Unemployment is a massive and rapidly growing problem in the world as a whole and in South Africa in particular. Its consequences have assumed proportions comparable to those of disasters caused by tornados and hurricanes. Social commentators believe it should be treated the same way as HIV/AIDS in the South African context. Yet policy makers and decision makers have not given enough attention to the problem of unemployment in relation to its devastation effects. Economics and its theories seem unable to provide coherent understanding as to the mechanism leading to unemployment on such a massive scale. The response of the Church to this problem have been indifference; either due to ignorance or to a spiritualised faith and emphasis has been on personal virtues and vices such as industriousness and initiative over and against laziness and lethargy. This thesis aims to give an indication of the extent and urgency of the problem of unemployment, investigate the impact of the phenomenon on the youth in Pietermaritzburg, and the role befitting the Church in helping people deal with the problem. This study attempts to present to the public the contribution of theology, especially Industrial Mission, to the understanding of unemployment. Most research in the field of unemployment has been done by economists and the availability to an audience outside the community of economists is extremely limited. Economists generate their ideas and research results in technical journals where emphasis is on the methodology used and established scientific terminology. This vast technical literature fails to reach the wider public debate about work. This study tries to avoid both jargon and oversimplification in the belief that the research effort must become widely known amongst the employed and unemployed alike. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

HIV/AIDS is a challenge that African society will have to contend with for a number of years to come. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region most affected by HIV/AIDS in the world. The combination of poverty, natural disasters, violence, abuse of women and children, social and political chaos, and mass migration to cities, all accelerate the spread of HIV. Equally, HIV/AIDS increases the risk of a household or individual becoming more impoverished and makes communities vulnerable to other infectious and poverty-related diseases such as tuberculosis. It presents a huge challenge to the church. South Africa's HIV/AIDS statistics are alarming and the nation is beginning to feel the impact through the loss of economically active people, increasing demand on health care, child headed households and increasing mortality rate due to AIDS. AIDS underrnines life and the great possibilities that our new democracy could bring. Faced with the devastating impact of AIDS, families and communities seek ways and means of surviving and carry on with life. They utilise every resource at their disposal to make a living. Making use of the sustainable livelihoods approach, this study recognises this fact and investigates how people survive, what resources or assets they have, how they utilise these, the constraints they are faced with both in a accessing and in utilising resources, and how the culmination of these efforts impacts upon them. Building on these insights this study focused on how the church at Hinge Township in Que'enstown could enhance the agency of families affected by AIDS. The study argues that the church can contribute by (i) addressing the underlying factors that contribute to the vulnerability context; (ii) building the asset portfolio of households affected by AIDS; (iii) chaUenging the policies and structures which inhibit the livelihood options of such households; and (iv) enhancing the existing livelihood strategies. Examples of each of these actions, drawn from the context of Hinge, are provided. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

