SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online vol.40 issue1 author indexsubject indexarticles search Home Pagealphabetic serial listing Services on Demand Article pdf in English Article in xml format Article references How to cite this article Automatic translation Send this article by e-mail Indicators Related links Share Share on deliciousShare on googleShare on twitterShare on diggShare on citeulikeMore Sharing ServicesMore More Sharing ServicesMore Permalink Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae Print version ISSN 1017-0499 Studia Hist. Ecc. vol.40 no.1 Pretoria May 2014 Zimbabwean theology and religious studies during the crisis years (2000-2008): a preliminary study Ezra Chitando; Nisbert T. Taringa; Tapiwa P. Mapuranga Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe ABSTRACT One of the dominant accusations against theology and religious studies in Africa is that the discipline tends to be abstract. Critics charge that this discipline hardly addresses the lived realities of the people. Further, they assert that African theology and religious studies do not tackle the pressing issues of the continent; particularly the issue of (mis)govemance. This article, a preliminary analysis, focuses on the contribution of theology and religious studies in Zimbabwe in addressing the Zimbabwean crisis. It outlines the major themes that scholars have addressed. It proceeds to highlight some pertinent issues that must be addressed in order to ensure that theology and religious studies become more attuned to the pressing issues of the day. As research and publication in Zimbabwean theology and religious studies have expanded significantly since 2000, we have sought to highlight trends related to specific themes. A more detailed analysis of the field requires several studies. Introduction Recent publications by Chitando (2010) and Amanze (2012) have been overly critical of the role of theology and religious studies in Africa. These publications have suggested that theology and religious studies do not address the existential issues of Africa and Africans. Further, they contend that these disciplines have tended to skirt the most demanding issues that must be addressed if the continent is to thrive. In particular, they call upon theology and religious studies in Africa to contribute towards mitigating the challenges relating to governance. In this article we seek to revisit the issue of the relevance of theology and religious studies in Africa by highlighting the extent to which Zimbabwean scholars (both in the country and in the diaspora) have sought to address the Zimbabwean crisis. While reviews of theology (Chitando 2002b & Shoko 2009) and religious studies (Chitando 2005c) in Zimbabwe have been undertaken, these tend to focus on earlier periods and do not cover the crisis years (2000-2008) that we will focus on in this article. Thus, overviews of theology and religious studies within the Zimbabwean crisis have not yet appeared. Unfortunately, this has led some scholars to assume that there have been no serious issues in Zimbabwe, at least as far as teaching (and publishing) in theology and religious studies is concerned (Clasquin 2005:16). Such an interpretation, we contend, does not do justice to the reality on the ground. In this article we highlight some of the major themes that have been addressed by Zimbabwean scholars in theology and religious studies as they have sought to address some aspects of the crisis. We include reflections by scholars who have operated from within Zimbabwe, as well as perspectives from Zimbabwean scholars of theology and religious studies in the diaspora. The connections between "home" and the diaspora remain quite strong, hence the inclusion of reflections by scholars outside the country. Furthermore, some scholars have straddled both spaces, thereby complicating the distinction between "home-based" and "foreign-based" scholars. We are very conscious of the fact that we are commenting on processes that we have been actively involved in. This poses serious methodological challenges. For example, it must be conceded that aspects of autobiography tend to lack objectivity (Moyo et al. 2013). However, we have sought to be reflexive and, therefore, to grapple with our own biases. Furthermore, we refuse to endorse the view that only "outsiders" can be objective. We maintain that our own participation in Zimbabwean theology and religious studies has positioned us more strategically to appreciate the field than "outsiders." Nevertheless, we recognise that both "insiders" and "outsiders" must contribute to the writing of history. Consequently, our own narrative herein does not claim to be final: we have called it a "preliminary study" to draw attention to this very fact. Zimbabwean theology and religious studies and contextual relevance: setting the scene Zimbabwe was born after a protracted liberation struggle that captured the imagination of many people, particularly in the global South. For many, it represented the triumph of black people against racism and settler colonialism. Churches contributed significantly to the attainment of political independence in 1980. During the colonial period, some church leaders bravely challenged the State that sought to marginalise the black majority. With black nationalists now in power, there were high hopes that Church-State relations would deepen (Hallencreutz and Moyo 1988). However, some developments in the post-colonial period created tension. While the first two decades of independence were relatively stable in terms of economic development (apart from the state-sponsored violence in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces), serious challenges were experienced after 2000. It must be conceded, however, that the 1990s were characterised by economic upheavals that were caused by the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP). It was during this period that Canaan Banana (1996), one of Zimbabwe's leading theologians, proposed what he called "combat theology." From 2000, the country experienced massive socio-economic and political challenges. These include the fast-track land reform programme, political violence, poor governance, "Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order," (Vambe 2008) women's marginalisation and others. The country battled against hyperinflation, negative publicity and a massive exodus of its citizens (Crush and Tevera 2010). Zimbabwean theologians and scholars of religion have sought to comment on these challenges and to provide insights on the way forward for the embattled country. With President Robert G. Mugabe's government fighting domestic and external opponents, they faced a real risk of being identified as "sell outs" (Machingura 2012a). In order to appreciate their social location, we will highlight the emergence of their discipline below. Theology and religious studies in Zimbabwe: a snapshot Zimbabwe has a long and proud history in theology and religious studies (McKenzie 1989) (Platvoet 1989). In line with the country's notable academic achievements on the continent, scholars in these disciplines have been quite productive. McKenzie (1989) argues that Zimbabwe could as well claim to have a distinguished tradition in the history of religions. Prior to the attainment of independence, the discipline attracted fewer black students due to the policy of racial discrimination. However, in the post-colonial period the economic stability that the country enjoyed up to the late 1990s facilitated the recruitment of scholars from other parts of the world. These scholars proceeded to become notable figures within their respective areas of specialisation. These include Adrian Hastings, Carl F. Hallencreutz, James L. Cox, Paul Gifford and others (Chitando 2002a:278-279). All these scholars operated from the Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy at the University of Zimbabwe, then the only department offering theology and religious studies in the country. As highlighted below, other departments have since been established at other universities in Zimbabwe. Alongside these scholars with European and American backgrounds, black Zimbabwean scholars have made their mark in theology and religious studies in the post-colonial period. In theology/church history/biblical studies, the country has produced some productive individuals, including (in no particular order) Canaan Banana, Paul H. Gundani, Gwinyai Muzorewa, John WZ. Kurewa, Ambrose Moyo, Edward P. Antonio, Isabel Mukonyora, TembaJ. Mafico, Dora Mbuwayesango, Lilian Dube Chirairo and others. Tabona Shoko has contributed to the area of African traditional religions and healing, while Phillip T. Chikafu has published on the Old Testament and African culture. There is also an intermediate generation comprising scholars such as Maaraidzo E. Mutambara, Lovemore Togarasei, Francesca Chimhanda, Lovemore Ndlovu, Ezra Chitando, Nisbert Taringa, David Bishau, Richard S. Maposa and others. A separate narrative is required to do justice to their publications, as well as to review the output of scholars whose works came to the fore towards the end of the "decade of crisis" (see for example, Molly Manyonganise, Tapiwa P. Mapuranga, Sophia Chirongoma, Excellent Chireshe, Masiiwa R. Gunda, Francis Machingura, Obvious Vengeyi, Kudzai Biri, Fortune Sibanda, Gaudencia Mutema, Zorodzai Dube, and Herbert Moyo). Zimbabwean scholars trained in theology and religious studies increased their output markedly after the mid-2000s. A number of factors are responsible for this development. To begin with, the sheer increase in the number of students undertaking postgraduate training in theology and religious studies within the country ensured that some would proceed to take up careers within academia. It is these scholars who have begun publishing consistently within the field. Secondly, the expanding higher education sector in the country absorbed the emerging researchers. For example, alongside the more established Department of Religious Studies, Classics and Philosophy at the University of Zimbabwe, the Department of Theology and Religious Studies (Midlands State University) and the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies (Great Zimbabwe University) have contributed to the expansion of the field since the mid-2000s. These departments were at state-sponsored universities (complementing the Faculties of Theology at the church-related Africa University and Solusi University). Third, active involvement with regional/international ecumenical movements such as the Association for Theological Institutions in Southern Africa (ATISCA), the World Council of Churches (WCC), and collaboration with external universities (for example, Bayreuth and Bamberg universities in Germany) increased exposure. Fourth, the existential crisis that scholars had to grapple with resulted in research and reflection. These factors, among others, contributed to the increase of publications in the areas of theology and religious studies in Zimbabwe. The social location (Dube 2003) of Zimbabwean scholars of theology and religious studies (both in the country and in the diaspora) implied that they faced the crisis in a very direct way. They did not - in fact, they could not - stand apart from the massive socio-economic and political events underway in the country. As Desmond Tutu (1983:106) put it with reference to South Africa during apartheid, they hammered out their theologies "in the heat of battle". Operating in an environment saturated with violence, intimidation and fear, they sought to expose the abuse/manipulation of religion and human rights by state functionaries. They did not remain indifferent and neutral (as the phenomenology of religion, for example, recommends), but contributed towards "making sense" of the crisis in diverse ways. Whereas the struggle against apartheid in South Africa gave rise to a recognisable body of writings, especially in black theology, theological writings during the Zimbabwean crisis do not constitute such a body. They are scattered in a few books and many journal articles in many different parts of the world. Thus, in order to put the publications into their proper historical context, we will outline Church-State relations in independent Zimbabwe first. We will then examine discourses around the contentious land reform programme, followed by an analysis of responses to women's issues. From 2000 and especially since 2002, Mugabe's tenure as president has been disputed and his legacy (or lack thereof) divides opinion sharply. We contend that the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in 2009, after the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in 2008, represents a new phase in the history of the country. An analysis of publications by scholars during and after this period merits a separate study. Church-State relations in independent Zimbabwe: an overview Church-State relations in independent Zimbabwe are characterised by polarisation on the part of the different strands of the Church in the form of individual church ministers, denominational church organisations and interdenominational church organisations. Soon after independence in 1980, Church-State relations revolved around issues relating to the government's option for socialism, the new economic plan, the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) and its effects on people and the state, constitutional reform, and reconciliation (Verstraelen 2002:54). Sibanda (2011:8) correctly points out that compared to South Africa, the Church in Zimbabwe has been polarised, with two opposing camps: one supporting Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front, ZANU PF, and the other critical of his rule. This polarisation seems to stem from what Togarasei (2004: 76-77) refers to as "pro-ruling party" and "anti-ruling party" interpretations of Romans 13:1-7. The passage makes reference to the need for citizens to obey the governing authority. The "pro-ruling party" position can be exemplified by the early Banana, while the "anti-ruling party" interpretation can be detected in Archbishop Pius Ncube. Surrogate political theology: the case of the early Canaan Banana At independence the government of Zimbabwe adopted Marxist-Leninist principles. This worried the churches since they wanted to know the kind of policy on religion that was going to accompany these Marxist-Leninist principles. From the Church's readings, Marxist-Leninist ideologies and principles ran counter to Christian beliefs in theism. Mugabe tried to allay the fears of the church by explaining the importance of collectivism that is embedded in Marxist-Leninist principles and African culture, contrasting it with the individualism of the west. In this sense, Mugabe posed as an African scholar, locating