HTS Volume 64, Number 3 (2008)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/11008

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Exodus, Psalms and Hebrews : a God abounding in steadfast love (Ex 34:6)
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Groenewald, Alphonso, 1969-
The author of Hebrews heavily depends on the Pentateuch and the Psalms. The Pentateuch, for the most part, offers him material for reflection on redemptive history, and the Psalms provide his Christological material. The great debt the book of Hebrews owes to the Old Testament, however, is not simply a matter of general background and copious quotation, but also extends to fundamental Old Testament ways of thinking which are constantly presupposed and which underlie all passages in the book. The concept of hesed ("faithfulness, kindness, grace, steadfast love, solidarity'' etc) is one of those. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, God revealed God self to God's people at Sinai. This article will deal specifically with the reference to the Sinai revelation as it appears in three Psalms. This discussion will be followed by a short overview of this specific text in the Pentateuch. This article will be concludes by briefly indicating a possible influence these Old Testament texts on the book of Hebrews.
Dodekapropheton : twaalf klein profete of een geheel?
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) De Villiers, Gerda
The Book of the Twelve or the twelve minor prophets received scholarly attention through the ages. Historical criticism pointed out that these prophets lived in different times, in different historical situations and articulated the "word of the Lord" for different circumstances. However, recent scholarship tends to read the corpus of the minor prophets as a structured whole. Such a reading raises a number of problems: the Twelve do not follow one another chronologically and the order of the Masoretic Text does not agree with that of the Septuagint, whilst Qumran follows yet another order. This article probes - albeit cursory - some of these questions from different perspectives. Eventually it appears that a continuous process of "Fortschreibug" shaped and reshaped prophetic messages to keep them alive for following generations. A unity is created by maintaining the tensions and differences amongst the Twelve, thereby reflecting the creative articulation and rearticulation of prophecy in the different times of the history of Judah and Israel.
Dimensies "eenheid" en "katolisiteit" in die ekklesiologie van die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk sedert Ottawa 1982
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Van Wyk, Tanya; Buitendag, Johan
This article examines the current ecclesiology of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NHKA) with reference to the extent to which the church understands unity and catholicity as biblical indicatives and imperatives. The article argues that the church's understanding of unity and catholicity is prejudiced and influenced by the prominence the church awards to the tenet of an ethnic "peoples church" ("volkskerk"). This has lead to the NHKA's ecumenical isolation. It is hence argued that the abolition of the church's "ethnic church theology" will result in the abolition of its ecumenical isolation and will enable the NHKA to confess anew with the "church of all ages", the "one, holy, apostolic and catholic Church".
Reformasie en Skrifinterpretasie : die nuwe wat die Reformasie gebring en ook moontlik gemaak het
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Labuschagne, Jacobus P. (Kobus)
The aim of this article is to emphasize new trends in the interpretation of the Scriptures that were brought about by the Reformation and that were consequently made possible for the future. Reformation thinking and modern and contemporary thinking are compared and analyzed in order to establish the consequences of the openness created by the Reformation, in response to Medieval objectified thinking in which the Church always had a final and an arrived definition and statement. What should therefore be avoided is the misconception that Reformation thinking represented an arrived and stagnated way of doing theology.
The temptation of Realpolitik and vox populi in the ecclesiology of the Emerging Apostolic Churches with special reference to the fivefold ministry
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Resane, Kelebogile Thomas; Buitendag, Johan
The Emerging Apostolic Churches do not have a uniform church polity since the power of governance is claimed to be with the fivefold ministers, while at the same time embracing either the Episcopal, Presbyterial, or Congregational church governments. The fivefold ministry is a generally accepted term that refers to the five ministries given by Christ to the Church to stand in unique spiritual offices, as found in Ephesians 4:11. This article tries to answer the question: "Are the Emerging Apostolic Churches ecclesiologically correct by centring the authority of governance in the fivefold ministers and the popular voices of the followers?" At the same time it is endeavored to argue that due to Biblical and theological grounds the fivefold ministry is untenable to church polity hence Realpolitik and vox populi dominating the ecclesiastical life and polity of the Emerging Apostolic Churches. The aim is to demonstrate that these two concepts (Realpolitik and vox populi) play a significant part in shaping the church polity and structures of this ecclesiastical phenomenon.
