In search of prophetic theology: South African political theology in conversation with Anabaptism.
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Date
2017
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Abstract
The South African Kairos Document: A Challenge to the Church (KD) written
in 1985 continues to be critically important even 30 years after its release. Its ongoing
significance is due to three inter-related dynamics: a) the process by which the
document was generated; b) the insightful analysis and bold proposal it contains; and
c) its functional utility as a base-line against which progress can be measured. It has
indeed provided the challenge it suggests.
The purpose of this study is two-fold. The first is to offer a critical review and
analysis of these three aspects of the document. The second is to recommend a few
suggestions for a mid-course adjustment that could be helpful in the ongoing quest for
ecclesial faithfulness within the South African context.
This thesis suggests that, although the KD emerged as an example of the
Prophetic Theology that it proposes as an antidote to the dominance of “Church and
State Theologies,” such a depiction has itself been co-opted in the twenty-two years of
post-apartheid ecclesial experience. The roots of this cooption are, primarily,
threefold: an anemic eschatological perspective as too-soon realized in the overthrow
of the apartheid regime; a too-optimistic view of the inherent benevolence of state
power once in the hands of the formerly oppressed; and an under-rated
comprehension of the nature of the church as an alternative politic within the realities
of empire.
This thesis further suggests that Anabaptism, a theological movement that
emerged out of the struggle of re-defining the relationships between church and state
since the 16th century, offers a helpful perspective as the South African church strives
to take the next steps of faithfulness in its new post-apartheid political dispensation.
Description
Doctor of Philosophy in Theology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2017.
Keywords
Theses - Biblical & Historical Studies, Theological Studies & Ethics.