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Thesis Chapters by Genis Pieterse

The objective of this study is to come to an authentic understanding of the Word of Faith movemen... more The objective of this study is to come to an authentic understanding of the Word of Faith movement at a variety of levels: its origins, its theology, and its influence, all for the purpose of laying a foundation for constructive and informed engagement with the Word of Faith movement.

This study is not easy to classify in terms of the standard sub-divisions of theology. Since the objective of the study is to come to an accurate understanding of a contemporary religious movement so as to facilitate constructive dialogue, it involves a combination of historical, systematic, and practical theological components. The methodology throughout is based on literary methods.

The study aims to answer four key questions.

Firstly, is the Word of Faith movement a metaphysical cult or an authentically Christian movement with aberrant theology? The study concludes that the Word of Faith movement is authentically Christian; however, the movement has theological teachings and beliefs that are not supported by a contextual Bible reading.

Secondly, what is the organising framework for the theology of the Word of Faith movement, and how plausible is the movement’s theology? On this point the study demonstrates how the key theological beliefs of the movement relates to its ‘little gods’ teaching and how these key beliefs are dependent upon an understanding and acceptance of the ‘little gods’ teaching.

Thirdly, why does the Word of Faith movement attract and keep adherents despite its theological deficiencies? Here the study relies, among others, on Bainbridge and Stark who showed that cults form to address people’s immediate and social needs. It also makes use of Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance to show that individuals respond to a tension between their beliefs and their experiences by adapting their beliefs in terms of their perceived and/or real reward. Avery and Gobbel show how powerful the relationship between the spiritual leader and the listener can be, this results in a form of surrogate validation whereby the individual allows him or herself to be influenced.

Finally, how should the Evangelical Church engage with the Word of Faith movement? In answering this question it is clear that education is central. I further argue, that from an ethics perspective, a Christ centered approach to theology is of equal importance as is using scripture as the foundation used for the validation of beliefs and teachings. I conclude that Smith’s model for doing theology addresses all these elements and, if used, arrives at a missional focused theology where theological belief and scriptural reading speaks to the contemporary church.

Conference Presentations by Genis Pieterse

The voice of the Church, as fulfillment of the Great Commission viewed in-terms of the theologica... more The voice of the Church, as fulfillment of the Great Commission
viewed in-terms of the theological construct of discipleship, is a
socio-theological view of the Church as an agent of the Kingdom of
God, tasked with the responsibility to act as custodian and guardian
of all of creation.

This socio-theological responsibility stems from the call to
discipleship as understood in-terms of love. The result is a call for
the Church to speak internally to create a unified social voice that
binds the Church across all its theological facets, movements and
denominations. However, its voice must also be heard externally on
all matters that has any influence over human existence. Such a
voice must not only be heard but must carry with it the central ethos
of our Christian faith, that of love.

To achieve this, the Church will have to evolve a new approach to
theology by expanding its current theological breadth to include a
more practical spread of socio-theological aspects.

This paper presents a synopsis of the Church within the larger economic environment. It examines ... more This paper presents a synopsis of the Church within the larger economic environment. It examines the Church as an organization and economic process. It defines the prerequisites for the sustainability of the Church, within the context of its ability to fulfill its divinely mandated spiritual function within an organizational role.

My hypothesis is that the Church has, in some cases, lost direction as a result of assimilating a purely secular management approach. This I believe has been accidental and not an orchestrated act, and is the result of having to compete within a secular environment. The dynamic created by a competitive economic climate has, to an extent, shifted the axis of the Church, in some cases, from a spiritual orientation towards a purely business focus.

I argue that it is possible to present an organization that is capable of fulfilling its spiritual mandate, while, at the same time remaining competitive within the larger economic environment. I, furthermore, argue that there is much to learn from contemporary management theory, of which some elements are supported by biblical principles and are, therefore, well suited for assimilation into the Church as an organization.

Part of the solution, is that the present theology on stewardship needs to embrace a sound organizational management dimension, if we are to contextualize the Church within contemporary society. In conclusion, it is only by incorporating a sound organizational management dimension in the preparation of ministers, that we will ensure that future leaders of the Church are empowered to fulfill their obligation to society.

Papers by Genis Pieterse

Theologians are often mystified by the popular appeal of the Word of Faith Movement. Although bib... more Theologians are often mystified by the popular appeal of the Word of Faith Movement. Although biblical scholars have deconstructed the movement’s core teachings to the point where one would not expect the movement to retain a substantial following or exert significant influence, it remains the largest and fastest growing expression of Christian faith in many parts of Africa. The objective of this article is to explain the appeal of the Word of Faith Movement by using the theories of selected philosophers, sociologists, and theologians to furnish an explanatory framework. The Appeal of the Word of Faith Movement

In recent times the word artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to describe, for the most par... more In recent times the word artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to describe, for the most part, a very broad scope of data analytics. It has been used to describe how a computer would, theoretically, be able to make intelligent decisions without human intervention. In this paper, I highlight the fact that current AI technology delivers accurate and credible results on single dimensional data questions across a wide range, peeking out at 69% in environments where there is highly qualified data available. Where data sources are less qualified and more dynamic, the accuracy rate drops down to 11%, with the median hovering around 20%.

I also considered the multi-dimensional AI requirement proposed by Solution House Software, and their claim to predict when and where a specific crime will take place. In my discussion, I demonstrated that to meet this feat, the AI engine would have to answer four consecutive questions, each dependent upon the previous question’s output. This results in a degradation of accuracy given the original intention, and concludes that the AI engine deployed would produce extremely high false positive and false negative results. This would be less efficient given the maturity of AI technology at this stage, than conventional data analytics.

Part of the problem is the maturity level of AI technology at present, as well as data quality, imbedded data bias and assumed correlation that stems from the fact that current AI has evolved along a ‘narrow AI’ model, opposed to a ‘general AI’ model. Technology availability and cost, as well as skill cost, plays a decisive role in this evolution, and will continue to do so as the technology matures. Another root cause of a low accuracy output is the data view. I propose that a top-down data view which tries to infer meaning onto a singularity through aggregation of a larger external data pool, is less efficient, than simply analysing the singularity specific data in relation to a larger external data pool.

This is a quantitative research report on the various aspects of weight as it relates to multi-st... more This is a quantitative research report on the various aspects of weight as it relates to multi-stage, ultra-endurance, extreme running. The participants of the 2013 Marathon des Sables (MdS) was used as the test subjects of this study.

Teaching Documents by Genis Pieterse

Review of CCTV Technology, its evolution and possible future development.

A brief review of access control technology in terms of its efficiency in mitigating access relat... more A brief review of access control technology in terms of its efficiency in mitigating access related security risks.

The study aims to answer four key questions.

To achieve this, the Church will have to evolve a new approach to
theology by expanding its current theological breadth to include a
more practical spread of socio-theological aspects.

Review of CCTV Technology, its evolution and possible future development.