https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4216 Wed, 06 May 2026 14:53:13 GMT 2026-05-06T14:53:13Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4540 The crisis of the church of Sweden Mission among the Zulus during the 1880s Hale, Frederick, 1948- After the destruction of its original station at Oscarsberg near Rorke’s Drift in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the Church of Sweden Mission gradually developed its programme of evangelism and social ministry under the leadership of Otto Witt during the 1880s. However, Witt underwent a spiritual crisis and gradually became disillusioned with the missionary strategy of his Lutheran agency. His criticism of its emphasis on establishing mission stations and their schools went handin- hand with his increasing focus on itinerant evangelism, the imminent Second Advent of Jesus Christ, and a de-emphasis of educational work that ran counter to the Lutheran confessionalism of the Church of Sweden Mission. This brought Witt into conflict with its leadership, causing an internal crisis and eventually leading to his departure from this Lutheran organisation. Despite this setback, it weathered the storm and emerged from it with new initiatives leading to inter alia an emphasis on ministry to urbanised Zulus in Natal and, eventually, on the Witwatersrand. Peer reviewed Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4540 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4536 "Good mission policy is good state policy in South Africa?" The influence of the Tomlinson Report on racial separation in church and state at the dawn of apartheid Saayman, W. A. (Willem A.) The author studies the development of the single, multiracial Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) into a “family” of 10 racially separated churches, especially in the light of the findings of the Tomlinson Report, published in 1955. The Commission wanted to bring the relationship between mission policy and state policy in South Africa (SA) into line with (and indeed under control of) the apartheid policy of the National Party. The author concludes that the DRC instituted the first racially separated church in 1881 on the basis of the practical situation whereby black and white members had grown into separate congregations as a result of the 1857 decision. In the 1940s and 1950s an ideological-theological justification started developing based on German missiological thinking as articulated especially by Keysser and Gutmann. The author finds that the Tomlinson Commission based their findings and recommendations on a mistaken view of African Christianity in South Africa at that time. The findings of the Tomlinson Report did, however, seem to confirm the ideological development taking place, thus strengthening the hand of those wishing to introduce a theological justification for racially separated churches ex post facto. As a result serious damage was done to the credibility of the Church and Christian mission in South Africa. Peer reviewed Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4536 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4531 From the periphery to the centre : the radical transformation of Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity in the 20th century Amanze, James This article examines the radical transformation of the Pentecostal-charismatic movement in the 20th century and how it has moved from the periphery of the Christian faith to the centre. It is argued in the article that although Pentecostal-charismatic movements were frowned upon in the past, there was a change of heart towards this form of Christianity in the 20th century. From its humble beginnings in the United States of America in the 1900s, Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity is now a global movement with followers both outside of the mainline churches and within the mission churches such as the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other churches throughout the world. Pentecostal-charismatic movements are here to stay and have become a fourth force in Christendom, thereby becoming a religious power to be reckoned with. Peer reviewed Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4531 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4530 Farm ministries in the Hoedspruit area : past and present Landman, C. (Christina) Missionary work came late to the eastern Lowveld, and specifically to the areas today known as Hoedspruit, Acornhoek and Bushbuckridge. The twentieth century saw the Swiss (Evangelical Presbyterian Church) and the Germans (Lutheran Church) doing missionary work in the eastern Lowveld, with the Roman Catholics making an entry through Mozambique. The Dutch Reformed Church began missionary work in the Hoedspruit/Acornhoek/Bushbuckridge area in the 1950s. At present, however, these and other mainline churches have all but disappeared from the religious scene among farm workers in the area, and among black Christians, indigenous churches with a focus on healing ministries are dominant. This article traces the history of Christian ministries among farm workers in the eastern Lowveld, with particular emphasis on the Hoedspruit area. It focuses on developments since the Tomlinson Report of the 1950s led to the renewal of missionary work in the broader South Africa, including this area. Against this historical backdrop, the religious identity of farm workers in the Hoedspruit area is described with the help of a recent research project on the religious discourses that inform the way in which farm workers in this area – among whom there is a 28.8% prevalence of HIV infection – perceive illness and healing. Reasons for the departure of farm workers from the historically mission churches in favour of indigenous churches with pronounced healing ministries are identified. Peer reviewed Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4530 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z