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Ecumenical Missiology: Changing Landscapes and New Conceptions of Mission

This study is concerned with the identity of the Church and its social and political mission in South Africa. Here the argument is that the religious identity of the Church is fulfilled in the realization of the Kingdom of God through the historical event of incarnation which liberates human identity from oppression and alienation. This doctrine in turn, it is contended, depends for its relevance upon the significance of the concepts of prolepsis and commitment for the mission of the Church, Prolepsis signifies that the Church exists to bear witness to that which has come and is coming in Jesus Christ, In this way the thesis attempts to situate the proclamation of the Kingdom of God in relation to a particular problem of oppression and exploitation in South Africa, Hence commitment should be understood as the fulfilment of Black identity and thus as a liberation which brings about the transformation of the South African identity as a whole. In this thesis the hermeneutic circle as a theory of interpretation is applied in the theological and historical analysis of the South African social formation. Part One of the thesis lays the theoretical foundations of the study by developing the hypothesis and discussing identity theories and methodology. Part Two contains an analysis of South African social reality in which the variable of class is identified as that which underpins the South African social structure. Consequently, Apartheid is explained with reference to the economy rather than race. It is an economic rather than a racial factor. Part Three consists of a theological and sociological analysis of South Africa; it employs the Marxist social theory of alienation and applies the conception of identity advocated by the Liberation Movements of Southern Africa, particularly the African National Congress. It is concluded that the religious identity is a crucial factor in the emergence of a full humanity.

The religious identity of the church and its social and political mission in South Africa 1948-1984 : a historical and theological analysis

In the 1950s, civic actors in South Africa mobilised against racist laws that penetrated nearly every aspect of civic life. The social justice struggle that eventually displaced white minority rule culminated in democratic elections in 1994. Following this historic transition from authoritarian rule to democracy, other issues came to the fore, including how the South African government was to receive persons claiming refugee status on the basis of persecution and war. Civic actors again mobilised around these ‘new’ human rights and social justice issues; they became engaged either in working with government to develop a refugee policy, or in confronting the government to fulfil its national and international obligations towards refugees. This book discusses the dynamics of civic-state interactions aimed at the state’s obligations to promote, protect and fulfil human rights. Through the lens of refugee rights advocacy in South Africa in the first decade of its post-1994 period of democracy, this book examines and explains the circumstances under which civic-state interactions can lead to structural change, and what these interactions can teach us about the potential of civic society to realise rights in general. In any social justice struggle, the key to civic actors being able to hold states and their governments accountable for their human rights obligations lies in civic actors making strategic choices. Making strategic choices has various implications for civic actors. First, civic actors must appreciate the social, political and legal context in which they operate; this historical appreciation reveals certain structural boundaries to realising rights that are nearly always imposed by the state. Second, civic actors must critically assess these structural boundaries that condition their behaviour, but also have the potential for structural change or ‘elaboration’, through civic actors interacting with the state in formal and also informal interventions. Third, civic actors must appreciate the social distance that always exists between themselves and the government, measured by divergences in meanings, interests and political positions. Through a critical engagement in this ‘external’ relationship, it is possible for civic actors to capitalize on these divergences in advocating a state’s accountability for realising human rights. Whether the social distance ought to be narrowed or broadened at a particular moment depends on (1) the context in which this takes place, (2) the structural boundaries that exist, and (3) the desired outcome. Three examples of refugee rights advocacy, and the corresponding social distance that existed between civic actors and the government in South Africa are examined. The first concerns the process of bringing a formal refugee policy into place. The second example focuses on the implementation of a separate policy to resolve the situation of former Mozambican refugees in the country. The third example focuses on the manner in which the rights of refugees have been litigated through the South African courts. Drawing on these three examples, the book concludes that a critical engagement with the government by civic actors, reflected in the strategic choices that they make, allows civic actors to take advantage of a narrow, but significant space for achieving structural change.

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Advocating for Accountability: Civic-State Interactions to Protect Refugees in South Africa

This article seeks to discover, problematize and deconstruct the powerful discourses that have informed the recent debates within the Church of England (and other churches) in the area of human sexuality, and of homosexuality in particular. Poststructuralist methodology reveals that the sexualities' discourse of the Church of England is structured around themes of purity/pollution and text/authority, which operate powerfully to police the theorization and practice of both individuals and the social body of the church. The instantiation of this discourse in the lives of individuals is illustrated by an analysis of two 'stories': the first, a biographical account of a particular incident in the life of one priest; the second draws on the published record of the difficulties raised by the appointment of Canon Jeffrey John as a bishop. In response to these findings, the author draws on theological traditions developed out of Queer Theory to suggest alternative ways of viewing sexualities, which are both more ...

'No More Tea, Vicar'. An Exploration of the Discourses which Inform the Current Debates about Sexualities within the Church of England

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Peter Hinchliff

Papers

Black Theology: The South African Voice