<p>The understanding and practice of leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa, in all spheres, is at the heart beat of this work. Questions and concerns over the quality of leadership in most countries in this particular region are reasons which have led to revisit and investigate the formative training of the current cohort of African leadership with a special focus on the ethical aspect of leadership. It is an assumption, in this thesis, that the contemporary cohort of African leadership received their formative training especially in the 1960s and 1970s and that they were deeply influenced by the black consciousness movement and, in association with that, by the emergence of black theology. In this respect, this research project explores the notions of ethics and leadership with a view to determine ways in which an appropriate leadership ethos was portrayed and articulated in the writings of selected exponents of the black theology movement, namely ML King (Jr), Desmond Tutu and Allan Boesak. The purpose of this work is therefore mainly descriptive: to map discourse on a leadership ethos in the context especially of black theology.</p>

The purpose of this investigation is to discuss the relevance of Black theology in light of the emergence of reconstruction theology. It offers a critical survey of a range of contributions on this issue, questioning whether scholars who have used Black theology as a form of self description should shift emphasis, from the paradigm of liberation to reconstruction. The significance of this study has to be understood within the context of the proposal to redirect African theological initiatives from liberation theologies to reconstruction theology. The basis for this call was the end of apartheid in South Africa, which signalled the independence of all countries on the African continent.

<p>The understanding and practice of leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa, in all spheres, is at the heart beat of this work. Questions and concerns over the quality of leadership in most countries in this particular region are reasons which have led to revisit and investigate the formative training of the current cohort of African leadership with a special focus on the ethical aspect of leadership. It is an assumption, in this thesis, that the contemporary cohort of African leadership received their formative training especially in the 1960s and 1970s and that they were deeply influenced by the black consciousness movement and, in association with that, by the emergence of black theology. In this respect, this research project explores the notions of ethics and leadership with a view to determine ways in which an appropriate leadership ethos was portrayed and articulated in the writings of selected exponents of the black theology movement, namely ML King (Jr), Desmond Tutu and Allan Boesak. The purpose of this work is therefore mainly descriptive: to map discourse on a leadership ethos in the context especially of black theology.</p>

The purpose of this investigation is to discuss the relevance of Black theology in light of the emergence of reconstruction theology. It offers a critical survey of a range of contributions on this issue, questioning whether scholars who have used Black theology as a form of self description should shift emphasis, from the paradigm of liberation to reconstruction. The significance of this study has to be understood within the context of the proposal to redirect African theological initiatives from liberation theologies to reconstruction theology. The basis for this call was the end of apartheid in South Africa, which signalled the independence of all countries on the African continent.

The thesis links African Theology with three notions: identity, mission and empowerment. Out of this linkage arise three interrelated themes that dominate the thesis. Firstly, different African theologies can be read as different modes of the quest for identity. The thesis demonstrates how the quest for identity in African Theology fits into political, philosophical, religious and other quests for identity in Africa, which are driven by historical factors such as the slave trade, imperialism, colonialism and neocolonialism. The responses of inculturation and liberation theologies to these historical factors of disempowerment leads to the conclusion that being Christian can be both liberating and fully compatible with being African. Secondly, the quest for identity in African Theology properly belongs to the notion of mission understood as missio Dei. This conclusion is derived from an examination of critical aspects of missio Dei. These include determining the purposes of missio Dei as being the restoration of the imago Dei and the salvation and liberation of humankind. The conclusion is also derived from acknowledging that missio Dei is effected through missiones ecclesiae and missio hominum. Thirdly, constructing mission as missio Dei leads to the notion of the quest for identity as a mission of empowerment and an empowerment for mission. A multidiscipline theoretical framework of empowerment leads to a stipulation of ways in which African theology, through a quest for identity, is empowering or can empower its interlocutors. At the same time the mission of empowerment becomes an empowerment for mission. This is especially significant in the light ofthe acknowledged southward shift in Christianity's centre of gravity. That shift implies African Christianity having a missionary responsibility that extends to the rest of the world. The quest for identity in African Theology is fraught with ambiguities, dilemmas and risks. But this is a price various African theologies are willing to pay in order both to help uplift the historically disadvantaged Africans and also to secure the future of Christianity on the continent. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

