scholarly journals Die aktiwiteit van die belydende GKSAvrouelidmaat tydens die erediens

2002 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Van Helden
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Worship Services ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Hands And Feet

The activity of the female communicant during worship services in the Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA) This article is a report of research done on how a female communicant in the GKSA can be active in Christ while certain traditions tie her tongue, hands and feet. By attempting to outline the internal and external activity of female communicants during worship, this article attempts to determine empirically the extent to which current church practice is Scriptural within The Reformed tradition. Definite and specific tendencies regarding the nature of female ministerial empowerment in the churches have been noticed. Suggestions concerning expanding the involvement by women during worship services have also been indicated. A possible response to the questions raised in this regard depends on the attitude and willingness of the GKSA to correct inhibiting and unbiblical traditions and to reform according to the essence of the Bible. Real reformation is the only way to ensure that a Reformed scriptural approach towards female Christians will be practised in future – an approach that will enable female members to participate fully in worship services.

scholarly journals Probleme rondom die Bybel in die gereformeerde teologie: besinning vanuit ’n Christelike filosofie

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
The Bible ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Way

Problems with the Bible in reformed theology: reflections from a Christian philosophical perspective The motivation for undertaking this investigation is the present tension in the reformed theology and in the reformed churches in South Africa. In spite of the fact that the reformed tradition confesses the authority of the Bible, theologians and church leaders are at the moment divided on how to view and interpret the Scriptures. They disagree about the message of God’s Word in the case of topical issues, for instance whether women should be allowed in ecclesiastical offices or on what the Bible has to say about homosexuality. The author is of the opinion that these tensions in the same church are caused, not only by different methods of interpreting the Bible but, at a much deeper level, also by the way in which one views the Bible according to different worldviews. In trying to resolve these problems and the resulting conflict of opinion, a Christian philosophical approach will be taken instead of the current theological efforts.

scholarly journals Messiasverwagting en prediking uit die Ou Testament

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. F. Herrie Van Rooy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Related Matter ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Relationship

Messianic expectation and preaching from the Old Testament In the recent past the issue of the Messiah in the Old Testament received a considerable amount of attention in South Africa, especially in the circles of the Gereformeerde Kerke van Suid-Afrika (the Reformed Churches of South Africa). The debate focused on the question regarding the Messiah in the Psalms, due to the new version of the Psalter in Afrikaans, published in 2001. Similar questions were asked concerning the New Afrikaans translation of the Bible (1983). This matter is related to the whole issue regarding the relationship between the Old and the New Testament. This article deals with a related matter, viz. the matter of Christological preaching from the Old Testament. Once it has described the background of the problem, it formulates some important principles and illustrates the application of the principles through the discussion of four examples from the book of Haggai.

scholarly journals Enkele aspekte met betrekking tot die gereformeerde erediens en kerklied in ’n multikulturele Suid-Afrika

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Smit
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Worship Service ◽  
Worship Services ◽  
The World ◽  
Multicultural Context ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Specific Culture ◽  
The Church ◽  
Reformed Worship

A few aspects regarding the reformed worship service and liturgical song in a multicultural South Africa Worship originates within a specific culture. Because cultures are constantly changing and developing, the church also has to deal with change in its worship services. In postapartheid South Africa, with its variety of cultures, the reformed churches will increasingly have to take cognisance of the realities and issues brought about by its multicultural context. When focusing in this regard on one of the important acts in reformed worship, namely the liturgical song, some fascinating issues present themselves. It shows that the reformed churches in South Africa are indeed facing exceptional challenges. In the liturgical song God affords his church the perfect gift with which these challenges can be met. If handled in the Biblical way, the reality of a multicultural context becomes an opportunity to witness to the world the forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus Christ.

scholarly journals Die tydgerigtheid van die Bybel en die etiek van Bybellees: respons op die artikel van Gerrie Snyman

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fika J. Van Rensburg
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Biblical Text ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Reformed Churches

