This thesis proposes that Christian mission in South Africa should be understood in terms of liberation. To achieve this aim, the author listens attentively to Black Theology, and then responds from a position of solidarity to the double challenge which it poses: a negation of traditional mission and an affirmation of liberating mission. Since black theologians grapple with the concrete implications of their blackness, a white theologian needs to make a consciously white =esponse in order to do justice to it. Since Black Theology emerged out of the Black Consciousness movement and developed in dialogue with it, the study begins with an examination of the theory and praxis of the Black Consciousness movement. Then follows an overview of the two phases of Black Theology in South Africa, in which the emphasis is placed on the organisations and events which embodied this approach, rather than on individual theologians. In the systematic analysis of Black Theology, attention is first given to the element of negation. In this section the five inte=related dimensions of South African Christianity which cause black suffering are examined. Then an analysis is made of the element of affirmation: the liberating action proposed by black theologians for the eradication of suffering and the attainment of new human beings in a new South Africa. Since Black Theology has an holistic understanding of mission, attention is given to personal, ecclesial and societal dimensions. The final section is a white response to this double challenge. First, it develops the notion of liberating mission and conversian in the white community. Secondly it establishes a number of fundamental criteria for liberating mission. This final part draws conclusions from the analysis done in the earlier parts, and asks critical questions about some aspects of Black Theology. In this way the basis is laid for white involvement in liberating mission and for ongoing interaction with Black Theology. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

This study focused on the ‘silence of the prophets’ in the post-apartheid era. It sought to understand why the prophets, who spoke out so vehemently against the injustices of apartheid, did not speak out against the injustices of the government after 1994 even when it became blatantly apparent that corruption was beginning to unfold on various levels, especially with the introduction of the so-called Arms Deal. Accordingly, the study singles out Drs Allan Boesak and Frank Chikane who were among the fiercest opponents of the apartheid regime before 1994. The study traced the impact of the ideological forces that influenced Boesak and Chikane’s ideological thinking from the early Slave Religion, Black Theology in the USA and Liberation Theology in Latin America. Black Theology and Black Consciousness first made their appearance in South Africa in the 1970s, with Boesak and Chikane, among others, as early advocates of these movements. In 1983, Boesak and Chikane took part in the launch of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. This movement became the voice of the voiceless in an era when the members of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan African Congress (PAC) had been sent into exile. It also signalled a more inclusive and reconciliatory shift in Boesak and Chikane’s Ideological thinking. Whereas Black Consciousness sought to exclude white people from participating in the struggle for liberation, the UDF united all under one banner without consideration for colour, race, religion or creed. After the advent of liberation in South Africa in 1994, it became increasingly obvious that corruption was infiltrating many levels of the new government. But the prophets were silent. Why were they silent? The study presents an analysis of the possible reasons for this silence based on interviews with Boesak and Chikane as role players and draws conclusions based on their writings both before and after 1994. Overall, the study concluded that they were silent because they had become part of the new political structures that had taken over power. To sum up, the study demonstrates the irony of prophetic oscillation and concludes that no prophet is a prophet for all times. Thus, as a new democracy unfolds in South Africa, the situation demands new prophets with a new message. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Phil. (Theology)