JournalTOCs

In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi
Number of Followers: 3

This is an Open Access Journal

Open Access journal
ISSN (Print) 1018-6441 - ISSN (Online) 2305-0853
Published by AOSIS Publishing

[32 journals]

God in the second book of Maccabees: The connection between words and
deeds
- Authors: Jan W. Van Henten
  First page: 6
  Abstract: This article focuses on God’s image and role in 2 Maccabees. My analysis will build on narratology, especially characterisation, and on the differentiation proposed by Barbara Schmitz in connection with the book of Judith: the distinction between God’s role as a character depicted in the narrative (God’s acts and statements) and references to God in statements about God by other characters in the narrative. How does this differentiation work out for 2 Maccabees' Does the book describe any miracles performed by God, and if so, do these take place within or outside the normal processes of nature, as God, for example, did according to Joshua 10, 11–14, which reports that God made the sun stand still at Gibeon'Contribution: Firstly, this article presents the results of a narratological analysis of 2 Maccabees. Secondly, since the statements about God and God’s actual role are prominent in the book, this analysis is important for establishing the meaning of the book for the narratees, the intended readers. Thirdly, this reading is relevant for theological studies dealing with the image and role of God in the contexts of early Judaism and early Christianity.
  PubDate: 2023-09-19
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2949
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
The commercialisation of anointed water in two ministries: An African
theological perspective
- Authors: Mookgo S. Kgatle, Vuyisile Qiki
  First page: 6
  Abstract: The use of water in healing has significance in African religious life. African people believe that water is not an ordinary substance but is medicinal and a life-giving commodity. This article argues that within a Pentecostal church setting, the use of water in healing should be juxtaposed with biblical practices to deal with the challenges of commercialisation of the commodity, its abuses, and other unethical practices. The integration of the African religious life and biblical practices is framed from an African theological perspective. The contribution of this perspective is its potential to address the commercialisation of water in two selected Pentecostal-type ministries. This will be achieved by introducing an African theological perspective and the use of water in African religious life. Similarly, the two selected ministries and their commercialisation of water will be discussed through the use of the case study method. The two selected church ministries are Rivers of Living Water Ministries and Nala Mandate International (NMI). The aim of this article is to demonstrate that an African theological perspective is relevant for addressing issues of the commercialisation of water in the selected ministries. This challenges how scholars approach the use of water in healing. The practice should be acknowledged in African religious life but its commercialisation should be criticised.Contribution: The article contributed to the discourse on the use of water in African religious life and proposed an African theological perspective to address the challenges of the commercialisation of the commodity.
  PubDate: 2023-07-11
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2937
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Charlemagne as David revisited
- Authors: Lynton A. Boshoff
  First page: 7
  Abstract: It was common practice in literate and learned circles at the late 8th-century Carolingian court to give one another personal nicknames. Although this would suggest a world of intimacy and private confidences, these nicknames are also used in the literary and artistic productions of the time. Most notably, Charlemagne himself is called ‘David’, in remembrance of the Old Testament king. While this phenomenon is treated in broad terms in most studies on Carolingian history and culture, as an expression of idealised kingship, the nature of its application and significance in individual instances in literature addressed to Charlemagne has been less well defined. In this article, therefore, I revisit and nuance the idée reçue of Charlemagne as David, the ideal, divinely chosen ruler, the epitome of scholarly learning and wisdom – in short, the image of the king which was actively promoted on the political stage. I consider, as case studies, uses of the David name in the Latin poetry of Alcuin, Angilbert, Modoin, and Theodulf of Orléans. Through close reading of these texts and consideration of the rhetorical strategies of the poet, performance context and audience, as well as the intellectual milieu of the Carolingian court, it is shown that the selected authors make use of David in a consistent and recurrent pattern, which reflects a vision of the king that is unified and unique to the context of a court circle of poets and their literary pursuits.Contribution: This article aimed to contribute to the field of Latin literary studies through analysis of how the name David, when used for Charlemagne, is treated in poems written at and for the court. This image of the king, which is used in a closed context of the poets in question and their audience, has further implications for the status and goals of the poets at court, as well as the influence which Charlemagne had over the literary revival of the period.
