A reconstructive motif in South African Black Theology in the twenty-first century

Abstract

In this article, Black Theology as a strand of continent-wide African theology is seen through the eyes of African Black Theologians other than South Africans. The article is based on the premise that, whereas up to 1994 Black Theology in South Africa was distinct from other strands of African theology (especially in its emphasis on the urgency of liberation from White racism and its attendant suffering and exploitation), that dividing line is now blurred: Black Theologians in South Africa are moving closer to other theologians from the rest of the continent (Motlhabi 1994). In particular, their present concern with gospel and culture, a phenomenon that did not previously receive much attention, comes to much the same as joining other African theologians in seeking a theology of reconstruction. Certainly, African theologians in the twentyfirst century have all united to address the common challenges that the continent is grappling with. These concerns include HIV and AIDS, xenophobia, gender injustice, tribalism, poverty, moral regeneration, corruption, re-emerging forms of dictatorship, and global warming among others. As to methodology, the article starts by tracing the historical background of South African Black Theology and proceeds to survey some of its past concerns as articulated by its proponents. It then addresses some of the current concerns of theology in twenty-first century Africa, a trajectory that points to a reconstructive as opposed to an Exodus motif.