himself firmly within the African theology of liberation. This position was supported vigorously by the first president of Zimbabwe, Canaan Banana. However, taking up this position compromised Banana. Verstraelen (2002) notes that because of his constitutional role, Banana became an advocate for government policies. He could not be critical and prophetic as he was articulating State theology. He was co-opted to serve the ZANU PF government and he attempted to co-opt the Church in the same way by identifying socialism with Christianity (Verstraelen 2002:56-57). Banana, therefore, can be regarded as one who was a supporter of the regime in the early period. His writings were meant to bolster the government of the day. The writings were not significant because they looked like they were almost part of the system. One could thus say that Banana betrayed the prophetic function of the Church. The Church in the form of the Catholic bishops took a confrontational position against the government. In short, some church leaders had reservations regarding the government's policy of socialism. Banana made attempts to recover his prophetic voice when he fell out with Mugabe after Mugabe became executive president in 1987. He started to criticise the government. Mugabe withdrew the former presidential immunity from Banana and let Banana's case of homosexuality surface. Banana was incarcerated (albeit in an open prison) and his prophetic voice was muted. Reviews of Banana's role in Zimbabwean theology and religious studies (Chitando 2004) (Gunda 2012) have highlighted his contribution to the field. We believe that it is more productive to think of his post-colonial theological reflections in phases: the early Banana who worked from within the "belly of the beast" and the later Banana who sought to articulate a prophetic voice. Prophetic political theology: Pius Ncube Pius Ncube was the Catholic archbishop of Bulawayo during the crisis period. He emerged as a highly courageous and critical voice in challenging Mugabe's government. He was bold enough to call on people to rise up against Mugabe's rule and he even declared his readiness to go in front of blazing guns. In his fierce criticism, Ncube blamed the president for the economic meltdown that plunged the majority of Zimbabweans into untold socio-economic hardships. He accused Mugabe of gross human rights violations and called for him to step down. Another confrontational position was around the issue of the Gukurahundi massacres in the early 1980s. Ncube demanded that Mugabe disclose the massacre of thousands of civilians in Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces by troops who crushed a purported armed insurgency against his rule soon after independence (Sibanda 2011:8). Ncube's complaint is captured well in the following utterance: "... this government does not have the Holy Spirit and they know what I think of them. I am not going to let them off the hook. These men are liars. They are murderers. They are only working to make themselves rich" (Sibanda 2011:8). Mugabe responded by urging people to disregard church leaders who were calling for his forced ouster, accusing Ncube and other church leaders of peddling falsehoods about Zimbabwe's governance. Mugabe even questioned the moral authority of the clergy by accusing them of "sleeping around." The Church was branded a settler church with origins in the colonial era that backed Mugabe's opponents and western governments campaigning against Mugabe. By the end of the 1990s, Mugabe had begun courting African Initiated Churches (AICs) with whom he shared a strong indigenous outlook. Mugabe's intelligence network exposed Ncube's alleged womani-sing tendencies. Like Banana, Ncube was silenced when he had to resign from his position as archbishop. Once again, it had become clear that the prophetic mission in Zimbabwe (as elsewhere) was a costly one. Church and land: mapping out convergences and contestations The Church-State relations outlined above provide valuable insights into how Zimbabwean scholars in theology and religious studies responded to the land question. Mugabe's approach to the land issue brought Zimbabwe sharply into international focus. In 2000, following defeat during the referendum on the new constitution, war veterans (some far too young to have fought during the 1970s liberation struggle), ZANU PF militia, youth, military and intelligence officers and other actors moved to occupy farms that were formerly run by whiter farmers. It became known as the "Third Chimurenga" or the fast-track land reform programme. Mugabe's rhetoric on land was sharp, persuasive and consistent with black theology's emphasis on the empowerment of black people. Developing a peculiar theology of creation (where he argued that God settled different races in designated areas) and engaging in "presidential biblical hermeneutics," he charged that Christians had no choice but to accept the land reform programme that was under way. Addressing Catholic church leaders attending the Imbisa Plenary Assembly in Harare on 30 July 2001, Mugabe made it clear that if they were consistent, they had to endorse his actions. Mugabe (2001:34) proclaimed: And for you specifically as church leaders, you face one fundamental question: what are Christians supposed to do, nay expected to do, when they live under an unjust system which claims to be Christian, to be Godly? What do we tell God's oppressed children; what do we tell 'a purchased people'; what do we tell the widow, the needy, the fatherless, the landless? What form does Christian witness take in such circumstances? Together as one? Convergences between theologians and scholars of religion and Mugabe on the land question Mugabe and ZANU PF framed the "Third Chimurenga" as a social justice issue which was consistent with, for example, Catholic social teachings. Indeed, a form-critical analysis of theological writings on the land issue in Zimbabwe shows that most scholars agreed with the principle of land redistribution, but proceeded to question the violence and cronyism that characterised the process. In fact, earlier writers such as Sebastian Bakare sounded quite nationalistic and totally in agreement with Mugabe's later pronouncements. Bakare maintained that Africans were entitled to land in Zimbabwe and that the Bible supported this. According to Bakare (1993), land was important to Zimbabwe as it was imbued with spiritual qualities. At this juncture, Bakare was quite "Mugabean" in his approach to the theme of land in Zimbabwe. This theme of recognising the legitimacy of black Zimbabweans' right to land was also taken up by Verstraelen. According to him, "... the existing imbalance of blatant injustice in the distribution and availability of land becomes a very urgent religious and ethical issue" (Verstraelen 1998:111. Italics in original). Chitando (1998) reinforced this point, insisting that the land question in Zimbabwe had to contend with the indigenous understanding of the land as an inheritance from the ancestors. Similarly, Shoko (2006) argued that the land crisis was inspired by the indigenous worldview, especially the interpretation of the spirit world. Nisbert T. Taringa (2006), however, sought to question the assumption that African traditional religions were ecologically sensitive and he challenged the romantic view of indigenous spirituality. Bakare, Verstraelen, Chitando and Shoko were, therefore, in basic agreement with Mugabe's premise that inequitable land distribution in Zimbabwe was unsustainable. However, they did not venture to suggest practical steps towards the resolution of the land question. In addition, these scholars operated within the context of liberation theology and African nationalism: the very same template that Mugabe and the State were drawing from. Their reflections were, therefore, close to the State's arguments concerning the justification for black economic empowerment in Zimbabwe. Theologians and scholars of religion were not the only ones who gravitated towards the nationalists' interpretation of the land question. Since Iandlessness had been one of the key grievances that gave rise to the liberation struggle, it was natural that there would be a general endorsement of the need for land redistribution in the country. Some church leaders were firmly behind the land reform exercise, both before and after 2000. Thus: Church leaders like Bishop Nolbert Kunonga of the Anglican Church, Rev. Noah Pashapa of the Baptist Church and Rev. Andrew Wutawunashe of the Family of God Church were quite vocal in their support of Mugabe's land reform programme. Rev. Obadiah Msindo of the Destiny of Africa Network provided spiritual guidance to the ruling party and government, maintaining that Mugabe was God's chosen instrument for empowering blacks. He praised Mugabe's land reform programme, claiming that it was consistent with God's desire to restore the dignity of blacks. These church leaders utilised theological, historical and ethical arguments to justify the resettlement exercise (Chitando 2005b: 185). Whereas some theologians and scholars of religion had expressed the need for land reform by marshalling various arguments, there was an outcry when Mugabe initiated the fast-track land reform. It is instructive to note that the fast-track land reform exercise was carried out within the context of the 2000 parliamentary elections. These were characterised by violence. Furthermore, the fall-out from the land reform exercise included the worsening of the economic situation. At this juncture, scholarly responses to the land programme as implemented by Mugabe and his government became more contested. The dominant feeling was that the whole venture had been prompted by the need for political survival on Mugabe's part. Issues relating to distributive justice had been inserted to add appeal to political grandstanding by Mugabe. Singing from different hymn sheets? Theologians and scholars of religion questioning the fast-track land reform programme Paul Gundani (2002) noted the politicisation of the land issue, while calling upon the church to demonstrate theological creativity by giving up its own unproductive land (Gundani 2003). While accepting the principle of redistributing land to the landless black majority, Gundani suggests that "the problem had to do with the method of land redistribution, and the way political power was manipulated to exploit the poor ..." (Gundani 2008:232). Chitando (2005a) sought to expose the manipulation of theological concepts and indigenous spirituality in the land reform exercise. He also explored possible reasons why church land had not been expropriated by the ruling black elite (Chitando 2005b). We contend that there is a notable shift in both the churches' and scholars' response to the land question in Zimbabwe after the controversial 2002 presidential election and subsequent evidence of the deployment of the land issue to enhance political mileage. Prior to this there was a general convergence in ideological and theological interpretations between Mugabe and the churches/scholars. However, after 2002, there are more divergences and contestations. As we have outlined above, scholars also became more cautious in their analyses of the land question. In particular, they questioned the politicisation of the land question by the nationalists. We note that Mugabe's approach to the land question has been dominated by populism, gerrymandering and deep-seated internal contradictions. Although writing in a later phase, Machingura (2012b) has highlighted the extent to which Mugabe has used land and food as political weapons. Mouthing revolutionary platitudes and evoking the blood of the freedom fighters, he has positioned himself as the defender of the landless. In addition, Mugabe has posed as the last standing advocate of black pride and economic liberation. This has seen him receiving wide acclaim as a consistent revolutionary in the global South. Feted as an African liberation icon, Mugabe has had African crowds in raptures with his fiery rhetoric on black pride and dignity, even as his domestic record is heavily compromised by inefficiency, rampant corruption in the public sector and lack of creativity in addressing the country's multiple problems. An effective black theology must expose Mugabe's inconsistencies and place emphasis on the black majority's right to quality of life. Women's struggles for abundant life: an overview The crisis had a particularly negative effect on women. Zimbabwean women theologians and scholars of religion have sought to address the crisis, paying particular attention to its impact on women. While a longer narrative is required to do justice to this aspect, we will highlight some of the major issues that have been tackled. The underlying argument has been to draw attention to women's vulnerability to HIV, women carrying the burden of insensitive government programmes such as "Operation Murambats-vina/Restore Order" and women's susceptibility to globalisation and its negative effects. The latter theme is explored in considerable detail in Mwaura and Dube-Chirairo (2005). Contributors highlighted the extent to which Zimbabwean women have reeled under the weight of global economic injustices. Although Mugabe has articulated similar views, the women scholars have drawn attention to the complicity of local political actors. Chauke (2003) and Mapuranga (2011) have highlighted the impact of patriarchal traditions on women's vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. In particular, they focus on marginalised areas, with Chauke concentrating on South East Zimbabwe and Mapuranga on Chipinge. Similarly, Chirongoma (2006) has demonstrated the negative effects of the health delivery system on women and children. She has also shown the impact of "Operation Murambatsvina" on women (Chirongoma 2009). These women theologians censure the government for not developing pro-poor policies, as well as failing to cushion women and children against the deteriorating economic situation. In particular, they bemoan the violence that women endure as a result of the political machinations of the ruling elite and the deeply entrenched patriarchal system. Mukonyora (2007) focuses on the marginalisation of women in society and the Masowe Apostolic movement. For her, modernity and patriarchy have joined hands to force women in the Apostolic movement to the periphery of the city and society. It is clear that the socio-economic challenges have caused untold suffering to women on the margins. Zimbabwean women theologians have sought to confront the ruling elite, calling upon it to address women's vulnerability. Whereas the land reform programme is touted as having availed land to all indigenes, women theologians have challenged this assumption, highlighting the patriarchal