In search of meaning : moving from the prophet's voice to prophecy in community, a South African perspective
Date
2009
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology
Abstract
During the times of ‘Apartheid South Africa’ prophetic preaching played an
enormous part in bringing about the changes this country experienced throughout
the last three decades. The prophetic preaching of exponents such as Desmond Tutu,
Allan Boesak and Beyers Naudé paved the way for the relatively peaceful transitions
South Africans experienced. Within Christian communities it assisted people in their
search for meaning and thereby created a framework of understanding for the
necessity of socio-political change. Fourteen years into the new dispensation the
question remains: Does prophetic preaching still make a difference? Also: Does
such preaching help Christian communities in their search for meaning in these
changing times? These questions will be addressed in the paper. It will be argued
that prophetic preaching could and should play a part in a new search for meaning.
This should however be practiced anew and under changed conditions. It will also
be argued that a ‘theodramatic paradigm’ provides a helpful practical-prophetic
framework in the search for meaning in this regard. Such a framework will be based
on the theological model (theorems) provided by classical and recent studies and
expanded by applying it to the notion of prophetic performance derived from the
Belhar Confession.
Description
CITATION: Nell, I. A. 2009. In search of meaning : moving from the prophet's voice to prophecy in community, a South African perspective. Scriptura, 102:562-578, doi:10.7833/102-0-615.
The original publication is available at http://scriptura.journals.ac.za
The original publication is available at http://scriptura.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Belhar Confession, Preaching -- South Africa, Prophecy -- Christianity, Apartheid -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
Citation
Nell, I. A. 2009. In search of meaning : moving from the prophet's voice to prophecy in community, a South African perspective. Scriptura, 102:562-578, doi:10.7833/102-0-615.