The Church As an Agent of Reconciliation in the Thought of Desmond Tutu

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The Church As an Agent of Reconciliation in the Thought of Desmond Tutu Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 1999 The Church as an Agent of Reconciliation in the Thought of Desmond Tutu Trust J. Ndlovu Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Philosophy Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Ndlovu, Trust J., "The Church as an Agent of Reconciliation in the Thought of Desmond Tutu" (1999). Dissertations. 108. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/108 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary THE CHURCH AS AN AGENT OF RECONCILIATION IN THE THOUGHT OF DESMOND TUTU A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Theology by Trust J. Ndlovu October 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number 9956005 Copyright 1999 by Ndlovu, Trust Japheth All rights reserved. __ ___ __ <g> UMI UMI Microform9956005 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ® Copyright by Trust J. Ndlovu 1999 All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE CHURCH AS AN AGENT OF CONCILIATION IN THE THOUGHT OF DESMOND TUTU A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree Doctor of Theology by Trust J. Ndlovu APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: (AjJ, Faculty Adviser, Ph.DTTh Raoul Dederen W .Y Professor of Theology, Emeritus Denis Foitii »rol Russell L. Staples Professor o f Missions, Emeritus Atilio Professorr ofZheology ofZheology . 0 Peter Walshe Date approved Professor o f Government University of Notre Dame Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission ABSTRACT THE CHURCH AS AN AGENT OF RECONCILIATION IN THE THOUGHT OF DESMOND TUTU by Trust J. Ndlovu Adviser: Raoul Dederen Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE CHURCH AS AN AGENT OF RECONCILIATION IN THE THOUGHT OF DESMOND TUTU Name of researcher: Trust J. Ndlovu Name and degree of faculty adviser: Raoul Dederen, Dr. esc-Sc. Morales Date completed: October 1999 South Africa was both the first and last bastion of extended European colonial rule in Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the extensive interaction between the Black and White races over time, who were distinguished by divergent philosophies of life, friction developed between these two major ethnic blocs, as well as the other peoples that came as labor for the Whites or have arisen as a result of miscegenation between the Blacks and the Whites. Archbishop Desmond Tutu holds that racial tension is neither good for South Africa nor even Christian, and insists that it should be eliminated, giving way to reconciliation. The purpose of this research was to set forth, analyze, and evaluate Tutu’s view of the church as a reconciler of alienated people. To attain this goal, Tutu’s convictions were considered in the context of his doctrine of the church against the backdrop of his view of the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. atonement God wrought through Jesus Christ. After an overview of South Africa’s colonial history and a discussion of Tutu’s conception of God’s intention for the church, the dissertation focuses on our author’s recommendations of how to dismantle racism and ensure that justice reigns in a post-apartheid South Africa. Finally, the dissertation evaluates the inner consistency, the use of the Bible as a major source of theology and the relative strengths and weaknesses of Tutu’s conception of the church as God’s agent of reconciliation, from the point of view of his theological system, methodology, and presuppositions. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................. vi INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................1 Statement of and Justification of the Thesis ..............................................................................3 Review of the Literature ............................................................................................................... 6 Methodology .............................................................. 8 Scope of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 9 Outline of Dissertation ..................................................................................................................9 Chapter I. BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................ 11 The Dutch Period (1652-1795) ................................................................................ 12 The Period of Imperialism (1795-1902) .................................................................... 14 Transition to a Unified White South Africa ............................................................ 18 The Role of the Church in Ethnic Partitioning ......................................................... 20 The Union of South Africa (1910-1948) ................................................................. 23 The Age of Apartheid (1948-1994) ......................................................................... 27 The Legal Basis of Apartheid .............................................................................. 27 Popular Reaction ...................................................................................................31 Desmond Mpilo Tutu ...................................................................................................40 Tutu’s Theological Orientation ............................................................................44 The Nature of Christian Theology ................................................................. 44 The Nature of Black Theology .........................................................................45 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 47 II. THE CHURCH IN THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT........................................................... 49 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 49 Tutu’s Understanding of the Church ............................................................................49 The God of the C hurch ................................................................................................53 The King of the Universe
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