forces at play. They also draw attention to the impact of political violence on women. Theologies of resistance: a summary We thus contend that theologies of resistance emerged during the crisis years in Zimbabwe. Whereas Mugabe had defined politics narrowly, insisting that only the brave ones were to play the game, scholars of theology and religious studies disputed such an interpretation. Wermter (2003) rightly insisted that politics was for everyone by everyone! Antonio (2009) charges that Zimbabwe's leaders have failed to live up to their role as good shepherds and are now forcing their sheep to scatter. Antonio provides theological reflections on economic shortages in Zimbabwe. Both Wermter and Antonio challenge the ruling elite's assumptions regarding politics and economics. They contend that politicians have an obligation to allow maximum participation by citizens and to ensure that they enjoy abundant life. Violence, incompetence and corruption do not enable the people of God to thrive, they argue. According to Kaulemu (2008), Christian professionals in various sectors had the mandate to call the government to account. Upholding the spirit of resistance, Dube (2006) charges that the Church in Zimbabwe has not been prophetic enough in challenging the elite and standing with the excluded. For Dube, the Church in Zimbabwe has been found wanting when faced with extreme violence by the State. Dube calls for a theology that promotes the health and well-being of all instead of the prevailing situation where only the ruling elite is assured of a decent quality of life. He contends that only a preferential option for the excluded will ensure the Church's relevance. On his part, Chindomu (2006) approached "Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order" from the perspective of liberation theology and charged that the State had subjected citizens to inhuman treatment and that it needed to uphold the dignity of the poorest of the poor. Emerging in a tense context, theologies of resistance in Zimbabwe have sought to question the ruling elite's theologies of entitlement. As noted by Chitando (2005a), in Mugabe's ideology, his party delivered freedom and independence to the black majority. In addition, they availed land to the landless and promoted indigenisation and economic empowerment to the marginalised. Therefore, they had a divine right to rule. Those who opposed his rule were running dogs of imperialism, since all true sons and daughters of the soil appreciated his party's revolutionary credentials. Theologies of resistance in Zimbabwe emerged to question this narrative and highlighted the manipulation of religion by politicians. Although some church leaders such as Nolbert Kunonga endorsed Mugabe's rhetoric (Gunda 2008) and there was contestation regarding the prophetic ministry of the Church (Vengeyi 2010), we argue that as the socio-economic and political environment in Zimbabwe worsened around 2006/2008, Zimbabwean theologians and scholars of religion became more vocal in challenging the status-quo. Gunda (2006) called upon biblical studies scholars and the Church to adopt a prophetic stance in the face of the deepening crisis. Challenging the liberators: a critical analysis Theologians and scholars of religion have been quite courageous and creative in challenging the abuse of power in Zimbabwe. As the foregoing sections have illustrated, they have not withdrawn into their protective shells but they have sought to be contextually relevant. For theologians and scholars of religion operating within state-sponsored institutions, there have been no guarantees of personal safety. However, to be fair to Mugabe's regime, academic freedom has not been stifled and robust debate has been allowed. It is only when critics proceed to organise the masses that the regime has not been tolerant as the cases of violence against political activists indicate. Despite paying attention to the context and facilitating the emergence of new voices, there are a number of factors that must be addressed in order to enhance the social relevance of Zimbabwean scholars of theology and religious studies. First, the discourse tends to be scholarly and elitist, even when addressing lived realities such as the land question. There is a disconnect between the people of God in the townships, villages and mountain tops and the university professors of theology and religious studies. Could it be that the powers-that-be feel far less threatened by hard-hitting articles or books in political theology than by angry, educated but unemployed youth? Second (and leading from the foregoing), publications by the scholars do not appear to reach the generality of church-based activists. While books and articles promoting the prophetic role of the church have been published, most of these books do not get distributed to citizens where they can initiate dialogue and instigate social transformation. Third, there is limited interaction among the various contributors. We find little evidence of collaboration among scholars who have responded to aspects of the Zimbabwean crisis. In particular, male scholars appear unwilling to embrace reflections by women scholars. This prevents one from attaining a holistic picture of the contribution of theologians and scholars of religion to the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis. Fourth, the earlier convergence between nationalists and theologians over the land issue made it difficult for the latter to voice their criticism when the government embarked on the fast-track land reform programme. Although they may not have consciously sought to promote Mugabe's rhetoric on land, theologians and scholars of religion came very close to serving the interests of the ruling elite. However, it must be conceded that there have been times when the interests of the ruling elite and academics converged. Fifth, there are no synergies between theologians and scholars of religion in Zimbabwe and those in the diaspora. Following the massive Zimbabwe exodus, many theologians are now operating from diverse contexts, including Southern Africa, North America and Europe. However, there is no platform for the two groups of scholars to interact and exchange ideas. There is a need for scholars in Zimbabwe and in the diaspora to collaborate in efforts to address pertinent issues. Scholars of theology and religious studies can tackle pressing existential issues relating to governance, human rights, HIV, the status of women, children' welfare and others. Conclusion In this article we have described some of the key areas that confirm that theologians and scholars of religion have addressed the Zimbabwean crisis in a very direct way. Alongside some Church leaders and ecumenical bodies, they drew attention to the deficit in democracy, violence and the deterioration of the citizens' quality of life. Whereas they had called for urgency in addressing the land question, they broke ranks with Mugabe when the fast-track land reform programme gained momentum after 2000. 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Sub-Saharan Africa, in GD Alles (ed.), Religious Studies: a global view. London: Routledge. [ Links ] Chitando, E. 2010. Equipped and ready to serve? Transforming theology and religious studies in Africa. Missionalia 38(2), 187-210. [ Links ] Clasquin, M. 2005. Religious studies in South(ern) Africa: an overview. Journal for the Study of Religion 18(2), 5-22. [ Links ] Crush, J. & Tevera, D. (ed.) 2010. Zimbabwe's exodus: crisis, migration, survival. Cape Town: Southern African Migration Programme. [ Links ] Dube, J. 2006. Socio-political agenda for the twenty-first century Zimbabwean church: empowering the excluded. New York: The Edwin Mellen Press. [ Links ] Dube, MW. 2003. Social location as a story-telling method of teaching in HIV/AIDS contexts, in Dube, MW. (ed.), HIV/AIDS and the curriculum: methods of integrating ΗIV/AIDS in theological programmes. Geneva: World Council of Churches. [ Links ] Gunda, MR. 2006. From oracular to interpretive prophecy: a challenge to the prophetic role of the church in Zimbabwe. Zambezia 33(1 & II), 19-33. [ Links ] Gunda, MR. 2008. The reign of Bishop Nolbert Kunonga: nationalist spirit or empire builder? Missionalia 36(2 & 3), 299-318. [ Links ] Gunda, MR. 2012. The ingredients to (true) Christianity and theology: Canaan Sodindo Banana and biblical and theological studies in Africa. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 38( 1), 131 -146. [ Links ] Gundani, PH. 2002. The land crisis in Zimbabwe and the role of the churches towards its resolution. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 28(2), 122-169. [ Links ] Gundani, PH. 2003. The land question and its missiological implications for the Church in Zimbabwe. Missionalia 31(3), 467-502. [ Links ] Gundani, PH. 2008. Prophecy, politics and power: changing relations between the Catholic Church and the Zimbabwean State (1980-2007). Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae 34(1), 211-244. [ Links ] Hallencreutz, CF. (ed.) 1992. On theological relevance: critical interactions with Canaan Sodindo Banana. Gweru: Mambo Press. [ Links ] Hallencreutz, CF. & Moyo, A. (ed.) 1988. Church and State in Zimbabwe. Gweru: Mambo Press. [ Links ] Kaulemu, D. 2010. Church responses to the crisis in Zimbabwe. The Review of Faith and International Affairs, Spring, 47-54. [ Links ] Machingura, F. 2012a. The Judas Iscariot episode in the Zimbabwean religio-political debate of "selling out", in Gunda, MR & KUgler, J. (ed.), The Bible and politics in Africa. Bamberg: University of Bamberg Press. [ Links ] Machingura, F. 2012b. The messianic feeding of the masses: an analysis of John 6 in the context of messianic leadership in post-colonial Zimbabwe. Bamberg: University of Bamberg Press. [ Links ] Mapuranga, TP. 2011. Gender, HIV and AIDS and African Traditional Religion in Zimbabwe: The gains and the pains of the Ndau woman in Chipinge District. Saarbriicken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. [ Links ] Moyo, T. et al. 2013. Remembering or re-membering? Life-writing and the politics of narration in Morgan Tsvangirai's At the deep end (2011). Journal for Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences 2(2), 15-26. [ Links ] Mugabe, RM. 2001. Inside the Third Chimurenga: our land is our prosperity. Harare: Department of Information and Publicity, Office of the President and Cabinet. [ Links ] Mukonyora, I. 2007. Wandering a gendered wilderness: suffering and healing in an African Initiated Church. New York: Peter Lang. [ Links ] Mwaura, P. & Dube-Chirairo, L. (ed.) 2005. Theology in the context of globalization: African women's response. Nairobi: Ε AT WOT Women's Commission. [ Links ] Shoko, T. 2006. My bones shall rise again: Spirits and land reform in Zimbabwe. ASC Working Paper. Leiden: African Studies Centre 68, 1-17. [ Links ] Sibanda, M. 2011. Churches polarized as politics heats up. The Daily News. Harare. Wednesday March 30. [ Links ] Taringa, NT. 2006. How environmental is African traditional religion? 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[ Links ] All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License The Church History Society of Southern Africa Research Institute for Theology and Religion University of South Africa P O Box 392 PRETORIA 0003 Tel: +27 (0)12 429 4309 landmc@unisa.ac.za

SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online vol.31 issue2 author indexsubject indexarticles search Home Pagealphabetic serial listing Services on Demand Article pdf in English Article in xml format Article references How to cite this article Automatic translation Send this article by e-mail Indicators Related links Share Share on deliciousShare on googleShare on twitterShare on diggShare on citeulikeMore Sharing ServicesMore More Sharing ServicesMore Permalink Acta Theologica Print version ISSN 1015-8758 Acta theol. vol.31 no.2 Bloemfontein 2011 Research in theology in the digital age: opportunities and limitations AC Neele Adriaan C. Neele, Yale University, Research associate: Dpt. Church History and Polity, University of the Free State. E-mail: adriaan.neele@yale.edu ABSTRACT Digital text repositories in the field of theology and history, including the works of John Calvin (1509-1564), are promising tools assisting scholars with comprehensive search capabilities, collaborative projects, annotations, and editing options. This paper discusses a case study of the opportunities and limitations of online scholarly archives of primary sources concerning the works of Calvin with particular attention to research, education, and publication.1 Keywords: Calvin, Digital resources, Digital research Trefwoorde: Calvyn, Digitale bronne, Digitale navorsing The phenomenal increase of digital archives in the field of humanities over the last decade has been nothing short of astounding.2 However promising these digital repositories may seem, a critical assessment of their opportunities and limitations for research, education, and publication is indispensable. The Europeana project currently includes over 15 million digital sources from over 1,000 archives in the European Union (Europeana 2011), the HathiTrust Digital Library, which preserves and provide access to material scanned by Google, the Internet Archive and other partner institutions include 9 million volumes (HathiTrust 2011), and the collaborative partnership of Google with the Universities of Michigan, Harvard, and Oxford has produced thus far over 15 million books online (Wikipedia 2011). Furthermore, national initiatives such as e-rara, a Swiss digital library dedicated to providing free online access to rare antique Swiss books and prints (E-rara 2011), and Gallica, a French collaborative project (Gallica 2011), contain millions of historical resources, such as books, manuscripts and maps previously only locally available. Concurrent with this extraordinary increase of digital resources is the fading away of early criticism about the quality of web-based historical resources for both commercial and open-access archives - though not without facing new inquiries about the creation, dissemination and preservation of scholarly digital archives (Jones 2007:1-10; 2008:54; Hadro 2008:25; Feijen & Horstmann 2007:53; Heery & Powel 2006:6-21; van den Sompel 2006:12). Furthermore, many projects of digital critical editions compete constantly for sufficient grant funding to sustain an open access policy,3 or have to seek for commercial alternatives to continue their scholarly endeavors. These trends in the digital landscape impact and increasingly will impact the way of research, education and publication of theological studies, which can be illustrated by a case-study and survey of the works of the French / Swiss protestant reformer, preacher, teacher, pastor, and theologian John Calvin (1509-1564). His works, in part or whole, are now available through a growing number of various portals on the worldwide web, either as open access, such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Gallica) (BNF), Bayerische Staats Bibliothek (BSB), e-rara, Internet Archive (IA), and Google Books (GB), which all have been conveniently aggregated in the portal of the Post-reformation Digital Library (PRDL 2011) hosted by the H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, or subscription-based, such as the Institute for Reformation Research at the Theological University of Apeldoorn (IRR), the Digital Library of Classic Protestant Texts (DLCPT), and Early English Books Online (EEBO). Although some students and scholars of Reformation studies, and Calvin studies in particular, are fairly at home in the digital world, others are bemused. Therefore a brief examination of a selected number of digital primary sources of Calvin, restricted to 16th hcentury editions - the Calvini Opera excepted, may suffice to acquaint one with the research opportunities and limitations both for open access and subscription based. 