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Shange, Nombulelo Tholithemba. "Shembe religion's integration of African traditional religion and Christianity : a sociological case study." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011819.
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The Shembe Church's integration of African Traditional Religion and Christianity has been met by many challenges. This merger has been rejected by both African traditionalists and Christians. The Shembe Church has been met by intolerance even though the movement in some ways creates multiculturalism between different people and cultures. This thesis documents the Shembe Church's ideas and practices; it discusses how the Shembe Church combines two ideologies that appear to be at odds with each other. In looking at Shembe ideas and practices, the thesis discusses African religion-inspired rituals like ukusina, ancestral honouring, animal sacrificing and virgin testing. The thesis also discusses the heavy Christian influence within the Shembe Church; this is done by looking at the Shembe Church's use of The Bible and Moses' Laws which play a crucial role in the Church. The challenges the Shembe Church faces are another main theme of the thesis. The thesis looks at cases of intolerance and human rights violations experienced by Shembe members. This is done in part by looking at the living conditions at eBuhleni, located at Inanda, KZN. The thesis also analyses individual Shembe member's experiences and discusses how some members of the Shembe church experience the acceptance of the Shembe religion in South African society. This thesis concludes by trying to make a distinction between intolerance and controversy. I try to highlight the idea that what many Shembe followers see as discrimination and intolerance towards them is sometimes a difference in opinion from other cultural groups. Sometimes these differences are not geared towards criticising other religious groups or perpetuating intolerance.
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Pillay, Vernon Nicholas. "An examination of the cultural and ethnic implications of discipling african christians in the Evangelical Church in South Africa." Thesis, University of Zululand, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/1298.
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Submitted to the Faculty of Theology and Religion Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Theology In the Department of Practical Theology and Religion Studies at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2003.The purpose of Christ's death on the cross is to bring peace between God and man (Ephesians 2:14 paraphrased). The cross forms the basis of reconciliation between God and man. As a result, God desires his children live in harmony with each other irrespective of race, colour or gender. The difficulty in churches is that unity is often limited to local ethnic groups. In Scripture, the wider definition of unity is extended to include other ethnic peoples (Matthew 28:19). Cultural, political, sociological and theological barriers often hinder this move for extended unity. These help foster an environment for segregation, ethnocentrism and racism. By virtue of these elements presenting themselves in extended relationships there needs to be transparency on the part of those initiating a move for cultural tolerance. This requires dealing with negative views either individually or corporately and thereafter adopting biblical principles for establishing solid relationships. The integration of diverse ethnic groups in ecclesiological circles will entail certain adjustments being made. The purpose for such adjustments is to allow people the opportunity to feel welcome in a church that they would consider as home.
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Mtuze, P. T. "Hidden presences in the spirituality of the amaXhosa of the Eastern Cape and the impact of Christianity on them." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015612.
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This thesis is an attempt to reopen the debate on the whole question of inculturation in Southern Africa especially in light of the fact that we are now in a multi-lingual and multi-religious state. It is an attempt to rehighlight the plight of the spirituality of the amaXhosa people over the last century when missionary and imperial onslaught relegated it to the doldrums. This plunged the amaXhosa in a crisis that has left them directionless, to put it mildly. This is said because the total onslaught destroyed their self-respect and their identity and begs the question as to whether their acceptability to God was contingent on renouncing their culture especially the hidden presences - Qamata, the living-dead and the notion of evil spirits. It is precisely because of these misconceptions regarding African culture and spirituality that the thesis has a strong expository and apologetic bias primarily aimed to address, and put into proper perspective, the significance of the Supreme Being, the living-dead and the evil spirits in African culture. The issues are discussed within the broader socio-historical context. The thesis is basically comparative in that it uses Celtic spirituality and the approach of the early Celtic church to the question of inculturation as its point of departure and as a foil against which the preposterous actions of the church in Africa should be seen. This comparative element is also reflected in the unmistakable `dichotomy’ of Western religion and African spirituality, or better still, lack of spirituality, that was so fervently maintained by the missionaries and the colonialists alike. It is for this reason that I concur with Chidester (1996:xiv) that `the study of religion must find itself, once again, on the frontier’. The study is informed by this approach right through. It should be stressed, from the outset, that the idea is not comparison in order to satisfy our curiosity, nor is it comparison in order to try to authenticate and vindicate the beleaguered African culture. The central idea of the study is to expose the absurdity of the policies of the past century in this regard. The myth of the pure blooded Christianity is confronted, if not exploded. Several examples of both inculturation and continuities between Christianity and other faiths such as the Jewish founding faith are given. The subtheme of cultural domination subtly spans the whole study culminating in Chapter Four where the blacks begin to appropriate some of the Christian symbols and the whites also begin to assimilate African concepts such as ubuntu.
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Macqueen, Ian Martin. "Re-imagining South Africa : Black Consciousness, radical Christianity and the New Left, 1967-1977." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2011. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/7348/.
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This thesis places Black Consciousness in comparative perspective with progressive politics in South Africa in the late 1960s and the 1970s. It argues that the dominant scholarly focus on Black Consciousness, which is passed over as a ‘stage' in the Black struggle against white supremacy, insufficiently historicises the deeper roots, and the wider resonances and ideological contestations of the Black Consciousness movement. As they refined their political discourse, Black Consciousness activists negotiated their way through the progressive ideologies that flourished as part of the wider political and social ferment of the 1960s. Although Black Consciousness won over an influential minority of radical Christians, a more contested struggle took place with nascent feminism on university campuses and within the Movement; as well as with a New Left-inspired historical and political critique that gained influence among white activists. The thesis draws closer attention to the ways in which Black Consciousness challenged white activists in the late 1960s, who were primarily able, albeit it with pain and difficulty, to sympathetically interpret and finally endorse Black Consciousness. The thesis challenges the idea that Black Consciousness achieved a complete ‘break' with white liberals, and argues that black and white activists maintained a dialogue after the black students' breakaway from the National Union of South African Students in 1968. The thesis looks in turn at: the role played by the ecumenical movement in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s; student and religious radicalism in the 1960s; second wave feminism and its challenge to Black Consciousness; the development of Black Theology, and the relationship between Black Consciousness activists and the ecumenical Christian Institute; it closes with a study of the interplay between intellectuals Steve Biko and Richard Turner in Durban, and the significance of white students' and Black Consciousness activists' interaction in that city in the 1970s.
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Conference, Southern African Catholic Bishops'. "Economic justice in South Africa: a pastoral statement." Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68823.
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The Introduction to the statement explains that its aim is to contribute to the search for a more just, equitable and sustainable economic dispensation. It reminds people that, as a nation, we have overcome the horrors of apartheid and made significant progress towards peace and stability. However, we are sitting on an economic time-bomb; if we do not strive for economic justice we must expect a deepening of our social problems such as crime, lawlessness, poverty and unemployment. The second section considers the Church's Prophetic Duty to speak out and to bring Gospel values to bear on political, economic and social matters. A second transformation is needed: massive, and overwhelmingly positive, political change has occurred, but the same has not yet happened in the economy, with the result that the majority of our people still have little chance of fulfilling their reasonable hopes for a better life. Section three turns to the question of Discerning Economic Justice. It is asserted that every economy has a moral quality which makes it possible for us to pass judgements as to whether or not it is a just economy. In order to make such judgements the presence or absence of various factors must be assessed, including poverty, unemployment, discrimination, materialism and environmental degradation. Next, the statement deals briefly with Economic Structure. The fact that economies are complex, and that most people are unfamiliar with economic terminology, results in many people feeling powerless. They believe that, as individuals, they have no influence over, or responsibility for, the way an economy operates. Some of the negative consequences of such a belief are mentioned, and it is pointed out that we have a moral duty to make the correct choices, even in complex matters. Section four, Christian Economic Values, offers some guidelines for those striving to make these choices. The section summarises some of the main concepts and principles developed by the Church as ways of making concrete the commandment to 'love your neighbour as yourself'. These include the common good, solidarity, the option for the poor, the common destiny of goods, and the integrity of creation. The South African Economy is analysed in section six, according to the criteria mentioned in section three. Poverty, unemployment, materialism, greed, the lack of women's economic empowerment, debt and corruption are among the features identified as contributing to economic injustice in our country. But the gap between rich and poor is singled out as the defining characteristic of our economy, with millions of South Africans surviving, like Lazarus, on crumbs from the rich man's table. No country's economy exists in isolation, free from outside influences. Therefore, in section seven, some attention is given to The World Economy, especially to aspects which affect South Africa. The point is made that international factors can act as powerful constraints on moves towards economic justice at home, without their being, however, an excuse for a lack of effort in this direction. When statements such as the present one are published, people have a right to expect the authors to make specific and practical recommendations. This is attempted in section eight, What Can Be Done? The major role-players in the economy are identified and various steps are suggested for each of them; these range from fiscal initiatives to encourage job-creation, through changes to personal taxation and measures to improve productivity and training, to the promotion of the interests of the unemployed. However, it is conceded that even the most enlightened economic measures will not be able to withstand selfish and destructive attitudes. The question of people's attitudes to each other and to economic choices is therefore addressed, with particular emphasis being placed on the role of the religious community in this regard. By way of Conclusion the statement points out that economic justice is demanded not just by the poor and by forthcoming generations, but by God. In striving for a just economy we are carrying forward Jesus' great task of bringing fullness of life to all people.2nd ed
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Coertze, Stephen Victor. "Challenges facing the African church South African theologians speak out /." Diss., Pretoria : [S.n.], 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-09182007-120408/.
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Gregorowski, Christopher. "Anglican identity and contemporary relevance : a critical study of the Partners in Mission process within the Church of the Province of Southern Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14650.
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Bibliography: leaves 436-444.This is a church historical study and critical theological analysis of the Partners in Mission (PIM) process in the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA), which uses methods appropriate to such a study. Chapter 1 examines the background against which the PIM process and CPSA's PIM 'Vision' must be seen: Anglicanism, its origins, intentions and mission - and the tension between Anglican identity and contemporary relevance. Chapter 2 traces the process of renewal which has been described as the Anglican Communion's 'coming of age', and identifies some of the themes which were later to become 'The Vision'. The Anglican PIM process emerged out of the church's efforts to adjust to the rapidly changing post-colonial world of the nineteen-fifties and sixties, when Anglican provinces within newly-independent nations could no longer be regarded as inferior to and dependent on the Church of England. A watershed in this quest was the Anglican Congress in Toronto in 1963, when for the first time the equal partnership was articulated in the statement Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence in the Body of Christ (MRI). MRI became a Communion-wide programme which evolved into the PIM process, and together they constitute the Anglican Church's programme of contemporary reform and renewal. The CPSA is a full participant in this PIM process and has held three PIM Consultations, the third of which took place in November 1987 when the church was given the vision to engage in the struggle for the eradication of apartheid and the building of new societies of justice and peace in southern Africa. .In Chapter 3 we examine the Provincial 1987 Consultation, the process which led up to it and the making of The Vision. In Chapter 4 we examine publications and records of the CPSA and correspondence with the Bishops of the Province which describe the implementation of The Vision in the life of the CPSA and its contribution to the church's mission. Chapter 5 is a critical evaluation of the CPSA's PIM process, based on the evidence of the previous chapter. Our conclusion is that The Vision has been only partially implemented because of the church's persistent failure to transform words into actions, poor communication, the failure to focus on priorities, a lack of resources, traditionalism and clericalism in the CPSA, the fear of loss of identity, and a spiritual crisis - much of which points to a lack of appropriate leadership. The consequences of ineffective implementation include the failure of the CPSA as a whole to engage relevantly with the crisis in southern Africa, to express appropriate penitence and make restitution for its part in the sin of apartheid, and to engage in effective evangelism. Chapter 6 is an attempt to see how the CPSA could be renewed by means of a revitalised PIM process, in order to be relevant in southern Africa today. We explore a possible pastoral plan and ways in which the CPSA would benefit from engaging more fully in the 'Kairos' process. The CPSA will contribute to the life and future direction of the Anglican Communion insofar as it is true to its ecumenical calling to witness to the kingdom of God as a part of the church in southern Africa, and the Communion will best serve its members and enable them to discover their true identity by setting them free to be faithful to their mission in their various contexts. Throughout this study we have used primary source documents from the Anglican Communion and the CPSA which tell of the birth, progress an implementation of MRI, PIM and The Vision.
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Du, Plessis Miemie. "Youth and charismatic Christianity in the Dwars River Valley, Stellenbosch." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2431.
