Zamhezia (1981), IX (ii).ESSAY REVIEWCHURCH ADAPTATION TO THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER' IN ZIMBABWETHE EMERGENCE OF Zimbabwe from the colonial past found the Church in need oftransformation. While the essence of the gospel it preaches remains basically thesame, the form of its delivery, the imagery it uses and the mission it proposes have toadapt to the new social order. The authors of the books reviewed here1 have givensome practical suggestions which could form guidelines in the Church's search for asmooth process of adaptation.Bishop Hubert Bucher challenges the Church to come face to face with Shonacosmology and the spirit worldŠa challenge that the Church in Zimbabwe shouldimmediately confront. Bucher wrote this book to fill the gaps left by socialanthropologists in their study of the Bantu religious experience. His main aim,however, is to make available information which would 'contribute eventually tothe better understanding of African cosmologies in South Africa itself, especiallyby mission evangelists. Since the Shona religious assumptions compare favourablywith those of the Xhosa of South Africa among whom the author had worked for tenyears, it was therefore not difficult for him to complete his investigations of theShona concept of spirits and power in only one sabbatical year. It is quite plain thathis choice of the Shona people was influenced by the availability of what the authorterms 'reliable anthropological literature'. Moreover, the Independent Churchesamong the Shona people are fewer than those in South Africa, a factor whichfacilitated the study. Though they are few, Bishop Bucher selected for his studyonly the Churches of the Spirit, which he assumes to have sprung up as a result ofthe influence of similar churches in South Africa.The book is laid out in nine chapters. The first five deal with power as the rootconcept of Shona traditional religion. Here the author strongly believes that spiritmediums, chiefs, ancestral spirits, witches, divining healers and the rest, allrepresent a notion of power. In the remaining chapters, the book attempts to showthat the Shona conceptualization of spirit plays a central role in the independentChurches of the Spirit. For a truly African Christian Theology to emerge, theauthor recommends both a thorough study of the African traditional religions and aconfrontation between the Christian gospel and African cosmological concepts.He further argues that to depend on nigritude literature, with its superficialknowledge of the real African, is to do injustice to the study. The only soundmethodology is to study thoroughly the cosmologies of a particular society and thento confront it with the Christian gospel. Without this approach, Bucher warns, theChurches of the Spirit will superficially display a number of Christian semblances,but intrinsically they will remain tied to traditional cosmology.1H. Bucher, Spirits and Power: An Analysis of Shona Cosmology (Cape Town, Oxford Univ.Press, 1980), 231 pp., R8.95; C.S. Banana, The Gospel according to the Ghetto (Gwelo, MamboPress, revd'edn, 1981), 156 pp., ZS2.5O; O. Hirmer, Marx? Money? Christ?: An illustratedIntroduction into Capitalism, Marxism and African Socialism, Examined in the Light of theGospel (Gwelo, Mambo Press, Christianity and Socialism 1, 1981), 139 pp., Z$3.60;R.A.B. Ewbank,Christian Liberty/Rusununguko rwechiKristo: Commentary on Galatians, trs J. Gabi (Gwelo,Mambo Press, 1981), 94 pp., ZS1.50.171172ESSAY REVIEWBucher, contrary to popular Western views of African traditional religion.refrains from calling it superstition because he sees it as a complete system ofreligious assumptions, a veritable Weltanschauung, that is, man's attempt toanswer his most existential questions (p. 14). The only way that the Christiangospel can make sense to the African is when it is shown to be a fulfilment and not anegation of traditional worship. Otherwise, the African will affirm Christianitywhile at the same time remaining firmly entrenched in his traditional religion, whichgives him the power to counter the manifold spirits which threaten him. On thispoint, the author makes his strongest point, that 'mission work which neglects toaddress itself to the central tenets of a particular people's religion and to judge thesetenets in the light of the Christian Gospel, is bound to fail'. He adds a warning thatbefore the traditional tenets can be confronted with the Gospel and judged by it,they should be culled from their cultural wrappings in order to grasp theirtheological relevance. Secondly, there should be developed a strategy forintegrating them in the life of the local church, and also for the liquidation of thosetenets which are pure