  PubDate: 2023-08-30
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2951
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Digging into lives: Christians and Christianity in the Greek papyri from
Egypt
- Authors: Isabella Bonati
  First page: 7
  Abstract: Greek papyri recovered from the sands of Egypt represent a precious source of data for early Christianity. Egypt is the land of the earliest Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. The Greek Old Testament or Septuagint was undertaken within the Jewish community of Alexandria from near the middle of the 3rd to the 2nd century BC. Alexandria became the first centre of Christianity in Egypt. Then, the Christian doctrine spread to the villages of the Egyptian chora. Christian papyri mirror this historical context. The earliest Christian papyri are biblical and literary. Besides these, documentary texts offer unique insights into the everyday life and society of Christians in Egypt. Private letters, in particular, reveal the activities and worries of laymen and women, monks and church officials. Papyrological evidence also enlightens the relationship of Christianity with local religious practices. After an overview of the contribution of papyri to our knowledge of early Christianity, this article will focus on documentary specimens dealing with health issues in the form of requests for healing prayers and amulets written on papyrus. Health was, in fact, a common cause for concern and a central aspect of the daily reality of Christian communities.Contribution: This article contributes to shedding light on the role of papyrological evidence in reconstructing the everyday lives of people in Egypt. Christian documentary papyri are particularly illuminating on the day-to-day life of early Christian communities. Their study expands our socio-cultural understanding of aspects – such as healing – that, although important, are poorly known from the literary tradition.
  PubDate: 2023-08-28
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2938
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Conceptual blending in Matthew 2:23
- Authors: Godwin Mushayabasa
  First page: 7
  Abstract: The research presented in this article formed part of an ongoing quest into the possibilities of using conceptual blending to understand the unresolved question of sources of Matthew’s fulfilment quotations. The way Matthew handled his purported Old Testament texts in driving home the fulfilment motif in his Gospel has been noted to depart from the normative use of Scripture in quotations, even of his own time. Further, establishing the source(s) of the quotations is of interest to Old Testament text critical studies as well as New Testament (NT) hermeneutics. Most of the studies so far on the fulfilment quotations have centred around hermeneutics while the aspect of the use of texts, their transmission and preservation has been left to a few.This article focused on the textual sources of the Matthew 2:23 quotation and how those sources were brought together to result in the quotation. It sought to investigate the possibility that cognitive linguistic mechanisms of producing the fulfilment quotations that closely resemble the processes of conceptual blending can be traced in the fulfilment quotations.The method used in this research was that of the linguistic theory called conceptual blending. It was used to trace the thought processes that involved Old Testament texts as well as those from Matthew’s witness context.It was observed that mechanisms of conceptual blending were behind the process of penning down the quote in Matthew 2:23, even though the author might not have been aware of such cognitive operations. Semiotic and linguistic relations that help explain the quotation emerged from the study using conceptual blending as an approach.It was concluded that Matthew’s fulfilment quotations should not be understood in the regular way that modern readers would understand a quotation but as a result of integrating events in the OT and those in Matthew’s context of fulfilment. Matthew’s intention was to show clearly the connection between perceived prophecy and its fulfilment, rather than to produce quotations in the traditional sense of the word.Contribution: This study contributed two key findings to the research field. Firstly it revealed the potential of the conceptual blending theory as a critical scientific tool in resolving the text-critical problems scholars are faced with in the history of the transmission of the biblical text with particular reference to Matthew 2:23. Secondly, the research contributes towards resolving the long-standing question of the textual sources of Matthew 2:23.
