Showing papers in "Hts Teologiese Studies-theological Studies in 2019"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at the role of the Church in the formation and up-keeping of gender inequality, and how it shaped and constrained gender equality through a stereotypical lens.
Abstract: This article aims to look at the church’s role in the formation and up-keeping of gender inequality, and how it shaped and constrained gender equality through a stereotypical lens. Harmful and traditional cultural practices contribute to women’s suffering and often result in violence in the patriarchal context. This caused women to renegotiate their identities amidst the church’s views on women and their accepted social roles. Secondly, focus will be placed on gender inequality in the African context. Lastly, I will argue that the church has to confront its views on gender inequality and how it can sanction women’s equality, whereafter I will propose a metaphor for the church as the tree of gender equality.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the cues-filtered-out approach and the social presence theory with a literature review to get some clarity on the above question, and the outcome was that in today's world people have to use CMC, but for meaningful interpersonal communication, they should try to combine it with face-to-face interaction.
Abstract: As digital tools and social networks became the main mode of interaction for many people, interpersonal communication has changed. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has become more important than face-to-face communication in many contexts. Younger generations prefer CMC. Personal interaction normally consists of verbal and non-verbal communication. Computer-mediated communication lacks traditional non-verbal cues, which may cause misunderstandings, influencing meaningful interpersonal communication. Because of a lack of face-to-face communication, people often present an idealised version of themselves, thus becoming less inhibited involving more inappropriate self-disclosure on, for instance, social networks. The research question for this literature review was whether communicating with others mainly through digital means without adequate non-verbal cues would influence meaningful interaction between people. This study used the cues-filtered-out approach and the social presence theory with a literature review to get some clarity on the above question. The premise of the author was that because of the lack of non-verbal cues, CMC messages could influence the understanding of emotions and attitudes, thus compromising meaningful communication and personal understanding of the other. The outcome was that in today’s world people have to use CMC, but for meaningful interpersonal communication, they should try to combine it with face-to-face interaction.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a critical engagement on the practice of Pentecostal prophecy in Southern Africa is presented, where the author suggests a prophecy of salvation, prophecy of love, prophet of humility, and approved prophecy as a remedy for bizarre practices of Pentechostal prophecies in southern Africa.
Abstract: This article is a critical engagement on the practice of Pentecostal prophecy in Southern Africa. Pentecostal prophecy is widely practiced in Southern Africa and other parts of the African continent, especially West Africa, in countries like Ghana and Nigeria. The phenomenon is related to divination in African Traditional Religions. The practices of Pentecostal prophecy in Southern Africa include forensic prophecy, prophetic titles, prophetic objects, prophetic consultation and prophetic miracles. This article critically engages these practices and reimagines the practice of Pentecostal prophecy in Southern Africa. The article suggests a prophecy of salvation, prophecy of love, prophecy of humility and approved prophecy as a remedy for bizarre practices of Pentecostal prophecy in Southern Africa.
19 citations
TL;DR: The South African National Research Foundation and of the School of Theology and Culture, Tabor College, Adelaide as mentioned in this paper have contributed to the study of the effects of racism on the South African economy.
Abstract: The South
African National Research Foundation and of the School of
Ministry, Theology and Culture, Tabor College, Adelaide.
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that healing stories in the Jesus tradition should be understood as exorcisms, even if the concept of demonisation does not occur in the narrative, and that Jesus' revolutionary acts were not deeds of a medical doctor, but rather the healing activity of a faith healer who empowered traumatised people by creating safe space for them within a quasi-fictive kinship network.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to argue that healing stories in the Jesus tradition should be understood as exorcisms, even if the concept of demonisation does not occur in the narrative. In the theistic and mythological context of the 1st-century Graeco-Roman religious and political world, external forces responsible for social imbalances pertain to the demonisation of body and spirit. Medical cure was also embedded in the same biopolitical setting. The article describes aspects of this biopolitics and the role of ancient physicians. However, Jesus’ revolutionary acts were not deeds of a medical doctor, but ought to be understood as the healing activity of a faith healer who empowered traumatised people by creating safe space for them within a quasi-fictive kinship network. The article concludes with an application of the dialectic notion ‘ Christus medicus – Christus patiens’ in the life of the present-day network of Jesus-followers.
