Is poverty a matter of perspective? Significance of Amartya Sen for the church’s response to poverty: A public practical theological reflection

Poverty continues to present an enormous challenge to the well-being of humanity. Different frameworks on poverty tend to identify different persons as poor, impacting on efforts to fight poverty. The church as a role player in the public domain needs a framework that can assist it in its task of working for salvation and liberation in the face of overwhelming poverty. A combined framework, from Amartya Sen’s entitlement approach and capability approach, is amalgamated and suggested as an integrated framework that could act as a lens or a viewpointfrom which the church could venture to conceptualise, quantify and respond to instances of poverty

Impoverishing and dehumanising violence against women: An opportunity for service by churches in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

An ongoing armed conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues to impoverish and dehumanise women. Sexual violence meted on women has negative consequences that affect whole communities. Churches nationally and in the region have not done enough to respond to the challenge of armed conflict in general and the nefariousness of sexual violence towards women in particular. By utilising the sustainable livelihoods framework, churches in the region can be re-positioned for a constructive advocacy response to armed conflict(s) and sexual violence(s), particularly in solidarity with the women.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This study is made feasible through extensive intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. The subject matter demands on the investigator the necessity to make use of the knowledge from across the socio-scientific spectrum to understand the ongoing conflict and its impact on the local people. The study entrenches an advocacy role on regional churches as a means to lend a voice to the vulnerable women, who are impoverished and dehumanised by and within the context of an armed conflict.</p

Religious extremism: The case of Sudan's Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag

The recent case of the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag of Sudan has drawn attention to the place of Islamic sharia law in contemporary, diverse and multireligious communities and nation states. Islamic sharia law was used to charge Mariam of apostasy; she was subsequently sentenced to 100 lashes followed by hanging. Religious extremism and one of its resultant effects, namely persecution, particularly of women and other minorities, is a persistent hindrance to ongoing efforts against poverty responses. Religious extremism goes against the spirit of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, of which many nation states are signatories. The Catholic vows of consecration � poverty, chastity and obedience � are very helpful perspectives that can assist in pursuing responses to religious extremism and the resultant intolerance, persecution and dispossession.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Drawing from the Roman Catholic Church�s vows of consecration, the article argues for a stance that communities can take in situations that call for solidarity with people in vulnerable situations.</p

An enquiry on poverty discourses in public theology for the calling of the church to respond to poverty: A case for the Africa Inland Church in Kenya

As an emergent and rapidly growing international field of study, public theology has its focus on how Christian faith and practice impact on ordinary life. Its principle concern is thewell-being of society. In Africa, and in Kenya in particular, where poverty levels are still high, there is a need to enquire into the value and efficacy of the poverty discourses in publictheology, for the calling of the church to respond to poverty. One of the main and fast growingchurches in Kenya, the Africa Inland Church (AIC), has vast resources used for, amongst otherthings, various on-going work amidst the poor and the vulnerable in remote and poor areas. Due to the unrelenting nature of poverty in Kenya, the AIC needs a theological perspective, which is sufficiently sensitive to poverty and can enable it to respond to poverty moreeffectively. Public theology’s emphasis on gaining an entrée into the public square andadopting the agenda of communities, including public theology’s calling on churches toactively participate in rational and plausible public discourses, can assist the AIC to respondeffectively to the challenge of poverty in Kenya

The simple living of Leo Tolstoy and the slippery slope of consumerism in a context of poverty: A pastoral guide

The nature of consumerism, which manifests in the belief that excessive accumulation of material goods represents a fuller and more meaningful life, is a growing global phenomenon, and has an effect on both the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. In addition, poverty levels globally and in Kenya in particular, remain unacceptably high. The situation of poverty in Kenya is partly worsened by the trapping effects of consumerism. The life of a wealthy and prosperous writer, Leo Tolstoy, who succumbed to depression in spite of his fame and material wealth, is examined with a view to establish how he overcame his depression and found meaning in life. The lessons he learnt from turning to a study of the peasantry are extrapolated and proposed for the churches’ response to the challenge of consumerism in contexts of poverty

Appreciating the image of God in all humanity: Towards a pastoral response to skin lightening as image enhancement to exit dark skin

The practice of skin lightening is prevalent amongst dark-skinned people globally. Various current studies that map this practice and that seek motivations behind the practice are examined. It is observed that through shrewd marketing, dark-skinned people are offered a promise of a better quality of life, obtained by a lighter skin, through the use of skin lighteners. In spite of the severe health risks involved, the promise is ostensibly irresistible to some dark-skinned persons. A pastoral response is offered that affirms the full personhood and complete humanity of dark-skinned people as fully human and whole in their dark skins. Keywords: Skin lightening, Dark skin, Image of Go

The simple living of Leo Tolstoy and the slippery slope of consumerism in a context of poverty: A pastoral guide

The nature of consumerism, which manifests in the belief that excessive accumulation of material goods represents a fuller and more meaningful life, is a growing global phenomenon, and has an effect on both the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. In addition, poverty levels globally and in Kenya in particular, remain unacceptably high. The situation of poverty in Kenya is partly worsened by the trapping effects of consumerism. The life of a wealthy and prosperous writer, Leo Tolstoy, who succumbed to depression in spite of his fame and material wealth, is examined with a view to establish how he overcame his depression and found meaning in life. The lessons he learnt from turning to a study of the peasantry are extrapolated and proposed for the churches’ response to the challenge of consumerism in contexts of poverty