bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Re-animating church as politics:South Africa commemorating the radical reformation in the hope of decolonizing local congregations
Authors: Goddard Allen J
Published: February 2020

An unlikely crosscurrent in the Reformation-schism was the violent reaction of both the Reformation and Roman Catholic establishments in the 1520s to Anabaptist Churches. What evoked this reaction was the Anabaptists’ recognizably distinct church polity, which the Radical Reformers understood to be directly continuous with the socially transformative politics of Jesus and of the first Christians of the Roman Empire. In a spirit of contrition for Christian disunity, this research is a commemoration that aims to identify prophetic aspects of early Anabaptist polity. Secondly, the essay demonstrates that the way the Radical Reformers practised church is pertinent for ecclesiology five centuries later – not least in contemporary South Africa and North America where church capture to neoliberal economic values and commitments prior to following Jesus, calls into question orthodox Christian witness and presence. Thirdly, the essay imagines a South African re-appropriation of the politics of Jesus as amplified in the Radical Reformation tradition, in a tentative, heuristic invitation to the Church in South Africa today, to become ‘God’s left wing’.
The reformed identity and mission from the margins
Authors: Hewitt Roderick
Published: February 2020

This paper interrogates the reformed identity that has been bequeathed through the Reformation and appropriated by the contemporary church within the Global South, to determine the extent to which it affirms life for those that live on the margins. It postulates that the reformed identity as bequeathed by John Calvin and his school of thought, fashioned a reformed identify that was to a great extent, shaped through its missional engagement with people from the margins. Yet, within an era when European colonialism with reformed identity complicity expanded throughout the world, commoditizing, enslaving and de-humanizing lives, Calvin and his school failed to name and embrace the suffering of “the non-European others” as part of their reformed missional agenda. It argues also that in this postmodern era the reformed identity is experiencing “arrested missional development” because of its uncritical alliance with neoliberalism and neo-conservative socio-economic, political and theological discourses. Therefore, the notion that there can be a generic homogeneous reformed identity is questionable. The reality suggests contestations of multiple reformed identities. This has had far reaching consequences, especially for people who live on the margins who are experiencing many threats to life.
Reforming our ‘Barth’?
Authors: Laubscher Martin
Published: February 2020

Against the backdrop of the Reformation as catalyst for many church and societal reforms, this article wants to reflect upon the transformation of the past 40 years of Barth studies in South Africa. Not only have we consciously read Barth in South Africa, but we also differed in the way we made Barth our own. Therefore, in reforming our ‘Barth’, we will look into particular trajectory of first discerning Willie Jonker’s Barth, followed by that of Dirkie Smit, and lastly proposing another emerging Barth for the way we read him in South Africa today. It is especially the role and significance of the prophetic office in Barth’s theology which will emerge in challenging ways.
Reading the Book of Revelation politically
Authors: De Villiers Pieter GR
Published: February 2020

In this essay the political use of Revelation in the first five centuries will be analysed in greatest detail, with some references to other examples. Focus will be on two trajectories of interpretation: literalist, eschatological readings and symbolic, spiritualizing interpretations of the text. Whilst the first approach reads the book as predictions of future events, the second approach links the text with spiritual themes and contents that do not refer to outstanding events in time and history. The essay will argue that both of these trajectories are ultimately determined by political considerations. In a final section, a contemporary reading of Revelation will be analysed in order to illustrate the continuing and important presence of political readings in the reception history of Revelation, albeit in new, unique forms.
Evolusie, Christologie en spiritualiteite – ’n Tweede (post-)aksiale perspektief
Authors: Dreyer Danie
Published: February 2020

Evolution, Christology and spirituality – a second (post-)axial perspectiveHow can theologians speak anew of Christ and our responsibility towards creation from an evolutionary perspective? It is a question that is embedded in the acknowledgement by scientists such as astro-physicists of the cosmos as mystery on its deepest level. It is a question that is prompted by the unmasking in the second axial period of the myth of autonomous man – a myth that led to the exploitation of the earth as part of a culture of consumerism. It is argued that the proposed answer to the question comes from evolutionary perspectives in which the human being has lost its place as being in the centrum of the cosmos. Instead, being human depends on everything else in the cosmos and is realised in interconnectivity. Making sense of the evolutionary unmasking from newly re-formulated theological perspectives lead to the acknowledgement of God as mystery that has been revealed in a unique way as the Logos in Jesus Christ. These theological perspectives on God find expression in ‘wider’ and ‘deeper’ understandings of Christ from what is called a second person approach. It is an approach that stands over against the objective-ontological third-person approach and the subjective experiential-expressive approach of the first person. The second-person approach is wide in a twofold sense, namely in being relational, and in communicating with human beings and the cosmos as a whole. It is also deep since from an understanding of ‘deep incarnation’ – and also ‘deep suffering’ – it reaches out to the roots (radixes) of creation. It ultimately finds expression in a cosmic Christology that demands of human beings responsibility for the cosmos as gift of God.
Die stil stem van die vroue in die vroeë sendingwerk van “der Kaapsche Kerk” in Njassaland (1896–1906)Deel II: Die Afrika-sendingkonteks
Authors: Murray Isabelle
Published: February 2020

