This thesis deals with the Harambee as an indigenous lived philosophy and its capacity of empowering the poor in the Kenyan Anglican Church. From a historical perspective, it explores and scrutinises the origins, the definition and the philosophy behind Harambee. The thesis shows how Harambee was incorporated in the Kenyan Anglican Church and how it has been used as a survival strategy in the midst of the dominant development models which have failed to address the social-economic and political issues in Kenya. The thesis notes that even though Harambee is promoted in Kenya as a cultural, socio-economic and political philosophy its basic orientation is in harmony with the Christian theology. In this regard, the thesis offers a theological understanding of Harambee in the light of themes such as creation, imago Dei, incarnation, justice, redemption, love and solidarity. In undertaking this task, the thesis attempts to shed more light on how Harambee is in harmony with the principles and values of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model. It argues that Harambee shares many concerns with ABCD even though Harambee has a Kenyan cultural flavour. Therefore, it affirms that Harambee as a lived philosophy is likely to empower the poor in the community, and the Kenyan Anglican Church should consider enhancing Harambee to mobilise the local resources. In view of this, the study highlights various projects initiated by the church through Harambee and it concludes by proposing that the Church needs to go beyond humanitarian programmes and initiate sustainable projects that can address the causes of poverty thus striving to make the twenty-first century a century of hope for millions of people who are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Black Theology uses the Exodus episode as its locus classicus for its view of God' s preferential option for the poor and the oppressed. The purpose of the dissertation is to determine to what extent Black Theology is scripturally justified in doing so. The investigation concludes that - i) the use of a praxis 'claimed to be Christian' in the hermeneutic of Black Theology, becomes questionable and unconvincing in that there is an illogical vacillation between a self-determined praxis-horizon and a text-horizon and that, ii ) when some aspects of Black Theology are measured using constraint criteria suggested by Kelsey, Black Theology exceeds the limits of acceptability by taking the exodus event as the locus classicus for the slogan that God is always on the side of the poor and the oppressed. While for some Black theology is indeed an important new stage in theologizing it must however be remembered that liberation theology, in Africa at least, is still in its infancy. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / Th.M. (Old Testament)

This thesis is an evaluation of the members of the missionary religious Congregation of the Holy Spirits' understanding of their mission to the poor in the Dioceses of Bethlehem and Durban in South Africa. The Congregation of the Holy Spirit was founded on 27th May, 1703, Feast of Pentecost. A group of poor clerical students knelt before the statue of the Black Virgin of Paris (Our Lady of Deliverance) in the Church of St. Etienne-des-Gres. Their friend and leader was Poullart des Places. This small group of young men consecrated themselves to the Holy Spirit so marking the foundation of the Congregation. In the year 1848 some forty missionaries of the Congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary founded by Francis Libermann in 1841 were integrated into the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. From its foundation, the mission of the Congregation has always been the "evangelization of the poor" (Luke 4:18). For the founders, the poor meant those who were oppressed and marginalized among whom were the poor students and slaves in the colonies. My particular concern, however, is to evaluate the members of the Holy Spirits' understanding of their mission to the poor in the Dioceses of Bethlehem and Durban in South Africa. How do Spiritans in these two dioceses understand or interpret "the poor" whom they serve? How does this contemporary South African Spiritan understanding of the poor match with that of the founders or constitution of the Congregation? My response to these questions is an affirmation. In the evaluation, we will discover that the poor in the dioceses of Bethlehem and Durban include those who are unemployed, HIV/AIDS patients, orphans, children and women who are abused, refugees / asylum seekers, street children and many others. In summary, it is noted that the poor are those who lack physical necessities, socially oppressed and spiritually poor. In faithfulness to the intuition of the founders, it is observed that Spiritans in both Bethlehem and Durban Dioceses are attempting to be at the service of the poor. They are serving the poor through the proclamation of the Word, administration of the Sacraments, visitation of people in their own homes, attending to those who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS pandemic, promoting the values of the Kingdom of God through justice and peace ministries and finally, Spiritans are working among the refugees, prisoners and hostel dwellers. Looking at these Spiritan ministries, it is noted that their choices of works are in accordance with the vision of the founders a well as what is in the Spiritan Rule of Life or constitution. Spiritans in both Bethlehem and Durban perceive their vocation as being at the service of these people. However, as religious, there are other elements which should be taken into consideration, such as prayer, community life and missionary spirituality. These are essential elements in the life of the members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. In general, the interviews show a lack of community life among members of the Congregation. This lack of community life affects prayer life as well. Other important elements include the need to revisit the idea of education and recovery of prophetic dimension of the Congregation where its members are always at the frontier situations. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Black Theology uses the Exodus episode as its locus classicus for its view of God' s preferential option for the poor and the oppressed. The purpose of the dissertation is to determine to what extent Black Theology is scripturally justified in doing so. The investigation concludes that - i) the use of a praxis 'claimed to be Christian' in the hermeneutic of Black Theology, becomes questionable and unconvincing in that there is an illogical vacillation between a self-determined praxis-horizon and a text-horizon and that, ii ) when some aspects of Black Theology are measured using constraint criteria suggested by Kelsey, Black Theology exceeds the limits of acceptability by taking the exodus event as the locus classicus for the slogan that God is always on the side of the poor and the oppressed. While for some Black theology is indeed an important new stage in theologizing it must however be remembered that liberation theology, in Africa at least, is still in its infancy. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / Th.M. (Old Testament)