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This thesis is an historical analytical investigation and theological analysis of the fundamental trends of the ‘Third Wave’ Religious Right Movement and the growth of Zimbabwean Christianity. In an attempt to understand the appealing and growth factors of this religious movement in the Zimbabwean Church scene, the research focuses on the trends and behaviour of the Third Wave Religious Right Movement in Zimbabwe and the critical aspect of how this religious movement communicates the Christian faith to its audience. A critical thrust of the study is the question of whether the disciples of the charismatic movement are motivated by faith or economic factors which may ultimately not be the authentic summons of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The research addresses fears and suspicions of many Christians who are caught up between faith and fear response to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the New Religious Right Movements, particularly in Zimbabwe. The hypothetical statement of this work is that there seems to be a subtle reconstruction identity in the theology of the “Third Wave” Religious Right Movement as is clearly manifested through the maneuverings of Christians from the ‘traditional churches’ to these ‘newer charismatic churches in trends which reflect the changing religious geography and the face of African Christianity in general and Zimbabwean Christianity in particular. The research explores the nature, impact and significance of the post – modern ‘Third Wave’ Religious Right Movement in Zimbabwean society in particular. The identity and nature of the ‘Third Wave’ Religious Right Movement in its historical perspective discussed by means of identifying and analyzing the characteristics of this movement and its theological perspectives as well as discussing the factors that promote the growth of the movement in the context of Missio Dei (God’s Mission) and the society in general. Critical to this type of Christianity are the images of power and prosperity which are understood as signs of faith. The impact and effects of this type of faith expression in the socio-political landscape is fully explored. The primary methodology in this study is the historical critical method complimented by oral historiography. Both primary and secondary sources are utilized in this research in a holistic framework for analyzing the historical trends as they unfold in the context of religious declarations and transformations that are part of the phenomenon under investigation. The study observes the translation model of evangelization in the unfolding discourse of the ‘Third Wave’ Religious Right Movement. The study ultimately reveals how people’s economic fears and hopes in the midst of life’s challenges draw them toward religious movements which promise to positively promote a glorious life with practical results being realized “here and now”. This study has clearly exposed how religion, specifically charismatic Christianity, is seen as a package of an abundant life in the context of humanity’s needs and challenges. There is a clear obsession, in the charismatic New Religious Right Movement, with wealth and health as pedestals of salvation and a faithful Christian life. Surprisingly, there is very little reference to moral and ethical issues from the charismatic prophets who are the founders of these New Right Movements. The research notes that the interests of these newer right movements are in prosperity and health: “signs of being saved and blessed”. Lack of economic success is blamed on demons which also causes poor health hence the need to denounce the powers of Satan and engage on “the heavenly gear”. Such teachings have conditioned the prospective converts to seek after material benefits and values as critical aspects of the meaning of salvation and the mission of Christ. The study further reveals that the ‘Third Wave Religious Right Movement promotes a subtle way of making disciples instead of the traditional way of faith response to the gospel proclamation. But does this charismatic religious life have any relevance to our human situation today? The seven compelling chapters of this study have tackled this question and many others, pointing the way to an authentic Christian mission that is alive and relevant to the meaning of salvation in the context of orthodox Christianity. This study concludes that the Church is a catalyst which carries the keys of salvation to bring meaning and solutions to the varied human fears and failures that characterise the temporary nature of human existence. But in doing so; the Church must act in spirit of orthodox Christianity which is the sine qua non of salvation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

Les plantes se distribuent dans des habitats présentant une disponibilité variable en nutriment et s'y adaptent en ajustant leur taux de croissance relatif. Les espèces adaptées aux habitats infertiles, affichent un taux de croissance plus faible que celles adaptées aux habitats fertiles. Les adaptations expliquant cette distribution ont été identifiées, premièrement, au niveau des feuilles. Un fort taux de fixation du carbone et d’allocation de ce dernier à la croissance sont favorisés en investissant davantage dans des tissus foliaires contenant des enzymes photosynthétiques riches en azote, par rapport aux tissus structuraux riches en carbone. Inversement, les feuilles favorisant une croissance lente présentent une plus grande quantité de tissus structuraux que de tissus riches en enzymes photosynthétiques, ce qui prolonge leur longévité, mais restreint leur taux d'assimilation du carbone. Étant donné que les adaptations foliaires dépendent de l'utilisation des nutriments acquis par les racines, les adaptations de ces dernières sont essentielles pour