superstition.In spite of these great aims, the book is, on the whole, very hypothetical onimportant points. It is also very contradictory at times. While on the one hand theauthor criticizes social anthropologists for linking the symbols with the people'shistory, ecology, and mode of survival, disregarding the fact that the individual wholives in any given society acquires his grasp of symbols from subconsciousprocesses, he on the other hand approves their studies by depending solely on theirresearch and assumptions (p. 18). For example, it has not been established that aNdau person hosts a number of secret stranger-spirits who give him his personaltalents and whom he honours in private (p.96). Furthermore, the author'sunderstanding of the shavi possession is superficial because he argues thatpossession is a construct of the human mind (p.97). By believing this, Buchermisses the central point in the African concept of'spirit'. To the African, spirits arereal and not imaginary and have to be encountered as invisible beings. The author'sunderstanding of witches and ancestral spirits is also quite erroneous..To theAfricans, witchcraft may be a weapon against enemies who deserve punishment: ifone bewitched an innocent person out of jealousy, envy, and so forth, the result iscounter-effective because witchcraft does not 'stick' on innocent people. Theauthor also errs on divination by bones, which he calls a dice, following Gelfand'serroneous conclusion on the subject (p. 116). The author should have noticed thatsome n'anga are more popular than others, a fact which cannot be attributedto their manipulation of the diagnostic bones. The whole discussion on witchcraft israther superficial. Moreover, it portrays the African mentality as weak (p. 122).On schisms in the Zion Christian Church, the author assumes, followingDaneel, that these are caused by a desire for authority and not by doctrinaldifferences. This creates the impression that church splits take place only in theZion and similar churches where the craving for power is great (p. 142). If this is so,how does he explain the schisms in 'mainstream' churches?Though the book sets out a great challenge to the mission church, it is greatlyweakened by its superficiality, a fact which the author himself does not concealthroughout the book. For example, he twice uses the phrases 'would seem' and 'itmay well be' (p.201), while he terms Ms 'findings' arguments (p. 182), and notobservations. The author admits (p.l 51) that in Chapter 3 he only attempted toshow that members of'Churches of the Spirit would seem to regard the Holy SpiritT. J. MAFICQ173in the light of the Shona traditional territorial spirits'. With these few examplesamong many, the author's conclusions on the Shona tradition and the 'spiritchurches' are more conjectural than factual. Consequently, the book, which is farfrom being an analysis of Shona cosmology, does not offer to missionaries workingamong the ShonaŠlet alone in South AfricaŠsome concrete information on'spirits' and 'power'.While Bucher challenges the Church to confront Shona cosmology and thespirit world, President Banana urges the Church to join the masses who arepolitically and socially disadvantaged, those who, in other words, are physically oremotionally in the ghettos, in order to inspire hope in them. In its first edition(1974-7), the booklet contained only chimurenga poems, but the anthology hasnow been expanded to include sermons and speeches on liberation. Though nosingle theme seems to have been followed, essentially the book relates to the plightof the oppressed: their hopes and aspirations, the struggle for liberation, and,finally, what true liberation means. In his 1980 sermon in the University Chapel(p.83), President Banana makes it plain that liberation is an on-going process andnot a once-and-for-all event (p.87). As liberated people, our mission is to serveothers. The sermon concludes by paying tribute to the fallen heroes, for theirsacrificial part in liberating Zimbabwe. Whether Christian or not, the onus is nowupon us to rebuild the rained country of Zimbabwe (p.92).In 'A Message for the Churches' (p.94), the author calls upon the churches toformulate a new theology for a new social order in Zimbabwe. The colonial contentand character of the Church is now out-dated. The Church should realize that it isoperating in a political structure guided by a people-orientated philosophy (p.96).The Church must concoct a theology which is socialistic. It should also encourageco-operative agriculture on its mission farms, and should promote the position ofwomen in all the fields under its jurisdiction.Though the poetic message is, on the whole, one of fine sentiments, on closeexamination