Showing papers in "Hts Teologiese Studies-theological Studies in 2002"
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Kirk's What is mission? as discussed by the authors was written after the author had become aware of the need for a book which would offer a manageable overview of the main topics under the heading, "Theology of mission".
Abstract: Extracted from text ... Kirk, J A 2000 - What is mission? Theological explorations
Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 302 pages. Price unknown.
Reviewer: Dr J C van der Merwe (Kemptonpark)
This excellent book was written after the author had become aware of the need for a book which would offer a manageable overview of the main topics under the heading, "Theology of mission". With his What is mission? the author has no intention of replacing David Bosch's magnum opus, Transforming mission. Bosch's book can be seen as a systematic theological presentation of the subject of Christian ..
42 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that the view that Matthew was an anti-Pauline text is completely in line with current understandings of this Gospel and its underlying community, and can be restated in a more detailed and much more convincing fashion.
Abstract: Half a century ago, S G F Brandon argued that the Gospel of Matthew was an antiPauline text. Brandon’s case was not especially convincing and his hypothesis was quickly consigned to the scholarly scrap heap. But in recent times Matthean scholarship has been moving towards a position whereby Brandon’s basic insights can and should be resurrected. This study argues that the view that Matthew was an anti-Pauline text is completely in line with current understandings of this Gospel and its underlying community, and can be restated in a more detailed and much more convincing fashion.
25 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an annotation to Michel Foucault's analysis of sexuality is presented, arguing that sexuality has become an essentially public, objectifying and therefore oppressive discourse in modernity.
Abstract: Ars erotica and the detrivialization of the sexual discourse: An annotation to Michel Foucault’s analysis of sexuality This essay is an attempt to detrivialize and depublicize the sexual discourse by reintroducing an aspect of Michel Foucault’s historiography of sexuality, namely his analysis of the intrinsic private nature of ars erotica, the classic notion of secretive eroticism. The article argues that sexuality has become an essentially public, objectifying and therefore oppressive discourse in modernity. By presenting the privatistic notion of ‘radical discretion’, it attempts to reclaim the deepest of ars erotica sentiments, namely the virtue of silence, in erotic contexts.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a distinction is made between social scientific criticism and historicaliography, and it is argued that social scientific critic can complement a historical-critical analysis, but it does not mean that historicalcritical research as such is now dismissed.
Abstract: In this article a distinction is made between social scientific criticism and historiography. Historiography describes what is unrepeatable, specific and particular. Social scientific criticism is to some extent a phenomenological approach. On a high level of abstraction, it focuses on ideal types. The historiographical quest for Jesus is about the plausibility of a continuity or a discontinuity existing between the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith. This approach has been broadened by the interdisciplinary application of the results of archaeological, sociohistorical, and cultural anthropological studies of the world of the historical Jesus. But it does not mean that historical-critical research as such is now dismissed. The aim of the article is to argue that social scientific criticism can complement a historical-critical analysis.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of 22 references to scribes in the Gospel of Matthew shows that a few of them are positive comments and that the author himself was a scribe.
Abstract: Analysis of 22 references to scribes in the Gospel of Matthew shows that a few of them are positive comments and that the author himself was a scribe. What type of scribe was he and how can we clarify his social context? By means of the models of Lenski and Kautsky, by recent research about scribes, literacy, and power, and by new marginality theory, this article extensively refines Saldarini’s hypothesis that the scribes were “retainers”. The thesis is that in “Matthew’s” Christ-believing group, his scribal profession and literacy meant power and socioreligious status. Yet, his voluntary association with Christ believers (“ideological marginality”), many of whom could not participate in social roles expected of them (“structural marginality”), led to his living between two historical traditions, languages, political loyalties, moral codes, social rankings, and ideologicalreligious sympathies (“cultural marginality”). The Matthean author’s cultural marginality will help to clarify certain well-known literary tensions in the Gospel of Matthew.
15 citations
TL;DR: Insights from psychological anthropology, cultural anthropology and cognitive neuroscience contribute to an improved understanding and interpretation of these experiences in the Bible, particularly the call of Paul as reported in Acts 9.
Abstract: Luke reports more than twenty altered states of consciousness experiences in Acts of the Apostles. These are common and normal human experiences in approximately ninety percent of contemporary cultures. In the ancient Circum-Mediterranean world, it seems to have been common and normal in about eighty percent of those cultures. Insights from psychological anthropology, cultural anthropology and cognitive neuroscience contribute to an improved understanding and interpretation of these experiences in the Bible, particularly the call of Paul as reported in Acts 9; 22; 26.