1. OPEN ACCESS: BNF, BSB, IA, E-RARA, AND GB. The Calvini Opera (Baum, Cunitz & Reuss 1861-1900) is available at Open Archive at the University of Geneva (Open Archive 2011) and partially at GB (Google Books 2011) Access to the former initiates the downloading of the requested work -a step not required by GB, and constrained by available bandwidth. The accessed document, viewed as scanned pages of the original letterpress edition, can be searched for specific key words, whereby GB presents all search results, highlighted in context by page number, which Open Archive offers one at a time. Although both venues offer download functionality (PDF format), the search function is lost with GB but remains functional in an Open Archive document. Furthermore, the entry of multiple words or phrase in the search field reveals that the search engine offers proximity in a sentence or paragraph. For example, the phrase "in summa" presents search results with the words "in" and "summa" sequential or separated by words, and sentences. In other words, the accuracy of the search results requires much discernment and interpretation of the user. The works of Calvin digitally present in Latin, French and English at the BNF, such as Interim adultero-germanum (Calvin 1549), Defensio orthodoxae fidei de sacra Trinitate (Calvin 1554), and Le Catéchisme (Calvin 1552) and Sermons of upon the epistle to the Galathians (Calvin 1574) are only available in black / white image format, and search by words is not possible, though download in a PDF or JPEG format for research purposes is available to the user. Furthermore, Calvin's works published in the French language are listed in the BNF but originates from e-rara Calvin 1548) and the BSB (Calvin 1538).4 It presents the page image in color, and is non-searchable but downloadable, whereby the BSB contain works translated into German, and both contain various commentaries, sermons, treatises and other works. Finally, the IA offers assorted Calvin works not only in various online formats, such as viewer, PDF - color and black / white, e-pub., Kindle, Daisy, DjVu and full text, whereby the read-online and both PDF versions are searchable - a functionality that remains after the PDF downloading. These works then, available through open access, offer an entry globally to the rare editions of Calvin's work, which were previously only available locally. In some cases the work is presented with key word search functionality, and in other cases with high-quality digital scans in color -a laudable attempt to embody the original book enhancing the use of these digital primary sources. Furthermore, portals such as the PRDL, an aggregated website, greatly improve the accessibility, and foster a guided use of the various digital resources of Calvin's work such as commentaries, sermons, doctrine, polemic, catechetical / liturgical, and correspondence (PRDL 2011). 2. SUBSCRIPTION-BASED: DLCPT, EEBO AND IRR The DLCPT offers more than sixty selected works of Calvin, which are fully and advanced searchable, such as single term and phrase search, proximity searching in the same sentence or in the same paragraph on selected parts and the entire work or collective Calvin corpus; each work containing page images of the original letterpress edition connected to the searchable digital edition. Search results are presented in context or line by line, and in page order, and can be viewed by individual page, paragraph or section. The accuracy of the search result is highly precise, and offers the user the option to view the corresponding page image of the printed work in a separate window. Page images of printed works, though with various image quality and limited search capabilities is the core of the more than fifty English works of Calvin offered by EEBO. The Calvini Opera (CO) developed by IRR as fully searchable PDF's on compact disc formed the basis of a recent and promising initiative - the combination of a fully and advanced searchable CO integrated with corresponding page image, like the DLCPT, and whereby specific works can be linked to digital editions that are available as open access documents. The user is then able to view the search result of, for example, the Interim Adultero-Germanum, as digital text, text image of the CO and text image of the 1549 edition available through BNF (Calvin 1549). Furthermore, IRR envisions that the CO is cross-searchable with other series of the Corpus Reformatorum, and other works of the sixteenth-century Reformation. These works of Calvin, then, differentiate themselves primarily in their advance search capabilities and the level of precision of search results from the current open-access publications, as well as their ability to view the digitally formatted text with the corresponding page image. In this way, EEBO offers download functionality for licensed users, which option is currently not available by DLCPT and IRR. This succinct survey shows the various and diverse digital primary sources of the works of this 16th-century Protestant Reformer. Although the majority of the commercially available digital works are still available only through sometimes cost-prohibitive user licensing, a more recent trend shows that open-access initiatives such as GB, IA, and e-rara make identical editions available. For example, the 1540 Commentarri in Epistolam Pauli as Romanos, previously available digitally through the DLCPT, is now freely accessible through IA (Calvin 1540). Other publications, such as the Defensio othodoxa fidei de sacra Trinitate, are now available through the DLCPT, BNF and GB.5 Here, two observations are in order: first the search limitation of the open access archives remains a factor, but this might be temporary given the strong development efforts of advanced optical character recognition technology, including accurate identification of 16th century letter types. However, if this trend continues, which is not unlikely, only the differentiating search functionality, quality of images, and user options could justify the continuation of restricted access. Furthermore, this trend shows also the complexity of the digital world, which may offer various outcomes for the deployment of these digital primary sources in research, education, and publication. Concerning research, the current, and ever-increasing, number of available web-based primary sources present scholars and students of Calvin studies with advantages, such as local and round-the-clock availability of primary sources, building a personal library of digital sources for research purpose, and speedy locating of certain text(s) or phrases, previously part of a painstaking and time-consuming labor. However, these quickly generated search results must not only be judged on the accuracy of the primary source text but also on their lack in general of the surrounding text and accompanying argument of the author that is present in reading a tome physically in hands. Furthermore, the presentation of multiple search results of a certain word or phrase may assist the user in identifying possible connections of the author's flow of argument, yet one should exercise caution in constructing any initial conclusions from such search results (Hatch 2007:150-160; Maynard & O'Brien 2010:400). For example, a key word search in Calvin's Psychopannychia (1534) on "anima" provides sixty-five occurrences in paragraph context, and reveals Calvin's use of the word in various ways. The search, however, neither takes into account the various declensions of the word, nor do the results give an immediate sense of the relationship, if any, to the main argument of the treatise. In short, the gain of access of the digital primary source may be tempered by the quality of the retrieved information, whereby the task of critical understanding and interpretation of the text remains with the reader. In regard to education, those that teach Calvin studies should consider incorporating these digital primary sources in course curricula. Although the students, the next generation of Calvin scholars, are usually more acquainted with the digital world than the one currently teaching the subject matter, the exposure to primary source material offers new teaching opportunities. This is especially true for those countries that previously have been deprived of primary sources, and the ability to identify, contextualize, explore, analyze and evaluate the source (Walbert 2004; Anderson 2009:35-38; Johnston 2009:50-52; Ridgway 2009:60-61). The latter may be enhanced by comparing (digitally) such source with later editions, critical editions, and secondary sources. For example, Calvin's Acta Synodi Tridentinae is present at GB as the critical edition, the CO (7:365-506), whereby the text is accompanied with explanatory or interpretive notes, but also available as the 1547 edition at the BSB and IA, without editorial apparatus (Calvin 1547). Such may assist students develop a more precise skill of a discerned reading of the primary text and editorial commentary, and enhance the quality of learning - though such learning does not ignore the pedagogical and didactical expediency of nonlinear reading of the codex book that so amazed St. Augustine (Grossman 2011:13). Furthermore, the increased use of e-learning applications offers ample opportunity to integrate the digital primary sources of Calvin's works into the study curriculum, which in that way also may contribute to a more eco-friendly learning environment by reduced paper use. Finally, the use of digital primary sources will test new ways of citations, annotation, and open venues for publication in various forms such as e-journals and e-books, but also will present challenges of copyright and licensing guided or not by fair-use provisions. Despite these challenges, the Institut fur Schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte, in conjunction with the Zwingliverein, recently launched a comprehensive, yet user-friendly academic and peer-reviewed e-journal (Zwingliana). Authors have the option to submit articles, and users can register to have free access to electronic published issues with a three year delay and will find more than 2,000 full text searchable articles in over 200 different issues of the journal since its founding in 1897. This form of publication, dedicated to Calvin studies, may foster an additional way of scholarly communication.6 3. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the current developments in the digital landscape, including the field of theology, and in particular those related to the studies of Calvin's work by a continuing and increasing number of available primary sources, as well as a rising number of possibilities of making use of these sources, offer at the same time various opportunities and limitations, as the boundaries of scholarship, open access and commercial interest will continue to be tested, appropriated and defined. The rising number of early editions of the Geneva reformer available through open access shows concurrently a duplication of digitalization effort. Although the cost of digitalization may continue to decrease over time, a coordinated and cooperative initiative may lead to making more works available, and optimizing hosting space and preservation.7 Furthermore, researchers should continue consulting commercial digital archives of Calvin resources, leveraging publications and editions that are not available through open access and making use of the advanced search capabilities such archives offer. In addition, the combination of different digital primary sources other than Calvin's text, such as, for example, digital cartography, historical records of the city of Geneva, and sixteenth-century publishers and printing houses may advance cross-disciplinary research, especially when crosscollection searches can retrieve collective results from such digital archives. Digital scholarly archive projects, such as First Source at the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, promise advanced interplays between the Calvini and Melanchtoni Opera, the Edwards corpus, and Westminster Assembly records, thereby opening new ways of comparative research (First Source 2011). The field of theology should make discriminated use of the new possibilities of digital research, education and publication to raise academic standards by internationally advancing thoughtful theological reflections through digital media. BIBLIOGRAPHY Allinson, j. & Francois, S. 2008. Sword: Simple Web-service Offering Repository Deposit Ariadne. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue54/allinson-et-al/ [ Links ] Anderson, M.A. 2009. The Power of Primary Sources, MultiMedia & Internet@Schools 16(6):35-38. [ Links ] Calvin, J. Retrieved from: http://ia700504.us.archive.org/23/items/commentarijinepi00calv/commentarijinepi00calv.pdf [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1547. Acta Synodi Tridentinae cum Antidot per Ioann Caluinum. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.digitalesammlungen.de/ ; http://books.google.com/books?id=qSYBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage#v=onepage&q=synodi%20 tridentinae&f=false; http://dfgviewer.de/show/?set[image]=41&set[zoom]=default&set[debug]=0&set[double]=0&set[mets]=http%3A%2F%2Fmdz10.bib-bvbde%2F~db%2Fmets%2Fbsb00027625_mets.xml; http://ia700301.us.archive.org/22/items/actasynoditriden00calv/actasynoditriden00calv.pdf [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1548. Commentaire ... sur quatre Epistres de Sainct Paul... Geneva: Jean Girard. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.e-rara.ch/gep_g/content/titleinfo/282240 [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1548. Les Actes du Concile de Trente avec le remède . . . Geneva: Jean Girard [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.e-rara.ch/gep_g/content/titleinfo/282242 [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1549. Commentaire . . . sur l'Epistre aux Ebrieux. Geneva: Jean Girard. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.e-rara.ch/gep_g/content/titleinfo/282243 [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1549. Interim adultero-Germanum, cui adiecta est vera Christianae pacificationis, et ecclesiae reformandae ratio. Geneva: Jean Girard. [Online] Retrieved from: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k53646p [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1550. Institutio totius christians religion!... Geneva: Jean Girard. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.e-rara.ch/gep_g/content/titleinfo/282246 [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1550. De scandalis . . . Geneva: Jean Crespin. [Online] Retrieved from:. http://www.e-rara.ch/gep_g/content/titleinfo/282245 [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1552. Catéchisme : c'est à dire, le formulaire d'instruire les enfants en la chrestienté, fait en la manière de dialogue, où le ministre interrogue et l'enfant respond. Geneve: lehan Crespin. [Online] Retrieved from: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k531151.r=jean+calvin.langEN [ Links ] Calvin, J. 1554. 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Hekman Library, grand Rapids, Mi. [online] Retrieved from: http://libguides.calvin.edu/content.php?pid=47579&sid=578689 [ Links ] Ridgway, E. 2009. Teaching with primary sources: professional Development from the Library of congress at Your Fingertips. Knowledge Quest 38(2):60-61. [ Links ] Van Den Sompel, H. 2006. An Interoperable Fabric for scholarly Value chains, Digital Library. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october06/vandesompel/10vandesompel.html>. [ Links ] Walbert, K. 2004. Reading primary sources: An introduction for students. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/745 [ Links ] Wikipedia 2011. google Books. [online] Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/google_Books [ Links ] Zwingliana 2011. swiss Reformation studies Institute, university of Zurich. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.zwingliana.ch/index.php/zwa/index [ Links ] LIST OF ABRÉVIATIONS USED BNF - Bibliothèque Nationale de France BsB - Bayerisches staats Bibliothek DLCPT - Digital Library of classic protestant Texts EEB O - Early English Books online GB - google Books IA - internet Archive Neele Research in Theology in the Digital Age IRR - Institute for Reformation Research PRDL - Post-Reformation Digital Library 1 This essay is an extended version of a paper delivered at the International Congress on Calvin Research, Bloemfontein, South Africa, August 22-27, 2010. 2 A digital archive is defined as a collection of digital resources, such as primary source text, focused on a specific area. Primary sources are understood in this paper as a first or later letterpress or a scholarly authoritative critical edition of printed material during the era of investigation. Secondary sources, then, provide interpretation and analysis of primary sources. All referenced websites have been accessed on October 10 and 11, 2011. 3 Open access (publishing) is defined as access to material (mainly scholarly publications) via the Internet in such a way that the material is free for all to read, and to use (or re-use) to various extents. 4 This site offers various forms of locating a document such as browsing-index, name, period, and key word search, as well as translated works. 5 An overview of all open access and commercial available works of Calvin can be obtained from the author at adriaan.neele@yale.edu. 6 Open Journal Systems is an open source journal application and a viable candidate to implement an e-journal for Calvin studies. 7 Organizations such as International Congress on Calvin Research, Instituut voor Reformatie Onderzoek, H. Henry Meeter Center for Calvin Studies, and Institut für Schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte may consider to lead such initiative. All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License University of the Free State Faculty of Theology University of the Free State Bloemfontein South Africa hoffmanl@ufs.ac.za

SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online vol.68 issue2 author indexsubject indexarticles search Home Pagealphabetic serial listing Services on Demand Article pdf in English Article in xml format Article references How to cite this article Automatic translation Send this article by e-mail Indicators Related links Share Share on deliciousShare on googleShare on twitterShare on diggShare on citeulikeMore Sharing ServicesMore More Sharing ServicesMore Permalink HTS Theological Studies Print version ISSN 0259-9422 Herv. teol. stud. vol.68 no.2 Pretoria 2012 ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRACTICAL THEOLOGY The practical theologian as decentred but influential facilitator H. Elmo Pienaar; Julian C. Müller Department of Practical Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa Correspondence to ABSTRACT Since the 1970s along with the resurgence in practical philosophy new possibilities opened up in our understanding of the place for and purpose of practical theology. The repositioning of practical theology as a fully worthy discipline was important to find its voice amongst theological peer disciplines. Against this background, it was argued that the full measure of what the discipline can contribute, especially outside of the ministry context, has not yet been fully developed or practiced. Towards this end the presentation's main contention was put forward, in that it is vital for the practical theologian to take up a role of an inscribed facilitator. It signifies a shift from practical theology to practical theologian and is exemplified by the practice of a facilitative approach in, and to practical theology. Introduction This article fits into the larger genre of elsewhere (Pienaar 2012) referred to as practical theological facilitation. In what way? In that the concepts used, such as, inscribed, decentred, and a particular understanding of what it means to be informed, qualify aspects of facilitation that we deem important. With reference to Tracy's (cf. 1998) audiences of practical theology, if practical theology was to effectively engage different audiences, specially a public audience then the rationale for engagement needs credibility. The assumed lack of credibility, which relates to multifarious aspects, such as, the churches role in apartheid in the South-African context to the problematic of propositional approaches in a postmodern climate cannot be argued here. Accepting the aforementioned background thesis, the concern of this article is with furthering the kind of approach and interdisciplinary dialogue that might most credibly engage, particularly, the public audience. Doing so from a practical theological perspective; or rather, a practical theology that finds it useful, effective and rigorous to draw from practical philosophy, storied practical theology, and some important concepts and elements of both disciplines' development and practice. Consequently, two voices are invoked: that of practical theology and of facilitation. In the context of practical theology the notion of facilitation is one that is new - at least in view of its formal appropriation that it receives here. After clarifying the notion of facilitation, so as to gain an understanding of how these two fields are brought together, we offer some remarks on the development and influences of both these fields. This will be our first section and it will leave us is with an emphasis on the importance of both the individual and the collective. The middle section, namely, 'Storied practical theology', will pick up on the individual dimension, particularly so from a narrative point of view and with specific reference to practical theology. The last section, that is, 'The inscribed facilitator', serves to relate the ideas of the middle section on practical theology back into the framework of facilitation. Whilst some of the concepts are only referred to explicitly later in the article they are embedded in the disciplines and particular traditions we rely on. We refer to them shortly. To be inscribed asks of us as facilitators and/ or practical theologians to realise that we are not bringing a clean slate to our engagement with people, and indeed that it is not possible to wipe that slate. The reason being that our participation is informed by familial, religio-cultural and other influences, might they be perceived as positive or negative. As researchers, counsellors, coaches, facilitators we are sensitive to power discourses and what we, as the so called professionals, might represent. So although we cannot be without influence, we opt for a decentred position that still affords us the opportunity to share or offer our stories in the transitional space of facilitation. Thus, the concepts of decentred, having unavoidable influence, being informed or inscribed are expressed in the meaning of what the role of facilitation or storied practical theology stands for. Consequently this article is as much about these concepts as they are about asking questions about the theory and practice of practical theology. An important contribution however lies in bringing these concepts to dialogue across disciplines. Out of the blocks with facilitation The fact that different people have different experiential situations because they come from different traditions, and in addition commit themselves to different research traditions, makes it normal, natural, and rational that they should proceed differently in cognitive, evaluative and practical matters. (Van Huyssteen 2000:437) Given this diversity, how do these people collaborate or live life together, or partake in conversation in a way that is sensible, meaningful, ethical in all aspects, and make worthwhile decisions en route to achieve what they initially set out or hope to achieve? This is the task of the facilitator. For Bens (2005), who is a professional practitioner facilitator (not a theologian), a facilitator is a person who: contributes structure and process to interactions so groups are able to function effectively and make high-quality decisions. A helper and enabler whose goal is to support others as they pursue their objectives. (p. 5) The way that we employ the notion of facilitation, and later that of rationality is wider than for both Bens' (2005) and Van Huyssteen's (1999, 2006a)1 use thereof: apart from widening the scope of these concepts we also differentiate between semi-formal and formal ways of appropriating facilitation. Let us explain. Firstly, we use the word facilitation as both a metaphor and a role that loosely corresponds with a semi-formal and formal understanding of facilitation. For the purpose of this article we will not adhere strictly to keeping such a distinction but note that this differentiation widens the scope already. It is wider in that it can be used to distinguish between facilitative practical theology (a predominantly metaphor-informed way to pursue practical theology), and in what might be referred to as practical theological facilitation (predominantly practice and role-informed, as in professional facilitation). With Van Huyssteen, situated in the discipline of systematic theology2, his use of facilitation pertains particularly to the academic interdisciplinary dialogue between theology and science and specifically so with reference to postfoundational rationality. As such, the word facilitation is used as a verb3 and not as we understand it also, a role. To illustrate Van Huyssteen's (1999) use as a verb: Rationality thus clearly entails an unavoidable investment in the interest of others. Because our epistemic communities never exist in complete isolation from one another, it will be important to realize that an adequately contextualized notion of rationality is necessary to facilitate intersubjective, cross-disciplinary conversation. (p. 153) Our view encapsulates that of Van Huyssteen, but as practical theologians, facilitation serves to engage not only academia (in the said cross-disciplinary conversation) - as one of Tracy's audiences of practical theology (1998) - but also the ministry context and then especially the public dimension of society as an audience. Although we will need to comment more elsewhere, rationality also lies close to the heart of facilitation since the facilitator will have diverse rationalities to account for in facilitation. One has to view rationality in a wider framework to clarify what we see as part of the task of the facilitator. A broader understanding might include Browning's (1991) views on practical reasoning, renowned creative thought leader, De Bono's (n.d.) work on Lateral Thinking (1973) and Six Thinking Hats (1999) and any means by which a person or organisation makes sense of the world, particularly in respect of its everyday living where decisions are made and our narratives are performed. When acknowledging different rationalities and in view of the actual professional practice (i.e. role) of facilitation, the use of the word facilitation cannot just be used colloquially. Secondly, in respect of the professional facilitation role, as with Bens (2005): the understanding of the facilitative role can be interpreted wider than Bens' description of professional facilitation. It could include a consulting role (particularly a facilitative-consulting role). Consequently, in underscoring facilitative practice in the context of consulting, it resonates with the gist of what practitioner facilitation and narrative practice are about. Furthermore, following the differentiation of Kiiti and Nielsen (1999) between facilitation and advocacy, we connect narrative ideas to a facilitative approach whilst advocative voices relate more to conventional consulting practice. Widening the conceptual framework could therefore involve that facilitation has a role to play in a broader context of advocacy. Yet advocating in the context of facilitation is more contentious. The idea of consulting also implies that the kind of dialogue that seeks facilitation is not restricted to in-the-moment dialogue; in this sense the conceptual framework is also widened. It takes into account ecological, political, social and other dialogues that take shape on an elaborate scale and different platforms. Relating to these platforms, dialogue might also account for the influence of media such as television, newspapers and so forth as part of the voices or texts in the dialogue. Although