scholarly journals Missionale gemeentes in die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika – Teologies verantwoord

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Christo Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Missio Dei ◽  
Missional Leadership ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Plural Society ◽  
Institutional Church ◽  
The Many

Missional congegrations in the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa – Theologically substantiated The Christian churches are experiencing a major paradigm shift as they attemp to navigate the 20th century. Around the mid-fourth century to the mid-twentieth century CE, often referred to as the ‘age of Christendom’, Christianity and the institutional church had a central place, which was culturally supported in the public life of most Western societies. Today it is impossible to talk about culture without using the plural. Society has changed into what is called a ‘pluriverse’ of cultures determined by aspects such as geography, race, ethinicity, class, and worldview. For Christian denominations, this paradigm shift has become exceedingly challenging. This article discerns and experiments with approaches to ministry that are vitally challenged by the many current understandings of what it means to be church today. By taking the concept missio Dei as point of departure the article describes the church as being called to be a missional church and the Christian leaders as being called to exercise missional leadership. The article addresses the notion of missio trinitatis as fundamental to the understanding of the missio Dei. God is one who lives by sharing, and the Trinity is the doctrine of a God whose very essence is sharing, thus the consequence is that those who believe in such a God must live a similar life. Matthew 28:19−20 serves as basis for a discussion on the ‘embodiment’ of the church’s missional theology as well as a basis for the development of a missional praxis. The fundamental conviction argued in this article is that there can be no place for a future church that is not missional in essence.

scholarly journals Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda – die ongemaklike eis

2008 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Buitendag
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Authentic Identity ◽  
Christ Followers ◽  
Institutional Church ◽  
Opening Address

Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda – a hard to do command This article is a reworked version of the Moderator’s opening address at the 68th General Assembly of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa in October 2007. Against the fourth-century background of Emperor Constantine’s “church politics”, the paper reflects on the first-century rhetoric of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:3ff and 17ff about non-worldly, divine weapons of warfare, and about boasting and self-commendation. It shows how Paul understood oral rhetorical words as theatrically performed by employing the genre of the so-called “Fool’s speech” by means of which Paul argues that masks disguise the authentic identity of Christ- followers. Paul’s rhetoric is applied in the article as an appeal to the modern-day church to be ecumenically open and anthropologically inclusive. The article demonstrates the uneasiness of some members in the institutional church to proceed along a path of ongoing reformation (ecclesia reformata semper reformanda).

scholarly journals Die inkarnering van die missio Dei as praktykmodel vir die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Christo Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
Missio Dei ◽  
Christian Mission ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Incarnational Mission ◽  
The Many ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Christian Witness ◽  
The Church

The incarnation of the missio Dei practice model for the Dutch Reformed Church of Africa. The decline of the church in the West is of great concern to many today. The Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NRCA), experiences the same tendency. We are living in a time when survival is on the mind of most mainline congregations and denominations. The question is what shall we do to turn this situation around? The answer is to be found in the rediscovery of what it means for the church to be missional. The knowledge about how the early church functioned helps us to rediscover the character of early Christian mission, much of what is drawn together in the concept of incarnational mission. This article examines incarnational mission as the understanding and practise of Christian witness that is rooted in and shaped by the life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Understanding mission incarnationally in this manner is an integrative way to approach the church’s missionary vocation and to avoid the typical Western reduction of mission to one of the many programms of the church. The article, by exploring the meaning of incarnational mission, endeavours to be both constructive with regard to the biblical and theological understanding of the message, and polemical with regard to the context and history of mission, especially in the Western tradition. This article follows Darrell Guder in arguing that the historical ‘happenedness’ of Jesus’ life both enables and defines Christian witness. In exploring the missional ignificance of the incarnation, the article tries to avoid any dilution of the centrality of the incarnation event.

