DARÉ is a theological journal of Holy Trinity College, an elite school of theology for both laity and religious. It belongs to the Catholic University of Zimbabwe Faculty of theology. The word DARÉ is a Shona term, which refers to a meeting place for discussion and to some extent, a tribunal of ideas. Let the spelling not confuse you, the reader, with the English ‘dare’ which means to have courage to do something, or with the Latin verb dare meaning to give.
Please note that the views expressed in the articles in this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editorial Board. Each writer is fully responsible for his or her views. However, comments and reactions concerning this issue of DARE are most welcome. All correspondence should be forwarded to the Editor at the address provided.
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The previous issue of Dare, ‘Faith Seeking Understanding’, provided a collection of theological reflections which served the purpose of deepening faith, via a clear comprehension of the Christian faith. Nevertheless, while deliberating and reflecting the direction this edition should take, the Editorial Board of Dare would not be indifferent to the impact and effects of the novel COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters in our midst. In his encyclical, Fratelli Tutti – a letter on Fraternity and Social Friendship, the Holy Father, Pope Francis begins by stating that Saint Francis of Assis “felt himself a brother to the sun, the sea and the wind, yet he knew that he was even closer to those of his own flesh” (2). The worldwide tragedy, COVID-19 pandemic has by showing no exclusivity momentarily revived the fundamental value that we are really a global community (32). Likewise, other disasters like Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, floods, landslides, among other calamities awakened us from slumber to realise our need and concern for the other and the environment. Thus, the pandemic and calamities broke all racial, tribal, cultural, economic, social, and religious barriers and demarcations. They revealed once more the ineluctable and critical awareness to live in harmony with each other and our environment. As such, inspired by the awareness that we are a global community, this year’s edition, Continuity and Novelty Amidst Challenges: COVID-19 and Natural Disasters seek to reflect deeper on the impact and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters on human lives, faith, and evangelization as Christians. Hence, different contributors to this present edition confirm that the presence of the pandemic in our midst has indubitably taught and still calls humanity to adopt new styles of life and new means of evangelization.
Historical Facts of the Diocese of Masvingo
The Catholic Church in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) has its commencement in the Zambezi Mission which was assigned to the Society of Jesus affectionately known as the Jesuits by Rome on 7 February 1879 (The Catholic Church in Zimbabwe). Among their first establishments of missions was Driefontein Mission called Guta by the local people. Guta is Afrikaans meaning three fountains named after the initial site prior to its move in 1908 to where the mission is presently located (Driefontein Mission). The Bethlehem Mission Society (SMB) from Switzerland also known as the Bethlehem fathers were the second after the Jesuits to evangelise in Fort Victoria (now Masvingo). The First Swiss Bethlehem fathers arrived in Southern Rhodesia in October 1938 after an invitation by Bishop Aston Chichester, SJ who was in charge of the Vicariate of Salisbury (now Harare). They were entrusted to the area which was separated from the Apostolic Vicariate of Salisbury to become the Apostolic Prefecture of Fort Victoria from which Gwelo (now Gweru) diocese was formed in 1955 after the establishment of the hierarchy in Zimbabwe on the 1st of January (SMB Zimbabwe). A part of it was then separated to erect the Diocese of Masvingo in 1999. Hence, the historical facts of the two dioceses of Gweru and Masvingo are intertwined
Mutare Diocese's History of Evangelization
The nineteenth century and twentieth centuries have witnessed a tremendous exodus of Christian missionaries from the western world into Zimbabwe. Christianity particularly the Catholic Church has been presented to the African in foreign garbs such that Africans have perceived their own culture as archaic or primitive. However, many and varied religious missionary groups came to Zimbabwe to “indigenize the Church hence there has been an ongoing ecclesial development in spheres of self-sustaining, self-ministering and self-propagating among the Manyika Catholic Church”.1 This essay seeks to give a brief history of the evangelization of the now known suffrigan of Mutare under the reign of his Lordship Rt. Rev Bishop Paul Horan O.Carm. The scope of this history of evangelization commence from the first German Marianhill missionaries who worked from 1908-1930 and established the first mission in Mutare at Triashill mission. Mutare was then erected as a Prefecture Apostolic and confided to the Irish Carmelites on the 2nd of February 1953. Donald Lamont was appointed as Vicariate Prefecture on 6 February 1953 and later became a bishop of the Diocese in 1957. In 1957, the known Prefecture Apostolic of Mutare became a diocese. Bishop Lamont worked in Mutare since it was a prefecture and resigned in 1981. He was succeeded by Alexio Muchabaiwa from 5 November 1981 who reigned until the resignation of 28 May 2016. It is worth noting that it is with the same effect that Bishop Paul Horan resumed office and was appointed the successor as the Bishop of Mutare.
