Abstract:
This article consists of various sections. The first concerns a cultural-sensitive explanation of the
meaning of the term ‘neighbour’. The second exemplifies Rudolf Bultmann’s understanding
of the meaning of the love commandment which is found in the Jesus tradition and in the New
Testament. This explanation represents a paraphrase of Bultmann’s reflection on the notion
’neighbourly love’ in Afrikaans. The article elaborates on Bultmann’s interpretation by means
of expanded exegetical comments. The article also endorses Bultmann’s juxtaposition of
Christian ethics with Greek Stoic ethics. This Greek heritage is described in an expanded way.
The article discusses Bultmann’s understanding of neighbourly love within the context of the
core values of his hermeneutics. The results are made relevant for the present-day Christian
ethical perspective on the adherence to the so-called natural law, applied to the South African
sociopolitical situation.
Description:
This article was first
published in Hervormde
Teologiese Tydskrif 2(3)
(2014), 27−42, titled
‘Christelike etiek vanuit die
perspektief van naasteliefde:
Rudolf Bultmann en Stoïsynse
etiek’. It is reworked and
republished in HTS Teologiese
Studies/Theological Studies
with the editor’s permission.
