The Story of Allan Aubrey Boesak: The Making of a Prophet

Eugene Andre Fortein

doi:10.25159/2412-4265/18256

Authors

Eugene Andre Fortein University of the Free State https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5592-5145

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/18256

Keywords:

Allan Boesak, narrative analysis, biography, apartheid

Abstract

Through the centuries it was believed that theological knowledge can only be obtained by studying the creeds and confessions. Contemporary literature has seen a turn towards biographies which disclose an emphasis on microhistory within a particular context. The “biographical turn” created new avenues to gain theological knowledge through the actual life experiences and decisions of religious people’s biographies. This article aims to tell the story of Allan Aubrey Boesak through the biographical approach of narrative analysis. The influences and events that shaped Boesak’s mind and theology of prophetic resistance will be discussed. Thus, the article provides a window, not only into Boesak’s life, but into the life of an oppressed people amid injustice through faith and prophetic resistance.

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