overlap exists between public theology and what we are discussing in terms of the public dimension of practical theological facilitation, the focus is notably different. Firstly, the angle is particularly one of practical theology, in addition informed by postfoundational or post-structural accents therein (cf. Müller 2004, 2011b). Furthermore, although a public dimension is unavoidable the emphasis lies greatly with the means as informed by epistemology and methodology, and less on the end (being restricted to a certain area such as the imperative of the public domain). Rather, a specific area of interest is something that will stem from the way in which the particular individual (practical theologian and/or facilitator) is inscribed or informed. This entails that neither the facilitator nor the practical theologian as facilitator can dissociate themselves from their culture and experiences. Thus, epistemologically speaking, whilst a person in roles such as, for example, facilitation, coaching, counselling, and research, cannot be without influence, an intentional decentred role is adopted. The contexts of, and answers to, the following questions serve to illustrate something of the scope of a facilitative approach in and to, practical theology. The 'decentred-influential' facilitator (and other words that we refer to, such as the 'inscribed' facilitator), will ask questions such as the following: where is, or where should dialogue be taking place? Whose voices are, or should be heard in this dialogue? What inhibits, or what will allow this dialogue to take shape? How might this dialogue take shape (both on wider platforms and in the moment)? What is my own role in this dialogue? We have said something about the larger conceptual framework in which we place facilitation in order to create a preliminary shared understanding. It seems helpful now to elaborate on why practical theology and facilitation are thought of as meaningful interdisciplinary partners. To do so we present only some of the informing developments and influences of both. Thoughts on the development of practical theology Four part development De Roest (1998:26-27) cursorily tracks the agenda of practical theology. He mentions that there was first a focus on ministry and leadership as it relates to the clerical paradigm with subdisciplines divided along the lines of the activities of the pastor. Secondly, he distinguishes a movement from the 1950s that gives prominence to the functions of the church as a whole as it finds expression in ecclesiology and church development. Then, in the third instance, came a broadening of focus in liberation theology as a form of practical theology. Herein the function of the church is directed towards serving society, in that it moves away from ecclesiocentrism. Fourthly, and lastly, a still wider net is cast that brings into focus the life of individual believers, of lay people, which directs the attention to the individual learner, hearer, emphasising a search for a meaningful life. The above-mentioned last stated focus pertaining to the individual, relates particularly to a facilitative approach in, and to practical theology, which forms the larger context of this article. Said context is, however, still in development. With that being the case it is not possible to elaborate sufficiently on all the arguments employed in this article that rely to different extents on said context. See in this regard Pienaar (2012), 'Overture to practical theological facilitation' that starts to explore what a facilitative approach in, and to, practical theology could entail. Of the four part development that De Roest (1998) touches on, the view that we emphasise (one that is important to practical theological facilitation) is that of a shift to the individual, the person; but then also the person of the practical theologian (as opposed to what makes the discipline of practical theology coherent and also as opposed to merely a shift toward lay people, believers and so forth, as indicative of the shift to the individual). Herein the life of the practical theologian becomes an artwork in the ecotone (cf. section on 'Storied Practical Theology'). Yet this is not where we end. It is not about setting the individual (lay person, or specifically the practical theologian) as the agenda or the object of study, but rather what happens in the space between one individual and another or the collective. Toward practice and interpretation The notions of practice and interpretation resonate strongly with facilitation. One of the practices of facilitation has to do with how people make decisions in various practice oriented contexts. The idea of practice has a particular history in practical theology that is also relevant to facilitation. Emanating from the development of the agenda of practical theology, De Roest (1998:19) sees a gradual agreement amongst practical theologians to localise their point of departure in practice. A description that is therefore still useful is that of practical theology as a Handlungswissenschaft, meaning a science of action. Hereby normative prescription or theological description pave the way to a social-scientific description (De Roest 1998:20). De Roest is right to assert that this shift was gradual from the 1960s onwards (De Roest 1998:20), perhaps so since one has to remember that calling oneself a practical theologian was at one stage to invite scepticism and humiliation amongst the academic community and to an extent also one's theological colleagues (Browning 1991:3). The growing awareness of this new kind of broadly defined agenda, of practice or action, was helped along to a great extent by the resurgence in the practical philosophies (Browning 1991:3). Browning was a pivotal contributor to the movement from pastoral theology - that fits roughly De Roest's second movement with the advent of the 20th century - to practical theology (Anderson 2001:25). Yet the distinction between practical theology, as opposed to theoretical theology was made already by Philip Marheineke (1780-1846) after which practical theology received its independent status (Anderson 2001:24). In that time the theory-praxis relation was the central focus although innovation was confined to the local congregation (Anderson 2001:25 - in accordance with De Roest's proposal (1998). It is evident that Browning relied on what happened in practical philosophy at the time around the 1970s (cf. Browning 1983), to resituate the conceptualisation of the discipline to that of practical theology. Tracy (1994:134) also references the widespread recovery of practical philosophies, linking them to new practical theologies such as political oriented approaches. Even more significantly is that Tracy (1994:134) ties it together with a redefinition of hermeneutics, where the emphasis changes from text to discourse and from historical context to social location (with reference to gender, class, and race). Discourse and social location resonate strongly in turn with facilitation and as such this new hermeneutics (but also the earlier understanding thereof) is relevant to the dialogue between facilitation and practical theology. The issues concerning practical philosophy are, for example, related to notions of freedom (will, autonomy), matters of practical reason (with respect to Kant this entails categorical imperatives, maxims, and laws), moral obligation (such as rights, duties, and virtues), and political obligation (such as property, trade, peace) (Westphal 2011). In our time, after World War II, matters of life and death (of practice), have turned philosophy's focus towards the practical (Toulmin 1988:343). After 1945, these matters related to nuclear war, medical technology, and the environment (Toulmin 1988:343). The surface questions to these relate to the significance of human life and our responsibilities to both humanity and nature (Toulmin 1988:343). With such topics and their deliberation, the reasoning is practical both in view of the subject matter - being action - but also practical in its consequence in that reflection moves people to act (Wallace 2009). Browning (1991:3) implies that the rebirth of the practical philosophies signified that the epistemological climate has changed. The foremost contribution of this 'rebirth' to the larger climate change - and Tracy refers specially to theology (1994:75) - found expression in an interpretive turn. Not only, therefore, did the interlocution with the social sciences and practical philosophy underscore an agenda of practice, but it endowed us with an interpretive turn that reframed our epistemological awareness. This epistemological shift lies also at the heart of the kind of facilitative approach that we present. We certainly have our doubts about a kind of practical theological facilitation that might be pursued, which does not account for the epistemological climate change. It is important to note that this epistemological change is not only an evolution of systems theory, but indeed a discontinuous paradigm, a different language (Freedman & Combs 1996:14). To Freedman and Combs (1996:14), the interpretive turn and other concepts that relate to the epistemological climate change, such as post-structuralism, deconstructionism, and the new hermeneutics are encapsulated in the broad movement and/or consciousness of postmodernism. The epistemological reframing happened to such an extent that, with for instance Clifford Geertz (the foremost anthropologist of his generation, 1936-2006), a major rethinking took shape on the boundaries between the social sciences and the humanities (White 2007:1187). In addition to Geertz (who was a key figure relating to the interpretive turn in the social sciences), Paul Ricoeur was also instrumental in 'finding a model of interpretation that links the hermeneutical perspective of the human sciences with the empirical perspective of the social sciences' (Anderson 2001:26). Something that cannot be described other than by saying it was a monumental shift to interpretation and the humanities, can also be seen in philosophy. Richard Rorty's development is particularly relevant.4 Niel Gross in his study of Rorty notes that Rorty had been a hard-nosed analyst who engaged in the rarefied debates in the philosophy of mind (Gross 2008:4). Later on Rorty encouraged a '"relaxed attitude" toward the question of logical rigor, to stop drawing arbitrary boundaries between philosophy and other humanities fields' (Gross 2008:4). Richard Rorty, to mention a most concrete example, left his post in the philosophy department at Princeton University to become a professor of humanities at Virginia (Robbins 2011:xv). This epistemological shift does not only relate to Rorty's personal development but has wider philosophical relevance. Vattimo (2011) explains: Twentieth-century philosophy had once cherished a dream of becoming a rigorous science, a dream that ... had characterized positivism and phenomenology, respectively. But as Husserl put it, the dream was 'dreamed out' (ausgetraumt), it faded away, and with it the idea that philosophy ought to be a robust representation either of reality or, at any rate, of the modes in which we represent reality. (p. 2) Focus on the collective Mottier (2005:para. 9) notes that in qualitative research, different perspectives associated with the interpretive turn regard the social world not as 'a collection of external "facts", but as a subjectively experienced construct.' If by subjectively is meant individually, then there is still more that needs to be said. The epistemological, interpretive shift did not only leave us with an emphasis on the individual. Our view is that similar to what one might find with pertinent development in science from early modernisation to a scientific consciousness of later modernity, so also one might find a shift in consciousness from childhood - early postmodern consciousness (reality as individual construct) - to early adulthood (reality as social construct). De Roest was correct in his estimation of the agenda of practical theology at that time with an emphasis on the individual. He himself had then extended the focus to the collective (cf. De Roest 1998), which along with the notion of what it means to be an inscribed facilitator, is to us a central concern in facilitation. It seems then that something else - being mindful of the collective - started to happen that is of importance to a facilitative approach in, and to, practical theology. Deriving from the re-emergence of the practical philosophies, Browning (1991:3) points to a renewed interest in matters of practical reason, practical wisdom, phronesis, practice, praxis, justice, consensus, dialogue, conversation and communication. All of these, but perhaps most clearly the latter notions, relate to the collective. The focus on the collective found particular expression in the 1990s: De Roest (1998:27) - drawing on Habermas' perspectives on discourse - extends the focus to the collective and communicative identity. Herein his work is aimed at communities, organisations, movements, groups or all those who, by having some kind of relationship to the person of Christ, are 'surprised at being together' as in the French expression he uses, bien etonnés de se trouver ensemble. Browning refers to philosophers who underscore the notion of tradition in the way that practical rationality works (1991:2). Herein our focus aligns. He is not only concerned with practical rationality of a person, he aims to answer two questions regarding communal ways of knowing: how are congregations both communities of memory and communities of practical reason? (cf. Browning 1991:3). De Roest and Browning's focus on the collective is also relevant in view of what some facilitative practitioners believe. Hunter, Bailey and Taylor (1995:4), writing in the mid-1990s note that we (i.e. society) are on the forefront of what can be described as a quantum shift in human consciousness. By this they refer to a movement from individual personal development mindedness to group consciousness. They refer to this quantum leap as having been foreshadowed by family therapy, organisational development research and experience gained by living in communities. Practical theological academic preference for a coalescence of approaches and complementarity of methods were key phrases, also, in the 1990s, as noted by Dingemans (1996:91). It says something about the acknowledgement of different perspectives found in the collective. These approaches had taken the form of what Osmer (2011:3) refers to as the reflective equilibrium of the discipline, referring to practical theology's tasks of being descriptive-empirical, interpretive, normative and pragmatic with the relationship between them part of a hermeneutical circle (ed. Osmer & Schweitzer 2003:1-5). One of