From the inception of Christianity, Jesus Christ and his followers, who had worked closely with Him, had certain objectives and perception about the faith. Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the prophecies became the ideal of the new religion. In the fulfillment of time, God had revealed Himself to His people. Each person who accepted Christianity was urged to become Christlike. The major objective of Christianity was to reveal the Father and to win followers for Him through His Son. This was first preached to the Jewish people who were then the 'chosen people*. With the exception of a small community of followers in Jerusalem, these people rejected both Christ and His message. After this rejection, Christianity was preached to the Gentiles and spread to the countries of Asia Minor, North Africa and finally Europe. The major strategy of the propagators of the Gospel message was the preaching of equality of human beings as children of God and fraternal love. By the time Christianity came to the rest of Africa and Tanzania in particular, it had gone through various interpretations and modifications. It had experienced schisms and heresies and the African, who was at the receiving end, became a victim of divisions', sects and sub-sects. The missionaries addressed themselves to individuals and through the individuals to society. Their major aim was not only to convert the individuals but also society. Those individuals who became converted to the new religion accepted not only its ethics but also new religious values that contradicted their primal understanding of God. To answer the question of how they could become Christian yet remain African, some broke away from the European type of Churches to form African Indigenous Churches. Others felt that they were called to 'give light from within' their Churches. These were the revivalists and they are numerous in Africa. This study focuses on the Revival Movement (Uamsho), in the Anglican Church of Tanzania, which emphasizes 'new life'. The Revivalists who brought this particular Uamsho did not aim to form new Churches but to reform the Church, which had ignored some important truths of the Gospel. This study discusses the origins and Theology of this Uamsho in the Tanzanian Anglican Church. The first chapter, which serves as an introduction, includes also the reasons why this is an important study and the methodology used in the research. The second chapter gives background information about the political, religious, social and economic factors that have contributed to the emergence of the Uamsho. The chief aim of chapter three is to explain the emergence and spread of Uamsho. In order to clarify the development of Uamsho, three phases are identified. This order helps to identify the main theological emphasis of wanauamsho (revivalists). The Theological issues raised in the above chapters are then drawn out and discussed in the next two chapters. Chapter four discusses the distinguishing theological characteristics of Uamsho: the meaning of being saved, the processes that lead to being saved and the life of a saved one. Following on from chapter four, chapter five discusses the Uamsho understanding of Salvation. This is then developed to the discussion of the Uamsho Christology, Pneumatology, Theodicy, and Ecclesiology. The purpose of this chapter is to test the authenticity of the Uamsho theology. We finally conclude our discussion by stating that Uamsho emerged to revive the Church that had ignored some truths of the Gospel. This chapter also suggests some recommendations to the Anglican Church in Tanzania that may challenge to be relevant to members. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

Through the invitation of the then traditional ruler of Bali Nyonga, the missionaries of the Basel Mission arrived there in 1903. They embarked on evangelisation especially through the opening of schools. They studied the mungaka language, translated the Bible into it and made several other publications. However in the process of translation they concluded in strong terms that the Bali had no notion of a Supreme Being who created heaven and earth. Professors, Bolaji Idowu, Kwame Bediako and others argue contrary to such missionary assertion above, that continuity from the old religion is what gives meaning to the understanding of the new. It is in this light that in this work we seek to explore the Bali Nyonga conception of the Supreme Being. We will also investigate Christian understanding of the God of Israel; whether he is understood only in the light of previous understanding or they consider him to be somebody whom they had never known in their worldview. The researcher begins however with the basic assumption that the new can be understood only in the light of the past. This is because the people have a few sayings, which clearly indicate that their past is so much, cherished. They say for example that Bo ma ni ntun mandzi mfi kui tsed I nden beh [one cannot dig a new road without cutting across the existing road], ntan 'wo' ka gha bun nden ma mi be mbe I ti' la' be nto nkwedkwed [the hawk said it is not good for old people to all die, lest one day people would take them for meat]1. There is also the name Dayebga [one cannot forget his homeland or their compound]. After introducing the work in chapter one, the next chapter presents a historical overview of the context of research. Chapter three explores the conception of God among the Bali Nyonga. The findings of Europeans are first presented followed by the understanding of indigenes. Chapter four considers the encounter between two conflicting worldviews and its consequences as the Gospel and missionaries [two different worldviews] came into contact with the Bali worldview. The next chapter investigates Christian practice and their understanding of God. We have done this by analysing some Church hymns and prayers. Chapter six is a summary of the findings and a theological reflection on the results of the findings. 1 The hawk is not eaten. By this proverb it is considered that if there are no old people to pass on old values the next generation may do things that are digressions from esteemed values. This saying emphasizes continuity. Babila Fochang, Wisdom of the Ancients - Some African Proverbs, Witty Sayings and their interpretations drawn mostly from Bali Nyonga in the North West province of Cameroon, Dschang: Dschang University Press, 2001, p.4 / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