Rise of intercultural Biblical exegesis in Africa
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Loba-Mkole, Jean-Claude
This article traces the rise and development of intercultural Biblical exegesis in Africa, especially with regard to New Testament interpretations. Different trends of Biblical exegesis practiced in Africa are explored, whereafter the different phases of intercultural exegesis are discussed. The focus falls on inculturation hermeneutic as an important method of interpreting the Bible in an African context. The different proponents of this method are discussed and differences in approach are noted and appraised as a healthy tension.
Nagid : a re-examination in the light of the royal ideology in the ancient near east
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Kim, Jeong Bong; Human, Dirk J.
This article argues that nagid indicates divinely sanctioned leader of Israel in 1 Samuel 9:1-10:16 and 11:1-11. The use of nagid is intricately interplayed with that of melek in the context of 1 Samuel 8-12. In the Saul tradition (1 Sm 9:1-10:16; 11:1-11) nagid signifies the leadership of Saul as a divinely sanctioned kingship, unlike in the context of the Deuteronomistic History (DH). The royal ideology of the ancient Near East (ANE) provides an ideological background of the kingship of Saul.
The portrait of a prophet - why is Wright not right about Jesus?
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Dannhauser, Estelle Henrietta
N T Wright's extensive research on the subject of the historical Jesus has led him to the conclusion that the office of eschatological prophet passionately bent on delivering an urgent eschatological message is best suited to describe the portrait of Jesus as it emanates from the sources at hand. Wright furthermore abstracts from the sources the program of this prophet which involves extending a message of welcome and warning. Many a scholar would agree with these conclusions. When revealing how he arrived at the conclusions he refers to the "notorious" complexity of the problem of the literary relationship between the gospels. Can any scholar disagree? What does, however, seem to invite contention, are his statements that the gospels tell us far more about Jesus than scholarship has ever done, and that the two-source hypothesis which has been misleading scholars over the past two hundred years is not of any great importance in the study of Jesus. Wright believes that we are not in a position to answer the synoptic question and then bases a reconstruction of Jesus on this answer. What, then, are his sources and how does he apply them to arrive at these conclusions? This article presents the portrait Wright painted of the historical Jesus and investigates how it was arrived at.
Were the Galileans "religious Jews" or "ethnic Judeans?"
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Cromhout, Markus
This article focuses on an investigation into the ethnic identity of first-century Galileans. Its aim is to argue that the Galileans were not descendents of northern Israelites but were mostly descendents of "Jews" who came to live in the region during the Hasmonean expansion. The article demonstrates that this thesis is supported by Josephus and also by archaeological evidence. From the perspective of this thesis, the article contends that the term "Jew" does not apply to Galileans. First-century Galileans should rather be understood as "ethnic Judeans".
A pastoral response to the unhealed wound of gays exacerbated by indecision and inarticulacy
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Dreyer, Yolanda
This article consists of six sections. It illustrates the ambiguity in pastoral care with gay people in institutional Christian communities and how this ambiguity exacerbates the unhealed wound of gay people. It discusses how the Christian message becomes ineffectual in its attempt to address the dilemma of injustice when Biblical evidence is used uncritically. The virtues of truth and righteousness in pastoral care are emphasised. The article argues that Paul Ricoeur's ethics of hermeneutical discourse could provide an epistemological framework for an appropriate response to the dilemma of ambiguity in ecclesial approaches to pastoral care with gay people. Listening for the unheard voices of marginalised people is an essential component of such a "discourse ethics" which is offered as a possible solution to the problem of inarticulacy. The article concludes by indicating some possibilities for a postmodern pastoral response to the unhealed wound of gay people, which at present is often exacerbated by the ambiguity and indecision of official church resolutions.
Een teks - meerdere betekenisse : hoe lees ons die Bybel?