Brief History of Catholic Diocese of Chinhoyi
This essay aims to give an intelligent and informative brief history of the diocese of Chinhoyi. The history will be traced from the establishment of the Sinoia Mission by the Jesuits and the eventually establishment of the Prefecture of Sinoia. Challenges which were faced by the Church especially during the liberation war are also going to be discussed. Finally, the establishment of Chinhoyi as a diocese and the developments up to the present day are going to be outlined.
An Examination of the Impact of the Work of the Missionaries on the Zimbabwean Church in View of Self-Reliance:
This write-up will make recommendations of methods that can be used to promote self-reliance at St Kilian’s. The examination of the current situation of the Church and environment at the mission shall be the key bases for discussions and suggestions. The recommendations shall be open-ended meaning they will also broadly look at the ways the local church can tackle the question of self-reliance
Why Did the Church Spread so Quickly in the First-Three Centuries of its Existence?
The Christian church has been the most powerful, religious, social, and intellectual institution in the history of western civilization. However, the Christian Church only began as a small, lower-class group of followers in a remote part of the Roman Empire. The initial centre of Christianity was in Jerusalem where Jesus had been crucified, raised from the dead, and where the Pentecost experience had occurred. These were possibly 20 to 100 people who had been followers of Jesus and who continued to believe in him after his death. The expansion of the church was highly unlikely to succeed. Shortly after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Gospel was preached in Asia, Europe and Africa by the apostles. Over the course of 300 years, the religion grew, despite many obstacles, to about 5% of the population of the Roman Empire becoming a world religion commanding the respect of the highest echelons of Roman society and government. St Irenaeus in 220 declared that “the Church is spread throughout the world, even to the ends of the earth”.This essay, therefore, presents the reasons why the Church spread so quickly in the first three centuries of its existence.
Moral Recommendations on How to Curb Abortion Practices in Thyolo
The paper discusses ways of curbing abortion practices in Thyolo District in Malawi. it achieves this by giving proposals and moral recommendations that may help curb abortion in Thyolo. It points out that the Church, government and society should play a big role in protecting the life of unborn babies. Therefore, different organs in ought to play a role in curbing abortion and bringing it to an end eventually. One thing to note is that elimination of abortion cannot be achieved unless the causes that induce women to seek abortion are addressed.
The Contribution of Papal Teachings to Global Peace an Environmental Conservation
The duty of the Church to save souls and its engaging concern to address the needs of the community of faith is quite pivotal. This fact is candidly communicated by Catholic Social Teaching vis-à-vis Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum which is a classic reverence. Pope Leo drafted the encyclical at a time when the world was experiencing a whirlwind of protests among the working class due to dilapidated working conditions, poor wages and a raptured social milieu. Given the situation, the Pope was compelled to address the above issues beginning with just salaries, owning private property, and what is expected of any State by its citizens and the rights of association and Christian fraternity.to save souls and its engaging concern to address the needs of the community of faith is quite pivotal. This fact is candidly communicated by Catholic Social Teaching vis-à-vis Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum which is a classic reverence. Pope Leo drafted the encyclical at a time when the world was experiencing a whirlwind of protests among the working class due to dilapidated working conditions, poor wages, and a raptured social milieu. Given the situation, the Pope was compelled to address the above issues beginning with just salaries, owning private property, and what is expected of any State by its citizens and the rights of association and Christian fraternity.
The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople I
As ages passed by after the death of Christ Jesus, various questions started to be raised with regards to the nature of Jesus Christ. One of the major questions that emerged about the nature of Jesus Christ was whether he was human or divine. In a quest to answer such questions there are some who strayed from the teachings of the apostles and the orthodox teaching. It is out of such questions and controversies that the early Church Fathers had to define the faith of the Church through a formulated creeds. Such questions also included the unity of Christ and God the Father. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity began to be developed due to arising questions on the person of Jesus Christ and due to rise of unorthodox teachings which were termed heretical positions. Thus, it is plausible to state that the doctrine of the Trinity evolved out of Christology. One of the earliest heresies is Arianism which was suggested by Arius who questioned the divinity of Jesus Christ. Hence the purpose of the following piece of work is to expose the Arian heresy and to respond to it focusing on the responses that were given by the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople I. To achieve this, the paper will first define what a heresy is, secondly the paper will expose the Arian heresy and lastly the paper will respond to it considering the Councils of Nicaea of 325 AD and Constantinople I of 381 AD.
