South Africa is in many ways a traumatised society and the Bulhoek Massacre of 24 May 1921 in which about two hundred people were killed in a matter of minutes was one such traumatising experience. What makes this massacre special is that the victims were a clearly identi~able christian grouping who dared to question and resist the overpowering might of the state by cleverly establishing an utopian community which lived in a new and resistant time, with counter values and an alternative lifestyle. One of the key ideas which shaped the establishment of this utopian commune by Enoch Josiah Mgijima on what was declared Crownland were this-worldly views of salvation and the destruction of the world. Mgijima offered people a practical and pragmatic way in which they would be saved from this impending destruction. A lot of water as gone under the bridge since that fateful morning in May 1921. This study investigates present views of salvation among the Israelites, the followers of Mgijima, and the role of the memory of Bulhoek Massacre in the construction of these soteriological notions. The thesis argues that inspite of the extreme trauma and apparent disconfirmation of the original vision and hope of a counter society, present views of salvation must stand in continuity with the hope and vision of those who fell in 1921. Furthermore, the thesis argues and demonstrates that though they seek to transcend the limits and constraints of the present commodified structuring of social and material relations, present views of salvation necessarily have their basis in the' material context of domination, thereby rendering the soteriology of the Israelites as a contextual soteriology. Using the methodological framework of depth hermeneutics the thesis probes and interprets the various reading methods and henneneutic strategies that the Israelites utilize in the construction of their soteriological notions. These methods and strategies are focused on all four ritual festivals of the Israelites, viz. pesach, the Fast of Esther, the commemoration service of the Bulhoek Massacre, and the commemoration of the life ofEnoch Mgijima These methods and strategies establish a dynamic and organic link between the two biblical festivals and the two Israelitic festivals across time and space, through a contextual appropriation of the two biblical festivals which have freedom as their key motif. What becomes clear through this appropnanon is that though the Israelites do not view themselves as a political movement per se, freedom from domination is key to their theological self-understanding and identity. The thesis demonstrates the manner in which the memory of the Bulhoek Massacre serves to facilitate the insurrection of the soteric knowledges which the perpetrators of the massacre sought to subjugate. What the study also reveals with respect to the Fast of Esther is that the narrative and interpretive strategies of Esther's soteric agency is determined not only by her identity as a woman in a kyriarchal context in Persian exile, but also by the gender-biased interpretative interests and commitments of the present Israelite readers. For this reason male Israelite define her soteric agency along domesticating, patriarchal and macho lines whereas the Israelite women are silent in respect of this and choose instead to underscore the spiritual depth of her soteric agency. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

A tragic massacre in May 1921, commonly referred to as the Bulhoek Massacre, was associated with the ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, founded by Enoch Mgijima. If it were not for the theology of eschatology that this church adhered to, the so-called Bulhoek Massacre would not have happened. The theology of eschatology which Mgijima was focussing on caused the ecclesiology of the amaSirayeli to be the victims of the circumstances. Dulles defines ecclesiology as the church in the process of self actualisation. There is self understanding of worshippers. In the case of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, such self-understanding caused the Bulhoek Massacre. It is said that when people fervently believe in an Ultimate Being, whether such belief is a construction in their minds or a reality, then those people will be willing to defend their belief and die for, if it needs to be. For such a believer, it is because of the hope for a better life in the future that they are willing to even defy earthly authorities. When that believer follows a voice of the supernatural, which is revealed only to him and sounds much louder, much clearer and more authoritative than human voices, it is then that he cannot be void. Such an authoritative voice may be transmitted either through ancestors, known as the living dead, or directly from the Supreme Being. In the case of the said church, it is both. Secondly, an ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ should be understood in the light of their mother church in America under the leadership of Crowdy the founder. Such ecclesiology should also be understood against the religious backdrop of the African Initiated Churches (AIC). These two factors, the mother church in America and the religion of the African Initiated Churches, will be the main components that drive this thesis, and thus illuminate the spark in the said church. Owing to the proliferation of the African Initiated Churches in the continent of Africa, there is a wide speculation that Africa, of the 21st century, will be the centre of World Christianity. Whether