scholarly journals The future of the church – a forgotten article of Oepke Noordmans

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 539-557
Author(s):  
Abraham Van de Beek
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
English Translation ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Critical Attitude ◽  
The Future ◽  
Present Context ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Church

An English translation of a recovered article by the Dutch theologian Oepke Noordmans, Kerk en Toekomst (Church and future) is presented. The relevance of this article for the present context, especially in South Africa, is discussed against the background of Noordmans’ theology. Noordmans is not concerned about the future of the church (which in the final analysis is not meant to last forever), but calls for participation in the Kingdom of God. Noordmans’ theology is highly critical of tendencies in churches to escape from hard reality and responsibilities (Noordmans calls this weak ascesis), or to claim easily manageable solutions. He calls for a more critical attitude in accordance with the eschatological call of the Kingdom, and for a closer unity of human beings as fallible people who are united because they share a life at the foot of the cross (strong ascesis).

scholarly journals PKM KATEKESE TENTANG MENGHAYATI NILAI KERAJAAN ALLAH DALAM ERA DIGITAL BAGI ANGGOTA KMK. ST. MARTINUS PAROKI PERSIAPAN ST. MARINUS PU’URERE

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Aurelius Fredimento ◽  
John M. Balan
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Flowing Water ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Media Communication ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Church

The development and the progress of media communication at the present is a fact of the knowledge and the technology development that must be accepted. It presence like the flowing water which has a fast current that brings also two influences both positive and negative that must be accounted for the members of the Catholic Students Community Of St. Martinus Ende (KMK St. Martinus Ende). Both positive and negative influences the media community like a kinetic energy or a power attraction that attract  them in a tiring ambiquity. Let them walk alone without escort of a decisive compass where they should have a rightist attitude and responsible. On the point, the guidance and assistance of the church is an  offering  if the church will be born a generation  of the future  of the  church  that is mature and has a certain quality  based  on the growth  and the development  of acuteness and inner  to determine the attitude to the development of media communication. The process of sharpening of mind and the sharpeness of the participants can be realized by giving some activities such as: awareness, deepening and even  the sharpeness of the actor of  media communication as an  alternative of reporting work of the God Kingdom for human beings. It becomes the main moving spirit or activator  for the board of KMK Of St. Martinus Ende  to plan and boring  about the activity of catechism. The activity rise the method of Amos.  By this method, the participants are invited to build a deeply reflection that based on thein real experiences about the media communication, while keep on self opening to the God planning will come  to them  and  give them via  the commandment of God.  The commandment  of God  come to light, inspiration, motivate, power and critics to the  participants about the using of the media communication as a media of the commandment of the kingdom of God  to the world that is more progress and development lately.

scholarly journals Kerajaan Allah Sebagai Inti Kehidupan Dan Perutusan Yesus

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-250
Author(s):  
Martin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Sermon On The Mount ◽  
Divine Grace ◽  
The People ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Cross

