Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Religion and Theology)

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Facing the image in the mirror: “whiteness” in South African missional discourse
(Universty of the Western Cape, 2023) Mouton, Johannes Cornelis; Conradie, Ernst
This study is situated within the discipline of missiology and seeks to contribute to missional theology as one important contemporary school of thought within the discipline. Missional theology emerged in the 1990s especially within the Anglophone contexts of the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (USA). Most forms of missional theology build on the insights of Lesslie Newbigin, who in several books, reflected from his cross-cultural missionary experience on the challenges of the gospel to churches within his own cultural context in the UK. Such insights were quickly adopted in the North American context and was further explored by the Gospel and Our Cultural Network which emphasised the local-churchin-mission. Local congregations where missional theology flourished rediscovered that the fundamental reasons for the church’s existence involves an engagement within local communities.
Public pedagogy and the socio-political economy of religious media: A Qualitative Study of the Advent Cable Network Nigeria (ACNN)
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Anthony, Ishaya; Scharnick-Udemans, Lee-Shae
In Nigeria, academic conversations that intersect religion, media and education are framed mostly from a formal school perspective. Moreover, the dominant narrative on religious media is approached from a Christian Pentecostal paradigm. It entails the commodification and commercialisation of religion, proselytisation, and religious globalisation. Nonetheless, the Nigerian religious media landscape is not monolithic but, rather, a convergence of multiple religious interactions. The multiplicity of religious media sites offers scholars opportunities to extend academic conversations beyond Pentecostalism and outside the context of formal schooling. This qualitative study explores the socio-political economy of an Anglican media site, the Advent Cable Network Nigeria (ACNN). It focuses on how religious media respond to socio-political issues, and their contribution to literacy development.
Pilgrimage walking and spiritual well-being: A case study of a personalised covid trail in Cape Town and surrounding areas
(University of the Western Cape, 2023) Hannibal, Janine; Swart, Ignatius
Pilgrimage, walking, as well as pilgrimage walking are not new concepts. The art of walking, putting one foot before the other, creates many opportunities, including ones for hope, healing, and finding solutions to problems and challenges. Despite the global scope of extant research on pilgrimage, the scholarly focus on pilgrimage walking within the South African context is scanty. Much has been written about urban and rural walking as well as pilgrimage in general, though. Pilgrimage within the South African context took on various forms but my research introduced the concept of a steps challenge and mapping out a personalised COVID trail. The aim of my study was to explore pilgrimage walking as an intervention for spiritual well-being by focusing on a personalised COVID-19 pilgrimage in Cape Town and its surrounding areas. My study steered towards determining the correlation between spiritual well-being and pilgrimage walking.
A critical assessment of ubuntu as a source for moral formation in contemporary Africa
(University of the Western Cape, 2022) Anofuechi, Benson Onyekachukwu; Klaasen, John Stephanus
This study presented a critical evaluation of Ubuntu as a source of moral formation in contemporary Africa. In African society, Ubuntu as a notion of African humanism has been and still is subject to much criticism. Although Ubuntu plays a role in African literature, philosophy, anthropology, ethics and theology, scholars on the continent and beyond find it to be a contested concept. The concept and approach to moral formation described in this study contributes uniquely to the already existing corpus of literature. The study explored African thinkers� perspectives of Ubuntu as a resource of moral formation and assessed its relevance in contemporary Africa.
The healing factor in religious tourism with regard to health and wellbeing in Africa: A case study of synagogue church of all nations in Lagos, Nigeria
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Balogun, Idowu Olatunji; Swart, Ignatius
The journey of self-discovery is unique to human beings, and quests to resolve any existing problem entails taking steps leading to solutions, even if one may not have a guarantee that the steps would automatically bring a solution, acting instead based on hope. The perceived incompleteness of the hand-down of Christianity to Africa from the West when it comes to the daily realities led some early African converts to discover that the Bible presented a holistic worldview that addressed their challenges better. The emergence of African indigenous/ initiated/ independent churches (AICs) to fill the gap in preaching the gospel with cultural sensitivity and integration was the consequence of the lapses of the mainline churches.
