Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation

Theological commentators indicate that the church in Africa faces the challenge of converting the Christian faith into practice. This calls for reconsidering the practice of forming faith among African churches. According to Astley (2018:16), in Christianity, faith formation is more than learning a...

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Main Authors: M Moyo, K.J. Pali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2023-12-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7792
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author M Moyo
K.J. Pali
author_facet M Moyo
K.J. Pali
author_sort M Moyo
collection DOAJ
description Theological commentators indicate that the church in Africa faces the challenge of converting the Christian faith into practice. This calls for reconsidering the practice of forming faith among African churches. According to Astley (2018:16), in Christianity, faith formation is more than learning about Christ; it is about “learning” Christ. Learning Christ as Christian formation constitutes the shaping of the dimensions of faith, namely orthopraxis, orthopatheia, and intelligentia (Maddix et al. 2020:6). This article discusses Gadamer’s conversation theory as the means to inform and form these dimensions of faith. This entails that, for faith to be informed and formed in its dimensions, there is a need for an effective conversation among tools, processes, and contexts. The discussion revolves around the following question: How can the tools and processes of faith formation effectively converse with context in order to facilitate the learning of Christ in terms of informing and forming these dimensions of faith? Using conversation theory and literature review, this article discusses the tension interplay of tools, processes, and discerning contexts for a holistic approach to informing and forming the dimensions of faith.
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spelling doaj-art-5adc57daf3b948d7b4d370675a070fb62025-02-11T09:29:59ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892023-12-0143210.38140/at.v43i2.7792Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformationM Moyo0K.J. Pali1Reformed Church in ZambiaUniversity of the Free State Theological commentators indicate that the church in Africa faces the challenge of converting the Christian faith into practice. This calls for reconsidering the practice of forming faith among African churches. According to Astley (2018:16), in Christianity, faith formation is more than learning about Christ; it is about “learning” Christ. Learning Christ as Christian formation constitutes the shaping of the dimensions of faith, namely orthopraxis, orthopatheia, and intelligentia (Maddix et al. 2020:6). This article discusses Gadamer’s conversation theory as the means to inform and form these dimensions of faith. This entails that, for faith to be informed and formed in its dimensions, there is a need for an effective conversation among tools, processes, and contexts. The discussion revolves around the following question: How can the tools and processes of faith formation effectively converse with context in order to facilitate the learning of Christ in terms of informing and forming these dimensions of faith? Using conversation theory and literature review, this article discusses the tension interplay of tools, processes, and discerning contexts for a holistic approach to informing and forming the dimensions of faith. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7792
spellingShingle M Moyo
K.J. Pali
Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation
Acta Theologica
title Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation
title_full Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation
title_fullStr Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation
title_full_unstemmed Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation
title_short Faith formation in the tension interplay of tools, processes and the course for social transformation
title_sort faith formation in the tension interplay of tools processes and the course for social transformation
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/7792
work_keys_str_mv AT mmoyo faithformationinthetensioninterplayoftoolsprocessesandthecourseforsocialtransformation
AT kjpali faithformationinthetensioninterplayoftoolsprocessesandthecourseforsocialtransformation