Thesis (MDiv (Practical Theology and Missiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The second half of the 20th century marks a paradigm shift from Christendom to missional theology with implications for missional ecclesiology. The being of a triune, missional God urges the church towards a critical-hermeneutical self reflection on it’s identity and calling in terms of evangelization and active involvement in an all-inclusive witnessing in the world. Missional ecclesiology emphasizes diaconial involvement in the world. The reflection of the Dutch Reformed Church on diaconia can be learnt in its conceptualization of missional diaconial work and how it is being implemented in the practice of the church. This ecclesiological development is being studied using the ministry of compassion of the Dutch Reformed Congregation, Onrusriver as case study.

Thesis (DTh (Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) was established in 1881 and 1910 respectively. As pointed out in this study both these churches grew from the mission endeavours of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). In April 1994 the DRMC and the DRCA united in forming the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). This church has as confessional base the Belgic Confession of Faith, the Canons of Dordt and the Heidelberg Catechism as well as the Belhar Confession. The church order of the URCSA is built on these Confessions and in particular on the Belhar Confession. In this study I argue that it was only after the unification of the mentioned churches that a history characterised by guardianship, subordination and semi-autonomy came to an end. However this may be the histories of the DRMC and the DRCA point out that, on a church juridical level, these churches where subordinate and to a large extent directly governed by the DRC. Here the model for the church planting as followed by the DRC will receive attention. By looking into the primary documents through which these churches were governed as well as the documents that formed the church orderly backbone of the mentioned churches in that, through their principles and stipulations, the DRMC and DRCA were organised internally, I attempt to evaluate these documents. These documents include the initial constitutions for the governance of the DRMC and the DRCA, the deeds of agreement between the regional synods of the DRC and the regional synods of the DRCA as well as the Deeds of Agreement between the DRC in South Africa (the Western and Southern Cape Synod of the DRC) the Synod of the DRMC, the first church orders of the DRMC and the DRCA and, to a lesser extent, the church order of the URCSA. Through their histories these churches were granted church juridical liberties. These liberties form the foundation for the initial development in the polity of these churches. The content of the abovementioned documents highlights these liberties as well as the effect it had on the theological identities of the DRMC and the DRCA. As the histories of these churches depict a strong strive towards reaching a position of ecclesial autonomy and the acknowledgment of their autonomy by the DRC, special attention is given to the concept and interpretation of ecclesial autonomy. In this regard I remark on the historical interpretation of ecclesial autonomy as it played out in the histories of the DRMC and the DRCA. Through the works of renowned Reformed theologians, I further look into historical interpretations of this theological principle, which is ecclesial autonomy. In doing this I attempt to formulate a specific understanding of ecclesial autonomy based on a particular interpretation of the Lordship of Christ. As outcome this interpretation shows towards the interdependant relation between churches. It can be argued that this impacts directly on the relation between the DRC, the DRMC and the DRCA, specifically in the ongoing processes of church re-unification. In a final turn in which I affirm vi the interdependent and interrelatedness between churches, I argue towards the building of a vulnerable ecclesiology which impacts directly on an understanding of ecclesial autonomy, the specific polity of a church, as well as on the structures embodied by a community of believers. Some of the tenets and convictions of Reformed church polity, as they are relevant to this study, are discussed in detail. In turn I use these principles in evaluating the church juridical position of the DRMC and the DRCA in the mentioned period. As such I point towards the strong deviations in Reformed church polity as it played out in the history of the churches within the family of Dutch Reformed Churches. In this regard I also point towards the interrelatedness of these churches within the broader social context of South(-ern) Africa. I argue that these unique deviations are to a large extent distinct from the ecclesial context of South(-ern) Africa. Concluding remarks are made in this regard. Through the unpacked notion of what is termed an ecclesiology of vulnerability, built on the interdependent relation between churches, I make brief suggestions regarding the ongoing process of church re-unification between the churches within the family of Dutch Reformed Churches. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk (NGSK) en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika (NGKA) het onderskeidelik in 1881 en 1910 tot stand gekom. Soos wat hierdie studie uitwys, het beide hierdie kerke gegroei vanuit die sendingaktiwiteite van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK). In April 1994 het die NGSK en die NGKA verenig in die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika (VGKSA). Hierdie kerk het as konfessionele basis die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis, die Dordtse Leerreëls, die Heidelbergse Kategismus sowel as die Belydenis van Belhar. Die kerkorde van die VGKSA is dan ook gebou op hierdie belydenisskrifte en dan in besonder op die Belydenis van Belhar. In hierdie studie redeneer ek dat dit eers ná die eenwording van die vermelde kerke was dat ’n geskiedenis gekenmerk deur voogdyskap, ondergeskiktheid en semi-outonomie agterweë gelaat is. Dit kan vermeld word dat die geskiedenis van die NGSK en die NGKA duidelik uitwys dat hierdie kerke, op ’n kerkregtelike vlak, ondergeskik was aan, en tot ’n groot mate regeer is deur die NGK. Die model vir die planting van kerke soos gevolg deur die NGK geniet in hierdie verband in die studie aandag. Verder het ek probeer om die inhoud van die primêre dokumente waardeur die NGSK en die NGKA regeer is, sowel as die dokumente wat as kerkordelike basis vir die interne organisering van hierdie kerke gebruik is, te evalueer. Die vermelde dokumentasie sluit in die oorspronklike Grondwette vir die regering van die NGSK en die NGKA, die Aktes van Ooreenkoms tussen die streeksinodes van die NGK en die streeksinodes van die NGKA sowel as die Aktes van Ooreenkoms tussen die NGK in Suid- Afrika (die sogenaamde Kaapse Kerk) en die sinode van die NGSK, die eerste kerkordes van die NGSK en die NGKA, en, tot ’n mindere mate ook die kerkorde van die VGKSA. Deur die verloop van die geskiedenis is daar sekere kerkregtelike vryhede aan die NGSK en die NGKA toegestaan. Hierdie vryhede vorm, myns insiens, die basis van die oorspronklike kerkregtelike ontwikkeling(-e) in die vermelde kerke. Die inhoud van die bovermelde dokumente wys juis hierdie vryhede uit sowel as die effek wat dit op die teologiese identiteite van die NGSK en die NGKA gehad het. Aangesien die geskiedenis van die NGSK en die NGKA ’n sterk strewe na kerklike outonomie en die erkenning van hierdie outonomie deur die NGK uitwys, word spesiale aandag gegee aan die bespreking van die konsep en interpretasie van kerklike outonomie. Die historiese begrip van hierdie term word verduidelik en spesifiek hoe dit uitgespeel het in die geskiedenis van die NGSK en die NGKA. Deur te verwys na die werke van welbekende Gereformeerde teoloë, word daar ook aandag gegee aan die historiese interpretasie van kerklike outonomie as teologiese beginsel. Daarvolgens probeer ek om ’n spesifieke begrip vir kerklike outonomie te formuleer. ’n Bepaalde interpretasie van Christus se heerskappy is hier as basis gebruik. As uitkoms dui hierdie geformuleerde interpretasie van kerklike outonomie op inter-afhanklike verhoudinge tussen kerke. Myns insiens impakteer dit direk op die verhouding tussen die NGK, die NGSK en die NGKA en hier spesifiek dan op die proses van kerklike hereniging tussen hierdie kerke. In ’n finale rondte gaan my argument oor die bou van wat genoem word ‘n kwesbare ekklesiologie. Hierdie argument is gebou op ‘n verstaan van kerklike outonomie wat wys op die inter-afhanklike verhouding tussen kerke. Myns insiens impakteer hierdie argument direk op ’n spesifieke begrip van kerklike outonomie, die spesifieke kerkreg wat uitspeel in ’n kerk, sowel as op die strukture wat beliggaam word in ’n gemeenskap van gelowiges. Van die oortuigings van die Gereformeerde Kerkreg komend vanuit ‘n spesifieke konteks, soos wat dit betrekking het op hierdie studie, word gedetailleerd bespreek. Ek het ook hierdie oortuigings gebruik om die kerkregtelike posisie van die NGSK en die NGKA in die vermelde periode te evalueer. In hierdie verband wys ek op hoe daar in die geskiedenis van hierdie kerke sterk afgewyk was van die Gereformeerde Kerkreg. Melding word in hierdie verband gemaak van die inter-afhanklikheid van hierdie kerke en die breër sosiale konteks van Suid(-er)-Afrika. Myns insiens is hierdie vermelde eiesoortige afwykings tot ’n groot mate uniek aan die kerklike konteks van Suid(-er)-Afrika. Slotopmerkings word in hierdie verband gemaak. Wanneer die konsep van ’n kwesbare ekklesiologie, gebou op ‘n verstaan van die inter-afhaklike verhouding tussen kerke, beskryf word, maak ek kort opmerkings rakende die aangegaande proses van kerkhereniging tussen die kerke binne die familie van NG Kerke.