Daughters as water-fetchers: �Streamlining� water-gender dialectics in biblical narrative
(2021) Dorapalli; Nadar, Sarojini
Biblical interpreters have often been unwittingly anthropocentric in their reading of biblical narratives, ignoring the living and nonliving presence of physical world characteristics that underpin the narrative�s overall framework. Moreover, with a focus on men, women�s role as water fetchers has been overlooked, resulting in the text�s dual undermining of ecological and gender issues. This thesis attempts to move away from such interpretations and reread selected biblical texts about water and women using a dual-mode of inquiry, namely gender-ecocriticism. A central question within ecocritical inquiry is�how is nature represented in the narrative? Furthermore, on the subject of gender criticism� how are daughters narrativized in the text? These are the two critical questions that this thesis intends to explore. There are only five explicit narratives of �daughters fetching water at the well� in the Bible. Nevertheless, these scenic activities are significant because of their historical link to the waterfetching daughters in the contemporary world. This study draws attention to the gendering of the water-fetching task by a gender analysis of the five texts. To understand why only daughters are assigned the task of water-fetching, the study draws on theories of the sexual division of labour. The first theme I discuss in this dissertation is water symbolism as found in Judeo-Christian and contemporary stories of water and its interplay with current issues of water scarcity. The focus of the second part is the water-gender intersections found in those five narratives. These themes are explored in this thesis through an exegetical analysis of the five biblical water-drawing narratives. The interpretation is based on socio-historical analysis as well as literary analysis employing narratology and biblical hermeneutical methods. This dissertation concludes that water stories demonstrate that water is more than a symbol. The current water shortage crisis in some parts of the world directs our attention to the urgency of reconfiguring water in our religious and theological imaginations. Water becomes an intrinsic feature in the reader�s mind when read from a gender-ecocritical angle. Being appreciative of each physical element in the vast expanse of the ecosystem, allows a reader�s imagination to reflect on the global negative impact and the distortion of those valuable connections we as humans have with the rest of the physical world.
Food, sex and text: Exploring survival sex in the context of food insecurity through communal readings of the book of Ruth
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Naicker, Linda; Nadar, Sarojini
The study explored how contextual Bible study (CBS) contributes to the understanding of survival sex in the context of food insecurity. Even though South Africa is a food secure nation, a large percentage of the population is food insecure. While researchers focus significantly on transactional sex and other forms of sexual exchange, survival sex, particularly in the context of food insecurity has not been extensively or adequately researched from the South Africa perspective. CBS as a communal, participatory, collaborative and empowering process is designed as a literary platform upon which community concerns and social justice issues are addressed. Through CBS, conducted with a group of purposefully selected Christian women, the factors that drive survival sex in the context of food insecurity in the Msunduzi Municipality was explored.
Divine intervention? Understanding the role of Christian religious belief systems in intervention programmes for men who abuse their intimate partners
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Petersen, Elizabeth; Nadar, Sarojini
South Africans live in one of the most religious yet most violent societies the world over, with gender-based violence (GBV) against women in intimate relationships flagged as a national priority. Traditionally, and rightfully so, intervention programmes focused on women victim-survivors of intimate partner abuse (IPA). While intervention programmes for men who perpetrate IPA emerged more recently and signify an important paradigm shift in conceptualizing solutions to IPA, the literature reveals a gap in research about the role and influence of religiously pervasive contexts in communities where some of these programmes operate. South Africa claims to be a secular state; however, around 90% of its population are religious and close to 74% are affiliated with the Christian faith. Literature indicates that men who perpetrate IPA often use easily misinterpreted scriptures and religious teachings to justify their abusive behaviour.