The quiet voice of the women in the early missionary work of the Cape Church in Nyasaland (1896–1906)Part II: The Africa mission-contextAlthough by 1910 half of the staff of the ‘Kaapsche Kerk’ in Nyasaland was female, their stories have scarcely been told. In this second of two articles, the focus is on giving a voice to some of these early female missionaries by sharing their experiences of the African mission context. As primary source the newly retrieved diaries of Reverend Andrew George Murray, though written from a male perspective, offer an interesting depiction of the role and contribution of Tillie Murray, his wife, and other female co-workers. The second main source is the letters of Bessie Vlok (née Horne), who lived and worked with her husband Eerwaarde TCB Vlok for six months at Livlezi until the untimely death of their firstborn, and only a few days later, herself. Also included as primary sources, are a number of handwritten letters and ‘witnesses’ composed by various female missionaries. These offer earnest reflections on their confrontations, challenges and experiences: Andrew George Murray went to Nyassaland in April 1901; Tillie Theron arrived in June 1902; Bessie joined her husband, TCB Vlok, in Nyassaland in 1885 and died in 1896.
Challenging the status quo of an institutional culture in theological training
Authors: Naidoo Marilyn
Published: February 2020

Institutional culture is one of the most salient forces operating in higher education because it is a vehicle for implementing organizational and institutional change. This article reports on an ethnographic study that focused on the role of a theological institution’s culture and how the culture shaped diversity management, and ultimately student formation. This article highlights the saliency of the institutional culture in maintaining the status quo and not supporting the establishment of more equitable learning environments. Within theological education we need to dismantle beliefs and practices that shape and sustain social injustice and that will require some institution cultures to be challenged and changed. Being aware of the formative nature of the institutional culture provides critical insights into an institution’s change process and can help theological students and educators to find a common theological discourse.
Discussing publicness on the public square?
Authors: Veldsman Danie
Published: February 2020

In the wide-ranging and multifaceted discourses of public theologies within very different and pluralistic contexts, the strongest contemporary emphasis falls on their integrity and relevance in relating to their respective contexts and socio-political movements within those much globalised contexts. This emphasis is questioned, arguing that a more fundamental and critical question is at stake. Against the background of a short overview of different stories (self-understandings) of public theology, the critical question is put forward, namely whether the emphasis should fall on the public square after all, but much rather on the ‘publicness’ of rationality that precedes the different contexts (squares!). The focus is therefore on the publicness of rationality in pursuit of the old well-known but ever challenging question, namely ‘will the real public theology please stand up’. It is argued that the integrity and relevance that ‘public theologies’ strive for, are to be firstly sought and found in their models of rationality – as the ‘stuff’ of embodiment as sites of struggle and survival that they are woven from – and secondly contextually articulated and explicated in engagement and conversation with the very pluralism they hope to address in a constructive-realistic manner.
An investigation into the socio-historical influences overcoming ethnicity in the early New Testament Church
Authors: Zgambo Humphreys Frackson
Published: February 2020

Ethnicity, tribalism and xenophobia could be found inside and outside church walls. Ethnicity and racism are natural, learned and nurtured in human beings. However, ethnic identity and relations exist whether the ethnic groups are competing or not. The first challenge of the early church in the New Testament Church was to overcome ethnicity and hostile divisions between Jews, Gentiles and Samaritans. This study aims at exploring how socio-historical influences and nature of the message of the New Testament managed to overcome ethnicity and ethnic divisions in the early New Testament Church. The study will also reflect on how the contemporary church could manage ethnicity within its structures and redefine its position on what it means to be one in Christ within the diverse church.
Die dood en die sin van die lewe
Authors: De Lange Frits
Published: February 2020

Die dood en die sin van die lewe deur Van Niekerk, Anton A2017, TafelbergISBN 9780624075332
Leadership, violent conflict and reconciliation in Africa: the theological-sociocultural engagement of Luke’s Gospel in social transformation
Authors: Agbiji Obaji M , Etukumana Godwin
Published: February 2020

This article considers anew the important role of leadership in a meliorating violent conflict and achieving reconciliation in African societies, using the Lukan Jesus’ model of subversive leadership. The article critically engages Luke’s narrative of Jesus’ leadership style in achieving reconciliation in the context of violent conflict by using theological-sociocultural hermeneutical lenses. The Lukan Jesus, his leadership style and the manner in which he sought reconciliation in contexts of violent conflict offer African socio-political and religious leaders a model of effective leadership that could assist them in dealing with the social challenges Africa faces, such as poor leadership, violent conflicts and underdevelopment.
Is God in Nigeria? Land dislocation and the challenge of confessing Belhar in Nigeria today
Authors: Akper Godwin
Published: February 2020