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Thesis (MA (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.The rise in social disorder in South Africa over the last decade and a half has contributed to the increase of non-government organizations moving to the forefront of social problem prevention. Encounter, a new Pentecostal church in the Dwars River Valley served as a beacon of hope to many people. With the developments in the valley that resulted in vast social changes it can be described as an anchor in a sea of instability and uncertainty. At the same time, however, Encounter served as a wave that rocked the boat of the traditional and church-centered village of Pniel. Encounter presented alternative methods of social problem prevention and alleviation for its members. For the purpose of this study, I placed specific emphasis on the intangible, faith-based actions and strategies of Encounter. These intangible methods characteristic of spiritual organizations had a unique influence on the community regarding their perceptions of- and meanings attached to- social problems, social cooperation and social identity. At the same time, conversion and the alternative „access‟ to spirituality (prophecies, healing, demonology etc.) affected individual identities and in many ways led to their social empowerment. Finally, in this study, intangible spiritual interpretations were not only receptive and re-active phenomena, but could also take on the form of intervention and pro-action. Through the use of ritual, intangible beliefs were turned into weapons of warfare. Encounter created a space for the training and use of these „weapons‟. People gathered there to be trained, to observe and to use these weapons with the belief that it would result in immediate change in their lives and in their communities.
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Savage, James Peter Tyrone. "The ambiguity of God : a post-colonial inquiry into the politics of theistic formulation in South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14747.
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Bibliography: leaves 115-131.This thesis sets out to locate a post-apartheid perspective within what might be described as postcolonial Religious Studies, drawing on the genealogical method of Michel Foucault. Roughly stated, I understand the methodology to represent a shift away from preoccupation with the actual truth or otherwise of an idea, towards concern with the agitation - the discord, the discrepancies - that characterizes the appearance of an idea. Within the parameters, paradigms and possibilities imposed by this method, I inquire into the politics of theistic formulation in South Africa prior to the Union of South Africa (1910). Part One of the thesis discusses the politics of the advent of the Christian God in Southern Africa. In the three chapters that comprise this section, I situate colonial beliefs about God within colonialism as a discursive genre; in particular, evidence is provided of the deployment of religious (and in particular theistic) sensibility as a strategic category in the Othering discourse by which European expansion into Southern Africa was promulgated. Chapter Two opens by observing that colonial constructions of Otherness served not only to "erase" (Spivak) autochthonic identity, but also to eulogize and assert the colonial Self. Contextualizing my argument in the debate about the ambiguous effects of colonial missionary activities, I examine the mythically imbued, Othering discourse of Robert Moffat as a particularly conspicuous instance of the missionary qua colonial Self. Chapter Three gathers the concerns of Part One around the problem of theistic formulation in a colonial context, by discussing John Colenso's discovery of a theistic sensibility indigenous to autochthonic Africans as an example of a transgression of the Christian discourse that colonialism made function as truth. Part Two makes use of the categories established in Part One, and applies them to Afrikanerdom: its Othering in British colonial discourse; its religiously imbued, mythic history; and its beliefs in God. Having brought to theistic formulation a Foucauldian suspicion of systems of truth, my argument turns in Part Three to bring a particular theology, theologia crucis, alongside Foucault: accepting that the "dogmatic finitization" (Wolfhart Pannenberg) of Christian belief is inherently susceptible to the play of power, I observe that theistic formulation cast in terms of the cross - the "Crucified God" (Jurgen Moltmann) - holds a subversive potential in which may lie possibilities for an alternative to "truth".
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(EFSA), Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa. "The land is crying for justice: a discussion document on Christianity and environmental justice in South Africa." Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa (EFSA), 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68865.
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South Africa is a land of extraordinary beauty, ecological diversity and abundance. However, the land that God has entrusted to us is crying for justice. During the years of struggle against apartheid several ecumenical documents addressed the issues of the day. The Letter to the People of South Africa (1968), the Kairos Document (1985), the Evangelical Witness in South Africa (1986), the Road to Damascus (1989) and the Rustenburg Declaration (1990) may be mentioned in this regard. In the same ecumenical and prophetic spirit, this document seeks to address the escalating destruction of our environment that results in immense suffering for people, for other living species and for our land as a whole. In responding to this challenge Christians in South Africa may recognise, acknowledge and learn from the many voices and contributions on environmental concerns coming from all over the world — from churches and ecumenical movements, from the Earth Charter movement, from other religious traditions and from environmental organisations. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) - 26 August to 4 September 2002, Johannesburg - also challenges the churches in South Africa to respond to these concerns.1st ed
Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa (EFSA)
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Maxwell, Lindsey Brooke. "The Pneuma Network: Transnational Pentecostal Print Culture In The United States And South Africa, 1906-1948." FIU Digital Commons, 2016. http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2614.
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Exploding on the American scene in 1906, Pentecostalism became arguably the most influential religious phenomenon of the twentieth century. Sparked by the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, the movement grew rapidly throughout the United States and garnered global momentum. This study investigates the original Los Angeles Apostolic Faith Mission and the subsequent extension of the mission to South Africa through an examination of periodicals, mission records, and personal documents. Using the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa as a case study, this study measures the significance of print media in the emergence and evolution of the early Pentecostal movement.
Based on historical analysis of more than 260 issues of the mission’s periodical, “The Comforter and Messenger of Hope,” this dissertation demonstrates how the publication served a variety of functions critical to the establishment of Pentecostalism in South Africa. As a work of cultural history, it situates the periodical within larger trends in South African culture and society. It illustrates how the periodical functioned simultaneously at the local and international level to standardize Pentecostal discourse and formulate an early Pentecostal identity. Finally, this dissertation argues that Pentecostal periodicals formed a transnational network of Pentecostal thought, connections, and support in the early twentieth century that influenced the development of Pentecostalism in the South African context.
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Higgs, Michael John. "The impact of the Western conceptualization of the Christian gospel on its communication in a non-Western environment, with particular reference to the AmaXhosa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/356.
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This thesis examines the extent and nature of the impact of the contextualization of Christianity upon the amaXhosa from the missionary irruption in the nineteenth century to the present day, and proceeds to examine the implications of this impact for the presentation of the Christian gospel in the contemporary Eastern Cape. Chapter One describes the problem, offers definitions of key concepts and outlines the procedural method for the rest of the thesis. Chapter Two deals with the question of the cross-cultural communication of the Christian gospel in theory. Doctrinal questions such as the nature of the gospel are examined. The basic hermeneutical issue of the categorization of doctrinal tenets according to whether they are required or simply permitted is discussed in terms of Osborne's categories: 'cardinal', 'non-cardinal'. Tenets which are found to be 'anti-scriptural' would be rejected. Specific hermeneutical topics such as language and meaning, symbolics, textuality and orality are then discussed. This is followed by a survey of secular influences which affect a conceptualization. This chapter is preparatory to, and definitive for, the discourse which follows. Chapter Three outlines the cultural heritage from which the Western missionary contextualization of Christianity developed. It shows the extent to which this presentation of the gospel was dependent upon the philosophy which Britain and Europe inherited from the classical Greek culture. More modern developments such as the Enlightenment, Empiricism and Historicism bring the discourse up to the point at which the missionaries arrived. Chapter Four deals with the initial encounter between the missionaries and the amaXhosa. A brief account is given of the nature of the religious and spiritual aspects of the Xhosa culture which first encountered Christianity. The doctrinal section of this chapter deals with those doctrines in the missionary message which became issues for the amaXhosa. The hermeneutical section shows how the cultural setting of the West (vii) affected both the contextualization by the missionaries and the conceptualization by the amaXhosa. To a large extent, the missionaries made the double mistake of imposing their culture on the amaXhosa and failing to accord respect, even recognition, to the Xhosa culture. This amounted to imperialism, which, together with the political imperialism of Britain as the colonizing power, evoked responses from the Xhosa community which are outlined in section 4.4, including those of Nxele and Ntsikana. Because the impact of the Western contextualization is an on-going phenomenon, the thesis continues to trace its development up to the present time. Apartheid is briefly mentioned in Chapter Five. The point is made that all white people were perceived by the amaXhosa to be Christians, and the architects and practitioners of apartheid claimed to be Christians. This ideology therefore had a direct effect on the Xhosa conceptualization of the gospel. The architects of apartheid actually believed that they were accepting God's gift and mandate. This chapter includes Black theological reaction to apartheid in terms of the South African version of Liberation theology. Chapter Six returns to Western Theology in order to bring the sphere of discourse from the point at which it left off at the end of Chapter Three up to the present time. The schools of thought in this period are: Secularism and Existentialism, together with their theological extension, Demythologization. The main religious movements are the Charismatic Movement and Neo-Pentecostalism. Postmodernism came as a later philosophical school, to be followed by Globality. Chapter Seven deals with black South African reactive and proactive responses. The predominant theologies are those of Dwane, Buthelezi, Boesak and Mtuze. Although Dwane, Buthelezi and Boesak came on the scene at the same time as the black theologians reviewed in Chapter Five, their work is placed here because it differs significantly from the more radical responses of the latter. Mtuze is post-apartheid, and responds to the developments outlined in Chapter Six. Chapter Eight draws the findings of the thesis together, by considering how the Christian Gospel ought to be presented to the various contemporary sub-cultures of the amaXhosa. (viii) The last Chapter applies the findings of the thesis to the task in hand. The desired outcomes are listed and briefly discussed. The task ahead is enunciated in terms of manpower and other resources for the effective communication of the Christian gospel in the twenty-first century. The past, present and projected programmes of the Bible Institute Eastern Cape [the target institution] are described and assessed. Finally, topics which presented themselves in the course of the preparation of this thesis are suggested for future research.
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Wepener, C. J. "Van vas tot fees : 'n ritueel-liturgiese ondersoek na versoening binne Suid-Afrikaanse kultuurkontekste." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/16080.
