“COCONUT TREE MISSIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION”: an ENQUIRY INTO CLIMATE CHANGE and ITS RELEVANCE for MINISTERIAL FORMATION at TANGINTEBU THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE By
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TOWARDS AN EMERGING “COCONUT TREE MISSIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION”: AN ENQUIRY INTO CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS RELEVANCE FOR MINISTERIAL FORMATION AT TANGINTEBU THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE By TIOTI TIMON Student number: 215081764 Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the SCHOOL OF RELIGION, PHILOSOPHY AND CLASSICS COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES, UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL (Pietermaritzburg Campus) SUPERVISOR PROFESSOR RODERICK R. HEWITT CO-SUPERVISOR DR. CHAMMAH J. KAUNDA 11 February 2019 DECLARATION—PLAGIARISM I, Tioti Timon, do hereby state unambiguously that: i. The research reported in this thesis, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research; ii. It has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university; iii. It does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons; iv. It does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. Their words have been re-written, but the general information attributed to them has been referenced; b. Where their exact words have been used, then: c. Their writing has been placed in italics and inside quotation marks, and referenced; v. It does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the dissertation and in the relevant reference section. --------------------------------------------------------- Tioti Timon Student number: 215081764 25 October 2018 As candidate supervisor, I hereby approve this thesis for submission --------------------------------------------------------- Professor Roderick R. Hewitt 11 February 2019 As candidate co-supervisor, I hereby approve this thesis for submission --------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Chammah J. Kaunda 11 February 2019 ii LANGUAGE EDITING CERTIFICATION We, the undersigned, do solemnly declare that we have abided by the University of KwaZulu-Natal policy on language editing. The thesis was professionally edited for proper English language, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and overall academic style. All original electronic forms of the text have been retained should they be required. --------------------------------------------------------- Tioti Timon Student number: 215081764 25 October 2018 --------------------------------------------------------- Gary Stuart David Leonard UKZN Higher Degrees Certified Language Editor Commissioner of Oaths V3358 25 October 2018 iii DEDICATION I respectfully dedicate this research work to the people of Kiribati, and other low-lying atolls, the victims of sea level rise and global warming, who are undergoing the impacts of climate change. I also dedicate this work to Tangintebu Theological College on Tarawa, in the hope that this work will inspire and prepare its ministerial students and other church leaders to be missio-ecologically knowledgeable in their understanding of the salvation of all creation and thereby be more proactive in dealing with the issues of climate change and global warming. Finally, I dedicate this work to the various Pacific Region theological seminaries in their ongoing work of preparing ministerial students for church ministry and mission. It is my sincere hope that they will be a prophetic voice for justice, peace and integrity of the environment within the Pacific Region. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am filled with much gratitude to Almighty God for planning and preparing the way for me to engage in this PhD academic journey. I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my Supervisor, Prof. Roderick R. Hewitt and Co-Supervisor, Dr. Chammah J. Kaunda for their scholarly advice in guiding my studies. Their consistent encouragement helped to make the sacrifices necessary to complete this academic journey. Their faith, humility and faithfulness served as a powerful inspiration and motivation. I sincerely want to express my gratitude for the provision of a scholarship provided by the Council for World Mission that provided resources to cover the financial cost during my academic journey at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I am also grateful to the many individuals, especially staff and students at the Pacific Theological College, and the key church and community leaders from the islands of Tamana, Abaiang and Aranuka, and officials at the Kiribati Uniting Church for their prompt responses to my request. Special thanks also go to the pastors of the different congregations that provided data for the study in the different interviews that were conducted with their full support. Leslene Woodward deserves a big thank you for her support in language editing at different stages throughout this work. Special mention must be made for the hard- working staff at the Council for World Mission office in Singapore under the leadership of Dr. Sudipta Singh who have never faltered in responding positively to the needs of the Council for World Mission students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I am indeed very thankful. My sincere thanks also go to the Rev. Gary S. D. Leonard for his assistance in the English language editing, academic expression and formatting, as well as desktop publishing of this thesis. v My heartfelt gratitude goes to my wife, Raweai who stayed alone in Kiribati with our two children while I pursued my academic studies in different countries. It is through her strength, faith and prayers that I have been strengthened to complete the work. My two children Rorine and Rooti, who have also helped in many ways, gave me the strength and the courage to complete my studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Finally, my grateful thanks and appreciation to all who have contributed to this work, may Almighty God bless you mightily. vi ABSTRACT AND KEY TERMS This study examines the ways in which the phenomenon of climate change is affecting the people, indigenous culture, and environment of the Micronesian island nation of Kiribati, in the South Pacific. Even though climate change impact is a global issue, this study focusses on the mission of the Kiribati Uniting Church in Kiribati in the context of global warming and sea level rise. It utilised the emerging indigenous missional concept of coconut tree theology to interface with the realities of climate change within the context of Kiribati. A missiological lens is therefore employed to interrogate the relevance of the ministerial formation curriculum at Tangintebu Theological College that is used to equip local ministerial students of the Kiribati Uniting Church and how they can respond to the life-threatening challenges of climate change. The study argues that when the church fails in its mission in developing a proactive and indigenously-informed approach to addressing environmental issues, then the fullness of life that is embedded within its missio-ecclesial identity and vocation that is bequeath by Jesus (John 10:10) will not be realised. In the context of climate change where people’s future on this planet is being negatively compromised, Christians, especially within the vast Pacific Region,1 must focus more on developing a theology of creation to respond to the contemporary environment threats to life rather than giving a very narrow evangelising focus to classical theological themes such as sin, redemption and judgment. Serious attention must therefore be given to addressing the wider environmental concerns, and to developing a vision of justice and human equality that needs to be embedded, in the wider theological educational curriculum (Conradie, 2009:42-43). The significance of this study is that it brings into conversation indigenous knowledge perspectives that have evolved through an emerging coconut tree missional and the 1 Pacific is a foreign prescribed name and not one given by the local people. According to the National Oceanic Service, the term Pacific was coined by Portuguese navigator Ferdinan Magellan who in 1519 on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean seeking a western route to the Spice Island via South America came across the ocean and its calm and peaceful nature, leading him to designate the name (National Ocean Service 2017). vii local narratives of the Kiribati people through a qualitative study which included questionnaires, in-depth interviews, observation and a collection of songs in which indigenous express their eco-relationality and interpretation of the environmental challenges of climate change. This study therefore necessitated an in-depth examination of the role that the church and the Tangintebu Theological College plays in equipping clergy leadership to respond to environmental and human challenges of climate change, and the extent to which the environmental and ecological issues are integrated into the development of the overall theological curriculum (PCC Report, 2007:107-108). KEY TERMS: Church; Climate change; Coconut tree theology; Curriculum; Environment; Global warming; Kiribati Protestant Church; Kiribati Uniting Church; Ministerial formation; Missiological lens; Paris Agreement; Pacific Islands; Sea level rise; Tangintebu Theological College; Western missionaries. viii DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS The definition of the key concepts that support this study is specifically aimed at attaining coherence in the way they function throughout the work. Understanding the meaning of the concepts as described and analysed