525 research outputs found
Reconciliation, forgiveness and violence in Africa : biblical, pastoral and ethical perspectives
No full textCITATION: Nel, M. J., Forster, D. A. & Thesnaar, C. H. (eds.) 2020. Reconciliation, forgiveness and violence in Africa : biblical, pastoral and ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480532.The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.zaBOOK BLURB: What might reconciliation and forgiveness mean in relation to various forms of personal, structural, and historical violence across the African continent? This volume of essays seeks to engage these complex, and contested, ethical issues from three different disciplinary perspectives – Biblical Studies, Systematic Theology and Practical Theology. Each of the authors reflects on aspects of reconciliation, forgiveness and violence from within their respective African contexts. They do so by employing the tools and resources of their respective disciplines. The end result is a rich and textured set of interdisciplinary theological insights that will help the reader to navigate these issues with a greater measure of understanding and a broader perspective than what a single approach might offer. What is particularly encouraging is that the chapters represent research from established scholars in their fields, recent PhD graduates, and current PhD students. This is the first book to be published under the auspices of the Unit for Reconciliation and Justice in the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology.Introduction / Marius J. Nel, Dion A. Forster & Christo H. Thesnaar; 1. Matthew's Reconfiguring of Salvation in a Context of Oppression / Marius J. Nel; 2. Conquering Evil: Engaging Violence from the Perspective of Paul’s Letter to the Romans / Endale Sebsebe Mekonnen; 3. The Reconciliation of Lepers in Luke 5:12-15 and its Implications for Human Dignity: An African Perspective / Godwin Etukumana; 4. Towards an (Im)possible Politics of Forgiveness? Considering the Complexities of Religion, Race and Politics in South Africa / Dion A Forster; 5. Jesus within the Genres of the Human: Sylvia Wynter, African Philosophy, and Post-Colonial Conceptions of the Not Nonviolent Resistance of Jesus / Alease Brown; 6. Lessons From Mr. Noki: Empire, Structural Violence and the Missio Dei / Jaco Botha; 7. Transferring Frozen Conflict to Future Generations: In Search of a Contextual Pastoral Approach / CH Thesnaar; 8. Reconciliation in Burundi Crisis: A Practical Theological Approach / Benaya Niyukuri; 9. The Praxis of Reconciliation Among Religious Groups in Northern Nigeria: A Pastoral Care Approach ./ Oholiabs D Tuduks; 10. Transforming (Christian) Apartheid / Wilhelm VerwoerdPublisher's versio
A state church? : a consideration of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in the light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘Theological position paper on state and church’
Full text linkCITATION: Forster, D. A. 2016. A state church? : a consideration of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in the light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘Theological position paper on state and church’. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2(1):61–88, doi:10.17570/stj.2016.v2n1.a04.The original publication is available at http://ojs.reformedjournals.co.zaThis article considers whether South Africa’s largest mainline Christian denomination,
the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, is in danger of embodying or propagating
a contemporary form of ‘state theology’. The notion of state theology in the South
African context gained prominence through the publication of the ‘Kairos Document’
(1985) – which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2015. State theology is deemed
inappropriate and harmful to the identity and work of both the Christian church
and the nation state. This article presents its consideration of whether the Methodist
Church of Southern Africa is in danger of propagating ‘state theology’ in dialogue
with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s important document, Theological Position Paper on State
and Church. The article offers some insights into the complex relationship between the
state and the church in South Africa in the apartheid and democratic eras. It further
problematizes the relationship between the Methodist Church of Southern Africa
and the governing African National Congress by citing some concerning examples of
complicit behaviour from recent history. The MCSA’s polity and doctrine on church
and state relationships are also considered before some critique and warning is offered
in the light of Bonhoeffer’s Theological Position Paper on State and Church.http://ojs.reformedjournals.co.za/index.php/stj/article/view/1323Publisher's versio
Towards an (im)possible politics of forgiveness? Considering the complexities of religion, race and politics in South Africa
Full text linkCITATION: Forster, D. A. 2020. Towards an (im)possible politics of forgiveness? Considering the complexities of religion, race and politics in South Africa, in Nel, M. J., Forster, D. A. & Thesnaar, C. H. (eds.) 2020. Reconciliation, forgiveness and violence in Africa : biblical, pastoral and ethical perspectives. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480532/04.The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.zaThis chapter engages the complexity of a politics of forgiveness in South Africa some
24 years after the end of political apartheid. We shall do so by considering contested
understandings of forgiveness among Black and White South Africans in relation to
the trauma and history of apartheid. Why do White South Africans want forgiveness?
Is it to find freedom from the wwguilt of apartheid, or possibly also to be set free from
the responsibility to make reparations for the past? Could forgiveness be a weapon
that further wounds Black South Africans by expecting them not only to live with
the social, political and economic consequences of apartheid, but also to stop calling
for justice? In his poem, ‘Fiction en estrangement,’ Nathan Trantraal speaks of how
the Christian religion calls Black South Africans to forgive their White perpetrators.
Yet this call doesn’t always count the cost of the call for forgiveness. He speaks of
“die gif in vergifnis”, the poison (gif) in forgiveness (vergifnis) (Trantraal, 2017).
