As we near the end of the 2nd week of strict ‘lockdown’ in South Africa in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus, we have seen just about every possible social function going online! Virtual classes, virtual exercise sessions, virtual meetings - and of course, also virtual Churches! Or at least, Churches operating in digital spaces (Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts etc.)
Today I speak with an expert in this field, Dr. Nicolaas Matthee. Nicolaas is a Researcher and Instructional Designer who did Doctoral Research on ‘digital liturgies’. Nicolaas has reflected on what it means, theologically, to take our faith ‘online’, and there are some rather interesting, and surprising, findings! Perhaps, for me, the most remarkable one, is that it actually doesn’t make that much of a difference! Most people ‘make sense’ of the world, their lives, and so also their faith lives, in whatever way they can. So, if they can meet in person and it works, that is great. If that is not possible, they simply seek an alternative means, and if that is digital, that is great!
In this VLOG we talk about the implications of taking our Churches online. What does this mean during times like the Covid19 pandemic ‘lockdown’? What does it mean once we can return to some form of ‘new normal’ (perhaps meeting physical again)? Will we still maintain a digital presence in some form?
We also discuss some of the more tricky theological issues, such as liturgy and pragmatism, and the conflicts with ‘rigid’ belief systems. For example, we don’t mind going online, and perhaps even celebrating some sacraments (like Communion) online because we live with the hope that we will ‘return’ to what the Church has done for most of its history. But what if there was a reason (a pandemic, an ecological disaster) that meant we had to ‘stay online’ indefinitely? Would we still hold to beliefs in the ‘real presence’ of Christ in the bread and wine that is set aside by the Priest as Celebrant? Or would we change such beliefs?
Nicolaas, also gives us some insights into what will keep persons engaged in ‘online’ worship services, what kinds of liturgies ‘involve’ participants and so are more meaningful, and what some of the less desirable ways are of doing our ‘online communities’.
You can find out more about Nicolaas and his work here:
This week has been an extremely painful week in South Africa. The scourge of femicide, rape, and the physical and emotional abuse of women and girls, as well as rising xenophobic and Afro-phobic attacks on fellow African migrants, have been deeply disturbing.
Many friends have expressed a sense of helplessness - what can Christians and Churches do? What should we do to witness justice, love and change in these situations?
Here is a short video that offers some suggestions that every Christian, and every Church, can do. Please feel free to offer your own ideas, suggestions, and feedback. We need one another! Please share the video with anyone who may find it useful.
As always, thanks so much for watching! I would be grateful if you subscribed so that you can be notified of new videos and lectures.
It feels like a lifetime ago - in November 2018 I presented a paper on a Panel on Religion and Populism at the American Academy of Religion.
It was one of the 'Wildcard' sessions that was recorded.
The panel was hosted by Prof Marcia Pally (New York University, Humboldt University), Prof Torsten Meireis (Humboldt University), Luke Bretherton (Duke University), Michael Minkenberg (European University), and myself - Dion Forster (Stellenbosch University). You can watch the presentations here: https://youtu.be/7lZzbCQeXP8
My paper is currently under review for publication.
Joerg is a great example of an engaged scholar who is deeply committed to justice and deep scholarship that serves communities for transformation, renewal and flourishing.
In this interview Joerg and I talk about a theology of justice, class, economics, gender, race and the task of organizing communities for change and transformation.
The Bible is a source of great inspiration, encouragement and blessing for millions of people. However, for many persons, communities and contexts, it is also the source of great suffering and struggle. While the text and narratives of the books of the Bible can inspire, encourage, and bless, they can also be used to destroy, to deny, to harm and to support human rights abuses, the destruction of creation, and the perpetration of injustice.
Today’s VLOG is one of the most important I have done to date - it is a conversation with Prof Gerald West of the University of KwaZulu Natal, and the Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research. Gerald is widely regarded as the world leader in this field, and Ujamaa is considered the foremost centre of its kind. They not only pioneered the work of Contextual Bible Reading in South Africa, but Gerald, and the Ujamaa teams and the communities they have worked with, have served to help Christians, theologians, community workers, pastors and other interested parties, to engage the Biblical text with care and responsibility. Their work is a testimony to the importance of the Bible, and the necessity of doing careful, community based, and scholarly credible, readings of the Bible.