comprendre la distribution des plantes. Le fonctionnement des racines est influencé par les mêmes variations dans le ratio entre les tissus à forte teneur en protéines riches en azote et les tissus structuraux. Les fortes valeurs de ce ratio améliorent l’acquisition des nutriments et soutiennent une croissance rapide, tandis que les faibles valeurs prolongent la longévité des racines, mais restreignent leur taux d'acquisition. Cependant, les racines doivent également explorer le sol dû à la mobilité limitée des nutriments. Cette fonction est réalisée en établissant des relations symbiotiques avec des champignons ou par l'allongement de leurs racines. Cependant, contrairement aux adaptations foliaires, la relation entre ces adaptations racinaires et la disponibilité des nutriments présente des résultats contradictoires. De plus, ces adaptations n'influencent pas l'acquisition des nutriments non directement disponibles, comme les nutriments organiques, qui peuvent représenter une proportion importante des nutriments du sol. Cela limite notre compréhension de la nutrition des plantes et entrave notre compréhension des mécanismes expliquant leur distribution. Afin de mieux comprendre la nutrition des plantes, des feuilles et des racines furent échantillonnées le long de gradients de fertilité. Les résultats ont montré que l'utilisation de nutriments organiques par le biais d'enzymes hydrolytiques augmentait à mesure que la fertilité des sols diminuait. De plus, une forte corrélation entre cette adaptation et les adaptations racinaires liées aux taux d'acquisition des nutriments a été observée, mais aucune corrélation n'a été constatée avec celles liées à l'exploration du sol. En revanche, dans un autre système d'étude, les résultats ont indiqué que les adaptations racinaires liées à l'exploration du sol, plutôt que celles associées aux taux d'acquisition des nutriments, s'alignaient avec la variation de la disponibilité des nutriments et se coordonnaient avec les adaptations foliaires qui permettent d’expliquer en partie la distribution des plantes. Dans l'ensemble, ces études ont approfondi notre compréhension de la nutrition des plantes et ont révélé différentes relations entre la variation de la disponibilité des nutriments et les adaptations racinaires influençant l'acquisition des nutriments et l'exploration du sol. Cela suggère qu’une généralisation des adaptations racinaires répondant systématiquement aux demandes nutritionnelles des feuilles est peu probable. / Plants are distributed across habitats of varying nutrient availability and adapt by adjusting, notably, their relative growth rates. Species adapted to nutrient-poor habitats exhibit lower growth rates than those adapted to nutrient-rich habitats. The adaptations explaining this distribution have been identified, first and foremost, at the leaf level. Leaves promoting rapid growth enhance net carbon assimilation by investing more in nitrogen-rich photosynthetic enzymes compared to carbon-rich structural tissues. This extends their lifespan, enhances their nutrient-use efficiency but limits carbon assimilation. Given that foliar adaptations depend on the utilization of nutrients acquired by roots, root adaptations are essential to understanding plant distribution. Plants possess also the ability to modify the ratio between nitrogen-rich protein tissues and carbonrich structural tissues in their roots. Similarly to leaf functioning, increasing this ratio enhances the efficiency of nutrient acquisition while minimizing carbon investment, enabling optimal carbon allocation for growth. On the other hand, they can decrease this ratio to prioritize nutrient conservation, which extends their longevity but restricts nutrient acquisition rate. However, roots must also explore the soil due to the limited mobility of nutrients. Soil exploration is achieved by establishing symbiotic relationships with fungi or through the elongation of their roots. Unlike leaf adaptations, the relationship between these root adaptations and nutrient availability yields contradictory results. Additionally, these adaptations do not directly influence the acquisition of non-readily available soil nutrients, such as organic nutrients, which can represent a significant proportion of the total nutrient pool. Thus, our understanding of plant nutrition is limited, impeding our understanding of the mechanisms explaining their distributions. To contribute to an enriched understanding of plant nutrition, leaves and roots were sampled along strong fertility gradients. The results revealed an increase in the utilization of organic nutrients through hydrolytic enzymes as the availability of directly accessible nutrients declined. Furthermore, a strong correlation between this adaptation and root adaptations related to nutrient acquisition rates has been observed, but no correlation was found with adaptations related to soil exploration. On the other hand, in another study system, the results indicated that root adaptations related to soil exploration, rather than those associated with nutrient acquisition rates, aligned with the variation in nutrient availability and coordinated with foliar adaptations influencing net carbon assimilation. As a result, a high degree of mycorrhizal symbiosis was associated with leaves favoring rapid growth in fertile soil. Overall, roots displaying a high density of structural tissues and a high degree of symbiotic association were associated with fertile soil across two different study systems. Altogether, these results have deepened our understanding of plant nutrition and revealed different possible relationships between nutrient availability variation and root adaptations influencing nutrient acquisition and soil exploration. This suggests that generalizing root adaptations that consistently meet the nutrient demands of leaves is unlikely.