Abstract:
A previous article illlustrated that the root of the tension between unity and
plurality in the church can be found in an epistemology charcaterised by binary opposisions.
This article describes this epistemology and, from the perspective of narrative theological
epistemology, discusses the struggles and pitfalls reflected in the narrative of the Netherdutch
Reformed Church of Africa which identifies itself as an ‘ethnic church’ (volkskerk). The article
argues that such a self-identification functions as a metanarrative that is in conflict with the
church’s grand narrative, that of the Triune God. The re-telling of the grand narrative of the
Trinity as the metaphor for unity through plurality will sustain the re-telling of the church’s
narrative in the changing context of a secular society.
Description:
This article is the second
of two which represent a
reworked version of aspects
from Chapter 1 of the PhD
dissertation (University of
Pretoria), entitled ‘Die kerk
as heterotopiese ruimte: ‘n
Trinitariese model vir die
derde millennium’, with
Prof. Dr Johan Buitendag as
supervisor.
