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Violent protest actions during COVID-19 in South Africa : a practical theological response
Buqa, Wonke (AOSIS, 2025-06-05)
South Africa is rated as one of the highest in violent crimes that result in murder, standing at number four in the world. In 2023, there were 27 000 people reported murdered, which amounts to 45 people per 100 000. Violent protest actions are also a contributor to the number of deaths. One particular protest in July 2021 claimed more than 300 lives during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been met with strikes, violence, and protests despite policies against such crowd gatherings. The study argues that violent protests are a result of the corruption system, mismanagement, and poor service delivery in the post-apartheid government. The study seeks to investigate the phenomenon of violent protest action during the intense COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study argues that political instability, social injustices, economic stress, societal uncertainty, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing toxic social norms and inequalities in South Africa. Therefore, this study affirms that violent protest is a forceful demonstration of an underprivileged group protesting for 'salvation' and 'liberation' from economic struggles. Furthermore, this study proceeds to a transversal interdisciplinary approach where practical theology and psychology as sciences can share their critical concern and voices through a literature review. In this situation, contextually, practical theology must contribute constructively to listening to people's needs and respond to violence cautiously by presenting hope and reconciliation to the devastated communities. CONTRIBUTION : This study contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse of theology and psychology on violence among the underprivileged of South Africa, who through their protest action, demonstrate that indlala nomsindo zinamanyala [hunger and anger are obscene], and they know no boundaries. This study is relevant for practical theology and psychology because both disciplines are concerned with the social welfare and well-being of the people.
Text, theory and methodology : ruminations from the horizon of a reader from the south
Makalima, Otto (AOSIS, 2025-11-14)
This article marks the tenth year of Welile Mazamisa's passing, as a proverbial burning down of a library. It contains a recollection of lessons gleaned from memory of his own ruminations as he lived and mused from his horizon as a reader from the south. In his own dialectic fashion, a reflection on the text, theory and methodology is discussed as a possible lesson and perhaps, also a quo vadis question to the contemporary biblical scholar and theologian in South Africa, concerning these categories of scholarship. It seems fair to say that among lessons to still be learned from Mazamisa, is this lesson: a critical reader is to be mindful of the centrality of the text, the urgency of theory and the necessity of methodology in the process of reading and appropriating the reading of the text. In conclusion, an application is made to the decolonisation project and the credibility of theology as an academic discipline in South Africa (SA). CONTRIBUTION : This article contributes to the discourse of hermeneutics and decolonisation and also to the discourse of hermeneutics and the question of the credibility of theology as an academic discipline in South Africa
Revisiting the Kairos document after 40 years : a challenge to the churches in South Africa
Van der Merwe, J.M. (Johan Matthys) (AOSIS, 2025-08-14)
It has been 40 years since the publication of the important Kairos document in 1985. Although much has changed in South Africa, many things have also remained the same. Millions of people are still suffering, and this has once again brought the country to the brink of disaster. That is what this article is about. It provides a short overview of the context and key content of the Kairos document, followed by an examination of the various aspects of the current crisis in the country. It then affirms the fact that the Church is an important agent of change before moving to an important meeting that took place between the South African Council of Churches and Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa. This meeting, which took place within the National Dialogue Initiative, serves as an important indicator, that the government also recognises the important role that the Church can play in bringing change to the country. In the last part of the article, the Rustenburg Church conference of 1990 is used as an example for a Lekgotla of Christian churches and Christian organisations. The article concludes by emphasising that the best way to celebrate the Kairos document, is for Christians to rise as one to save the country from disaster. CONTRIBUTION : This article revisits the Kairos document of 1985 as an example of how the churches in South Africa can answer to the current challenges in South Africa
Kutanda botso [self-shaming] : a suffering-related therapeutic ritual in Shona society
Museka, Godfrey; Manyonganise, Molly (AOSIS, 2025-10-15)
The concept of human suffering forms an integral part of almost all world religions. In the African Indigenous Religion, the focus of this article, suffering is considered an unordinary mundane experience. As such, the sufferer and his or her significant others often ask: Why this suffering? Why is it happening to me? What or who caused it? What should I do to alleviate it? These questions point to the idea that in the African Indigenous Religion, suffering has a cause and an antidote. This article, therefore, seeks to add voice to discourses on religio-cultural approaches to suffering, a subject matter that has so far been scantly addressed in African Indigenous Religion related literature. We explore one of the most dreaded forms of spiritualised suffering, kutanda botso [self-shaming], its perceived causes, manifestations and remedies. The argument advanced in this article is that when suffering is moralised and spiritualised, it tends to be perceived as unusual; hence, actions that require appeasement and/or redressive therapeutic rituals are brought to the fore. CONTRIBUTION : This study adds voice to the existing body of literature on the nexus between African Indigenous Religion and suffering. In particular, it explores kutanda botso-related suffering as one of the most feared extreme forms of suffering among the Shona followers of the indigenous religion in Zimbabwe. The ritualisation of suffering and the grounding of kutanda botso as a therapeutic ritual are knowledge insights that the article seeks to add to the extant literature.
Joining the Spirit : missio Dei and artificial intelligence in digital missional praxis
Niemandt, Cornelius Johannes Petrus (Nelus); Niemandt, Doret (AOSIS, 2025-05-31)
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the digital landscape, can we discern the movement of the Spirit within this transformation? This research argues that AI developments, often seen as alien to spiritual mission, fall within the Triune God's realm and align with the missio Dei. By tracing the Gospel's historical adoption of evolving technologies - from the Incarnate Word to the Written, Proclaimed and now Digital Word - we propose AI as the latest iteration in God's unfolding mission. The study first examines the compatibility between missio Dei and AI, asserting that AI, as part of creation, invites missional engagement rather than retreat. Using Heyns' framework of various expressions of God's Word - creation, sustenance, redemption, incarnation, Scripture, proclamation and now the Digital Word - the research shows that AI is a natural extension of God's revelatory presence through innovation, and presents a way to participate in the mission of the Spirit. Next, the article explores AI's role in a rapidly globalising digital culture. This paradigm shift transforms self-perception and communication, creating opportunities and challenges for contextualised missions. The Gospel must be incarnated in ways that resonate with digital cultures, reflecting theology's ongoing adaptation to cultural shifts. Attention is given to Digital Ecclesiology, investigating how AI is reshaping church practices, virtual communities and online worship. The study also examines AI's intersection with mission and creativity, arguing that AI should serve rather than replace human creativity, fostering deep connection, beauty and truth. Artificial intelligence's potential as a tool for discipleship and formation is explored, assessing its role in personalised theological education, virtual fellowship and global outreach. CONTRIBUTION : The concept of mission from the margins provides a critical lens, calling for humility and attention to often overlooked voices. Those on society's edges offer insights into exclusionary structures, challenging AI's potential centralising tendencies.