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Thesis (D. Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The need of reconciliation in South Africa is still voiced by many. Along with this need, the absence of church unity between the DRChurch and URChurch, churches which are still divided along racial lines, remains a sad reality. A division which has its origin partially in a reconciliation-ritual of commensality which was inculturated in Africa on wrong unscriptural grounds. Within this South African and Reformed reality the question of this research was born, namely: “Which rituals can be inculturated in South Africa in general, and in the liturgy of the DRC and URC in particular, to assist with the processes of reconciliation and church unity?”. This question is subsequently approached in a multi-disciplinary fashion with a ritualliturgical exploration. The methodological starting points in the research process entail firstly that Post’s liturgical-scientific research methodology of intereference and intuition is used as an overarching approach, and secondly along with this in the initial phase of the research the method of ethnography or participatory observation for the collection of the ritual data. Within this methodology the theoretical starting points centre around the concepts of ritual, reconciliation and liturgical inculturation. And within the field of Practical Theology this research process moves with a spiral movement between practice and theory. The basic theoretical starting point is that within the field of Liturgy a ritual approach is used, and for this reason partners were found within the domain of Ritual Studies to examine the phenomenon of reconciliation-rituals. The ritual theory of some experts on the topic is presented with which the collected data was later evaluated. Along with this ritual theory, liturgical inculturation is used as a critical reciprocal steering concept which also involves both the tradition and theology in a criterium for the evaluation and formation of rituals. With this methodological and theoretical basis five ritual probes were conducted with regards to reconciliation, namely a cultural anthropological, a Biblical, a liturgicalhistorical, an actual descriptive and a South African ethnographic probe. These probes brought several findings to the fore which can, within an African and Reformed context,be systematised within the context of the process from fast to feast as an overarching metaphor. Drinking and eating together, or the absence thereof, coupled with reconciliation, is present throughout all the probes like a leitmotiv and is also the central finding of this research. More findings concerning reconciliation rituals however came to the fore in each probe. These findings are summarised at the end of each probe and will help to stimulate the ritual imagination concerning reconciliation. However, such imagination must remain within a critical-normative Practical Theological liturgical scientific framework. The finding of this research basically attempts to show that a variety of rituals can be inculturated within the processes of reconciliation and church unity in the DRC, URC and South Africa. The process from fast to feast gives insight into the ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ concerning the inculturation of reconciliation rituals within an African and Christian context. Fast and feast, which amongst other things also entails eating and drinking together or the absence thereof, runs like a golden thread throughout all the probes. Rituals showing these qualities of commensality are pre-eminently fit to serve as reconciliation rituals, although they have sometimes in the past had the power to do exactly the opposite. Therefor the finding of this research is that this feature of commensality can be developed within South African and Reformed reconciliation rituals, but in such a way that it serves reconciliation and church unity. And for this purpose some ritual-liturgical guidelines are presented.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vanuit verskeie oorde word die noodsaak vir versoening in Suid-Afrika steeds bepleit. Saam hiermee is die uitbly van kerkeenheid tussen die NGKerk en VGKerk, kerke wat steeds op grond van ras verdeel is, ‘n betreurenswaardige realiteit. ‘n Verdeeldheid wat deels sy oorsprong het in ‘n versoeningsritueel van saam eet en drink wat op ‘n verkeerde onskriftuurlike wyse in Afrika geïnkultureer is. Vanuit hierdie Suid-Afrikaanse en Gereformeerde situasie kom die vraag wat hierdie ondersoek aanspreek na vore, naamlik: “Watter rituele kan in Suid-Afrika in die algemeen, en in die liturgie van die NGK en VGK in die besonder, geïnkultureer word om te help in die prosesse van versoening en kerkvereniging?”. Hierdie vraagstelling word vervolgens op ‘n multi-dissiplinêre wyse met behulp van ‘n ritueel-liturgiese ondersoek aangespreek. Die metodologiese uitgangspunte in hierdie proses van ondersoek behels dat daar van Post se liturgiewetenskaplike ondersoekmetode van interferensie en intuïsie as oorkoepelende benadering gebruik gemaak word, en saam daarmee in die inisiële fase van data-kollektering die metode van etnografie of deelnemende observasie. Binne hierdie metodologie sentreer die teoretiese vertrekpunt rondom die begrippe ritueel, versoening en liturgiese inkulturasie. En binne die kader van die Praktiese Teologie word daar met ‘n spiraalbeweging tussen teorie en praktyk beweeg. Die basiese teoretiese uitgangspunte behels dat vanuit die Liturgiek met ‘n rituele benadering gewerk is. Binne die veld van die sogenaamde Rituele Studies is vennote gevind om die fenomeen van versoeningsrituele te bestudeer. Die rituele teorie van enkele eksperte word gepresenteer waarmee die gekollekteerde data beoordeel is. Saam met hierdie rituele teorie is die begrip liturgiese inkulturasie gebruik as ‘n krities wederkerige studerende konsep wat ook die teologie en tradisie betrek in die kriterium vir die beoordeling en ontwerp van rituele. Met hierdie metodologiese en teoretiese basis is vyf rituele peilings ten opsigte van versoening gedoen, te wete ‘n kultureel-antropologiese, ‘n Bybelse, ‘n liturgiehistoriese, ‘n aktueel beskrywende en ‘n Suid-Afrikaanse etnografiese peiling. Hierdie peilings hetverskeie bevindinge na vore gebring wat in ‘n Afrika-Gereformeerde konteks binne die proses van vas tot fees as oorkoepelende metafoor gesistematiseer kan word. Saam eet en drink, of die afwesigheid daarvan, gekoppel aan versoening loop as ‘n leitmotiv deur al die peilings en is die sentrale bevinding van hierdie ondersoek. Daar het egter ook meerdere bevindinge of roetemerkers ten opsigte van versoeningsrituele uit die peilings na vore gekom. Hierdie bevindinge wat saamgevat word aan die einde van elke peiling, help om die rituele verbeelding te stimuleer, maar dít juis binne ‘n krities-normatiewe Prakties Teologiese liturgiewetenskaplike raamwerk. Die bevinding van hierdie ondersoek behels basies dat ‘n verskeidenheid rituele in die prosesse van versoening en kerkvereniging geïnkultureer kan word in die NGK, VGK en Suid-Afrika, maar dat die proses van vas tot fees insig verleen in die ‘wat’, ‘wanneer’ en ‘hoe’, ten opsigte van die inkulturasie van versoeningsrituele binne ‘n Afrika- en Christelike-konteks. Vas en fees, wat onder andere saam eet en drink of die afwesigheid daarvan behels, loop soos ‘n goue draad reg deur al die peilings. Rituele wat hierdie eienskappe van kommensaliteit vertoon, is by uitstek geskik om te dien as versoeningsrituele, al het diesulke rituele ook soms in die geskiedenis juis die teenoorgestelde vermag. Daarom word voorgestel dat hierdie eienskap van kommensaliteit juis uitgebou word in Suid-Afrikaanse Gereformeerde versoeningsrituele, maar op só ‘n wyse dat dit versoening en kerkeenheid dien. En hiervoor word enkele ritueel-liturgiese riglyne aangereik.
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Grobler, David J. "An assessment of the strategic architecture of the Unite180 church." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97327.
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Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTACT: The global Christian industry has undergone a radical shift in the past decade. There are many influences and forces active in the industry affecting church and there is evidence that the Christian industry is in a decline phase. This study analyses and assesses the strategic architecture of the Unite180 church. Even though the church has been operating its ministry successfully since 2006 as a youth ministry, it has never formalised its strategic architecture. The research study thus performed a thorough strategic architecture assessment of the Unite180 church and concluded with a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard to be utilised as practical tools to monitor the church’s achievements in terms of its strategic initiatives. The research question can be expressed as follow: What can be learnt from the current strategic architecture of the Unite180 church and how can it be changed, improved and further developed to ensure that the Unite180 church continues to create value sustainably? The study focused on a qualitative approach and the literature review explored the field of business model innovation and strategy.
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Law, Lois. "An analysis of the socio-political role of the Roman Catholic Church in contemporary South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17060.
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Bibliography: pages 272-287.This study attempts an analysis of the form and content of the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to the policy and practice of apartheid during the period 1948-1989. It is argued that the divisions, tensions and contradictions of the Catholic Church reflect the socially divided character of the broader society. It is suggested that some of the policies, teachings and social practice of the South African Catholic Church serve to reproduce and reinforce the existing societal relations of domination, thus contributing to the hegemony of the dominant social group, while others undermine the same and point toward a transformation of social relations in a democratic society. In some instances the Church has contributed to the nascent hegemony of the dominated group. Literature focusing on the Catholic Church during times of social upheaval is reviewed. Recent analyses of the role of the Christian Churches in apartheid South Africa are considered. Various approaches to the Sociology of Religion are discussed and the relevance of a contextual approach to the analysis of the Church is argued. Gramsci's concept of hegemony as a tool of political analysis is discussed. A brief .historical overview of the Catholic Church in South Africa is given. It is contended that the Catholic Church in South Africa must be understood in terms of its colonial, missionary and racist history. An ecclesiological overview of the Roman Catholic Church in terms of its - history, traditions, organization, authority structures, governing procedures and beliefs is sketched. The ·social Teaching' of the Catholic Church during the twentieth century is outlined. The importance of the Second Vatican Council, the emergence of the Theology of Liberation and the increasing centrality of social justice in Church teachings is discussed. The implications of these developments for the pastoral practice of the Church is emphasized. The response of the Catholic Church to the introduction and implementation of 'separate development' is considered. Content analysis is used as a research method. The study therefore falls within the realm of hermeneutic or interpretative sociology. The gradual transition from an attitude of paternalism to committed involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle is traced. The Catholic Church's response to the Bantu Education Act, which was the primary focus of its opposition to apartheid in the 1950's, is evaluated. The challenge of the Black Consciousness movement is acknowledged. It is argued that the realities of apartheid society have had a profound impact on the Church, severely compromising its unity. The related processes of reform, repression and resistance are examined. It emerges that while the Church's championship of human rights has been unequivocal, its support for some of the strategies employed in the struggle against apartheid has been more tentative. It is argued that the Catholic Church's participation in the anti-apartheid struggle has facilitated a growth in ecumenism and increased contact with secular organizations. The Catholic Church has become part of a broad anti- apartheid alliance. It is suggested that while there have been important changes in the Church's self-understanding and perception of its role in, and pastoral mission to, society, these changes have been uneven and ambiguous. They have not been reflected throughout the Church and have underlined the divisions within the Church. There has been considerable reluctance on the part of many white Catholics to endorse the anti-apartheid stance of the hierarchy. However, the S.A.C.B.C.'s commitment to social justice is in tune with modern Catholic social teaching. Finally, it is argued that the Catholic Church has challenged white domination and undermined the hegemony of apartheid in South African society.
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Lazar, John. "Conformity and conflict : Afrikaner nationalist politics in South Africa, 1948-1961." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1988. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5f5ea531-d869-478f-ac8d-678bd5e66f8a.
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One of the principal themes of this thesis is that it is incorrect to treat "Afrikanerdom" as a monolithic, unified ethnic entity. At the time of its election victory in 1948, the National Party (NP) represented an alliance of various factions and classes, all of whom perceived their Interests in different ways. Given, too, that black resistance to exploitation and oppression increased throughout the 1950s, apartheid ideology cannot be viewed as an immutable, uncontested blueprint, which was stamped by the NP on to a static political situation. The thesis is based on four main strands of research. It is grounded, firstly, in a detailed analysis of Afrikaner social stratification during the 1950s. The political implications of the rapid increase in the number of Afrikaners employed in "white-collar" occupations, and the swift economic expansion of the large Afrikaner corporations, are also examined. The second strand of research examines the short-term political problems which faced the nationalist alliance in the years following its slim victory in the 1948 election. Much of the NP's energy during its first five years in office was spent on consolidating its precarious hold on power, rather than on the imposition of a "grand" ideological programme. Simultaneously, however, intense discussions - and conflicts - concerning the long-term implications, goals and justifications of apartheid were taking place amongst Afrikaner intellectuals and clergymen. A third thrust of the thesis will be to examine the way in which these conflicts concretely shaped the ultimate direction of apartheid policy and ideology. Nationalist politics was also affected by the legacy of the aggressive Christian-Nationalism of the 1930s. The final main task of the thesis is to trace how and why the key tenets of Christian-Nationalism - especially those pertaining to republicanism and education - developed after 1948.
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Jansen, Cedric Benjamin. "Die plek van armoedeverligting binne die kerk se sendingtaak: 'n kritiese analise van die Suid-Afikaanse missiologiese diskoers." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2007. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_5184_1256899968.
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It is the aim of this study to determine the location of poverty alleviation within the framework of the church's missionary activity. The following three approaches will be examined, namely a dualistic approach, the approach of liberation theology and a multi-dimensional approach. The author analysed literature of writers within the context of South African missiological discourse.
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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).
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Joseph, Stacey-Leigh. "Consolidating democracy, building civil society : the South African Council of Churches in post-apartheid South Africa and its policy of critical solidarity with the state." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007957.
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The South African Council of Churches (SACC) played an extremely crucial role during the struggle against apartheid. The role of the SACC was first and foremost to provide a voice for the voiceless. It managed, among other tasks, to actively fill the void left by movements banned by the illegitimate apartheid government. As a result of its fight against the inequalities that existed in South Africa, its work adopted a political character. In the aftermath of post-apartheid South Africa, the SACC was left with the task of redefining its role within South African society and civil society, specifically. The euphoric sentiment in the mid-1990s was in part reflected in the SACC. However, the conclusion reached by the Council in 1995 was that it would also play a role of 'critical solidarity' which essentially meant that it would not shy away from attacking the government when the need arose. Since 1994, the South African government has implemented a number of policies that do not appear to be in the immediate interest of the majority of South African citizens atld have brought church and state into conflict. This thesis attempts to tackle three issues which are pertinent to the South African situation and which shed light on state-civil society interactions. These issues are HIV I Aids, the question of odious debt and the Zimbabwe crisis. By using both primary and secondary sources, the SACC's responses to government's handling of these matters will be compared with the responses of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference in order to determine their relationships with government. The conclusion of this investigation is that the SACC has in fact managed to maintain a position of critical solidarity. It has been faced with numerous challenges with regard to maintaining the fragile boundary of alliance with government on the one hand, and becoming anti-government on the other. However, by forming alliances with other civil society actors as well as fostering a relationship with government in order to facilitate mediation this dissertation argues that the SACC has become an essential member of South Africa's vibrant civil society.
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Mahokoto, Marlene S. "Prophetic preaching in a post-apartheid South Africa : an URCSA perspective." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/3323.
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Thesis (MDiv (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.This study is about an investigation in the role of the prophetic voice of the church in a post-apartheid South Africa. In the first chapter I have given a brief description of the history of apartheid as well as a detailed description of the role the church played during these years in South Africa. I also looked at the impact that the Belhar Confession played during this time. In chapter two I have tried to deal with the difficult challenges that faced the church now after democracy and how the voice of the church can be heard in society. I have looked at the different ways that ministers made use of prophetic preaching during the apartheid era. Due to the apartheid system, many people suffered tremendously in this country. During these years of oppression people were leaning heavily on guidance from the church. This was not just for spiritual guidance but people were dependent on the church leaders for emotional support during their hours of need. I have tried to look at the different prophetic voices in the church during these difficult times. In chapter three I have tried to give possible recommendations to assist the church in regaining its prophetic voice in our society. I have looked at several ways in which our congregants could be challenged in terms of prophetic preaching. I have also looked at our understanding of the language of hope and lament. Finally, I have tried to give guidelines in terms of prophetic preaching in our context today.
