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Item Open Access Human genetic engineering and social justice in South Africa: Moltmann and human dignity(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Kotze, M.The realities of social injustice in the present South African context, with its great and growing gap between rich and poor and unequal distribution of wealth and resources, are also acutely visible in the health-care sector. Genetic engineering would lead to some children having the cards stacked overwhelmingly in their favour, raising the concern for the justice or fairness of this type of biotechnology. In this contribution, I argue that the notion of justice as fairness, put forward by Rawls, and the focus on human dignity in Moltmann’s theology can help address the bioethical challenges of genetic engineering in the context of inequality, specifically in South Africa.Item Open Access Interview with Piet J. Naudé(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2015) Laubscher, MartinPiet Naudé studied at the University of Stellenbosch where he completed a BA with Hebrew and Philosophy as majors. He furthered his studies in Philosophy and completed both an Honours and Masters degree, the latter in theories of social justice, with Willie Esterhuyse as study leader. He completed the standard postgraduate theological studies (B.Th. and Licentiate) for admission as pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church. For his doctoral studies in dogmatics under Willie Jonker, he spent a year in Utrecht, The Netherlands. His thesis explored the relation between theory and practice in Latin-American Liberation Theologies and the work of Johann Baptist Metz. As Humboldt scholar, he later built a special academic relation with Michael Welker in Heidelberg (Germany) and with the Centre for Theological Inquiry at (USA).Item Open Access "Anatheism" within the framework of theodicy: from theistic thinking to theopaschitic thinking in a pastoral hermeneutics(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Louw, D. J.The Syrian and refugee crises, the violent radicalisation in Europe, and global xenophobia stir up anew the link between the human quest for meaning and hope within the realm of human misery and destructive acts of severe evil. The article focuses on the problem of theodicy and its link to God images. It discusses both inclusive and exclusive approaches to the theodicy issue, and proposes a paradigm shift from threat power to intimate, vulnerable power. A diagram is designed in order to identify different metaphors for God in pastoral caregiving. With reference to a pastoral approach, lamentation is viewed as an appropriate variant for theodicy. In the attempt to return to ‘God after God’ (anatheism), lamentation could help reinterpret the ḥesed of God in terms of our human predicament of ‘undeserved suffering’.Item Open Access "One in Christ": Fedsem spiritualities of solidarity(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Duncan, G. A.This article focuses on spirituality as the basis of life at the Federal Theological Seminary of Southern Africa (Fedsem) (1963-1993) during the apartheid years, when Fedsem, groups and individuals within it were subjected to regular surveillance and scrutiny. The spiritual life of the seminary, manifested most clearly in its worship life, became its source of strength and sustained its mission and vision: to be and yet, to become “One in Christ”. This was conveyed by means of various forms of denominational and ecumenical solidarity as an expression of Christian love. Many attempts were made to try to understand and formulate policies relating to the practice of spirituality in an ecumenical context. These met with varying degrees of success.Item Open Access The goal of maturity in Ephesians 4:13-16(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Mbennah, E. D.In this article, I argue that, in Ephesians 4:1-16, the author underscores spiritual maturity as the bridge between the new identity of the Christian (Eph. 1-3) and the moral code of the Christian life commensurate with the new identity (Eph. 4:17-6:20).1 I interpret Ephesians 4:13 to obtain the meaning of maturity. I critique the most notable interpretations and views in relation to Ephesians 4:13, after which, by way of structural analysis of Ephesians 4:13, I delineate the meaning of maturity and determine that, from its essence, maturity is essential for the Christian. This article provides the modern church an alternative way to view the theme and structure of Ephesians and an interpretation of Ephesians 4:13-16. New Testament scholars as well as church leaders, decision-makers in church work, generally, and Christian education planners will find this article quite engaging.Item Open Access The "first Deborah" - Genesis 35:8 in the literary and theological context(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Olojede, F.Exegetes consider Genesis 35:8 an intrusive verse in the narrative of Genesis 35:1-15 because of its isolated mention of the death and burial of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse. However, the analysis of the verse in its literary and theological context in this article shows that it has been strategically placed in the narrative to underscore, among other things, the important role of Deborah in the Bethel tradition and the Jacob Cycle, as well as the subtle pointer to the fact that little people also have a place in the overall narrative of God’s people.Item Open Access Honest to God and the South African churches in 2016(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Prozesky, M.The year 2013 was fifty years since the publication of Honest to God, by John A.T. Robinson (1919-1983), who was Bishop of Woolwich at the time. The book became a bestseller. The research question that gave rise to the present article is how relevant and sound its main ideas are for South Africa, in particular, and for his own church in 2016. This paper examines Robinson’s views from three perspectives, namely Christian and secular practical ethics, the recent history of the church, to which the Bishop belonged in England, and the contemporary South African situation, in particular. The paper argues that, five hundred years on, Robinson’s project of developing a Christian response to contemporary secular challenges remains valid in South Africa.Item Open Access The inner reformation of the sciences: an ambiguity in the radically orthodox thought of John Milbank?