Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Contributions in Christian aspects of communication'

A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of D. Litt. In Communication Science University of Zululand, 2004.
This dissertation reports the results of a study made of the forms of communication employed by Judaeo-Christian religious groups when they saw themselves as movements, compared to when they had become organisations. Beginning with ancient Israel, the study documents how forms of communication become elaborated during the organisational phase of groups' existence. The forms of communication used in Christian religious groups are documented from the rime of the eady Christian Church, through the Reformation period, through the 17* century to present-day Christian groups. The dissertation also reports as a case study an empirical analysis of the forms of communication used by the Cell Church and churches with cell groups, both of which are inter-denominational and host regular informal gatherings. It is found that these gatherings display the onset phase characteristics of Christian movements. From a theoretical point of view the research reported here provides evidence in support for the following Christian Religious Communications Hypothesis: Christian religious groups will use a limited number offorms of communication when they perceive themselves as movements and they will expand their forms of communication, as they become organisations, which forms special instance of Klopper (2003)'s general Theory of the Optimisation of Human Communication: Humans optimise a variety of forms of communication within a culture, to ensure immediate direct personal survival and to maintain their culture as a fongterm indirect survival strategy. By confirming the validity of the Christian Religious Communications Hypothesis, the research findings also provide indirect validation for Klopper's general Theory of the Optimisation of Human Communication.

This study examines the communication habits of the pilgrim Church with focus upon Vatican documents on mass media and social communication. Attention is given to the historical context of Vatican Councils I and II. As the Church engaged modernity, it shifted ecclesial organization from closed to become open. This study documents the importance of sociology, especially communication theory and cybernetics for Catholicism today.
It is argued that the pivotal event in the Roman Catholic Church's self-exploration for self-awareness and realization was the Second Vatican Council. At that Council, the Church re-examined itself and its own identity to come to grips with the modern world. The teachings of the Council were concerned mainly with the pastoral dimension of the Church and its self-realization. Reflexivity is an important theme of this study as it speaks about understanding the very identity of the modern Church. It is explained that the process of communication within the Roman Catholic Church is itself linked to this insight of reflexivity.
The first chapter shows that behind the pilgrim Church lies an emerging vision of the threefold offices of priest, prophet, and king. The history behind the Roman Catholic Church's transition from the First to the Second Vatican Council is provided. John Henry Cardinal Newman influenced nineteenth-century Catholic theology with his own study of the threefold office. In chapter four we return to the threefold office and examine the contribution of John Paul II. It includes an analysis of how the politics of the magisterium shapes Catholic social teaching. Chapter two examines the text and context of the Second Vatican Council's pastoral decree "Inter Mirifica". Chapter three provides a documented history of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communication and its teachings. Chapter five develops major tenets of a critical analysis of the communication of the post-Vatican II Church: attention is given to the discursive aspects of religious authority, argumentation, bureaucratization, and market culture. Chapter six takes a step towards examining the pragmatics of contemporary Vatican teaching.
This study concludes that there are three basic sociological and theological aspects of the pilgrim Church. These include a ritual approach to communication, the generational experience of Catholics and their respective attitudes toward Church teaching, and the important link in the faith's praxis between reflexivity and forming habits of communication.

A dissertation submitted in fulfilnent of the Requirements for the degree of D. Litt in Communication Science University of Zululand, 2002
In this study I looked at the issue of the Afrikaans language, which is most often approached from a position of strong vested interest, either in support or against it. This study was intended as an intellectual response to an intensely debated issue. It is a survey of scholarly and tendentious reporting regarding the status of Afrikaans and the other official languages of South Africa. As we move into the 21st century the .Afrikaans language has once more moved into a position of status, not for ideological purposes but for practical communication. Previously it was associated with the struggle for survival, and with an image of kitchen patios. As it takes its rightful place in our multilingual country, one in which the playing fields are levelled for all indigenous languages, major processes in society will determine its future and to what extent Afrikaans would function as an African language. For this to happen the language has to create a survival niche for itself, on behalf of the other nine indigenous languages. As one of the official languages it needs to create a space beyond hegemony and social legislation. By ensuring that it is always 'ahead and to the side' (rather than "on the side') of English and the other nine languages, the Afrikaans language will experience a growth phase continuing to interrogate its own traditions where people are empowered to use the language of their choice. The Afrikaans language must not be continually punished for its perceived complicity in apartheid politics but should be protected and advanced with an overarching structure of multilingualism. The downgrading of Afrikaans has not affected the language adversely; on the contrary it has triggered stronger support from influential persons and the rest of the population. It has found a new identity and status alongside the other ten official languages. Each of these languages should be encouraged to flourish with political will and patience. Afrikaans has a significant role to play in the 'African Renaissance' and remain an important language of all South Africans. Its role as a South African language can be redefined in terms of the constitution. In the words of President Thabo Mbeki, "when the sun rises, it must show a rebirth of South Africa, driven by the enormous talents of all our people, and made possible by the knowledge and realisation that we share a common destiny.
National Research Foundation (NRF)

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.