  PubDate: 2023-08-24
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2929
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Munus triplex: A pedagogical application of a theological concept
- Authors: Wim van Vlastuin, Abraham de Muynck
  First page: 8
  Abstract: The authors considered the identity of Christian teachers to be an urgent matter because of rapid changes in society, and assumed that such a consideration could help to envision education in an authentic way. They recognised that the current understanding of Christian identity emphasises unity with Christ and, therefore, set out to demonstrate that this unity is not only a matter of private spiritual life, but must also be carefully considered in professional practice. This article is not a research paper per se, but rather an exploratory, constructive essay. The authors examined and elaborated on unity with Christ with the help of the so-called three offices of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. After interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism and bringing it into critical dialogue with contemporary voices, they identified the implications of the three offices for educational practice. The office of prophet was reflected in both the implicit and explicit messages of the teacher. The office of priest was observable in a teacher’s compassionate behaviour, while the office of king was seen in the teacher’s humble citizenship and struggle against evil, as well as in the ethical views that a teacher promotes in class. Three offices were found helpful in rethinking Christian teachers’ role. The implications of this research included the potential for counterbalancing dualistic practices (role of the prophet), placing an emphasis on care instead of neoliberal pressures (role of the priest), and envisioning subject content within the coming of the kingdom (role of the king).Contribution: Through its consideration of the teaching profession in terms of the three offices of Christ, this article’s research seeks to enhance the professional identity of faithful Christian teachers. While the focus is primarily on those employed in Christian schools and also intends to influence the identity of those working in secular settings. The authors argue that teachers are prophets in the messages they impart, priests when they act compassionately, and kings when they encourage dedicated and exemplary citizenship.
  PubDate: 2023-09-15
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2913
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Herman Bavinck and same-sex marriage: A current application of older
theological concepts
- Authors: Willem van Vlastuin
  First page: 9
  Abstract: It seems like an anachronism to turn to Herman Bavinck for a vision of homosexual relationships in the church. It is indeed an anachronism when we look at Bavinck’s treatment of this phenomenon. Except for a reference to ‘unnatural sin’, he does not explicitly reflect on this theme. Yet, his theological concepts may offer possibilities for creating an openness to same-sex marriage in the church. This article examines four of Bavinck’s concepts, namely the concepts of catholicity, hermeneutics, subjectivation and worldview. While the first three concepts suggest an openness, it is different with the fourth concept. This leads to the question of how to value it. Added to this, it is uncertain how Bavinck’s later hermeneutical insights relate to his Christian worldview. In this article, these insights are weighed, and the conclusion is drawn that there is no evidence that the relativisation of historical and natural worldviews in the Bible also applies to Bavinck’s moral biblical worldview. Therefore, it seems that Bavinck’s concepts do not lead to openness for same-sex marriage in the church. If we make use of these concepts today, we must again account for the weight we assign to the various concepts, their interrelationship and the relative weight of each concept with respect to other concepts.Contribution: This research contributes both to the understanding of the tensions in Bavinck’s theology, to the consciousness of Bavinck’s hermeneutics, and to the reflection on same-sex relationships in the church.
  PubDate: 2023-09-20
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2955
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Vroulike mistiek, praktiese devosie en die Kaapse piëtisme,
1700–1860
- Authors: Andries W.G. Raath
  First page: 9
  Abstract: Feminine mysticism, practical devotion, and Cape Pietism, 1700–1860. In the last phase of the Middle Ages, medieval piety and mysticism converged in the movement called Devotio Moderna (Modern Devotion). In the last decades of the fourteenth century, the Modern Devotion arose as a new religious movement in the northern Low Countries, and had a major influence upon religious life in Europe. It was particularly popular with women; but until now, there has been little research on the role of women in this movement. From the late seventeenth century, Dutch pietism manifested as a hybrid form of Protestant spirituality, with a transconfessional appeal and emphasis on personal piety. Bernard of Clairvaux influenced first-generation Reformers like John Calvin and authors of the Modern Devotion, and a century later, a strong resurgence of influence by Bernard and Modern Devotion authors from the Low Countries. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries this influence was exported to the Cape of Good Hope and the pioneering communities on the South African frontier. The study of the ego texts of pietistic feminine authors, reveals the strong impact of Roman Catholic spirituality of the Modern Devotion on feminine members of the petit bourgeoisie in South African pioneering communities. In this article, the spiritual commitment of feminine authors at the Cape and on the South African frontier, like Catharina Allegonda van Lier, Louisa Thom, Hester Venter, Dorothea Goosen and Susanna Smit to the tenets of the Modern Devotion, is investigated against the background of Dutch pietistic spirituality in the period 1700 to 1860.Contribution: This research is a pioneering contribution to the corpus of knowledge available on the Modern Devotion, and its influence on Reformed theology. It focuses on the influence exerted by the Modern Devotion on the religious views of feminine Reformed Pietists in South Africa in the period 1700–1860.
