Mission on the Margins Christianity, Social Justice, and Exclusion in Post-Apartheid Literature
Mission on the Margins Christianity, Social Justice, and Exclusion in Post-Apartheid Literature

Summary/Abstract: Social discourses on the theological nature of the message and mission as reflected in social exclusion reveal deep conflicts between the Church's role of "liberator of the oppressed" and its involvement in the systems of marginalization. This article explores the ethical imperatives of the Christian doctrine of hospitality, it investigates the points of contact between xenophobia as a system and racial identity as an existential reality, and it considers the Church's intervention on behalf of the marginalized from the perspectives of the actors of a theological perspective, namely liberation theology and post-colonialism. It also shows the way, how they profess the ambivalence of the religious community. Drawing from the theological traditions of authors like Gustavo Gutiérrez, David Bosch, and Lamin Sanneh, it delves into the way in which religious institutions deal with the challenges of inclusion and exclusion. Additionally, the study looks at the Church as a double-agent that executes the mandates of social justice as well as the promotor of social discipline; this happens through an investigation of the tensions that come to the surface in the essay that discusses the theology of mission today. This research, through an analysis of post-apartheid literary narratives by Zakes Mda and Phaswane Mpe, makes a case for the transformation of society through the church as a hub of inspiration.

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