SPEAKER MEANING ATTRIBUTED TO THE TERMS SALVATION AND INSINDISO IN SELECTED MAINLINE AND INDEPENDENT CHURCH CONTEXTS

This study was conducted to ascertain what meanings the terms salvation, saved, and their isiZulu equivalents have for some Zulu Christians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine mother-tongue speakers of isiZulu varying in terms of age, gender, church affiliation and level of theologi...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Kerr, Nick (Author) ; Southwood, Frenette (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2009
In: Scriptura
Year: 2009, Volume: 102, Pages: 520-537
Further subjects:B Salvation
B Miscommunication
B Isizulu
B Ukusindiswa
B Zulu
B Insindiso
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Description
Summary:This study was conducted to ascertain what meanings the terms salvation, saved, and their isiZulu equivalents have for some Zulu Christians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine mother-tongue speakers of isiZulu varying in terms of age, gender, church affiliation and level of theological training. It transpired that both the English and isiZulu terms have undergone selective semantic narrowing: Apart from having their conventional meaning (pertaining to a personal acceptance of the redemptive work of Christ), these terms also imply for some Christians (specifically Evangelical and Pentecostal Zulus) an exclusive, validating spiritual experience precluding any involvement with ancestral practices. Consequently, one is viewed as saved only if one denounces certain apparently evil cultural practices, particularly those pertaining to ancestors. As other isiZuluspeaking Christians disagree with this narrowed meaning, and as mother-tongue speakers of English are generally unaware of it, indiscriminate use of these terms could lead to intercultural miscommunication of a complex nature.
ISSN:2305-445X
Contains:Enthalten in: Scriptura
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.7833/102-0-612