  PubDate: 2023-06-23
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2912
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
How should we then live' A missiological reading of Genesis 34: A
redemptive historical approach
- Authors: Barend Wielenga
  First page: 10
  Abstract: The narrative of Dinah’s rape in Genesis 34 has attracted the attention of Jews and Christians throughout the ages and has been the source of many scholarly papers all around the world. What have the readers in the different communities of faith over the ages heard in this shameful story' This article wanted to convey what this researcher has heard. An attempt has been made to read Genesis 34 in a missiological way in the redemptive historical context of Genesis 12–36. This article wants to demonstrate that the communicative intention of the author of Genesis 34 was to teach his readers how they, as descendants of Abraham, should live in the promised land in order to accomplish the task God had charged them with: To be a blessing to the nations (Gn 12:3). Hence, in Genesis 34, the author reminded his readers how their ancestors failed in this divine mandate and that they should not be followed: Dinah’s brothers murdered the rapist of their sister and turned it into a curse to the nation of the Hivites. Their negative behaviour should open the eyes for what God positively wanted from his people throughout the ages. This reading formed the basis for a missiological understanding of the significance of this narrative in the Christian community of faith. The missiological significance of Genesis 34 has been discussed from three angles: The importance of worship for missions; the integrity of the missionary praxis; and the in-between time in which missions take place.Contribution: This research wants to answer the question why the author of Genesis 34 included in his composition this shameful episode in the patriarchal history narrating the rape of Leah’s daughter, Dinah, and the consequent criminal honour killings by her brothers. The purpose of this investigation is to show the missiological significance of this narrative for the present Christian community of faith for whom the Bible is the authoritative Word of God.
  PubDate: 2023-09-15
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2983
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)
Neo-Pentecostalism and gender-based violence before and during COVID-19 in
South Africa
- Authors: Themba Shingange
  First page: 10
  Abstract: Pentecostal Christians in Africa preach a pragmatic gospel that attempts to address social, practical and contextual concerns. Similar patterns may be seen in the emergence of neo-Pentecostalism in South Africa and other parts of the continent. Neo-Pentecostalism is commonly known for the use of God-talk that promises people solutions to their socio-economic issues such as unemployment and poverty if they obey the prescripts of the so-called ‘prophets’ or ‘man of God’. Nonetheless, the global devastation caused by the COVID-19 left much to be desired. In South Africa, it highlighted the high extent of gender-based violence (GBV) in addition to other societal issues. Although GBV has always been a problem in South Africa, its cases increased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic to the point where GBV was also declared a pandemic. This has compelled various social structures to start exploring solutions to stop this conundrum. The overarching question posed in this article was how neo-Pentecostal rhetoric about God contributes to GBV cases in South Africa before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, given that God-talk has been utilised to influence people’s perceptions of and reactions to other societal concerns. As a result, this article aimed to investigate this subject while also outlining some potential solutions that African Pentecostals can consider as possible contributions to the struggle against GBV in contemporary South Africa. The study used a literature analysis to achieve this goal and it followed an interdisciplinary approach in the collection of the relevant data. These disciplines included theology, social sciences gender and sexuality studies. Therefore, the literature analysis focused on how neo-Pentecostalism intersect with gender and social issues that are actors in the rise of GBV in South Africa. Furthermore, the concept of God-talk was adopted as a theoretical framework guiding the discussion in this article, whilst the African ethic of Ubuntu [humanness] was proposed as an antidote that can be used in transforming God-talk and contributors of GBV in church and society. Ubuntu brings to consciousness that pastors and every member of society should treat each other as created in the image of God and with respect and humanness as we all exist because of and for others.Contributions: This article contributes to the body of knowledge aimed at finding solutions to GBV in South Africa. Finding solutions is critical as GBV continue to be a challenge in South Africa and elsewhere.
  PubDate: 2023-07-17
  DOI: 10.4102/ids.v57i1.2953
  Issue No: Vol. 57, No. 1 (2023)