Die "kritiese stem" teen apartheidsteologie in die Ned Geref Kerk (1905-1974): 'n Analise van die bydraes van Ben Marais en Beyers Naud�
(University of the Western Cape, 2010) Coetzee, Murray Hermanus; Conradie, EM
The problem investigated in this study centres around two theological trends in the Dutch Reformed Church (henceforth DRC) during the period 1905-1974, namely, on the one hand, the theology of apartheid (resulting in Ras, volk en nasie en volkereverhoudinge in die lig van die Skrif(1974)), and on the other, the so-called "critical voice" in the DRC represented in the work of Ben J Marais and CF Beyers Naud�. The emphasis is on this period because it was during this period when the theological train of thought - which was initially dominant in the DRC - was repressed by a theological trend that played a significant role in die development and establishment of the theology of apartheid. In order to identify the different points of difference between the two trends, the emphasis is initially on the development and establishment of a philosophy of apartheid on the one hand and the critical voices against a theology of apartheid as represented by Marais and Naud�. The first part deals with the development in the theology of apartheid. In this first part the emphasis is on the role played by the DRC in the development of the theology of apartheid. The research will show how pragmatic / contextual factors initially played a role in the development of apartheidrelated thinking and how this thinking became theologically and ideologically legitimised in the next phase. The emphasis will fall on the role played by socio-economic and cultural political circumstances at the onset of the development of pragmatic thinking pertaining to apartheid. Subsequently the emphasis is on the next phase in the development of the theology of apartheid when apartheid was justified dogmatically/ ideologically and from the Scriptures. In this part of the thesis the emphasis is on the roles played by particular theological trends played within the DRC resulting in a shift in theological thought. The reception of these theological trends in the 1920s and 1930s within the DRC will also be examined and will show how they were eventually merged into a reformed orthodoxy, which would replace the evangelical reformed trend as the dominant one in the church. The role played by this reformed orthodoxy in the development of a theology of apartheid in the DRC will also be analysed. In the latter part of this chapter the merging ofthe pragmatic and dogmatic thinking within the DRC will be discussed. The result of this merger is set out in the DRC's Ras, volk en nasie en volkereverhoudinge in die lig van die Skrif published in 1974. Since this policy document provides a systematic summation of the theology of apartheid as it developed between 1905 and 1974, this document will form the basis of an investigation into the development and establishment of a theology of apartheid. This part of the study is essential because it provides the specific context in which the critical voice against apartheid could function. This research deals in particular with the major points of difference between apartheid thinking in the DRC on the one hand and the critical voice against it. A complete analysis of the critical voice against the theology of apartheid within the DRC is undertaken and since this research focuses on a specific form of criticism, it is necessary to look at the origin and development of that voice. The researcher will indicate to what extent this critical voice had its origin in the Old and New Testament and how it continued throughout the history of the church and was later identified in several sectors of South African society - namely in the political, economical and church sectors. The critical voice within the ecumenical movements in South Africa, the voices within the DRC family and in particular the critical voice against apartheid within the DRC will form the gist of this investigation. Other researchers have identified critical voices within the ranks of the DRC, but the emphasis in this doctoral thesis is on the criticism already expressed earlier on by Ben Marais and Beyers Naud�. The question that arises from this relates to the differences and similarities in the thinking of the apartheid theologians and the critical voices of Marais and Naud�. What makes this problematic is the fact that the parties have so much in common. During their childhoods they grew up with the same Afrikaner values of religion, culture and politics; they receive their primary and secondary education in Afrikaner schools that affirmed these values. They studied at the same university (the University of Stellenbosch) where their theological thinking was shaped in the same cultural, political and religious climate. In the School of Theology they were exposed to the same teachers and theological trends. This issue will be examined in Chapters 4 and 5 where these mutual influences will be examined respectively in the case of Marais (Chapter 4) and Naud� (Chapter 5). Their years of serving in the DRC will also be analysed. In the final instance Marais' position as professor will also be scrutinised, whereas Naud�'s role in the ecumenical movement will also be looked at. The question that needs to be clarified is: How did these two figures, who represent the critical voice of reason, consciously or unconsciously, comprehend the differences in opinion between them and that of the theology of apartheid within the DRC? In the next chapter the major difference between the critical voice of Marais and Naud� respectively and that of the apartheid theologians will be identified and analysed. The documented analysis regarding the pragmaticI contextual and theological/ideological legitimising of apartheid in the DRC, the critical voice against apartheid, as well as the criticism of Marais and Naud� against apartheid thinking in the DRC will be examined in order to identify and describe such difference. A hermeneutic approach will be used to identify and analyse the differences between the two groups and to be in conjunction with theologians in the DRC. In this part of the investigation the following differences of opinion between the apartheid theologians and the critical voices of Marais and Naud� will be discussed: � The presence or absence of a historical and hermeneutic awareness; � The presence or absence of a hermeneutics of suspicion; � The different ways in which an analysis of the changing social context was made; � The differences in the selection of texts from the Scriptures used to contemplate the Christian message within their specific contexts; � The influence of the different theological traditions and the views of those concerned on the different stances taken; � The role of "interpretation" as the integration of all these variables. To summarise: Firstly, an analysis of the development of pragmatic and dogmatic ideas and practices of racial apartheid (Chapter 2). Secondly, an analysis of the critical voice - its origin, the role played by it within the Christian tradition and in particular that of Ben J Marais and C F Beyers Naud� within the DRC (Chapters 3-5). Thirdly, the results of this analysis are used to identify and describe hermeneutically the differences between the apartheid thinkers and the critical voices of the anti-apartheid thinkers exemplified by the criticism of Marais and Naud�.