The time-orientedness of the Bible, and reading the Bible ethically: response to the article by Gerrie Snyman The Editorial Board of “In die Skriflig” has requested Prof. Fika J. van Rensburg to respond to the article by Prof. Gerrie Snyman (“Homosexuality and time-orientedness: an ethic of reading the Bible?”; p. 715-744 in this edition). Prof. Snyman is critical of the discourse on homosexuality in the Reformed Churches in South Africa, as i.a. verbalised by Prof. Van Rensburg’s view that the pronouncement of the Biblical text on homosexuality is a matter of principle and not a cultural prescription bounded by time. Snyman (2006:718) is of the opinion that the criteria Van Rensburg uses to establish whether Scripture portions are time orientated and/or time bound, have no logic to it, but that it reveals clear ideological preferences. In his response Prof. Van Rensburg does not respond to Snyman’s argument point by point, but gives a systematic presentation of how he would like to see Reformed theologians establish whether a Scripture portion is time- oriented or time-bound. This he does methodologically and theoretically, as well as practically, at each point indicating how he agrees with or differs from Snyman.

scholarly journals Liberating reformed theology, social-embedded economics, and the white Afrikaans Reformed Churches

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Pieters
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Privileged Position ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Economic Paradigm ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Conventional Paradigm

In this article, the author used a social-embedded framework to analyse the current economic paradigms of the white Afrikaans Reformed Churches in South Africa. He concluded that the current conventional paradigm is problematic in the lack of engagement with both the poor and alternative economic paradigms. He suggested that the notions of covenant, sovereignty and providence could assist the churches to develop an economic paradigm that is informed by solidarity with the poor. For this to happen he concludes that the churches need to develop a liberating hermeneutic in which the Bible is read as a book for the poor, while the readers remain conscious of their privileged position.

scholarly journals The legacy of singing Scripture only in the Reformed Churches in South Africa: The regulating role of the Word from Heidelberg to Dordrecht

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon N. Jooste ◽  
Johannes C. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Corporate Worship ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Regulative Principle ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Public Worship

This article presents a historical–theological investigation into, and retrieval of, the principle underlying Article 69 of the 1618–1619 church order of the Synod of Dordrecht for the reformation of worship in the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA). Article 69 essentially mandates the singing of Scripture only in corporate worship. The Dordrecht church order was adopted by the RCSA (originally the Vrye Gereformeerde Kerk) at her founding in 1859, a founding in part as a reaction to the singing of free hymns in the mother Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk. In her formation, the RCSA re-established vital continuity with a catholic and Reformed tradition of singing Scripture only in public worship. And yet, in 2012, the General Synod of the RCSA decided to revise Article 69 to allow for the singing of free hymns. In the name of Semper Reformanda, this article seeks to challenge the historical–theological validity of this decision by recovering a central principle overlooked at the aforementioned Synod, yet present in the continental Reformed tradition. That principle is the Scriptural or regulative principle of worship (S/RPW). Simply stated, it is doing in public worship only what God commands. The presence of the S/RPW in the founding standards of the RCSA is of significance for appreciating her historic 150-year legacy of singing Scripture only and for her ongoing responsible critique of introducing free hymns.

Leadership functions and church decline in the Reformed Churches in South Africa: Considering Ephesians 4:11–16

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignatius W. Ferreira ◽  
Wilbert Chipenyu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Church Growth ◽  
Church Decline ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
The Gift ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Practical Theological ◽  
The Church