14 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce ideas originating from different sciences of mind and the challenge they present to religion, and investigate how the impact of these theories on religious experience is investigated, concluding that the phenomenon of religion and religious experience are more than mere brain functions.
Abstract: This article introduces ideas originating from different sciences of mind and the challenge they present to religion. In spite of overcoming the mind-body dualism, it seems that the mind-brain dualism still prevails. The mind-brain relation is discussed in the light of some models. Special attention is given to supervenient theories of mind. In light of this information the article investigates how the impact of these theories on religious experience. D’Aquili and Newberg’s explanation of extraordinary religious experience is discussed. It is concluded that the phenomenon of religion and religious experience are more than mere brain functions. The place of religion and the continued importance of religion and religious experience are confirmed.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors place the exegesis of relevant Bible passages within the framework of the types of literature within which the references to same-sex behaviour are found and advocate a more careful translation and reading of the relevant texts.
Abstract: Biblical testimony on homosexuality – seen from another per-spective The aim of this article is to (re)open the discussion of biblical testimony on homosexuality. The discussion focuses on the results of existing exegetical re-search. The article places the exegesis of the relevant Bible passages within the framework of the types of literature within which the references to same sex behaviour are found. Four categories of texts are usually cited by those who argue against homosexuality, namely: legal texts; narrative passages; lists or catalogues; creation reports. The case for a more careful translation and reading of the relevant texts, is advocated. A hermeneutics of suspicion and an engaged hermeneutics are needed to approach biblical testimony on homosexuality from a perspective of Jesus’ caring for those who have been wounded.
10 citations
TL;DR: The Church Father Epiphanius' description of the Tascodrugite practice of placing the forefinger on the nostril during prayer call can plausibly be interpreted as a strategy for inducing an altered state of consciousness (ASC).
Abstract: The Church Father Epiphanius' description of the Tascodrugite practice of placing the forefinger on the nostril during prayer call be plausibly interpreted as a strategy for inducing an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Anthropological and neurophysiological research on how this human gesture achieves such an effect which is a pan-human potential suggests a similar plausible interpretation for Ezekiel 8:17 and the experience of Jesus in the Garden on the night of his arrest (Luke 22:43-44).
9 citations
TL;DR: The authors pointed out that some conservative churches have misused Scripture in order to strengthen their case of condemnation of homosexuals, and challenged churches to use a pastoral approach which should lead to a healing ministering, especially to all those who are isolated and rejected.
Abstract: Globalization has brought numerous challenges to churches. Homosexuality is one of those challenges facing African churches. There has been a growing evidence of rejection, isolation, discrimination and condemnation as sub-human of homosexuals. Some conservative churches have misused Scripture in order to strengthen their case of condemnation. This article seeks to correct the misinterpretation or misuse of Scriptural passages. For example, Sodom and Gomorrah is often referred to as a passage of Scripture to justify condemnation, while this passage actually deals with judgment. Finally, the article challenges churches to use a pastoral approach which should lead to a healing ministering, especially to all of those who are isolated and rejected.
9 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that apocalypticism was the mother of all Christian theology and used the Jesus tradition behind the Gospel of Matthew for the substantiation of his argument and understood the process of marginalization in Matthew's community in light of the development between the charismatic Paul and the institutionalized Fruhkatholizismus.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to reflect on Ernst Kasemann’s dictum that apocalypticism was the mother of all Christian theology. Kasemann used the Jesus tradition behind the Gospel of Matthew for the substantiation of his argument and understood the process of marginalization in Matthew’s community in light of the development between the charismatic Paul and the institutionalized Fruhkatholizismus. This article argues for a possibility other than the conflict between charismatic law-free Jesus’ followers and apocalyptically oriented Jesus’ followers. The setting of Matthew refers to post-70 CE scribal activity and a conflict between the scribe Matthew, coming from a Jerusalem apocalyptically oriented Jesus group, and scribes who were in the process of establishing the first phase of a Pharisaic rabbinate on the border between Galilee and Syria.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The ethnocentrism revealed in this dichotomy indicates that Paul, like other Mediterraneans of his time, showed little interest in the outgroup, neither was the God of Israel as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: According to cultural anthropologists ingroup/outgroup divisions are fundamental to Mediterranean views of the world. This essay considers Paul’s ingroup/outgroup, or “we/they” perceptions. The ethnocentrism revealed in this dichotomy indicates that Paul, like other Mediterraneans of his time, showed little interest in the outgroup. Not surprisingly, neither was the God of Israel. NonIsraelites simply did not fit into the divine plan of things until non-Israelites, some centuries later, began to identify with Paul’s “we” – something Paul did not foresee.
