Abstract

KEET, Eugene  and  BARON, Eugene. Exploring the concept of Fatherhood in addressing Moral Decline of Young People. A case study on Fatherhood among Christian believers. Missionalia (Online) [online]. 2024, vol.52, n.1, pp.42-62. ISSN 2312-878X.  https://doi.org/10.7832/52-0-532.

Families are negatively affected by the absence of fathers in the family system. Initially, the study commenced with a focus on male, biological fathers, and the significance of their presence/absence in relation to the moral decline of young people aged 12 to 23. This was done through conducting semi-structured interviews with five congregational leaders from churches in the Dwarsriver Valley², between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek as well as a World Café with members of five congregations.³ However, one of the foci of the research was to investigate the understanding of the participants on the concept of fatherhood. The researcher takes note of the primary two schools of thought functioning in Christian theological discourse. The one exclusively based on a biological, male figure, with the exclusive task of the head of the household, as God ordained, and understanding of God's of fatherhood.⁴ However, the other approach is a critique of such an approach, reject such an exclusive right, and include other father-figures as also God ordained, and inclusive of the fatherhood role. The focus of the article is to answer the question: How does the members of the churches in Dwarsrivier Valley conceptualises and articulates the fatherhood concept? The objective of this article was to report on the understanding of the fatherhood concept, and how the participants in the study would reflect and understand the fatherhood concept in the light of the abovementioned fatherhood paradigms.

Keywords : Dwarsriver Valley; youth; missional church; missio Dei; missional father; fathers; father figures; patriarchy.

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