For those who have the courage to doubt, it can be said that the Bible which is highly regarded in Africa is not only an innocent book but also a guilty one because of the many social, political and religious evils that have bedevilled Africa from time to time and which it has condoned and has been used to sanction. Using postcolonial biblical criticism, and as a way of demonstrating that the entire Bible is another text of the empire, this thesis argues that imperial ideology promoted in Luke's socio-economic parables has contributed to another social evil i.e. the gap between the rich and the poor in Kenya. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Text in Afrikaans / Die (NG) kerk in Suid-Afrika bevind haar aan die begin van 'n nuwe millennium in 'n oorgangstydperk. Die NG Kerk se aandeel aan die sonde van apartheid hou verband met haar legitimering van die apartheidsideologie. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde het sy 'n apartheidsteologie verkondig, ten spyte van die ernstige vermanings wat ook vanuit eie geledere gemaak is. Die lot van noodlydendes in die land hou grootliks verband met die gevolge van apartheid. Hierdie studie wys op die noodsaaklikheid dat die kerk in die konteks van noodlydendes weer haar diakonale rol moet nastreef. Die studie ondersoek die transformasiekrag van die metafoor as integrerende deel van die denk- en taalsisteem van die mens. Die bewuswees van teenstellings tussen die toegepaste en nie-toegepaste onderskeidinge binne die betekenis van die gebruikte woord is verantwoordelik vir die spanning wat daar in die metaforiese woordgebruik bestaan. Laasgenoemde bied die metafoor 'n dinamiese krag. Die prediker kan as kreatiewe metafoorskepper die metafoor in prediking aanwend. Sodoende kan gelowiges geaktiveer word om voetewassers te word en kan die diakonale kerk profetieses die bevryding van nood verkondig. Die (NG) kerk in Suid-Afrika bevind haar aan die begin van 'n nuwe millennium in 'n oorgangstydperk. Die NG Kerk se aandeel aan die sonde van apartheid hou verband met haar legitimering van die apartheidsideologie. Ten opsigte van laasgenoemde het sy 'n apartheidsteologie verkondig, ten spyte van die ernstige vermanings wat ook vanuit eie geledere gemaak is. Die lot van noodlydendes in die land hou grootliks verband met die gevolge van apartheid. Hierdie studie wys op die noodsaaklikheid dat die kerk in die konteks van noodlydendes weer haar diakonale rol moet nastreef. Die studie ondersoek die transformasiekrag van die metafoor as integrerende deel van die denk- en taalsisteem van die mens. Die bewuswees van teenstellings tussen die toegepaste en nie-toegepaste onderskeidinge binne die betekenis van die gebruikte woord is verantwoordelik vir die spanning wat daar in die metaforiese woordgebruik bestaan. Laasgenoemde bied die metafoor 'n dinamiese krag. Die prediker kan as kreatiewe metafoorskepper die metafoor in prediking aanwend. Sodoende kan gelowiges geaktiveer word om voetewassers te word en kan die diakonale kerk profetieses die bevryding van nood verkondig. / At the beginning of the new millennium, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa finds itself in a transitional period. The part the Dutch Reformed Church played in the sin of apartheid, can be directly ascribed to the legitimizing of the apartheid ideology. With reference to the above, the church preached an apartheid theology, in spite of serious warnings from within its own ranks. The misery of the 'suffering humanity' in our country is a direct result of apartheid. This study highlights the immense importance resting upon the Dutch Reformed Church to once again fulfil its diaconal role with reference to those who suffer. This study investigates the transformation power of the metaphor as integral part of the cognitive- and language systems of the human being. The awareness of the implied contradictions between the applied and non-applied parts in the meaning of the word creates a tension in metaphorical speech. The latter endows the metaphor with a dynamic power. The preacher may then apply creative metaphors in the sermon. He is therefore a creator of the metaphor. The effective use of the metaphor in preaching will enable him to empower his audience to be servants like Jesus. The effective use of metaphors in preaching will help to activate believers and will assist the diaconal church in relaying its prophetic message of salvation to those who suffer. Through the active conduct and unity of the church, those who suffer experience the salvation of the living Christ. This study implies that the preacher should approach the text from his own experience, combined with an existentional knowledge of the needs of the people in need, to the text. The study highlights the creative role of the preacher as creator of the metaphor, and the activation of believers in the context of those who suffer, so that the church may fulfill its diaconal role. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

