Knowing, believing, living in Africa: A practical theology perspective of the past, present and future
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Knowing, believing, living in Africa: A practical theology perspective of the past, present and future | |
| Creator | Dames, Gordon E. | |
| Description | The new democratic era in South Africa brought Western cultural influences forcefully into public and private living domains. This dichotomy deformed African cultures in many ways (Bujo Muya). Local communities were previously ‘public people’ living and worshipping in transformative hermeneutical communities. This scenario has changed and local communities are steadily being driven into private spaces. The task of practical theology is to question what the undergirding epistemology and beliefs for this shift are and to reinterpret it in the light of the gospel. The impact of Western culture on African traditional villages is telling in so far as traditional African values and practices are being lost at the expense of Western ideology, technology, media, et cetera (Bujo Muya). We argue that the former dominant monodisciplinary approach of practical theology contributed to a growing private individualist worldview. Practical theology has since developed into an interdisciplinary approach. This newfound reciprocity in the social sciences led to constructive change in church and society (Dingemans). Practical theology in Africa has to deal with an individualised, pluralistic world and tendencies of discontinuity, uncertainty, violence and destruction. In South Africa, practical theology is called upon to redress the dichotomies and defaults of Western and African cultures, respectively. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2013-02-12 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/hts.v69i1.1260 | |
| Source | HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 69, No 1 (2013); 9 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/1260/3253
https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/1260/3254
https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/1260/3255
https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/1260/3252
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
