Abstract:
This article reflects on ways in which the idea of an ethical quality of life of
the people of God can be contextualized. This idea is largely similar to the
concept of the wholeness of life that is found in documents of the World
Council of Churches. Attention is given to the results of efforts to improve
the quality of life in Africa through modernization during the development
era, as well as to the quality of life in post-apartheid South Africa. The
consumer culture has a strong influence on rich and poor, but there are
different forms of resistance to modernisation. These forms of resistance
often become destructive. If the church wants to present an attractive lifegiving
alternative, we need a moral vision, even a new cosmology, as well
as the technology, practices, life styles and other ways to make that vision
a reality.