This study examines popular female Christian vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s, their images and their contemporary Christian music (CCM) lyrics. This literature illustrates how music becomes popular, and also how it becomes a powerful source of communication, which prompts popular culture and society to buy into its style and lyrics. The implications of this study illustrates the importance of image and lyrics and how certain female CCM vocalists had greater influences, impact and had the ability to make changes within their female audiences towards Christianity.

This thesis investigates the seven promises of the Promise Keepers movement using the rhetorical criticism method of fantasy theme analysis. In order to understand this movement, four research questions guided the study: ( 1) What common themes are embedded in the rhetoric of the Promise Keepers? (2) What is the rhetorical vision promoted by the Promise Keepers movement? (3) What makes the vision of the Promise Keepers movement so persuasive to so many Christian men in America? (4) Based on an examination of the rhetoric of the Promise Keepers movement, what can be ascertained about the motives of the movement?" In order to answer these questions, a rhetorical analysis was conducted on the primary literature of the movement. The analysis indicated that the Promise Keepers are trying to transform America into a Christian nation. The Promise Keepers believe that change can be brought about if men follow the movement's seven promises for Christian living. Through these promises, the movement emphasizes a patriarchal view of men in society. In addition, the analysis of the movement's rhetoric suggests that the Promise Keepers are not interested in political change, but moral change through the lives of individual men.

Economic globalization is a relatively recent phenomenon which has become familiar nowadays both in theory and practice. By definition, economic globalization is a transnational phenomenon characteristic of the post-industrial era and whose driving forces are respectively the recent technological innovations (as its engine), media of communication (information technology) as its facilitator, and political liberalism as its underlying political ideology, particularly after the collapse of doctrinaire socialism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union and its satellites. The phenomenon of economic globalization is ambiguous. It is a symbol of promise for some, yet a symbol of threat and alienation for others. It has both positive and negative effects. In effect, we can appreciate the dividends of economic globalization as they are evident in the growth of international trade, a tendency to universalize liberal democracy as a result of the failure of socialism and its command economy, an apparent international solidarity, economic prosperity as well as the triumph of the market economy. On the negative side, we cannot be blind to the obvious growing marginalization of the poor countries and the poor within countries, the demise of the nation-state coupled with social and political instability, inequality and social injustices between and within countries, ecological degradation and moral decadence due to blind interests in the market and maximization of profit. However, the negative effects seem to weigh more than the positive ones. This raises the question of how to respond to economic globalization. Two responses are analysed and critiqued in this dissertation. The first response, that of Samir Amin, comes from a Neo-Marxist perspective. Amin suggests a reversal of economic globalization altogether. This reversal consists in the reconsideration of the international socialism whereby each state should be allowed to negotiate the terms of interdependence with other states (poly-centrism). The second response is that of Hans Kung, who suggests a global ethic that could give economic globalization a human face. This economy with a human face is an "Aristotelian mean" economy; a kind of economy which is between the welfare state and neo-capitalism. The content of this global ethic supposed to underlie this economy is a set of values drawn from most of the religious traditions of the world. My contention is that neither Amin's international socialism nor Kung's global ethic constitute a satisfactory challenge to the power of the market and profit that are the main motive of economic globalization. Amin's international socialism is unrealistic and unreliable, particularly in this time when Marxist socialism has failed economically and has shown itself unpopular and unhelpful in practice. Kung's idea of global ethic is a powerful suggestion. Nevertheless it lacks a conceptual foundation which would redeem it from the risk of being a mere ethical contract. This conceptual framework should be an alternative to that of the Smithian homo oeconomicus that informs today's economy. The present economic order evolves around the neoclassical narrow understanding of the human being as homo oeconomicus. Thus, if we are to provide an ethic for the phenomenon of economic globalization, we have to build it on a concept that goes beyond the economic man. Such a concept should be an answer to the following double question: What/who are we, and how should we live given what/who we are? The concept that seems to best answer these questions is the concept of imago Dei as relational, central to the Judeo-Christian anthropology. The social, political and ecological implications of imago Dei as relational should help us to reconstruct the human community as the context of moral values, empower the state as the natural society that can work in partnership with the Church as the family of God, and finally consider those values that can help us to consider the enviromnent as something that is not at the disposal of human domination and overexploitation. The ethic of imago Dei as reIational is applied to the Burundian context as its testing ground. With the ethic of imago Dei as relational, the growth of the international trade should benefit the poor instead of marginalizing them, political liberalism would not lead to disorder which the profit seekers exploit to the detriment of the state, solidarity would imply equality and social justice as well as environmental care, and moral values would recover their priority over market judgment in which everything is referred to in terms of commodity. The implications of such an ordering are the following: the humanization of foreign aid and humanitarian service, the orientation of economic investment towards human promotion and not only for profit, a shift from self-enrichment minded political leadership to a leadership open to socio-economic empowerment of the poor as well as environmental care.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