God�s Chosen People? A critical investigation of discourses in North American Black and Pan-African Theologies
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Potgieter, Andr�; Conradie, Ernst M.
In Black and African theology, especially in the North American and African contexts, there is consensus that claims of people of European descent being regarded as God�s chosen people, are heretical and serve to legitimise the domination in the name of differences with regard to race, class and culture. Such discourses may be understood to be a sustained critique, rejection, and even condemnation, of the injustices of imperialism, colonialism, human subjugation like slavery, and racial supremacy. In constructive responses to racial supremacy, claims have been made in certain political discourses, cultural philosophies and theologies, that instead, Black Africans who currently reside in Africa and those Black Africans whose ancestry is vest in Africa, may be regarded as God�s chosen people, and Africa as God�s chosen country. Such views are also expressed in some Christian circles and are discussed in the context of certain historical and contemporary North-American, and Pan-African theologies.
The contemplative life and a life of contemplation: The cases of Thomas Keating (1923-2018) and Henri J M Nouwen (1932-1996
(University of Western Cape, 2021) Marankey, Robert Martin; Conradie, E M
There has been an upsurge of interest in Christian spirituality in recent years. In this thesis I will provide a brief survey of the history and forms of Christian spirituality in order to sketch the background against which this study will be situated with specific reference to the history of contemplative spirituality. Beginning with the life and teachings of the Desert Fathers it will show that contemplative prayer is firmly rooted in the ancient Christian tradition. More specifically, I will focus on two contemporary exponents of the contemplative tradition of spirituality, namely Thomas Keating (1923-2018) and Henri Nouwen (1932-1996).
Patriarchy in the house of Jacob and the house Phalo: Contribution to contextual Hermeneutics
(University of Western Cape, 2020) Faleni, Mzukisi; Lawrie, Douglas
This study investigates the privileges and hermeneutical advantages enjoyed by a Phalo interpreter of practices in the bilbical text that are similiar to or the same as those found in Phalo's patriarchal culture. The study therefore probes the extent to which the Phalo interpreter could take advantage of these presumed similarities and sameness, the legitimacy and validity of claims of patriarchal bias attributed to the Phalo interpreter , and the extent to which such claims should be taken seriously by the house of Phalo
Patriarchy in the House of Jacob and PhaloPatriarchy in the House of Jacob and Phalo: Contribution to Contextual Hermeneutics
(University of the Western Cape, 2020) Faleni, Mzukisi; Lawrie, Douglas
This study investigates the privileges and hermeneutical advantages enjoyed by a Phalo Phalo1 interpreter of practices in t he biblical text that are similar to or the same as those found in Phalo�s patriarchal culture. The study therefore probes the extent to which the Phalo interpreter could take advantage of these presumed similarities and sameness, the legitimacy and validi ty of claims of patriarchal bias attributed to the Phalo interpreter, and the extent to which such claims should be taken seriously by the house of Phalo. If the similarities place the Phalo interpreter in a position of advantage when dealing with the text , then, the interpreter should know where to draw the line between the similarities in the patriarchal practices of the two houses. Otherwise, a serious interpretative or hermeneutical crisis could ensue. The study argues that the advantages that the Phalo interpreter brings to the table should not be open open-ended or without restrictions. Since the house of Phalo and Jacob are unrelated in any way, the similarities need to be considered with great caution. The aim of the comparison in the study is not to dete rmine which house is more patriarchal than the other, but to advance contextual hermeneutics. We compare the various fragments of both works in order to ascertain the existence and direction of literary dependence , if any, between these fragments. In both houses, patriarchy and family stand at the centre of culture and religion. Therefore, the concepts of patriarchy in the two houses are crucial to this study. Both families operate under the assumption that the concept of family is strictly valued and that patriarchy is the essence of life and the basis for legal, religious and social construction. In the history of family practices in both the ancient house of Jacob and the house of Phalo, patriarchal laws were regarded as pillars of religion and culture. T he two houses operated a patriarchal system in which family decisions must have the endorsement of the father or the male family head, these being identified through the male bloodline. Thus, the image of religion, culture and the power and authority of th e society are fully patriarchal in both houses.
Partnerships between faith-based organizations in Elsies river and the Western Cape government: a critical assessment
(University of Western Cape, 2020) Solomons, Thomas J.; Conradie, E.M.