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As a historical document, The Genadendal Diaries should be read against the background of the eighteenth-century scramble by the West to conquer South Africa, among other territories. These conquering ventures gave rise to great political instability as well as the disruption and displacement of indigenous groups in the country. Between 1792 and 1796 – the period represented in The Genadendal Diaries – the authors of this diary, Hendrik Marsveld (from Gouda), Johann Christian Kühnel (from Oberseifersdorf) and Johann Daniel Schwinn (from Odenwald), tried, through their missionary endeavours, to negotiate ways for the inhabitants of Baviaanskloof in the Overberg to deal with these traumatic events. In addition, the three Moravian missionaries embodied a spiritual mindset as a way of life, thereby setting an example to the inhabitants of the Baviaanskloof settlement and trying to empower them at both an individual and collective level. As missionary action it was an endeavour to internalise the norms and values of the eighteenth-century Herrnhut model. As a church historical document, The Genadendal Diaries also serves as testimony. In this context a discussion of the relationship between gender, health and religion, as is evident from the unique nature of this diary in a predominantly colonial discourse, is of particular value for both current as well as for future theological reflection on related themes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: As historiese dokument moet The Genadendal Diaries gelees word teen die agtergrond van die Westerse wedywering van die agtiende eeu om onder meer Suid-Afrika te verower. Hierdie pogings tot verowering het gelei tot groot politieke onstabiliteit, asook tot die ontwrigting en ontworteling van die inheemse groepe in die land. In hul missie-poging het die outeurs van dié dagboek, Hendrik Marsveld (van Gouda), Johann Christian Kühnel (van Oberseifersdorf) en Johann Daniel Schwinn (van Odenwald), aan die inwoners van Baviaanskloof in die Overberg gedurende die periode vanaf 1792 tot 1796 – die tydperk wat in The Genadendal Diaries ter sprake kom – maniere probeer bemiddel waarop hulle dié traumatiese ervarings kon hanteer. Daarby het die drie Morawiese sendelinge ʼn geestesinstelling as ʼn wyse van wees beliggaam vir die inwoners van die nedersetting te Baviaanskloof. Daardeur het die sendelinge die inwoners op sowel individuele as kollektiewe vlak probeer bemagtig. As missionêre aksie was dit dus ʼn poging tot die internalisering van die norme en waardes van die agtiende-eeuse Herrnhut-model. As kerkhistoriese dokument dien The Genadendal Diaries daarby as getuienis. In hierdie konteks blyk ʼn bespreking van die verband tussen gender, gesondheid en godsdiens, soos dit uit die unieke aard van dié dagboek binne ʼn oorheersend koloniale diskoers blyk, van besondere waarde te wees vir teologiese besinning oor verbandhoudende temas vandag, asook vir die toekoms. Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za

Thesis (MEd) -- Stellenbosch University, 1989. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Much has been written about the history of the Moravian Church in South Africa and especially about Genadendal. In this thesis however, an effort is made by means of a temporality-pedagogic study to show the relationship, in the field of education, between church and school. The aim of this study is to establish the contribution made by the Moravian Church, especially in Genadendal with regards to education and schooling. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vele geskrifte oor die geskiedenis van die Morwiese Broederkerk In Suid-Afrika en oor Genadendal in besonder het al die lig gesien. In hierdie tesis egter, word 'n poging aangewend om deur middel van 'n temporaliteitspedagogiese studie die vennootskap tussen kerk en skool aan te dui. Die doel van die studie is om vas te stel watter bydrae die Morawiese Kerk veral in Genadendal ten opsigte van opvoeding en onderwys gemaak het.