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Mukhuwana, Joyce. "Tsenguluso ya thuthuwedzo ya maitele a tshirema kha vhurereli ha tshikhiresite ro sedza kha Tshivenda." Thesis, University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1146.
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Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2012The title of the research topic is: The critical analysis of African Traditional African Culture with special reference to Tshivenḓa in Christianity. The study would be based on the influence of Tradional Venḓa Culture to Christianity Religion. Though Vhavenḓa may be converted from Vhavenḓa Tradional Culture to Christianity their culture still influences their way of practising Christianity. The study will also examine ways, when and where these practises of Tshivenḓa have the influence in Christianity.
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Maxengana, Nomalungisa Sylvia. "The impact of missionary activities and the establishment of Victoria East, 1824-1860." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006292.
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This thesis covers a period of drastic change in that part of Xhosaland later known as Victoria East. Chapters one and two deal with the clash between the Glasgow missionaries at Lovedale and the amaXhosa who were expected to simply discard their way of life in favour of the new dispensation. Chapter three explains the arrival in the Eastern Cape of the amaMfengu, formerly called abaMbo, and their role in the divisive policies of the colonial government. Chapter four recounts the brief interlude (1836-1846) during which the colonial government tried but ultimately rejected a more equitable model of cross-border relations known as the Treaty System. The final chapter deals with the introduction of direct rule over the newly-created district of Victoria East, and with the policies of Henry Calderwood, its first magistrate, which were artfully constructed to perpetuate ‘Divide and Rule’ so as to maintain a comfortable life for the white settlers in the border area.
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Kwon, Hyo-Sang. "Shifting ideas about ancestors in the construction of identities : an intercultural theological evaluation of Korean witnesses in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/19538.
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Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Interculturation theology as a way of communication in religious cultural arenas is the most recent and remarkable methodology that can be used to open space for mutual witness and dialogue with regard to ideas about and the praxes of ancestral rituals between South Korean and South African Christians. The purpose of this research is to overcome some dichotomised problems that are inherent in exclusive, inclusive, and religious pluralistic approaches in dialogue with other religious cultures. In this regard, we examined some problems of the colonial way of mission and the functional translation of the exclusivistic approach and noted that the inclusive approach also has its weakness, in that it weakens the historicity of the subject. We attempted to show that theocentric and religious pluralistic approaches do not solve the problem of mutual identity simply by searching for commonalities between religious traditions. Our rationale is that although these approaches have their weak points, we should not overlook their benefits. Therefore, in appraising these approaches, attention is drawn to how these benefits may be used to complement one another. Consequently, we proposed a meaningcentred and praxis-centred communication methodology using a holistic approach. To appropriate a meaning-centred and praxis-centred methodology of communication, we began by adopting the theological principle of perichoresis, which is the inner relationship among the Persons of the Divine Trinity. Perichoresis is the foundation of missio Dei, which is God’s initiative love to the world in praxis. Through incarnational self-giving, missio Dei is revealed in the world. Secondly, we re-interpreted perichoresis as an intercultural term and ideology, based on its components, mutual indwelling, mutual space, and mutual identity. The intercultural meaning of mutual indwelling is continual mutual penetrating, while cultural meaning of mutual space is interpreted as the others, that is, from the viewpoint of emptying themselves in mutual communication instead of that of dominion and replacement. Further, we re-interpreted mutual identity through the ‘praxis of with’. Based on this cultural reinterpretation of perichoresis, we established a praxis-centred and meaning-centred model of interculturation theology. More importantly, the perichoretic model of interculturation enabled us to construct a theological and cultural identity of Christianity in encountering with others, which is the ‘praxis of with’. In particular, the study attempted to apply intercultural communication method to the encounter between Xhosa churches and Korean missionaries in Khayelitsha in terms of ancestor related matters. Through this intercultural and comparative evaluation of shifting identities, we suggested how Korean missionary and Xhosa churches could mutually construct theological cultural identities. For this purpose, we first carried out a literature study of Korean and South African indigenous theologies concerning ancestor worship.1 Subsequently, we conducted an empirical survey in Khayelitsha to determine the missiological views of Korean missionaries in the light of their traditional religious background and Korean theologians’ indigenised interpretations of ancestral matters. We also considered the theological positions of some Western missionaries in Khayelitsha on the same issue. Finally, we investigated the identities of Xhosa churches in Khayelitsha on literature and empirical levels and how intercultural theology can be reconstructed to evaluate the missiological identities of Korean missionaries and Xhosa churches in terms of ancestor worship.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Interkulturasie teologie as 'n kommunikasiewyse in godsdienstige kultuurgebiede is die mees onlangse en merkwaardigste metodologie wat aangewend kan word om ruimte te skep vir wedersydse getuienis en dialoog rakende idees aangaande en die praktyke voorouerlike rituele onder Suid-Koreaanse en Suid-Afrikaanse Christene. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om sekere gedigotomiseerde probleme te oorkom wat inherent is in eksklusiewe, inklusiewe en religieus pluralistiese benaderings wat in dialoog is met ander religieuse kulture. In hierdie verband het ons ondersoek ingestel na sekere probleme van die koloniale wyse van sendingwerk en die funksionele oorskakeling van die eksklusivistiese benadering en gemerk dat die inklusiewe benadering ook sy swakheid het deurdat dit die historisiteit van die onderwerp verswak. Ons het gepoog om aan te dui dat teosentriese en religieus pluralistiese benaderings nie die probleem van onderlinge identiteit oplos nie deur eenvoudig te soek na gemeenskaplikhede tussen religieuse tradisies. Ons rasionaal is dat alhoewel hierdie benaderings hul swakpunte het, behoort ons nie verby hul voordele te kyk nie. By die inskatting van hierdie benaderings word die aandag dus gevestig op hoe hierdie voordele gebruik kan word om die ander aan te vul. Gevolglik het ons 'n betekenisgesentreerde en praktykgerigte kommunikasiemetodologie voorgestel wat 'n holistiese benadering aanwend. Om 'n betekenisgesentreerde en praktykgerigte kommunikasiemetodogie aan te wend, het ons begin deur die teologiese beginsel van perichoresis te aanvaar, wat die innerlike verhouding tussen die lede van die heilige drie eenheid is. Perichoresis is die fondament van missio Dei, wat die inisiatief verteenwoordig wat God se liefde vir die wêreld in die praktyk is. By wyse van inkarnasionele gee-van-die-self, word missio Dei aan die wêreld openbaar. Tweedens het ons perichoresis herinterpreteer as 'n interkulturele term en ideologie wat op sy samestellende elemente gebaseer is, naamlik 'n gemeenskaplike woning, gemeenskaplike ruimte en gemeenskaplike identiteit. Die interkulturele betekenis van 'n gemeenskaplike woning is voortdurende gemeenskaplike deurdringing, terwyl die kulturele betekenis van gemeenskaplike ruimte geïnterpreteer word as die andere, met ander woorde vanuit die oogpunt van die lediging van hulself in gemeenskaplike kommunikasie, eerder as oorheersing en verplasing. Ons het verder gemeenskaplike identiteit herinterpreteer by wyse van die 'praktyk waarmee'. Gebaseer op hierdie kulturele herinterpretasie van perichoresis, het ons 'n praktykgerigte en betekenisgesentreerde model van interkulturele teologie daargestel. Belangriker nog het die perichoretiese model van interkulturasie ons in staat gestel om 'n teologiese en kulturele identiteit van die Christendom op te stel temidde van 'n ontmoeting met andere, wat die 'praktyk waarmee' verteenwoordig. In die besonder het die studie gepoog om die interkulturele kommunikasiemetode toe te pas op die ontmoeting tussen Xhosa-kerke en Koreaanse sendelinge in Khayelitsha in terme van voorouerverwante sake. Deur hierdie interkuturele en vergelykende evaluering van verskuiwende identiteite, het ons voorgestel hoe Koreaanse sendelinge en Xhosa-kerke wedersyds teologiese kulturele identiteite kan daarstel. Vir hierdie doel het ons aanvanklik 'n literatuurstudie onderneem van Koreaanse en Suid- Afrikaanse inheemse teologieë aangaande die aanbidding van voorouers. Daarna het ons 'n empiriese opname in Khayelitsha onderneem om die missiologiese sienings van Koreaanse sendelinge vas te stel in die lig van hul tradisionele godsdienstige agtergrond en die Koreaanse teoloë se verinheemste interpretasie van voorouerlike sake. Ons het ook aandag geskenk aan die teologiese posisies van sommige Westerse sendelinge in Khayelitsha oor dieselfde aangeleentheid. Laastens het ons die identiteite nagevors van die Xhosa-kerke in Khayelitsha op literêre en empiriese vlakke en hoe interkulturele teologie gerekonstrueer kan word om die missiologiese identiteite van Koreaanse sendelinge en Xhosa-kerke te evalueer ingevolge die aanbidding van voorouers.
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Burpeau, Kemp Pendleton. "A historical study of John Graham Lake and South African/United States pentecostalism." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006484.
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American minister John Graham Lake (1870-1935) was a pivotal participant in an era of profound religious and political transition. Surprisingly, Lake's often provocative life had previously been largely neglected as a field of academic inquiry. In the U.S. Lake associated with key Holiness, Wesleyan and Apostolic Faith charismatics like John Alexander Dowie of the Zion City, Illinois Utopia, Charles Parham of the Topeka Revival and William Seymour of the Azusa Street Revival. Lake served as an important intermediary between Parham's often reactionary, white orientation that was unreceptive to an enthusiastic black liturgy and Seymour's expansive African-American egalitarianism expressed through exuberant spirit manifestations. Lake's South African ministry was shaped by his middle class white business background, Azusa Street message and American perspectives. He brought together the faith healing movement inspired by Dutch Reformed minister Andrew Murray, P. Ie Roux's black and white Zion charismatic adherents affiliated with Dowie and the new U.S. Pentecostalism of Parham and Seymour. Lake's African-American influenced Pentecostalism was compatible with indigenous African worship. His emphasis on the spiritual needs of the disempowered found a receptive audience in talented black evangelists Elias Letwaba and Edward Lion. Even though acquainted with Mohandas Gandhi, Lake did not undertake a South African social gospel-type civil protest against societal injustice. In fact, Lake's participation with Afrikaner politicians like Louis Botha in fashioning a segregationist land use law was most troubling. Lake was ambivalent about racial integration. His belief in an egalitarian status for all Christians, his Populist/Progressive ethics and his enthusiastic promotion of women's rights were complicated by his advocacy, or at least tolerance, of some disparate racial treatment in his Apostolic Faith Mission and South African society at large. Lake's paternalism and notion of Westem cultural superiority conflicted with his love of all persons. Lake's otherworldly prioritization of individual spiritualism over a socioeconomic agenda usually stymied activism. His uncharacteristic use of nonviolent protest to protect faith healing formed a remarkable contrast with his reluctance to actively campaign against unequal racial treatment in Africa and America. Historiographical perspectives on Lake range from the saintly pioneer charismatic missionary to the Elmer Gantry type charlatan acting only for personal benefit. Lake was a unique personality with his flamboyant rhetoric, strong convictions and feelings of personal worth. His distinctive Jesus as healing and suffering God theology evidenced both consistency with precedent as well as creative anticipation. Shortcomings resulting from his preference to address social concerns on an individual spiritual rather than societal level, his liberties with truth and his bad business judgments resulting in litigation. Nevertheless, Lake's life demonstrated that a gifted but imperfect instrument could accomplish a meaningful ministry.Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.5.4
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Harris, James Ian. "Baptist identity in ecumenical context : a critical exposition of the 1987 Statement on Baptist Principles of the Baptist Union of South Africa." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18194.
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Bibliography: pages 342-359.Baptist Identity In Ecumenical Context is, essentially, an exposition of the 1987 statement on Baptist Principles of the Baptist Union of South Africa. The Statement has had no critical reflection given it to date and therefore this study is a new contribution to the growing corpus of material on Baptist theology in South Africa. The thesis explains the identity of South African Baptists using the key word discipleship. Though not stated as such, the1987 Statement on Baptist Principles is an expression of discipleship. Discipleship is described and critically analysed in the thesis as community, its sign as baptism, ministry is discipleship expressed in society, and freedom is the term given to denote the focus on religious liberty and the separation of church from the state, as well as indicating the church's prophetic role. Drawing from the rich heritage of Anabaptist and English Baptist history and theology, and reflecting on other evangelical and ecumenical theological writings, the thesis shows the value of 'discipleship' as the motif for Baptists in the contemporary South African setting. The thesis invites South African Baptists to re-discover this motif both in the context of their own tradition and in their relations with other Christian churches.