17 citations
TL;DR: This article conducted a literature study on the subject of hermeneutics of African Indigenous Churches (AICs), neo-Pentecostalism and mission Pentecostals.
Abstract: The idea for this article was developed in ecumenical discussion regarding the worrisome developments in some neo-Pentecostal ministries where stories of snake-eating, petrol-drinking, false prophecies and so on were being alleged. A burning question during the discussion was: what is it with the hermeneutic of experience that makes it possible for such stories to arise? Furthermore, how can this situation be remedied? The researchers set to answer this question by conducting a literature study on the subject of hermeneutics of African Indigenous Churches (AICs), neo-Pentecostalism and Mission Pentecostalism. The inclusion of AICs and Mission Pentecostalism follows the scholarly consensus led by Allan Anderson in which all three together constitute African Pentecostalism. This article offers a critical reflection on the corrosive role of fundamentalist-inspired exclusivism, judgementalism and pride, which feed ignorance of the basic oneness of African Pentecostal Christianity. It concludes that abuse abounds in the divisions and maintenance of the above-mentioned fundamentalist attitudes and raises the necessity of creating awareness of belonging to one community. This community’s historical experience of the activity of the Spirit and Scripture may serve as critical input into its hermeneutic, hopefully lessening if not eradicating abuse.
13 citations
13 citations
TL;DR: This article explored Ethiopianism as a derivate of the multifaceted narrative of Ethiopian religious political dynamics and found that Ethiopianism was possibly a convolution of the Donatist biblical appeal to the nativity, Judaic apocalypticism, Islamic attacks and Jesuit missionary diplomacy.
Abstract: Ethiopianism conceptually shaped modern Africa. Perceivably, this has been deduced from distinguished events in Ethiopian history. This investigation explored Ethiopianism as a derivate of the multifaceted narrative of Ethiopian religious political dynamics. Ethiopianism has arguably been detached from the entirety of the Ethiopian Christian political establishment, being deduced separately from definitive events such as the Battle of Adwa 1896. This research reconnected Ethiopianism to a wholistic religious–political matrix of Ethiopia. Therefore, it offers an alternative interpretation of Ethiopianism, as a derivate of Africanism and Apocalypticism, also correspondingly as a factor of Islamic Jihad and Jesuit Catholicism. The research was accomplished mainly through document analysis and compositely with cultural historiography. This study was a revisionist approach to Ethiopianism as a concept, deriving it from the chronological narrative of Ethiopian Christianity’s religious and political self-definition. Consequently, this realigned Ethiopianism as a derivate of multiple influences. Ethiopianism was possibly a convolution of the Donatist biblical appeal to the nativity, Judaic apocalypticism, Islamic attacks and Jesuit missionary diplomacy. Throughout the narrative of the Ethiopian Christian establishment, autonomy and independence are traceable; in addition, there is an entrenched enculturation of native Christianity and synergy with the political establishment. This formulates a basis for Ethiopianism as an ideology of African magnanimity. Parallel comparisons of Ethiopianism against Donatism and Zionism decode the nationalistic matrix of Ethiopia. Dually encultured native religious practice coupled with theocratic symbiosis of politics and religion fostered resistance from Islamisation and Jesuit Catholicisation. Further enquiry of Ethiopian Christianity as an index of the Ethiopian political establishment, from which Ethiopianism is derived, is qualified.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a framework for integrating a spiritual dimension into the design and practice of impact evaluation by using the concept of integral human development (IHD) is proposed, which is a perspective on human development that integrates the material and spiritual, recognises the interdependence between humans and their environment or territory and demands change at both the individual and collective levels.
Abstract: The importance of the spiritual dimension in the lives of people living in conditions of poverty and social exclusion and the often-critical role of faith-based organisations has gained increasing relevance in development research and practice. A growing line of research focuses on how to integrate the faith dimension into the evaluation of social programmes and on quantifying the effects of faith. The objective of this article is to propose a framework for integrating a spiritual dimension into the design and practice of impact evaluation by using the concept of integral human development (IHD). Integral human development emerged within the Catholic social tradition, but is not specific to it. It is a perspective on human development that integrates the material and spiritual, recognises the interdependence between humans and their environment or territory and demands change at both the individual and collective levels. This framework is then applied to the design of an impact evaluation of a faith-based programme that accompanies people with drug and alcohol addictions in Argentina. The article highlights the following characteristics of an integral impact evaluation: the interaction between multiple well-being dimensions; the use of knowledge and methods of analysis from multiple disciplines; the importance of understanding the diverse pathways to improvements in well-being; the assessment of the spiritual dimension through changes in one’s relationships with oneself, others and the environment; and the importance of assessing personal change within the context of social and community transformation.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the special collection, "Faith-Based and Urban Regeneration: A Special Collection, ‘Faith-based and urban regeneration’, and Selena Headley is participating in the research project, "faith in the city" directed by Dr Stephan de Beer, member of the Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion and director of the Centre for Contextual Ministry, University of Pretoria.