Abstract: The Kingdom of God is central to the whole message of Jesus Christ. Through the kingdom of God, we can discover and understand the entire mission of Jesus. The Kingdom of God is the embodiment of God’s saving presence in human life. Compared with the Jewish religious movements of that era, especially the apocalyptic movement, which also awaited the coming of the Kingdom of God, Jesus’ preaching about the kingdom of God has a special feature, that the Kingdom of God is an act of forgiveness and salvation from God, and not God’s judgment; moreover, the action is happening now in people’s life, rather than being something that is expected in the future. Through Jesus, through his word and his work, God is now present in the midst of the people. Through his parables and his words in the Sermon on the Mount and in the act of casting out demons, in healing the sick and in the forgiveness of sin, Jesus reveals the presence of a compassionate God, a God who frees people from the power of sin and leades them in the power of divine grace. Jesus not only preached the kingdom of God but gave himself so that people would experience God’s saving work. Through His death on the cross, Jesus freely poured God’s mercy and goodness upon human beings. Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God has important implications for the understanding of the Christological and ecclesiological renewal. Keywords: Kingdom of God, salvation, forgiveness, word of Jesus, work of Jesus, human life, Christological and ecclesiological renewal. Abstrak: Kerajaan Allah merupakan inti seluruh pewartaan Yesus Kristus. Melalui Kerajaan Allah kita dapat menemukan dan mengerti seluruh perutusan hidup Yesus. Kerajaan Allah berarti perwujudan kehadiran Allah yang menyelamatkan dalam hidup manusia. Dibandingkan dengan gerakan keagamaan yahudi pada zaman itu, khususnya apokaliptik yang juga menantikan kedatangan Kerajaan Allah, pewartaan Yesus tentang Kerajaan Allah memiliki ciri khusus bahwa Kerajaan Allah adalah tindakan pengampunan dan penyelamatan Allah, bukan penghakiman Allah dan tindakan itu kini terjadi nyata dalam hidup manusia, dan bukannya sesuatu yang dinantikan di masa depan. Melalui diri Yesus, dalam sabda dan karya-Nya, Allah kini hadir di tengah-tengah umat-Nya. Lewat perumpamaan dan sabda bahagia maupun dalam tindakan pengusiran setan, penyembuhan orang sakit dan pengampunan orang berdosa, Yesus menyatakan kehadiran Allah yang penuh belas kasih dalam hidup manusia, yang membebaskannya dari kuasa dosa dan menuntunnya dalam kuasa rahmat Ilahi. Yesus tidak hanya memberitakan Kerajaan Allah tetapi juga memberikan diri-Nya, sehingga orang sungguh mengalami karya penyelamatan Allah. Melalui kematian-Nya di salib, Yesus mencurahkan dengan cuma-cuma kerahiman dan kebaikan Allah dalam hidup manusia. Pewartaan Kerajaan Allah Yesus ini memiliki dampak penting bagi pembaruan pemahaman kristologis dan eklesiologis. Kata-kata Kunci: Kerajaan Allah, penyelamatan, pengampunan, sabda Yesus, karya Yesus, kehidupan manusia, pembaruan pemahaman kristologis dan eklesiologis.

scholarly journals In good times and in bad: Die stormagtige verhouding tussen kerk en die orrel � is egskeiding onafwendbaar?

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ockie C. Vermeulen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Pipe Organ ◽  
Worship Service ◽  
The Future ◽  
Role Players ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

In good times and in bad: The tumultuous relationship between the church and the organ - is divorce inevitable? Through the ages, a delicate relationship has existed between the church and the pipe organ. Since the 10th century, the organ established itself as a unique instrument in service of worship. This relationship was not always a steady one, and this article investigates the tumultuous affair between the two parties. In part one of the article, which is a historic perspective, the relationship is discussed by looking at different cultures and uses of the organ in the worship service. This gives a sense of when and how the relationship came into being and developed or deteriorated. In part two, the current situation in the Afrikaans Reformed service is explored by conducting several unstructured interviews with key role players in the theological and musical world of South Africa. In part three, the study ventures into speculating about the future of the organ in the worship service by briefly looking at the attitude of the organist and spirituality of the postmodern church goer. In essence, this article reflects on whether the marriage between church and music instrument is solid or on its way to the divorce court.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The relationship between organ and church has to be reconsidered. The use of the organ in the worship service has to be taken under scrutiny, and a new relationship agreement between the two partners has to be formulated.

scholarly journals ’n Waarskynlike bedieningsmilieu vir die GKSA in die dekades na 2000

1999 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Future ◽  
Broad Framework ◽  
Reformed Churches ◽  
Biblical Principles ◽  
The Church

This article focuses on the possible milieu for the ministry of the Reformed Churches in South Africa in the decades beyond 2000. From a church- historical and futurological point of view the paradigm shift from modernism to postmodernism is investigated. The effect of the paradigm shift as well as the emerging megatrends is analysed and proposals for the focus of the future ministry of these churches are formulated. These proposals are outlined within the broad framework of Biblical principles for the ministry of the church.

