Back to the Academy! This week's Joint Conference of societies in the fields of religion and theology in Stellenbosch

I am a member of three academic societies in South Africa. First there is the TSSA, the Theological Society of Southern Africa (mainly aimed at Systematic Theologians, Philosophers of religion and ethicists). Then, I am a member of SASRF (the South African Science and Religion Forum), and lastly I belong to and contribute to the Church History Society. In the past I have also belonged to the New Testament Society. But I have not made any academic contributions to that society in the past year.

This week I'll be attending, and presenting a paper, at the Joint Conference of Academic Societies in the fields of Religion and Theology in Stellenbosch! I am so looking forward to having the chance to hear of the research of friends and scholars in the academy, to cross pollinate with scholars from other disciplines, and of course to have my own ideas tested and tried by fair brighter and insightful theologians than myself.

Participating academic societies

• Association for the Study of Religion in Southern Africa

• Catholic Theological Society of Southern Africa

• Church History Society

• Church Law Society of South Africa

• Circle for Concerned African Women Theologians

• New Testament Society of South Africa

• Old Testament Society of South Africa

• Society for Practical Theology

• South African Academy of Religion

• South African Missiological Society

• South African Science and Religion Forum

• Southern African Society for Near Eastern Studies

• Theological Society of South Africa.

The title of my paper for the conference is: Red versus green, and what matters most: Deconstructing the conflict between spirit and matter in the contemporary African Christian context.

Here's my abstract: Red (social issues) has taken greater prominence in African Christianity than green (environmental) issues. However, as changes in the global climate, as a result of inadequate care for the earth and the earth?s resources, affect the poorest citizens of the earth there is a need for the development of a responsible theology that maintains a balance between red and green issues. This paper discusses why red issues are more prominent than green issues in African Christianity. It is argued that this is because of the dominance of socio-economic problems that afflict the lives of so many South Africans, a false dualism that has been created between ?red? and ?green? issues that has resulted in a destruction of natural resources in the interest of social justice. Such a reality is foreign to the traditional African notion of harmony between people and the planet. It is argued that there is a need for a return to the notions of botho and ubuntu in African Christian theology to rectify the current theological anomaly. A balanced African Christian theology the only sustainable and responsible approach to spirit and matter in the African (and the global) context.

I'll be posting updates on the conference here (as I have time) and will also post pictures, video and commentary on my Twitter feed (you can follow me on twitter @digitaldion if you're interested). I am looking forward to being in the halls of Stellenbosch University again. I was nominated to the Theological Society there, and of course that was where I spent my first year of my doctoral study leave reading towards my PhD!

I will miss my friend, Dr Wessel Bentley, he is recovering from some serious surgery! But, we'll be together next year!