TL;DR: Andries van Aarde as mentioned in this paper focused on Andries Van Aarde's book, "Fatherless in Galilee", which is an important contribution to the historical Jesus study in South Africa.
Abstract: Andries van Aarde’s fatherless Jesus This article focuses on Andries Van Aarde’s book, “Fatherless in Galilee”, is an important contribution to the historical Jesus study in South Africa. Van Aarde depicted Jesus as someone who grew up fatherless. For Jesus this meant a lifelong struggle against slander and the exclusion from the temple and the presence of God. Jesus nevertheless trusted God who filled Jesus’ emptiness. Jesus was baptized and then started a ministry, focusing on the outcasts of society. He preached that the kingdom of God has come and that the people of this kingdom can experience God, as well as forgiveness of sins. Jesus died but arose in the kerygma. The article also refers to the struggle of the authors of the New Testament writings to understand and express the Jesus event.
TL;DR: From late-structuralism to post-Structuralism: A contextualization of Jean-Francois Lyotard's Discours, Figure (1971) is discussed in this paper.
Abstract: From late-structuralism to post-structuralism: A contextualization of Jean-Francois Lyotard’s Discours, Figure In this article the post-structuralist legacy of French philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-1998) is being surveyed with specific regard to his first major publication, Discours, Figure (1971). The initial impact of this text on the post-structuralist debate is being explored, as well as the way in which it brought Lyotard in direct confrontation with Jacques Derrida, the then mainstream representative of (late) structuralism, with specific regard to Lyotard’s battle against the “imperialism of the text” and his own critical departure from phenomenology.
TL;DR: The authors argue that Matthew could not have intended this particular motif to be taken literally, so they propose a metaphorical sense, but some neglected evidence suggests that the evangelist did indeed intend this gruesome reference to be interpreted literally.
Abstract: The dissection of the wicked servant in Mathew 24:51 is a difficult passage to interpret. Most scholars argue that Matthew could not have intended this particular motif to be taken literally, so they propose a metaphorical sense. There are good grounds, however, to question this view. Some neglected evidence suggests that the evangelist did indeed intend this gruesome reference to be taken literally. In Matthew' s eschatological schema, wicked church leaders would be punished by dissection at the hands of angelic tormenters in Gehenna.
TL;DR: Marriage and sexuality in a postmodern society as mentioned in this paperocusing on the concepts marriage and sexuality against the background of changing paradigms, the authors argue that it is possible that aspects of recent reflections on the postmodern way of thinking can help the church and Christians to come to a more balanced appreciation of marriage and sexual relations.
Abstract: Marriage and sexuality in a postmodern society The focus of the article is on the concepts marriage and sexuality against the background of changing paradigms. It shows how perseptions on marriage and sexuality has changed as it manifested and still manifests in premodern, modern and postmodern times. The article argues that it is possible that aspects of recent reflections on the postmodern way of thinking can help the church and Christians to come to a more balanced appreciation of marriage and sexuality.
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that the use of the expression "son of man" in the Jesus tradition can be understood in the context of his subversive wisdom and the little tradition of peasants, and that this development is demonstrated by a Jesus wisdom saying about a comparison between the fate of beasts and the son of man who has nowhere to lay his head.
Abstract: The expression “son of man” in the Jesus tradition: A develop-ment from agrarian culture to a scribal context The aim of the article is to show that Jesus used the expression “son of man” generically, meaning “humankind”. This generic use developed into a “titular” usage in which his followers identified Jesus with the apocalyptic son of man. It is argued that Jesus’ use of the expression “son of man” should be understood in the context of his subversive wisdom and the “little tradition” of peasants. His followers reinterpreted this usage in terms of the “great tradition” of scribes. This development is demonstrated by means of a Jesus wisdom saying about a comparison between the fate of beasts and the son of man who has nowhere to lay his head (Q 9:58).
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe leadership from the perspective of friendship, and highlight a pastoral rather than a power oriented approach to leadership, which is compatible with an attitude of service as an essential characteristic of the church.
Abstract: The aim of the article is to describe leadership from the perspective of friendship. This perspective highlights a pastoral rather than a power oriented approach to leadership. Such an approach would be compatible with an attitude of service as an essential characteristic of the church. It could also contribute to the healing of church structures that have become entangled in power games. It could lead to the healing of women and other disempowered groups who have for centuries been the victims of the power struggles of church institutions.
TL;DR: Forbes as mentioned in this paper investigated the role of the Lukan parables in the purpose of the Bible and found that there is one unifying factor that runs like a golden thread through all the parables: a new vision of God.
