This thesis shares the results of oral history interviews with members of the heterogeneous Doukhobor community in Canada. The stories and memories of fifteen different voices highlight the influence of intersecting demographic variables (age, gender, ideological affiliation, and geographic location) on the experience of Doukhobor life in Canada during times of sensationalized conflict. The interviews are framed and analyzed through broader questions of history and cultural sustainability. What considerations influence the representation of difficult Doukhobor pasts in Canada? In the contemporary context of unification and reconciliation, how does one speak of conflict? This thesis shows that discussions of the past surface considerable contradiction in the collective memory of the Doukhobor community; the results outline various individual and community strategies that are used to manage the past in favour of the present. Ultimately, this thesis locates memory as a social and cultural anchor that must support a history for the future.

Introduction: Rustenburg is a fast growing city in the world. This growth influences establishment of new faith based churches which is, in many respects at the expense of mission churches. The HIV/AIDS pandemic and diseases related to stresses results in movement of Christians from one church to the other. Christians are vulnerable when facing life stressors which results into changing allegiance to a particular church. This is a qualitative descriptive/ exploratory study Method: The researcher purposely selected respondents from the black Christian community of Rustenburg. These are those Christians who have moved from one church to join another .From these interviews the themes that emanate are discussed. Leaders of prominent churches were also interviewed . Findings: The qualities of church leaders have an influence on the movement of its members. The media, especially the local radio station has been widely used to attract new members. The availability of a pastor in times of need plays a vital role. Power struggles seem to disappoint some loyal Christians who may reluctantly leave the church. Financial benefits also play an important role in attracting membership. The faith based churches have grown both in numbers and in membership. Women with their healing power are active especially in the Zion churches. The help seeking behaviour of Christians also influences their affiliation to a particular church such as seeking / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

This thesis is initiated by the need for public dialogue between the church and the other. As a faith-praxis, public dialogue between the church and the other is a response to “binary opposition” or “dichotomy,” that is, the separation of faith and praxis, knowing and doing, private sphere and public sphere, Christian and non-Christian, text and context, educator and learner. As explored in Chapter 2, religion is presently characterized by privatization and does not provide an answer to the culture of separation in today’s society. Consequently, the ghettoized church behind the wall is confronted by a dual crisis—an internal crisis of identity and an external crisis of relevance. Therefore, to shape a dialogic relationship through public dialogue is an essential task of the public church, the so-called “go-to-all” church. To execute “public dialogue” as the commitment to “go-to-all” three actions are necessary: (1) going outside the wall of the church, (2) entering into dialogue with the “all,” and (3) making disciples, baptizing, and teaching the all. How will the church dialogue with the other? In view of these three actions, this thesis researches three main elements of public dialogue—(1) preparing a place/field for public dialogue, (2) formulating a new communicative pattern for public dialogue, and (3) exploring a medium for public dialogue. In order to achieve these elements of public dialogue, the patterns of public dialogue toward faith-praxis that the Korean church has shown historically in the public sphere were explored in Chapter 3. This thesis concerns an art-cultural pattern of public dialogue, particularly madanggŭk. Madanggŭk is a compound noun: madang (open place) + gŭk (theatre). Madanggŭk contains the three elements for public dialogue—(1) “field or place” for public dialogue; (2) a mode of theatre as a medium for public dialogue; and (3) the “communicability” peculiar to the madanggŭk. Through the practices of cultural public dialogue in the Korean theological domain and the minjung cultural movement centering on madanggŭk studied in Chapter 4, it is revealed that madanggŭk showed the four characteristics of mutual communication which are essential in formulating an alternative pattern of public dialogue: (1) rediscovery of the audience, (2) re-creation of traditional culture founded on festivity and a communal spirit, (3) their own stories and reality-reading, and (4) activity outside the theatrical world in order to meet the audience. However, madanggŭk also had the limitation of a binary opposition of social-directivity and artistic-directivity, tending toward social drama. Therefore, an alternative form of public dialogue to overcome this binary opposition was required. As an alternative with the purpose of shifting from monologism to dialogism, this thesis suggests “Trinity Madang Public Dialogue,” i.e. three models of madang public dialogue—Incarnational Public Dialogue, Critical Public Dialogue, and Festival Public Dialogue. The first model, Incarnational Public Dialogue, explores how to accept the other and the difference under the principles of otherness, unfinalizability and polyphony, proposing the culture of participative dialogue. The second model, Critical Public Dialogue, explores practical strategies for recognizing and criticizing the distorted communication and relationship of monologism, and for developing the audience’s competencies of understanding and criticism without merging into an authorial single voice, proposing the culture of criticism and transformation. The third model, Festival Public Dialogue, is suggested as a time-space for fulfilling both incarnational and critical principles and for the harmony of a rational and a sensuous nature, proposing the culture of laughter, play and the imagination. The principles of the three models should be fully realized in the Christian community before performing dialogic madang-theatre. When the Christian community preparing for this type of public dialogue is transformed into a “dialogic” community, it will promote madang public dialogue with the audience. The core of madang public dialogue lies in the formation of a dialogic relationship and a dialogic community, rather than in the performance itself. Therefore, in Chapter 6, The “Six Stages of Dialogic Praxis” through which the madang Christian community can be recreated effectively to form a dialogic community is projected. And, an “Incarnational-Dialogic Paradigm” is suggested as an alternative to a schooling-instructional paradigm of Christian education. / Thesis (PhD (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The Diploma thesis "Prophetic model of catechesis as a response to the questions of our time" examines the theme of the historical-prophetic model of catechesis. The study part of the work looks at the model in the context of the biblical concept of prophecy consummated in the personality of Jesus of Nazareth and as one of the manifestations of the participation of those baptised in Christ's prophetic office, realised in the evangelical mission of the Church. His sensitivity to social challenges, the emphasis laid on small Christian communities, and the entitlement to Christian engagement are viewed within the scope of the Social Doctrine of the Church and its development after the Second Vatican Council. The authorial part of the work presents original catechesis to the current social topic, read through the prism of gospel and Christian belief. The objective of the work is to show how the historical-prophetic model of catechesis can help adult believers understand the "signs of the times" and contribute to the growth of Christian community. The objective is to be achieved by submitting the topic to the members of two small communities and evaluating the results of the meeting.