God has revealed himself through words and actions. Through His creation, He revealed Himself, through His prophets and finally by sending His Son Jesus Christ who is the fullness of revelation. God appeared to certain individuals and spoke to them. He selects a few, reveals certain mysteries to them and then relies on them to tell others. He has the power to reveal Himself to each person individually but in some cases, He chooses a few who in turn reach out to all humanity. The Constitution Dei Verbum (DV) of the Second Vatican Council describes Revelation as the act by which God reveals himself personally to man.1 The act of making the hidden known is referred to as revelation. This paper seeks to discuss how God revealed Himself to two particular personalities in the Bible. I will begin by defining God’s revelation. I will then go on to discuss the personalities He revealed Himself to, then finally I will see if there are any similarities between those two personalities.
The Concept of Person in Theology and its Application to The Holy Spirit
Among the most prominent thoughts in Christian Theology is the theme of “person”. Though this term is commonly used by many people, it does not mean one and the same thing. From the Theological point of view, the understanding of person is different. It has most often been used in ascribing it to the members of Holy Trinity, thus, God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. This paper aims at examining the concept person in Theology and its application on the Holy Spirit.
In this paper, we will: Justify the position that Catechesis is meant for the deepening and maturation of faith. To demonstrate our points, we will use the biological analogy of growth in humans and plants to signify the deepening and maturation of faith through catechesis. To achieve our goal, we will illustrate maturation and deepening of faith from the sacramental view; maturity in understanding and experience of Jesus as the core of catechesis; and then a call to conversion as a sign of the vivid realisation of faith in the newly born. Finally, we will indicate through an evaluation and conclusion the whole sense of the paper on maturity as bearing fruits of faith like love, peace, and a life of prayer.
The Church exists to evangelize. After his resurrection, Jesus mandated his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). Not only that but Jesus also sent the eleven to teach the people to observe whatever he had commanded them. Two aspects which are outstanding from the above reference are: ‘to make disciples’ and ‘to teach’. We can simply say to teach is the catechesis and to make disciples is evangelization. The Church consequently took this mandate from Christ, thus it became her vision and mission in the world. It is in this context therefore that this essay is focussing on the place of catechesis in evangelization. The main thrust here is to see the role played by catechesis in the whole work of spreading the gospel or the relationship which exist between the two. To make this possible this paper will begin by elaborating the key terms, this will be followed by various views from the Church teachings on the subject matter.
Christian Faithful of St Peter's Parish and their Understanding of the Eucharist.
This chapter brings out views of the Christian faithful of St Peter's parish and their understanding of the Eucharist. It looks at how possible Christian families be helped to rediscover the effectiveness of the Eucharist in their live. Questionnaires that were distributed to guilds at St Peter's parish (Catholic Men’s Association (C.M.A), St Anne and Hosi Yedenga guilds, and the Catholic Youth Association, which includes Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Mary guilds), and to non-Catholics brought out different responses. They responded on how they see the Eucharistic form of life in their own perspectives, challenges they are facing in trying to live a more Eucharistic life. Moreover, how they connect the Eucharist and their everyday life in their milieu. And also views no-Catholics around St Peter’s community.
It is worth noting that Sacred Liturgy and Popular Piety involves worship and expression of Christian faith but not all activities which have such characteristics qualify to be Sacred Liturgy. Hence, it is always a problem among many to make a distinction between Sacred Liturgy and Popular Piety or Devotions. To this end, this paper aims to show the distinction between Sacred Liturgy and Popular Piety. Again, in this paper, we will explain how Sacred Liturgy and Popular Piety are related. In order to achieve this, we shall start by giving the background of Sacred Liturgy. Further, explain what Sacred Liturgy and Popular Piety are at length. Then, we will explain how these two are related.
Sacred liturgy is the pillar of the Christian faith because it unites the church from the past, present, and future. Liturgy is embraced with three main forms that are essential in the catholic faith namely Eucharistic celebrations, a celebration of other sacraments, and divine worship. In all these forms, liturgy becomes an important aspect of the church, especially as an encounter with God and the people who are involved. This essay shall discuss the sacred liturgy and further give an analysis of how is it important as an encounter with God.
