Mupasi as cosmic s(S)pirit : the universe as a community of life
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Date
Authors
Nalwamba, Kuzipa M.B.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Open Journals
Abstract
Mupasi recalls the belief that humans form part of the community of life within the realm of the
cosmic spirit. The assertion seems like a truism that requires no further enunciation. However,
belief in the Creator-Spirit, a pneuma-theological understanding of creation, is relatively
young in the Christian tradition. In Colossians 1:15-20, Christ is presented as instrumental to
creation. Christian tradition therefore tends to present creation in Christological terms. The
foundational belief in Spirit-Creator-God has not historically undergirded Christian belief
about creation. The Christian faith could therefore benefit from ‘companion’ views of creation
in terms of the cosmic spirit. Mupasi is understood as cosmic spirit, the axis of the universe
apprehended as an organic whole. The web of life was brought into being, is sustained by, and
inhabited by Mupasi. This retrieval has continuities and discontinuities with Christian belief as
Spirit-Creator-God. It is presented here as a notion that calls the Christian faith back to its
originating intuitions about creation. Mupasi is appropriated within a pneuma-theological
framework that addressed a pressing issue of our time, the global ecological crisis. Mupasi
presents an ecological critique that is meaningful for a renewed appreciation of community
beyond an anthropocentric focus. The cosmic relatedness brings a renewed vision of the
universe as a cosmic community of the s(S)pirit. The cultural and intellectual milieu of Mupasi
is undergirded by a relational conception of reality. It provides a critical lens with implications
for ecclesiology that challenges the church’s self-understanding and ways of being.
Description
Dr Nalwamba is participating
in the research project,
‘Theology of Nature’, directed
by Prof. Dr Johan Buitendag,
Department Dogmatics and
Christian Ethics, Faculty of
Theology, University of
Pretoria.
This article is a reworked version of aspects from the PhD thesis of Kuzipa M.B. Nalwamba, titled ‘Vital Force as a Triangulated Concept of Nature and s(S)pirit’, in the Department of Dogmatics and Christian Ethics, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria with Prof Johan Buitendag as supervisor. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/61197)
This article is a reworked version of aspects from the PhD thesis of Kuzipa M.B. Nalwamba, titled ‘Vital Force as a Triangulated Concept of Nature and s(S)pirit’, in the Department of Dogmatics and Christian Ethics, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria with Prof Johan Buitendag as supervisor. (http://hdl.handle.net/2263/61197)
Keywords
Mupasi, Spirit-Creator-God, S(S)pirit, Relational, Pneuma-theology, Ecological crisis, Creation, Cosmic Spirit
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Nalwamba, K.M.B., 2017,
‘Mupasi as cosmic s(S)pirit:
The universe as a community
of life’, HTS Teologiese
Studies/Theological Studies
73(3), a4624. https://DOI.
org/ 10.4102/hts.v73i3.4624.