The Christology of Simon Maimela—A Contextual, Systematic Theologian
In: Journal of Reformed TheologyAbstract
Simon Maimela was one of the first contextual theologians appearing on the scene in the 1970s in South Africa. He obtained a ThD at Harvard University in 1978 and was appointed inter alia as lecturer in the Department of Systematic Theology at Unisa. Like other contextual theologians his writings give evidence of a search for an ongoing dialogue between ‘text’ and ‘context.’ They have a strong Christological character, which corresponds with his conviction that liberation theology should be a keen exponent of a doctrine of atonement. This article is an attempt to investigate and describe the way in which his Christology stands in relation to a number of systematic theological loci. This is done within a broader context of the nature of African and South African Christology. The impact of his theological reflection in South Africa is finally assessed in the light of his view on the Bible.
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1
D.F. Ford & M. Higton (eds.), Jesus (Oxford: University Press, 2001), 411-412.
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2
D.J. Bosch, Transforming Mission. Paradigm shifts in Theology of Mission (New York: Orbis Books, 2009), 427.
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4
M. Tsele, “God’s Creative Dynamics in Building a Free and Democratic South Africa: the Potency of the Theological Contribution of Simon Maimela,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae XXXVI July (2010), 1.
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6
D.B. Stinton, Jesus of Africa. Voices of Contemporary African Christology (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2006), 3-4.
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12
I. Phiri & J. Gathogo, “A Reconstructive Motif in South African Black Theology in the Twenty-first Century,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae XXXVI July (2010), 190.
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13
S.S. Maimela, Proclaim Freedom to my People. Essays on Religion and Politics (Braamfontein: Skotaville Publishers, 1987), 69.
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16
Mofokeng, The Crucified, 18-19. See also what my colleague, J.M. Vorster, writes on the phenomenon of the so-called “political Jesus” in South Africa elsewhere in this publication.
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18
See G. West, “The Legacy of Liberation Theologies in South Africa, with an Emphasis on Biblical Hermeneutics,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae XXXVI July (2010), 161.
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24
S.S. Maimela, “Atonement in the Context of Liberation Theology,” International Review of Mission LXXV 297 (1986), 261.
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34
A.I.C. Heron, The Holy Spirit (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983), 127.
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36
S.S. Maimela, “Jesus Christ, the Life of the World,” Ecunews 8 (1982), 16.
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41
S.S. Maimela, “Traditional African Anthropology and Christian Theology,” Journal of Theology for South Africa 76 September (1991), 12.
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52
S.S. Maimela, “The African Contribution to the Christian Faith,” Theologia Viatorum 18 June (1990), 73 and Maimela, Black Theology and the Quest, 59.
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57
See M.A. Masoga & M.M. Mathye, “Simon Maimela in the Chamber of African Theology: a Methodological Challenge,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae XXXVI July (2010).
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60
S.S. Maimela, “Man in ‘White’ Theology,” Journal of Theology for Southern Africa. 36 September (1981), 29-30.
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74
J.A.B. Jongeneel, Jesus Christ in World History (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2009), 363; 377.
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81
See V.M. Molobi, “The Past and Future of Black Theology in South Africa: in Discussion with Maimela,” Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae XXXVI July (2010), 41-42.
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The Christology of Simon Maimela—A Contextual, Systematic Theologian
In: Journal of Reformed TheologyAbstract
Simon Maimela was one of the first contextual theologians appearing on the scene in the 1970s in South Africa. He obtained a ThD at Harvard University in 1978 and was appointed inter alia as lecturer in the Department of Systematic Theology at Unisa. Like other contextual theologians his writings give evidence of a search for an ongoing dialogue between ‘text’ and ‘context.’ They have a strong Christological character, which corresponds with his conviction that liberation theology should be a keen exponent of a doctrine of atonement. This article is an attempt to investigate and describe the way in which his Christology stands in relation to a number of systematic theological loci. This is done within a broader context of the nature of African and South African Christology. The impact of his theological reflection in South Africa is finally assessed in the light of his view on the Bible.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 472 | 92 | 5 |
| Full Text Views | 211 | 0 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 17 | 3 | 0 |