All education is political.
Education is a political tool for designing society.
The course name is: “Transformation-centred
Christian Education”. With iNyanga* Herbert
Moyo from Zimbabwe as lecturer it goes without saying, that the course will be
contextual. I am glad to be his colleague. Earlier this week he collected his
doctorate at the graduation. From my position I was able to take a nice picture:
iNyanga Moyo is being capped by the Chancellor of UKZN.
If all education is political, Christian
education is also political. If education is used by politicians to design
society, it can also be used in the church, to design society or at least to influence
the society, in which we live.
We discussed about heaven. Traditionally
Christian Education in general and sermons in particular have been interested
in teaching people about heaven, instead of dealing with the situation in this
world. In class we agreed (I think) that there is no contradiction to teach
both about heaven on earth and heaven eschatologically. (Eschatology = theology
about the end of time). The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and especially
the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics (SRPC) wants to be contextual.
Theology which has no relevance in ordinary life is not so common here.
This means I learn a lot about this
society, when we do theology together. Like the words for “politics” in
isiZulu.
“Umbusazwe” is a word for politics which
also means “fighting”. Many politicians use it, because politics in the past
meant fighting against apartheid. But it also meant that different political
parties were fighting with each other. And some of these groups are still
fighting.
But there is also another word: “umbangazwe”,
which means: “governing”. If one uses this term, politics becomes something
else.
My only problem is of course, that I don’t
speak isiZulu. But it still gives me some insight in how people in this context
understand a phenomenon like politics. When we talk about it I must be aware,
that the word “politics” can mean different things. Just like any other word.
* iNyanga is traditionally a kind of doctor,
which in English would be described as an herbalist. Therefore Herbert uses the
seTswana word Ngaka, when he talks about me.
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