The “decolonial turn” and the “decolonising” in Postcolonialism and Decoloniality: A Juncture in African Biblical Interpretation.
Obusitswe Tiroyabone-A-Sedupelela[1]
ABSTRACT
Recent methods of interpretation that are used widely in African biblical interpretation are the postcolonial studies and studies in decoloniality. The climax of the interpretation process in postcolonial studies is the act of “decolonising” an ancient text and the contemporary context and re-reading it with postcolonial eyes. In decolonial studies the climax of the interpretation process is the “decolonial turn” in which the text is re-read in conjunction with the contemporary context with the aim of decolonising it. This paper notes that these two methods are used as two different methods, yet they appear to drive towards a common goal of a decolonised text and contemporary context. The paper then evaluates the sources of these methods and traces them back to Frantz Fanon as the philosophical source of both these methods. Then the paper explores how the climax points of these methods can be joined together in African biblical interpretation.
“Who is my mother and who are my brothers (and sisters)” Contemporary challenges to the hegemony of the nuclear family in Catholic theology on the family: a case study of the status of the family in South Africa.
Nontando Hadebe[2]
Abstract
In Catholic theology the nuclear family is believed to be the only divinely instituted model of the family. Marriage is between a man and woman and is indissoluble. The Church is opposed to divorce, remarriage, use of contraception and same sex unions. However, as research findings and anecdotal evidence have shown there is a gap between the official teachings of the church and the lived realities of her members. Further, in contemporary global society there are multiple forms of family including nuclear families with same sex parents, single parent, multi-generational, divorced and remarried etc. These multiple forms of family challenge the hegemony of the nuclear family in Catholic theology and question the relevance of the teaching in relation to contemporary contexts. In response the Church has through the process of consultation initiated by Pope Francis and the Synod of bishops including the papal exhortation “joy of love” tried to bridge the gap. Their response will be critiqued with reference to the South African context, as a case study. This paper will examine whether these attempts at bridging the gap can sufficiently address the challenges raised by multiple forms of family in South Africa which are also global realities.
Healing as prophetic engagement with “injustices to be combated and justice to be restored” in post-colonial Zimbabwe.
Paradzai Nyakuwa[3]
Abstract
Zimbabwe is a wounded nation. The 35 years of Zimbabwe independence is a period characterized by several documented civil strife. This includes Gukurahundi[4] (the Matabeleland-Midlands atrocities – 1980-1987), the violent Fast track Land Reform Programme (2000-2004), Operation Murambatsvina[5] (2005) and post-election violence (2008). All these events contributed to violation of human creation and baptismal dignity of the ‘imago Dei/Christi and inalienable rights of the human person when perpetrators got away with impunity. Hence, there is need for authentic healing in Zimbabwe. The paper shows that healing is part of the God’s salvific plan ‘ad gentes’ (to all people; Christians share in this mission of God through Christ, and that healing is prophetic engagement with “injustices to be combated and justice to be restored”[6] in post-colonial Zimbabwe.
Faith of an angry people:
Mapping a renewed prophetic theology in South Africa
JakubUrbaniak[7]
ABSTRACT
'Our language is violent and violence is our language... If there is an area in which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission failed, and failed spectacularly, it is in the area of national anger management. We are an angry people. This is an angry nation. Some of the angriest white as well as black people on earth live here' (Maluleke: 2011:89). What underlies this study is the conviction that Christian theology will be poised to play a constructive role in the current social transition in South Africa only insofar as it is capable of patiently listening to and being shaped by people's rage. This paper aims at mapping a renewed prophetic theology based on the theological framework inherent in the Kairos Document (1985). Firstly, I use the three-tier distinction between state theology, church theology and prophetic theology to broadly describe the political-ecclesial status quo in South Africa today. Secondly, I identify the differences between Black Theology and two other major players on the local theological scene, African Theology and Public Theology, with regard to their preoccupation with liberation and potential to resonate with the rage of the marginalised majority of South Africans (T Maluleke). Based on this comparison I argue for using the post-colonial, rather than postmodern theory as a framework in which a prophetic theology can truly serve the liberation of subalterns (E Said). Thirdly, I offer a christocentric and eschatologically qualified interpretation of Kairos traditionally understood as 'the appointed time' when God's grace is at work. The central question here is: 'How to expect God's reign in the face of Death and Empire?' The eschatological virtues like patience and hope must be counterbalanced, I argue, by prophetic rage and shattering one's illusions about the reality. The role of theologians in this context consists in 'cracking imperial software' (J Rieger). In conclusion, I venture to draw the contours of a renewed (and perhaps already emerging) prophetic theology, which the present suggests and the future demands. Does it need to overcome the polarisation between love (reconciliation) and revolution (liberation) characteristic of prophetic theology in 1980s? Can it embrace an attitude of 'revolutionary patience' (D Solle) without losing its accountability to those on the underside of history? The defining feature of such a kairotic theology of liberation (and the main challenge it faces), I will argue, is its hybridity in the face of the elusive structures of a new global Empire; it is this in-betweenness that starkly sets it apart from its 1985 foremother. In this context, patiently grooving with people's rage while at the same time deepening the awareness of the intersectionality of both oppression and struggle, in their multiple social and ecological dimensions, demands a great deal of what Mitri Raheb labels a 'creative resistance'.
