes who contributed enormously to the liberation of South Africa. Buthelezi fought against apartheid by promoting human liberation and rights; just like other circle unrecognized of heroes who were interested in combating the agonies caused by the apartheid system. This academic study presents the work of Buthelezi in the South African political, socio-economic, cultural and ecumenical effort at combating the apartheid policies. The history of Buthelezi‟s contribution can be deliberated in relation to the South African political and socio-economic dimensions. Church history is an alternative engagement to the social struggles hence a church leader like Buthelezi had to participate in the public arena. Not really; the focus is more on issues within the current ELCSA.
Broader historical evidence is considered on the theoretical writings in the field of church history. The analytical aim of the study develops how the struggles internal to the church and the understanding of struggle for liberation in South Africa. The study highlights the history of Lutheranism in South Africa as the background of creating an understanding of this research. The findings of the study are that although the Lutherans were fighting against apartheid system in South Africa they were divided on racial identify between the white and the black. This was also operational in the church in South Africa as well. The church in South Africa was theologically challenged around issues of struggle and liberation. The white community was part of the apartheid government aimed as its interests to benefit from the dominant values of racial connections. The dominant apartheid government oppressed the black community through racial discrimination. Study shows how Buthelezi and other theologians critiqued both the church and the state to resistant apartheid that was operational in the church and the society.
The study investigates his contribution in this respect. It will be necessary to look at what happened historically in apartheid and Black Theology. The intention of this study is to investigate how Bishop Dr. Manas Buthelezi in South Africa was involved and committed in the struggle against apartheid. I would like to analyse and reflect on his contribution and writing during apartheid, as this has not yet been researched. Buthelezi served the Lutheran Church and the South African Council of Churches (SACC) as its president, from where he viewed apartheid ideology and practice as contradictory to the Word of God and human wholeness of life.
One cannot research Buthelezi without considering his Church where I will explore the ordained ministry and the „lay‟ ministry. Questions on teaching, training and service offered by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) raise serious matters about its present and future.
In the conclusion, I provide an analysis of the problems outlined and make recommendations which can be considered to be alternatives to challenges that face our South African context and that of the church. My recommendations are opened to everyone, to engage each other to furnish alternative solutions to the problems that face the church and the South African context.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
M. Th. (Church History)
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Maluleke, Samuel Tinyiko. "A Morula tree between two fields : the commentary of selected Tsonga writers." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18104.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis of this study is that indigenous Tsonga literature forms a valid
and authoritative commentary on missionary Christianity. In this study, the
value of literary works by selected Tsonga writers is explored in three basic
directions: (a) as a commentary on missionary Christianity, (b) as a source
of and challenge to missiology, and (c) as a source of a Black missiology of
1 i berat ion. The momentous intervention of Swiss missionaries amongst the
Vatsonga, through the activities of the Swiss Mission in South Africa (SMSA)
must be granted. Similarly, its abiding influence formerly in the Tsonga
Presbyterian Church (TPC), now the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South
Africa (EPCSA), the Vatsonga in general and Tsonga literature in particular
must be recognized. But our missiological task is to problematise and explore
both missionary instrumentality and local responses variously and creatively.
The first chapter introduces the thesis, central issues of historiography and
ideology as well as an introductory history of the SMSA. In the second
chapter, the commentary of Tsonga writers through the media of historical and
biographical works on missionary Christianity is sketched. Selected Tsonga
novels become the object of inquiry in the third chapter. The novels come
very close to a direct evaluation of missionary Christianity. They contain
commentary on a wide variety of issues in mission. The fourth chapter
concentrates on two Tsonga plays and a number of Tsonga poems. In the one
play, missionary Christianity is likened to garments that are too sho· ~'
whilst in the other, missionary Christianity is contemptuously ignored and
excluded - recognition granted only to the religion and gods of the Vatsonga.
The fifth and final chapter contains the essential commentary of indigenous
Tsonga literature on missionary Christianity as well as the implications for
both global and local missiology.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
D. Th. (Missiology)
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Kamanová, Silvia. "Juhoafrická čierna teológia zo stredoeurópskej perspektivy." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-368420.
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Morekwa, Othusitse. "Doing theology in the post liberation era of Southern Africa." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/19585.