The Fate of Small Towns, Hilltop Settlements, and Elite Residences in Merovingian-Period Gaul

2020 ◽  
pp. 610-640
Author(s):  
Luc Bourgeois
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Power Networks ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
The Many

The study of places of power in the Merovingian realm has long been focused on cities, monasteries, and royal palaces. Recent archaeological research has led to the emergence of other categories. Four of them are addressed in this chapter. These include the capitals of fallen cities, which continue to mark the landscape in one way or another. Similarly, the fate of small Roman towns during the early Middle Ages shows that most of them continued to host a variety of secular and ecclesiastical powers. In addition, from the fourth century onward, large hilltop fortified settlements multiplied anew. They complemented earlier networks of authority, whether elite residences, artisan communities, or real towns. Finally, from the seventh century onward, the great aristocratic villas of late antiquity were transformed into settlements organized around one or more courtyards and supplemented by funerary and religious structures. The evolution of political spaces and lifestyles explains both the ruptures in power networks that occurred during the Merovingian epoch and the many continuities that can be seen in the four kinds of places studied in this chapter that were marked by these developments.

Humanity Imperiled by the Geomagnetic Field and Human Corruption

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 456-478
Author(s):  
J. Marvin Herndon
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Charged Particle ◽  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
First Person Perspective ◽  
The Many

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a shield, protecting life and our electrically-based infrastructure from the rampaging, charged-particle solar wind. In the geologic past, the geomagnetic field has collapsed, with or without polarity reversal, and inevitably it will again. The potential consequences of geomagnetic collapse have not only been greatly underestimated, but governments, scientists, and the public have been deceived as to the underlying science. Instead of trying to refute or advance a paradigm shift that occurred in 1979, global geoscientists, individuals and institutions, chose to function as a cartel and continued to promote their very-flawed concepts that had their origin in the 1930s and 1940s, consequently wasting vast amounts of taxpayer-provided research money, and making no meaningful advances or understanding. Here, from a first person perspective, I describe the logical progression of understanding from that paradigm shift, review the advances made and their concomitant implications, and touch upon a few of the many efforts that were made to deceive government officials, scientists, and the public. It is worrisome that geoscientists almost universally have engaged in suppressing or ignoring sound scientific advances, including those with potentially adverse implications for humanity. All of this suggests that the entire institutional structure of the geophysical sciences, funding, institutions, and bureaucracies should be radically reformed.

scholarly journals The local church as a non-governmental organisation in the fight against poverty: A historical overview of Bethulie 1933–1935

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Church ◽  
Dutch Reformed ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Organisation And Administration ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Church

Poverty is one of the greatest threats to society. In South Africa it is also one of the biggest challenges. This article starts with the challenges put to society by Mr Trevor Manuel at the Carnegie 3 conference. It then explores the possibility of if and how the church can act as a non-governmental organisation in the fight against poverty. A historical overview of the actions of Rev. E.P. Groenewald, during the drought of 1933–1934 in the Dutch Reformed Church Bethulie, serves as a case study of how the church can make a difference. It, however, also illustrates the many pitfalls on this challenging road. The article comes to the conclusion that the main challenge of the church in the fight against poverty is to act as a non-governmental organisation, which transforms values and assists society with good organisation and administration.

The Archaeology of Early Italian Churches in Context, 313–569 CE

2019 ◽  
pp. 556-580
Author(s):  
Alexandra Chavarría Arnau
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Scientific Meetings ◽  
Archaeological Excavations

The archaeology of early Christian churches has made important advancements in recent decades in Italy thanks to a large number of new excavations and scientific meetings, as well as the development of the project CARE (Corpus Architecturae Religiosae Europeae (IV–X saec.)), in which most Italian specialists are involved. This chapter suggests new lines of research, thus contributing to a revised historiography of the archaeology of early Christian churches in Italy between the fourth century and the end of the sixth century. It surveys some of the ecclesiastical complexes that have been reanalyzed in recent decades or recently discovered through archaeological excavations.