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Makasi, Cordelia Noma-Abysinia. "Implementation of the policy on religious equity in public schools in the East London Education District : towards a framework for religious diversity." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5014.
Full textAbstract:
The study sought to establish the implementation of the policy on religious equity in public schools in the East London Education district in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Underpinned by Van Meter and Van Horn (2015) with implementation and conceptual theory and also a theory on opportunity to learn and school performance by Van Der Grift and Houtveen(2006), the study was located in the pragmatist research paradigm and followed a mixed methods approach and concurrent triangulation design. The research sampling technique was random for high school learners in selected schools and purposeful for principals, heads of departments, teachers and provincial education officials. Three methods were employed to collect data from selected public schools and from the provincial office namely; semi-structured interviews, individual interviews and observation. Quantitative data were analysed statistically and presented in the form of descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed using the thematic content analysis technique. Major findings of the study are that teachers and principals understood the concept religious equity and had a fair understanding of the policy on religious equity. Schools were predominantly Christian-oriented in terms of religious practices and there were no recorded cases of religious conflict. Learners of minority religions were not compelled to attend Christian religious functions in schools and were allowed to attend their own religious functions outside school. This was established from the fact that participants cited freedom of religion as being exercised in schools. However, it was further established that there was no strategic monitoring and support for teachers in the implementation of religious equity. There were also no deliberate measures and strategies for the implementation of religious equity suggesting challenges and inconsistencies in the implementation of the policy. While there were notable challenges in the implementation of the policy, due to resistance of stakeholders to change, schools had great opportunities which could be utilized to enhance the implementation of the policy on religious equity. The study concludes by noting that, while key policy implementers had an understanding of religious equity, the situation on the ground revealed challenges and inconsistencies in the implementation of the policy which resulted in a Christian-dominated school environment at the expense of minority religions The study recommends, among other things, that that religious equity be adhered to as enshrined in the Constitution of South Africa of 1996 and the South African Schools Act of 1996. The teaching and learning environment should include Religion Education as per prescription by National Policy on Religion Education of 2003, that monitoring and support of teachers be done, and that community involvement with policy development be considered crucial as well as moral education teaching in schools. A framework for enhancing implementation of the policy on religious equity is also proposed.
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Petersen, Elizabeth. "Challenges experienced by clergy in dealing with domestic violence." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_1331_1181561776.
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This thesis sought to explore the challenges experienced by selected clergy within the Anglican Church in dealing with domestic violence. The sample was drawn from the Diocese of Cape Town of the church of the Province of Southern Africa, based on the participants' experience of the phenomenon and their willingness to participate in the study. The researcher used face-to-face interviews utilizing a semi-structured interview guide for data collection. Questions were open-ended to allow for free flow of information. Because of the sensitive nature of the study, probing questions were followed up by responses to get in-depth perceptions and experiences of clergy's involvement in domestic violence. With reference to the ethical considerations in this study, all participants were thoroughly briefed before the interview with clear explanations of the goal, procedure and advantages of the study. Participants had the opportunity to withdraw at any stage of the interview as participation was completely voluntary.Consistent with literature, this study confirmed the complex nature of domestic violence. Participants experienced various challenges on different levels in the ministry pertaining to domestic violence.These challenges primarily related to the lack of training in dealing with real life issues such as domestic violence during their theological training, the lack of theological guidelines offered by the church to address patriarchal societal practices, beliefs and gender stereotyping, and the lack of guidance on contexual interpretation of Scriptures.
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Nxasana, Thulani Litha. "The ambivalent engagement with Christianity in the writing of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Africans in the Eastern Cape." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002237.
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Until recently much of the literature recording the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the Eastern Cape focused purely on frontier conflict and missionary activity, ignoring the evolving culture of the colonized people. But as Somande Fikeni declares, “[i]t is important when celebrating the country’s heritage to look beyond battle sites, monuments and wars and to pay attention to South Africa’s intellectuals and knowledge producers” (quoted in Hollands 4). This is indeed the central purpose of my research. This thesis seeks to examine the influence of Christianity on early South African writing by Africans and the ambivalence with which Christianity is often treated in their work. In South Africa, as elsewhere in Africa, Christianity played a central role in the development of African literature through the influence of mission schools and printing presses. Thus from the outset the development of written literature was inseparable from the spread of Christianity. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century writing by Africans reflects this: Christian idioms, biblical stories and images colour their work and yet are not employed unthinkingly. Each of the writers whom I will explore has a complex and at times ambivalent relationship with Christianity, and they use religious discourse for a variety of ends, some of them clearly at odds with their origins in the “civilizing mission” of Europe. According to Yunus Momoniat, “Their works . . . are the beginnings of an engagement not only with the world of words on a page, but also with the politics of literacy itself” (1). The subject of this research is three Xhosa writers from the Eastern Cape: the Reverend Tiyo Soga (1829-1871), the renowned novelist and “National Poet” S. E. K. Mqhayi (1875-1945), and the little-known poet Nontsizi Mgqwetho (Dates uknown, writings 1920-1929), who is described by Mbeki as “the most prolific woman Xhosa poet of the twentieth century” (6). The reason for focusing on the Eastern Cape is because the Xhosa “were the first Bantu people to be exposed to Christian proselytising and to receive a literate education” (Gerard 24). As a result much of the early literature in isiXhosa consisted of translations of the Bible and other Christian tracts, and such “improving” texts as Pilgrim’s Progress. In other words, it is in this work that the first roots of the influence of Christianity in southern Africa can be traced.
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Plastow, Thomas Gregory. "Ezakwantu sacrifice, the Eucharist, and animal slaying : towards a broader application of liturgical inculturation in Africa /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 1999. http://www.tren.com.
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De, Visser Adriaan Jan. "The kingship of Christ in the life and faith of Christians in a black South African township : a missiological evaluation / Adriaan Jan de Visser." Thesis, Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/10129.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent the Lordship of Christ is a reality in the
life and faith of Christians in the South African township of Soshanguve, north-west of Pretoria.
The study is based on empirical research conducted in Soshanguve between 1996 and 1999,
among members of the following three denominations: the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the
Zion Christian Church, and a group of Pentecostal and charismatic churches.
During the first phase the research had a predominantly quantitative nature (survey research). The
second phase involved a qualitative research (in depth-interviews, analysis of written documents
and sermons).
After an introductory chapter and a chapter giving the necessary background, chapter 3 describes
the survey research, and chapters 4 to 6 examine the Lordship of Christ as it functions in the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Zion Christian Church and the Pentecostal/charismatic
churches respectively.
This research shows that in the faith of many church members the Lordship of Jesus Christ is a
vague notion. It is accepted that Jesus Christ has died for our sins in the past, but it is less clear
what He is doing presently. The living Christ is a remote figure in the faith of the majority
of church members. The gap which is left, is filled by the laws of the church and/or the leadership
of the church.
Chapter 7 gives an analysis of the results. It appears that several backgrounds have to be taken into account: (1) the influence of African traditional religion, (2) the influence of Western secularism, (3) the influence of specific doctrinal tenets of the given denomination.
Chapter 8 offers a Biblical perspective on aspects which have to be dealt with in order to strengthen the notion of the Lordship of Christ in the life and faith of Christians. These are: the concept of God, the concept of salvation, the person of Christ, the Lordship of Christ over the life of the individual believer, and the Lordship of Christ over the world.Thesis (Th.D.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2001
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Katts, Donald Jaftha. "Op weg na 'n menswaardige samelewing : 'n teologies-etiese ondersoek na die korrelasie tussen 'n handves van menseregte en morele verantwoordelikheid." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/19446.
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Thesis (D.Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the possibility of building a more humane and dignified society and asked the pertinent question: what is the role of the bills of rights in building a more humane and dignified society? What is the role of moral responsibility in the creation of such a community? Is the correlation between these two initiatives conflicting or is it complimentary? In searching for answers to the abovementioned questions, chapter two gives a short historical overview of the origin and development of the human rights idea. The purpose and nature of human rights as well as the different kinds of rights are discussed. This chapter also specifically surveys the development of how human rights in South Africa. Chapter three evaluates the advantages of human rights in various contexts. Countries like Sweden and The Netherlands that have a long history of human rights are investigated. African countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and South Africa are investigated to get a picture of human rights in Africa. The theological basis of human rights is discussed in chapter four. Before the theological arguments for human rights are forwarded, the arguments against human rights and the ambiguous relation between theology and human rights are discussed. Hereafter it is shown that theological arguments from a trinitarian faith perspective, central biblical terminology such as justice, human dignity, equality and freedom can be motivated. It is also argued from the various church traditions that human rights can be theologically supported. Chapter five argues that apart from the acceptance of a bill of rights, the theological support human rights enjoys, moral responsible people is necessary for building a more humane and dignified society. For this reason the ethics of responsibility is also explained. The role of laws are investigated as well as how the revising of laws can assist in the establishing a humane and dignified society. The role of moral formation is also discussed. The practise of the different community institutions such as business, media, statutory bodies and civil society are explained to indicate how it can help in this regard. The role of the political will is also discussed. The study is concluded by stating the most important findings.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die moontlikheid van die daarstelling van ’n meer menswaardige samelewing en vra pertinent: wat is die rol van handveste van menseregte in die bou van ‘n menswaardige samelewing? Wat is die rol van morele verantwoordelikheid in die bou van ‘n menswaardige samelewing? Is die korrelasie tussen hierdie twee inisiatiewe konflikterend of komplimenterend? In die soeke na antwoorde op bogenoemde vrae, bied hoofstuk twee ‘n kort historiese oorsig oor hoe die menseregte-idee ontstaan en ontwikkel het. Die doel en aard van menseregte sowel as die verskillende soorte menseregte word beskryf. In hierdie hoofstuk word spesifiek ook ondersoek ingestel na die ontwikkeling van menseregte in Suid-Afrika. Hoofstuk drie ondersoek die vrug van menseregte in verskeie kontekste. Lande soos Swede en Nederland wat ‘n lang menseregte geskiedenis het, word ondersoek. Afrikalande soos die Demokratiese Republiek van die Kongo, Kenia en Suid-Afrika word ondersoek om ‘n prentjie van menseregte in Afrika te kry. Die teologiese begronding van menseregte word in hoofstuk vier aan die orde gestel. Alvorens die teologiese argumente ten gunste van menseregte gestel word, word die argumente teen menseregte en die dubbelsinnige verhouding tussen teologie en menseregte geskets. Hierna word daar aangetoon dat menseregte vanuit die trinitariese geloofsbekouing, sentrale bybelbegrippe soos geregtigheid, menswaardigheid, gelykheid en vryheid begrond kan word. Daar word ook vanuit die verskillende kerklike tradisies geargumenteer dat menseregte teologies ondersteun kan word. Hoofstuk vyf toon dat benewens die aanvaarding van ‘n Handves van Menseregte en die teologiese ondersteuning wat daar vir menseregte is, moreel verantwoordelike mense ook nodig is vir die skep van ‘n meer menswaardige samelewing. Om hierdie rede word die etiek van verantwoordelikheid toegelig. Die rol van wette word ondersoek asook hoe die hersiening van wette kan meehelp in die daarstelling van ‘n menswaardige samelewing. Die rol van morele vorming word ook toegelig. Die praktyke van die verskillende samelewingsinstansies soos byvoorbeeld die sakesektor, media, statutêre liggame en die burgerlike samelewing word belig om aan te toon hoe dit kan meehelp in hierdie opsig. Die rol van die politieke wil word ook toegelig. Die studie word afgesluit met ‘n uiteensetting van die belangrikste bevindinge.
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Le, Roux Elisabet. "Spirituality in film : a critical enquiry into the film Yesterday and the question of stigmatisation within the context of the HIV pandemic." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/20446.
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Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2008.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Conventional HIV intervention strategies are based on the presupposition that scientific knowledge and appropriate information about HIV will curb the spread of the disease. The dominant approaches to the HIV debate and pandemic focus mostly on the medical, pedagogical and ethical dimensions of the pandemic. Governments are concerned with democratic and human rights and the juridical implications of HIV. This study proposes that a team approach should be followed, with the emphasis on a holistic model of prevention care. In this regard it is hypothesised that the spiritual dimension, emphasising our human quest for meaning, moral decision-making and virtues as related to the transcendent dimension of our being human, should play a substantial role. One of the most burning issues in the pandemic is the phenomenon of stigmatisation. This investigation is in search of an approach that can effectively penetrate the realm of prejudice, blaming, and discrimination. If spirituality can address stigmatisation, antistigma interventions must acknowledge the role of pastoral care with its emphasis on ‘soul care’, values and meaning. The study explores the possibility of extending the traditional understanding of theology as fides quarens intellectum, with its emphasis on knowledge (the rational), to fides quares imaginem, with its emphasis on imagination (the aesthetic dimension of life). Therefore the important presupposition that, due to the aesthetic dimension of faith, care to people living with HIV should include the aesthetic dimension. If one links fides quares imaginem to fides quarens visum new options can be created for Practical Theology. In this regard, the visual dimension of life as represented by media, and specifically film, should be investigated in a HIV prevention strategy. The study thus proposes that a specific form of art, namely film, has potential as an effective antistigma intervention. It is hypothesised that film inherently has a spiritual dimension. This spiritual dimension could be linked to issues that can determine the direction and meaning of life, as well as the understanding of human identity and dignity. In this regard the study wants to determine to what extent film can play a fundamental role in addressing the realm of attitudes, convictions and belief systems. Film is thus suggested as a medium for spiritual intervention in order to bring about change on the level of perceptions. Lesser-educated people are very vulnerable, especially in relation to HIV. The study wants to explore whether film can be an effective medium of addressing, educating and influencing such people at their level. In order to test this, an empirical study was done to assess the effect that film has on HIV stigmatisation within such a group of people. The aim of the empirical research was not to create statistical evidence, but to illustrate certain trends and tendencies. A group of people from Vlaeberg, a rural area outside of Stellenbosch, South Africa, was chosen for the study. In order to empirically explore the potential of film in addressing HIV stigmatisation it was decided to use the film Yesterday, the first South African film to be nominated for an Oscar. The film was chosen for the following reasons: a) it is set within South Africa, depicting vulnerable persons within a rural setting; b) it has a positive, though realistic approach to HIV; c) it depicts the cruelty of stigmatisation; d) it shows how you can assist those with HIV; and e) it is easily understandable. The film was positively received and able to influence the stigmatising perceptions, attitudes and convictions of the target group. The empirical study proved that film has a spiritual dimension and should be used as a medium for spirituality formation. Due to this, it has an important role to play in antistigma interventions. In this regard, the research showed that film can indeed play a decisive role in a HIV prevention strategy and an antistigma intervention.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Konvensionele MIV-ingrypingstrategieë word gebaseer op die aanname dat wetenskaplike kennis en geskikte inligting aangaande MIV die verspreiding van die virus sal kan halt. Die dominante benaderings tot die MIV-debat en –pandemie fokus meesal op die mediese, pedagogiese en etiese dimensies van die pandemie. Regerings is bemoeid met die demokratiese regte, menseregte en wetlike implikasies van MIV. Hierdie studie stel voor dat ’n spanbenadering gevolg moet word, waarbinne die fokus sal wees op ’n holistiese model van voorkomende sorg. Die hipotese is dat die spiritualiteits-dimensie ’n substansiële rol moet speel, aangesien dit ons menslike strewe na betekenis, morele besluitneming en waardes, soos dit in verhouding staan tot die transendente dimensie van ons menswees, in ag neem. Een van die kwellende vraagstukke van die pandemie is stigmatisasie. Hierdie navorsing soek ’n benadering wat effektief die gebied van vooroordele, beskuldiging, en diskriminasie kan penetreer. Indien spiritualiteit stigmatisasie kan aanspreek, moet antistigma-ingrypings die rol van pastorale sorg, wat klem lê op ‘sielesorg’, waardes en betekenis, erken. Die studie ondersoek die moontlikheid dat die tradisionele verstaan van teologie as fides quarens intellectum, met die klem op kennis (die rasionele), uitgebrei moet word na fides quares imaginem, met die klem op die verbeelding (die estetiese dimensie van die lewe). Daarom word die belangrike aanname gemaak dat, as gevolg van die estetiese dimensie van geloof, sorg vir dié met MIV die estetiese dimensie moet insluit. As ’n mens fides quares imaginem skakel met fides quarens visum word nuwe moontlikhede ontsluit vir Praktiese Teologie. In hierdie opsig moet die visuele dimensie van die lewe, soos dit uitgebeeld word deur die media en meer spesifiek film, ondersoek word in ’n MIV-voorkomingstrategie. Die studie stel voor dat ’n spesifieke vorm van kuns, naamlik film, potensiaal het as ’n effektiewe antistigma-ingryping. Daarom die hipotese dat film inherent ’n spirituele dimensie het. Hierdie spirituele dimensie kan geskakel word met kwessies wat die rigting en betekenis van lewe kan bepaal, sowel as ons verstaan van menslike identiteit en waardigheid. Gevolglik wil hierdie studie bepaal tot watter mate film ’n fundamentele rol kan speel in die aanspreking van houdings en oortuigings. Film word dus voorgestel as ’n medium vir spirituele ingryping om sodoende verandering te bring op die vlak van persepsies. Mense met minder opvoeding is baie kwesbaar en blootgestel, veral in terme van MIV. Hierdie studie ondersoek of film ’n effektiewe medium kan wees om sulke mense aan te spreek, op te voed en te beïnvloed. Om dit te bepaal is ’n empiriese studie gedoen wat moes vasstel watter effek film het op MIV-stigmatisering binne so ’n groep. Die doel van die empiriese studie was nie om statistiese bewyse te lewer nie, maar om sekere neigings en tendense aan te toon. ’n Groep mense van Vlaeberg, ’n plattelandse area buite Stellenbosch, Suid-Afrika, is gebruik vir die studie. Die film Yesterday is gebruik vir die empiriese ondersoek aangaande die potensiaal wat film het om MIV-stigmatisering aan te spreek. Yesterday is die eerste Suid-Afrikaanse film wat vir ’n Oscar benoem is. Die film is gekies om die volgende redes: a) dit speel af in Suid- Afrika en weerlose mense binne ’n plattelandse omgewing word uitgebeeld; b) dit het ’n positiewe, dog realistiese benadering tot MIV; c) dit beeld die wreedheid van stigmatisering uit; d) dit dui aan hoe ’n mens diegene met MIV kan bystaan; en e) dit is maklik verstaanbaar. Die film was positief ontvang en het die stigmatiserende persepsies, houdings en oortuigings van die groep beïnvloed. Die empiriese studie het bewys dat film ’n spirituele dimensie het en as medium vir spirituele vorming gebruik moet word. Dus het film ’n belangrike rol te speel in antistigma-ingrypings. In hierdie opsig het die navorsing gewys dat film wel ’n deurslaggewende rol in ’n MIV-voorkomingstrategie en ’n antistigma-ingryping kan speel.
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Parker, Alan. "Towards heterogeneous faith communities : understanding transitional processes in Seventh-day Adventist Churches in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/5493.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (DTh (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation examines racial transition toward heterogeneity in three Seventh-day Adventist congregations in South Africa. This dissertation aims to uncover social factors involved in this change as well as to set forth a theological direction with application to the local faith community. The first section examines recent studies and literature on multiracial congregations, indicating a possible breakdown between theory and practice. Using insights from Kuhn, Gadamer, Habermas, and Geertz, a critical correlational approach is proposed using narrative, community-based praxis, dialectical thinking, and eschatological vision. The theological methods of Groome and Browning are combined to suggest a four-phase approach to practical theological research. The second section undertakes an ethnographic study of three Seventh-day Adventist congregations on the outskirts of Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Congregations are examined through the fourfold lens of history, identity, process and program. All three congregations are then compared and analysed from both an etic and emic perspective. Differences between various racial groups are examined and congregational challenges and resources identified. It is shown that while positive racial attitudes exist, underlying black distrust, white fears and other reconciliation issues need to be addressed. Common challenges include continuing racial change, mission and identity issues, evangelism issues, leadership issues and worship issues. Helpful resources in the congregations include an accepting culture, a common language, strong leadership, members with previous multicultural experience and an attractive worship service. Cultural adaptation is analysed through a psychological model ('W-Model') and a congregational model, both of which indicated tensions between assimilationist and integrationist patterns. The third section critiques the sociological approach through a theological hermeneutic. Hospitality to the stranger is proposed as an alternative narrative for handling transition to diversity, and is compared with existing narratives of difference and unity. The witness of Scripture shows both the need to embrace otherness as well as how central hospitality is to God‘s mode of interaction with His created order. The implications of this embrace are explored in terms of other theological models of identity and otherness, reconciliation, the missio Dei and the kingdom of God. In the final section a model of showing hospitality to the stranger is examined in terms of the following movements: (a) the invitation or welcome, (b) providing the gift, (c) feasting at the table, (d) sharing stories, (e) providing a room, and (f) becoming part of the household. The goal is to show how to grow in intimacy without destroying identity. Tensions in the practice of hospitality to the stranger are examined: risk is balanced against opportunity, identity against otherness; boundaries are worked out in a context of sacrifice. Nevertheless, in spite of these paradoxical tensions, it is seen that in this narrative there is potential for bringing diverse communities together based on an ethic of self-giving and mutual acceptance.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif ondersoek die transformasieproses van homogene na heterogene gemeentes ten opsigte van ras in drie Sewendedag Adventiste gemeentes in Suid-Afrika. Die tesis beoog om sosiale faktore wat die transformasieproses beïnvloed te bespreek sowel as om in die verband teologies rigting te gee aan plaaslike geloofsgemeenskappe. Die eerste afdeling ondersoek onlangse studies en literatuur in verband met veelrassige gemeentes en toon 'n moontlike uiteensetting van teorie en praktyk. Deur gebruik te maak van die insig van Kuhn, Gadamer, Habermas, en Geertz word 'n kritiese korrelatiewe benadering voorgestel wat gebruik maak van narratiewe, gemeenskap gebaseerde praxis, dialektiese denke, en eskatologiese visie. Die teologiese metodes van Groome en Browning word gekombineer ten einde 'n vier-fase benadering tot praktiese teologiese navorsing voor te stel. Die tweede afdeling onderneem 'n etnografiese studie van drie Sewendedag Adventiste gemeentes aan die buitewyke van Durban, Kaapstad en Johannesburg. Gemeentes word bestudeer onder die viervoudige lens van geskiedenis, identiteit, proses en program. Al drie die gemeentes word dan vergelyk en ontleed van beide 'n lokale en globale (etic en emic) perspektief. Verskille tussen rasse word ondersoek en gemeenskaplike uitdagings en hulpbronne word geïdentifiseer. Hierdie ondersoek toon aan dat alhoewel positiewe rassehoudings bestaan, onderliggende Swart wantroue, Blanke vrese en ander versoeningskwessies aangespreek behoort te word. Algemene uitdagings sluit die hantering van voordurende verandering, missie- en identiteitsproblematiek, evangelisasie problematiek, leierskap problematiek en aanbiddingsproblematiek in. Nuttige benaderings tot die problematiek behels 'n kultuur van aanvaarding, gemeenskaplike taal, sterk leierskap, lidmate met multikulturele ervaring en besielende eredienste. Kulturele aanpassing word ontleed met behulp van 'n sielkundige model ('W-Model') en 'n gemeentelike model. Beide modelle toon spanning tussen assimilasie- en integrasiepatrone. Die derde afdeling kritiseer die sosiologiese benadering deur middel van 'n teologiese hermeneutiek. Gasvryheid teenoor die vreemdeling word voorgestel as 'n alternatiewe narratief in die plek van bestaande narratiewe van verskil en eenheid om die transisie na diversiteit te verwerk. Die getuienis van die Skrif wys op die noodsaaklikheid om die verskille tussen mense te versoen binne die konteks van God se 'gasvryheid' wat sentraal staan in Sy interaksie met Sy skepping. Die implikasies van hierdie versoening word ondersoek in terme van die aanvullende teologiese modelle van identiteit en andersheid, versoening, die missio Dei en die koninkryk van God. In die laaste afdeling word 'n model van gasvryheid teenoor die vreemdeling ondersoek in terme van die volgende bewegings: (a) uitnodiging of verwelkoming, (b) bereidheid tot opoffering, (c) viering rondom die tafel, (d) deel van verhale, (e) verskaffing van eie ruimtes, f) eenwording van die huishouding. Die doel is om aan te toon hoe om in intimiteit te groei sonder om identiteit prys te gee. Spanning in die praktiese beoefening van gasvryheid teenoor die vreemdeling word ondersoek: risiko moet gebalanseer word met geleentheid, identiteit met verskil en grense word in die konteks van opoffering uitgewerk. Ten spyte van hierdie paradoksale spannings, het die narratief van die vreemdeling en gasvryheid die potensiaal is om diverse gemeenskappe bymekaar te bring deur middel van 'n etiek van opofferende en gemeenskaplike aanvaarding.