Of the view that “in the land full of enmity, God is in a special way the God of the destitute and the wronged”, the essay explores the challenge of confessing the third article in the Confession of Belhar in Nigeria today. Nigeria has recorded a high number of displaced persons in the years between 1982 and 2016, who have been dispossessed of their lands and their hopes for better living standards. This situation has often been caused by the activities of radical religious activists. Also, a number of communal crises among ethnic nationalities especially in some parts of what can be described as northern Nigeria have added to the statistics of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). These destitute, many of whom are Christians, continuously cry out, hoping that God may intervene, and change their situations for the better, but seemingly to no avail. For some of them, it seems like all hope is lost. With such agonising situations among Christians, what sense will it make, “to preach” to them that “God is in a special way” their God? The essay examines this question by juxtaposing the Nigerian situation with South Africa’s past, when the Christians in South Africa confessed that God was still on their side amidst a seemingly hopeless situation. It also explores whether some lessons from the South African experience can be of any assistance or relevance to the Christians in Nigeria today.
A paradigm shift in pastoral ministry in twenty-first century Nigeria: An examination of the trends, causes and its implications
Authors: Biwul Joel Kamsen Tihitshak
Published: February 2020

The paradigm shift in pastoral ministry in contemporary Nigeria is detrimental to the church and the gospel. This article examines the emerging trends as well as the motivating factors and implications of this shift. It argues that the emerging distortions are rooted in a lack of basic knowledge of the biblical, theological and ethical foundations and established traditions of the ministry, and argues for an honest return to those foundations.
In praise of strangeness. Exploring the hermeneutical potential of an unlikely source
Authors: Lategan Bernard C
Published: February 2020

In a field already investigated extensively, the article focuses on a particular aspect, namely on the nature of the interaction between the self and the other. The leading question is: What is the hermeneutical potential of the other and the stranger in relation to the self? The following dimensions are examined: the direction of flow of the interaction, the power relations involved in the process, the claim of the other on the self and the existential dimensions of strangeness.The first section examines various approaches to the other in a number of disciplines: anthropology and ethnology, art and art history, religion, philosophy, communication theory, and pedagogy. Several common traits are evident: The flow of action is pre-dominantly from the self to the other; the power relationship is unequal, skewed in favour of the self; the other is rarely perceived in his or her own right but is compared with the self who serves as norm; and strangeness is seen as inherently problematic and accompanied by negative connotations. There is consequently a constant attempt to scale down differences and to domesticate the other by various means.An alternative approach aims at reversing the normal power relationship and releasing the potential of change for the self in the encounter with the other. This requires a conscious decision to change the direction of action – from the other to the self and not vice versa. Furthermore, to break the binary hold of subject on object, the decentring of the subject is necessary. This requires the recognition of the “incompleteness” of human existence (Nyamnjoh) which opens the self for new possibilities. Acceptance of the radical openness of systems (in this case the “system” of human relationships) is the key to release the “excess” of potential available to the self in the encounter with the other and with what is strange and alien.In this context, the strategies of liberating and of enrichment through the other becomes important. Even when considering the dark side of strangeness, these strategies still apply and illustrate more clearly the existential necessity of strangeness. The potential of the other and of strangeness for liberating and enriching the self remains undervalued.
Geloofsonderskeiding in die Oostelike Sinode van die NG Kerk tydens die besluitnemingsprosesse oor die wysiging van Artikel 1 van die Kerkorde
Authors: Louwrens Carl , Hendriks Jurgens
Published: February 2020

Faith discernment in the Eastern Synod of the DR Church during the resolution processes on the amendment of Article 1 of the Church OrderDuring 2014, the DRC came to a point where they had to decide whether they would amend their confessional base to include the Belhar Confession as part of their official doctrine. The General Synod suggested amending Article 1 of the Church Order in order to expand the confessional base. An amendment of the Confession is possible after it has been approved by a two-thirds majority of each synod and two-thirds of all the church councils. In both cases it needs a two-thirds majority. 58% of the congregations in the Eastern Synod voted against the amendment of Article 1 in September 2014. In October 2014 the Eastern Synod voted in favour of the amendment of Article 1 with a majority of 73%. This article reflects on why the result of the spiritual discernment process was so different between the synod and the church councils of the Eastern Synod.
Marital fidelity and chastity: The missing ethology in Charismatic pastoral leadership
Authors: Resane Kelebogile T
Published: February 2020

