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
Date
2015-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
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.
Description
CITATION: 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/4102/2814
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/4102/2814
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
Keywords
Church, Theology -- Methodology, Hope -- South Africa, Eschatology
Citation
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.