Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-102).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-102).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-102).

This study looks at how to interpret Paul's letter to the Galatians in the contemporary South African church. It aims to provide a Bible study method for doing this which accounts both for the context in which interpretation takes place and for the requirements of exegesis. To this end, use is made of a combination of contextual Bible study methods and a recent multidimensional exegetical model, all of which are currently employed in South Africa. Initially, the study surveys a range of recent critical approaches to the Pauline epistles, particularly as these are employed by South African scholars working on Galatians. The fact that different exegetical approaches focus on different dimensions of the text, reveals the usefulness of a multidimensional exegetical model. The multidimensional exegetical model of Rousseau, which functions within a communication paradigm, is then introduced as an exegetical guide. To meet the second requirement of this study, the question of contextual exegesis is examined. Particular use is made of the hermeneutical approach of liberation theology, with its three mediations of social analysis, theological reflection and practical implementation. The central part of this study explores the implications of contextual interpretation and multidimensional exegesis of Galatians. The pre-canonical, canonical and contemporary contexts which affect the understanding of Galatians are discussed, and the multidimensional exegetical model is used to introduce the Galatian letter as a whole. The last part deals with the practical questions of group Bible study. The exegetical and hermeneutical theory developed earlier is simplified to provide a contextual Bible study method and this method is applied to three pericopes from Galatians. The task of bridging the gap between the university and the church is not an easy one, nor one which is solved by a single Bible study method. The exegetical and hermeneutical questions raised here point to the need for ongoing interaction between South African community of biblical scholars and those involved in the everyday life of the South African church

A spirituality which facilitates authentic liberation is one which intuits the evolutive nature of human development. Justice and compassion are biblical descriptions of a liberation effected by the Holy Spirit in and through persons. The development of persons towards being able to embrace such qualities is set within three interconnected paradigms: a theological paradigm, a psychological paradigm, and a socio-historical paradigm. The theological paradigm sees the creative process as continuing an evolutive movement towards the wholeness of persons, society and the cosmos. Within this, persons are defined as created co-creators with God, and are given the responsibility of participating in the process which will achieve this goal. This paradigm is reflected in the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin concerning the evolution of consciousness within each material form, towards union in God. The psychological paradigm suggests that the evolution of consciousness within persons gives rise to the probability of the emergence of levels of consciousness capable of initiating and sustaining the manifestation of justice and compassion. In this evolutive process a boundary is perceived by persons between the ego-body as 'self' and the environment as 'not-self'. This boundary prohibits the emergence of the qualities of justice and compassion in human consciousness. The developmental process is constituted by the integration of the 'not-self' into the 'self' at each stage, facilitating the emergence of a consciousness which takes responsibility for the environment as 'self'. The socio-historical paradigm is defined by the perspectives on the world held by the poor. The spirituality emerging from within this paradigm is initiated through encounter with Jesus. It is concretized in a preferential option for the empowerment of the poor, which facilitates and sustains the integration of 'self' and the environment. An examination of the Latin American base Christian communities shows the characteristics of Church life and structure which facilitate the Church becoming the locus of development towards authentic personal and social liberation. The structure of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa is evaluated in this light, in order to encourage clergy and laity to rise towards their full personhood in God.