Among other images, Scripture uses marriage as a picture of God's relationship to his people. Scripture also prescribes numerous ways for that people to build their relationship with him. In order to give Christian marriages as many tools as possible for bolstering of the relationship, this dissertation examines narrative, symbol, ritual, and memorials as a selection of Scripture's methods for "heart writing" or relationship building. These methods correspond to various uses of the Hebrew root zakhar, for "remember." Following the examination of Scripture's methods of "heart writing" through the use of narrative, symbol, and ritual, contemporary understandings of the physiological and neurological underpinnings for the deep internalization of relationship. The ideas presented in the first two chapters were explored in an empirical study which found that couples who utilize more narrative, symbols, rituals, and memorials in their marriages tend to also see their marriages as more sacred and experience the manifestation of God within the marriage. Groups were also compared on levels of physiological responsiveness (skin conductance, skin temperature, and interbeat interval) as a measure of emotional engagement during an interview that lead couples in discussion of narratives, symbols, and rituals in their marriages. Husbands in marriages that utilized few narratives, symbols, and rituals were the least emotionally responsive during the interview while wives in the same type of marriage were the most emotionally responsive. This dissertation concludes by translating some of the principles discovered into various methods of writing the marital relationship on the hearts of the individuals to build Christian marriages.
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Text in Afrikaans
Musiekvideos is 'n integrerende deel van die (rock)-musiekbedryf, hoofsaaklik as reklame vir die kunstenaars en hul musiekopnames. Musiekvideos is verder 'n wesenlike deel van die massamedia, in so 'n mate dat daar verskeie spesialismusiektelevisiekanale is wat 24 uur per dag op al die kontinente uitsaai, wat 'n aanduiding gee van die omvang van musiekvideos. Hierdie videos speel veral 'n vemame rol by die jeug as sub-kultuurgroep. Ook christenmusikante gebruik musiekvideos, en hul videos word gereeld as deel van christelike programme uitgesaai. Dit is gewoonlik een van die oogmerke van christenkunstenaars om die evangelie deur hul musiek uit te dra, en in die geval van christelike musiekvideos dien hulle dikwels nie net as reklame nie, maar word daar ook 'n christelike boodskap oorgedra, veral in die geval van verhalende en konsepvideos. Daar word na die rol van hierdie videos in die konteks van die christene se benutting van die massamedia gekyk en daar word onder meer 'n teologiese fundering vir die gebruik van die massamedia in die algemeen, asook musiekvideos in die besonder gegee. 'n Aantal musiekvideos van kontemporere musiekkunstenaars soos Carman, Michael W. Smith, Steve Taylor, The Newsboys, en Steven Curtis Chapman word individueel beskryf en vanuit 'n teologiese perspektief beoordeel om te sien hoe suksesvol hulle in die oordra van 'n christelike boodskap is. Daar word 'n vergelyking getref tussen christelike en sekulere musiekvideos en hoe sekere onderwerpe benader word. Sekere tekortkominge, sowel as positiewe aspekte by christelike musiekvideos word as deel van 'n missiologiese reflektering uitgewys.
Missiology
D.Th. (Missiology)

Dress plays an important role in Christian worship. The aim of this study is to describe the importance of dress in the South African Christian context. particularly within the Black Christian society. Two main ideas are covered: firstly. the emphasis on the use of unifonn as a factor influencing worship attendance and secondly, how a uniform affects the quality of worship. Personal investigations into various church groups in the Eastern Cape, particularly the St Anna Sodality, have indicated that specific uniforms are an essential sign of belonging to a particular church. Dress or uniforms also serve as a reminder of people's commitment to their faith. For some groups, a uniform develops a sense of identity, security and fellowship which may have been lost through past political policies. Most importantly the relationship between worship and dress can bring a transformative assertion of the self before God and fellow human beings
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
M. Th. (Missiology)