This research aims to carry out a historical analysis of "the contribution of Rainisoalambo, the father of revivals, to the indigenization of the Protestant churches in Madagascar" and also to enrich the field of historical research for the Church in Madagascar. The revival movement is rooted in the Protestant Church history, so this research is intended to study the concept of indigenization through the preaching, sermons and teachings of Rainisoalambo. There are two main Protestant churches in Madagascar: the Reformed Church (FJKM) and the Lutheran (FLM). The revival found within these churches inspired me to think about the power behind the Church growth in my country. Rainisoalambo contextualized the Gospel. He used indigenization as a strategy and its principles as a source of vitality for the Malagasy Protestant churches. He did not teach a new doctrine either. He helped the people of God to express their faith in Malagasy culture. In the 20th century, the revival movement shifted from the perception of mass conversion and dramatic social changes to the revitalization of God's people. Therefore, the fundamental question is: "What is the major contribution of Rainisoalambo as the father of revivals, to the indigenization of the Protestant churches in Madagascar?" My hypothesis is that the revival of Rainisoalambo made a major contribution to the indigenization of churches in Madagascar. Since "indigenization" is mainly the key word to be understood for this research, this study adopts a theoretical framework, which is informed by concept of cultural translation and phenomenological approach. Since this research uses a historical perspective, it is important to practice the historical methodology: data collection for primary and secondary sources, potential oral interviews, criticism of data through assessing the genuineness of information sources and the presentation of information in accurate and readable form. The analytical approach is adopted in this theoretical framework. In spite of times, the majority of data collected will be enough to accomplish this work. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

The history of conflict in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ) has had negative results for the life of the church. This history has seen at its best the disintegration of the strongest social cords that ever existed, including the indigenous resources ubuntu and ukama. In the communal life of the Shona and the Ndebele in Zimbabwe, the concepts of ukama and ubuntu challenge, in a neighbourly way, negative views that people hold against each another. This position is strengthened by Luther’s teaching on neighbourliness through the metaphor of “becoming a Christ for your neighbour.” This metaphor expresses the deeper relationship that exists within members of the same faith shared with those outside their boundaries. Luther’s notion of neighbourliness can be combined with the local resources to achieve unity and break tensions within the local communities in Zimbabwe. Divisions and tensions tarnish human identities and mar the future potential of people in the country in general. Besides, the tensions and divisions distract the vision and purpose of the church in society. An indigenous African theology of unity can be constructed to counter the dehumanization of humanity. This study attempts to construct a local theological framework of unity that can guide the ELCZ in the continuing divisions and tensions that exist. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Christian preaching is much like the liturgy of the Church in that we have been practising its arts it for some two thousand years and yet the impression is often given that we only began yesterday. Like the conversion to which preaching is a vital call, preaching needs to be re-learned in every generation. Furthermore, as the Church's missionary outreach stretches to the ends of the earth, preaching is done in an ever increasing number of tongues and cultures and must adapt to these new contexts. This is not a new situation: it was ever thus. From the moment the Word was spoken in its ultimate form in flesh in a particular time and place, it has enfleshed itself in the tongues, accents, mentalities and customs of people in all times and places. This central theological fact is underlined, highlighted and celebrated in the Pentecost event, in which it was impossible for the Word of God to be confined to a single mode of expression, but rather it had to overflow prodigally into every language and culture represented at that crucial happening. In a sense the history of preaching is the history of the Church and therefore can be used as a measure with which to judge the faithfulness of the Church to Christ in any particular period of history. Revivals in the life of the Church are led by and associated with revivals in preaching. Decline is associated with poverty in the pulpit. Hence we can learn the central lessons of our history by returning to the Church's history under this particular aspect of the state of its preaching. Today there appears to be a modern revival of preaching taking place in some of the countries of the developed world, most notably in the United States which must have the greatest concentration of educated and theologically educated laypeople in the universal Church. Catholic schools and universities have been the primary instrument of evangelisation in this part of the Church and now their alumni appear to be demanding of their pastors a preaching commensurate with their professional and theological education. This phenomenon would lead one to have great hopes for the Church in a time which many would judge to be one characterised by severe and multiple crises. Might it happen that, if the Church continues to encourage such a revival, this era will be judged by history as having been a time of significant growth in piety, practice and a deepened knowledge of God powerfully contributed to by an effective breaking of the Word? In the developing world, and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, history will certainly look back to this time as one of phenomenal numerical growth. It would be tragic if its backward regard also detected a failure to participate, in its own appropriately inculturated way, in such a revival of preaching. For what could be more important in a young and growing ecclesial community than that its preaching should mirror and promote its dynamism, enthusiasm, power and growth? Such an aim raises many considerations in many areas ranging from pedagogy and spiritual formation to the more prosaic ones of the availability of human and material resources. These and a number of related issues are broached in the following pages. Taking the traditional and rather Catholic phenomenological approach to the subject is divided into two parts - Preaching in General and Preaching in Africa - and an attempt is made to follow the see, judge and act process as we progressively narrow down the focus, finally coming to the very practical business of the teaching of homiletics, with all its imperfections and challenges, in 'English-speaking' Africa. In the final analysis, however, the standard of preaching will be determined by the attitude to it of pastors and their congregations, especially the leaders. It will rise or fall according to how seriously the Church, and not just the leadership, takes it. This work is one attempt to encourage the Church to rise to the challenge of making our preaching a high if not the highest pastoral priority in the universal and the African Church. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