Political Economy of Western Aid to the Third World: A Structural Reinterpretation

1981 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Varshney
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Third World ◽  
International Economic Order ◽  
International Credit ◽  
Commission Report ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Third World ◽  
Credit Structure

The problem of economic aid requires a comprehensive reassessment. Apart from the shortcomings of the existing studies, a few other developments, having their origins in the seventies, have made this imperative. Firstly, consequent upon the intensified theme of transfer of resources under the demand for a new international economic order and the increasing vulnerability of the international credit structure, the issue of aid has reentered the core of the development debate. The Brandt Commission Report as well as some other development documents have amply recognized this.1 Secondly, the discipline of international relations has witnessed a paradigm shift towards political economy,2 bringing along some new methodological insights which can be used to overcome the limitations of the available studies.3 Of the many such approaches offered,4 the structural approach has been found to be exceedingly useful particularly with regard to problems like trade, technology and private capital.5 Aid so far has escaped its application. This paper seeks to fill this gap by attempting a two-fold reconstruction, theoretical and empirical.

The political role of Christian churches

2020 ◽  
pp. 136-149
Author(s):  
Gregory Deacon
Keyword(s):  
Public Services ◽  
Central Place ◽  
The Political ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Political Realm

Christianity has been intimately involved with power in Kenya since the country’s birth even though much has changed with regards to what Christianity is and what it does. Today, as during the colonial and early post-colonial periods, the political role of Christian churches includes the activities of individual clergy and organized churches, both of which make periodic public statements, provide public services, and support local and national governance. However, increasingly important is the central place of neo-Pentecostal ideas, concepts, and imagery in Kenyan society, which pervade the political realm. This chapter outlines the role of Christian churches as organizations. It also analyzes the growth and spread of Christianity as a religion and as a discursive institution as well as associated understandings and practices. Together, this analysis contributes to an understanding of contemporary politics in Kenya, including the place of neo-Pentecostalized Christianity in the 2013 and 2017 elections and Jubilee regime.

Waking ourselves up! Re-examining the role of OD practitioners – a challenger perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 182-187
Author(s):  
Clare Southall
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Paper ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Many ◽  
Changing Role

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the changing role of OD practitioners. Given the many significant challenges faced by organisations and their leaders, never has the role of OD been more important; it is vital that OD practitioners are able to identify the paradigm shift that is required if they are to provide the relevant challenge and support that organisations and leaders need. Design/methodology/approach – The OD role is explored through the Challenger pattern of behaviour known as Witnessing the Establishment – the ability, and the willingness, to see things as they really are, not as we wish them to be. The authors are often so much a part of the organisational system ourselves that the underpinning assumptions, beliefs, routines and rituals that exist are so transparent we can not see them for what they are. Findings – This paper focuses on one of the six patterns of behaviour identified in Challenger leaders in the book “Challenger Spirit: Organisations that disturb the status quo” by Khurshed Dehnugara and Claire Genkai Breeze, LID Publishing, 2011. Research limitations/implications – This is not an academic paper but instead a consultant/practitioner perspective grounded in day-to-day work with leaders and OD professionals in client organisations. Originality/value – A number of suggestions are given for applying the perspectives discussed, through a series of questions, diagnostic processes and models. These are directly applicable to OD practitioners themselves and can also form the basis of further conversations with the leaders and colleagues.

Scholarship and Inquiry in Early Mesopotamia

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-143
Author(s):  
Paul Delnero
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Knowledge Acquisition ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Scientific Inquiry ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
The Social ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
The Many ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractThousands of texts documenting the activities of scribes and scholars that shed light on the social context of scholarship and scientific inquiry survive from the first half of Mesopotamian history (c. 3400 bc to c. 1600 bc). Since these texts provide ample evidence that scholarship occupied a central place in Mesopotamian culture and society during the period in question, examining their content is essential to reconstructing what can be known about scientific knowledge and practice in the ancient world. In this chapter some of this evidence will be considered in order to present a modest overview of the social position and intellectual processes of knowledge acquisition and inquiry during the first phase of Mesopotamian history and to address preliminarily some of the many questions that can be asked about scholarship and inquiry in early Mesopotamia.

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