This paper aims to point out the rationale behind the Charismatic pastors’ moral flaw, especially in terms of marriage. It proposes some remedial initiatives to be considered and it recommends that the discussions about ministerial preparations or trainings should not only concern skills or methods of doing the ministry, but also include moral formation or character traits of leaders. Moral issues should take the centre stage and pastors must be morally upright before pointing fingers to the secular world or politicians’ moral decline. The public discourses should encourage moral values and ethics in general. Ethology, in this context, refers to ethical discourse. This discourse should be an intra-ecclesiastical endeavour where leaders convene to examine the theological understanding of marriage. The article concludes with suggested initiatives to remedy the situation.
Hemelvaart en geloofsvorming in die skoolkonteks: ’n Ritueel-liturgiese verkenning
Authors: Van der Merwe Gert Jacobus , Wepener Cas
Published: February 2020

Ascension Day and faith formation in the school context: A Ritual-liturgical explorationThe main aim of this article is to consider the value of special liturgical services in facilitating faith formation in children. Ideally liturgical rituals should be developed and performed in such a way as to recognise, respect and involve the full spectrum of human nature. This article focuses on 1 of 10 strategic recommendations developed from empirical qualitative research in the school context. The article closes with the pragmatic task by way of a proposal on the holistic design and use of liturgical rituals in the school context to deepen its potential in stimulating and facilitating faith formation in children.
Theological resources for building resilience to gangster identity formations. A study of the Cape Flats
Authors: Vorster Nico
Published: February 2020

This essay probes the remedial promise of Christian narratives on resilience in creating buffers against gangster identity formation on the Cape Flats. First, we consult and compare both quantitative and qualitative psychosocial studies on the causes of gangster identity formation on the Cape Flats. Thereafter, we discuss the dominant Christian narratives on resilience and examine their applicability and remedial potential for the specific social setting. The essay finds that the social settings within which gangster identities are formed determine to a large degree the kind of resilience competencies that have to be instilled in individuals and communities, as well as the type of theological discourse that ought to be followed. A certain type of theological discourse on resilience might be helpful in creating buffers against gangster identity formation within some communities of the Cape Flats, but the same narrative could yield negative results in others. The type of theological approach followed should therefore be closely aligned to the audience addressed to ensure that the competencies instilled in communities do not, in fact, grow into risk factors.
Luther on Jews and Judaism. A review of his “Judenschriften”
Authors: Wessels Francois
Published: February 2020

Luther on Jews and Judaism. A review of his “Judenschriften”by Paas, Steven.2017, LIT VERLAG GmbH & Co. KG Wien. CH-8032 Zurich.ISBN 9783643909473
Geloof sonder sekerhede: Perspektiewe op die gesprek met Ernst Conradie
Authors: Van Niekerk Anton A
Published: February 2020

This article continues the discussion with Ernst Conradie in view of his earlier and critical review of the revised edition of Anton van Niekerk’s book Geloof sonder sekerhede [Faith without certainties]. The author provides further clarity on his notion of the nature of religious faith which, for him, essentially coincides with the life of love proclaimed and demonstrated by Jesus of Nazareth. The rest of the article contains Van Niekerk’s analyses of the three “creative tensions” that Conradie identified in his original discussion of the book. These are the alleged tensions between orthodoxy and orthopraxis, between faith and certainty, as well as between scientific knowledge and the knowledge of faith. Most attention is paid to the last tension which, according to Van Niekerk, reveals an unfounded metaphysical presupposition in Conradie’s position, as well as the yielding of too much intellectual territory to scientism in Conradie’s insistence on the ontological continuity between God and creation.
The power of place: Trauma recovery and memorialization
Authors: Arel Stephanie
Published: February 2020

In this paper, places of trauma, physical locations that reflect the Celtic spiritual concept of “thin places,” simultaneously represent real life events, possess symbolic meaning, and become places for active, engaged social activity related to memorialization. I explore how these places create a potential space for working through trauma, drawing on Judith Herman’s fundamental stages of recovery which she articulates as “establishing safety, reconstructing the trauma story, and restoring the connection between survivors and their communities.” I argue that memorial museums attending to trauma can guide the process of working through suffering to growth and transformation, thus benefiting witnesses, survivors and family members, and employees who immerse themselves in the stories they memorialize in order to facilitate empathy and emotional availability to visitors of all types. This community commemorating communal
Speaking from above and below – The Gospel of John as metaphorical and narrative reference to a distant reality
Authors: Rahmsdorf Olivia Luisa
Published: February 2020