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Van Eck, Ernest
This article discusses three ways of reading the Bible that are evident in the current theological debate in South Africa: a fundamentalist, foundationalist and critical reading. A brief description and evaluation of the three reading strategies are given. It is indicated that a fundamentalist reading of the Bible essentially operates with a canon in the canon, and a foundationalist reading with a canon outside the canon. A critical reading, which roots can be traced back to the Reformation, is put forward as possibly a more responsible way of reading the Biblical text, especially since it takes cognizance of the historical and cultural distance between text and reader. It is argued that readers who take this "differentness" seriously, are enabled to read the Bible afresh and anew, especially in terms of some burning ethical questions of our day. Attention is also given to a critical reading of metaphorical language of the Bible.
"As jou broer verkeerd opgetree het teen jou ..." : enkele aspekte van kerklike dissipline uit die Kerkorde van die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Van Wyk, B.J. (Barend Jacobus), 1946-
Church discipline has been a substantial part of Church Ordinances since the Geneva Church Ordinance of 1541, and was pursued and developed in the Netherlands and consequently also in South Africa. For obvious reasons church discipline forms part of the Church Ordinance of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa. An effort is made to partly rewrite the church discipline and also to alter and to make the existing appeal possibilities more accessible, particularly with regard to the verdicts of the Synodical Commission.
Prediking aan die hand van die metafoor van fiksieskryf
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Bosman, Lourens Lemmer; Muller, Julian C.
In this article the writers propose an alternative to modernistic linear and propositional ways of preaching. They argue that the context asks for preaching that is more in line with the dominant metaphors of the post-modern culture in which the listeners live their everyday lives. The preacher should be seen less as the bearer of final truths (the one who carries the light or acts as witness to the truth), and more as someone who participates in the reflection of ideas. They propose a narrative paradigm for preaching that moves beyond the use of stories as illustrations, to one where the preacher, in the narrative style, becomes the co-author of new life stories in the preaching event. The ABDCE model for fiction writing, proposed by Anne Lamott, is then used as a model for the structuring of the sermon. Structured along these lines, the sermon moves from a specific Action and its cultural and historical Background, through a Development, where something new starts to unfold before the listeners, to a Climax of new insight and an Ending that invites the listeners to take part in the telling and retelling of their own stories in the light of the Great Story of God and his people.
"God met ons" : gelowig nagedink oor die Skrif
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Buitendag, Johan
The theme of the article is a revisiting of the understanding of Holy Scripture from a dogmatic viewpoint. It is the author’s conviction that the point of departure for such an exposition is revelation, which, of course, has to be deconstructed. The epistemological dilemma is that although revelation has ontological priority, it is only noetically accessible. Therefore, it is evident that Scripture has to be regarded as testimony, which puts it on the same level as tradition, except for the accord of the faith community. The application of the thesis is dedicated to the reception of revelation. Scripture then, is the accorded sediment of the reciprocity of the speaking God and a responding people. The conclusion is that the Bible does not have an intrinsic principle, but that referential meaning is given to it by the faith community. This ectopic center can only be ascribed to the work of the Spirit. This creates space for a scientific theology where an extra-systemic understanding of reality corresponds with an intra-systemic coherence.
Ancestor worship – is it Biblical?
(Reformed Theological College, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, 2008-09) Bae, Choon Sup; Van der Merwe, P.J.
Ancestor worship is practiced in different forms around the world today, even in societies participating in the modern global economy. Ancestral beliefs are deeply dependent on the premise that the souls of the dead may return to the living and influence their lives; that it is possible and acceptable for the living to communicate with the dead and lastly that the living are able to exert an effect on the destiny of deceased ancestors. The following issues are most relevant to ancestor worship: 1) death and the afterlife, 2) possibility of communication between the living and the dead, and 3) the destiny of believers who die. The article looks at these issues from a Biblical perspective, offers Biblical guidelines in assessing ancestor worship and its cosmology and interprets ancestor worship theologically. The conclusion is that ancestor worship is incompatible with Christian faith.

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