(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Strauss, D. F. M.Although both Radical Orthodoxy and Reformational Philosophy question the autonomy of theoretical reason, the views of prominent representatives of Radical Orthodoxy do not enable an inner reformation of the non-theological academic disciplines. Whereas Radical Orthodoxy holds that philosophy is concerned with being as such, theology investigates the ground of being, and being in respectu Dei. Reformational Philosophy questions theology as “queen of the sciences” and holds that every creature has to be “related” to God. Milbank contemplates the idea of a Christian sociology, by considering the church as a distinct society (altera civitas), but considers it to be silly to talk of a Christian mathematics. An alternative idea of Christian scholarship is advanced in opposition to Milbank’s classical Thomistic view, namely that theology has to preserve and fulfil philosophy, echoing the Scholastic adage that grace does not eliminate nature, but perfects it (gratia naturam non tollit, sed perficit).Item Open Access Die naam "Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk"(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Strauss, P. J.An investigation into the name of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) reveals that it is a reformed church in the Dutch tradition with the cultural side of it’s origin in the Netherlands. The acceptance of this name indicates that the DRC should never stop an internal, ongoing process of reformation. The fact that the DRC officially took the name is owned to it’s General Synod to which decisions over this kind of thing, is given. The name “Dutch Reformed” was thus accepted in 1962. Both the terms “reformed” and “Dutch” in connection with the DRC, has a history to which the present DRC still adds meaning.Item Open Access The Lukan periplus of Paul's third journey with a textual conundrum in Acts 20:15(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Wilson, M.This article discusses a pericope in Acts 20:6–21:8 recounting the sea portion of Paul’s third journey. Its genre resembles the periplus, and generic features are discussed as well as parallels with other periploi. Paul’s periplus in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas is presented within a fixed calendar in the Jewish year, and the itinerary’s specifics are detailed. A textual conundrum in Acts 20:15 is discussed as it relates to an anchorage opposite Chios. A lexical discussion of ἄντικρυς Χίου is presented, and possible translations are reviewed. The article presents a new hypothesis that the Ionian city of Erythrae was the place of the ship’s landing. It closes with a brief history of Erythrae’s significance in the Greco-Roman world and why a stop there by Paul’s coasting vessel was likely during this part of the journey.Item Open Access Review - the mission of preaching: equipping the community for faithful witness(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Laubscher, M.Item Open Access The wilderness wanderings: a theo-liminal pedagogy for mind decolonisation in African Christianity(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Kaunda, C. J.This article argues that the current economic and political underdevelopment in the majority of African countries is a symptom of a profound metaphysical and intellectual crisis in the African person’s imagination and consciousness, a consequence of conceptual alienation wrought about mind colonialism. The process of decolonisation did not end with geopolitical liberation, but continues as liberation of the African mind and subjectivity. Reading this reality in light of the Exodus wilderness wanderings as theo-decolonial paradigm, the article suggests a theo-liminal pedagogy for engaging in the process of mind decolonisation.Item Open Access The spiritual mentality profile of femaile pietists on the South African frontier, 1750-1860(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Raath, A. W. G.The reading of female religious literature on the South African frontier allows us to reconstruct important elements of a shared religious mentality profile of these pioneer female believers. Such a reconstruction of the religious mentality profile of pietistic women on the frontier reveals a number of important aspects for understanding their spiritual life: self-awakenings and conversions; self-purification; self-illumination and mystically tainted experiences; recollection and the experience of quiet; meditation, contemplation, ecstasy and rapture; spiritual desertion, and abandonment of the soul and the unitive life with God in Christ.Item Open Access Critical race theory and the question of safety in dialogues on race(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2016) Conradie, M. S.This study seeks to combine research from critical race theory, as applied to post-1994 South Africa, with insights from practical theology. It looks into points of agreement between these perspectives, especially the call to critically appraise ideologies that deny or obscure the present-day consequences of racism. On this foundation, the article moves on to consider the recommendations adduced by Leonardo and Porter (2010:147) and Sue (2013:666-669) as to how dialogues around race and racism can be enhanced. The article begins by contextualising its argument, followed by an overview of the guiding principles of CRT, focusing on the way these have been applied to research in South Africa. Thereafter, the precepts of CRT are matched with insights from scholars in theology regarding the continued need to glean more precisely nuanced understandings of how race plays out in South African society. Finally, the article draws from Leonardo and Porter (2010:140-142) and Sue’s (2013:666-669) suggestions.