You can find out more about the work of the Ujamaa centre here, and as Gerald mentioned, there are a lot of free and helpful resources.
Here is a link to Gerald’s latest book, published by Brill: West, Gerald O. The Stolen Bible: From Tool of Imperialism to African Icon. BRILL, 2016. https://brill.com/view/title/24146.
Prof Charlene van der Walt’s book: Van der Walt, Charlene. Toward a Communal Reading of 2 Samuel 13. Elkhart, IN: Institute of Mennonite Studies, 2014.
And here is a link to my new book: Forster, Dion A. The (Im)Possibility of Forgiveness? An Empirical Intercultural Bible Reading of Matthew 18:15-35. 1st ed. Vol. XI. Beyers Naudé Centre Series on Public Theology. Stellenbosch, South Africa: SUN Press, 2017. http://www.africansunmedia.co.za/…/Product…/498/Default.aspx.
Thanks for watching! As always, I would love to hear your comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback and questions!
I am grateful to be born in one of the countries that he calls a ‘shit hole’. In fact, I am thoroughly, thankfully, and proudly African! While I could not choose to be born in Africa, I guess that I just got lucky!
But that doesn’t mean I am better (or worse) than any other person. How can geography possibly constitute a valid measurement of the value of the human life? That is simply nonsense.
Mr Trump would do well to reflect on the words of Steve Biko:
‘The great powers of the world may have done wonders in giving the world an industrial and military look but the great gift still has to come from Africa – giving the world a more human face.’
- Steve Biko
So, in today’s VLOG I muse about the different ways in which people value one another.
I share some ideas on how we might approach the dignity of the human person that is not linked to inadequate sources like geography, nationality, race, wealth, ability etc.
Thanks for watching! As always, I would love to hear your comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback and questions!
A few weeks ago I had a chance to attend a colloquium at Volmoed - a retreat centre near Hermanus in the Western Cape. This is the home of the South African theologian John de Gruchy and has been a place that I have visited regularly for some years now. It also happens to be on the route of the final day (day 3) of the Wines2Whales MTB race - so I have ridden on the trails of the Hemel en aarde valley many times.
It is a place I love to visit. I have fond memories of family visits there (we spent a Christmas vacation there with our family), and of course of the many conferences, retreats and visits to John.
This last visit (where the reflection below was recorded) was the annual Volmoed, University of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch University colloquium. Each year John de Gruchy, Robert Vosloo (my colleague from Stellenbosch) and Ernst Conradie (also a friend a colleague, but from the University of the Western Cape) invite theologians from around the world for a two day series of conversations and reflections on a specific topic.
The topic of this year’s colloquium was on theology, poverty and economic inequality. It was an opportunity to reflect with economists, political theorists, activists, and theologians on this besetting and challenging issue in South Africa (and elsewhere in the world).
I recorded the reflection below while there, but have been so busy that I did not have a chance to upload it before now. How should we think about the economics, land ownership, and addressing the challenges of poverty and economic inequality in South Africa (and elsewhere)? I would love to hear your thoughts, reflections and feedback.
So, it seems official - Donald Trump seems to have won the 2016 Untied States elections. With a heavy heart I congratulate my US sisters and brothers at having elected a president. However, I am deeply concerned at the person they have chosen to lead them!
In this video I reflect on that choice - many have said to me that the choice to elect Donald Trump was not a choice for Trump, but a choice against Clinton and many of the policies she stands for (particularly so for the Christian conservatives). I call this 'consumer democracy' - it gives the rights of active citizenship to engage laws and policies over to a morally corrupt leader who they hope will stand for them. This, in my opinion, is a mistake.
Why would they choose to have someone who denies the rights of persons from certain races, that threatens to deport persons that have different faith perspectives, that steals from the common purse by not paying his taxes, that objectifies women as sexual objects, that is self obsessed and egotistical, that lacks the basic understanding of national and international policy, and that cannot remember a single verse from the Biblical text (of which he claims to know 'all the best ones'...)
