The researcher started the study with the premise that Theological Docetism which is defined as the tendency to theologise or spiritualise apparent social issues without due regard for other possible factors (Hawthorne & Martin 1993: 893), is widespread among pastors. This hypothesis, based on intuition and observation rather than on science, required investigation and the researcher set about doing so with the aim of showing how some social and cultural practices of the first century influenced the issues in the church at Corinth and then to do a parallel study on the way issues are dealt with by pastors in the Church of the Nazarene in Gauteng in particular. The purpose of the study is to create awareness of the practice of Theological Docetism among pastors in the Church of the Nazarene and to encourage a change in attitude and conduct with regard to dealing with church related problems. Selected issues in 1 Corinthians chapters 5 to 11 were used as reference for possible socio-cultural influence. A literary review of the work of notable scholars in the field of the socio-cultural and historical background of the New Testament such as Wayne Meeks, Victor Furnish, Bruce Malina, Abraham Malherbe, and others, was done to determine their findings on what influenced the issues in the church at Corinth. The issues under scrutiny in the church at Corinth were incidences of immorality and 5 lawsuits, questions concerning marriage, the apparent abuse of Christian freedom, uncertainty about whether to consume meat offered to idols, the conduct of some women during worship and the sharing of food at the love feast. Based on the literary review, a socio-historical summary revealed that the congregation’s understanding of their “newness in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5: 14 – 20) was compounded or seriously influenced by their socio-cultural environment. For instance, the researcher focused attention on the issues of lawsuits, the immoral man, food sacrificed to idols and the factions at the love feast and found that the way the members of the Corinthian congregation thought and acted was habitual because they had learnt to do so from others before them (Nolan 1995: 73). The immoral man (1 Corinthians 5: 1 – 13) was tolerated by the congregation because he was a patron to some of them and the rest were afraid to offend him because of the social ramifications inherent in patron – client relationships. The love of honour (Neyrey 1998: 15 – 34) fuelled the dispute between the Christian brothers (1 Corinthians 6: 1 – 11) because public attestation and consent to claims of honour was best obtained in courts of law. Class, status and honour contributed significantly to the issue surrounding the eating of meat sacrificed to idols (1 Corinthians 8: 1 – 13) while class distinctions was at the root of the problems experienced at the love feast or common meal (1 Corinthians 11: 17 – 34). It is the researcher’s conclusion that the issues or problems at Corinth did not have purely spiritual origins and that this needs to be taken into account when the text is interpreted by modern readers. 6 The parallel study relating to Theological Docetism in the Church of the Nazarene in Gauteng was done by means of a survey in which a questionnaire containing both open-ended and closed-ended questions was used as the primary tool for collecting data. There are rules that govern the design and use of questionnaires and the researcher was careful to follow these very closely. The research process for this section was done in three stages. The first stage involved the identification of the intended respondents and the construction of the survey questionnaire. The intended respondents were pastors of the Church of the Nazarene in Gauteng who are presently involved in pastoring churches on the District. The questionnaire was carefully and objectively designed for gathering data surrounding demographics, Scriptural information and church information. Since data in descriptive survey research is susceptible to distortion through the introduction of bias into the design of the questionnaire, the researcher was careful to state questions that fulfil his specific research objective and that they were constructed in such a way that only the most important and relevant data was generated. The second stage involved the pilot test of the questionnaire, the creation of the cover letter that accompanied it and a discussion with the District Superintendent of the Gauteng churches during which the aims and purpose of the study was explained and permission sought to conduct the survey. The pilot test was conducted among ordained elders of the Church of the Nazarene who are all former full time pastors and are now serving as faculty and staff at the academic institution where the researcher is employed. The third stage involved the distribution and collection of the questionnaire. A full sampling of the intended respondents resulted in a fifty percent response and return rate. 7 Data generated by the survey led to the conclusion that pastors of the Church of the Nazarene in Gauteng knew of the problems in the church at Corinth but understood the causes of the problems to be fundamentally spiritual in nature. Responses generally referred to “unsanctified people, lack of love for each other and compromise with sin”. The respondents know what the cultural background of the Christians at Corinth was but indicated that the major influences on the problems were, again, essentially spiritual. Present application indicated that the pastors know and can communicate the doctrine of Sanctification (fundamental to the Church of the Nazarene) which is defined as a subsequent work of grace by the Holy Spirit that cleanses the believer from the principle of sin, enabling him or her to live in harmony with God and man. Problems (specifically moral and interpersonal) would generally be construed to be due to an unsanctified spirit or compromise with sin. Respondents further indicated that cultural values that are in conflict with the Bible and Christian values should be rejected but there is reservation with regard to whether a sanctified person should struggle with moral and interpersonal issues. The persuasion in this regard is that as the believer grows in grace these issues that cause struggle will become less. However, more pastors believe unreservedly that a sanctified believer should not struggle with moral and interpersonal issues. The implication is that if the sanctified struggles there must be something wrong with the consecration or there is compromise with sin. People who cause problems are generally told to pray and ask God for guidance. This advice generally corresponds with the understanding of the origin of 8 problems. The belief surrounding this understanding is that moral and interpersonal struggles which generally result in problems in the church stem from persons who are unsanctified and compromising with sin. It is further postulated that Sanctification or the second / subsequent work of grace cleanses the heart from the principle or inclination to sin. Therefore, if the person sins, he or she cannot be sanctified and must be encouraged to seek the experience by asking God for guidance. The hypothesis of the study was proven to be correct by the data generated through the survey. Recommendations to remedy the current practice of Theological Docetism in the Church of the Nazarene in Gauteng involve the pastors making a conscious effort to learn the cultural backgrounds of their increasingly diversified congregants, gaining crosscultural communication skills and embarking on lifelong learning endeavours. / Prof. J. A Du Rand
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:8211 |
| Date | 15 April 2008 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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