Abstract: Description: This research is part of the Special Collection, ‘Faith-based and urban regeneration’, and Selena Headley is participating in the research project, ‘Faith in the City’, directed by Dr Stephan de Beer, member of the Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion and director of the Centre for Contextual Ministry, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a method to solve the problem of homonymity of homophily in the context of homomorphic data, and no abstracts are available.
Abstract: No abstract available.
TL;DR: In this article, the issue of disparity in funding mission practices between the African church and its mother church, the Western church, was analyzed and a critical analysis of different arguments and reports from different authors was used to draw the main conclusions and identify the central reason of the disparity and provide recommendations for the two churches.
Abstract: The African church has the most growing figures compared to the west and yet it contributes the least to world missions. This article analyses the issue of disparity in funding mission practices between the African church and its mother church, the Western church. It then explores reasons behind the African church’s struggles to support missions and identifies opportunities for world missions to which the eastern Congolese church is exposed. A critical analysis of different arguments and reports from different authors was used to draw the main conclusions and, therefore, identify the central reason of the disparity and provide recommendations for the two churches. The paper suggests how scholars and the church should rethink mission, missions and money in Eastern Congo.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explain why it is important for theologians to involve children in empirical research, and why children themselves can and should be considered as "theologians".
Abstract: In this article, I explain why it is important for theologians to involve children in empirical research, and why children themselves can and should be considered as ‘theologians’. Therefore, I refer to theories in childhood studies and child theology (children as active participants and subjects), and also to contemporary trends in empirical research and practical theology (views on theology and ethnography, lived religion etc.). Counter-arguments for involving children in empirical research are discussed as well. In the second step, I deal with ethical issues and discuss which aspects have to be taken into account when doing research with children.
TL;DR: The influence of the emperor in the formation of early Christianity has been investigated in the form of a revisionist enquiry by Leithart and Barnes as discussed by the authors, who deduced that the function of imperial intervention should be analysed in conjunction with diverse factors characterising the Christianity emergent at Nicaea, particularly ecclesiastical polities.
Abstract: Fourth-century Christianity and the Council of Nicaea have continually been read as a Constantinian narrative. The dominancy of imperial Christianity has been a consequent feature of the established narrative regarding the events within early Christianity. There is a case for a revisionist enquiry regarding the influence of the emperor in the formation of orthodoxy. The role of bishops and its political characterisation had definitive implications upon Christianity as it would seem. Recent revisions on Constantine by Leithart and Barnes incited the enquiry. The enquiry was made possible through document analysis; this mainly took the form of a literature study. The orthodoxy that emerged at Nicaea in 325 CE was reflective of the political–orthodoxy trajectory that Christianity took beyond the 4th century. Between imperial intervention and clerical polities, one was a definitive dynamic to the then emergent Christianity. The influence of the emperor, which was an apparently definitive feature characterising the era, was compositely relevant as a catalyst in the formation of the Christianity that emerged during the 4th century. The implication that centuries before the Council of Nicaea Christianity had been characterised by significant phases of socio-cultural dynamics relegates the influence of the emperor. The emperor Constantine and his association with the Council of Nicaea characterised an era of imperial ecclesiastical politics in Christianity, and so did the Jewish–Christian Schism and a monarchical episcopate that shaped the orthodox matrix of the church. This research deduced that the function of imperial intervention should be analysed in conjunction with diverse factors characterising the Christianity emergent at Nicaea, particularly ecclesiastical polities.
TL;DR: This article found that feeling types found the whole tone of the passage uncomfortable and unsettling, while thinking types identified more readily with the Matthean strategy, consistent with psychological type theory and with the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics.
Abstract: Matthew 18:15–18 proposed a disciplined strategy for dealing with disputes within the Matthean emerging Christian community. The present study was designed to test the theory, proposed by the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics, that reader interpretation of this strategy is influenced by the individual readers’ psychological type preferences. Participants attending two conferences in 2017 reflected on this strategy, working in groups that distinguished between feeling types and thinking types: 15 biblical scholars at the Summer School of the Urban Theology Unit, and 22 curates and training incumbents at a 3-day residential programme. Consistent with psychological type theory and with the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics, the feeling types found the whole tone of the passage uncomfortable and unsettling. The thinking types identified more readily with the Matthean strategy. These findings add weight to the reader perspective approach to the interpretation of scripture that takes the psychological type profile of the reader into account.
TL;DR: This article used the African communal concept of ubuntu to reflect on the ministry of Mashoko Christian Hospital (MCH), Zimbabwe, to people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS (PLWHA) during the early days since the discovery of the disease.
Abstract: This article uses the African communal concept of ubuntu to reflect on the ministry of Mashoko Christian Hospital (MCH), Zimbabwe, to people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS (PLWHA) during the early days since the discovery of the disease. The main question this article seeks to answer is: from a perspective of the African philosophy of ubuntu, how did the ministry of MCH to PLWHA challenge the fear and judgemental attitudes towards the disease within the Churches of Christ in Zimbabwe? This leads to another question: what should the churches learn from MCH’s response to HIV and AIDS? This article only focusses on trends in conduct and not on a detailed history of engaging HIV and AIDS. The significance of this article is to demonstrate the important role played by faith-based organisations (FBOs) in complementing the compassion and care often lacking in the official churches’ response to HIV and AIDS.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate how the Anglophone problem in Cameroon might be brought to bear upon the African theological debate by examining issues of violence, marginalisation and fragmentation within the two English-speaking areas of Cameroon.
Abstract: The last 3 years have witnessed a period of substantial volatility in Cameroon. In 2016, protests within the minority Anglophone regions against the obligatory use of French in schools triggered a period of considerable unrest, in which hundreds of people have been incarcerated and killed. Following an increased security presence in the English-speaking regions, armed groups have surfaced calling for secession – the creation of an independent nation of Ambazonia. In view of this escalating crisis, this article will investigate how the ‘Anglophone problem’ in Cameroon might be brought to bear upon the African theological debate by examining issues of violence, marginalisation and fragmentation within the two English-speaking areas of Cameroon.
TL;DR: This paper examined the issue of the "foreigner in our midst" and approached the problem from an Old Testament perspective, concluding that both groups, the exclusivists and the inclusivists share the same religious convictions, namely the worship of YHWH, the God of Israel.
Abstract: On account of xenophobia, which seems to be a worldwide phenomenon, this article examines the issue of the ‘foreigner in our midst’ and approaches the problem from an Old Testament perspective. Firstly an overview is given on the concepts of ethnicity and group identity, and then two opposing groups of texts are briefly analysed: those that convey an exclusivist attitude and those that are more open and inclusive in their outlook. Consequently, the contexts in which these texts originated are examined. It appears that both groups, the exclusivists and the inclusivists, share the same religious convictions, namely the worship of YHWH, the God of Israel. The article concludes by urging caution when using the Bible in order to address complex social and political issues in contemporary societies.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of online learning theories and models is presented, focusing on how the teaching of formational learning skills can be successfully incorporated into this educational setting, where meaningful interactions between the learner and teacher take place.
Abstract: Distance education (DE) has a long and complex history. It accounts for more than one-third of all higher education students in the world and, because of its very nature, has produced some of the top graduates worldwide who were unable to study fulltime and on-campus for various reasons. One of the most prestigious graduates of the DE system was the former state president of South Africa, the late Nelson Mandela. Online learning is a form of DE and fast becoming the preferred method of instruction and delivery. Critiques of online learning, and of DE itself, will argue that, because of the separation of the teacher and the student, only academic skills can be taught and learnt using this medium. The so-called ‘softer skills’ – those that focus on the development of the person – are best taught in a face-to-face, traditional environment. This article focuses on a review of DE theories and models. A particular emphasis is placed on online learning theories, and how the teaching of formational learning skills can be successfully incorporated into this educational setting. The article draws from a range of studies that have been conducted, based on conceptual and empirical research evidence from various authors. Drawing from Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s Community of Inquiry framework for online education, it presents key elements that relate to the formational (spiritual) training of theology students. The article examines research that both supports and cautions against online learning for formative development. It concludes by suggesting a blended model of both face-to-face and online learning, where meaningful interactions between the learner and teacher take place, is desirable. The article highlights the important role that DE (and specifically online education) can play in developing the human component of education.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the oral submissions of civil organisations to the Joint Constitutional Review Committee (04-07 September 2018) about the issue of land expropriation without compensation.
Abstract: Ownership is an important identity marker. It provides people with a sense of autonomy, rootedness and opportunity. This essay examines the oral submissions of civil organisations to the Joint Constitutional Review Committee (04–07 September 2018) about the issue of land expropriation without compensation. The discussion pays specific attention to the philosophical understandings of land and identity that emerged during the hearings. Three dominant trajectories came into play, namely land as commodity, land as social space and land as spiritual inheritance. Some submissions espoused more than one view, which indicates that the boundaries between the identified paradigms are permeable. However, even those presentations tended to prioritise one approach above the others. Besides identifying the main approaches to land and identity, this essay also provides an immanent critique of their moral assumptions. In contrast to a transcendental approach, an immanent critique asks questions from ‘within’ and evaluates paradigms in terms of their plausibility, universal applicability, ethical consistency and moral integrity.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the practical advice given by Martin Luther to congregants who joined the Reformation, and emphasise the importance of the Rogationtide sermons on the second petition of the Lord's Prayer.
Abstract: Martin Luther and prayer. For decades, not many theologians published on the theme of prayer. The philosophical critique on religion is one reason. A sensible thing to do in times of uncertainty and disorientation is to fall back on the advice of theologians of name who guided the church in the past. Martin Luther is one such theologian. He was a theologian of prayer. Prayer was a pivotal element in his understanding of spirituality. It was also a constitutive factor for his theology. In Luther, we find a respected and reliable teacher on Christian prayer. Luther himself prayed often in the privacy of his home and in public spaces. His life is an example of a praying Christian. He left behind many sermons and publications on prayer. The research on Luther’s theology of prayer is vast. Unfortunately, we have no publications on Luther and prayer in Afrikaans. This is hopefully the first of many to come. The article concentrates on Luther’s practical advice regarding prayer to congregants who joined the Reformation. The advice could also be useful to the South African community that is becoming more and more secularised. In the second part of the article, his theology of prayer is discussed and his Rogationtide sermons are emphasised. His introductions and theology on, especially, John 16 receive attention. Thirdly, as an example of his expositions on prayer, we look at the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer. The relationship between the kingdom and the church is explained.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that enhanced partnership between local congregations and Christian development organisations has the potential to facilitate holistic congregational praxis, and explore the findings of the ‘Faith Matters' study with regard to the relationship between local churches and development organisations and seek to make recommendations for ways in which this partnership could be strengthened.
Abstract: Central to the argument of this article is the view that enhanced partnership between local congregations and Christian development organisations has the potential to facilitate holistic congregational praxis. In most cases, these entities of the church are found in the same locality, and therefore, need to define how they can together play a bigger and meaningful role in the transformation of their community. Bound by their faith mandate, working together as partners as opposed to competing with each other, they will find strength in each other and portray a good image of the Christian community in society. Guided by partnership ethos of trust, equality and mutual respect, they can both play a leading role in the nation-building project of South Africa. The article therefore explores the findings of the ‘Faith Matters’ study with regard to the relationship between local congregations and Christian development organisations and seeks to make recommendations with regard to ways in which this partnership could be strengthened.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on an aspect of the empirical findings of a South African study and explore both the way in which Christian FBOs understand their Christian identity and how they articulate this through their use of scripture as a motivating or an envisioning tool.
Abstract: Faith-based Organisations (FBOs) have been at the forefront of a growing interest of the intersection between religion and development. Their value has been recognised as both pragmatic (such as reaching the poorest at the grassroots level and encouraging civil society and advocacy) and, perhaps more contentiously, also ‘spiritual’ in nature because of advantages arising from faith itself (such as hope, meaning, purpose and transcendental power). For many FBOs, religion is far more than an ‘essential component of identity … it is a source of well-being’. In this manner, FBOs challenge the modernist assumptions of traditional development theory, which view the spiritual and physical domains as separate. In fact, for some FBOs, ‘spiritual faith provides the fuel for action’. This paper reports on an aspect of the empirical findings of a South African study and explores both the way in which Christian FBOs understand their Christian identity and the way in which they articulate this through their use of scripture as a motivating or an envisioning tool.
TL;DR: In this paper, the meaning of the concept of vicarious suffering, its presence in the Old Testament, as well as its usefulness as a heuristic term in the study of the old Testament account of suffering is discussed.
Abstract: The concept of vicarious suffering has been used to describe some form(s) of suffering in the Old Testament. The use of this concept has, however, been a source of much debate and controversy. In this article, the meaning of the concept of vicarious suffering, its presence in the Old Testament, as well as its ‘appropriateness’ and usefulness as a heuristic term in the study of the Old Testament account of suffering is discussed. Vicarious suffering is defined as ‘suffering in place of and for the benefit of others’. The study establishes that while a number of terms and practices in the Old Testament express the idea of vicariousness, the concept of vicarious suffering finds its fullest and dramatic expression in Isaiah 52:13–53:12. Therefore, the article concludes by proposing that the concept of vicarious suffering is present in the Old Testament, particularly in Isaiah 52:13–53:12, and that it continues to be an appropriate and useful heuristic concept in the study of the issue of suffering in the Old Testament.
TL;DR: In this paper, a method called "hermeneutics of appropriation" is proposed as a thematic approach of a scientific research. But the method is not the same as "appropriation", whereas appropriation depicts an idea of adoption.
Abstract: This study attempts to promulgate a method called ‘hermeneutics of appropriation’ as a thematic approach of a scientific research. ‘Hermeneutics’ is not the same as ‘appropriation’; hermeneutics refers to a science of interpretation, whereas appropriation depicts an idea of adoption. Hermeneutics of appropriation employs themes (hence, thematic analysis) as opposed to contextual biblical hermeneutics that focuses largely on contemporary interpretation of biblical narratives. Thus, adopting the phrase ‘hermeneutics of appropriation’ presents the idea of a scientific interpretation of a theme that is applied in a differing context from which it originated. The present study aims at highlighting some dynamics that illustrate contextual biblical interpretation as a biased approach. Having presented such dynamics, the study will then suggest the employment of hermeneutics of appropriation in which relevant themes from the biblical text are utilised in a hermeneutical discourse. A dialogue with various previous contributions that conferred on contextual biblical hermeneutics will illuminate the above notion. With regard to hermeneutics of appropriation, representative examples of themes from the Judean postexilic context to be appropriated in the Zimbabwean postcolonial discourse comprises of two aspects: (1) geopolitical and socioeconomic crises and (2) Nehemiah’s social justice reforms. The latter consists of five subthemes: public hearing to rebuke the leadership, condemnation of usury, payment of tax, return of personal property to the owner and food donation to the needy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce the neologism "odegeology" to encompass theological discussion concerning divine guidance, a significant issue for spiritual formation and discipleship in the church.
Abstract: This article introduces the neologism ‘odegeology’ to encompass theological discussion concerning divine guidance, a significant issue for spiritual formation and discipleship in the church. Jesus’ promise of power and his commission to be witnesses in Acts 1:8 establish the theme for the book called Praxeis in the Greek text. Acts is replete with examples of guidance for completing that mission, particularly in the ministries of Peter and Paul. Can Paul’s experiences with guidance, whether natural or supernatural, be considered a matter of praxis for Christians today? In answering that question, this study will use Paul’s missionary journeys in Acts as a heuristic model for decision-making. The article will discuss the place of divine guidance in publications by Pentecostal/charismatic publishers and whether it is a subject addressed in the faculties of practical theology in their theological schools. The article closes with a discussion whether odegeology as practised in Acts should be normative for Christians today.
TL;DR: The authors argue that missional hermeneutic is an excellent starting point for decolonial African theology and argue that decolonised African theology must confront issues of biblical hermemeutics.