The Major Theological Themes in the Gospel of Mark.
The Gospel of Mark contains many themes; among these is the major theme of the identity of Jesus, following, the theme of discipleship takes centre stage. After calling his disciples to follow him, Jesus defines what discipleship will mean to those that follow him and the demands that come with discipleship. Although Mark portrays the disciples both in the negative and positive, the essay is not going to focus on the disciples but rather on discipleship. The theme of discipleship is linked to denying of self, taking up the cross and following Jesus. Simply put, discipleship in Mark’s view is connected to suffering and service. The essay will give a brief background of the Gospel of Mark then explore Mark’s model of discipleship and discipleship in the contemporary world.
The Character of Tabitha in the Acts of The Apostles
When reading the ancient Israel narratives exposed in the Bible, one could arguably assert that women have been always putting up a low profile, or rather, forced to do so by the Law. In Genesis 18: 6, the great forefather of the Israelites, Abraham, after having received three visitors, is seen running to Sarah his wife, ordering her to “quick, three measures of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.” Sarah the woman, is not conversing directly with the good visitors, but Abraham the man is. It could also be concluded that women were at most, reduced to running daily house chores. In the New Testament, we are however learning of a disciple, Tabitha, a woman, who rather swims against the tide of what was, and is expected of women. This paper will critically analyse Tabitha, extracting lessons that could be learnt from her. It will also expose how women are being seen in ancient Israel and how she is diverting from this perception.
The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is one of the interesting ones which Jesus uses in speaking about the Kingdom of God in the Gospel according to Matthew. In the parable Jesus presented the five wise virgins and the five foolish virgins to portray his message about the coming of the kingdom of heaven or the Parousia. The five wise bridesmaids are wise enough to carry extra oil for their lamps in anticipation of the delayed bridegroom and this worked for them. The foolish bridesmaids are foolish enough to the point of failing to recognise that their lamps might run out of oils before the arrival of the bridegroom
Analysis of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12
Since the 20th century, many methods and discoveries have been used to get the meaning of a particular biblical text. Among these methods are the historical critical methods; for example, the text criticism, the source criticism, the form criticism, the redaction criticism, the tradition criticism and the ideological criticism. All these approaches together with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls essentially, try to analyse the sacred Scriptures in order to uncover the hidden treasure. The analysis of a biblical text is therefore portrayed as a very important step towards a genuine interpretation of this text. It is in that sense that this essay will try to analyse the passage of the Beatitudes in the gospel according to Matthew, precisely in Matthew 5:1-12, thus seeking its correct interpretation. The method used for this analysis will follow four stages. First, a literary context of this passage will be presented. Second, one will see the similarities and differences between Matthew and Luke. The third part will deal with the background of the passage by looking at some primary texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls. At last, other articles, as second literature, will to shed more lights on this passage.
Prior to Matthew 10:5-15 Jesus evidently executes his mission. The Matthean Jesus proclaims about the kingdom of heaven and heals many who are sick. He heals a leper, paralytic and the blind to mention but a few (Mat 8; 9). Hence, in chapter 10:5-15 Jesus sends his twelve disciples to further his mission. Hence, it is imperative that in this paper, I analyse the commission discourse as presented in Matthew 10:5-15 and ascertain how the disciples were to accomplish it. To achieve this aim, the work commences by looking at the term apostle as background information followed by an analysis of the passage. Thereafter, I will discuss what is in the primary texts and what the secondary literature say showing whether I agree or not to the facts highlighted therein giving justification for my position. Eventually, a conclusion will be drawn that Matthew’s heightening moment in the mission discourse is his radical demand for simplicity. This simplicity would prove the value of their mission.
Genesis comes from the Hebrew ‘Bereshit’ which is translated to mean the beginning of something or formation of something. Genesis is that biblical book that gives an account of how the world came into being and the origin of all species. The book of Genesis is one of the books in the Hebrew bible that has raised critical questions in the world of biblical scholarship. These questions have led various biblical scholars to investigate and study the book of Genesis in its depths. Biblical scholars are not in agreement about these issues. The following piece of discussion seeks to discuss the critical issues in the book of Genesis considering what different scholars mention about those issues. The article will discuss the following issues: authorship, date, creation stories, historicity, theological themes, women in Genesis, flood narratives, Genesis and the Ancient Near Eastern Traditions, inconsistencies, and many other issues that are going to follow.
