New Testament scholars have argued that Luke-Acts presents an apologetic historiography and political propaganda which portrayed Roman officials as saviours of the world. The problem with the discourse on the apologetic historiography and political propaganda in Luke-Acts is that the presence of various forms of oppression behind and in the text becomes hidden. Thus, it is pertinent to highlight the reality of oppression as well as the prophetic voice that responded to them, as illustrated by the text of Acts 27. (...) In this article, Lucky Dube’s Mickey Mouse freedom song is employed as a hermeneutical tool to unlock the meaning of Acts 27, and to argue that whereas Acts 27 contains an apologetic narrative, Paul’s prophetic voice is equally evident in the chapter. From an African liberationist perspective, lessons are therefore drawn from Acts 27 regarding the liberationist prophetic voice of Paul. In the end, this article sees Paul’s prophetic voice as an embodiment of both resilience and resistance in the face of imperialism and chains. (shrink)

While South Africa attained liberation from the apartheid rule in 1994, the legacy of colonialism and apartheid – in the form of poverty and economic inequality – continues to haunt black South Africans. The aim of this article is to make a case for the equitable sharing of South Africa’s mineral wealth amongst all its citizens with the view to alleviate poverty. Firstly, this article provides a reflection on the Freedom Charter and suggests that the values of the Charter, for (...) instance, the sharing of resources and wealth, are relevant in South Africa today. Secondly, it is argued in the present article that the preferential option for the poor which is upheld in the black theology of liberation is equally relevant in post-apartheid South Africa where many black South Africans remain poor. Thirdly, this article argues that the African proverb, Bana ba motho ba ngwathelana hlogo ya tšie [The siblings share the head of a locust], also echoes the idea of equitable sharing of resources with a view to alleviate poverty. Lastly, the author submits that the idea of equitable sharing of resources and wealth that is echoed in the Freedom Charter, the black theology of liberation and the African wise saying support the equitable redistribution of the mineral wealth to the benefit of all South Africans. (shrink)

Racism is an issue which the activism of the Black Methodist Consultation was set to address during the South African apartheid rule, a view which black theologians and church historians generally accept. This observation brought to mind, in turn, the influence that the Black Consciousness philosophy and the black theology of liberation had on the establishment of the BMC. Recounting such an influence, this article provides a reflection on the formation of the BMC in 1975. In such a reflection, the (...) hypothesis is that the prophetic voice of the BMC is crucial in post-apartheid South Africa. Firstly, the interconnectedness of the Black Consciousness philosophy, the black theology of liberation and the BMC is highlighted. Secondly, the article proceeds to navigate the possible prophetic voice of the BMC in post- apartheid South Africa. In the end, this article sees the BMC as a crucial interlocutor of liberation in present South Africa. (shrink)