the seminal works on narrative therapy, also published in the mid-1990s, namely, Narrative therapy. The social construction of preferred realities (1996), by Jill Freedman and Gene Combs, underscores the epistemological importance of social constructionism in the shaping of realities. Kenneth Gergen's landmark book on social constructionism appears late in the 1990s, and saw a revision in 2009. Although many influences informed what would later be known as practitioner facilitation the formalisation of the International Association of Facilitators came about only in 1994 (Hunter et al. 2007:316). By no means least important, one has to keep in mind that South Africa's first democratic election took place in 1994. From the interest in the democratic collective ensued phrases and concepts such as 'It takes a village to raise a child', 'I am because we are', Ubuntu culture, the Batho Pele (people first) principle, and so on. More recently, Debray (2008), mentions his awareness of a backwards swing of the spiritual pendulum in history with the effect of an ancient sense of tribal grouping, 'by the revealed religions according to their natural, territorial inclination.' This, particularly as a consequence of 'spiritually empty economism of our prosperous liberal societies'; 'lack of freely granted civil religion'; 'the lack of agnostic spirituality'; and, 'the lack of credible political and social ethics' (Debray 2008:35). Thoughts regarding some of facilitation's influences The 'once upon a time' Group facilitation is said to have a rich history and many influences (Hunter et al. 2007:105). History and different cultures are filled with aspects of facilitation that were used by the wise of their time (Hogan 2005:256). She refers to Shamans, Inca people, Lao-tzu, Socrates, Buddha, Christ, and others (Hogan 2005:256). Doyle (2007:xiii) notes that Alaskan natives report of this kind of role in ancient times. With specific mention to consensus5 - it being a decision-making mode of facilitation - various forms of consensus were used by indigenous peoples at tribal councils and other deliberations (Hunter et al. 2007:20; Doyle 2007:xiii). Hunter et al. (2007:183-184) refer to still active indigenous consensus-building approaches with the Americas and what is called wisdom circles, and to traditional Maori decision-making characteristics. The 'not too long ago' In modern history, Hunter et al. (2007:183-196) cite many influences in an attempt to map the field of facilitation. Drawing on Hunter et al. (2007:183-196) we list a few examples consisting of people, concepts and movements showing towards the diverse influences of facilitation: • The Quakers (i.e. the Religious Society of Friends) with whom consensus decision-making was a centrepiece from their inception in 1660. • Kurt Lewin (who is regarded as one of the founders of social psychology and the person who coined the term 'action research'), who is associated with 'T-groups', and 'group work' that incorporates individual therapy. • Carl Rodgers and 'encounter groups'. • Will Schutz and 'open encounter' in the 1970s and 1980s. • Jacob Moreno with 'psychodrama' and 'sociodrama'. • Wilfred Bion and the 'Tavistock method', as it relates to group development • Scott Peck on community building. • Brian Standfield and the 'ICA Technology of Participation'. • Fran Peavey, a social change activist associated with the group 'Heart Politics' and the development of 'strategic questioning'. The name of the group 'Heart Politics' is derived from Fran Peavey's book by the same name. From 1989 they were dedicated to dialogue, leadership, and cultural change. • Chris Moore and his colleagues at CDR Associates as significant developers of the 'Alternatives to Violence Project' (AVP) in 1975. The project relates to alternative methods of conflict-/or dispute resolution. The 'call to adventure' in the 1970s The idea of a 'call to adventure' is in story construction associated with Christopher Vogler and Joseph Campbell (cf. Vogler 1999; cf. Campbell 1972); it signifies that something has happened that calls a particular journey into motion. Fairly recently the period and social movements of the 1970s seem to have had a profound impact on many developments. The major consequence was a broad move towards awareness of diversity (stemming from the recognition of the individual), equality, and participation. While reflecting on the institution of marriage, Doherty (2002:21) mentions that the 1960s and 1970s brought about all kinds of movements and revolutions: foremost the sexual revolution, the divorce revolution, and the feminist movement; added to this are the anti-authority movements such as against the Vietnam War; the psychological revolution and a strong rhetoric of individualism. With regard to the notion of neutrality that is of special importance to facilitation, Koppelman (2004:635), notes that the 1970s also saw the emergence of the neutrality theory. This happened simultaneously with controversies over abortion, gay rights, funding for the arts, child-care policy, the roles of the sexes, and the place of traditional values in education, especially in sex education (Koppelman 2004:635). In respect of facilitation, Doyle (2007:xiii) refers to a movement toward nascent human potential in the 1960s and 1970s. In this movement learning facilitators - also referred to as awareness facilitators - their role finding particular expression in what came to be known as meeting facilitation, had an important influence (Doyle 2007:xiii). According to Doyle (2007:xiii) facilitation shares the philosophy, mind-set, and skills of people from nonviolent, and other movements over the centuries. Examples that are provided include the women's consciousness-raising movements, civil rights movement, and people such as Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. From the aforementioned nebulas social milieu, task-oriented group facilitation developed over thirty years and can especially be linked to industrial and information-rich societies (Doyle 2007:xiii). Facilitation found very concrete expression in the corporate or business sector. Hunter et al. (2007:20) indicate that facilitation first became associated with this context, during the 1980s and 1990s, through the 'total quality movement' (TQM): a step by step improvement with a focus on teamwork as a means of dealing adequately with rapid change, complexity and advances in technology, and by considering organisational processes, as for example, strategic planning, performance management and public consultation. All of these examples, right from the earliest times, involve a person who stands in relation to the collective, be it, for example, a tribe, movement, or institution. Conventional practitioner facilitation has us believe that this person, the facilitator, can be neutral. This is a contested topic (Thomas 2010:240), one that we contest on epistemological grounds. In the broader discussion, neutrality is a crucial theme for the practical theologian especially, when he or she might want to take up a facilitative role or frame of reference. It is one of the important reasons why we underline the narrative dimension of the individual life in relation to our theologies. In this, a facilitative approach takes a very different point of departure than what one might encounter with theologian's motivations for public theology. Our motivation aligns with Ralph Waldo Emerson (2003:153) asserting that 'there is properly no history; only biography.' Storied practical theology Facilitator Michael Doyle (2007) believes that society is starting to come full circle: from the circle of the tribe around the fire, to the pyramidal structures of the last 3 000 years, back to the ecology of the circle, flat pyramids, and networks of today's organizations. (p. xiii) This is also true of theological development and therefore the growing importance of the role of life stories in theology. In his book Biography as Theology: How life stories can remake today's theology, James McClendon uses the concept of 'story theology' (1974:188-201). Stories are not only the means through which we give expression to our experiences; they are first and foremost the means through which we construct our experiences and our realities (Day Sclater 2003:317). Through the process of languaging we form our stories, but in the same process we are formed by our stories. It is a never-ending process of storying and becoming, becoming and storying. We story our theology and in the same process we are theologically storied. Day Sclater (2003:321) refers to the 'three crucial aspects of narrative as identity', which make it clear why theology, story, and identity are so inseparable and integrated: • Firstly there is a moral aspect. To share a personal story is to position oneself in terms of morality. Human morality is deeply narrative in character (cf. Barbieri 1998). • There is also a social and cultural dimension, and therefore a story is a social, or interpersonal construct: To narrate is to assume or imagine an audience but it is also more than that - it is to engage as a self, as an active, interpretive human agent, with others and with the world. (Day Sclater 2003:321) In this ongoing identity work we are dependent on the potential or transitional space in which aspects of the self can be created and transformed in relationships with others and within the matrices of culture (Day Sclater 2003:326). • It is through the process of storying that we are challenged to take up responsibility. We are embodied human beings and therefore embedded in our stories. Yet, it is through the process of storying that we can take ownership of our stories (wherein our acts and moral self are inseparable) (cf. Barbieri 1998:373). This transitional space, which Day Sclater (2003:326) refers to, is a key concept for the understanding of theology as biography: To tell one's story is to occupy such a transitional space ... The story provides an intermediate or transitional area of experience in which the self continually negotiates its position in the world, inscribes itself in relation to the available cultural scripts, integrates past, present and future through acts of remembering and telling. (Day Sclater 2003:327) This transitional space, created in and through the narrative process, is also related to the safe, but fragile public space which, according to Van Huyssteen (2006b:148) is the result of an interdisciplinary discourse. Van Huyssteen uses the term wide reflective equilibrium to point to the optimal, but fragile communal understanding we are capable of at any given moment in time. A postfoundationalist notion of reality enables us to communicate across boundaries and move transversally from context to context, from one tradition to another, from one discipline to another. He continues that in this wide reflective equilibrium, we finally find the safe but fragile public space we have been searching for, a space for shuttling back and forth between deep personal convictions and the principles that finally result from interpersonal judgements. This process of shuttling back and forth can also be described with narrative terminology. It refers to the social-constructionist process of the telling and retelling of stories. It consists of the sharing of one's own story and the listening to others' stories, with the possibility of a retelling and therefore re-authoring of stories. The paradoxical concept of 'safe but fragile' indeed becomes an inviting, but dangerous territory in trying to find a balance between the personal and the public for the theologian. The transitional space of storying can be understood in both a negative and positive way. In the all too familiar world of theological certainty and domination, it might be a very unsafe space for the sharing of personal theological stories. We agree with Jacobs (2003:25) that narrative theology has the potential, but is also challenged to create a bridge between the meta-narratives of church and theology on the one side, and individual lifestories on the other side. On the one hand the corporative story provides the safety and space for the individual story to be embedded into a bigger context; on the other hand there is the danger of a discourse becoming so dominant that it leaves no space for the development of personal stories. When the narrative integrity of a given single life is not accepted and respected the space can become more fragile than safe. The problem, as seen by Jacobs, is that church theologians can be more concerned with 'the narrative coherence (or incoherence) of whole traditions', than with 'what makes a human life coherent' (Jacobs 2003:25). A theology that allows for personal stories and takes them seriously, has the potential to be relevant and authentic, and therefore to be public theology. In the words of Adeney (2009:169): 'studying biographies helps to create a shift in consciousness that allows more complex theories to become conscious and useful.' The narrative theological paradigm therefore makes it possible to regard the human life as a work of art that is constantly created in the in-between of different worlds. The human life is a storying artwork that takes shape within the network of stories. The words of Ellis and Bochner (1996) about ethnography are also applicable to this new understanding of practical theology and the practical theologian: It is interested in depth of quality and approaches the lives of people as 'works of art'. It is therefore interested in real persons -people with smells, tastes, desires, and thoughts. The implication is that the metaphor best suited for the researcher is that of an artist. (p. 18) The emphasis is on the uniqueness of each researcher, and therefore on the surprising possibilities of a specific research story. To pursue practical theology within this line of thought, requires intellectual and emotional flexibility, which includes the assumption that practical theologians are in touch with their own stories and aware of the autobiographical embeddedness of their theological convictions. Such awareness goes hand in hand with finding oneself, and inventing oneself in the safe, but fragile public space. This finding of oneself can even be described as constructing oneself. You cannot know your theology, unless you first narrate the tales of its becoming, 'the stories of its genesis' (cf. Kearney [1988] 1994:17).6 The task of the autobiography is in this sense not a luxury for the theologian, but a necessity not only for the understanding of one's own theology, but mainly for the construction of it. This safe, but fragile public space can also be described with the metaphor of the ecotone. The ecotone - which is a transition area between adjacent, but different plant communities - can be used as a metaphor for the