Recent years have seen a plethora of research accomplished with respect to OT poetic prayers, predominantly in relation to the Psalter, with a least one ramification being a lack of engagement with the full spectrum of expressions especially within OT prosaic prayers. In addition to this, contemporary pastoral literature continues to exhibit an underdevelopment with respect to the full anthropological spectrum of expressions amidst grief especially within intercultural contexts. Observing both lacunas in scholarship, this dissertation operationalizes a Revisionist Method of Mutual Critical Correlation as its metamethod while incorporating Renewed Form Criticism, Hermeneutical Phenomenology, annd a Liberative Intercultural Praxis as it pursues a twofold objective: 1) an examination of the multivalent expressions (i.e., verbal, physical, and emotional) that leading Israelites pray-ers within the ancient context of OT prosaic prayers communicated to/before God while in the crux of disorientation, and 2) an investigation into the multivalent expressions (i.e., verbal, physical, and emotional) that leading Christian pray-ers wtihin an intercultural context (i.e., among Canadian immigrants from Guyana and Vietnam) communicated to/before God amidst the phenomenon of grief. At the heart of attending to this twofold mission is the configuration of an expressive domain of anthropological expressive modalities of disorientation communicated to/before God, along with their essence or meaning. Sensitized to such an expressive domain with its multivalent significance, contemporary pastoral caregivers would thus be better equipped to foster compassionate, liberative intercultural pastoral care for intercultural Christian communities coping with grief.

Text in English / This dissertation investigates the problem of significance conflict resolution as a meaningful ministry of the Church in ecclesial, social and political conflict. Recognising the fact that conflict has been an experience of humankind since the beginning of time the research focuses on the Church's role in socio-political conflict during the years of the National Party rule in South Africa. A number of theological and practical questions arise from the problem of conflict and its resolution in relation to the Church. The question is raised: does conflict resolution as a concept and strategy have a credible theological content. In order to explore this problem the dissertation first develops a theology of conflict. The theology of conflict forms the basis for a theology of conflict resolution. The thesis is that conflict, inherent in all human experience, is not good or evil. Rather it has the potential for destruction and transformation. It is the transformatory possibility that needs to be promoted. The thesis examines conflict resolution strategies of leading theorists and practitioners and tests them as viable approaches to be adopted by the Church. However it finds that conflict resolution will be accepted as a role of the Church if it can be formulated in convincing theological principles. An analysis of reconciliation and conflict resolution focuses on the way reconciliation is perceived in the political context. It then probes the theological relationship between reconciliation and conflict resolution. Reconciliation is more than conflict resolution. The scope of reconciliation includes (a) the initiative of God, (b) addressing the predicament of alienation, brokenness and distress ( c) through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ the Mediator (d) who reconciles the universe to God. However, conflict resolution has an indispensable role in the reconciliation process. Through the ministry of conflict resolution the Church facilitates confrontation between individuals or groups and contributes towards transformation in relationships where there is conflict. The thesis then probes the possibilities for conflict resolution to be an integral part of of on-going pastoral ministry in the belief that pro-active conflict resolution is a source of social and ecclesial transformation. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Text in English / This dissertation investigates the problem of significance conflict resolution as a meaningful ministry of the Church in ecclesial, social and political conflict. Recognising the fact that conflict has been an experience of humankind since the beginning of time the research focuses on the Church's role in socio-political conflict during the years of the National Party rule in South Africa. A number of theological and practical questions arise from the problem of conflict and its resolution in relation to the Church. The question is raised: does conflict resolution as a concept and strategy have a credible theological content. In order to explore this problem the dissertation first develops a theology of conflict. The theology of conflict forms the basis for a theology of conflict resolution. The thesis is that conflict, inherent in all human experience, is not good or evil. Rather it has the potential for destruction and transformation. It is the transformatory possibility that needs to be promoted. The thesis examines conflict resolution strategies of leading theorists and practitioners and tests them as viable approaches to be adopted by the Church. However it finds that conflict resolution will be accepted as a role of the Church if it can be formulated in convincing theological principles. An analysis of reconciliation and conflict resolution focuses on the way reconciliation is perceived in the political context. It then probes the theological relationship between reconciliation and conflict resolution. Reconciliation is more than conflict resolution. The scope of reconciliation includes (a) the initiative of God, (b) addressing the predicament of alienation, brokenness and distress ( c) through the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ the Mediator (d) who reconciles the universe to God. However, conflict resolution has an indispensable role in the reconciliation process. Through the ministry of conflict resolution the Church facilitates confrontation between individuals or groups and contributes towards transformation in relationships where there is conflict. The thesis then probes the possibilities for conflict resolution to be an integral part of of on-going pastoral ministry in the belief that pro-active conflict resolution is a source of social and ecclesial transformation. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)