God's household and the poor in contextual ecclesiology

Abstract

As a consequence of the bipolar tension between theory and practice, experience (considered in the South African context) influences the church's reflection on Practical Theology. Insight into the economic system of the Mediterranean world helps us to understand the complexities involved in positioning poverty, as well as the role of the New Testament faith community in its interaction with the poor. The social system in the ancient world, within which poverty was encountered, cautions us against taking a simplistic view of the poor. We cannot duplicate social systems and impose them on current situations. The New Testament, which is set against a particular system, speaks of the Kingdom of God as a place where the poor must be cared for. The New Testament (especially the Gospel of John) lets us understand that a church, which has a family orientation as its basis,should provide a home for the poor. ORIENTATIONPractical Theology as a theory of action -an empirically oriented theological theorywill be able to mediate the Christian faith in the praxis of modem society (Heitink 1996:6). Hermeneutical meditation in the field of Practical Theology has led to the realisation that the message should be sought in interaction with the context (cf Van der Ven 1990;Browning 1991;Pieterse 1993;Vos 1996;Heitink 1999). The context prompts the reader or hearer to ask certain questions of the text, which help to determine how it will be interpreted (De Wit 1991). This method of theologising implies the fullDigitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services God's household and the poor in contextual ecclesiologyrecognition of theology's contextuality and its embeddedness in the various domains of human culture. AN ECCLESIOLOGY FROM OUTSIDEAn ecc1esiology from outside takes account of the effects of the theological nature of the church on the empirical environment. An ecc1esiology, which is serious about taking account of the context and the experience of the poor, must make service and care a priority. The contextual nature of the church obliges the church to investigate and define its relationship with society. This goes hand in hand with "a radical awareness of our social and communal embeddedness" (Van Huyssteen 1999:146). It is the view from outside which leads the church to greater self-understanding. POVERTY IN SOCIETYPoverty can no longer be suppressed or concealed. The oppressive system of apartheid, or a new democracy, can no longer be advanced as an excuse for poverty. Poverty can no longer be regarded as the government's sole responsibility either. Society is aware of the problem and has a responsibility for dealing with it. This applies especially to the churches.Poverty is a complex problem with numerous pitfalls. A uniform model, which is simplistically imposed on a country, would fail to get to grips with the problem. A lifestyle modelled on Western culture runs the risk of interpreting poverty primarily from a Western perspective. To avoid this danger, poverty must be tackled as a complex cultur...

Embracing an embodied theology in the time of corona: Mimetic synchronisation with the theological rhythms and first responder stance of the apostle Paul during the time of famine

“…Only then will there be hope for a vibrant new post-corona theology, a lived one at that! Today the words of Vos (2001) are more valid than ever:…”