Israelites who have moved from Canaan to Egypt due to famine, multiply in great numbers. This poses a threat to Pharaoh who suppresses them into slavery. They cry out and God hears their cry. God reveals Himself to Moses as a burning bush and sends Moses to lead the Israelites out of the land of Egypt, back to Canaan the land promised to their forefather Abraham. In this essay I am going to look into the critical issues in the book of Exodus. This will include looking at its dating, historicity, authorship, sources, the targeted audience, Israel’s state of religion, theological themes, women in Exodus and end with a conclusion.
Judges is one of the historical books of the Bible. It narrates Israel’s journey and the difficulties faced during the occupation of the land after the death of Joshua and before the rulership of kings. The nation went through ups and downs as shall be indicated in this article. There were a lot of challenges as they were trying to cope with a new world of different types of religions, cultures and political situations. This article is discussing these issues focusing on how Israel reacted to them and how these affected their relationship with Yahweh. The article is also looking at critical issues that include authorship, sources, dating, the role of women and the targeted audience.
Coronavirus: A possible vehicle of paradigm shift in human consciousness
“The greatest souls are awakened out of suffering and the most impressive personalities endure many scars”.1 The great Paul was awakened out of a massive blow, likewise, a Happy Easter Sunday came out of Good Friday. Or, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1: 46). In fact, “There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven…” (Ecc 3:1ff). There is a reason for everything! In the life cycle of the leaf, the leaf remains a leaf but with a different appearance in different seasons, and with a different mission at a particular given time. The question might be, is a leaf accepting the present moment, regardless of its status? Every stage can be more powerful if it accepts the present moment and also makes use of every stage of its life. I shall make use of this leaf image as the article continues. Now, the principal aim of this paper is a quest in trying to approach the reality of Covid-19 through a new prism. Thus, I think this deadly pandemic (Covid-19) can be a possible vehicle of a paradigm shift in human consciousness. To demonstrate this position, I have three points to present: (1) the deadly nature of Coronavirus particularly on the reality of death, (2) how this pandemic can be understood to be a vehicle of a paradigm shift, then (3) embracing the art of consciousness rather than compulsiveness. Does it mean we have to fight through the bad days in order to earn the best of ourselves? I think so! Thus, this article seeks to shift one’s consciousness from compulsiveness in these challenging moments of the deadly virus. Covid-19 shall be understood as a deadly virus whose origin is still not clear and consciousness as a complete union of oneself with his/her intelligence. This shall be tackled in detail as the article unfolds
Climate Change Education and Bringing about a Responsive Awareness to the Rural Settlers in Africa
The problems of Climate change constitute the major threats in our world today. As a global problem, climate change affects both our present and future generations. It is quite unfortunate that in our world, some people do not see the need to address the issue of climate change. Such people see the whole climate change topic as an unnecessary issue on which we should not spend our time and energy discussing. Such people neither believe in the effects of climate change nor see its effects as worth the attention given to it. One of such instance is the United States National Security Strategy released in 2017, in which there is not even a mention of the climate change topic. This very action possibly suggests that the 2017 National Security Strategy does not see the issue of climate change as something dire enough to pose a threat to the United States. One can hardly deny that climate change has brought about frequent episodes of flooding, heatwave, and environmental displacement of people leading to migration, poverty, and so many other problems around the world.
COVID -19 and the Vulnerability of Children (0-5 years): A Question to Medical Practitioners?
What future generation will be there since the outbreak of COVID-19? Will those growing today be physically fit as nature without COVID-19 had intended it? How are we nurturing the young ones to make sure that as they silently fight the Coronavirus disease no damage is done to their development? Will their cognitive development and memory be built up as they should without COVID-19? What measures has there been to look at this?
Migration and Climate Change in the Horn of Africa: Mainly in Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan
The influx of migrants within the Horn of Africa or crossing international boundaries in search of stability and asylum-seeking is largely propelled by climate change. Climate change is responsible for the migration of people, conflict and a palpable lack of economic stability. As a result, 17 million people are threatened by a severe shortage of food in the Horn of Africa. The Horn is therefore one of the regions that is highly affected by climate change. Environmental crisis and eco-imbalance in the Horn of Africa is epitomized by perennial droughts, unpredictable rains, desertification, flash floods, and land degradation. As such, climate change and human life are coterminous.