African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35

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dc.contributor.advisorLe Cordeur, B Aen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorFast, Hildegarde Heleneen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-14T12:33:02Z
dc.date.available2015-10-14T12:33:02Z
dc.date.issued1991en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: leaves 175-183.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractMissionary endeavours in the Eastern Cape were characterized by African resistance to the Christian Gospel during the first half of the nineteenth century. Current explanations for this rejection point to the opposition of the chiefs, the association that the listeners made between the missionaries and their white oppressors, and the threat to communal solidarity. This thesis aims to see if these explanations fully reveal the reasons for Xhosa resistance to Christianity by examining African perceptions of the missionaries and their message at the Wesleyan mission stations of Mount Coke and Butterworth for the period 1825-35. The research is based upon the Wesleyan Missionary Society correspondence and missionary journals and is corroborated and supplemented by travellers' records and later studies in African religion and social anthropology. The economic, social, and religious background of the Wesleyans is described to show how the Christian message was limited to their culture and system of thought. Concepts of divinity, morality, and the afterlife are compared to demonstrate the vast differences between Wesleyan and African worldviews and the inability of the missionaries to overcome these obstacles and to show the relevance of Christianity to African material and spiritual needs. Various types of perceptions are surveyed to show that, though the missionaries were respected for their spiritual role, their character and lifestyle presented an unappealing model of the Christian life. The threat that the missionary message posed to the structure and functioning of African communities is examined as well as African perceptions of these implications. A theory of conversion is advanced which reveals a consistent pattern of association with the missionaries for reasons of self-interest, exposure to the Gospel over a lengthy period of time, and finally conversion. The missionary-African contact of this period is thus characterized as the encounter between two systems of thought which did not engage.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationFast, H. H. (1991). <i>African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14237en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationFast, Hildegarde Helene. <i>"African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14237en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationFast, H. 1991. African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Fast, Hildegarde Helene AB - Missionary endeavours in the Eastern Cape were characterized by African resistance to the Christian Gospel during the first half of the nineteenth century. Current explanations for this rejection point to the opposition of the chiefs, the association that the listeners made between the missionaries and their white oppressors, and the threat to communal solidarity. This thesis aims to see if these explanations fully reveal the reasons for Xhosa resistance to Christianity by examining African perceptions of the missionaries and their message at the Wesleyan mission stations of Mount Coke and Butterworth for the period 1825-35. The research is based upon the Wesleyan Missionary Society correspondence and missionary journals and is corroborated and supplemented by travellers' records and later studies in African religion and social anthropology. The economic, social, and religious background of the Wesleyans is described to show how the Christian message was limited to their culture and system of thought. Concepts of divinity, morality, and the afterlife are compared to demonstrate the vast differences between Wesleyan and African worldviews and the inability of the missionaries to overcome these obstacles and to show the relevance of Christianity to African material and spiritual needs. Various types of perceptions are surveyed to show that, though the missionaries were respected for their spiritual role, their character and lifestyle presented an unappealing model of the Christian life. The threat that the missionary message posed to the structure and functioning of African communities is examined as well as African perceptions of these implications. A theory of conversion is advanced which reveals a consistent pattern of association with the missionaries for reasons of self-interest, exposure to the Gospel over a lengthy period of time, and finally conversion. The missionary-African contact of this period is thus characterized as the encounter between two systems of thought which did not engage. DA - 1991 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1991 T1 - African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35 TI - African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35 UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14237 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14237
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationFast HH. African perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Historical Studies, 1991 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14237en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Historical Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherMissions - South Africa - Cape of Good Hopeen_ZA
dc.titleAfrican perceptions of the missionaries and their message : Wesleyans at Mount Coke and Butterworth, 1825-35en_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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