A tolerant treatment of church order and the law of usance: This article discusses the recent decline of church polity in the Netherdutch Reformed Church which is obvious in different areas of the Church with special reference to the liturgy practised in sermons of some congregations. This decline is also observed in other churches in South Africa and abroad. The article is a reaction to the reason for this situation and indicates that it should not be found in a collegialistic (...) concept of church, but rather due to congregationalism or independentism in modern form. The article’s viewpoint is that the above-mentioned church polity decline is a result of the fact that church order is not valued as an order with a Scriptural and therefore an ecclesiological basis. (shrink)

Ephesians 1:14 and 1:22, 23 as a scriptural maximum-minimum for ecclesiology. Against the background of a membership decline in mainstream churches in South Africa and abroad, and conscious of the theological debate in which a missional ecclesiology is presented as at least part of the modern-day solution to the problem, this article points in the direction of a Christological ecclesiology as an important ecclesiological point of departure. The article gives an exegetical outline of Ephesians 1:14 and 1:22, 23 as a (...) critical maximum-minimum for a Christological ecclesiology and as a means of making missional ecclesiology more acceptable. (shrink)

This article believes church polity is critically important, especially in recent times where an appeal is quite easily made to the courts of the political dispensation. The article believes the scriptural viewpoint that Jesus Christ is head of the church plays a substantial role in the modern-day church, which should be kept in mind regardless. Reference is made to court cases in the past and the conclusion is that church polity is relevant because it is a scriptural necessity.

The ecclesiastical debate at the 73 General Church Assembly of the Dutch Reformed Church of Africa. Reformed churches emerged from the Reformation which commenced in the 16th century because of the input of well-known reformers such as Martin Luther (1483–1546) and John Calvin (1509–1564). Reformed churches are founded on a certain system of church polity known as presbyterial-synodal. This church orderly viewpoint amounts to the fact that it is a church where Jesus Christ is the sole ruler of the church, (...) transforming all meetings of offices of the church to operate on the same horizontal level with Jesus Christ as the only and sufficient authority in the church. This means that such a church is trying to be church of the Word and should take good care to maintain this critical principal position during meetings, as will eventually be reflected in synodal decisions taken. Contribution: This article takes a critical look at points of discussion submitted to the meeting, especially those with church orderly implications. Critically spoken, it means that decisions tabled at such meetings should be in the prolongment of the churches’ decision to be church of the Word, and therefore presbyterial-synodal. It is therefore also a contribution to church polity as such. (shrink)

The sentence 'to rule with him in the heavenly world' as example of an eschatological highlight in the letter to the Ephesians: The viewpoint in this article is that the above-mentioned statement in the letter to the Ephesians can be seen as an eschatological sentence of extraordinary value. In view of different eschatological viewpoints from the past, it can be stated that this sentence is an example of eschatology not only for the future, but also for the present. It is (...) understandable that there is a close link between eschatology and mission. The meaning of theosis, a concept from the Eastern churches' theological debate, underlines the need for a present eschatological consciousness that has significance for the future of church and faith. Believers can in this way escape from the destructive lust that is in the world, and may become partakers of the divine nature. (shrink)

This article gives a short reflection on the background and origin of the social-scientific model change agent in relation to change agency, a relationship that causes an alternate state of consciousness for the change agent. Arguing from the seven-point explanation of Malina and Pilch of how a change agent operates, this article applies the model to the letter to the Ephesians. The conclusion is that this social-scientific model is helpful for the recent church to realise how narrow the relation is (...) between Jesus Christ and the church, in view of the future of the church as a future in Christ. A choice is made to find alternate words in the Afrikaans language suitable for the theological debate, namely opdraggewer [change agency], meningsvormer [change agent] and alternatiewe staat van bewussyn [alternate state of consciousness]. (shrink)

This article discusses the meaning of ecclesiology and church polity as such, in relation to each other, but also in connection to church order which lies in the elongation of both. From a reformed perspective, it is indicated that the ecclesiology of the Netherdutch Reformed Church over the last fifty to hundred years, centred round the viewpoint of the Church as a volkskerk, in conjunction with the church orderly, of the Kerkwet till 1997. The author is of the opinion that (...) the above-mentioned viewpoint limited the church to be a true church of the Word. (shrink)

The debatable church orderly relevance between 1618, 1816 and 1951 in relation to the church order of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa: The above-mentioned dates from the past, although distant from each other, are linked to each other and influential in the church law debate, even in recent times. The intention of this paper is to link the dates as well as the events associated with the mentioned dates from the past with the church order of the Netherdutch Reformed (...) Church of Africa which was determined during the church’s 71st synod meeting during 2016. Churches in South Africa originated from the 16th century Reformation should accommodate each other even with some different viewpoints especially in connection with church law as formulated and practised in different churches.Contribution: The contribution of this paper is to point out that the relation between the mentioned dates indicate important milestones in the church orderly past, in the Netherlands and in South Africa and should be treated with caution, especially in reference to the church order of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa. (shrink)

