Public Theology as a Theology of Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Public Pastoral Care Contribution

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article addresses the relationship between public theology and resilience. Public theology is discussed in terms of practical theology and, more specifically, pastoral care, thus the expression “a public pastoral care contribution”. Large parts of the article seem to want to argue the case that pastoral care is also an expression of public theology. This argument holds but does not require much discussion. As the final part – section 5 Strategic Approaches for Enhancing Public Theology’s Contribution to Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa – focuses on public theology, with elements of reflection on the more specific pastoral care contribution, the main emphasis of the article seems to remain in the domain of public theology. It would improve the article if the author could bring the specific contribution, potential and responsibility of pastoral care to resilience (and public theology) to the fore. In other words, focus more on public pastoral care, less on public theology more generically.

 

The article argues that public theology offers a resilient framework for public pastoral care and seeks to demonstrate that public theology is relevant and essential. In this way, the article has a solid, constructive aim. It would improve the article if a more critical perspective on public (pastoral) theology and resilience theory could play a more significant role. What are the limits of the public theology framework, what can and cannot public pastoral care achieve, and what are the necessary conditions (vs. obstacles) for the constructive contribution of public pastoral care?

 

Section 4 on Public Theology and resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa states that “this paper proposes that public theology is best suited to help people dealing with adversity in life”. This claim or ambition implies a comparison – that public theology is better than something else or that this is an area where public theology is better, while it might not be in other areas. Such qualifications should be spelt out more clearly here and throughout the article.

 

It would strengthen the article if the five ways public theology can foster resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa were not simply presented as a five-fold structure but rather that the argument that leads to the highlighting of these five specific areas was spelt out more clearly. What is it about public (pastoral!?) care that makes the author highlight these five points?

 

 

Author Response

Please find the attached file with comments and my responses

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper makes an important contribution to public theology by bringing in resilience based in the context of SSA.  Pastoral care as resilience-building is not often brought into the discussion of public theology, although it has certainly been a critical dynamic of it, as the author argues.  

There are ways that this paper can be strengthened, specifically:

--Some major sources in public theology are not cited, such as A Companion to Public Theology, Kim and Day (eds), Brill, 2017.  Essays in this volume address many of the issues touched on in this paper, including by authors from SSA.  In particular, the introduction gives a much more detailed definition (and sources) of public theology that would help the author expand their definition section.

--Creating resilience is a critical dimension of the impact of public theology.  There is a lot of literature on this from Jewish sources, especially empiric studies of Holocaust survivors.  This should be referenced.

--It is surprising that the war Russia/Ukraine is referred to several times as contributing to suffering in SSA, but the recent trauma of HIV/AIDS is not.  In that epidemic, public theology took on a highly pastoral role.  There are some empiric studies of this, as well as substantial treatment of the church's engagement with HIV/AIDS by the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, which published several volumes on this.

--Likewise, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which is mentioned in the paper, could be highlighted as a public theology event which was at once justice-seeking, healing, and resilience-building at both individual and collective levels.  As a process, it represents an example of the pastoral care dimension of public theology for which the author is arguing.  By exploring examples rather than dissecting the overlaps between the fields of pastoral care and public theology, the author could bring the relationship into greater clarity.

With some work, this paper can make an important contribution to public theology.  I look forward to reading it.

Author Response

Please find the attached file with comments and my responses

Author Response File: Author Response.docx