Black Contemplative Preaching: A Hidden History of Prayer, Proclamation, and Prophetic Witness

Prophetic witness has been around since Biblical times, when prophets spoke truth to power on behalf of God. In the South African context, prophetic witness saw the church speaking out against the injustices of colonialism and apartheid using various forms of protest. In post-1994 democratic South Africa, prophetic witness had to be reimagined in the public square, a process which appropriated various modes of prophetic witness. Cyberspace encompasses information technologies which manifest into a “virtual” world, and social media is one of the platforms of cyberspace. Theological and religious scholars have argued that the Internet is an essential space for religion, and this article further argues that cyberspace can also be regarded as a public space for prophetic witness. The role of social media users during pandemics, such as COVID-19, has the implications of spreading information, misinformation, and misconceptions at a rapid pace. Many churches used the virtual space to provide spiritual and emotional support during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article argues that the church also has a prophetic role to play, especially in the social media space, regarding the dissemination of information during a pandemic. Therefore, the main task of this article is to utilise Nico Koopman’s five modes of prophetic witness, namely visionary, critics, storytellers, technical analysts, and policymakers in cyberspace in the recent COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. Keywords: Prophetic witness, Prophetic theology, Cyberspace, COVID-19, Internet, Infodemic, Social media

The question asked in the heading was answered in this article in four steps. In the first step, an attempt was made to find an accurate account of biblical prophecy by means of a critical discussion of certain influential interpretations of it. In the second step, the extent to which biblical prophecy could serve as a model for contemporary Christians was discussed and an acceptable Christian model of prophetic witness was formulated by drawing on the views of different authors. In the third step, the impact of democracy on the prophetic witness of the church was discussed. The Dutch theologian, Gerrit de Kruijf’s view that the public prophetic witness of the church is not appropriate in democratic societies was criticised and the legitimacy of certain forms of prophetic witness in such societies defended. In the final step, a number of examples of the prophetic witness that is needed in the present democratic South Africa were provided.

In his article, ‘Prophetic witness in weakness’, Robert Vosloo asks what it means for believers, faith communities, churches and ecumenical bodies to be authentic witnesses in the public sphere in light of the life-denying realities we are faced with on a daily base. He articulates three aspects of authentic prophetic witness, namely prophetic solidarity, prophetic imagination and prophetic performativity. In response, this article focuses on the sacrament of the Eucharist, especially in terms of the notion of prophetic solidarity that Vosloo illuminated. In particular, this response article is informed and shaped by liberation theologians. It is argued that one valuable form of qualification is to take the Eucharist as our point of departure and to argue that authentic prophetic witness can be born from the ‘weakness’ celebrated in the Eucharist.

The conventional understanding of the church’s prophetic witness is that it is founded on the prophets portrayed in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. They communicated God’s message in relation to various issues such as religious practices and loyalty to God, but also, importantly, criticism and denunciation of political and social injustice. Satirical shows, in this study, refer to the satirical news components of TV late-night talk shows, as well as internet based satirical socio-political shows, where satirical commentary forms the common thread with prophetic witness, namely the indictment of political and social wrongdoing. Specific shows referred to in this study are The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Honest Government Ad, and Jonathan Pie. The angle of this paper differs from other studies in that it does not look at Christian/religious themes specifically, rather any issue warranting a prophetic voice, but which is often absent. The challenge addressed in this article is to see if a link between contemporary political satire and prophetic witness can be justified theologically. A cursory overview on satire in the book of Jonah as the most comprehensive representation of the genre within the prophets is done, as well as a discussion on possible prophetic themes and examples in a selection of political satire programmes. The study concludes that, while political satirists are not prophets, when interpreted in the context of God’s kingdom, they do at times speak prophetically.

