Abstract:
This article argues, in conversation with the work of John de Gruchy, for the
continuation of the struggle for the integrity of the prophetic witness of the
church in the world. Prophetic theology is, as all true prophetic theology
always is, indeed a theology “on the edge” – always on the edge of challenge
and risk, of confrontation with the powers and principalities of our present
age. Th e article also challenges the waves of Christian neo-fundamentalism
washing over Africa and much of the global South with its toxic neocolonialist
package deal of scriptural selectivity, violent homophobia,
patriarchal power, and anti-justice agenda. Prophetic theology should
be much better prepared to take on the challenges posed by it. Prophetic
theology, furthermore, is not rooted in the hope of acceptance by those
who rule the world, but grounded in the hope that is unprepared to accept
the world as it is and as the powerful have made it; a hope in the reign of
God that will overcome the reign of terror that rules our world.
