This article represents the scholarly journeys of two emerging researchers who are greatly indebted to the scholarship and personhood of Professor Nico Botha. Professor Nico Botha's narrative approach to life in general and the academy had a lasting impact on many emerging and some now established scholars. John and Demaine's own ecclesial and academic journey has been inspired by the person and work of Professor Nico Botha. Our interest in missiology developed into our academic careers, and more specifically when we joined the Southern African Missiological Society. In this article they fuse their journeys with that of Nico. They draw out the similarities and differences of some common themes that seem to inform our academic scholarship and our own commitment to nurture the "other" with care and compassion. Three themes have captured our imagination in our interaction with the person and work of Nico. Firstly, Nico had a strong commitment towards the poor and marginalised. Secondly, over the past decade or so, Nico has been developing a narrative theology, or, at least, a narrative approach to theology. Stories include both biblical accounts and contemporary narration of real-life situations. This second theme will be correlated with a narrative approach to theology that includes critical engagement with reason, tradition and community. The third theme is the pastoral and praxis cycle approach to development that Nico has employed throughout his academic career. The pastoral and praxis cycle approach has four interactionist stages: insertion, social analysis, biblical interpretation, and strategic planning. The pastoral and praxis cycle approach will be compared and contrasted with the fourstage interactionist approach of Don Browning. Finally, they will offer some contours and markers for further development of Nico's theology of missiology.
As a metaphor, “liberation” was at the heart of the Black theological project in South Africa. However, after centuries of colonial and apartheid rule, Black liberation and its association with Black theology need to be examined in light of democracy in South Africa. Some have asserted that the end of apartheid together with the democratization of the country renders Black theology irrelevant. These views are taken further by suggesting that it is not Black people alone who are in need of liberation. The dawn of democracy, therefore, is a significant variable for those seeking to replace liberation with metaphors deemed more “suitable” for the current context. The most significant proposal—which has generated much debate—suggests that Black theology should shift emphasis from “liberation” to “reconstruction.” Often these debates question the continued relevance of “liberation” as a root metaphor. Moreover, they highlight the need for a clearly defined framework for Black theology following the demise of apartheid.
This article introduces this thematic issue of The Ecumenical Review, which originates from a colloquium hosted at the University of the Western Cape on Black theologies. Our aim is to propose a set of theological frames through which to consider the 11 articles presented here, as well as the study of Black theology in general. We propose that Black theologies of liberation can be understood within three theological frameworks: a theology of resistance that encompasses both the social and epistemic, a theology of existence that focuses on Black consciousness and identity, and a theology of solidarity that fully embraces African feminist and queer theological perspectives. What the contributors to this issue on Black theology succeed in doing is ushering in new ways of thinking about the subject. Not only do they open new frontiers for theorizing and conceptualizing the gospel in light of Black experiences, but they also challenge the exclusionary nature of the old frontiers, calling to attention how even liberation discourses can sometimes reinscribe hegemony.
The quest for reconciliation in South Africa is an exercise in the absurd. To say it is an exercise for the absurd might also have some merit. Like Sisyphus, the figure in Greek mythology, those engaged in the quest for reconciliation are condemned to repeat forever the same, in some cases, meaningless task of pushing a boulder up a mountain only to see it roll down again. This is amid the human propensity to forever search for meaning irrespective of the incongruity of the ideal and the absurdity that defines our existence. The illogicality of apartheid and the subsequent pain and alienation continues to be a defining feature of a country trying to come to terms not what it ought to be, but what it is – chaotic, irrational and sometimes meaningless. In this context, Rustenburg is a symbol of the audacity to dream of something beyond the absurd. Moreover, invoking a theology of reconciliation to achieve something extraordinary amid an uncertain future.
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