A lot has been written on the development of the Shona novel and the influence of orature on it. This research while acknowledging the importance of such an observation makes yet another one. This other view is that there is also another element that has had a significant impact on the development and growth of the Shona novel. This research has endeavoured to highlight that the Shona novel is a product of the society where it is found which is influenced by The Bible. The novelists Chakaipa, Chidzero, Makari, Musengezi, Tsodzo, Zvarevashe and Ngugi wa Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat which has been translated into Shona as Tsanga Yembeu have used The Bible as the backbone of their novels. Although these novelists have all used The Bible they have not used it in the same way and for the same purpose. They have used The Bible to justify the themes embedded in their works. This research at the end shows that it is difficult to label a literary product as either a success or a failure. / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

No description available.

Die Arbeit geht einem Rezeptionsgeschehen zwischen Theologie und Philosophie im 20.Jahrhundert nach, das nach dem Verhältnis von Sprache und Wirklichkeit fragt. Rudolf Bultmanns Kerygma und Martin Heideggers Ereignis versuchen zu beschreiben, wie Sprache auf die Wirklichkeit und die Existenz wirkt. Ernst Fuchs und Gerhard Ebeling gehen in ihrer Hermeneutischen Theologie von einer christologischen Verhältnisbestimmung aus: Weil Gott im Wort wirkt, ist der Mensch sprachlich bestimmt. Ihr Konzept Wortgeschehen verbindet die sprachliche mit der existentialen Ebene, um das Wort Gottes als dynamisch und rechtfertigend wirkmächtig zu interpretieren. Der Philosoph Paul Ricœur rezipiert diese theologische Verhältnisbestimmung. Er versucht mit seiner Hermeneutik des Symbols, der Metapher und des Textes, existentiale Strukturen und Wirkweisen von Sprache zu beschreiben und setzt sich dazu auch mit dem Wortgeschehen auseinander. Allerdings weist Ricœurs Rezeption des theologischen Konzeptes auf strukturelle und hermeneutische Probleme hin. Ricœurs eigener Entwurf eines hermeneutischen Prozesses bezieht Struktur und Bedeutung des Textes, sowie Kritik und Glaube des Verstehenden in den Interpretationsvorgang ein und öffnet sich für bibelhermeneutische Überlegungen. Der Philosoph Ricœur wird daher theologisch vielfach rezipiert. Eine konkrete Schnittstelle stellt die Gleichnisdiskussion ab den 1970er Jahren dar, an der Ricœur sich beteiligt und in der seine Hermeneutik theologisch rezipiert wird. Gleichzeitig vertieft diese Diskussion das Konzept Wortgeschehen, weil sie sprachliche Mechanismen und deren existentiale Wirkung genauer beschreibt. Nachdem das Wortgeschehen philosophisch wie theologisch weiterentwickelt wurde, erweist es sich in der Frage nach einer Hermeneutik des Wortes Gottes als dienliches Konzept, weil es die sprachliche Ebene des Wortes Gottes mit hermeneutischen und theologischen Begründungen seiner existentialen Wirkung verbindet. / This dissertation investigates a mutual reference between theology and philosophy in the 20th century dealing with the issue of the relation between language and reality. Rudolf Bultmann‘s Kerygma and Martin Heidegger‘s Ereignis try to describe, how language effects reality and existence. In their Hermeneutical Theology, Ernst Fuchs and Gerhard Ebeling define a christological relation: Because God acts through the word, human existence is defined through language. Their concept Wortgeschehen relates linguistic to existential layers of meaning in order to interpret the word of God as dynamic and justifying. The philosopher Paul Ricœur refers to this theological relation. In his hermeneutics of symbols, metaphors and texts, he tries to describe existential structures and effects of language and concerning this question also discusses the Wortgeschehen. Yet, Ricœur‘s reference to the theological concept points out structural and hermeneutical problems. Ricœur‘s own concept of a hermeneutic process integrates structure and meaning of a text, as well as the critical and faithful understanding into the process of interpretation. His position is open for hermeneutics of the Bible. Thus, there are several theological references to the philosopher. The discussion on parables in the 1970s represents a concrete intersection of both disciplines, involving Ricœur and the theological reception of his hermeneutics. At the same time the discussion elaborates the concept Wortgeschehen describing language mechanisms and existential effects more precisly. Through its continuing philosophical and theological development the Wortgeschehen proves a helpful concept concerning the question of hermeneutics of the word of God, because it connects the linguistic layer of the Word of God to hermeneutic and theological reasons of its existential effect.