Abstract:
Modernity’s understanding of the primacy of the individual represents a significant challenge
to a holistic understanding of the vocation of the church. Furthermore, individualism, that
is the understanding of oneself as separate and apart from others, is often the foundation
for violence against the other as the interconnectivity, and therefore the dependence and
vulnerability inherent within a relationship, is lost. When the church is relegated to serve
individuals as private and individualised belief systems, it is banished to a cold, dark cell of
isolation. In order to respond to violence, the church needs to create communities that restore
and reconcile relationships, thus embodying peace.
Description:
This article was prepared
for the ‘Violence in the
Democratic South Africa: A
Challenge to Theology and
the Churches’ Conference,
held by the Centre for
Public Theology, University
of Pretoria, South Africa.
Andrew Suderman is a
research associate in the
Department Dogmatics
and Christian Ethics at the
University of Pretoria,
South Africa.
