The researcher observed that the non-Adventists (non-Christian) groups did not associate the challenge of poverty with spiritual considerations. They saw poverty as a purely socio-political phenomenon, which called for measures linked to material solutions. While the church groups had a spiritual perspective on poverty, they did not display any serious association of this condition with matters of faith and mission. While they know that poverty is one of the consequences of sin, they cannot grapple with poverty from a theological perspective. The understanding exposed in this project is that poverty, like many other negative human conditions in this world, is part of the evils that have ravaged humanity. Thus, there is a need for theological rooting of the church’s understanding of poverty in Soweto. This should precede any attempt to respond to the realities presented by poverty in this human settlement. The church’s narrow view of the link between material conditions of life and matters of salvation as well as the need for mission to embrace the totality of the human condition in Soweto is specifically responsible for the low theological reflection of the church groups on the plight of the poor.
92 The following comment by Hector Luis Diaz (1997:14) during the 1997 Adventist Development & Relief Agency Symposium on Mission and Social Action, illustrates what has been said above,
It seems to me that historically the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in spite of the activities of its founders, has ignored issues of social justice and social action since the 1920s. It seems to me that historically we have given a lot of importance to education, health and evangelism. This organisational attitude has a lot to do without theology regarding the kingdom of God. It seems that many of us have believed that we are not citizens of this world, but rather that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven; and that God's kingdom is completely in heaven and completely in the future. So since I am only a pilgrim here and I am not a citizen of this world but rather of the heavenly kingdom, why bother with social problems? Everything will pass. But there are others of us that believe that God's kingdom begins here and now and projects itself into the future. The impression that I have is that believing that I don't belong to this world and God's kingdom is completely in the future has something to do with our attitude towards issues of social justice and social action. (ADRA Symposium, 1997).
3.6 Conclusion
The interaction done with the church and public groups that participated in this project has revealed the diverse understanding of the causative and related dynamics in the whole discourse on poverty in Soweto. These observations have a bearing on the challenges facing community development and service provision in the wider South African community. It is notable that while the persons polled came from a different age, and gender groups, and denominational orientations, they have common experiences of poverty that has made their contribution to the research meaningful and valid. The groups also dealt with the specific questions asked. It does not appear, however, that perceptions of poverty are necessarily age, gender and faith-based in their impact on society. The inclusion of age groups simply added validation of specific aspects of the project.
93 Responses to research questions have been helpful in providing part of the plan of action for a methodology of poverty alleviation and/or eradication. The chapter also dealt with the broad effects of poverty on the Soweto community, and how individuals in the community respond to the cruel dynamics of poverty. Persons who are victims of poverty do not treat this condition as a simple matter for futile intellectual reflection. For them, it is a real condition of discomfort that implicates many of them in survival mechanisms, some of which are morally questionable. In light of what has been noted above, there is an obvious imperative for the liberative use of the Bible in addressing the material conditions of humanity among which poverty is a severe challenge. The next chapter will focus on how the salient themes in Adventist theology can be re-interpreted to bring about a liberative, transformational ministry in Soweto and other poverty-stricken communities.
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CHAPTER 4
MISSIOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON SALIENT THEMES 4.1 Introduction
This chapter seeks to achieve two objectives, namely, the harvesting of critical thinking about three church doctrines from the minds of a representative sample of lay persons in Soweto; and to use the reflections of this group in building a conceptual platform for the application of the doctrines of the Sabbath, Stewardship and the second coming of Jesus as pillars of an Adventist liberative mission theology for the poor. It is the hope of the researcher that this aspect of the project will influence traditional Adventist welfare practitioners to reconsider the narrow focus and constructiveness of the church’s conventional social ministry in poor communities.
As noted in previous sections in this work, the greatest challenge and shortcoming facing Adventist social ministry in disadvantaged communities is the restriction of the church’s theology to salvific matters only, to the neglect of broader issues of human life that, in themselves also hinder people’s understanding and experience of God as a being who loves justice and mercy. It is therefore necessary for the church in this region to take a second look at the relevance of its doctrines to the social experiences of people, and refocus its gospel to specific societal needs and challenges.
This chapter reports on a group discussion on key Adventist beliefs in relation to social ministry in the area of poverty. The group comprised forty-three persons with varied educational and social backgrounds. They were divided into three topic sub- groups. The purpose of this exercise was to identify aspects of key Adventist teachings that inhibit action in the area of social ministry, and others that may be used to respond to the condition of the poor. The researcher outlined in brief detail the content of three key Adventist doctrines selected for this exercise. These were the Sabbath, Stewardship and the Second Coming of Jesus. There was no need for the researcher to give long statements on these doctrines since the group was well informed on the church’s beliefs.
95 Besides, some in the group were congregational leaders who were teachers of doctrine in their own right. What I added was a comment on what social ministry involves so that all participants may work from the same conceptual understanding of the direction the discussions should take. In my thinking, the whole exercise would also provide the participants with an enlightening educational experience as well.
4.2 Group discussions of Adventist theological doctrines