Neo-colonialism and the quest for authentic liberation in Zimbabwe
Abstract
Francisca Hildegardis Chimhanda[8]
Zimbabwe became independent from British colonialism on 18 April 1980. The dilemma is that thirty six years on Zimbabweans are not free. Independence Day is just a public holiday with nothing to celebrate. Among other things, neo-colonialism (a new home grown oppression) experienced as more painful than colonialism, has emerged to thwart the expected gains of the armed (1960s-1970s). This is manifested by a record of civil strife, corruption scandals accompanied by an emergent black elite, economic meltdown and poor service delivery. Furthermore, the hope for a better tomorrow is bleak amid an intransigent dictatorship government and several allegations of disenfranchisement of the electorate. It appears a new re-think is needed to mitigate for authentic, liberation in Zimbabwe. This paper offers a theological challenge to neo-colonialism founded on conscious awareness that God has salvific will for both the oppressed and the oppressor and of the link between liberation and reconciliation in the fight against reversed racism, sexism and elitism. is advocated. There is consciousness-raising to overt and subtle ways in which Zimbabweans collude with the very system they are set to dismantle and in so doing, co-opt their own personhood.
Racial Justice and the need for Radical Voices and Praxis[9]
Abstract
The dawn of democracy in South Africa brought about hope that the injustices of past will be addressed. With the commissioning of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), this hope was becoming a reality. Throughout the TRC these dream begun to fade. Furthermore, I will maintain that in the context of South Africa only Reconciliation was perceived to be the only foundation to racial justice (reparation). As a result, the focus then became who committed the crimes, in other words it was on individual guilt, rather than Apartheid as a structural and systematic institution. These meant questions around white privilege, collective shame and citizenship were not reflected on. In this article I will argue that for black reparation racial justice to be realized there are three key theological concepts that are central to the process namely, reconciliation, reparation and atonement. In the South African reconciliation over-shadowed reparation and atonement. Thus without these three key pillars we cannot speak of racial justice. Conclusions will be drawn.
Keywords: democracy, reparation, reconciliation, atonement, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Apartheid and racial justice.
[1]Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies
P.O Box 392
UNISA
0003
[2]Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
P.O Box 392
UNISA
0003
[3] Paradzai Nyakuwa is a Zimbabwean doctoral studentat the University of South Africa, in the discipline Systematic Theology.
[4]Gukurahundi (
[5]Murambatsvina (reject dirt) – human beings were reduced to dirty to be disposed and so their homes were destroyed and they were put in the street at the on
[6] Pope Paul VI, in Evangelii Nuntiandi (EN) (1975), 30
[7] Department of Theology
St Augustine College of South Africa
53 Ley Road, Victory Park, Johannesburg
PO Box 44782, Linden, 2104, South Africa
[8] Francisca Hildegardis Chimhanda is Professor (in Systematic Theology) at the University of South Africa, in the Department of Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology.
[9] Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies
Theo van Wijk Building
Room 8-90
P.O Box 392
UNISA
0003