Multiple studies from Ephesians 4:11–16 have been carried out that focused mostly on aspects of the believers’ priesthood. This article highlights the significance of adhering to the biblical instructions of God as a means to attain church growth. The church was instituted by God and as such he directs the process of church growth. Nevertheless, the ongoing membership decline in the World Protestant Churches globally and the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCSA) locally is an indicator that the church is failing to meet the will and purpose of God with the church. In the World Protestant Churches and the RCSA, the decline trends are basically the same, and the loopholes are pointing at church leadership. This article seeks to describe the leadership failure to uphold the blueprint of church health according to Ephesians 4:11–16. These are the keys to real church revitalisation and growth. The exegesis of the problem verse (Eph 4:11) was carried out to indicate the various leadership gifts that are necessary for church growth to occur. The Bible and related literature are the sources of data. This article identifies how an omission of the gift-oriented tasks in a congregation leads to church decline.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Within the context of the continued church decline within Western Christianity (Christendom), this article reflects on the historical, mostly ‘Practical theological’ focus on church growth by exegeting the source texts from a ‘missiological perspective’. This study is also very conscious of modernity’s onslaught on the evangelical church through the therapeutic and managerial revolutions, which functions with an attitude of anti-clericalism when focusing on church growth.

Sigurðr, Þórr and Ragnarök and their Christian Counterparts

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 81-104
Author(s):  
Manu Braithwaite-Westoby
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Old Norse ◽  
The Bible ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Stone Sculpture ◽  
Popular Subject ◽  
New Religion

Few scholars would deny that some Old Norse myths have Christian counterparts, a phenomenon first noticed by nineteenth-century archaeologists and antiquarians in their observations of Anglo-Scandinavian stone sculpture in northern England. It is strange, therefore, that despite this long tradition, there is no systematic study on the topic. While this ambition is unfortunately outside the scope of this article, it does seek to address a number of Old Norse myths/legends and place them in conjunction with their Christian counterparts. One of the most important myths for Anglo-Scandinavian craftsmen was probably Sigurðr, who has an obvious parallel in Christ. The apocalyptic narrative in Voluspa known as Ragnarök was also a very popular subject and has a clear cognate in the apocalyptic sections of the Bible. Þórr and the Miðgarðsormr, though less appealing to artists, strongly recalls accounts of the conflict between Christ and Satan or Leviathan. This article uses a theoretical methodology called ‘figural interpretation’ to examine the Old Norse myths and explore how they reflect certain myths from the new religion. While distinctly art historical in approach, this article also invokes some Old Norse texts where relevant, which may themselves have been influenced by Christian thinking.

‘Limping, Yet Made to Climb a Mountain!’ Re-Reading the Vashti Character in the Hiv And Aids South African Context

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’A Mphahlele)
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
External Factor ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
African Women ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
African Context

The history of the Christian Bible’s reception in South Africa was part of a package that included among others, the importation of European patriarchy, land grabbing and its impoverishment of Africans and challenged masculinities of African men. The preceding factors, together with the history of the marginalization of African women in bible and theology, and how the Bible was and continues to be used in our HIV and AIDS contexts, have only made the proverbial limping animal to climb a mountain. Wa re o e bona a e hlotša, wa e nametša thaba (while limping, you still let it climb a mountain) simply means that a certain situation is being aggravated (by an external factor). In this chapter the preceding Northern Sotho proverb is used as a hermeneutical lens to present an HIV and AIDS gender sensitive re-reading of the Vashti character in the Hebrew Bible within the South African context.

scholarly journals Openbaring as principium theologiae

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Kruger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Contextual Theology ◽  
World Religions ◽  
General Revelation ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Universe

Theological renewal regarding different theological disciplines as well as the complete theological encyclopedia has lately been debated worldwide. Likewise, the Reformed Churches in South Africa are in a process of reconsidering the traditional reformed theological encyclopedia. This task can, however, not be fulfilled unless the basic issues are not also reconsidered. This article focuses on revelation as the principium theologiae. The line of argumentation centres round the fundamental confession in article 2 of the Belgian Confession. The truth implicit in this article, and accepted by the Reformed Churches, stresses that God can be known through his creation, sustenance and government of the universe, but He can be known more convincingly by studying holy Scripture. To prove this point of departure, Romans 1-4 and Romans 10 are discussed. The distinction between special and general revelation, contextual theology and the relationship to world religions and H. Bavinck's concept of the principium theologiae are also considered.

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