The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks from the earth (Jn 3:31). How can one speak from the earth and at the same time about heavenly things? The Fourth Gospel (FG) creates a tension between these two realms of perception and cognition. To reach beyond or above the earth we have to transcend time and space, our individual context and limited visual horizon. To overcome the obstacle of confined space we can rely on metaphors since their key faculty is to transport (μετα-φέρω). To transcend the limitations of time we can recruit the genre of narration. These two modes of references to a reality that is located and dated beyond our realms are at work in the FG. With Ricoeur’s theoretical assistance, these features of the FG are highlighted as the prerequisite for its synthesis of the heterogeneous: above and below, light and darkness, spirit and flesh.
Paul Ricoeur: Philosophy, theology and happiness
Authors: Verhoef Anné
Published: February 2020

Philosophy and theology have diverse and often opposite understandings of happiness. Both offer unique and valuable insights into happiness, but the concept of happiness of both can be criticised on crucial points. Ricoeur’s work on happiness at first was as a philosopher, but he changed his discourse to a more religious register, one that appreciates the optative mood of language. It is within this optative mood that Ricoeur manages to bring philosophy’s and theology’s concepts of happiness into a fertile dialectic. The optative and religious images and metaphors provide for him a more holistic and unified way of thinking about happiness in relation to unhappiness and luck. An attempt to translate this optative understanding back to the indicative or imperative by theology and philosophy is futile, because happiness will then be again fragmented and reduced to descriptions and prescriptions.
He was with God and was God?
Authors: Van der Watt Jan
Published: February 2020

The word θεός is used for both the Father and the Son in the Gospel of John. How should this be understood? After an analysis of the different uses of this word for the Son it is concluded that such a use is based on an intimate relation between the Father and Son which is expressed in functional unity as well as unity of will and thought. The claims of the Jewish opponents that Jesus makes himself God and is therefore a blasphemer are then considered. The Jewish opponents blame Jesus for trespassing against or even threatening the sovereignty of the only God of Israel. The conceptions about heavenly or angelic rulers that threaten one another are considered against John’s strong imagery and language that indicates the non-threatening relationship between God, the Father and God, the Son.
God in Systematic Theology after Barth: Trends and perspectives
Authors: Venter Rian
Published: February 2020

The article gives an overview of the state of scholarship on God in Systematic Theology since Karl Barth. The aim is to identify trends and to raise the question about the possibility of new insights generated in theological research. The pluralistic nature of Systematic Theology is highlighted. Having mapped the crucial insights articulated by Barth, the author identifies five trends in theological thinking on God: the Trinitarian Renaissance, the rethinking of the attribute tradition, the irruption of the other, the coming of global Christianity, and the quest for interdisciplinarity. The article concludes with an evaluation of the developments and registers critical shifts in the reflection on God in Systematic Theology.
’n Teologies-pastorale ondersoek na die sosio-ekonomiese situasie van die bruin welsynpensioenarisse in die Redeemed African Metodiste Kerk
Authors: Carnow Jacobus , Thesnaar Christo
Published: February 2020

A theologically-pastoral examination of the socio-economic situation of the brown welfare pensioners in the Redeemed African Methodist ChurchThe South African society is characterised by socio-economic inequality between various social components which is also reflected in the older persons’ population (Beukes 2014:32). The objective of this article is a theological-pastoral investigation of how apartheid and neoliberal market economy could be structurally responsible for the socio-economic situation of brown welfare pensioners which is then interpreted in the light of God’s justice. The insight gained could then be used by the Redeemed African Methodist Church to devise an appropriate theological-pastoral strategy to assist these older persons. This article is based on empirical data that was gathered by means of focus group methodology. The findings are that these older persons are victims of external factors determining their socio-economic situation. The theoretical framework of this article is that theological-pastoral care to these older persons cannot be separated from theological-pastoral care of the public life.
Heinrich Bullinger se leer oor verbond en uitverkiesing as antwoord op die TULIP-problematiek
Authors: De Koning Jacobus
Published: February 2020

Heinrich Bullinger’s doctrine on covenant and election in response to the problematic nature of TULIPIn this article, the question was raised whether a new appreciation and application of Heinrich Bullinger’s doctrine of the covenant and of election could give rise to a more pastoral and non-rational way of thinking in relation to election/predestination as reflected in the five points of TULIP. Responses to TULIP within current evangelical theological circles were examined. Specifically Dave Hunt’s book, ‘What love is this’ and the New Calvinism, were scrutinized in this regard, before it was indicated why Bullinger’s view of the covenant and of election were chosen as the answer to the problem mentioned above. After investigating Bullinger’s theology with regard to the covenant and election in contrast to later developments, it was shown how his view of the central place of the covenant in the history of revelation influences his doctrine of election to such an extent that his historical and Christological focus brings a more biblical version of election than that of TULIP to the evangelical discussion. Finally, some implications of his theology, especially for evangelical theology, are addressed.
Interior intimo meo: Rowan Williams on the Self
Authors: Delport Khegan Marcel
Published: February 2020