it creates a number of theological problems. Some adaptations ofbiblical passages sound obnoxious and somewhat sacrilegious. The so-called'Lord's Prayer' (p. 1) sounds rather odd, especially if it were to be used in churches.Reading the first line: if God the Father is in the ghetto, it would automaticallytransform the ghetto into heaven. It would have been better to leave God in heavenand let the suffering masses call unto Him for liberation from the ghetto. The thirdline, 'Thy Servitude abounds' is as odd as the first one. After all, what is wrong withthe Lord's prayer in its biblical form? Well interpreted, it conveys the samemessage, but in a more comprehensive way. However, 'The People's Creed' (p.2)is, on the whole, good, and so is the 'Statement of Belief (p.3).It would have been helpful if the booklet had been clearly divided into threesections: the original poetic section conscientizing the masses to the revolution; asecond section dealing with the aftermath of the straggleŠreconciliation, recon-struction, the process of'rebuilding the ancient rains'; and finally, a third sectionaddressing itself to post-independence injustices of nepotism, tribalism, bureau-cratism, neo-colonialism, institutionalism, greed and the like. This would havemade the booklet more comprehensive and useful for the Church and the generalpublic. Nonetheless, the author deserves great credit for boldly pioneering inshowing the Church and similar institutions the way to adapt its message,Scriptures and creeds to the new social order in Zimbabwe.Oswald Hirmer discusses socialism in relation, respectively, to Christianity174ESSAY REVIEWand capitalism. He has approached a complex problem in a factual, interesting andoriginal way; his style of presentation is simple, and the illustrations apt. In theintroduction (p. 1), Hirmer demonstrates quite clearly how people who clamour fora change in the social order are often vague in their definition of the terms of theideologies they follow. To the same group of people, the terms 'socialism','Marxist-Leninism', 'Capitalism' mean different things. It is only when docu-mented statistical data is given on the distribution of natural resources, theimbalance in the distribution of goods, the state of the poor, and so forth, that thesedifferent groups will begin to unite on a common front against socio-economicevils. But even then a problem arises when they try to discuss the programme ofaction to eradicate the evils.To give the subject a firm setting, Hirmer begins with a summary of the originof capitalism with its principle of laissez-faire. In a capitalist economy, there is adichotomy between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'. This means that the producerwants to sell his goods at the highest possible price while the consumer wants to buyat the lowest possible price (p. 18). Moreover, the free market system, with itsdemands for private ownership of the means of production, gives rise tocompetition among producers. Capitalists argue that it is the profit-makingincentive which drives people to work (p. 15). The author shows how, in thissystem, the consumer is trapped, manipulated and exploited by factory cartels, orby advertising media which create an artificial need of goods and services (p.21).In the nineteenth century, capitalism assumed a new face by pooling factoryowners together into limited companies or trusts (p.23). Collective capitalismtherefore gave rise to the demand for more and more markets, a need which gavebirth to colonialism and imperialism. The capitalist argument that multinationalcapitalism promotes international peace through world trade, by eliminating socialinjustices, is nullified by the fact that the multinationals, once they develop theirtrade in a poor country, make profits while the masses remain poor (p.30).Moreover, multinationals may gain great political power and influence govern-ments to their own advantage and not that of the needy.Hirmer compares capitalism with socialism (p. 32). While capitalism believesin free enterprise and competition, socialism affirms community enterprise,planned marketing and no competition. Both have advantages, and so somepowerful political parties in the West try to forge a mixture of free market andplanned market.The author shows briefly (p. 36) why Marxism has influenced over one thirdof the world. It is because Marx asked the right questions. He spotted thefundamental wrongs in a capitalistic society. In the forty books they wrote,including the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels gave practical answers totheir enquiry. As long as there is a dichotomy between employers and employees,producers and consumers, the class system based