34
Sparrow, Isabel. "An exploratory study of women's experiences and place in the church: a case study of a parish in the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA), diocese of Cape Town." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
Full textAbstract:
This mini-thesis is a small-scale exploratory case study into the experiences of eight mature women members of a particular parish in the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA) situated in the Diocese of Cape Town. Using qualitative feminist research methodologies, this study sets out to explore how this group of non-ordained women perceives their roles in the church structure. The study examines what initially attracted the participants to this parish and what motivates them, despite the challenges, to continue performing their voluntary licensed and unlicensed roles in the church. It then goes on to consider the contradictory ways in which their roles as individuals, gendered as women, serve to simultaneously reinforce and challenge the patriarchy of the church. In this respect the participants often held conflicting views within themselves, thus demonstrating the complexities surrounding such issues. Upon reflection the researcher acknowledges that, similar to the participants, she also holds contradictory views on some of these issues. The research therefore identifies and explores three main themes in this regard, firstly the reasons why women originally joined the parish church, secondly the ways in which these women are active in the church and lastly the ways in which women&rsquos activities simultaneously challenge and reinforce the patriarchy and continued male domination of church.
35
"Religion (Christianity) and poverty alleviation in South Africa : a human scale development approach." Thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4051.
Full textAbstract:
Only twenty years ago it was widely assumed that religion had lost its previous place in western culture and that this pattern would spread throughout the world. Since then
religion has become a renewed force, recognized as an important factor in the modern world in all aspects of life, cultural, economic and political. This is true not only of
the Third World, but in Europe - East and West - and in North America. It is no longer a surprise to find a religious factor at work in areas of political tension. In South Africa, the researcher has determined that Christianity is not totally involved in the fundamental human needs of community. This is an urgent matter to address. As churches committed to social and economic justice we cannot stand by and observe. We need to fund answers to a number of important questions: What does poverty really means? What are its causes and its consequences to South African community. As churches we also have deeper roots in the struggle for justice and democracy in South Africa. What is the impact of poverty, if any, on democracy and human rights in our society? This research about such matters comes for the most part from three types of sources. The first is the newspaper which understandably tend to concentrate on newsworthy events, without taking the time to deal with the underlying issues of which they are but symptoms. The second source comprises studies by theologians and social scientists who often adopt a functionalist and reductionist view of the faith and beliefs
which motivate those directly involved in such situations. Finally, there are the statements and writings of those committed to the religious or ideological movements themselves. The poor are the ones who suffer injustice through exploitation, oppression and bondage. The reality is that Christianity do not exist unaffected by social change
which is taking place in our time. The winds of change are blowing at gale force in South Africa and we live in the midst of this change, we are affected by it and we are mutually responsible for it. Also, due to the fact that Christianity is placed in the larger human society, it is inevitable that it will be engaged in the problems affecting
human society such as poverty, HIV/AIDS. As religious stewards we share responsibility for the co-existence of all humankind because God does not want to abandon the earth and its inhabitants to evil. It is Faith that commits churches and their members to be loyal to God, who through Jesus, has entered our human spirit as a human being. Through Jesus' death and resurrection we have overcome our captivity; and through the Spirit God is involved in the situation of people. Being committed to this faith churches cannot live in isolation from society. Churches need to be aware that they and their members encounter the living Christ with and among the discarbed people. These people are excluded from the material and spiritual resources they require for sustaining their lives. People's material living conditions impact on their spiritual life. Churches cannot exist in isolation from the society in
which we live. Neither can churches ignore the plight under which people live. For religious tradition, it is our intention that an accurate and sensitive account of Christianity should be informed by an objective and sophisticated application of perspectives from the social sciences. Theologies of liberation, struggle and protest have made a major contribution to today's theological debate. They have had considerable impact in Latin America and many other parts of the Third World, and are by no means examples of armchair theology. But there comes a time when Christian theology must address a rather different agenda, not neglecting the concern of the poor in the biblical way as Jesus did.Thesis (M.A)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004.
36
Ndou, Muthuphei Rufus. "The gospel and Venda culture : an analysis of factors which hindered or facilitated the acceptance of Christianity by the Vhavenda." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/23823.
Full text
37
Warmback, Andrew Edward. "Constructing an oikotheology : the environment, poverty and the church in South Africa." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1753.
Full textAbstract:
South Africa is a country of great natural resources yet suffers from high levels of poverty. This study looks at the relationship between the environment and poverty in South Africa and the role of the church in this context. There is a focus on the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (CPSA) and on one of its dioceses, the Diocese of Umzimvubu. While the church in South Africa has been conscious of its responsibility in eradicating poverty, it has not expressed a strong concern for the environment, less still has it been conscious that this concern is closely connected to the task of eradicating poverty. The metaphor of the oikos (or household) of God is explored as a metaphor that may be usefully employed to help describe the relationship
between the environment and poverty. It is proposed that an oikotheology be
constructed to enable the church to engage with both the ecological and the economic aspects of the environment. This study asserts that the preservation and enhancement of the environment impacts positively on the alleviation of poverty. What is also needed, and often neglected, is to ensure that the resources of the environment are accessible to all and equitably distributed. Theological resources that articulate an oikotheology for the South African context are explored, and possible actions for the church promoted.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
38
Mphaphuli, Ntshengedzeni John. "The changing face of South Africa : the challenge of multiculturalism in the local churches and the early church." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/2339.
Full text
39
Schutte, Philippus Jacobus Wilhelmus. "Evangelisasie in die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika." Thesis, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17699.
Full textAbstract:
Text in AfrikaansEvangelisasiewerk het in die Hervormde Kerk nog nooit regtig van die grand af gekom nie. Jaar na jaar word daar op vergaderings verslag gedoen dat daar in die meeste gemeentes op hierdie gebied nie·veel gebeur nie. Hierdie studie het gevra na die werklike stand van sake tans in die Kerk; die paradigmaverskuiwing wat besig is om plaas te vind; en na 'n moontlike nuwe teorie om die huidige praxis mee te probeer wysig. Die resultate van die ondersoek het die volgende opgelewer: - Tans is daar ongeveer 15% van die gemeentes wat hoegenaamd op 'n georganiseerde wyse by evangelisasiewerk betrokke is; - 0,38% van die totale lidmaattal van die Kerk is toegerus vir evangelisasiewerk, en gebruik hulle opleiding; - Die Kerk het egter reeds die regte besluite in sy vergaderings geneem, soos bv dat die gemeente die evangelis is en dat elke lidmaat betrokke moet wees. Hierdie besluite moet geimplementeer word. Myns insiens kan dit alleen gebeur wanneer daar op gemeentevlak met harde teologiese arbeid deelgeneem word aan die huidige gesprek random 'n prakties-teologiese ekklesiologie.
When the annual reports of the Hervormde Kerk are being studied, it becomes clear that the church finds itself in a crisis. The essence of this crisis manifests itself in the fact that the church is not evangelising the world as it is suppose to do. This study was undertaken to ask what is really going on in the field of evangelisation in the church; to look at the paradigm shift that is taken place at the moment; and, to ask for a new theory to try to alter the current praxis. The results of this study are: - Only 15% of the congregations of the church are involved in organised evangelisation activities; - 0,38% of churchmembers are trained and are using their training to do evangelisation; - The church has already realised that the congregation is suppose to be the evangelist and that every member must be involved in this ministry. But it has not yet come from the ground. This can only happen, I believe, when the congregation starts to participate in finding an ecclesiology for the time and context that we are living in.
Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology
Th. D. (Praktiese Teologie)
40
Phaswana, Ntavhanyeni Sampson. "Marital problems in religiously mixed marriages amongst the Vhavenda people of South Africa : an African-Christian perspective." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/15765.
Full textAbstract:
Marriages with differences in religion are a source of misunderstanding, friction, and disharmony,
and as a result, such marriages are exposed to a breakdown. Religion is not merely a set of
beliefs, but a way of living and thinking. When this differs, it causes misunderstanding in the
family and may cause marriage failure as adjustments to each other becomes compocated. D vorce
is much more common in mixed marriages whether of different culture, religious or
socio-economic background than when the backgrounds are similar. Religious similarity is linked
to marital durability.
The researcher wanted to indicate through this work that the increase of. marriages
between people of different religious faiths does not really matter to people any longer. It
is proved in this research that the outcome of such marriages is in most cases disastrous.
Mixed marriages are the object of attention in every society because of their life meaning.
Marriage is more than a relationship between individuals. It involves many more people, It is
suggested in this study that African traditional methods like mahundwane (camping or a miniature
village), betrothal and the giving of thakha (bride wealth} in marriage should be used to prevent
both mixed marriages and marital problems which usually leads to marriage breakdown.Religious Studies and Arabic
D. Litt et Phil. (Religious Studies)
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Ketshabile, Kenaleone. "Methodist Burial Rites: An Inquiry into the Inculturation of Christianity among Barolong of Mahikeng, South Africa." Thesis, 2012. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/3738.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation is an historical and missiological study of the burial rites of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa among Barolong Methodists of Mahikeng in South Africa. It examines how the burial rites of this Church reflect the informal adaptation of traditional cultural practices by Barolong Methodists of Mahikeng. The dissertation argues that the official rubrics of Barolong Methodism need to be aligned with informal contextualization already apparent in contemporary Barolong Methodist burial practices.
First, the project analyzes the historical genesis of Methodism among Barolong chiefdoms of South Africa through the work of the nineteenth century Wesleyan missionaries. It explores the social, political and cultural dynamics among the Barolong at the time Methodism was introduced in the early 1800s. The study argues that these dynamics partly account for how the Wesleyan missionaries formed opinions about Barolong burial practices. Second, the study traces the historical developments of the origins of the burial rites of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa from the time of the rise of Methodism. Theological convictions that underpin the burial rites of Methodism are described. The study argues that the aforementioned denomination does not uphold a theology of life and death different from that espoused by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. The records of non-conformist missionaries, who came to labor in Southern Africa are examined, to analyze their beliefs about life and death, and the methods and rituals they used for burials. Barolong of Mahikeng‘s affinity to funerals and how this attraction interacts with the use of official Methodist burial liturgies also receives attention. Third, Barolong burial practices are placed within the larger framework of the burial practices of the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa. Fourth, the study describes and analyzes Methodist burial rites as practiced by Barolong Methodists from their adaption of Christianity to the present day. It also reveals how Barolong Methodists have informally contextualized the traditional Methodist burial rites.
The study concludes that the Methodist Church of Southern Africa has not undertaken formal contextualization of burial rites among Barolong Methodists. It recommends that the Methodist Church of Southern Africa incorporate the already existing informal contextualization of burial rites into its burial liturgy and take steps to consider formally what work remains to inculturate appropriate Barolong burial practices into the official rubrics of Barolong Methodism. Given the multicultural context of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the study makes further recommendations as to how the Church should embark on an intentional program of equipping its ministers for contextualizing the Christian message in a multicultural context.
42
Dlamini, Charles Robinson Mandlenkosi. "Conflict or co-operation : an examination of the South African Constitution and the church." Thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10530/294.