In this essay we discuss Williams’s notion of the self as a social mediation. The argument is made that from early on Williams was influenced by different streams of thought that directed him to analogous conclusions regarding language and personhood. I will show that through internalizing of Augustine, Wittgensteinian philosophy and certain strands of Eastern Orthodox thought, Williams came to an understanding of language that was grounded in the particulars of human interaction, one that is finally kenotic since the imago dei is reflective of the imago trinitatis. It is within this context that one should place Williams own relationally-centred, non-egocentric construal of human personhood that finds its centre in the dynamic exteriority of love.
Creation made into הָמְכָח: The eco-theological appraisal of the intrinsic worth of nature in Proverbs 3:19–20
Authors: Kavusa Jonathan
Published: February 2020

This article explores the statement “creation made in wisdom” of Proverbs 3:19–20 as pointing to the Earth Bible’s principle of intrinsic worth/value of nature. This article argues that our contemporary societies need to adjust their development in harmony with the cosmic order as secured by God at creation through wisdom. Wisdom in creation constitutes the supreme ideal for living wisely, and for constructing a healthy society that is in harmony with creation.
Church breakaways as a prototype of commercialisation and commodification of religion in the Pentecostal Church Movement in South Africa: considering curricula offerings for pastors
Authors: Masenya Madipoane , Malesela Madipoane
Published: February 2020

The common occurrence of church breakaways witnessed in the Pentecostal Church Movement in South Africa today highlights trends that appear bent towards the commercialisation and commodification of religion. Material and financial gain are seen as motivators of such a trend. On the other hand, research shows that signs of underperformance and a poor show in church leadership among religious leaders may be attributed to among others, deficiencies in the initial training of pastors. This article will, through the employment of literature review and careful observation made among communities, discuss breakaway trends and their impact on churches and society. Thereafter, we will suggest pointers to be followed in curriculum development for religious leaders. The article will also briefly refer to the current debate on the decolonisation of curricula offerings in training programmes for pastors. Such an approach could add value to good practice to those who aspire to become religious leaders in serving communities.
Th e Leibholz-Schmitt connection’s formative influence on Bonhoeffer’s 1932–33 entry into public theology
Authors: Radler Karola
Published: February 2020

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s brother-in-law Gerhard Leibholz’s insight into the Fascist theory of the state’s messianic leadership and myth of creating communal life became a major source of information for Bonhoeffer. Leibholz had gained this knowledge in close jurisprudential cooperation with Carl Schmitt as is evidenced by Leibholz’s 1929 habilitation thesis which at the same time intersected with Bonhoeffer’s academic work. Their original political leanings towards authoritarianism, Volk, and Vitalism were revised by Bonhoeffer and Leibholz in November 1932 through stepping out into a coordinated public opposition to the approaching political changes. But both only recognized the populist xenophobic destructiveness of such a life, hidden beneath the myth of unity, once Schmitt turned to National Socialism in early 1933. Bonhoeffer’s theology, built on the Leibholz-Schmitt discourse, remains a call for vigilance against the abuse of power, populism, and xenophobia, and continues to call for seeking God-revealed life.
“The message to the people of South Africa” in contemporary context
Authors: Braverman Mark
Published: February 2020

In September 2018 John de Gruchy presented a paper at the Volmoed Colloquium entitled “Revisiting the Message to the people of South Africa,” in which he asks, “what is the significance of the document for our time?” In this expanded version of the author’s response to de Gruchy, two further questions are pursued: First: how can the churches today meet the challenge of today’s global system of economically and politically-driven inequality driven by a constellation of individuals, corporations, and governments? Second: in his review of church history, de Gruchy focused on the issue of church theology described in the 1985 Kairos South Africa document, in which churches use words that purport to support justice but actually serve to shore up the status quo of discrimination, inequality and racism. How does church theology manifest in the contemporary global context, and what is the remedy? The author proposes that ecumenism can serve as a mobilizing and organizing model for church action, and that active engagement in the issue of Palestine is an entry point for church renewal and for a necessary and fruitful exploration of critical issues in theology and ecclesiology.
How can Europeans enter the Kingdom of Heaven? A decolonial challenge to Western European political and public theologies in an age of migration
Authors: Field David
Published: February 2020