In his article about the prophetic witness of the church, Vosloo emphasises the necessity that it should always be done in solidarity with society to represent the perspective of weakness as a form of performative resistance. In response to Vosloo, this article utilises a Pentecostal perspective to think about the church’s prophetic witness. ‘Prophecy’ means something else for Pentecostals. They hold a non-cessationist or continuationist approach to the Bible, implying that they are committed to a Spirit-centred, miracle-affirming, praise-oriented version of Christian faith where prophets still play an important role. The role of the prophet is defined in two ways: bringing a word from God related to the present situation, and engaging in prophetic politics to help solve society’s challenges.

Oliver O’Donovan is well known for developing a political theology from an eschatological perspective based on the interpretation of the Book of Revelation. His political theology has drawn both praise and critique. Critics argue he creates an imbalance between the eschatological ‘already’ and ‘not-yet,’ relies too heavily on prayer and prophetic witness as tools against imperial powers, and depicts history as static, cyclical, or dualistic. This study, however, defends O’Donovan’s approach, asserting it faithfully reflects Revelation’s structure and content. It demonstrates that he effectively integrates the ‘already’ and ‘not-yet,’ particularly through his interpretation of Revelation 21 and 22, highlighting their deep interconnection. Furthermore, it argues that O’Donovan sees prayer and prophetic witness as profoundly powerful, not weak. While acknowledging circular and dual elements in his portrayal of history, the study contends that his eschatology avoids static or dualistic logic. Instead, it emphasizes dynamic processes central to eschatology, such as redemption, restoration, transformation, and consummation, and their intricate interrelationships.

The role of prophetic witness of the churches in the public discourse of modern civil societies is analysed on the basis of three public memorandums of the German Protestant churches on economic questions and their impact on the public. Among the ten systematic conclusions which are drawn from this case study is the importance of the specific context for the role of prophetic statements. The article tries to show how prophetic witness is a necessary element of a public theology, which is not based on fundamental criticism, but develops both critical and constructive perspectives for politics and society. If such public theology is liberation theology for a democratic society it is the task of the church to get involved in the public debate in a ‘bilingual’ way, that is, on the basis of its biblical-theological sources but at the same time with the ability to engage in the secular language of pluralistic societies.

The Jesuits in Latin America, 1549–2000: 450 Tears of Inculturation, Defense of Human Rights, and Prophetic Witness. By Jeffrey L. Klaiber, S.J. Saint Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources, 2009. Pp. viii, 463. Pp. viii, 463. Maps. Bibliography. Index. - Volume 68 Issue 1

This article draws on Robert Vosloo’s call for an ‘ecclesiology of vulnerability’ in order to bear faithful theological witness to a vulnerable God. He is concerned that prophetic witness avoids a cheap triumphalism and rediscovers painful solidarity with the crises of our times, embodies a hope grounded in lament and mobilises the vulnerable ‘body’ of the church to perform resistance-in-action. South Africa’s kairos tradition of prophetic witness was addressed to the church, calling for a vulnerable self-critique that acknowledged its theological complicity in the face of the sin of apartheid and calling the churches beyond pious words to acts of embodied resistance. This article draws on this trajectory in light of the evidence regarding churches complicity in relation to sexual violence against vulnerable women and children. It explores the Dutch scholar, Leo Koffeman’s claim of 2009 that the church is ‘morally vulnerable’ and that as a result, violence plays an ongoing role in its life. This institutional complicity needs to be acknowledged if authentic prophetic witness is to emerge from current places of lament. In this task, a ‘pneumatology of vulnerability’ may help disrupt abusive theological power-claims. Churches must risk admitting their own institutional vulnerability to embody public practices of confession and lament, if they are to refuse an ecclesiology of denial for one of disruption for the sake of justice. This is an essential theological task if they are to enable the vulnerable body of the church to admit #metoo .

This multidisciplinary paper illuminates white supremacist ideologies that serve to disenfranchise critical Black scholars in the U.S. academy. We situate the work of what we describe as the ‘Blackademic’ within the theological tradition of the prophetic witness. The conceptualization of critical Black scholars as a prophetic witness illuminates how they traverse the increasingly neo-liberal academy while they also navigate anti-Black white supremacist racism in higher education. This paper seeks to identify practical crossroads between the study of the experiences of Black scholars in academia and Blackademics (e.g. critical Black scholars). This paper also extends our previous emergent theoretical understanding of the actions of Blackademics.