this is just a dream or a reality remains to be realized. But the fact remains that, these churches continue to be a religious force that forms part of the church history in Africa. While this thesis will constantly be referring to the 1921 events, an ecclesiology of the said church is a present phenomenon because the church survived the massacre and is still active today. The two researchers, Robert Edgar from Los Angeles University in the USA, and Martin Mandew from the University of Natal, completed their doctoral theses on the Bulhoek Massacre. Edgar was researching on, The Fifth Seal. Enoch Mgijima, The amaSirayeli Bulhoek Massacre, 1921. Mandew concentrated on, War, Memory and Salvation, The Bulhoek Massacre and the Construction of a Contextual Soteriology. Since both researchers come from a distance, and are unable to speak the language of the people they were researching, there were of obviously unfilled gaps in between. As mentioned about cultural differences, therefore, knowing the language of the worshippers makes a big difference. There needs some analysis of idiomatic expressions, enunciated and other formal and informal expressions that tend to be important during communication. However, I acknowledge their research programme but I will go further from their product. This thesis examines the ecclesiology of this church and then relates it to the massacre where they were killed for their own beliefs. It is also important to analyse, as this thesis does, the church-state relations in South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in order to establish how other religious bodies related to the governments of the said period. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)

A tragic massacre in May 1921, commonly referred to as the Bulhoek Massacre, was associated with the ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, founded by Enoch Mgijima. If it were not for the theology of eschatology that this church adhered to, the so-called Bulhoek Massacre would not have happened. The theology of eschatology which Mgijima was focussing on caused the ecclesiology of the amaSirayeli to be the victims of the circumstances. Dulles defines ecclesiology as the church in the process of self actualisation. There is self understanding of worshippers. In the case of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, such self-understanding caused the Bulhoek Massacre. It is said that when people fervently believe in an Ultimate Being, whether such belief is a construction in their minds or a reality, then those people will be willing to defend their belief and die for, if it needs to be. For such a believer, it is because of the hope for a better life in the future that they are willing to even defy earthly authorities. When that believer follows a voice of the supernatural, which is revealed only to him and sounds much louder, much clearer and more authoritative than human voices, it is then that he cannot be void. Such an authoritative voice may be transmitted either through ancestors, known as the living dead, or directly from the Supreme Being. In the case of the said church, it is both. Secondly, an ecclesiology of the Church of God and Saints of Christ should be understood in the light of their mother church in America under the leadership of Crowdy the founder. Such ecclesiology should also be understood against the religious backdrop of the African Initiated Churches (AIC). These two factors, the mother church in America and the religion of the African Initiated Churches, will be the main components that drive this thesis, and thus illuminate the spark in the said church. Owing to the proliferation of the African Initiated Churches in the continent of Africa, there is a wide speculation that Africa, of the 21st century, will be the centre of World Christianity. Whether this is just a dream or a reality remains to be realized. But the fact remains that, these churches continue to be a religious force that forms part of the church history in Africa. While this thesis will constantly be referring to the 1921 events, an ecclesiology of the said church is a present phenomenon because the church survived the massacre and is still active today. The two researchers, Robert Edgar from Los Angeles University in the USA, and Martin Mandew from the University of Natal, completed their doctoral theses on the Bulhoek Massacre. Edgar was researching on, The Fifth Seal. Enoch Mgijima, The amaSirayeli Bulhoek Massacre, 1921. Mandew concentrated on, War, Memory and Salvation, The Bulhoek Massacre and the Construction of a Contextual Soteriology. Since both researchers come from a distance, and are unable to speak the language of the people they were researching, there were of obviously unfilled gaps in between. As mentioned about cultural differences, therefore, knowing the language of the worshippers makes a big difference. There needs some analysis of idiomatic expressions, enunciated and other formal and informal expressions that tend to be important during communication. However, I acknowledge their research programme but I will go further from their product. This thesis examines the ecclesiology of this church and then relates it to the massacre where they were killed for their own beliefs. It is also important to analyse, as this thesis does, the church-state relations in South Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in order to establish how other religious bodies related to the governments of the said period. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)