I don't understand it!
The issues that people are voting 'against' are identifiable and can be engaged through existing policies, legal structures and active citizenship. The values that Trump holds, and that people have inadvertently voted for, are not as easily addressed. They have no formal way of engaging him, and his moral compass will shape American society along deeply divided and morally corrupt lines. How will a parent who voted for Trump ever tell their child not to bully others, or steal, or cheat, or belittle another child? How will boys look to this leader for an example of how to treat girls?
Sadly, when a corrupt leader is in power, the laws many have voted against (and many others), will be disregarded without any sensible way of engaging the one who holds double standards.
I think it is precisely the kind of narrow moralism, that is votes against abortion or gay marriage, but empowers sexism, racism and greed,, that stops persons from seeing the bigger picture and so undermines greater moral values. It is tragic that so many have become so misinformed and misled.
What is the purpose of learning and knowledge? Does it hold value in the world today? In what ways do we learn, and should we learn, for appropriate discipleship as Christians? What is the relationship between education and justice?
In this VLOG we talk about the different ways in which persons are formed for Christian life and consider some different approaches to theological learning. We look at the traditional knowledge, values and skills approaches (head, heart and hands) and discuss how each holds value. Moreover, we consider the different ways in which the discourse and discussion around Higher Education is shaped by the metaphor of geography (the models of the University as Athens, Berlin and Calcutta).
The papers that I mentioned in the show are:
Olivier, B. 2011. Ethical Challenges Regarding Globalization of Higher Education. US-China Education Review, 6(B):816–823.
Kinsler, F.R. 1978. Theological Education by Extension: Service or Subversion? Missiology: An International Review, 6(2):181–196.
And, this book ('Doing Ethics from the margins') gives a wonderful insight into how the two-thirds world thinks about education and justice, as De La Torre points out, the classroom is indeed a room of class (one can very quickly, and sadly, see how class impacts and plays itself out in contemporary higher education. Who gets to study, when they study under what conditions do they do so, what is their previous educational background etc.).
Find out more about Stellenbosch University (where I teach) at:
This VLOG was filmed in Cape Town and Johannesburg. We talk about our efforts and God's time and gaining some perspective as we bring these two into conversation with one another.
What happens if I don’t achieve the things I want to in life? Must I give up if it seems like I may not reach a certain goal? Or, must we live within God’s time, doing our best, but realising that God holds time within God’s economy?
For me the struggle is frequently between wanting to see the 'fruit' of my efforts, yet having to understand that achievement is not the intended goal of Christian effort - faithfulness to God is the end of our good, faithful, creative, and courageous work. Since our work is directed towards God, and not ourselves, it means that God has the right to decide how and when to achieve what God wishes to achieve. My peace, and even joy, should come from knowing that I can serve a purpose (even a history) that is larger than myself.
I also talk about Theological Education by Extension College, see http://www.tee.co.za and read this great article on theological education and justice!
Kinsler, F.R. 1978. Theological Education by Extension: Service or Subversion? Missiology: An International Review, 6(2):181–196.
Is care tied to gender? What is an ethics of care? What are the political implications of care?
Today's VLOG is Part 1 of an interview with Prof Frits de Lange from the Protestant Theological University, Groningen on the Ethics of Care.
He introduces the topic for us, suggests some wonderful reading and we also get to see a bit of Groningen in the video.
My thanks to Prof de Lange for hosting us for a wonderful conference on Compassion, and for his willingness to be interviewed on his research specialisation.
In Part 2 of the video that will be released later this week Prof de Lange speaks to us about 'Loving later life: An ethics of ageing' which is his recent book. So keep an eye out for that.
Enjoy the video - Frits is wonderful to listen to! I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and feedback on this important topic!
In today's VLOG we talk about spirituality for daily living. I visit a beautiful wine farm in Franschhoek and interview a friend, Jacques Bornman @jacquesbornmanhttp://www.jacquesbornman.com
Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 9:48AM 