In his 2019 Steve de Gruchy Memorial Lecture John de Gruchy provocatively posed the question: “Is it possible for a white South African male to enter the kingdom of heaven? The core of his concern was how is it possible for a person who was and is still a beneficiary of Apartheid and colonialism in South Africa participate in the creation of a just and transformed society. This question has a particular poignancy in contemporary South Africa where the beneficiaries of exploitation and injustice continue to live in close proximity to the victims in a society that still reflects the patterns of inequality created by Apartheid. However, the challenge of the question is not limited to one particular situation of exploitation and injustice but reverberates in numerous other contexts. South African Apartheid was an intensified microcosm of European colonialism and hence my question; “How can Europeans enter the Kingdom of Heaven?” Or to phrase it differently, how can Western European political and public theologies contribute to the creation of a just and sustainable world order, in the light of Western European colonial entanglements and Western Europe’s continued benefiting from unjust and exploitative international relationships. I pose this question as a white South African male who has lived in Europe for eighteen years and has recently acquired Swiss citizenship. Hence, the question is self-referring – it challenges the particularity of my own existence that is characterised by complicity, hybridity, and complexity of one who is a beneficiary of Apartheid, whose cultural heritage is influenced by Europe, who has deep roots in (South) Africa; who seeks to do theology while listening to the diverse voices of Africa; yet who now resides in Europe and through taking on the citizenship of a European country has grafted himself into the history and politics of Western Europe and all that this entails. So, the question is this personal – “How do I do political theology in Europe as a white South African, but also as a student of John de Gruchy?”
Teaching being human in global comparison
Authors: Hopkins Dwight
Published: February 2020

The current essay draws upon the author’s involvement and teaching experiences within a global network of international youth-student exchanges. The central question that is brought to the fore is: How does an educator teach the idea of being human among different nations situated in the same classroom? It therefore is polarized on the question of theological anthropology, and how these notions are received within cross-cultural exposure. The essay begins with the concept of culture itself, and particularly the way in which it is transmitted contemporaneously through resurfacing and enactment. The essay then moves onto the content of pedagogy, which is summarized under the themes of (1) conversation, (2) questioning, and (3) opening up traditions to new perspectives. The purpose of (1) is to emphasize and bring to the surface those crucial traditions relative to the class subject matter, while (2) seeks to teach students to not accept anything as given; to challenge students to defend the fundamentals and presuppositions of their arguments; to remind both questioner/challenger and responder/defender to always make clear the local cultural context of the challenge and the defense. And finally, (3) facilitates a moment of encounter whereby a student who is foreign is invited into another student’s reality, and to see something new in an ancient memory that is different to their own. The essay closes with a suggestion that certain cultural or artistic artifacts, namely language and music, might provide a salient point for class-room discussion, especially in the way these cultural productions are received both locally and globally.
Contribution of John S Mbiti to the study of African religions and African theology and philosophy
Authors: Mbaya Henri , Cezula Ntozakhe
Published: February 2020

This paper discusses the contribution of Professor John S Mbiti to African theology and African Philosophy. It does this by highlighting several scholars in various contexts who have attempted to highlight his contribution to these fields of study. The paper highlights some important concepts and issues that Mbiti has dealt with in his theological and philosophical works. The overall argument of these authors is that Mbiti has argued that in their cultures and religions, Africans do know and experience God.
Border-crossing and the Samaritan Traveler
Authors: Michael Matthew
Published: February 2020

Border-crossing is a defining subject in the contemporary field of postcolonial studies. Situating the parable of the Good Samaritan within this landscape, the present study engages the dynamism of border-crossing in the popular parable of the Good Samaritan. While the parable of the Good Samaritan has been studied from varieties of methodologies and perspectives, the mechanics of border markings – within the fictionality of border space – has generally escaped this study. Using social identity theory in this direction, the work probes the dynamics of group border markings in the characterization of this story – and the significance of this border polemics in the mapping of Luke-Acts. Consequently, the paper offers fresh perspectives to this popular parable in the different negotiations of border markings and the polemics of otherness in this story.
Buite die grense van die bekende
Authors: Nell Ian
Published: February 2020

Outside the confines of the known: Cross-cultural experiences among a random sample of ministers in the Dutch Reformed ChurchThis article looks at one of the questions posed in the Church Mirror questionnaire to a number of pastors of the Dutch Reformed Church. The question is: Tell us about the best experience you have had in your congregation where believers met across cultural boundaries or did something together? The sample forms part of a ministerial panel conducted every three years among ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church with the aim of finding out what pastors think and do about a number of current church activities. The choice to focus on this question comes against the backdrop of contemporary discourses related to the missional nature of church life and the challenge of multi-culturalism in faith communities. The study is qualitative in nature and falls within the interpretive paradigm as part of phenomenology. The data shows an interesting number of activities identified by the ministers related to multiculturalism and also provides some directions for missional development in the future.
Effect of bioactive extracts with high cytokinin content from micelial biomass of Hericium coralloides and Fomitopsis officinalis on tumor cells in vitro
Authors: Vedenicheva N. , Al-Maali G. , Bisko N. , Kosakivska I. , Garmanchuk L. , Ostapchenko L.
Published: February 2020