The relationship between Colossians and Ephesians as a synoptic problem. Research by different scholars concluded that some letters traditionally ascribed to Paul were probably not written by him and drew a distinction between Pauline and Deutero-Pauline letters. The majority of scholars nowadays are of the opinion that the letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians are Deutero-Pauline and that Ephesians, at least, was surely not written by Paul. The results of research on the synoptic problem can be used and applied (...) to the two letters under discussion because a comparison shows that there are striking similarities between the two. The most recent research shows that Ephesians made use of the letter to the Colossians but not without redactional changes to suit the author’s literary purpose. This method is exegetically known as redaction-criticism, linked to the social-science viewpoint that the author of the letter to the Ephesians acted as a change agent on behalf of a change agency. (shrink)

Gerhard Ebeling on faith. Gerhard Ebeling (1912–2001), not only the foremost Luther researcher of the previous century but also one of the most prominent contributors to protestant theology during that period, wrote extensively about faith throughout his long and productive life as a professional theologian. He learnt from Luther that discerning judgement in the differentiation of related matters forms the basis of all sound theology. Applying this insight to his own thought, he reflects on the development of the phenomenon of (...) faith in the Old Testament community and early Christianity and the formalisation of the concept for use in the domain of religious studies. He defends the argument that Christian faith is not only faith in Jesus as the Christ and Lord but also that Jesus, and He only, is the founder and perfecter of faith. The concept of faith is also explored by Ebeling in relation to love, life and reason. The article concludes with a critical evaluation of Ebeling’s contribution in guiding us to witness authentically about our own faith in Jesus Christ within our own situation and against the background of the problems it poses for believing in Christ. (shrink)

Die voortgesette proses van implementering van nuwe materiaal wat gebruik word vir katkisasie in die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika vertoon 'n besondere trajek. Die proses het, in terme van geloof, begin met die formalisering van sowel die geloofsbegrip as die beskrywing van die inhoud van geloof. Dit is voortgesit deur 'n proses van die objektivering van die inhoud van geloof tot feite wat geleer kan word en is uiteindelik voltrek deur die implementering van 'n pragmatiese opvoedkundige doelwit waarin geloof (...) bloot 'n middel tot 'n doel geword het. Die trajek kan kortliks soos volg beskryf word: • Die Heidelbergse Kategismus Geloof is die aanneming van die beloftes van God wat vertroue in die lewende God skep. • 'Kortbegrip': Geloof is sekere kennis van God en sy beloftes en 'n hartlike vertroue dat al my sondes om Christus ontwil vergewe is. • Die belydenis van die Hervormers: Ek glo in God beteken dat ek al my vertroue op God stel en Hom op sy woord neem. • Geloofsleer: Geloof is kennis van die Woord van God en vertroue in die God van die Woord. • Geloof en Lewe 11: Geloof is die toe-eiening van kenbare geloofoorleweringe wat in die Bybel opgeneem is. Die kerk kan daarom kinders deur 'n proses van kategese begelei tot geloofsvolwassenheid. Vandag is die uitgangspunt van katkisasie en die motivering daarvoor in die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika die oortuiging dat die kerk kinders deur 'n proses van kategese tot godsdienstige volwassenheid kan lei. Van Selms se kategismus pas nie in die trajek wat hier beskryf word nie. Die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika sou vandag heeltemal anders gelyk het as meer as een generasie van die lidmate van die Kerk aan hierdie kategeseboek blootgestel was. (shrink)

Rudolf Bultmann was one of the leading thinkers within an influential theological direction that arose in Europe after the First World War, known as dialectical theology. Comprehensive introductions to the life and work of Bultmann in the South African theological journals, written in Afrikaans, either does not exist, or are difficult to trace for the Afrikaans readership. This article on Bultmann aims to fill the gap by offering a lexicographical contribution on the life and work of Bultmann. The focus of (...) this article is on Bultmann as a Lutheran thinker. The theme of the New Testament and systematic theology is essentially the same, namely to explain the concept of Christian self-understanding as an eschatological event in which faith is expressed for the sake of faith in God and only in God. Bultmann explained the same theological concepts with his theology as those that were explained by the church reformers of the 16th century, but under radically new circumstances. The so-called modern and postmodern people of our time not only broke ties with the past, but in the process they also lost their ability for using historical-critical patterns of thought that tries to bridge historical distances, and therefore sacrificed all efforts to think systematically on the altar of relativism. We can learn from Bultmann what systematic reformed theology really is. (shrink)

Disputations were a fixture of Martin Luther’s academic career. Luther participated regularly in disputations. It was an important communicative vehicle through which he developed and expressed his theology. The well-known 95 theses are a case in point. Luther’s career as a disputator was impressive. Several of his most influential disputations were explicitly intended for consideration by his academic and ecclesiastical colleagues, but the majority of his disputations took place as a curricular exercise at the University of Wittenberg. The purpose of (...) these disputations was pedagogical and polemical. Luther deployed the same tools for his defence of proper doctrine that were at the centre of the Protestant reformation in the face of objections. The disputatio de homine is a systematic summary of Luther’s anthropology. It incorporates the doctrine of justification as the theological definition of man. It treats the subject within the context of the relationship between theology and philosophy, and reflects upon the new language of theology. The disputatio de homine provides an essential resource for the study of Luther’s anthropology and the doctrine of justification. (shrink)

The missionary work of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika in theory and practice: in the past, present and futureIn this article a short survey is given of the missionary work, both in theory and practice, of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk during the last fifty years. There is also an indication that the Church has reached a crucial point which is going to require thorough rethinking and reconsideration of our missionary work.