Abstract: Do the parables of Luke hold the key to an understanding of the overall purpose of Luke’s Gospel? This question is pursued by Greg W Forbes (2000) in a book entitled The God of Old: The role of the Lukan parables in the purpose of Luke’s Gospel. Although the Lukan parables address a variety of subjects of a diverse nature, there is one unifying factor that runs like a golden thread through all the parables: a new vision of God. This vision seems new in-so-far as it presents a challenge to conventional Israelite perceptions regarding God at the time when the parables were written, but in fact, it is not new at all. It is a vision of the God of Old as witnessed in the Hebrew Scriptures. This article presents an overview of Forbes’ book.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the relevance of Brueggemann's work for the pastoral narrative therapeutic approach and the concept of imagination and its use in both pastoral narrative therapy and the theology of the prophet.
Abstract: Living imaginatively: Imagination in the pastoral narrative therapeutic approach and the theology of Walter Brueggemann The article focuses on the relevance of Walter Brueggemann’s work for the pastoral narrative therapeutic approach. The concept of imagination and its use in both pastoral narrative therapy and Brueggemann’s work are described. Case studies are submitted as possible descriptions of how imagination in pastoral narrative therapy can be “funded” by Brueggemann’s insights. It is followed by cursory remarks on the possible relevance of Brueggemann’s use of the concept imagination for the pastoral narrative therapeutic approach.
TL;DR: The authors argue that a comprehensive analysis of poetic features enhances the exegete's ability to appreciate the rhetoric of wisdom in Proverbs 3:1-12 and provide a framework for the complete interpretation of the text.
Abstract: Proverbs 3:1-12 is a masterful example of Hebrew poetry. Failure to consider its poetic structure, is likely to result in incomplete and even incorrect interpretation. Many recent commentaries on Proverbs recognize the poetic character of the book, and even include a section on the poetic techniques present in the book, but ignore the relevance of these techniques as far as the interpretation of the individual poems and the book in general are concerned. This article argues that a comprehensive analysis of poetic features enhances the exegete’s ability to appreciate the rhetoric of wisdom. An intratextual approach towards Proverbs 3:1-12 provides a framework for the complete interpretation of the text.
TL;DR: This paper argued that the recent scholarly consensus of an essentially gentile Thessalonian Church being persecuted by its gentile neighbours is founded on unsound premises and that the Jewish community in Thessalonians would have had good reason to oppose Paul and the congregation he formed.
Abstract: This article argues that the recent scholarly consensus of an essentially gentile Thessalonian church being persecuted by its gentile neighbours is founded on unsound premises. The Jewish community in Thessalonica would have had good reason to oppose Paul and the congregation he formed. The exegesis of key texts in 1 Thessalonians does not support the reconstruction of the church as composed of gentiles unconnected with the synagogue, and the ethnic background of the persecutors cannot be ascertained on the basis of the letter. The dismissal of Acts as a source of historical information is unwarranted.
TL;DR: In this article, education is presented as one of the important tools for the reconstruction of the South African society after the demise of apartheid, and it is postulated that Ubuntu education is the kind of education that will make the grade in the drive to achieve the goal of reconstruction.
Abstract: In this article education is presented as one of the important tools for the reconstruction of the South African society after the demise of apartheid. The kind of education that, in my opinion, will effectively achieve the reconstruction objective, is what I prefer to term “education for reconstruction”. The construct: Education for reconstruction is further developed. It is postulated that Ubuntu Education is the kind of education that will make the grade in the drive to achieve the goal of reconstruction. I focus on the best I believe the envisaged Ubuntu education can bring about. I recommend Ubuntu education which is presented as the promoter of interdependence, loving relationships, caring, mutual respect and commitment. The relation between Ubuntu and the Biblical social values is highligted and the importance thereof for education, indicated. I conclude by urging those who are responsible for the education of the country’s youth not to divorce education from responsibility. I subsequently express the conviction that, if used correctly, Ubuntu education will facilitate the smooth integration of young people into the community, church, industry and the global community.
TL;DR: The Kingdom of God in Jesus' sayings: An apocalyptic-echatological or ethical-eschatological concept? Drawing on the insights of Q research, the purpose of this article is to question the traditionally accepted position that the term "Kingdom of God" in Jesus's sayings is to be understand in terms of an apocalyptic-escchatological framework as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Kingdom of God in Jesus’ sayings: An apocalyptic-eschatological or ethical-eschatological concept? Drawing on the insights of Q research, the purpose of this article is to question the traditionally accepted position that the term “Kingdom of God” in Jesus’ sayings is to be understand in terms of an apocalyptic-eschatological framework. It argues that Jesus’ used “Kingdom of God” rather in an ethical-eschatological sense. Jesus’ reference to the Kingdom of God is understood as referring to an alternative lifestyle in the here and now of the life of Jesus’ followers. This insight is applied to the present-day situation of the church by describing Jesus’ view of the Kingdom of God as subversive wisdom which challenges many conventional practices.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the understanding of reality is based on the concepts of time and space and deconstruct them in order to communicate the quintessence of postmodernism.
