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Kihika’s Bible: The recontextualisation of the Gospel in Ngugi’s A Grain of Wheat
Get PDFHow might a post-colonial novel by the author of Decolonising the Mind deal with the Christian Gospel, that pillar of Western culture, used for too long to justify European imperialism in Africa and elsewhere? In A Grain of Wheat (1967), Ngugi depicts both the appropriation and betrayal of the Christian message by British colonialists in Kenya. One would expect the remnants of Christianity and its representatives to be waved off with some relief together with the departing government officials. Yet in the novel the Gospel survives; its recontextualisation in Kenyan history the key to its survival. Even before independence the appropriation of the Bible for a political programme is not limited to the colonists: the first freedom fighters are shown to adopt the sacrificial ethic suggested by the novel’s title. This article examines the criteria for the novel’s implicit judgement of Christian theologies and practices, its recontextualisation or “transgressive reinscription" of Biblical narratives, images and models of heroism for the struggle, as well as the ideological shift effected by Ngugi’s revisions of the text nineteen years after its initial publication - a shift in which the Biblical text is wrenched so far from its original context as to render it meaningless for all but his programme
Opvoeding vir die vroeg-21 ste eeu: ’n Christelik-opvoedkundige perspektief
Get PDFEducation in the early 21 st century: A Christian-educational perspectiveThe transition from one century to another calls educators and educationists to scrutinize trends from the past and the present, and to realistically project them into the future. They need to do this because of the future-directedness of education and educational science: people have to be educated in order to be empowered for meaningful future existence. The research underlying this article was inspired by the transition from the 1900s to the 2000s, as well as by President Mbeki\u27s injunction that South African educators should be prepared to face the next century. With reference to the “Tirisano” project, a probable religious-cultural-social scenario for the first decades of the next century is described and evaluated from a Biblical-educational point of view. The discussion is concluded by expressions of concern about the secular and humanistic nature of both the "Tirisano" programme and the broader global trends with which educators will have to grapple in the next few decades
Die konstruksie van betekenis by seksuele molestering
Get PDFThe construction of meaning in sexual abuseThis article is based on the results obtained from a qualitative study undertaken with female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The study underlying this article is grounded in social construction methodology, functioning as a metaparadigmatic context for the understanding of society’s attribution of meaning to childhood sexual abuse. This article focuses on the construction of meaning relating to the survivors’ experiences of childhood sexual abuse and their perceptions of these events when they were introduced to the social constructions about childhood sexual abuse in later life
Oor hoe juriste werk met tekste ... en tekste met hulle - Enkele gedagtes oor die postmodernisering van Christelik-reformatoriese regsdenke
Get PDFOn how jurists work with texts ... and texts with them. Some thoughts on postmodemising Christian-Reformational legal thinking. In this article it is argued that postmodern, Christian-Reformational legal scholarship is possible, in principle, and indeed necessary. Reformational legal scholars are enjoined to account for the implications of the linguistic turn in legal interpretation, namely that meaning is not discovered in a text, but is made in dealing with the text. The meaning of “text” in the light of postmodern insights that traverse the notion of law-texts as autonomous bearers of meaning, is compared with traditional lexicographic notions of the signifier “text". According to the former insights a law-text is a signifier whose possible meanings in specific situations are generated as a result of a dynamic and complex interplay between the text and multifarious other signifiers. A basic distinction is made between narrative and normative lawtexts and the relevance of this distinction is explained
The South African Constitution requires men to be feminist
Get PDFCan a man be a feminist? If so, what would it mean? I want to participate in a dialogue between women and men on how to accommodate women\u27s moral concerns. I propose that the fundamental values of justice embodied in the South African constitutional democracy require men to be feminist. These values provide the best safeguard of the important interests and values of both women and men. Men who accept these values can support the main concerns of feminism. The implications of the argument in this article range from public issues to the most private aspects of marriage
Versoening en moontlike versoeningsimbole in die hedendaagse Suid-Afrika
Get PDFReconciliation and possible symbols of reconciliation in contemporaiy South AfricaIn this article the important issue of reconciliation is addressed, and certain dimensions of reconciliation are discussed: perspectives from Scripture, forgiveness as prerequisite; restitution as a result and the process itself. The important role of the church of Jesus Christ as initiator and facilitator of the process of reconciliation is also stressed. The article ends with a statement that the time has come for new symbols of reconciliation in South Africa and some ideas for reconciliatory gestures are proposed
Parents as partners in black schools: so important, but why so unreliable?
Get PDFParents and schools are partners in the education of children because schools are a form a lised extension of the family, when it comes to the education of children. This partnership is also emphasised by recent legislation, like the South African Schools Act of 1996. This partnership is in line with the mission of parents to educate their children or assist in the education of their children. In spite of this demand for parental involvement in schools, the research in black schools underlying this article indicates that p a rental involvement in most black school activities is limited. Reasons like a negative attitude of parents towards schools and feelings of inferiority prevents parents to become effective partners of schools. The reasons for the lack of active participation in school activities and some possible solutions will receive attention in this contribution
H.F. Verwoerd: Foundational aspects of his thought
Get PDFThis article is an attempt to highlight the foundations of the thought of the influential South African leader, H.F. Verwoerd, as implicitly contained in his published writings. Verwoerd has been characterised as the “architect of apartheid", but this is an exaggeration, since he found the basic principles of apartheid ready-made when he emerged as a leader. From Western tradition Verwoerd inherited a particular respect for rationality, which in his case became a stringent application of the principle of one people ("volk"), one state; conceiving of a people in organic terms reminiscent of the republicanism of Rousseau. In his views on development he appears to have been aligned to the dualistic theories of development, which accorded welt with the separation o f races. This view was complemented by a belief in inevitable progress reminiscent of 18th and I9th century Western tradition, which blinded him to the suffering his belief in apartheid as progress was causing. Education was also conceived of as serving the needs of the ethnic group; a totalitarian approach embedded in the idea of an organic unity of the people
Provinsiale staatsgrond: lank lewe die tussentydse Grondwet
Get PDFProvincial state land: Long live the interim ConstitutionSection 239(l)(a) and (b) of the interim Constitution provided the criteria in terms of which state assets were allocated to either the national government, or to the new provinces. These assets included immovable property. Item 28(1) of Schedule 6 to the 1996-Constitution provides, inter alia, for the registration of immovable property vested in a province, in the name of the provincial government. Section 239(l)(c) apparently purports to make section 239(l)(b) subordinate to the former. However, a contextual and purposive interpretation of these subsections, read with the scheme pertaining to the reallocation of executive power as is contained in section 235, leads to the conclusion that immovable property owned by the state, ex lege vested in provinces when the interim Constitution became operative. As the provinces may now claim land ownership regarding land which, prior to the 1993-Constitution was registered in the name o f the national government, the question arises whether the provinces may now dispose of such land. Section 104(4) of the 1996-Constitution seems to render support to an argument that the provinces are constitutionally empowered to pass the necessary legislation in that regard. In effect, section 239(l)(b) accordingly strengthens (albeit inadvertently) the otherwise weak form o f federalism brought about by other provisions o f the new Constitution