Desmond Tutu Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Theology=== [[File:Desmond Tutu - Kirchentag Cologne 2007 (7137).jpg|thumb|right|Tutu in Cologne in 2007]] Tutu was attracted to [[Anglicanism]] because of what he saw as its tolerance and inclusiveness, its appeal to reason alongside [[scripture]] and tradition, and the freedom that its constituent churches had from any centralized authority.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=373}} Tutu's approach to Anglicanism has been characterised as having been [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic]] in nature.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=239β240}} He regarded the Anglican Communion as a family, replete with its internal squabbles.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=259|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=373}} Tutu rejected the idea that any particular variant of theology was universally applicable, instead maintaining that all understandings of God had to be "contextual" in relating to the socio-cultural conditions in which they existed.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=116|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=135}} In the 1970s, Tutu became an advocate of both [[black theology]] and [[African theology]], seeking ways to fuse the two schools of Christian theological thought.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=136, 137}} Unlike other theologians, like [[John Mbiti]], who saw the traditions as largely incompatible, Tutu emphasised the similarities between the two.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=115}} He believed that both theological approaches had arisen in contexts where black humanity had been defined in terms of white norms and values, in societies where "to be really human", the black man "had to see himself and to be seen as a chocolate coloured white man".{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=116}} He also argued that both black and African theology shared a repudiation of the supremacy of Western values.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=116}} In doing so he spoke of an underlying unity of Africans and the [[African diaspora]], stating that "All of us are bound to Mother Africa by invisible but tenacious bonds. She has nurtured the deepest things in us blacks."{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=115}} He became, according to Du Boulay, "one of the most eloquent and persuasive communicators" of black theology.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=87}} He expressed his views on theology largely through sermons and addresses rather than in extended academic treatises.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=87}} Tutu expressed the view that Western theology sought answers to questions that Africans were not asking.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=135β136}} For Tutu, two major questions were being posed by [[African Christianity]]; how to replace imported Christian expressions of faith with something authentically African, and how to liberate people from bondage.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=136}} He believed that there were many comparisons to be made between contemporary African understandings of God and those featured in the [[Old Testament]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=137}} He nevertheless criticised African theology for failing to sufficiently address contemporary societal problems, and suggested that to correct this it should learn from the black theology tradition.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=116}} When chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Tutu advocated an explicitly Christian model of reconciliation, as part of which he believed that South Africans had to face up to the damages that they had caused and accept the consequences of their actions.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=342}} As part of this, he believed that the perpetrators and beneficiaries of apartheid must admit to their actions but that the system's victims should respond generously, stating that it was a "gospel imperative" to forgive.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=342}} At the same time, he argued that those responsible had to display true repentance in the form of restitution.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=342}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page