Vellem, Vuyani Shadrack2013-06-212013-06-212013-05-03Vellem, V.S., 2013, ‘The Reformed tradition as public theology’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 69(1), Art. #1371, 5 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v69i1.13710259-9422 (print)2072-8050 (online)10.4102/hts.v69i1.1371http://hdl.handle.net/2263/21669This article originated from a presentation at the Kopanong Conference Centre. It was a conference on celebrating the Reformed tradition within the auspices of the World Communion of Reformed Churches on 29 October 2011.Scan this QR code with your smart phone or mobile device to read online.This article is a South African perspective of a Black African reflection on the publicity of Reformed faith. Whilst the notion of public theology is fairly new, the article argues, it is important to define the ‘public’ of the type of public theology to which Reformed faith and tradition could be linked. As a confessional tradition, Reformed faith is intrinsically public, the article demonstrates. The publicity of this tradition is however ambivalent and tainted. I attempt to show this by discussing two important tenets of the Reformed Tradition: sola scriptura and sola fide, within the festering wounds of Black African colonialism, apartheid and the hegemony of the neoliberal paradigm in the 21st century.en© 2013. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Reformed faithSouth African perspectivePublic theologyBlack African reflectionReformed ChurchArticle