Abstract: The Christian dance: The genealogy of time and space in a postmodern society The point of departure of this article is the thesis that the understanding of reality is based on the concepts of time and space. In order to communicate the quintessence of postmodernism the concepts of time and space need to be deconstructed. After a brief intermezzo with physics, the article emphasises that the perspectival dimension is not fixed but in flux. Dancing, which expresses movement, is an apt metaphor for conveying the multifaceted character of postmodernism. The Genesis 1 account of creation is read from this perspective and inversely, society is looked at from this Biblical viewpoint in terms of the relationships between God, man and nature. The article concludes with an insight from Jean Baudrillard that simulations are not imitations of reality, but a widespread cultural condition and not an “event” restricted to particular technology.
TL;DR: In this article, a new beginning of people's lives brought about by the Jubilee can happen anywhere (not only in the temple) and at any time, and not only once a year for Yom ha- kippurim.
Abstract: Sacrifice generally aims at obtaining from and by supernatural force the right to exercise control over life. As far as Jewish sacrifices are concerned, according to Leviticus, victims’ blood serves to purify the holy places of the temple and no sacrifices can expiate voluntary sins. In Mt 6:12 God’s forgiveness is obtained through a trilateral relationship between the sinner, the “debtor”, and God, without any expiatory sacrificial act being required. Jesus did not, however, reject the sacrificial rituals of the temple, those rituals that did not serve to expiate voluntary sins. In Jesus’ proposal, the forgiveness by one individual of another implies a social conception, which includes the absence of debt, reconciliation, justice and equality. Jesus transforms and relocates two aspects of the religion of the Second Temple. In his conception, the forgiveness of sins and a new beginning of people’s lives brought about by the Jubilee can happen anywhere (not only in the temple) and at any time (not only once a year for Yom ha- kippurim).
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that critical dialogue and mutual respect must exist between archaeology and biblical studies, and that the interpretation of the book of Exodus is inevitably an interdisciplinary endeavor and archaeology is an academic discipline that must be part of the critical dialogue with biblical exegesis.
Abstract: The interpretation of the book of Exodus is used as an example of the different ways in which archaeological discoveries influenced the course of biblical exegesis. Special emphasis will be placed on matters such as the Amarna letters and the Habiru, Merneptah Stele and the date of the Exodus and the Egyptian background of the Exodus. In conclusion it will be argued that critical dialogue and mutual respect must exist between archaeology and biblical studies. The theological interpretation of biblical texts is inevitably an interdisciplinary endeavor and archaeology is an academic discipline that must be part of the critical dialogue with biblical exegesis.
TL;DR: In this article, the deconstruction of traditional problem realities is discussed from a post-modern epistemological perspective, focusing on four pastoral-therapeutic processes and the stories told as part of those processes.
Abstract: Deconstruction of traditional problem realities: A narrative-pastoral perspective This article serves as an introduction to qualitative narrative research from a postmodern epistemological perspective. The research is directed at four pastoral-therapeutic processes and the stories told as part of those processes. Special focus is placed on the construction and deconstruction of problems in the fields of action: authority; typification; institutionalization. Perspectives regarding narrative, social constructionism, deconstruction and post-modern theology, are explained. The article positions itself in the practical research-processes.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that identifying a social type is a matter of social analysis and not of merely labelling pre-established "authentic" parts of the tradition.
Abstract: A historical-anthropological approach to the study of the historical Jesus sets its own research agenda, starting with the research problem : to establish Jesus' identity as a historical figure. The interpretive style used to deal with such a figure is a cable-like process which accepts that the social type he belonged to, the stories about him, the setting within which he operated and his personal profile are configurations of each another. For example, when trying to understand the sources, the dynamics of the social type within a specific setting has to be taken into account. It is argued that identifying a social type is a matter of social analysis and not of merely labelling pre-established "authentic" parts of the tradition. If a social type is identified about whom stories such as those about Jesus are told, it is highly likely that Jesus could have been such a figure. This approach is used as a yardstick to evaluate the effectiveness of historical critical approaches (the Jesus Seminar and the third quest) in dealing with a figure from a distant historical and cultural setting. It is shown that neither of these approaches with their rationalist presuppositions and interpretive styles is very useful in understanding across cultural barriers.