The “Problem(s) of Distance” in Distance Theological Education: A Theo‐Decolonial Probing From South Africa

ABSTRACT The “problem(s) of distance” in distance theological education offers a generative entry point into a whole host of contemporary questions in both higher and theological education. The contestations around distance raise important educational, anthropological, historical, technological, organizational, and theological questions as an ordinary part of the conversation. This article attempts to outline some of the dominant conversations and contestations around the “problem(s) of distance” in their theological, pedagogical, and logistical registers. This is followed by a theo‐decolonial probing of these conversations and contestations—bringing together decolonial theory's “conceptual triad” and Willie James Jennings's corpus on whiteness, Christian theology, and theological education. Theo‐decoloniality is then used to discuss three manifestations of whiteness/coloniality in distance theological education: (1) the diseased image of the “educated” person; (2) the distorted teacher–student relationship; and (3) the dismembering logics of “the industrial.” Finally, the article briefly gestures at the shared resonance between theo‐decolonial sensibilities and critical digital pedagogy in developing a response to some of the questions this article raises.