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a new technology which allows people to identify objects automatically but there is a suspicion that, if people are tracked, their privacy may be infringed. This raises questions about how far this technology is acceptable and how privacy should be protected. It is also initiated a discussion involving a wide range of technical, philosophical, political, social, cultural, and economical aspects. There is also a need to consider the ethical and theological perspectives. This dissertation takes all its relevant directions from a Judeo-Christian theological perspective. On one side the use of technology is considered, and on the other side the value of privacy, its infringements and protection are investigated. According to Jewish and Christian understanding human dignity has to be respected including the right to privacy. As a consequence of this RFID may only used for applications that do not infringe this right. This conclusion, however, is not limited to RFID; it will be relevant for other, future surveillance technologies as well.
Philosophy & Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Theological ethics)

Orthodox Christianity came to the Banyore people of western Kenya in 1942. The Banyore are Bantu speaking people whose language belongs to the Luhya group of languages. The Banyore live near the Uganda border; they are thought to be related to the famous Uganda Kingdom of Bunyoro Kitara. The first Christian missionaries among the Banyore were Protestants who came from South Africa in 1905. . The Orthodox faith reached Bunyore in 1942, through a Kenyan missionary from central Kenya, Bishop George (Arthur) Gathuna, and Fr Obadiah from Uganda. The point of note here is that the first Orthodox Christian missionaries to introduce the Orthodox Christian faith to the Banyore people were Kenyans. I shall examine the relation between Orthodox Christianity and Banyore culture, and show how Orthodox Christianity, in dialogue with the Banyore people, became indigenised in Bunyore culture. Thus Orthodox Christians in Bunyore do not see Orthodoxy as something foreign, but as something that has become part of their own culture.
Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology
D.Th. (Missiology)

Abstracts in Deutsch and English
Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit befasst sich mit der Wahrnehmung der Kommunikation von jungen Christinnen und Christen bezüglich ihres Glaubens, und welcher Begriffe und damit verbundenen Inhalte sie sich in ihrer Alltagskommunikation bedienen. Dabei lässt sie die Jugendlichen selbst zu Wort kommen, um sie in ihren Sprachmustern ernst zu nehmen, alltägliche Glaubenskommunikation sichtbar zu machen und so ein Verständnis innerhalb der Praktischen Theologie, besonders der Jugendtheologie, zu schaffen. Ausgehend vom Forschungsstand innerhalb der Jugendtheologie, untersuche ich an welchen Orten und unter welchen Bedingungen junge Gläubige über ihren Glauben sprechen. Für die empirische Untersuchung wurden zehn qualitative, leitfadengestütze Interviews mit jungen Erwachsenen durchgeführt, welche dann mittels theoriegenerierender Methoden der Grounded Theory ausgewertet wurden. Nach Kelle und Kluge wurden aus den Daten verschiedenen Typen generiert. Sie zeigen die verschiedenen Haltungen zur eigenen religiösen Sprache auf und reflektieren diese praktisch-theologisch, um so anschlussfähig zu sein und Diskursmöglichkeiten zu eröffnen.
The present research deals with the perception of the communication of young Christians with regard to their faith and which terms and associated contents they use in their everyday communication. In this way, it allows the young people to have their voices heard in order to be taken seriously in their language patterns, to make everyday faith communication visible and thus to create an understanding within practical theology, especially youth theology. Starting from the state of research within youth theology, I examine in which places and under which conditions young believers talk about their faith. For the empirical investigation, ten qualitative, guideline-based interviews with young adults were conducted, which were then evaluated using theory-generating methods of grounded theory. They show the different attitudes to one's own religious language and reflect them practically and theologically in order to be able to connect and furnish possibilities for discourse.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Practical Theology)