The Cross cult, King Oswald, and Elizabethan historiography

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-57
Author(s):  
Paul J. Stapleton
Keyword(s):  
English Translation ◽  
Edmund Spenser ◽  
Faerie Queene ◽  
John Foxe ◽  
Religious Controversy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cross ◽  
The Faerie Queene ◽  
The Church ◽  
Made In

In Thomas Stapleton’s The History of the Church of Englande (1565), the first modern English translation of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, the cross cult is promoted as a definitive element of English religious and national identity, via the legend of the Saxon king Oswald. The version of the legend in Stapleton’s narrative, which includes textual supplements like illustrations, appears to be intended as a corrective in light of attacks upon the cross cult made in works of religious controversy by the reformists William Turner, John Jewel, and James Calfhill, but also in works of historiography such as the 1559 edition of Robert Fabyan’s Chronicle. In response to Stapleton’s expanded presentation of the Oswald legend, John Foxe reconfigures the narrative in the 1570 Acts and Monuments or Book of Martyrs, but in a bifurcated manner, perhaps to appease members of Matthew Parker’s circle of Saxon scholars. Surprisingly, in Book Three of The Faerie Queene (1590), Edmund Spenser carries on Stapleton’s iconodule understanding of Oswald’s cross in contrast to his reformist Protestant precursors.1

A Shared Story for Reconciliation—Which Story? Conclusive Reflections

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27
Author(s):  
Abraham van de Beek
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
War Of Independence ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future

AbstractIn cases of severe conflicts, e.g. in South-Africa during the time of apartheid or in Indonesia during the war of Independence, people are deeply wounded. Both victims and perpetrators bear memories of the past as heavy burdens that close the future for them. They keep their stories silent in order to not be confronted with the past. Telling the story seems to open up the future, but, in the end, it turns out that victims and perpetrators cannot develop a shared story. Only death can deliver them from the past. Christian faith proclaims the death of human beings in the death of Christ. It opens a new future in the resurrection of a new being.

scholarly journals Rural education: Reimagining the role of the church in transforming poverty in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christo Thesnaar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
South African Society ◽  
Johann Baptist Metz ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Church

The desire to remember the plight of the poor in South Africa has reduced in the last 20 years after the transition from apartheid to freedom. To a large extent, Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) and the religious society at large have lost their ‘dangerous memory’ which keeps us mindful of those who suffered and whose plight is usually forgotten or suppressed. In this contribution the conditions of poor farm school children in multigrade rural education will be scrutinised by unpacking the contextual factors that cause us to forget their plight. This article will seek to reimagine the role of the church in poverty-stricken South Africa by engaging with the work of Talcott Parsons, the practical theologian Johannes A. Van der Ven, as well as the work of the political theologian Johann Baptist Metz in order to affirm the focus of Practical Theology to transform society and to contribute to the quest for justice and liberation for the poor in rural education. This reimagining discourse has a fundamental responsibility to challenge the social, political and economic realities that shape the lives of human beings within rural education, remembering the plight of the poor, and participating on their journey towards liberation and healing. It is proposed that if the church can activate its ‘dangerous memory’ it will be able to reimagine its role by transforming our poverty-stricken South African society, open new avenues for breaking the cycle of poverty and contribute to rural education.

scholarly journals The hidden potential of pre-theoretical transversal events or advents of a Rainbow Nation

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann-Albrecht Meylahn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Philosophical Thinking ◽  
South Africans ◽  
The Future ◽  
Global World ◽  
The Church ◽  
Unique Potential

