Browsing by Author "Burrows, Shaun Victor"

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    Die rol van prediking in die bevordering van gemeenskapsontwikkeling : 'n kontektueeel-teologiese besinning
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-04) Burrows, Shaun Victor; Cilliers, Johan; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Church‘s approach during the apartheid-era was mainly characterised by liberation-theology, as well as liberation preaching. However, the post-apartheid era, which is still being marred by social degradation, moral decline, a general increase in poverty, family violence, divorce and a sense of individualism, requires an increased focus on the sustainable eradication of poverty. Furthermore, while Christian ethical reflection under apartheid was embodied through a series of violence and resistance movements aimed at breaking down the walls of apartheid, the Church must now shift the focus to a general sense of co-operation; to rebuild the social infrastructure, needed by the impoverished and marginalized. The underlying question of the undertaken study is: can the Church achieve this by starting with a theology of development, which will be a vehicle for socio - and economic reconstruction? This study furthermore suggests that a theology of reconstruction is also a contextual theology. It addresses the specific or current situations plaguing communities by posting clear questions regarding the economy and development-programmes that have an effect on people‘s daily lives. It is also a back-tracking theology, in the sense that it attempts to rectify the pain and suffering brought on by our history. The Church, who must serve the message of hope, can also identify with this theology, because it is emphasizing dimensions like healing and recovery. In this study it is argued that what post-apartheid South Africa urgently needs, is a fundamental consensus regarding binding values, non-negotiable standards and morally accepted humane attitudes to one another. It is in fact in this regard that the purpose and possibilities of preaching come into question. In this context of poverty, unemployment, uncertainty, a sense of non-belonging, apathy and emotional depression, ethical preaching can, as an orientation-instrument, create a new sense of dignity and value for many.