Psychological Patterns
5.6 Theological views
5.6.1 Images and experiences of God
The most prominent theological themes that emerge from the narratives are; the presence of God, healing, trust in God and God being actively and personally involved with the specific life events of the individual. Faith and hope are strong theological elements in all the stories. Participants are confident in God and believe that God is in control (T1). In all the narratives, there was a strong sense of reliance, assurance and in some cases even confidence that God would act in a certain situation. This is followed by a keen sense of anticipation, expectation and optimism. The stories revealed the respondents' theological positions on the nature and works of God. They view God as healer (T1-8), saviour (T1-8), friend, and father. God can be accessed directly and speaks to people (T2, 6, 8).
136 Rene Descartes philosophy regarding existence, thinking and thought is further discussed in Schiffer(1976).
The power of God comprises a major aspect of the participants' theology. In my observation, the participants' attraction to the power of God is congruent with that of most of the DCC members and the leadership. The people are drawn to faith in Jesus Christ by the power associated with his name. The members of the DCC use the power in the name of Jesus to deal with threatening situations, which may include crime, illness, witchcraft etcetera. They are taught to "speak to situations/problems", which means that they should verbally command a situation to change according to their preference, for example; "I speak to this backache, be gone in the name of Jesus!" or "In Jesus' name may every plan of the devil come to naught!"
God gives personal direction (T 1, 2, 6, 7, 8) and is described as a personal God who knows them intimately and cares deeply about the events in their lives. This God desires to show them how important they are to him by intervening in their lives and also wields the power to overturn any situation of suffering.
In my view, the major difficulty stemming from the emphasis on a personal God is that God appears to be involved only in the affairs of an individual or the affairs of a family, as opposed to a God who is involved in the affairs of a community, a city, a nation and the world. So while the individual God may provide a higher paying, less stressful job for one person, the God of the city is yearning for God's children to be concerned with the poverty, injustice and greed in the city. Charismatics place strong emphasis on a personal God;
however, this does not imply that there is no reference to a God who is concerned with the society, the nation and the world. Several attributes of God proclaimed in the DCC do refer to "God of heaven and earth, Lord over Africa, South Africa and the world". Nevertheless there does seem to be a disconnection between the ascribed public characteristics of God and the emphasised personal God described week after week at the DCC.
5.6.2 The World
In their new family, the participants are encouraged and motivated to see themselves as valuable and different from "the world". For the participants, there is a dichotomy between the world and the Word or Spirit. The world is described as a place of stress and difficulties (T4), crime, joblessness, sickness, lost answers (T1), fact and not truth (T8), insecurity (T7) and temporary pleasures (T2). Those who do not follow "the world" enjoy access to the benefits of health and physical and emotional healing, safety and security, rising above challenges, better self-esteem, and direction for life from God, hope for the future, and a sense that nothing is impossible (T1-8). Participants who have experienced emotional traumas spoke of the emotional healing and the recovery process that began upon conversion and their becoming a member of the DCC.
5.6.3 Rituals for transformation
Ritual observances for the purpose of transformation are considered to be prayer, fasting, worship and belonging to a church. It would seem, according to the participants that God acts in a certain situation after there is a sign of dependence or seriousness. Some participants spoke of God's acts in their lives as a response to their prayer, fasting, submitting to the leadership of the church, giving (financially) and dependence on "the word" (T1-8). All the participants spoke in a positivist and triumphalist manner about their views of life since encountering the DCC.
The participants appear to be confident of their theology. During the course of the discussions they spoke with certainty and clarity about the nature of God.
They spoke in decisive terms about the acts of God. According to Roelofs (1994:224), "Such an attitude of confidence originates either from a strong conviction of faith or from a position of uncertainty".
5.6.4 Views of the DCC
The participants hold a positive view of their church and leadership. T6 made an important statement which pertains to a prominent theory in Pentecostal/Charismatic churches: that is, if the leaders of the church are
"blessed", then those who attend the church will be blessed. The DCC is seen as a church that provides fellowship and belonging, training and equipping, healing and an entertaining service.
5.6.5 Knowledge, skills and attitudes learnt from the DCC
It would appear that the participants' membership at the DCC has facilitated better coping skills with regards to the difficult events in life. When there are challenges in life, members know that they have a family at the DCC. They are also fed on a strong diet of hope and faith which ensures that they never give up: T3 mentions commitment and perseverance as attitudes learned since joining the DCC.
The participants have developed the skill of communication, public speaking and creativity while participating in the services at the DCC. This is due to the sense of belonging and comfort that is created and felt by active members of the congregants who attend cell groups. Withdrawn and inhibited members are encouraged to "share" "what the Lord has laid on your heart" or "what the Lord is telling you". This sharing initiates and facilitates the process of turning inhibited, introverted people into confident speakers. In the case of T3, this skill was used at a job interview for the position of promoting make-up where sales figures were improved. In the cases of T7 and T8 membership and participation at the DCC has facilitated public performances and speaking engagements.
This is especially remarkable in the case of T7 who initially suffered debilitating self-esteem issues.
Participants believe that they have developed "spiritual" skills such as praying, fasting, spiritual discernment and witnessing.
5.6.6 Conservatism
Village also recorded a link between high church attendance and conservative Christianity (2006:11). Francis and Jones (in Village 2006) found a link between conservative Christian belief and people with a sensing personality function (2006:12). According to Village (2006:12) conservatism is:
[p](Partly about accepting received truths and places value upon doing so without question. This is particularly so for churchgoers' belief about the bible because placing oneself under the authority of scripture is often rated more highly than questioning it.
5.6.7 Evangelism
The participants are keen witnesses to their faith (T5, 7, 8). They believe it is their duty to share their religious beliefs with their friends and families.