The Kairos Document ('KD' or 'Document') burst onto the socio-political and ecclesiastical scene in South Africa in 1985, presenting to churches, communities-of-faith and individuals the challenge of a decisive moment in the history of Christian opposition to Apartheid. The nature and extent of reactions and responses to the document exceeded the authors wildest dreams and most optimistic of expectations. This study traces the contours and discerns the patterns of reactions against and resonances with the Document in South Africa and within the international ecumenical community. The main focus of this research, however, is on the propensity and capacity of the institutionalised churches - and in particular the English-speaking churches in South Africa - to respond positively and constructively to a prophetic challenge, such that which emanated from the KD and the subsequent Kairos movement. One of the English-speaking churches, the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), is singled out in this thesis and subjected to an extended examination and analysis, relative to its response to the challenge of the Document. The main reason for this special reference to the UCCSA is that this church denomination had embarked on a major process of ecclesiastical and denominational transformation in its response to the challenge of Kairos. It is 'upon this process of transformation within the UCCSA that I seek to critically reflect and to draw some learnings from the prophetic legacy of the Document. The UCCSA also happens to be the church denomination in which I have been nurtured in Christian faith, practice and ministry. The work, worship and witness of this church is therefore the primary frame of reference and ecclesiastical context in which my own prophetic consciousness has been awakened and shaped. I am, as such, acutely aware that my research on the responses to the KD by the UCCSA is being undertaken from the perspectives of an insider and that my passion for and commitment to the prophetic role of the Church makes me no neutral observer. It is my contention, however, that the above factors neither compromise nor diminish the academic credibility and ecumenical significance of this study. On the contrary, my strategic positioning within the UCCSA enables me to undertake such research from a privileged vantage point of first-hand experience, readily accessible data and greater understanding which derives from such close proximity. Needless to say, I shall endeavour to be as rigorous and critical as possible in my appraisal of the UCCSA's response which, in the final analysis, is an integral part of my overall critique of the nature of the churches' responses to the prophetic challenge of the KD. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

This study intersects the disciplines of gender and development, feminist studies, and women’s theology. It is located within the socio-economic and political context of the region of Vulindlela, on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its subjects are poor and marginalised indigenous African women of faith who live in the area and attend the local Anglican churches. Engaging the theoretical debates of these three areas of gender studies, it argues that indigenous African women live by subjugated survival theologies. These working theologies are forged within a context of struggle for literal survival and give expression to the voices of millions of women in South Africa. Survival, it contends, intersects faith, feminisms, and development. Two potential locations of survival theologies of poor and marginalised women are identified in the study: the Mothers’ Union (MU), the Anglican women’s prayer union which is a part of the indigenous manyano movement, and a contextual Bible study group of women from the area. In the MU, an established site of women’s theology, rituals such as the wearing of the church uniform, extempore praying and preaching, and fundraising are practices which reveal aspects of subjugated survival theologies. In the contextual Bible study group, a new social site was established through the efforts of the author, in order to create a place for the safe articulation of these theologies. This aspect of the study explored the extent to which collaborative work amongst women across race and class is possible and the ways in which it furthers the liberative agenda of the women’s project. Employing postmodern notions of identity, subjectivity, agency, and historicised local knowledges, this study argues that survival faith needs to shape the way feminist paradigms understand notions of liberation, activism, and solidarity. It contends that these subjugated survival theologies pose a challenge to the academy and to the practice of the church because they are, in part, a resistance discourse which has not been recognised. The voice and agency of poor and marginalised women of Vulindlela is highlighted throughout and, the study argues, it is these voices that have been neglected in the women’s project. It is the subjugated knowledges of poor and marginalised women of faith that have to be recognised and recovered, if the women’s project is to truly reflect all South African women. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

Abstract available on pdf file.

D.Litt et Phil. (Semitic Languages and Cultures) / This thesis is an examination of “interfaith praxis” in the South African struggle for liberation, with particular emphasis on Muslim-Christian relations. We begin with an overview of the epistemological and theological contribution of “praxis” in European and subaltern contexts of liberation theology as well as the key dynamics of representation, conditionality and transformative activism in the history of Muslim-Christian relations. We then analyze and contrast “two histories” of Muslim-Christian relations in South Africa: one of Orientalism and the other of interfaith praxis. Through a close examination of two organizations - the Call of Islam (est. 1984) and the South African Chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (est. 1984) - we argue that interfaith praxis changed how Muslims and Christians in the struggle approached interfaith dialogue and theological reflections on the religious other. It was this interfaith praxis that contributed to the importance of religious pluralism in contemporary South Africa. Following through from the history and reflections on interfaith praxis, we suggest here the possibility for a new framework for Muslim-Christian relations called a Liberatio-Political Framework.