This article examines the manner and method of resistance against patriarchal power and privilege. Two types of power are contrasted. One is the violent, war-like and hierarchical power of an empire, and the other is the faithful resistance of Israel’s prophets. A further distinction is made between violent male power and non-violent female power. It is argued that Miriam was a prophet of the people and her prophetic witness is an example of the power and outcome of non-violent resistance. Her theology explicitly and specifically praises God not as a warrior. Hers is not a muscular, masculine God whose power seeks to match the power of empire. Her God has a power that through radical love for a slave people and taking sides with the enslaved overcomes the power of the slaveholder. In her theology, Miriam recalls the God of the exodus, who begins the acts of liberation with the women, to whose faithfulness, courage and defiant obedience, the freedom of the people is entrusted. From a feminist perspective it is argued that this style of non-violent, faithful prophetic witness has a greater impact than violent resistance associated with an empire-like power. It is suggested that black liberation theology should adopt this paradigm in its witness of and resistance against oppression.

This article addresses the possible link between prophetic witness and weakness (one can also speak of vulnerability), and expands on reasons why this connection holds much promise for a theological engagement with the question regarding the prophetic role of Christians and churches in the public sphere in South Africa today. With this in mind, the various sections underscore the need for a form of prophetic witness that emphasises respectively prophetic solidarity, prophetic imagination and prophetic performativity. In the process, the article puts forward three statements or theses as invitation for further reflection and conversation, drawing on, among others, the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Giorgio Agamben, Emmanuel Katongole and Judith Butler.

Previous articleNext article No AccessŚabda Pramāṇa and Prophetic Witness: Barthian and Advaitin Perspectives in Dialogue*Reid B. LocklinReid B. LocklinUniversity of Toronto Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Religion Volume 94, Number 4October 2014 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/677289 Views: 32Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref © 2014 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Reid B. Locklin Paradigms and Styles of Advaita Mission: An Experiment in Interpretation, International Journal of Hindu Studies 20, no.11 (Oct 2015): 1–49.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11407-015-9183-0

This paper examines Amos’s prophetic witness and its relevant for today’s church in African countries for promoting social justice. There are three basic concerns that motivate this paper: First, there is growing corruption in African societies; second, there are glaring weaknesses of the church’s prophetic witness in African societies today; and third, there is a great need for the church in Africa to speak out against social injustices. Thus, the writer seeks an appropriate biblical response that could serves as viable response for the church in curtailing social injustices in African society. To achieve this, the writer investigated scholarly opinions on the prophetic roles of the church in promoting social justice while considering the argument for and against. Furthermore, the prophetic witness of Amos was examined and its relevance to the African church. It is therefore recommended based on the prophetic message of Amos, that the church should: (a) support those believers who speak out against the evils in our time: crimes and injustices within the socio-economic and political climate of our time; (b) address issues, such as substance abuse, eating disorders, sexual misconduct and AIDS from a Biblical stance; (c) make people aware of the needs of our time; (d) motivate people to get involved in the sustainable development of their environment, and in addressing issues such as unemployment and poor education; and (e) support those people who are still oppressed, maltreated, abused and belittled.

This paper investigates how post-apartheid South African fiction reconfigures theological meaning and cultural belonging through narrative strategies that bridge the sacred and the secular. By focusing on works such as The Heart of Redness by Zakes Mda, Agaat by Marlene van Niekerk, and Playing in the Light by Zoë Wicomb, the study reveals how literature operates as a prophetic witness, a space of ethical negotiation, and a medium for imagining alternative futures. Drawing from theological concepts such as the prophetic imagination and dialogical ethics, the argument advances the view that these literary texts function not only as reflections of historical trauma but also as cartographies of moral and spiritual possibility. In this way, literature becomes a site where fragmented identities are reassembled and where new visions of faith, community, and justice emerge in tension with modern dilemmas. The study contributes to rethinking the role of fiction in shaping sacred discourse in secular times.