In 1968 a group of Afrikaans believers protested that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa had remained foreign to their experience. They maintained that American leaders had dominated the Church. They also asserted that their cultural, linguistic and literary needs had not been adequately catered to, and that the work of evangelization in the Afrikaans speaking areas had been sadly neglected. Some headway had been made by the Church in the years prior to 1968 with translations, firstly, into Dutch and later also into Afrikaans. Advancement had also been made by evangelists into the Afrikaans-speaking areas of the Transvaal and the Orange Free-State. The history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in this country, however, corroborates many of the grievances enumerated by the dissatisfied Afrikaans believers. The predominance of English in the administrative work of the Church and at its educational institutions had always been a thorny issue, resulting in continuous friction between the Church leaders and the Dutch and Afrikaans-speaking members. Problems had also arisen with regard to the use of Afrikaans at the publishing house of the Church. Positions of leadership in almost every department of the Church had been filled by non-South Africans. As a result, by the late 1960s, tensions in the Church had reached a boiling point. At the end of 1968, at a special business session of the Transvaal Conference, the objections of the Afrikaans believers met with very strong resistance. No opportunity was granted to them to air their frustrations and grievances and, as a result, a number of delegates left this meeting in protest before it had been officially closed. This unilateral action resulted in the establishment of an organization called Die Afrikaanse Konferensie van Sewendedag Adventiste. This new conference was, however, considered to be schismatic and was never acknowledged by the established Church. From the outset, the Afrikaanse Konferensie set out to cater to the needs of Afrikaans-speaking people in very forceful fashion. Many people felt that this new conference had a legitimate cause and its membership grew very rapidly. It initiated a welfare society, opened up several geriatric centres, its own printing press and a correspondence Bible school. It also held, throughout the ensuing years, numerous evangelistic campaigns. By the middle of 1973, however, the opposition and incessant pressure applied by the established Church and the severe problems that had emerged from within the ranks of the Afrikaanse Konferensie, swiftly contributed to its demise, with most of its members eventually rejoining the established Church. At the time of the disintegration of the Afrikaanse Konferensie, the leaders of the Church resolved to strengthen the evangelistic work directed at Afrikaans-speaking people. They also determined to have more literature produced in Afrikaans, and to strongly promote the use of Afrikaans at the publishing house and at the Church's educational institutions. These resolutions, however, proved ineffectual , and in the years that followed, the work of the Church showed no improvement in its approach to the Afrikaans speaking people. Twenty-five years have passed since the demise of the Afrikaanse Konferensie and the Church finds itself, because of both, external and internal factors, in a position that could be considered decidedly worse than at the time of the formation of the Afrikaanse Konferensie in 1968. As from 1995, after a protest march by students on the campus of Helderberg College, instruction in Afrikaans was no longer provided at a tertiary level. The production of Afrikaans books and the translation of reading material into Afrikaans is almost non-existent. As a result, voices of dissent are once again being heard that the Afrikaans work is being neglected. This predicament in the Church can neither be ignored nor circumvented and the only way for the Church is to deal with the crisis in the utmost sincerity without allowing itself to succumb to it. The source of the problem appears to lie primarily in Seventh-day Adventist ecclesiology where a gulf exists between its interpretation of unity, and its understanding of mission in a multicultural context. Authentic church unity cannot consist only of an outer dimension whereby unity and mission are cosmetically combined. It involves a deeper internal dimension, where the striving for unity becomes a witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, while the mission of the church simultaneously embodies the obligations to cater to the cultural and linguistic needs of all of Christ's people. It is this essential synthesis that has yet to take place in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, where both these facets are to be fostered as complementary aspects of its total vocation. It is this fusion of unity and mission which will open the way for the Church to complete its mission, unhindered either by the polarizing and divisive effect of religious and cultural diversity, or by any misguided attempts to impose uniformity. In their quest for positive resolutions for the challenges facing the Church, its leaders must ask what it means to be "church" in the social context in which it finds itself, what precisely is its mission in the pluralistic, multicultural situation in which it is located and how essential is the Church to God's mission in this country? Judging from the nature of the dilemma that the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa still faces today, it appears that these are questions that have not been satisfactorily answered. After assessing both the past and present modes of the Church's operation it becomes essential for the Church leaders to do some critical rethinking about certain facets of its existing ecclesiology and its missionary strategies. It is just as important to systematically abandon the organizational structures that no longer fit the purpose and mission of the Church and to realign them with new paradigms that will effectively cater to the spiritual, cultural and linguistic needs of all the peoples of this country. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