Full textAbstract:
The Study of Theology plays a crucial role in the construction of a sound theology in this post liberation era of Southern Africa. This exercise is conformed to the academic learning and creates an environment where theology can dialogue with other disciplines. It helps in the critical reflection on the issue of God and human beings as the object of theology in African context.
The study of theology and the doing of theology are methods which bring praxis and theory together. The doing of theology is the daily work of a pastor in a congregation. It is an exercise that put theological theories into practice. This is a methodology that guides the process of developing a contextual theology in Southern Africa. It is a process of taking theology from classroom to the congregations the community. The study of theology and the doing theology are soul mates. They work hand in hand to address contemporary situations. Human beings should know their physical organic environment. They are the object of theology. People experience God from natural science. Liberation theologies e.g. Africanist, Black and Women/Feminist theologies should use new approaches in order to meet the post liberation error challenges.
The wholesome approach is another alternative to be used by these theologies. The approach is based on the interconnectedness of God, human beings and physical organic universe (Theanthropocosmic principle). The principle of Theanthropocosmic helps to direct theology in Southern Africa to be contextual and universal. Some new contextual theologies are born because of the theanthropocosmic approaches to modern challenges. The modern society is build under principles of democracy, good governance, peace and tranquility. The major role of theology is to ensure that the society enjoys those principles.
Theology is directed to a group and individuals. The social, political and economical challenges should be approached as a group. The wholesome approach is an appropriate method to address challenges imposed by globalization ideologies. The increase rate of poverty in Southern Africa brings up other social illness in communities e.g. corruptions, crime, diseases. There is a need to engage theology in economic globalization. The concept of Botho calls everyone in the community to participate in the fight against these social illnesses in the society. Theology is obliged to restore economic justice. The Church is encouraged to participate in the cultural liberation and renewal. She is compelled to do mission work in this paradigms of cultural changes. African renaissance is an urgent thing to be implemented order to overcome challenges imposed by globalization in Southern Africa.Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D. Th. (Systematic Theology)
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Makhetha, Lesekele Victor. "Doing liberation theology in the context of the Post-Apartheid South Africa." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18568.
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The author strongly holds- in the thesis- that the Theology of liberation can inspi re the
poor of South Africa to uproot the post-1994 socio-economic and political evil structures
which continue unabated to impoverish them.
The introductory chapter studies the reasons which motivated the author to write the
thesis. It further discusses the method, the format and the limitations of the thesis.
Chapter one focuses on the author's understanding of the Theology of liberation, and its
historical background.
Chapter two discusses the relationship between the Theology of Liberation and black
theology, while chapter three contemplates on the possibility of the creation of what the
author calls, An African Theology of Liberation.
Chapter four studies the relationship between the Theology of liberation and the Social
Teachings of the Catholic Church as taught by the pope and his council. The study of this
relationship is extremely difficult because of the on-going, and seemingly insurmountable
ideological differences between the two parties. The author suggests, as a solutio n, that
each party seriously considers and recognizes the contextual limitations of its theology.
Chapter five focuses on the implementation of the Theology of Liberat ion into the South
African situation. The author highly recommends the inclusion of the veneration of the
ancestors of Africa, as a perfect instrument by means of which the Theology of Liberation
can succeed in achieving one of its major aims, which is to convert the poor to be leaders of
their own liberation.
The concluding chapter suggests concrete ways through which the Theology of Liberation
can be kept alive and relevant within the South African situation.Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology
D. Th. (Theological Ethics)
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Molobi, Masilo Sonnyboy. "The AIC's as interlocutors for black theology in South Africa." Diss., 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17494.
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In this dissertation I shall give a brief historical survey of Black Theology and the African Independent Churches (AI Cs). The study focuses mainly to the developments of the two trends in South Africa. This was done after realising that Black Theologians often ignored the history of Black people, including that of the AI Cs which has in the end stymied their efforts. The immediate effects were negative in that little results were produced. ATCs and Black Theology have interesting histories which complement each another. I will present the current state of affairs and give some guidelines on how the future debate can be carried out. The two theological trends have weaknesses and strengths which are clearly identifiable. In chapter four I give guidelines for future debates and
possible new developments. This study is also carried out to expand the scope of dialogue and constructive debate among the two.Missiology
M. Th. (Missiology)
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Balia, Daryl Meirick. "Ecumenical theology in South Africa with particular reference to the development of Christian resistance to racism (1960-1985)." Thesis, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/6111.
