Communicating the Gospel Message in a War Context: The Case of Burundi.
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Date
2005
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
Background
"Communicating the Gospel message in a war context: the case of Burundi" is
but an exposition of my long personal inner meditation on the unique, hard and complex
historical journey of the Burundian people. For quite a number of years, diverse
happenings, inner and outside questions have been at the origin of this topic. It is dear to
me because what is happening is the history of my people, it is my history: since my
childhood, I have been told of my family members, and neighbours who have been
victims of the ethnic conflicts. For a couple of times, I myself have been victim of this
ethnic hatred (I have run away from school fleeing those who wanted to kill me, my
school material have been burnt by my fellow students, just to name a few). Wherever I
have been, outside my country, people have always asked me why such a war could
break out while most people are Christians. Therefore, this double pressure could not
result but to a concern to give my personal contribution in the understanding of the
problem in order to foster reconciliation.
Motivations
The motivations and objectives of this essay are to incite people of good will to
stand up and say no to those who fight for their selfish interests. I also intend to give my
personal contribution in the process of peace-building and reconciliation among the
people of Burundi. I remain convinced that the Church, in her pastoral ministry is
invited to be more aware that whatever affects her faithful is part and parcel of her
evangelizing task. Methodology
As for the methodology used in this essay, the main work has been that of
classical research (books and other writings in relation to the topic). Interviews have
been carried out as well. However, to be clear since the beginning, though it keeps its
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importance, this last method was not the core of the essay. It was done in order not only to verify whether what was written was closer to the truth, but also to be able to give
some recommendations which would be well founded. Therefore the I wanted to get rid
of rumours and half-truths. The interviews have been carried out with six different
categories of people: church people, youth ministers, media people, refugees, young
people (orphans), and members of the Small Christian Communities. Practically, in
carrying out the interviews, the author was more concerned about the effects of the war
and the realizations of the church achieved so far. Hence, to help the reader to have a
full scope of what the essay is all about, some interview-related tables as well as the
questionnaire of the interviews have been provided in the Appendix part of the work. As
for the biblical quotations, the author chose to use the Jerusalem Bible and the African
Bible.
Limitations
In the following pages, I do not intend to give a socio-political description of the
conflict, nor do I pretend to give absolute solutions. Rather, mine is a humble, modest
and personal reflection on the causes and effects of the moral and spiritual crisis that the
Burundian society is undergoing. Being Burundian, it might be difficult to be
completely neutral in my views here and there. It is normal for the simple reasons that I
have not been the least affected. I beg the reader to be understanding. Yet, despite all
these limitations, my innermost desire is not to cultivate or stimulate any ethnic
sentiment of hatred or vengeance. Rather, my dream is a new Burundi in which conflict
would have given place to truth, concord, unity and pacific cohabitation, like the place
that Isaiah dreams about: "Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to
guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbours, together their young shall
rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play with the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on
all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea" (Is 11:6-9). Structure of the essay
After elucidating the causes and effects of the war in the first chapter, I intend to
reflect on what is the role of the church, as she proclaims the Gospel message, in
seeking for lasting solutions to the conflicts. This will be dealt with in the second
chapter.
Lastly, in the third chapter, my intention is to see how the church and all the
people of good will can make recourse to the strategies of communication in order to
effectively restore peace.
Description
Keywords
Burundi., Communicating the Gospel Message., War context.