description of the nature of practical theology. The following quotation explains this unique and challenging territory: The ecotone represents a shift in dominance. Ecotones are particularly significant for mobile animals, as they can exploit more than one set of habitats within a short distance. The ecotone contains not only species common to communities on both sides; it may also include a number of highly adaptable species that tend to colonize such transitional areas. (Wikipedia n.d.) Practical theologians should be such 'highly adaptable' practitioners. But, in order to develop into this kind of practical theologian, some of us will need to make a major paradigm shift. It requires a shift away from a foundational understanding of theology to a postfoundational, and therefore narrative understanding. The ecotone seems to be a powerful metaphor for a postfoundational practical theology. The practical theologian who operates in and from this paradigm, finds him- or herself in the safe, but fragile public space created in interdisciplinary dialogue. Such a practical theology is involved with an increased diversity of narratives. In and through these narratives more than one set of habitats are visited and revisited. The only credible way of visiting such other habitats or narratives is with and through the personal story. If other life stories are regarded as works of art, the implication is for practical theologians, researchers, or facilitators to regard themselves in the same way. These other stories cannot be visited with the illusion that the researcher7 is objective and untouched. To the contrary, when other stories are visited, risky steps are taken and one cannot avoid the sharing of one's personal story.8 But given the notion of an artwork, it is not only risky, but also very empowering. It is to become aware of being part of a network of stories and being drawn into the weaving of a bigger picture or work of art as it relates to facilitation, research and other roles - indeed a safe, but fragile public space. The inscribed facilitator It is not in the least only the facilitator's story that matters but also the telling and retelling of those in facilitation -those with whom the facilitator shares the fragile but safe space. The story telling includes also the collaborative construction of the story of the movement or organisation (i.e. the dialogical context or habitat). The facilitator and other participants find themselves embedded in a network of stories that are collaboratively shaped. The religious and/ or spiritual dimension is ever part of this telling and retelling in the shaping of reality. The facilitator finds him- or herself in a gallery of living art where the works of art also find a particular expression collectively that is different from expressions found in other galleries. Visiting this art gallery and individual works of art creates a potential to accomplish whatever it is that we hope to achieve together in facilitation. In terms of our own focus as well, we agree with Rorty, who would have us understand of philosophy that its function is not to arbitrate truth but to tell stories (Robbins 2011:xii-xiii): with pursuing philosophy, like telling stories, there is a 'shared ability to appreciate the power of redescribing, the power of language to make new and different things possible and important' (Rorty 1989:39; cf. Robbins 2011:xii-xiii). What informs the inscribed facilitator? The idea of being inscribed has relevance in particular ways. It firstly relates to the narrative dimension of our lives, and in relation to practical theology, particularly in the manner as set out above (cf. 'Storied practical theology'). Naturally it also relates to the way in which interdisciplinary dialogue shapes us and is shaped by us. Along with Freedman and Combs (1996), our preference for narrative practice (e.g. research, therapy, inquiry, coaching and facilitation) derives from the way in which narratives organise and maintain our lives (Freedman & Combs 1996:29-33). Some authors have worked with narrative as an organising metaphor for a number of years (both in the humanities and social sciences), before narrative ideas began to be used in the field of therapy (the context in which Freedman & Combs [1996] write). Amongst the authors they refer to include: E. Bruner (1986) Ethnography as narrative; J. Bruner (1986) Actual minds, possible worlds; and Geertz (1983) Local knowledge: Further essays in interpretive anthropology (Freedman & Combs 1996:29-33). By inscribed we do not mean to imply passivity. On the contrary, telling our stories involves activity (i.e. construction) but we do this by interpretively weaving together an inner envelope that consists of our past life experiences, our current situatedness and our anticipation of the future. We also do this set against an outer envelope that involves the broader social milieu and socially constructed realities. Irrespective of whatever rationalities might be part of facilitation, they all already form part of a reality that is socially constructed. On a sociological level, these realities are formed along the lines of subjectification, externalisation, objectification (which consists of typification, institutionalisation, and legitimisation), and internalisation (Arbnor & Bjerke 2009:144-148; cf. Freedman & Combs 1996:23-27). Secondly, interdisciplinary dialogue consists of a duet and not a duel.9 In this sense it is natural that one of the ways in which the inscribed facilitator is informed would be different aspects that the duet partner contributes. A narrative approach concurs with facilitative traditions, for example those that try to instil a 'respectful, accepting culture, deep embodied listening, the ability to be in silence together, the willingness to speak from one's own experience or knowing, and the willingness to suspend judgments' (Hunter et al. 2007:98). This is also called a sacred space (Hunter et al. 2007:98), which resonates with the reference to a transitional space mentioned earlier. Narrative practice further corresponds to what Arbnor and Bjerke (2009:18-19) refer to as the basic criteria of any inquiry (their context of inquiry notably that of business methodology), namely, awareness and self-reflection. Although a word of caution at this stage: it is not a matter of becoming aware rather than in reflecting and becoming aware, one is busy constructing or inventing - Rorty notes that we tend to think of causes as discovered rather than invented (1989:28). The prominence of narrative also relates to ideas such as appreciative inquiry often used in the corporate environment. We gather from Rodas-Meeker and Meeker (2005:99) that appreciate inquiry (AI) as they employ it in facilitation, is a process relevant in probing the history and stories of an organisation. In relation to narrative therapy, Freedman and Combs (1996:15-16) mention that in their time, interventions were aimed at specific problems and goals, but, having listened to Michael White, they no longer tried to solve problems. Rather they became interested in bringing forth and 'thicken' (with reference to Geertz [1978]) stories that did not support or sustain problems. On this account AI and narrative therapy has the same intention, and therefore the same intention as a facilitative approach regarding practical theology. A facilitative approach in, and to, practical theology (with reference to its narrative accent) also relates to the following aspects that some emphasise in facilitation. It resonates with Miki Kashtan's ideas behind the art of transparent facilitation (2005); with Mike Brown (2002, 2003, 2004) on the masking of power and social order; with regard to neutrality, with those who contest it, such as Cheryl Estes (2004), Phil Kirk and Mike Broussine (2000); and with reference to epistemology, Cheryl Estes (2004); with Roger Schwarz (2002) on different hats to be worn deemed necessary in facilitation; and with James Troxel (2005) regarding affirmative facilitation and process consultation. The dimensions of education in facilitator training that Thomas (2008:169) discusses are also useful in plotting oneself within the genre of facilitation. It is important to note that little of the initial literature review, including those genres that Thomas mentions (2008), relate overtly and adequately to what postfoundational, social constructionist, and narrative dimensions entail. Therefore, this is what a facilitative approach regarding practical theology will contribute to the duet. It is the acknowledgement and reliance on particular accents in one's own tradition that imbue the interdisciplinary dialogue with a sense of agency. To illustrate: for the facilitative consulting role (that is part of practical theological facilitation), one might draw from larger conceptual frameworks of practical theology that underscore different approaches in one design. See, for example, De Roest (1998:25) who mentions Browning, Mette, Van der Ven; Heitink (1993:223-226); Dingemans (1996) and Osmer (2008, 2011). Then, as referred to earlier, the discipline's current DNA, that of action or practice and an interpretive turn, contribute significantly to the dialogue with facilitation. Lastly, as it relates to certain traditions within the broad DNA, one might rely on post-structural accents such as social constructionism, postfoundationalism and narrative practice. For example, there was not only an interpretive turn (i.e. part of the current practical theological DNA) but in that, a further narrative turn in practical theology (cf. Demasure & Müller 2006). These are accentuations that are particularly helpful. Closing remarks A facilitative approach as it pertains to practical theology invites us to look again through both the microscope and the telescope; though, in the case of the prior not with its 17th century connotation of scientific reductionism (Midgley 2004). It brings under the microscope a focus on the individual (with reference to being inscribed, unavoidably influential, opting for a decentred position), and individual life stories with tremendous potential for intersubjectivity and verisimilitude. The reference to the individual incorporates the narrated life of the practical theologian as facilitator and the ways that he or she is inscribed. It entails a shift in focus from that of practical theology to the practical theologian. If the person then becomes important, it is also important how that person comes across, engages, and relates to an audience. In this regard we emphasise a decentred role. Simultaneously and strangely enough when focusing on the individual, it also implies looking through the telescope, bringing into view potential far off contexts and audiences that relate to the stories being told. The horizon of practical theology then opens up both in terms of (1) its agenda (be it in domains, such as, ecology, politics, or socio-economics); (2) its audience (ministry, academia, society); (3) in its ways (attitude, methodologies) of working alongside other disciplines; and (4) with the acknowledgement of different shapes of our human rationality (such as may be found in e.g. philosophy, psychology, or economic and management sciences). Do these metaphors - microscope and telescope - constitute yet another dualism? It certainly is not intended to do so. It rather involves the recognition that, as Mottier (2005) notes, referring Heidegger, 'being cannot be dissociated from being-in-the-world.' Or, as Tracy mentions about new ecumenism, the universal is to be found by embracing the particular (1994:138). In likewise fashion Debray comments (2008:35): 'The appearance of localisms does not negate globalization. On the contrary, it is a product of globalization.' From a social constructionist perspective, we view the individual as a member of a tribe, but a member that has a particular narrative. The particular (also the 'local' as opposed to the universal, 'oral' as opposed to text, and 'timely' as opposed to timeless) relate to what Toulmin (1988:338) has named the neglected half of the philosophical field from the 17th century, namely practical philosophy. If the measure of the 'particular' is par excellence a matter of practical philosophy, then the 'particularity' of the practical theologian, of the way in which the facilitator is inscribed, constitutes in exemplary fashion the discipline as practical theology. 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Dudley & K. Engelhard (ed.), Immanuel Kant: Key concepts, pp. 103-119, Acumen, Durham. [ Links ] White, B., 2007, 'Clifford Geertz: Singular Genius of Interpretive Anthropology', Development and Change 38(6), 1187-1208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2007.00460.x [ Links ] Wikipedia n.d., s.v. Ecotone, viewed 25 March 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotone [ Links ] Correspondence to: Elmo Pienaar Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, 0083 Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa elmo.pienaar@up.ac.za Received: 27 July 2012 Accepted: 04 Oct. 2012 Published: 05 Dec. 2012 © 2012. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Note: The article was in part presented at the 'Joint Conference of academic societies in the fields of Religion and Theology', 18-22 June 2012, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. This article is published in the section Practical Theology of the Society for Practical Theology in South Africa. 1.Specific references are included in footnote 4. 2.See for instance his earlier writings, from the mid-1980s, explicitly approached from a systematic theological perspective (cf. Van Huyssteen n.d.). 3.The following specific references from two of Van Huyssteen's works could be consulted in this regard. It illustrates that he mainly employs the concept of facilitation in verb format, not a formal role. See Alone in the world? (2006a:19, 20, 22, 26, 41, 108, 114, 300), and The shaping of rationality (1999:4, 5, 187, 195, 219). 4.See Grippe (2006). 5.Bear in mind that consensus does not necessarily entail that everyone must agree (Hunter et al. 2007:106). Indeed, Van Huyssteen views dissensus as a positive and constructive part of pluralism in the dialogue between theology and science (2006a:33). 6.Kearney writes about 'imagination', but the same is true of the knowing of any concept or idea. 7.The role of researcher is here in question as it relates to Ellis and Bochner writing about research but it can also be said of the facilitator. 8.See as examples Müller (2009, 2011a). 9.To borrow from Wentzel van Huyssteen's work (1998), Duet or duel? Theology and science in a postmodern world. Reformed Theological College Faculty of Theology University of Pretoria Pretoria, 0002 South Africa +27 (0)12 420 2669 +27 (0)12 420 4016 editor@hts.org.za