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Gathogo, Julius Mutugi. "Liberation and reconstruction in the works of J N K Mugambi : a critical analysis in African theology." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/151.
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This study builds on Jesse Mugambi's post-Cold War proposal for a paradigm shift, from liberation to reconstruction. Mugambi's line of reasoning is based upon his understanding of the post-Cold War period in Africa, and the need for a shift from the "dominant" paradigm of liberation, in articulating African theology, to reconstruction. The Cold War had divided Africa (and the rest of the world) into two ideological blocks, namely, the East Bloc nations (i.e., Warsaw Pact) vs. the nations in the West (NATO). With the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the end of western colonial rule in Africa, and the demise of apartheid, Mugambi prods that, there is a need to shift the theological emphasis from the Exodus motif to that of a Reconstructive motif. While the former motif was biblically modelled on Moses, and the Exodus from Egypt and the Journey to the Promised Land, the latter is biblically modelled on Nehemiah who led the Jews in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem following their return from Exile after seventy years of Babylonian captivity. Thus Mugambi sets the stage for the debate in this study, by his proposal that the post-Cold War Africa should now shift its paradigm in theo-social discourses.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.
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Bailie, John. "The impact of liberation theology on methodism in South Africa with regard to the doctrine of christian perfection." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2600.
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ThesisThere is potential for a schism, within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) today, between Fundamentalist and Liberationist Methodists, who struggle to find common identity and vision. A question that needs examination is whether it is possible to develop an authentically, uniting Southern African Methodist Theology within the current Institutional structure of the MCSA. For this to become possible, some key areas of discussion are highlighted in this paper, such as the training of ministers and the MCSA as Institution. This paper attempts to enter into conversation between Fundamental and Liberation Methodism using the Doctrine of Christian Perfection, 'the Grand Depositum' of Methodism, as a point of reference and develop an epistemological framework based on Wesley’s 'quadrilateral' of Scripture, reason, experience and tradition. This paper takes as a standpoint the need for an authentically Southern African Methodist theology, which is both uniting and transformatory, in order for the MCSA to fulfil its vision of “A Christ Healed Africa for the Healing of Nations.”
Systematic theology and Theological Ethics
D. Th. (Systematic Testament)
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Musasiwa, Roy. "The quest for identity in African theology as a mission of empowerment." Thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3451.
Full textAbstract:
The thesis links African Theology with three notions: identity, mission and empowerment. Out of this linkage arise three interrelated themes that dominate the thesis. Firstly, different African theologies can be read as different modes of the quest for identity. The thesis demonstrates how the quest for identity in African Theology fits into political, philosophical, religious and other quests for identity in Africa, which are driven by
historical factors such as the slave trade, imperialism, colonialism and neocolonialism. The responses of inculturation and liberation theologies to these historical factors of disempowerment leads to the conclusion that being Christian can be both liberating and fully compatible with being African. Secondly, the quest for identity in African Theology properly belongs to the notion of mission understood as missio Dei. This conclusion is derived from an examination of critical aspects of missio Dei. These include determining the purposes of missio Dei as being the restoration of the imago Dei and the salvation and liberation of humankind. The conclusion is also derived from acknowledging that missio Dei is effected through
missiones ecclesiae and missio hominum.
Thirdly, constructing mission as missio Dei leads to the notion of the quest for identity as a mission of empowerment and an empowerment for mission. A multidiscipline theoretical framework of empowerment leads to a stipulation of ways in which African theology, through a quest for identity, is empowering or can empower its interlocutors. At the same time the mission of empowerment becomes an empowerment for mission. This is especially
significant in the light ofthe acknowledged southward shift in Christianity's centre of gravity. That shift implies African Christianity having a missionary responsibility that extends to the rest of the world.
The quest for identity in African Theology is fraught with ambiguities, dilemmas and risks. But this is a price various African theologies are willing to pay in order both to help uplift the historically disadvantaged Africans and also to secure the future of Christianity on the continent.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.
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Mtshiselwa, Pumla. "A critique of sex and power within the womanist liberation theology: human dignity-relationship perspective." Diss., 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/26514.
