Prophetic Commitment to the Word of God

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dc.contributor.authorMulenga, Augustine
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-12T06:44:41Z
dc.date.available2019-02-12T06:44:41Z
dc.date.issued1999-02-12
dc.description.abstractI have always been fascinated by and marvelled at the courage of Israel's classical prophets. This admiration lies especially in their ability to articulate the situation 'as it is' and 'as it can be'. For instance, when self-satisfied leaders oppressed the poor, prophetic voices named the brokenness of the covenanted community, and when every aspect of Israel's life was subject to painful experience, prophetic voices imaged a new life for a people whose spirits were broken and crushed. Although they differ vastly from one another, Israel's classical prophets show a strong conviction that their vocation together with their mission originates from the Holy One of Israel. In this connection and according to the Old Testament, their messages are often prefaced by the formula: 'Thus says the Lord' or concluded by the phrase: 'It is the Lord who speaks'. Properly speaking, it was the word of God that moved Israel's great prophets into an open confrontation with their audience, denouncing sin and proposing a new future. This essay explores the commitment of Israel's great prophets to the word of God so as to highlight the challenges which this commitment poses to the ministry of the church in Zambia* today. We do not intend to undertake a painstaking study on each one of the classical prophets vis-à-vis the word of God, but to select some specific elements, especially from the prophets Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah of Jerusalem, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Deutero- Isaiah, which can help us arrive at a better understanding of what prophetic commitment entails.The first two chapters investigate the implications of the commitment of Israel's great prophets: chapter one presents the call of the prophets as starting point of the prophetic commitment, and chapter two surveys the twofold dimension of the prophetic mission. The third chapter elaborates the challenge that the great prophets pose to the ministry of the church in Zambia, especially in the situation where the majority of the people have apparently no strength to think about the future because they have nothing to feed on today. Within the vision of faith, we hold that authentic Christian praxis that leads to social transformation through the works of justice and love emanates from a closer analysis of human reality in the light of the word of God. With a view to shed the light of God's word upon the human reality in Zambia today, our approach in this paper seeks and draws from the Bible the nourishment that is capable to inspire the local church in her task of sustaining God's people in their struggles and in their hopes for a better life. As far as possible, we shall develop our theme in a chronological manner.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12342/565
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherTangaza University Collegeen_US
dc.subjectPropheticen_US
dc.subjectGoden_US
dc.subjectMinistryen_US
dc.subjectMissionen_US
dc.subjectJesusen_US
dc.subjectOld Testamenten_US
dc.subjectCharismen_US
dc.titleProphetic Commitment to the Word of Goden_US
dc.title.alternativeA Challenge to the Ministry of the Church in Zambia Todayen_US
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