Papers by Roderick R Hewitt
The ongoing quest towards the realization of reconciliation and conflict resolution in the contex... more The ongoing quest towards the realization of reconciliation and conflict resolution in the context of contentious religious pluralism in contemporary Africa demands a pluriverse perspective which give preferential option to indigenous epistemology, which is often-times, undermined and termed as mere myth. The pluriverse argues that contemporary realities in Africa can better be understood within indigenous religio-cultural experience. This article employs the Pyem notion of Ngwakin Darsai Daal [The male-goat that stops fight(ing)] as an option to engender reconciliation and conflict resolution in the context of religious conflict in Jos, Nigeria.
Public debate about the role of the church within society has gained momentum especially because ... more Public debate about the role of the church within society has gained momentum especially because the contemporary changing global political and economic landscape has resulted in deeply a divided world. People are asking questions about the missional identity and vocation
of the church. If the church is the broken body of Christ in the world, what are the ways in which it is expressing that brokenness in practical ways? This vulnerable status necessitates modelling the politics of Jesus that risks putting up resistance against all threats that prevent
people from experiencing fullness of life. The contemporary era of global governance is characterised by ‘moral lowlifes’ in political leadership that uses judicial and executive overreach to weaken democracy and empower the wealthy elites. Furthermore, the impact of technology and computation on shaping human relations has produced a consequential decline in human trust and relationships. Therefore, the missional agenda of the church as the broken body of Christ serving a divided world, calls for building life-affirming relationships that overcome dehumanising barriers.
This article argues that the conservative patriarchal bias Christianity of the Jamaican churches'... more This article argues that the conservative patriarchal bias Christianity of the Jamaican churches' understanding of human sexualities, Rastafari's selective use of the Hebrew Scriptures to oppose homosexuality and the rouge masculinities and the anti-LGBT (Lesbians, Gays Bisexual and Lesbian Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community) narrative culture of Dance hall music constitute three potent sub-cultural forces within Jamaican context that promote negative influences of homophobia and stigma against people living with HIV. Inspite of intense and persistent international pressure from LGBT and other human rights groups to force the government of Jamaica to change the colonial bequeathed laws that discriminate against homosexuals, public opposition from religious groups have also prevented the government from taking steps to liberalize and legalize homosexuality. In order for a more enlightened attitude towards the LGBT community and victims of HIV and AIDS to emerge within Jamaica fundamental changes are needed in the embedded conservative church and Rastafari theologies on human sexuality. Also the anti-LGBT and hegemonic masculinities narrative culture of Dance hall music must give way to conscious advocacy of healthy life affirming gender relationships.
The issue of land has been central to Rastafari origins and ideological construct. Ethiopia, Afri... more The issue of land has been central to Rastafari origins and ideological construct. Ethiopia, Africa, Babylon, Zion and Jamaica are symbols that point not only to physical location but also their ideological and psychological identity formation. This article uses Rastafari hermeneutics to critique the phenomenon of African Jamaican uprooting and dispossession of and from their land by powerful and global conglomerate forces that use the instrument of politics, economic and religion to accomplish their agenda. This article uses the Rastafari
theological reflections, a theoretical framework that employs the phenomenon of faith, tradition and experience to interrogate the phenomenon of displacement of people through land theft. The religio-political narrative of Jamar Rolando McNaughton Jr, a young Jamaican reggae artist popularly known by his stage name Chronixx, will serve as the principal lens
through which to interrogate the phenomenon of landlessness among the poor, primarily within the Jamaican context.
This article gives attention to the postmodern epoch to explore the context of God’s mission sin... more This article gives attention to the postmodern epoch to explore the context of God’s mission since the ecumenical mission statement of 1982. It identifies the shifts in global Christianity and argue that the ever present phenomenon of the market ideology and its accompanying neoliberal economic ideology has become pervasive as the engine for the world economic order (dis-order) that promises to provide unlimited growth. It also emphasised that the social construct of Secularism is playing a significant role in the contextual understanding and practice of God’s mission today because it constitutes one of the key ingredients that accompany globalisation and modernity. The article then explores what what does mission mean when applied to post-modern culture and concludes that
If indeed ‘the church is a gift of God to the world for its transformation towards the kingdom of Good’ then the church’s mission has no option but to intentionally engage with the challenges unleashed by the changing postmodern landscape to facilitate life in all its fullness
The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiri... more The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century. The statement specifically focused on for and not of democracy. Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis. Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between governments and their citizens concerning how much influence through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance. This topic is of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent attention. Democratic forms of governance are not set in stone. Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments and must therefore remain open for further reformation. It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens democracy to converse with spirituality. This article begins with identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study. The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation. Through the use of the postcolonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.