The lay Dominicans in South Africa, originally known as the Third Order of the St. Dominic, consist of lay associates of the Friars of the Order of Preachers (or the Dominican Order). St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers in 1216. From the Order's earliest foundation, lay people were associated with its life and preaching mission. Originally known as the Order of Penance, it emerged out of the thirteenth century reform movement of church and society known as the vita apostolica. One of the most prominent of these was St. Catherine of Siena. Many women were inspired to follow her example. Later a rule was developed for the Third Order, also known as tertiaries. The tertiaries were first introduced into South Africa in 1888 by the Dominican sisters of Kingwilliamstown who accepted some women as candidates for the congregation of sisters. Later when the Dominican friars arrived in the country in 1917, Fr. Laurence Shapcote who started the first Dominican mission in Boksburg, accepted tertiaries. The first chapters were established in Boksburg, Louis Bertrand mission near Potchefstroom and Stellenbosch. The tertiaries were primarily a pious or devotional society of associate priests, solitary members (lone tertiaries) and chapter members. They emphasised the importance of the spiritual life, understood at the time, as attaining Christian perfection. From their origins in South Africa, the tertiaries included both men and women from the various racial and economic strata of apartheid society. The tertiaries grew and developed rapidly from 1940 to 1960. They had a wide appeal because of the resurgence of contemplation and the monastic life during this period. In some parishes, particularly African ones, the Dominican friars were training tertiaries as lay ministers. In this way the tertiaries anticipated the changes that took place during the Second Vatican Council and the greater role given to the laity in the church. During the 1960s, the first signs of a decline in interest in the tertiaries becomes apparent. Initially, the tertiaries responded well to the challenges of Vatican II but membership of the chapters declined considerably during 1970s and 1980s. The social conditions within church and society began to change. The changes allowed by Vatican II gave laity greater responsibility within the church as catechists, communion ministers, members of the parish council and deacons. This caused a crisis of identity for the lay Dominicans after the Council. By the early 1980s many groups had collapsed as fewer laity joined the lay Dominicans preferring to involve themselves in parish ministries than join a chapter. The lay Dominicans remained primarily a pious society. Some of the tertiaries involved themselves in lay ministries. In African parishes, lay Dominicans like Nicholas Lekoane, Joel Moja, Sixtus Msomi in Kwa Thema and Thomas Moeketsi in Heilbron rose to prominence as lay ministers. It was particularly in Kwa Thema that some innovative contributions were made in parish apostolates with the establishment of the parish ward system. However, the intensification of the struggle against apartheid highlighted the need for a more prophetic spirituality which encouraged people to involve themselves in social change. As an organisation the lay Dominicans were never involved in anti-apartheid work with the exception of a few of individuals - Advocate Herbert Vierya, and Jimmy and Joan Stewart, Major Mehan, Barbara Versfeld and Fr. S'mangsliso Mkhatshwa. Consequently, the lay Dominicans were considered, even by the Dominican friars, as increasingly irrelevant and neglected them in their ministerial outreach. By 1984 the Lay Dominicans were still in existence but even the National Promoter, Douglas Wiseman, called for the disestablishment of the lay Dominican groups in their present form. This never happened. During the 1980s, there were some creative attempts to revive and renew the lay Dominicans. The Dominican Family group was started in Cape Town that sought to bring together all the different members of the Dominican family: friars, sisters and laity. Another group was also established with a specific focus and mission as teachers in Dominican schools in Cape Town. This group developed into the Blessed Jordan of Saxony chapter. Even though the number of lay Dominican chapters declined, nevertheless, the organisation did not collapse. The lay Dominicans battled to come to grips with the challenges of a church that allowed greater participation of the laity in parish life. It was unable to transform its spirituality to allow for this shift in ecclesial life. Neither did it take up the challenges of involvement in issues of justice and peace. Young people did not find involvement in the organisation attractive and so membership continued to dwindle. The question remains whether the lay Dominicans can provide a genuine lay spirituality according to the mind of Vatican II? / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

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.