on the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', class straggle is unavoidable (pp.38-9). Unless man realizes that he isalienated and has become a cog in the capitalist wheel, exploited and 'prostituted',he remains in his chains. Capitalism, according to Marx, breeds alienation, and willinevitably collapse. To expedite this process, a world revolution of workers shouldtake place under the slogan: 'Workers of the World Unite'. Revolution should be intwo stages: the socialist stage, during which all means of production would besocialized. The second and ultimate stage is communismŠthe classless society.Lenin emphasized a prolonged process of socialism before accomplishing com-T. J. MAFICO175munism (p.47). Marx condemned Western democracy as a face-saver, for theproletariat had no choice but to follow the bourgeois propaganda. He also sawreligion as 'the opium of the people' because it soothed the emotions of the sufferersto endure hardship and did not urge them to improve their lot. Religion, likecapitalism, would therefore die a natural death once socialism came.The last section of the books deals with Christ and what he can do for theworld. In Luke 4:18 is summarized Christ's revolutionary mission to better theworld. Christ's message was aiming at restoring the ideal world, the lost paradise,'here and now'. This world was not made up of empty promises of future hope forheaven and comfort. The ideal world for which Christ died and which thecommunists crave cannot be forged without God (p.93). Man should beunderstood in relation to God's purpose of creation. Hirmer cites Psalm 72, whichspells out God's programme for liberating man from oppression and exploitation,here and now.Hirmer shows (p.98) that Marx and Christ have much in common. Both areconcerned with the forging of an ideal world of peace. But unless God isacknowledged in this programme, the dignity of man is lost or ignored (p.99), Noforce can forge a brotherhood or encourage the sharing of goods. The only way thatman may be released from greed is in having a personal revolution which gives hima new heart. Man (contrary to Marx's tenets) is basically evil. For this reason,Christ's revolution of love hits at the root cause of society's evils (p. 106).The remainder of the book shows how Marx is a reminder to Christians of themany social concerns that they ignore, and of the evils that they condone, such asunjust laws and structures, inequality of opportunity, and so on. Marx remindsChritians not to mind money but to be community-orientated. But Marxismwithout Christ, says Hirmer, is grossly misleading. In the same vein, capitalismignores the dignity of man, ignores God, breeds selfishness and wastes goods. Allthe socialistic programmes in Africa are therefore fraught with failure. The reason,according to Hirmer, is that they miss the basic ingredient for successŠGod,revealed in his son, Jesus Christ. There are things which are good in both Marxismand capitalism which Christians should accept and implement in Christ's name forthe good of man.This book is well written, beautifully illustrated, brief and to the point. It helpsto explain the many possible options that developing countries may follow in theirdevelopment programmes. Hirmer shows how, in this process, many countrieshave either failed or have met with very limited success in some respects. It is onlywhen Christ lights the way that the elements for good in Marxism, socialism,communism and capitalism become clear for the welibeing of mankind.Though the book is not 'academic' in its literary style and approach, it isindispensable for use in Church study groups or by individuals who are searchingfor an understanding of political ideologies and their effect on national de-velopment.Ewbank's commentary on the book of Galatians elaborates the biblicalconcept of Christian freedom. Its subject makes it opportune in independentZimbabwe, and being in both Shona and English it caters for two of the racial groupsin Zimbabwe. The introduction is terse and yet comprehensively summarizes themain themes in the book of Galatians. The main body of the book is well written.The content of the comments helps to elucidate the biblical text for commonreadership in the Church.176ESSAY REVIEWThe parallel Shona translation, though laboured in some parts to keep it brief,is well thought out. The booklet is therefore highly recommended to students of theBible who want a simple exposition of Galatians, but more so to church people intheir search for true liberty in the liberated Zimbabwe.For the Church to thrive in Zimbabwe, it must adapt, and the authors of thebooks reviewed above offer some guidelines for this urgent process.University of ZimbabweT.J. MAFICO