Full textAbstract:
Submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Theology in the Department of Systematic Theology at the University of Zululand, 2003.The purpose this thesis is an examination of the impact of the current South African Constitution on the church. The question is whether there is conflict or co-operation between certain provisions of the Constitution and the church as reflected in the word of scripture. The reason for this is that certain sectors of the church expected a Christian rather than a secular state to be established in the new political and constitutional dispensation. Some Christians were also not pleased with the protection in the Constitution of certain practices which are in conflict with Christian values and principles. Some of these are not provided for in the Constitution but in legislation. These include, inter alia, abortion, homeosexuality and pornography. This criticism is based on a misapprehension of the fact that both the secular authorities and the church or alternatively the political kingdom and the kingdom of God are ordained by God. They are mandated by God to perform certain f unctions. The state is representing God in matters of governance, good order justice and peace in the country. God holds it responsible for this. The church is supposed to be responsible for the spiritual and moral life of the people. It has to propagate the gospel of the salvation of humankind and of the coming of the kingdom of God. It is essential that there should be separation between church and state. Not only should there be separation between church and state but there should be structural pluralism. This is so because the state is not omnicompetent and has to allow other structures like the family, the school, the church and the university to play their own roles. Because of the separation between church and state the state should not decide for individuals what to believe or what not to believe. The reason for this is that the state is not competent to decide on what is true religion. It may also manipulate religion for political reasons. This is unacceptable in a democracy. Not only should the state allow freedom of religion, but it should also allow the church or members of the church to manifest their belief by adopting certain stances on issues. Religion has a pivotal role to play and seeks to influence society as a whole. Properly understood, there is no real conflict between the Constitution and the word of scripture. The Constitution provides scope for co-operation between church and state without each taking over the function of the other. The church has more than ample opportunity for propagating the good news of the kingdom of Cod. The Constitution provides for the creation of a democratic state based on the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, free and fair as well as regular elections, adult suffrage, a Bill of Rights policed by a fearless judiciary and a multi-party system. It also promotes openness and accountability on the part of the government These are not in conflict with Christianity. The Constitution also provides for a Bill of Rights which is regarded as a cornerstone for democracy and which protects the rights of the individuals including institutions such as the church. It also stipulates that there be equality before the law and that there should be no unfair discrimination based on the listed grounds. These are compatible with fairness and with Christianity. Christians can play an important role in clarifying the respective roles of the church and state. They can also seek to exercise a positive and constructive influence in the affairs of the country. In this way they can prove to be the real salt and light of the world.
43
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.
44
"A comparison between Christian and African traditional paradigms of reconciliation and how they could dialogue for the benefit of South African society." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1980.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation seeks to compare paradigms of reconciliation in African tradition (including African indigenous religion and culture) and Christianity, in order to enhance the reconciliation process in South Africa. The aim is to enable and promote dialogue between African tradition and Christian tradition, with special reference to the reconciliation paradigms they offer. In order to accomplish this, the first step taken is to establish what African tradition has to offer in terms of reconciliation resources. African traditional religion, philosophy and anthropology are identified as providing a conceptual basis for reconciliation. Certain African traditional legal resources as well as African indigenous ritual resources are also considered able to contribute to social reconciliation. The next step in the dissertation is to establish what the Christian faith tradition has to offer in terms of reconciliation paradigms. The following resources available to, and stemming from, Christianity are discussed: reconciliation in the Bible; the narrative of the cross and the resurrection; the inter-linked concepts of sin, repentance and forgiveness; the church as reconciling community and institution. After having elaborated on certain reconciliation paradigms lodged in both African tradition and Christianity, the next step is to explore ways in which these paradigms interact. In some respects, they are found to clash and disagree because of their differences and the discontinuities between them. Yet in significant ways they indeed connect to and complement each other. This dissertation seeks to highlight points of agreement and connection between the paradigms of reconciliation provided by African tradition and Christian tradition. Moreover, it seeks to illustrate that the two cultural and religious traditions could interact fruitfully for the benefit of South African society. A concrete example of such positive interaction and mutual enrichment is brought forward, viz. a "new" ritual of reconciliation that combines resources from both traditions.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.
45
Garman, Anthea Corinne. "What is really real? : A Feminist Critique of the Christian Symbolic Universe." Thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/663.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis critiques from a woman’s experience and perspective the Christian Symbolic Universe’s assertion of the transcendant truth, or the “really real” behind every day experience. My contention in this thesis is that the “really real” – the guiding and shaping force behind all experience – is knowledge created in the image of the elite males who crafted the Christian Symbolic Universe, and that not only does it not fit female experience, it also prioritises male experience in such a way that it damages women. Starting with my own experience I look at how the Christian Symbolic Universe functions as a tyranny for many women. I then examine how the process of meaning making happens, how vital it is to humans to have control and make sense of their experiences, and how those excluded from this process are also those who suffer most under the oppressive structures of society. I focus on symbols which are central to the teachings of the Christian Symbolic Universe which are particularly damaging for women. I look at the chaos and sense of meaninglessness that accompanies the process of critiquing the authority of the Christian Symbolic Universe. I conclude by looking at an identity for women like myself which allows us space to move and resources to make a difference for ourselves and for other women. I assert that everyone has the right to be spiritual, to have a symbolic universe which orients life in a purposeful, healthy, affirming way, and that everyone has the right to participate in the creation of meaning. I argue for the relativising of the category of truth so that truth takes its place alongside two other important categories: what is meaningful and what is powerful. I argue for abandoning the canon, the universal truth, and eternal symbols and rituals. The creation of meaning must be open to everyone in every generation. The “really real” is not a male God who controls and directs everything. The “really real” is the struggle to make sense of life and to have the power to do that in one’s own hands.Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996
46
Ngcobo, Bongiwe Fidelma. "The psycho-social experiences of unwed teenage mothers in faith communities : a qualitative study." Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/178.
Full textAbstract:
The current study investigated the experiences of unwed adolescent mothers in faith communities, the Roman Catholic Church in particular. The study was motivated by the fact that, despite the Christian sexual ethic, which prohibits sex outside wedlock, many young unmarried women in faith communities do become pregnant. The study thus sought to investigate the lived experiences of these young women, their psychological and social experiences of unwed motherhood in the church community. Factors contributing to teenage pregnancy, sources of social support and possible intervention mechanisms were also explored. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed, and thirteen (13) participants ranging in age from 18-22 years were interviewed individually and in focus groups. The results indicate that unwed teenage mothers in faith communities experience a range of psychological and social experiences, including frustration, feelings of depression, social exclusion and discrimination by fellow church congregants. Stigma theory and stigma consciousness were used to account for these experiences. Peer pressure and gendered power relations were cited among the causes of unwed teenage pregnancy, while payment of damages and re-admission to the community of believers following a confession were cited among the sources of social support. The study concludes that sex education and communication between parents and their teenage girls are essential in dealing with the problem of unwed teenage pregnancy. The study concludes with recommendations for practice and further research.Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.
47
Carstens, Johan. "Kommunikasie deur konfrontasie : Christelike sending en die Islamic propagation Centre International." Diss., 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/16346.
Full textAbstract:
Text in AfrikaansHierdie studie kom voort uit die groeiende behoefte onder Christene in Suid-Afrika om die evangelie aan Moslems te kommunikeer. Die vertrekpunt van die studie is in 'n charismaties-evangeliese teologie, 'n tradisie wat tot op hede nog nie ernstige teologiese aandag aan getuienis teenoor Moslems gegee het nie. Dit gee 'n oorsig oor die herkoms van Suid-Afrikaanse Moslems en konsentreer dan op die uitdaging wat aan Christene gestel word deur die aktiwiteite van Mnr. Ahmed Deedat en die Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI). Die ontstaan van die IPCI en die inhoud van hulle openbare debatte en publikasies word eerstens ontleed. Daarna word die programme van drie Christengroepe, wat pertinent op die aktiwiteite van die IPCI reageer, beskryf en geevalueer. In 'n slothoofstuk word riglyne neergele vir 'n alternatiewe benadering teenoor Moslems wat klem le op die plaaslike gemeente en op vriendskapevangelisasie
This study emerges from a growing desire of Christians in South Africa to communicate the gospel to Muslims. The starting point of the study is in a charismaticevangelical theology, a tradition which has not yet given serious theological attention to Christian witness to Muslims. It gives a survey of the origin of South African Muslims and then concentrates on the challenge presented to Christians by the activities of Mr. Ahmed Deedat and the Islamic Propagation Centre International (IPCI). First of all the development of the IPCI and the content of its public debates and publications are analysed. Then the programmes of three Christian groups that have have reacted pertinently to the IPCI are described and evaluated. In a closing chapter some guidelines are given for an alternative approach to Muslims which emphasises the local congregation and f~iendship evangelism
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
M. Th. (Sendingwetenskap)
48
Selokela, Oniccah N. "African women overcoming patriarchy : a study of women in Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) Church in Rustenburg - South Africa." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/1689.
Full textAbstract:
This study is an investigation and description of ways in which the Apostolic Faith Mission churchwomen are succeeding in overcoming patriarchy. It also gives a critical evaluation of the extent to which these women are successful in their endeavour to overcome it. Fifteen women from the AFM Church were interviewed using the narrative methodology. This method was chosen to give women freedom to narrate their stories without interference. The data collected was analysed using a feminist theoretical framework on what it means to be human and to be a church. To avoid repetition and to give a room for a detailed analysis, the study was limited to four stories of the AFM churchwomen. Furthermore library research and fieldwork were also used to give a broader picture in analysing the field research work. The findings of this study indicated that women ministries are not taken seriously and are not fully supported by the church. They are still struggling with the issue of partnership because the church does not trust them to be good leaders. It has been noted in this study that patriarchy is the root cause of the marginalization of women of the AFM church. However, the study has demonstrated that women are resisting patriarchy despite the struggles that they are facing inside this church.
The study went further to investigate some Biblical texts that advocate for gender equality and to find ways in which the Bible can be used as the source of liberation for both women and men of the AFM church. It has been suggested that the church should engage in the pursuit of Biblical directives for the Body of Christ. The scriptures prove that men and women are given equality by God and also some differences that clearly express the human diversity in general. So, the AFM women are challenging the church to recognise, affirm and celebrate them.Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
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Reddy, Dean Chris. "The apostolic faith mission of South Africa with special reference to its rise and development in the "Indian" community." Thesis, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/7415.
Full textAbstract:
This study of the Indian mission of the Apostolic Faith Mission of SA (AFM) covers a period of 16 years since its inception in 1930 in Stanger, Natal. Twenty two years earlier the pentecostal message was introduced to South Africa when the AFM was established. The two White missionary overseers appointed were C.S. Flewelling, from 1930 to 1940, and J.T. du Plessis, from 1940 to 1945. In this initial period crucial missiological
principles were implemented which were to play a major role in influencing the particular developments within the Indian section. The link between the pentecostal movement in South Africa and the Azusa Street revival of 1906 in Los Angeles, USA, emphasises the fact that the pentecostal message that was transplanted here was shaped by various factors in the racist American society of the 19th and early 20th century. The immigrant Indian community in South Africa, who came as labourers, were bedeviled by sociopolitical and economic factors which impinged on their evolution .
The resultant; feeling of insecurity created by these debilitating factors proved to be fruitful soil for the pentecostal movement, which offered a haven to this community on it he fringes of society . The development of the AFM Indian mission was due not merely to the efforts of White missionaries, as is generally held but also to dedicated indigenous pastors.The first three full-time pastors were Samuel Manikkam, David F . Williams and Henry James. These Indian church leaders faced various hardships in the ministry and, in spite of their shortcomings and their struggles, played an integral role in the development of the AFM "Indian"
church. In its development, the AFM has been characterised by a strong
conformity to White societal policy of racial segregation. The effects of this policy is evident in the sectional divisions existent within the AFM, and is indicative of the organisation's close alliance with the political philosophy of the status quo. Together with its ideological bias, the church's theological
conservativism has precluded it from involving itself in affirmative socio-political action in an apartheid ridden society. Further, the Indian Section has been plagued by numerous schisms, resignations and secessions, which has also contributed to the tardy growth of the AFM within this population group. In 1989 the Composite Division of the AFM had been established, comprising the former Indian, Coloured and Black Sections. The
White Section, or Single Division as it has now become known, has remained aloof from this practical initiative towards the formation of one church. As of January 1993 the Indian Section (and the other sections of colour) will theoretically cease to exist. It is clear therefore that the future of the Indian mission lay in the Composite Division, with its hope for one
church in one nation, and serves as a barometer of the coming struggle and reward for a society seeking to rid itself of the final vestiges of racial prejudice.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1992.
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Venter, Maré. "New thought in South Africa : a profile." Diss., 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17800.
Full textAbstract:
Against the background of New Thought history in general, the dissertation researches
the origins of the movement in South Africa. On the basis of primary documents, made
available by leaders and other informants, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews
and participant observation, the roots and history of New Thought in South Africa has
been reconstructed. Aspects of New Thought belief, such as God, Jesus, Christ, the
Bible, prayer, meditation, wealth, prosperity, death and reincarnation are discussed. It
becomes apparent that, with its syncretistic, flexible and open structure, as well as the
unique way in which services (weddings, christenings, funerals) are conducted, New
Thought offers an alternative to spiritual and religiously minded people in South Africa,
and shows potential to play a dynamic role in the cross-cultural bridging that is taking
place in a changing South Africa.Religious Studies and Arabic
M.A. (Religios Studies)