This dissertation reflects on the growing social problem of housing in South Africa, and reviews the contribution that Christians should make to address the issue. One basic assumption is that the Church as God's agent has a role to play in issues affecting the wider society. Drawing on the social teaching and pastoral care in the Wesleyan tradition, the Ubunye Free Methodist Church in Pietermaritzburg is dedicated to offer housing services to the poor including survivors of domestic violence, through the Ubunye Cooperative Housing initiative. The dissertation builds on the vision of Wesley and in dialogue with Paulo Freire, argues that 'humanization' is the key goal of Christian social witness. This dissertation then explores to what extent the Ubunye Free Methodist Church promotes humanization and what humanization means in the practice and implementation of housing policy. The research has unveiled that residents' training and participation in the running of the Ubunye Cooperative Housing initiative are some of the key issues, which need more attention in an attempt to bring about change. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

So much has been said about the involvement of the Church in socio-economic and political development globally, in Africa, and in South Africa in particular. The appalling fact is that division of the Church into several denominations, and also division along racial and tribal lines, has crippled the much-needed unity for rural, urban and human development. This division, especially when it is expressed within the body of a particular denomination, tends to cut asunder all the connections between the Christian faith, with its concern for love, reconciliation and justice, and the striving to make life worth living for the poor and the marginalised in society. The impact of the Church in community development is very likely to be zero if the Church is divided against itself within racial lines, doctrinal issues and lack of cohesive leadership structure. The focus in the present study is on the Assemblies of God denomination in South Africa. This Church fully reflected and manifested the racial complex of South Africa. The Assemblies of God denomination, instead of creatively making this racial complex a prototype ofChrist's wise blending of his twelve Apostles from various social and tribal backgrounds, used this mosaic complex to destroy and to operate as a divided people along racial lines. The justification for this found expression in the ways and manners in which important doctrines such as ecclesiology, eschatology, soteriology and Christology were taught and upheld by each group in the Assemblies of God. This being the case, the Assemblies of God denomination sought to contribute to development along racial and group lines. Some of the groups became involved in community development and made meaningful impacts. Others did not concern themselves with development, yet others found dualism, individualism and privatisation of faith as the best way to excuse themselves from community development and/or anything that has to do with improving better the life ofthe poor. Did the Church work together or did different groups engage development from their own contexts? The thesis is that the Assemblies of God failed to work together in unity. They operated as a divided group. This is an unhealthy testimony to the world, to whom Christ had told his Church to shine as lights in darkness and to serve as salts to preserve. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Thesis (MA (History))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Genadendal furniture was made in the small Moravian mission settlement of Genadendal (situated in the Overberg area of the Western Cape) during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Genadendal furniture not only illustrates the impact that the immigration of Europeans had on the development of a unique Old Cape furniture tradition, it also emphasises the influence that a specific world view or philosophy of life had on the design and manufacture of furniture. The origins of the old Unitas Fratrum can be traced back to the late 14th century in ancient Moravia and Bohemia (today part of the Czech Republic). This mission society came to South Africa due to the missionary zeal of the Renewed Moravian Church, which was renewed mostly through the efforts of the German Earl Nicolaus von Zinzindorf. As exponent of Radical Pietism this society accepted the task of worldwide missionary work. By the end of the 18th century there were already more than 18 Moravian mission stations scattered all over the world. One of the most prominent characteristics of the Moravian church was the importance attached to the fellowship of the faithful, and the social organisation resulting from it. Everything in the Moravian community was done to signify the equality of all people before God, expressed by standardised dress, traditions and social organisation. They functioned as independent, self-sufficient communities. Various trades and workshops were established in these communities to further the ideal of self-sufficiency. The missionaries from Europe were all qualified artisans, and they trained members of their communities in the various trades. The pervading spirit of independence equipped these artisan missionaries extremely well to transplant the Moravian furniture styles and traditions to South Africa. Genadendal furniture bears silent witness to the Moravian obsession with simplicity and quality. This furniture style with its simple, straight lines formed part of the Neo-Classical style popular at the Cape at the time.