This article proposes that South Africa, as multi-lingual country, has unique potential and that this potential is not to be found in some or other essence of what it means to be African, but in the daily struggles, frustrations and possibilities of life in a fragmented and divided multi-lingual society. In this fragmented and ‘impossible’ society there are moments (maybe rare moments) of true understanding, communication, reconciliation and forgiveness and these moments I call ‘Advents of a Rainbow Nation’. Although these Advents can be understood (made reasonable) via the transversal reasoning of Welsch and Schrag, this article would like to propose an alternative: to wonder-off in a different non-direction namely into the u-topic and u-chronic clearing of non-philosophy. Reason cannot receive the Advent as gift (given without givenness) and thus transforms the Advent into a philosophical event of thought. In the process of seeking to understand these Advents as events, the Advents are transformed by a Decision or cut of transversal reasoning, and so the Advents themselves are lost. Therefore, what is sought in this article is not an understanding (reason) of this Advent, but rather a wandering in and a wondering at the grace and faith of this Advent. This grace and faith is the greatest epistemological asset South Africa, as multi-lingual country, can offer a plural global world as it opens a space for non-philosophical thinking: thus thinking science, religion, art, literature together in a vision-in-One with theology safe-guarding this vision-in-One unifacially facing the future. The question is, can South Africans embrace the multiplicity of the Advent of the Rainbow Nation? Can the Church with her Christ narrative sojourn with South Africa towards a rainbow nation and thereby facilitate a noological space for multiple connective intellection, or is she an obstacle towards developing this potential?

scholarly journals Kristi Genkomst og kødets opstandelse. Det eskatogiske hos Grundtvig

1950 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-56
Author(s):  
C. I. Scharling
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
The Body ◽  
Essential Point ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
The Future ◽  
To Come ◽  
Personal Understanding ◽  
The Church ◽  
Second Coming

The Second Coming of Christ and the Resurrection of the Body. Grundtvigs Eschatology. By C. I. Scharling. This essay shows how Grundtvig, in contrast to his contemporaries in the Church, laid great stress upon the eschatological hope of the future. He may have been partly inspired by Scandinavian mythology (the myth of Ragnarok) and partly by Schellings theories about the great drama of existence (the coming forth of ideas from the Absolute and their returning thither). But the essential point is that the eschatological hope grew forth naturally from his personal understanding of life and death, of the meaning and object of human life, and from his faith in the living, risen Christ as Lord and victor over the powers of darkness and death. It is remarkable that while after 1825 Grundtvig lived with such intensity in the experience of the realisation of the Kingdom of God here and now in the Church’s fellowship with the risen, present Saviour, at the same time, both in his hymns and in his preaching, he gives such powerful expression to the eschatological hope of the future. The author finds the explanation of this in the fact that for Grundtvig (unlike many others) it was not the need and distress of the time that gave life to the Biblical promises of the Second Coming of Christ and the setting*up of the Kingdom of Glory at the Last Day, but his very joy in God’s great Salvation, experienced in the Church. Thus the peculiar thing about Grundtvig’s eschatological expectation is that the tidings of the Second Coming of the Lord are for him an evangel in the full sense of the word; his feelings about the Last Day are far removed from the feeling of fear and horror which meets us in many of the mediaeval frescoes of the Lord’s Return to Judgment or in the old hymn, “Dies irae, dies ilia”. Characteristic of him, too, is his stress on the contin uity between the present world, which came into being at the Creation, and the world to come; the old world shall not be destroyed, but reborn and transfigured; its for this reason that he lays so much stress on faith in the resurrection of the body. On the other hand the author rejects the theory put forward by the Norwegian writer, Paulus Svendsen, that Grundtvig was a Chiliast and “believed in an external, perfect Kingdom of God on earth” ; he refutes it by reference to the fact that Grundtvig explicitly rejected Edward Irving’s conception of the millennium.

scholarly journals Die oorgeblewe sendingtaak in Suid-Afrika

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-205
Author(s):  
J. J. Kritzinger
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
The South ◽  
Research Project ◽  
University Of Pretoria ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Task ◽  
Contemporary Situation ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

The remaining missionary task in South Africa This article is based on the results of a research project of the Institute for Missiological Research at the University of Pretoria which was recently concluded. The author and a team of co-workers researched practically the whole of South Africa in an endeavour to describe the contemporary situation of its population and the unfinished task of the church. The understanding of the missionary task which formed the basis of this project, and a sample of the kind of results obtained are illustrated in this article by means of 12 representative or typical scenarios which together indicate the dimensions of the future task for the South African church.

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