http://hdl.handle.net/10500/4091 2013-05-23T05:47:02Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/8583 Is love enough? Towards a Theological ethic of nonviolence in South Africa Bentley, Wessel The great majority of the South African population profess to belong to the Christian faith and, as everybody knows, Christianity has as its basis the teaching of love of God and of one’s neighbour. Yet, it is in this context that we find a community victimised by violent crime, and in response to these acts of violence, is growing in its vigilante sentiment. Indeed, South Africans seem to have a reputation for crime, xenophobia and public protests that often translate into acts of violence. This paper explores the Christian teaching of love and asks whether this can translate into an ethic of nonviolence within the South African context. It does so with reference to the pacifism of Stanley Hauerwas and John H. Yoder. 2012-11-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/6681 A decade of the same-sex debate in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (2001-2011) Bentley, Wessel The conversation on same-sex relationships in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) has been a long and emotional one. For ten years, this denomination, amongst others, has struggled to define its own position regarding this very important and highly emotive social issue. When conversations span a long period of time, it becomes easy to digress and to lose focus of the central questions that need to be worked through. It is thus important to look back and take stock of where the MCSA has come from and where it has moved to in this debate. In this article I will give a description of the history of the debate on same-sex relationships in the MCSA by drawing on the official statements and reports of Conference of the MCSA, the Connexional Executive and the Doctrine, Ethics and Worship Committee. Reflecting on this history, this article will suggest further steps for the MCSA in its ongoing search to find grace and truth on this matter. 2012-08-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5404 Diversity in a multicultural and polyethnic world : challenges and responses Du Toit, Cornel W. Today’s world is characterised by multiculturalism. The diversity of cultures and conflicting ethnic groups sharing the same territory pose a threat to both local and world peace. We have come to the end of the ‘nation’ and the end of the ‘state’, two homogenous entities which are increasingly being emasculated by an instrumental reason in the form of techno-science and economic globalisation. Ethnic diversity is simultaneously a source of wealth and a threat to African societies. African unity in the form of an ubuntu-ethic offers a model for dealing with polyethnicity. Ethnocentrism is biologically rooted and operates through prejudice. As a coping mechanism for dealing with diversity, prejudice has its value and its limitations. It must be contained where it leads to xenophobia, ethnophobia and war. Polyethnic coexistence is a prerequisite if Africa is to attain its developmental ideals as expressed in the NEPAD programme. In this paper, I look at the way in which ethno-philosophy and ethno-theology can help this process. 2004-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/5370 The formation of Christian leaders : a Wesleyan approach Bentley, Wessel The problem of leadership is that it is defined according to a very narrow understanding. It postulates that all people can be divided into two categories. People are either leaders or followers. This article explores the formation of Christian leaders using the model offered by the Wesleyan revival of eigteenthcentury England. It asks what leaders would look like when we use the Wesleyan definition instead of the leader-follower understanding to which we have grown accustomed. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z