This chapter draws upon a four-year qualitative empirical study on how Black and
White South African Christians understand the processes and notions of forgiveness
in the light of South Africa’s complex economic, social and political context. The
project is entitled ‘The (im)possibility of forgiveness?’
We begin by considering the notion of the (im)possibility of forgiveness in present
day South Africa. Why does the research focus on forgiveness (and not mercy,
reconciliation, or indeed retribution or redistribution)? Next, we shall spend some
time looking at the relationship between social identity complexities and notions
of forgiveness among Black and White South African Christians. We shall end
with some considerations of what may contribute towards making (im)possible
forgiveness possible, and meaningful, among South Africans.Publisher's versio
Nelson Mandela and his faith
Full text linkCITATION: Forster, D. A. 2015. Nelson Mandela and his faith. In Stellenbosch University: Research excellence 2014. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University.The original publication is available at http://www0.sun.ac.za/research/research-information/research-related-publications-1.htmlThe death of Nelson Mandela on 5 December 2013
put the spotlight on his religious convictions and
faith affiliation. Academics, journalists, and interested
members of faith communities asked what his faith
perspective was. Was Madiba a Christian? Was he a
member of a particular church?http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/stellenbosch-University/research-2014/2015070704/#
What hope is there for South Africa? : a public theological reflection on the role of the church as a bearer of hope for the future
Full text linkCITATION: Forster, D. A. 2015. What hope is there for South Africa? : a public theological reflection on the role of the church as a bearer of hope for the future. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 71(1): #Art. 2814, 13 pages, doi:10.4102/hts.v71i3.2814.The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/4102/2814Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.What hope is there for South Africa? What role can the church play as a bearer of hope in
South Africa? This article seeks to address these important questions. Firstly, it problematises
the contemporary notion of hope in South Africa by showing that it is a complex theological
and social concept. Next, a nuanced understanding of hope is presented by adopting a public
theological methodology that brings dominant theological perspectives on eschatological
hope into dialogue with the most recent statistics about the quality of life in South Africa from
1994, 2004 and 2014. The article proposes that the complexity of Christian hope necessitates an
understanding of the present reality that is held in dynamic tension with the desired future –
namely a present-futurist eschatology. Finally the article shows that from this vantage point
the church, in its various forms and understandings, is able to be a bearer of Christian hope
that can contribute towards shaping a better future for South Africa.Publisher's versio
Post-foundational theology and the contribution of African approaches to consciousness and identity
Full text linkCITATION: Forster, D. A. 2021. Post-foundational theology and the contribution of African approaches to consciousness and identity. Verbum et Ecclesia, 42(2):a2363, doi:10.4102/ve.v42i2.2363.The original publication is available at https://verbumetecclesia.org.zaHow do we know who we are? What sources can we draw upon in order to explain and understand the complex notions of identity and consciousness? This article revisits this debate and argues that African approaches the consciousness and identity cohere with Wentzel van Huyssteen’s post-foundational theology. Post-foundational theology offers a transverse rationality that operates between explanatory power and truth. The impetus for the research that informs this article emerged from a conversation with Prof. Van Huyssteen in 2000. The conversation set the author on a path of exploration which led to the discovery of the richness of African religious, philosophical and social resources on identity and consciousness. The outcome was an integrated approach to identity known as a ‘generous ontology’ that draws upon subjective, objective, inter-subjective and inter-objective sources of knowledge. The article concludes that an African approach to consciousness, as a post-foundational theological contribution, helps us to offer clear explanations and deeper truths in relation to our understanding of identity and consciousness.
Intradisciplinary and or interdisciplinary implications: This article presents a post-foundationalist argument for the inclusion of African theological notions of identity and consciousness in the debates of this field that take place at the intersections of faith and science. The outcome textures our explanations and deepens our understandings of transdisciplinary approaches to identity and consciousness.https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2363Publisher's versio
On the 250th anniversary of a plain account of Christian perfection : a historical review of Wesleyan Theological Hybridity and its implications for contemporary discourses on Christian Humanism
Full text linkCITATION: Forster, D. A. 2018. On the 250th anniversary of a plain account of Christian perfection : a historical review of Wesleyan Theological Hybridity and its implications for contemporary discourses on Christian Humanism. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 44(1):1-19, doi:10.25159/2412-4265/3147.The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.zaIn recent decades, there has been a resurgence of interest in discourses of secular and Christian humanism. This interest engages the question of what it means to be truly human, and what the implications of true humanity are for individuals and society. The genesis of theological and secular humanisms stems from the Eastern Orthodox doctrine of theosis-God in Christ becomes human so that human persons may become more truly like the God whose image and likeness they bear. John Wesley was deeply influenced by Eastern Orthodox theologians. Without grasping this hermeneutic position, one cannot understand either the content or intent of John Wesley's theology adequately. This paper expounds this aspect of Wesley's theology by means of a historical theological exploration of the influences of Eastern Orthodoxy in Wesleyan soteriology. It is argued that when Wesley's theology is understood as a hybrid of Eastern and Western theological influences and approaches, Christian perfection in the ordo salutis (order of salvation) supersedes the traditional Protestant emphasis on justification. In particular, this approach holds promise for making a unique and valuable contribution to contemporary discourses around Christian humanism.Publisher's versio
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