This study looks at the concepts of organizational commitment and communication. Multiple methods of ethnography and interviews were used to study teacher commitment to their school. Specifically, I focused on teachers within private elementary and secondary schools. Meyer and Allen’s (1991) conceptualization of organizational commitment was used as the basis for understanding commitment. Questions were asked of participants during the interview that focused on their commitment as it related to their attachment or identification with the organization, the costs associated with leaving the organization, and their sense of duty or moral obligation to the organization. I found that teachers demonstrated a five stage process towards organizational commitment. The first stage for the teacher is the calling to the vocation and/or school. The calling was found to have confirmations, be dynamic, and sustain commitment. The second stage is the enactment of the calling in the form of action. A distinction was made between action that was aligned with the job description and action that was sacrificial and went beyond what was required in the job description. The third stage is the result of this action in the form of conflict. Conflict was seen as an iterative process that involved the elements of person, peers, administration, and policies. It is at the point of conflict that a teacher enters the fourth stage towards commitment. This stage is seen as the decision stage. The decision to remain with or leave the organization was also based on the elements of person, peers, administration, and policies. The final stage along the way to commitment is perseverance. It is in this stage that the individual decides to persevere or commit to the organization. This study also found that negative communication, in the form of complaining can be perceived as lacking commitment to the organization. Distinctions were made between complaining that was aimed at organizational change and complaining that appeared to be for the sake of complaining. Teachers who complained for the sake of complaining were viewed as lacking commitment to the organization. This paper concluded with implications for future research.
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The study of the Church of Christ’s ‘Identity- and Mission-Continuity’ in the Zimbabwean context explores how the Christian faith should be interpreted and contextualised in Africa. The Church of Christ in Zimbabe (COCZ) is a Christian movement claiming to be representative of the ethos of the Church that was founded by Jesus Christ on the day of Pentcost. The thesis raises critical questions of Christian identity and transformation in missionary founded churches like the COCZ in an attempt to contribute towards a locally based study of the Church. Consciousness to being a Church founded by Jesus Christ has implications for Christian unity (oneness) and ecumenism in the COCZ, and its wider Christian networks1. Use of its theological tenets, which are indeed congruent with its projected identity, to explore its history when it came to Zimbabwe in relationship to its founding charism helped because of scarcity of literature on the history of Christian denominations in Zimbabwe. This thesis has followed four objectives that are related to the four stages of experiences by the Church Jesus Christ founded, namely, the (1) early Church, (2) reformation evangelism, (3) missionary enterprise and, (4) contemporary (African) expressions of the faith. This study has investigated the origin and reasons for the formation of the Church in the midst of others; and why its missionaries chose Zimbabwe where there were other denominations. Local experiences of the Church after the departure of white missionaries motivated this study with questions on how the process of inculturating the gospel in the COCZ raised, especially the tension between continuity and discontinuity, linking and delinking, similarity and dissimilarity as well as diversity and diference. Creative synthesis on what Jesus intended; what missionaries brought; and what the God of history is doing in the contemporary life and efforts of the Church were implied and/or explicated. Using a two-pronged approach to the study, the thesis has, first, unearthed (primary) documents like minutes from church board meetings by Europeans (with misionary thinking that developed from these origins), to contextual (secondary) documents (on how local theologians in the context have engaged the different Christian doctrines in the Zimbabwean context). Secondly, an empirical method was used to interview and distribute questionnaires to a number of individuals, inclusive of those who were in the COCZ leadership and ordinary members. Data collection tools were semi-structured, giving respondents freedom to express themselves and/or their views on what the COCZ was doing and what they believe must be done. Data from interviews and questionnaires were correlated with views expressed in the written sources. The data was interpreted heuristically, in order to give light to new knowledge that was being formed in the process. As an interpretive tool, hermeneutics (the phenomenological approach using Atlas.ti 8 (SPSS, Nvivo 8) - for verbatim transcription) was made key in looking into the context, culture and religion of the COCZ. The thesis attempted to create a dialogue by relating identity, communal ontology and epistemology to the empirical study findings, literature and the methodology. Ecology and gender were some of the indispensable aspects of theology, crucial for human survival, harmony and peace that were discussed because they were neglected in the COCZ. The thesis also revisted differences and similitudes found in the gospel in relationship to the intended and unintended 1 Unity and oneness expressed in John 17 [“Et Unum Sint” – That they may be one], emphasise the sociality of the Godhood through the doctrine of perichoresis, which is unity of the Godhead in the economy (our) of salvation. xiii cultural contributions of the Ndebele and Shona so far, with the purpose of repositioning the COCZ within its own transformative framework. This helps the Church with a strategy of how to model its theology in an African context and how to learn from its past with the view to transform itself for the 21st century Zimbabwe. The study is not exhaustive on the nature, history and mission of the COCZ, and many avenues like hermeneutics, church polity, public theology, conflict studies and church doctrine can be carried out using the COCZ as a case study. In all, the study has laid a foundation for the contextualization, evangelization, inculturation and incarnation of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the COCZ in a postmodernist society.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology