Abstract

With God-consciousness as the focus, two belief systems, i.e., that of the traditional Zulus of Southern Africa and that of Friedrich Schleiermacher, the father of modern theology, are comparatively examined. The organizing principle is that these are two equally viable belief systems which can be brought into dialogue with one another. The term "consciousness" is used to mean "the awareness of or the state of being conscious of something," in this case, God. To be conscious is to live the uniqueness of one's experience while transforming that experience into the universality of one's knowledge. ;Experience of God is a phenomenon common to both the Zulus and Schleiermacher. To the Zulu, religion is lived, sung, danced, etc. Experience is also the key word in understanding religion. Schleiermacher's God is not initially grasped as an object of knowledge because God is not an object for speculation but a subject who must be reached subjectively. ;Schleiermacher conceives man as a homo religiosus and religion itself as basically social. The religious person is a social being by virtue of being religious and consequently becomes a dependent being. The traditional Zulu, on the other hand, does not distinguish between religion and social life. Every aspect of his life is both religious and social. The Zulu view of the attributes of God is examined and contrasted with those of Schleiermacher in such a way that the cultural milieu in which they are expressed is not lost. ;Dynamism in different ways characterizes the belief systems of both. Schleiermacher's God correlates dynamically in the world, and is the co-determinant of feeling. The Zulu God is not just a deus otiosus but is a supreme being who is dynamically functioning in the world. ;While Schleiermacher's mediator, Christ, has the highest God-consciousness, the ancestors, who are Zulu mediators have the highest God-consciousness because of their proximity to the Supreme Being. ;Schleiermacher's correlation of God with the world and his concept of Die Menscheit are compared and contrasted with the Zulu concepts of the extension of personality and ubuntu