A state church? : a consideration of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in the light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘Theological position paper on state and church’
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust
Abstract
This article considers whether South Africa’s largest mainline Christian denomination,
the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, is in danger of embodying or propagating
a contemporary form of ‘state theology’. The notion of state theology in the South
African context gained prominence through the publication of the ‘Kairos Document’
(1985) – which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2015. State theology is deemed
inappropriate and harmful to the identity and work of both the Christian church
and the nation state. This article presents its consideration of whether the Methodist
Church of Southern Africa is in danger of propagating ‘state theology’ in dialogue
with Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s important document, Theological Position Paper on State
and Church. The article offers some insights into the complex relationship between the
state and the church in South Africa in the apartheid and democratic eras. It further
problematizes the relationship between the Methodist Church of Southern Africa
and the governing African National Congress by citing some concerning examples of
complicit behaviour from recent history. The MCSA’s polity and doctrine on church
and state relationships are also considered before some critique and warning is offered
in the light of Bonhoeffer’s Theological Position Paper on State and Church.
Description
CITATION: Forster, D. A. 2016. A state church? : a consideration of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in the light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘Theological position paper on state and church’. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2(1):61–88, doi:10.17570/stj.2016.v2n1.a04.
The original publication is available at http://ojs.reformedjournals.co.za
The original publication is available at http://ojs.reformedjournals.co.za
Keywords
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, 1906-1945, Church and state, Political theology, Methodism, Wesley, John, 1703-1791, Methodist Church -- South Africa
Citation
Forster, D. A. 2016. A state church? : a consideration of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa in the light of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ‘Theological position paper on state and church’. Stellenbosch Theological Journal, 2(1):61–88, doi:10.17570/stj.2016.v2n1.a04.