Phytohormones cytokinins are known to promote cell division in plants. Contrary, in animal's and human's tissues they induce apoptosis and block the cell cycle of a wide spectrum of tumour cells. Therapeutic effects of cytokinins, specifically their anticancer and immunomodulatory actions are similar to those of medicinal mushrooms. We detected cytokinins in mycelial biomass of two species of medicinal mushrooms growing in vitro (Fomitopsis officinalis strain 5004 and Hericium coralloides strain 2332) using HPLC-MS. Trans-zeatin, zeatin riboside, zeatin-O-glucoside and isopentenyladenine were found. Crude extracts and purified cytokinin fractions from mycelial biomass were tested on the growth and development of cultures of tumor cells lines: Hela (MTT-assay), T24/83 (viability and level apoptotic cells) and HepG2 (consumption of glucose). The effect of cytokinin fraction from mycelial biomass of Fomitopsis officinalis on pathogenic cells was higher compared to Hericium coralloides one. The data obtained revealed a higher cytotoxic/cytostatic effect of the purified cytokinin fractions in comparison with crude methanolic extracts; also higher apoptotic index was found. Under the influence of the test agents the intensification of glucose uptake into cells was observed. This indicator was higher for crude mushroom mycelium extracts, whereas under the action of purified fractions the glucose uptake rate was lower, thus decreased glycolysis level was recorded. Also, the effect of both crude extract and purified fraction from H. coralloides mycelial biomass on glucose uptake in the conditioned medium was lower against F. officinalis.These results confirm the assumption that biologically active substances of medicinal mushrooms with high pharmacological potential include cytokinins.
A New Uniform Moment Tensor Catalog for Yunnan, China, from January 2000 through December 2014
Authors: Xu Yan , Koper Keith D. , Burlacu Relu , Herrmann Robert B. , Li Dan-Ning
Published: February 2020

Because of the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the Yunnan Province of southwestern China has some of the highest levels of seismic hazard in the world. In such a region, a catalog of moment tensors is important for estimating seismic hazard and helping understand the regional seismotectonics. Here, we present a new uniform catalog of moment tensor solutions for the Yunnan region. Using a grid-search technique to invert seismic waveforms recorded by the permanent regional network in Yunnan and the 2 yr ChinArray deployment, we present 1833 moment tensor solutions for small-to-moderate earthquakes that occurred between January 2000 and December 2014. Moment magnitudes in the new catalog vary from Mw 2.2 to 6.1, and the catalog is complete above Mw∼3.5–3.6. The moment tensors are constrained to be purely double-couple and show a variety of faulting mechanisms. Normal faulting events are mainly concentrated in northwest Yunnan, while farther south along the Sagaing fault the earthquakes are mostly thrust and strike slip. The remaining area includes all three styles of faulting but mostly strike slip. We invert the moment tensors for the regional stress field and find a strong correlation between spatially varying maximum horizontal stress and Global Positioning System observations of horizontal ground velocity. The stress field reveals clockwise rotation around the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, with northwest–southeast compression to the east of the Red River fault changing to northeast–southwest compression west of the fault. Almost 88% of the centroid depths are shallower than 16 km, consistent with a weak and ductile lower crust.
Frecuencia y determinantes de reingreso hospitalario en pacientes con trastorno mental grave
Authors: Campo Alegría Nancy Milena , Cardona Marín Laura Milena , López Pacheco Jenny Carolina , Pacheco López Robinson
Published: February 2020

Introducción: Se estima que al menos el 50% de los pacientes que son usuarios habituales de los servicios de hospitalización psiquiátrica se han re-hospitalizado durante el primer año del alta hospitalaria. Para reducir el impacto derivado de la atención en eventos de salud, el SGGC de Colombia, recomienda a las instituciones de salud optimizar los recursos de atención, evaluar y mejorar la calidad de la atención en la población que requiera hospitalización.Objetivo: Identificar los determinantes relacionados con el reingreso hospitalario en pacientes con diagnóstico compatible con trastorno mental grave en una IPS especializada de Cali - Colombia 2017. Métodos: Se realizó un estudio de casos y controles en una IPS especializada en salud Mental de la ciudad de Cali, se incluyeron 105 casos y 315 controles. Para una muestra de 420 pacientes. se realizó un análisis bivariado y análisis multivariado. Resultados: El 14.2% de los pacientes presentaron al menos un reingreso. El trastorno afectivo bipolar se presentó con mayor frecuencia en los reingresos con un 41%, pero no presentó asociación estadísticamente significativa con un OR ajustado: 0.94 (IC 95%: 0.53–1.67). El modelo final arrojó significancia estadística en la adherencia al tratamiento como un factor protector para prevenir el reingreso hospitalario en pacientes con TMG, OR ajustado: 0.35 (IC 95%: 0.21–0.58).Conclusión: El total de pacientes, contribuyeron con 153 hospitalizaciones (20.7%). Por esta razon es importante hacer seguimiento al evento para estalbecer las causas de l reingreso y establecer las acciones para reducir la frecuencia.