This thesis examines three prevalent models of community engagement in the black churches in the United States of America since the year 2000. It will contribute to existing scholarship by identifying theological motivations for community engagement by the black churches, and assessing the extent to which the black churches address and fulfill criteria for advancing liberation delineated from three generations of scholarship in Black Theology. This shall provide theological insight into the continued social relevance of the black churches. Existing scholarship has shown that the black churches historically have engaged the oppressed communities they have served by addressing their secular and social needs in addition to their spiritual ones, with a sense of mission to affirm human dignity and advance social justice. This praxis of liberation through community engagement was necessitated by the oppressive contexts in which the black churches were founded, and has continued in varied ways in tandem with shifts in social location of black people in America. Black church community initiatives have also been marked among three generations of scholars in Black Theology, who have delineated imperatives for which the black churches might engage their communities to fully continue the praxis of liberation in the present. The interrelated aims of this thesis are to discover the theological motivations of black church community engagement agents, and, to consider the extent to which the community engagement initiatives of the black churches of the twenty-first century address critical theological criteria from Black Theology for advancing liberation; each of which will help to illuminate theological implications for the continued social relevance of the black churches. This project requires an examination of contemporary models of black church community engagement in their own social reality. The models of community engagement that are researched are grass-roots movements where black churchpersons use non-violent direct action to advance particular social justice causes, community development corporations where churches filter grant money from the government to create economic opportunities for their local communities, and megachurch initiatives where congregations use the revenue of their large memberships to effect positive change in their communities. Local examples of each model are examined from a grounded theory approach through interviews with clergy and community workers, observations of worship and program activities, and textual analysis of bulletins, websites, and brochures.

In this dissertation I shall give a brief historical survey of Black Theology and the African Independent Churches (AI Cs). The study focuses mainly to the developments of the two trends in South Africa. This was done after realising that Black Theologians often ignored the history of Black people, including that of the AI Cs which has in the end stymied their efforts. The immediate effects were negative in that little results were produced. ATCs and Black Theology have interesting histories which complement each another. I will present the current state of affairs and give some guidelines on how the future debate can be carried out. The two theological trends have weaknesses and strengths which are clearly identifiable. In chapter four I give guidelines for future debates and possible new developments. This study is also carried out to expand the scope of dialogue and constructive debate among the two. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Black theology and apartheid theology are theologies making use of an epitheton. The use to which the epitheton is put in these theologies is of crucial importance, that is, they are couplet theologies being used in a subjective genitive fashion. The question is whether the couplet becomes a theology of/concerning the epitheton or is it used in an objective genitive fashion. When the epitheton is used in the objective genitive sense it of necessity has to generate an epistemological break in order to distinguish it from orthodox theology. This in turn necessitates a conscientisation of a contextually predicated theology The theology becomes reductive. In this way an epitheton theology forming part of a couplet becomes attenuated and diverges from orthodox theology in the construction of its theology. This can lead to the espousal of heretical teachings. Conclusion: The conclusion arrived at is the objective genitive sense, that an epitheton theology, in for the purpose of advancing a particular secular base or pseudo-theological base for Christian society, once it has gained a life of its own, will lead to heresy unless erroneous or sinful teachings are confessed and repented of. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

One of the presuppositions of the present research is that readers and their contexts play a significant role in the interpretation of biblical texts. The key text of this thesis is Proverbs 31: 10-31 and the main readers are African women in a kyriarchal South African (Northern Sotho) context. Given their context of a multiplicity of oppressive forces ( racism, sexism, classism and African culture), how can these women read Proverbs 31: 10-31 appropriately with a view to their liberation? The researcher proposes a new woman's liberationist perspective, a Bosadi perspective, a perspective committed amongst others, to the African-ness of the African woman in South Africa. The question is: If Proverbs 31:10-31 is read from a Bosadi (Womanhood) perspective, how will the Northern Sotho women in a South African context find the text - a text emerging from a kyriarchal Hebraic culture? Will they find it to be oppressive or liberative or will it be found to be containing both elements? The present researcher, like many reformist women liberation biblical scholars (cf some feminists and womanists ), argues that though the Bible emerged from patriarchal cultures, and contains elements oppressive to women, it also has liberative elements. Through the use of socio-critical hermeneutics, reception criticism and historical-criticism, evidence supporting this came to light as the present researcher re-read Proverbs 31:10-31 from a Bosadi critical perspective. It is therefore argued that when the Bible was used by the previous proponents of apartheid to subordinate people of other races, Black Theologians re-read the Bible from a Black perspective and used it for the racial liberation of Black South Africans. Likewise, an average South African woman, particularly an African woman, is basically a victim of male interpreters who use the Bible to subordinate women. It is the task of all African women to take the responsibility upon themselves to use appropriate tools in re-reading the Bible in order to discover that the Bible does not only alienate them, it is also the liberating word; the word which makes more sense to them because of their relationship with the Word which became flesh (Jn 1:1). / D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)

Magister Theologiae - MTh / The purpose of this investigation is to discuss the relevance of Black theology in light of the emergence of reconstruction theology. It offers a critical survey of a range of contributions on this issue, questioning whether scholars who have used Black theology as a form of self description should shift emphasis, from the paradigm of liberation to reconstruction. The significance of this study has to be understood within the context of the proposal to redirect African theological initiatives from liberation theologies to reconstruction theology. The basis for this call was the end of apartheid in South Africa, which signalled the independence of all countries on the African continent. / South Africa