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“The power of sex to dominate and the ability of power to obtain sex in order to
dominate” is at the crux of the researchers’ investigation. The researcher
problematizes the usage of power for the attainment of sexual favours. At the heart of
this research is the question, what is at the root of the exploitation and “sexifying” of
power by either the granter or the recipients of sexual favours. The researcher utilises
various lenses in exploring the research problem. Such lenses include a social lens
which zooms in at the social power possessed by men over women in society and a
theological lens which zooms in on the domination of men over women in scripture.
In an attempt to explore the subject at hand, the author explores the role of patriarchy,
unequal opportunities between men and women and poverty as some of the primary
proponents for those who offer themselves as sex objects to those in power. In most
cases, it is women who are at the suffering end of poverty; it is also women who are
forced to use their bodies for sex, this, therefore, means that women are doubly
oppressed. Part of the socialised “sexual oppression” of women is the notion that
women were created for marriage, work, labour and the pleasure of men.
Anthropologically, men and women are the crown of creation and are worthy of dignity.
It is, therefore, a necessity for women to reclaim their dignity.
The researcher is aware of the complex nature of sex which varies from negative to
positive experiences depending on the individual. In a society that views sex as a
commodity and is permissive in its perception of sex, in a society that has a high rate
of pornography, swinging and swapping. The researcher probes the “humanising” of
sex so that it is not just a physical activity but an intimate act of love and affection. The
principles for the above involves viewing sex as personal and relational; sex as
exclusive and unique; sex as fruitful and productive; sex and selfless and sacrificial
and an acknowledgement of sex as multi-dimensional.
Though the writer comes from a religious background and is the Wesleyan tradition,
though she converses with a faith community in Eersterust as part of her quantitative research; she does not evade confronting the reality of the bible as a document flawed
with patriarchy, clothed in culture and set in a particular context.
The author who is Wesleyan draws from this rich heritage and compares the times of
John Wesley which were characterised by, “Champagne, dice or a neighbour’s
spouse” to the South African context. She utilises the Wesleyan quadrilateral to draw
these parallels.
All these findings led the author to the conclusion that conversations, training, safe
space and capacitating of those in power, those abusing power, those attracted to
power must be held for the restoration of human dignity with particular reference to
women. The church remains a powerful and efficient platform for the above. The
Church can no longer evade her role in rectifying the damage caused by patriarchy as
assumedly condoned by the bible. The church can no longer evader her role in the
restoration of human dignity.Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Systematic Theology)
38
Van, der Water Desmond Peter. "The legacy of a prophetic moment : a socio-theological study of the reception and response to the Kairos Document amongst churches faith- communities and individuals in South Africa and within the international ecumenical community focussing on the English-speaking churches in South Africa with special reference to the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10361.
Full textAbstract:
The Kairos Document ('KD' or 'Document') burst onto the socio-political and ecclesiastical scene in South Africa in 1985, presenting to churches, communities-of-faith and individuals the challenge of a decisive moment in the history of Christian opposition to Apartheid. The nature and extent of reactions and responses to the document exceeded the authors wildest
dreams and most optimistic of expectations. This study traces the contours and discerns the patterns of reactions against and resonances with the Document in South Africa and within the international ecumenical community. The main focus of this research, however, is on the propensity and capacity of the institutionalised churches - and in particular the English-speaking churches in South Africa - to respond positively and constructively to a prophetic challenge, such that which emanated from the KD and the subsequent Kairos movement. One of the English-speaking churches, the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), is singled out in this thesis and subjected to an extended examination and analysis, relative to its response to the challenge of the Document. The main reason for this special reference to the UCCSA is that this church denomination had embarked on a major process of ecclesiastical and denominational transformation in its response to the challenge of Kairos. It is 'upon this process of transformation within the UCCSA that I seek to critically reflect and to draw some learnings from the prophetic legacy of the Document.
The UCCSA also happens to be the church denomination in which I have been nurtured in Christian faith, practice and ministry. The work, worship and witness of this church is therefore the primary frame of reference and ecclesiastical context in which my own prophetic consciousness has been awakened and shaped. I am, as such, acutely aware that my research on the responses to the KD by the UCCSA is being undertaken from the perspectives of an insider and that my passion for and commitment to the prophetic role of the Church makes me no neutral observer. It is my contention, however, that the above factors neither compromise nor diminish the academic credibility and ecumenical significance of this study. On the contrary, my strategic positioning within the UCCSA enables me to undertake such research from a privileged vantage point of first-hand
experience, readily accessible data and greater understanding which derives from such close proximity. Needless to say, I shall endeavour to be as rigorous and critical as possible in my appraisal of the UCCSA's response which, in the final analysis, is an integral part of my overall critique of the nature of the churches' responses to the prophetic challenge of the KD.Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.
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Prudence, Hategekimana. "A study in the history of liberation catechesis : the contribution of the Catholic Church in South Africa to the catechetical renewal from 1965 to 1991." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3517.
Full textAbstract:
This research is a study of the history of liberation catechesis with a special emphasis on the contribution of the Catholic Church in South Africa to the catechetical renewal from 1965 to 1991. It is fundamentally an exercise in contextual catechesis and starts from the pre-supposition that it is the particular situation under which people live, in this case the South African context, which gives catechesis its existence and its specifity. Exploring the catechetical productions of the Catholic Church in South Africa from 1965 to 1991, this study shows how the clergy of the Catholic Church remained in constant turmoil searching for ways and means of meeting the demands of the catechetical renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council. In this quest for renewal it was imperative for catechetical experts to engage with the South African Context. In this enterprise there was a preoccupation with linking the Christian message and the people's life despite all the tensions, conflicts and divisions within the Catholic Church and the society as a whole. It is this need of linking the Christian faith and people's life situation in South Africa which is understood as a liberation catechesls or a liberating catechesls. It is an all-embracing catechesis because it takes into account all aspects of human life and aims at a better life. It was not an easy task as one could see through the South African situation. However it was necessary if the Catholic Church wanted to proclaim a Christian message which is relevant to the people of South Africa. Initiating a liberation catechesis demands a lot of courage and commitment because it is a question of life and death. The people who embarked on this road in South Africa were bound to call for change including the political system which affected the life of the people at the time. It is in this sense that their life was at risk. Despite this risk, progressive bishops, priests
and catechists held that liberation catechesis is the way out for the Catholic Church in South Africa to be relevant to the people. This is where the South African context offers a way out for other local Churches in South Africa trapped in social and ethnic conflict today, namely the Church in Rwanda.Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.
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Haddad, Beverley Gail. "African women's theologies of survival : intersecting faith, feminisms, and development." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4766.
Full textAbstract:
This study intersects the disciplines of gender and development, feminist studies, and women’s theology. It is located within the socio-economic and political context of the region of Vulindlela, on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its subjects are poor and marginalised indigenous African women of faith who live in the area and attend the local Anglican churches. Engaging the theoretical debates of these three areas of gender studies, it argues that indigenous African women live by subjugated survival theologies. These working theologies are forged within a context of struggle for literal survival and give expression to the voices of millions of women in South Africa. Survival, it contends, intersects faith, feminisms, and development.
Two potential locations of survival theologies of poor and marginalised women are identified in the study: the Mothers’ Union (MU), the Anglican women’s prayer union which is a part of the indigenous manyano movement, and a contextual Bible study group of women from the area. In the MU, an established site of women’s theology, rituals such as the wearing of the church uniform, extempore praying and preaching, and fundraising are practices which reveal aspects of subjugated survival theologies. In the contextual Bible study group, a new social site was established through the efforts of the author, in order to create a place for the safe articulation of these theologies. This aspect of the study explored the extent to which collaborative work amongst women across race and class is possible and the ways in which it furthers the liberative agenda of the women’s project.
Employing postmodern notions of identity, subjectivity, agency, and historicised local knowledges, this study argues that survival faith needs to shape the way feminist paradigms understand notions of liberation, activism, and solidarity. It contends that these subjugated survival theologies pose a challenge to the academy and to the practice of the church because they are, in part, a resistance discourse which has not been recognised. The voice and agency of poor and marginalised women of Vulindlela is highlighted throughout and, the study argues, it is these voices that have been neglected in the women’s project. It is the subjugated knowledges of poor and marginalised women of faith that have to be recognised and recovered, if the women’s project is to truly reflect all South African women.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.
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Sutcliffe-Pratt, Daniel John. "An exploration of Groome's shared praxis approach as contextual Christian education within a South African Baptist township church." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/19657.
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Mukuka, George Sombe. "The establishment of the Black Catholic clergy in South Africa from 1887 to 1957." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3530.
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Okyere-Manu, Beatrice Dedaa. "Shattering the glass ceiling : a critical feminist investigation of the ethical challenges faced by African women in Black economic empowerment (BEE)." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3519.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis offers a critical gendered analysis of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE): a programme which was begun when the ANC government came unto power in 1994, to correct the economic imbalances instituted by the Apartheid system. The thesis argues that the programme has not effectively benefited black women in South Africa. Despite the fact that the focus of the programme has recently been changed to benefit a broad base of previously disempowered black people, only a few men who are connected to the ANC government have benefited. The thesis provides an overview of the background that necessitated the implementation of the economic programme. It specifically highlights the economic inequalities that were cornerstones of apartheid and their effects on Black women. It investigates statistics relating to BEE and gender, and reveals that eight key areas inhibit black women’s participation in the BEE programme. These include the fact that the original document did not mention women, women’s lack of capital, the glass ceiling, a sense of inferiority held by women, lack of mentorship and networking groups, family commitments and workload, gender stereotypes, and inadequate education and skills. The thesis argues that these eight key areas result from patriarchal customs and traditions in the South African society. To support this claim, the thesis then examines the responses of women participating in BEE. Women in BEE have voiced their concerns on different platforms but it is not enough to bring about the required transformation in the economy. Therefore, in order to adequately deal with factors that inhibit women’s participation in BEE, the thesis proposes that developmental feminist ethical and cultural tools needs to be engaged with in order for gender justice to be realised in BEE. In the search for solutions to factors inhibiting women’s participation, the thesis proposes the incorporation of the virtues of ubuntu, such as communalism, participation, humanity and solidarity, in BEE. In conclusion, the thesis argues that the South African economy cannot be built on the efforts of male citizens alone. There is the need for the government to ensure the inclusion of women at all levels of the economy, and to “shatter the glass ceiling” which Black women are constantly up against.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.
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Sibeko, Malika. "African spirituality and methodism : a survey of Black members of the Thaba-Nchu Methodist Church." Thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5635.
Full textAbstract:
The Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) has been plagued by a number of problems. One of this problems has been the breakaway of some of its members. Some of these members have joined other churches (Mainstream and African Indigenous Churches) and others have founded their own churches. One of the major reasons for the breakaways is what I have framed lack of "African Spirituality" in the MCSA. By "African Spirituality" I imply that the African way of life does not distinguish between sacred and secular. African spirituality includes the following component elements: Belief in one God, belief in Divinities, Believe in spirits,
veneration of ancestors and practice of medicine. My research in the Thaba-Nchu area confirmed the existence of this problem in the Thaba-Nchu
Methodist church. There were three categories of respondents in this research: those who left the church are: those who live between two worlds (belonging to the MCSA and attending services in the African Indigenous Churches at the same time); and those who have single
membership. The first two categories, unanimously agreed that the lack African spirituality and that is why they left the church or have dual membership. Ways of addressing this problem, i.e., to remedy the situation, have been suggested by the respondents, some scholars and leaders of the MCSA. These suggestions include the following:
(i) singing: use of drums, clapping of hands, etc.
(ii) special Sundays for prayers of healing: the church is to use people who are gifted in this, e.g. diviners, sangomas and barapelli.
(iii) symbolic things like water to be used.
It is hoped that if these suggestions were implemented, the problem would be addressed and the breakaways would stop or slow down and those who have dual membership would be satisfied to stick to the Thaba-Nchu Methodist Church alone. To implement these suggestions, the "top down"
communication strategy adopted by the MCSA's leadership on this and other problems has to be revised, the language used must be understandable to the ordinary people (the grassroots or the marginalised) and the material must be easily accessible to them.Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.
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Buckenham, Karen Elizabeth. "Women's experience, spirituality and theology for liberation and life in contemporary South Africa as expressed through visual arts with a focus on the lives and work of two women artists - Dina Cormick and Bonnie Ntshalintshali." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/2878.
Full textAbstract:
Art as an expression of spirituality and theology has the artist as a potential visionary and mediator of the spiritual. All over the world and in South Africa, the visual has been used to illustrate thought patterns, religious themes, religiousity, and to draw people closer to God. However, questions arise about how the visual images depicted by visionaries/artists express social movements, and more deeply, spiritual longings of God for liberation and life. This dissertation explores the question of representation of women's spirituality and theology for liberation and life in contemporary South Africa through visual arts. With a particular look at the lives and work of two women artists of KwaZulu Natal- Dina Cormick and Bonnie Ntshalintshali, I map the interface between religion, art, spirituality and theology, and expressions of reality of those who are dominated people. I look at women's spirituality in South Africa, art as theology, creative expressions as ways to hide and reveal, and at the specific artists in whose lives and work these questions intersect. I argue that visual art is a powerful means of both shaping and expressing spirituality and theology, and if 'read' with attention and discipline, reveals incipient movements of the Spirit.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.
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Mdingi, Hlulani Msimelelo. "The Revelation of God : meditations of the black church in existential times." Thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/25123.
Full textAbstract:
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-239)Chapter one begins by introducing and orientating the reader to the study and the purpose of the study, namely the revelation of God. It also opens up what is central to the study by a way of a problem statement concerning this revelation of God, the black church and the human condition. The aims of the study and the research methodology are set out. The chapter ends with a hypothesis concerning the future doctrine of revelation and the prospects of this revelation in the lives of black people. Chapter two entails discussion on God and the church, as it pertains to revelation, starting with a historical account of Christian theology on the subject of revelation. The subject of revelation is engaged on an existential level, particularly the main areas of Christian theology, namely; special and general revelation. This is a section that puts both concepts within black experience, to see the viability for a black ecclesiology and black theology. Chapter two moves on to contend that for black church, there is a serious theological insurgent that is necessary and it is part and parcel of God’s revelation to blacks and the oppressed. This outlook places a section of critical reasoning in South African context and society concerning God’s revelation. Chapter three engages a philosophical meditation, ascribing meditation as a state of self-reflection for the black church and black theology. This meditation is cognisant of black experience and is self-diagnosis concern God and humanity, particularly the dehumanising, (how it must affirm essence and substance). The meditation of the black church engages the concept of absurdity as Camus (1995) (also see Melancon 1983) has posited the absurd as a malaise in the world and silence of the word to that malaise. The absurd is also linked to theodicy, however, the black experience and the encounter with God transcends absurdity and theodicy. As part of the transcending aspect of the black experience, the research considers Western atheism, Christianity and death of God, whose burial is in the mind, souls and bodies of blacks. The chapter then moves on to discuss the black church as a receptor of God’s revelation, the new image of the crucified and the new metaphysics guaranteeing the upliftment of blacks. Chapter four focuses on the black invisibility and the hiddenness of God, it is seeing invisibility and hiddenness as linked together. The chapter also focuses on the need for black visibility rooted in the ontological and physiological expression and experience of being human; Imago Dei. The chapter links black visibility with the concept of whiteness, being a dehumanising political identity imposed on the people of colour. The chapter then translates into the context of visibility, invisibility and God’s revelation within the economic South African context. The final analysis of the chapter is a confession of God’s revelation rooted in God’s visibility and running parallel to that of black visibility. Chapter five proposes that the black experience and the use of the Bible Sola Sriptura, as it reveals the black church as part of church history. As such, it takes the early church’s reading of the New Testament and understanding of Christology through kenosis; the emptying of God to be human and using that paradigm to link Christ’s human experience and the experience of the dehumanising and humanising that of blacks. The chapter concludes with a Christology and black Messiah, who links the secular and divine, general and special revelation. Chapter six concerns the findings of the study, recommendations and conclusion.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D. Th. (Systematic Theology)
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Masenya, M. J. (Madipoane Joyce). "Proverbs 31:10-31 in a South African context : a bosadi (womanhood) perspective." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18145.