Th is article examines the plight of migrants by conversing Brian Wren's poetic song, Travellers,... more Th is article examines the plight of migrants by conversing Brian Wren's poetic song, Travellers, with a missio-political reading of Exodus 1:8 – 2:10. Most migrants are people on the move fl eeing from untenable threats to their lives from dysfunctional states of the Global South. Th e article argues that the socioeconomic and political forces that deny the Hebrew migrants in ancient Egypt fullness of life as described in Exodus 1:8-2:10 are still at work in the threats that contemporary migrants face. Wren's poetic song off ers a life-affi rming discourse that postulate an alternative missio-political response that affi rm human dignity, human rights, human respect and a commitment to justice that facilitate " fullness of life ". Keywords Exodus 1:8-2:10; Brian Wren; " Travellers " ; politics of migration; refugees; human dignity " Some are far from the people they love, driven by family need, tired and exploited, doing their job, thinking of children to feed " – Brian Wren. 1
Bob Marley and Steve de Gruchy are presented as two prophets of social change that belonged to tw... more Bob Marley and Steve de Gruchy are presented as two prophets of social change that belonged to two different eras and social locations, who lived their lives in the fast lane and died in the prime of their lives and career development. Through their common love for living life to the fullest their common love for the creative art of reggae music empowered them to create a hermeneutical framework through which their God-talk narrated a fundamental connectivity of self, others, and the past, present and future life. Their dialogical and theological conversations gave voices to the voiceless to articulate their dreams, hopes and fears. United in their common resistance to centralised authority and leadership and any attempt to institutionalise the religion they advocated in their writings for radical reinterpretation of Christianity that celebrates human dignity and both refused to compromise with systems or institutions that embraced oppression. This article argues that it was Bob Marley's Redemption Song that embodied the spirituality that undergirded de Gruchy's theology of development and its accompanying Olive Agenda that offered an in-depth critique of the global imperial system that thrives on underdevelopment of the poor. Together they exhibited a revolutionary posture of overcoming all forces of oppression that prevent the realization of freedom. They engaged in transformative education. The ultimate objective of their advocacy is to destabilize and overthrow oppressive life denying systems by working for a fundamental deconstruction of how their disordered world functioned in the interest of powerful global
This article argues that mission-formation in contemporary Africa can no longer be thought of in ... more This article argues that mission-formation in contemporary Africa can no longer be thought of in a homogeneous manner but as a new constellation of missio-pedagogical languages. The modern missionary enterprise's use of the concept of ‗missionary' was linked to the old world order that was Eurocentric and hegemonic in nature. In our contemporary period, such language is outdated and a new language has emerged in the concept of missional or missio-formation which represents a desire to connect with the missio Dei. In this, the mandate of the church is to be the one sent to respond, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to the contemporary postmodern condition. In this the agents of mission are ―the whole people of God‖, not just some expert class of people. This article therefore argues that how people are engaging with the existential challenges that threaten their daily lives should help reset the agenda of how missio-formation education of leaders is to be done. In line with this, an illustration of one of the emerging contextually friendly paradigms for missio-formation is given and its implication for curriculum formation in Africa is discussed.
International Review of Mission, Jan 1, 2008
Philosophy Philosophy Religion Philosophy.
International Review of Mission, Jan 1, 2005
The Caribbean region constitutes a mosaic culture. It was the coming together of different cultur... more The Caribbean region constitutes a mosaic culture. It was the coming together of different cultures from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia that laid the foundation of Caribbean culture. What emerged from the union of cultures was something very different from their ...
Journal article by Roderick R. Hewitt; The Ecumenical …, Jan 1, 1995
International Review of Mission, Jan 1, 1992
Page 1. EQUIPPING LOCAL CONGREGATIONS IN MISSION - THE CWM EXPERIENCE RODERICK R.HEWITT* Since 19... more Page 1. EQUIPPING LOCAL CONGREGATIONS IN MISSION - THE CWM EXPERIENCE RODERICK R.HEWITT* Since 1985, the Council for World Mission (CWM) has embarked on a journey with its thirty member churches ...
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Papers by Roderick R Hewitt
of the church. If the church is the broken body of Christ in the world, what are the ways in which it is expressing that brokenness in practical ways? This vulnerable status necessitates modelling the politics of Jesus that risks putting up resistance against all threats that prevent
people from experiencing fullness of life. The contemporary era of global governance is characterised by ‘moral lowlifes’ in political leadership that uses judicial and executive overreach to weaken democracy and empower the wealthy elites. Furthermore, the impact of technology and computation on shaping human relations has produced a consequential decline in human trust and relationships. Therefore, the missional agenda of the church as the broken body of Christ serving a divided world, calls for building life-affirming relationships that overcome dehumanising barriers.
theological reflections, a theoretical framework that employs the phenomenon of faith, tradition and experience to interrogate the phenomenon of displacement of people through land theft. The religio-political narrative of Jamar Rolando McNaughton Jr, a young Jamaican reggae artist popularly known by his stage name Chronixx, will serve as the principal lens
through which to interrogate the phenomenon of landlessness among the poor, primarily within the Jamaican context.
If indeed ‘the church is a gift of God to the world for its transformation towards the kingdom of Good’ then the church’s mission has no option but to intentionally engage with the challenges unleashed by the changing postmodern landscape to facilitate life in all its fullness
Books by Roderick R Hewitt
of the church. If the church is the broken body of Christ in the world, what are the ways in which it is expressing that brokenness in practical ways? This vulnerable status necessitates modelling the politics of Jesus that risks putting up resistance against all threats that prevent
people from experiencing fullness of life. The contemporary era of global governance is characterised by ‘moral lowlifes’ in political leadership that uses judicial and executive overreach to weaken democracy and empower the wealthy elites. Furthermore, the impact of technology and computation on shaping human relations has produced a consequential decline in human trust and relationships. Therefore, the missional agenda of the church as the broken body of Christ serving a divided world, calls for building life-affirming relationships that overcome dehumanising barriers.
theological reflections, a theoretical framework that employs the phenomenon of faith, tradition and experience to interrogate the phenomenon of displacement of people through land theft. The religio-political narrative of Jamar Rolando McNaughton Jr, a young Jamaican reggae artist popularly known by his stage name Chronixx, will serve as the principal lens
through which to interrogate the phenomenon of landlessness among the poor, primarily within the Jamaican context.
If indeed ‘the church is a gift of God to the world for its transformation towards the kingdom of Good’ then the church’s mission has no option but to intentionally engage with the challenges unleashed by the changing postmodern landscape to facilitate life in all its fullness