With the National Development Plan vision 2030, the South African government has charted a path to ensure that through social development, poverty, inequality and unemployment will be eradicated in post-apartheid South Africa. After more than twenty years of democracy and freedom, the nature and scale of the problems plaguing social development are far from alleviated. However, scholars share the view that social development partnerships could enhance the delivery of developmental welfare services as is implied in the South Africa�s National Development Plan (NDP). The variety of actors involved in any functional partnership pose particular challenges, risks and benefits. In order to explore ways to assess the functionality of such partnerships, this study will focus on religion-state partnerships in social development, with special reference to FBOs, their relation with the state, society and the context within which they exist; hence, defining the nature, identity and role of FBOs in social development.
What does Athens 2005 have to do with cape town 2010? A critical comparison of mission theologies of the commission for world mission and evangelism and of the Lausanne movement on social responsibility.
(University of Western Cape, 2020) Jambulosi, Mavuto; Engdahl, Hans
This research compares the similarities and differences in the official documents and proceedings of the Commission for World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) in Athens 2005 and the Lausanne Movement held in Cape Town in 2010. The former has always exhibited a missiology strong in issues of social justice while the latter has for a long time been consistent in identifying mission as evangelism. The close of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th saw the emergence of the social gospel, which came about as a result of the historical critical approach to biblical texts. Fundamentalists, arose as a reactionary phenomenon to the social gospel, while emphasizing fundamentals of the Christian doctrines and a strict premillennial eschatology which resisted social involvement in favour of salvation of souls.
Congregational schisms in the Full Gospel Church: An analysis of three selected case studies in Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) Bock, Heather; Conradie, Ernst
This thesis is under permanent embargo to protect the identities of the subjects involved.
What on earth is wrong with the world? Five Christian voices on hamartology and ecology
(University of the Western Cape, 2021) Cloete, Newton Millan; Conradie, Ernst
This study is situated in the context of Christian ecotheology, which offers both a Christian critique of ecological destruction and an ecological critique of Christianity. One dimension of Christian ecotheology involves ecumenical discourse on the content and ecological signi-ficance of the Christian faith. This calls for a reinterpretation of all the classic Christian symbols. The focus of this study is on the ways in which the nature of sin is understood in contemporary contributions to ecotheology. In the literature, this is done explicitly through a redescription of sin but is often also implicit in a discussion of the root causes of environmental destruction and reflections on the underlying question � what on earth has gone wrong with the world in which we live? � given the ominous signs of environmental destruction. This study is more specifically situated in a larger project entitled: �Redeeming sin: Hamartology, ecology and social diagnostics�, registered at the University of the Western Cape. This study investigates the positions of five distinct authors who have offered a redescription of the nature of sin through their contributions to ecotheology. These authors are John Chryssavgis (Greek Orthodox Church), Aruna Gnanadason (Church of India), Jesse Mugambi (Anglican Church in Kenya), Larry Rasmussen (Lutheran Church in North America), and Rosemary Radford Ruether (Roman Catholic Church, based in North America). Their understanding of sin is described and analysed on the basis of a close reading of primary and secondary sources. Similarities and differences between their positions on the nature of sin are then compared in order to capture the state of the contemporary debate in ecotheology and to consider emerging horizons for further discourse and research on hamartology and ecology.
God se deernis met die weerloses van sy volk. 'n Kritiese ondersoek na 'n spesifieke dimensie van die Godsverkondiging in die Ou Testament
(University of Western Cape, 1991) Goliath, August Christian; Verhoef, P A
Benewens persoonlike belangstelling in die boodskap van die Ou Testament vir die kerk van vandag, is dit veral kontempor�re teologiese debatte en verwikkelinge op die kerklike terrein, plaaslik sowel as op die bre� ekumeniese front, wat tot hierdie studie aanJeiding gegee het. Eerstens: Een van die artikels van die Belharbelydenis' lui onder andere: "Ons glo ... dat God op 'n besondere wyse (Homself geopenbaar het as) die God van die noodlydende, die arme en die verontregte ...