Full textAbstract:
One of the presuppositions of the present research is that readers and their contexts play a significant role in the interpretation of biblical texts. The key text of this thesis is Proverbs 31: 10-31 and the main readers are African women in a kyriarchal South African (Northern Sotho) context. Given their context of a multiplicity of oppressive forces ( racism, sexism, classism and African culture), how can these women read Proverbs
31: 10-31 appropriately with a view to their liberation? The researcher proposes a new woman's liberationist perspective, a Bosadi perspective, a perspective committed amongst others, to the African-ness of the African woman in South Africa. The question is: If Proverbs 31:10-31 is read from a Bosadi (Womanhood) perspective, how will the Northern Sotho women in a South African context find the text - a text emerging from a kyriarchal Hebraic culture? Will they find it to be oppressive or liberative or will it be found to be containing both elements? The present researcher, like many reformist women liberation biblical scholars (cf some
feminists and womanists ), argues that though the Bible emerged from patriarchal cultures, and contains elements oppressive to women, it also has liberative elements. Through the use of socio-critical hermeneutics, reception criticism and historical-criticism, evidence supporting this came to light as the present researcher re-read Proverbs 31:10-31 from a Bosadi critical perspective. It is therefore argued that when the Bible was used by the previous proponents of apartheid to subordinate people of other races, Black Theologians re-read the Bible from a Black perspective and used it for the racial liberation of Black South Africans. Likewise, an average South African woman, particularly an African woman, is basically a victim of male interpreters who use the Bible to subordinate women. It is the task of all African women to take the responsibility upon themselves to use appropriate tools in re-reading the Bible in order to discover that the Bible does not only alienate them, it is also the liberating word; the word which makes more sense to them because of their relationship with the Word which became flesh (Jn 1:1).D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)
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Palombo, Matthew Cady. "Interfaith praxis in the South African struggle for liberation : towards a liberatio-political framework for Muslim-Christian relations." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/11294.
Full textAbstract:
D.Litt et Phil. (Semitic Languages and Cultures)This thesis is an examination of “interfaith praxis” in the South African struggle for liberation, with particular emphasis on Muslim-Christian relations. We begin with an overview of the epistemological and theological contribution of “praxis” in European and subaltern contexts of liberation theology as well as the key dynamics of representation, conditionality and transformative activism in the history of Muslim-Christian relations. We then analyze and contrast “two histories” of Muslim-Christian relations in South Africa: one of Orientalism and the other of interfaith praxis. Through a close examination of two organizations - the Call of Islam (est. 1984) and the South African Chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (est. 1984) - we argue that interfaith praxis changed how Muslims and Christians in the struggle approached interfaith dialogue and theological reflections on the religious other. It was this interfaith praxis that contributed to the importance of religious pluralism in contemporary South Africa. Following through from the history and reflections on interfaith praxis, we suggest here the possibility for a new framework for Muslim-Christian relations called a Liberatio-Political Framework.
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Kim, Dae-Yoong. "Vision for mission : Korean and South African churches together facing the challenges of globalisation." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17088.
Full textAbstract:
As the century and millennium draw to a close, radical changes affect all areas of human life. Such changes challenge the church to respond to new developments in the secular world. One such development (a long time in the making) is that the everyday life of every human being on the planet is being affected more and more
profoundly by a kind of generic capitalism that prefers to remain faceless and anonymous but which prosecutes it interests with a brutality and ruthlessness that take no account of human beings who are themselves neither powerful nor influential - but who may reside on land replete with the kind of natural resources which
constitute the essential raw materials necessary for capitalist expansion. It is not only human life that suffers in this rapidly changing world: forms of planetary life suffer. In the context of what we have said about global market dynamics, we are compelled to ask ourselves searching questions about the relationship between God
and humans, humans and other human beings, and hnmans and other forms of planetary life. This will partly be an historical investigation into what Korean churches and South Africau churches might share with each other
on the basis of experiences of suffering caused by past structures and systems. By understanding the past, historians hope to be able to understand the present and to make predictions and preparations for the future of suffering people. Solidarity is one of the most effective weapons in the struggle against the oppression of the poor. Suffering creates an absolute necessity for solidarity. By examining what the Korean church and
the South Africa church did and said in their struggle against military dictatorship and racial discrimination, we shall find the basis for solidarity as a political, social and spiritual weapon.Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
D. Th. (Missiology)
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Vilakazi, Mlungisi Johann. "A critical analysis of community priesthood in the church of the Province of Southern Africa with special reference to Black community priesthood of the Diocese of Natal." Thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4850.
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