This thesis critiques from a woman’s experience and perspective the Christian Symbolic Universe’s assertion of the transcendant truth, or the “really real” behind every day experience. My contention in this thesis is that the “really real” – the guiding and shaping force behind all experience – is knowledge created in the image of the elite males who crafted the Christian Symbolic Universe, and that not only does it not fit female experience, it also prioritises male experience in such a way that it damages women. Starting with my own experience I look at how the Christian Symbolic Universe functions as a tyranny for many women. I then examine how the process of meaning making happens, how vital it is to humans to have control and make sense of their experiences, and how those excluded from this process are also those who suffer most under the oppressive structures of society. I focus on symbols which are central to the teachings of the Christian Symbolic Universe which are particularly damaging for women. I look at the chaos and sense of meaninglessness that accompanies the process of critiquing the authority of the Christian Symbolic Universe. I conclude by looking at an identity for women like myself which allows us space to move and resources to make a difference for ourselves and for other women. I assert that everyone has the right to be spiritual, to have a symbolic universe which orients life in a purposeful, healthy, affirming way, and that everyone has the right to participate in the creation of meaning. I argue for the relativising of the category of truth so that truth takes its place alongside two other important categories: what is meaningful and what is powerful. I argue for abandoning the canon, the universal truth, and eternal symbols and rituals. The creation of meaning must be open to everyone in every generation. The “really real” is not a male God who controls and directs everything. The “really real” is the struggle to make sense of life and to have the power to do that in one’s own hands. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996

The study explores the relationship of the evangelical movement in South Africa with the ecumenical movement. The focus of the latter was taken as organizationally embodied in the South African Council of Churches. The time period 1960 - 1990 was chosen for the study as this was a period of great socio political upheaval and testing for the churches. This was also a period that marked both the escalation of the struggle against apartheid as well as the accentuation of the differences that churches had among themselves as they were confronted with the reality of apartheid. The author believes that the trying times in view, 1960 -1990; best clarify the lessons that could be learned by both evangelicals and ecumenicals. The trials of this period presented the churches of South Africa unique opportunities for growth in the midst of intense struggles. The study seeks to unpack theological lessons that would perhaps not be as easy to see at a different time, for example under conditions of peace and quiet. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

The research investigates whether it is appropriate, practically and theologically, to think of the United Church of Christ in Chipinge, Zimbabwe as a community as set in the struggle against poverty. A number of key questions were asked and explored concerning the context of poverty in Chipinge, the theological grounds for understanding itself as a community asset in the struggle against poverty in Chipinge, and whether the 'asset portfolio' can actually contribute to the eradication of poverty. The thesis is rooted in a contemporary development approach known as Asset Based Community Development which argues that sustainable community life is built on what exists in a community rather than what is lacking. The theory and its relevance are explored in the thesis. Further, drawing on contemporary thinking about missiology and ecclesiology, the thesis argues whether the Church should understand itself as a 'community asset'. This leads to the use of the metaphor taken from Matthew 5: 13, where the people of God are called to be ' the salt of the earth' who would draw others together into a living relationship with God. It is argued that being the salt of the earth requires the Church to take faith into action through utilizing the God given gifts which are available in the Church and Chipinge community. Through a key informant survey of the pastors from seventeen UCC Churches in Chipinge. the thesis demonstrates that the United Church of Christ (UCC) in Chipinge, Zimbabwe, has a range of assets, or what we could call an "asset portfolio" which can and should contribute to the struggle against poverty in the region. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.