(my kursivering); dat Hy aan die verdruktes reg laat geskied en brood aan die hongeriges gee; dat Hy die gevangenes bevry en blindes laat sien; dat Hy di� wat bedruk is ondersteun, die vreemdelinge beskerm en weeskinders en weduwees help en die pad van die goddelose versper." Toe di� spesifieke artikel van die konsepbelydenis gedurende die sinodesitting' onder bespreking gekom het, het somrnige van die afgevaardigdes ernstige besware geopper teen die wyse van formulering dat God op 'n besondere wyse die God van die noodlydende, die arme en die verontregte is. So 'n stelling skep, volgens hulle, die indruk dat God inderdaad kant gekies het vir die noodlydendes en dat Hy dus by implikasie 'n God van die armes, verdruktes en verontregtes is. Die sinodale kommissie wat VIr die formulering van die konsepbelydenis verantwoordelik was, het hierop ontkennend geantwoord en tot gerusstelling van die sinodegangers aangevoer dat die betrokke artikel eenvoudig beskou moet word as die verwoording van die "basiese, oer-Bybelse en oer-Christelike oortuiging, naamlik dat God die hulp van die hulpelose is"(Smit 1984:65). Die konsepbelydenis is aan die Kerk deurgegee met die oog op kritiese besinning gedurende die sinodereses en vir die voorlegging van kommentaar by die daaropvolgende sinode.' Vanselfsprekend sou s� 'n totaal nuwe belydenisskrif sy eie invloed op die kerklike lewe uitoefen. Daar kan verwag word dat verskillende aksente op sekere artikels mettertyd gel� sal word. Oor sommige van die stellings sal gaandeweg nuwe interpretasies na vore kom en 'n verskeidenheid van betekenisnuanses sal met verloop van tyd verwag kan word Belangrikste van alles is dat bepaalde formuleringe deur die loop van die kerk se geskiedenis opnuut aan die hand van die Skrif getoets sal word. Die studie is indertyd ge�nisieer in die hoop om in so 'n Wirkungsgeschichte 'n bydrae te lewer.
Pentecost, process, and power: A Critical Comparison of Concursus in Operational Pentecostal-Charismatic Theology and Philosophical Process-Relational Theology
(University of Western Cape, 2010) Reichard, Joshua David; Conradie, Ernst M.
This doctoral thesis comprises a critical comparison of the theme of concursus, the way in which God and humanity interact, in the Pentecostal-Charismatic and Process-Relational traditions. The comparison is literature-based; similarities and differences in the theological literature of each tradition are compared in order to determine the extent of compatibilities and incompatibilities. The hypothesis is that similarities in the literature sufficiently leverage differences. The first chapter includes a statement of the problem, namely that the global expansion of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements necessitates interaction with more academically and philosophically oriented theological traditions such as Process- Relational theology. The second chapter comprises an historical survey of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movements, including key dogmas and practices. Chapter three comprises an historical survey of Process-Relational theology, including its philosophical, metaphysical, and scientific orientations. Seminal Process- Relational theists such as Whitehead, Hartshorne, and Cobb are surveyed. Chapter four consists of a broad historical survey of the theological theme of concursus, including the notions of causation, free will, and determinism in both philosophy and theology. Further, the fourth chapter includesa broad historical survey of pneumatology, which is framed as the basis for a comparison of concursus. Chapters five and six comprise surveys of concursus in the Pentecostal- Charismatic and Process-Relational traditions respectively. Chapter seven entails an extensive analysis of differences and synthesis of similarities between the Pentecostal-Charismatic and Process-Relational notions of concursus. Four differences and four similarities are identified. Differences and similarities are ranked and compared for compatibility. Ultimately, the research question is answered affirmatively and conditionally: yes, according to the literature of both traditions, similarities sufficiently leverage differences, but socio-linguistic barriers may obstruct meaningful mutual transformation. Chapter eight concludes with a brief exploration of ecclesial and social implications.
The Relationship between the Church and the Reign of God in the Reconstruction Theology of JNK Mugambi: A critical analysis
(University of Western Cape, 2005) Fischer, John Hugo; Conradie, Ernst
Reconstruction theology is widely regarded as one of the most influential approaches to contemporary African Christian theology - alongside others such as inculturation theology, liberation theology, African women's theology, evangelical theology and Pentecostal theology. In this thesis I offer a critical assessment of one of the main exponents of such reconstruction theology, namely the Kenyan theologian Jesse Mugambi. I explore the question of how his position on the notion of reconstruction should be understood. One point of entry into understanding Mugambi's views on reconstruction is to explore his position on the relationship between the church and the coming reign of God. In the history of Christianity this relationship has been understood in widely divergent ways. The task of this thesis will therefore be to examine, position, analyse and assess Mugambi's particular view in this regard. This will be done on the basis of a close reading of Mugambi's publications such as African Christian Theology: an Introduction (1989), From Liberation to Reconstruction: African Christian Theology after the Cold War (1995), Christian Theology and Social Reconstruction (2003), and numerous chapters in publications by African theologians.

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