Abstract: The wide acceptance and maturation of the theology of missio Dei is the most important development in the theology of mission in recent times. It introduced a radically new understanding of mission and theology, and flowing from that a re-appropriation of ecclesiology. Mission studies are also characterised by a new appreciation of mission from the margins: liberation theology and the associated discourses on decoloniality, deep engagement in contextuality and the explosion of missional ecclesiology (missional church). This apostolic orientation of the church is of the utmost importance in the reflection on the future of theology. This research attends to the postcolonial discourse as an important critique of colonialism and understands the emancipation of Africanised or decolonised theological education as an inevitable and positive development. Contextual sensitivity, attention to diverse power structures and a predisposition to appreciate diversity open imaginative possibilities for theological education. This leads to the argument that decolonial African theology must confront issues of biblical hermeneutics. The proposal of this research is that missional hermeneutic is an excellent starting point. It describes the contours of a missional hermeneutic, attending to mission as central to the Biblical story, the meaning of mission and the conviction that reading Scriptures constitutes an essential part of missional praxis. Missional hermeneutic is a centring vision and purpose for theological education. The argument is for a missional curriculum that defines a centre that unifies the various disciplines, one that places mission and missiology at the heart of theological education.
TL;DR: In this article, a discussion of Schleiermacher's doctrine of justification is introduced by calling attention to some more recent attempts to re-read Schlemacher in a way that at least complicates the view of him as standing antithetic towards the classical Reformed understanding of grace.
Abstract: Against the backdrop of the resistance against Schleiermacher’s theology in Reformed theological circles in South Africa, this article poses the question as to whether Schleiermacher’s theology can be brought into a constructive conversation with the views often associated with a Reformed understanding of God’s grace. With this in mind, this article takes a closer look at Schleiermacher’s exposition of the theme of justification in his Christian faith . This discussion of Schleiermacher’s doctrine of justification is introduced by calling attention to some more recent attempts to re-read Schleiermacher in a way that at least complicates the view of him as standing antithetic towards the classical Reformed understanding of grace. Drawing on Schleiermacher’s main thesis on justification, this article proposes that Schleiermacher’s thought in this regard is historically and theologically significant for an attempt to bring the doctrine of justification in conversation with the notion of divine recognition.
TL;DR: In this paper, the author was the former Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and has been engaged in this research project over the last 5 years as the Faculty was under severe review as to its composition and ultimately its very future.
Abstract: In this article, the author engages with the question ‘what is so theological about theological education’, which he calls the genealogy of theology. This matter is approached from a very specific vantage point as the author was the former Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and has been engaged in this research project over the last 5 years as the Faculty was under severe review as to its composition and ultimately its very future. This article endeavours to bring to the surface the underlying theology of the author and the paradigm he is operating from. It concludes with a definition of theology as he sees it, but with the explicit qualification of it being situated at a research-intensive university competing for a notable position on the ranking indexes of world universities. A new niche is thus opening up for theology ( vis-a-vis a seminary or even a Christian university), namely, a ‘scholarly endeavour of believers in the public sphere in order to inquire into a multi-dimensional reality in a manner that matters’.
TL;DR: The Pan-Orthodox Council of Crete remains an important meeting that influenced the history of Orthodoxy and shifted its conception to the world as mentioned in this paper, and the relevance of some of the topics discussed there explains why it can be found inside the important theological journals from the entire world chronicles of the event.
Abstract: An important moment in the history of the Orthodox Church is despite the withdrawal of local churches like the Bulgarian, Russian, Georgian and Alexandrian ones and the fear of Serbian Church to take part in it, the Pan-Orthodox Council of Crete remains an important meeting that influenced the history of Orthodoxy and shifted its conception to the world. The relevance of some of the topics discussed there explains why it can be found inside the important theological journals from the entire world chronicles of the event and articles dedicated to some of the topics investigated. Noticing this fact, we have tried to see the way the social thinking of the Orthodox Church is reflected in the documents released by the participants and its encyclical letter. Because of the fact that, until today, only the Russian Orthodox Church has a document that defines in an articulate way its social thinking and this one was published in 2002, when many challenges were not present in society, the ideas presented there are not only important for their relevance and actuality (because there are approached topics like fundamentalism, terrorism, nuclear weapons, family crisis, persecution of Christians of migration crisis), but also for the fact that they became the official document that articulates the landmarks of social thinking of the Eastern Orthodox Church, seen as a federation of local churches that are in Eucharistic and doctrinaire communion. Therefore, we have tried to see how the bishops presented to the Pan-Orthodox meeting, the way they understood and approached these topics and what represented the motivations of their conclusions.