Browsing by Author "Kakwata, Frederick"

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    The Pentecostal church in the Congo/30 eme communaute : engaging in poverty eradication
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-12) Kakwata, Frederick; August, Karel Th.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite the excessive mineral wealth, the underground deposits of gold, diamonds, copper and cobalt and other valuable minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which are coveted by many countries, the majority of the population is still destitute and lives in dire poverty. However the country itself prospered during the colonial period 1885-1960 and it became the second most industrialized state in Africa after South Africa (Petit & Mutambwa, 2005). Unfortunately it is now ranked among the world's poorest countries in the world. Since the Democratic Republic of the Congo gained independence in 1960 it has not experienced development that benefits the whole population. The country is experiencing continuing and pressing problems of poverty and human suffering. Thus the purpose during this study is to analyse the position of the Pentecostal Church in the Congo (30ème CPCO) concerning the situation of poverty in the city of Lubumbashi and to design a pragmatic approach that can assist the denomination to find ways to effectively address the problem of poverty. Findings reveal that the city of Lubumbashi is riddled with complex socio-economic challenges, but the 30 ème CPCO is not equipped practically or theologically to address these challenges. Poverty in the city of Lubumbashi is pervasive, it is therefore structural and historical. It comes a long way, from the slavery, to colonization, to dictatorship, neo-colonization and globalization. Sin and lovelessness have been identified as the roots causes of poverty in the DRC in the sense that sin which is the opposite of love is the driving force behind the oppressive structures that have impoverished millions of people in the DRC and around the world. Furthermore findings also disclose that the understanding of the soteriology within the Pentecostal denomination theology is problematic. Salvation is understood as being spiritual only, the physical aspect is misapprehended. In addition there is a heretical prosperity gospel in the denomination which teaches that poverty is the result of personal sin and unfaithfulness to tithing. They believe that giving large amounts of money will release blessings and prosperity. This view has skewed the denomination's approach towards the eradication of poverty. As a result the 30 ème CPCO’s involvement in poverty eradication is described as rudimentary, it is limited to sporadic assistance to the poor. Although the 30 ème CPCO station of Lubumbashi as a whole has been sporadically giving assistance to the poor, there are many factors that have restricted its ability to effectively engage in poverty eradication amongst which is poor understanding of the root causes of poverty. This in fact is influenced by the perception of poverty which is subject to features such as the mentality of the people or the level of literacy, the environment, the world view, the circumstances, the culture etc. The inability of the 30 ème CPCO to address poverty is also due to lack of enough education, poor administration, financial issues, lack of partners to help with the development and cooperation between congregations.