scholarly journals Belydenisgebondenheid in ’n postmoderne era

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F.C. Coetzee
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Absolute Truth ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
The Church ◽  
Radical Relativism

The binding to confessions in a postmodern era We are experiencing a paradigm shift between Modernism and Postmodernism in almost every sphere of life, and also in the sphere of church and theology. This paradigm shift has far-reaching consequences, especially for churches in the reformed tradition and the practice of reformed theology as far as the binding to the confessions is concerned. From the viewpoint of Postmodernism, there is no absolute truth. This applies also to Scripture. As far as their hermeneutics is concerned, they adhere to the principles of deduction as formulated by Derrida. According to these principles, a text has no intrinsic meaning but rather creates meaning. There is nothing outside the text. This leads to radical relativism. Over against the postmodern view, reformed hermeneutics maintain that Scripture is the infallible Word of God and proclaims everlasting truth. In the confessions this truth is formulated. Confessions belong to the very essence of the church. The binding to the confessions therefore applies to every member as well as all office-bearers and also professors in theology. In this regard there can be no compromise with Postmodernism.

scholarly journals Inleiding in die grondslag van die gereformeerde teologie

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. F. Schulze
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Theory ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Theology And Science ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

Theology is not a neutral science but should be embedded in the ser­vice of the Church. A close relation between theology and the church is clearly visible in the history of the early church until the era of the Reformation. The disintegration of religion and culture (church and world) during the Renaissance received new impetus from the En­lightenment. Consequently, the tie between church and theology was to a large extent dissolved and theology progressively became a ‘wordly ’ rationalistic enterprise, as a concomitant to what happened in the arts (l'art pour l'art). In this context the problems of defining theology and science are discussed and the popularity of modern scientific theory is uncovered. Finally it is argued that the basis (grondslag) and object for Reformed theology can only be the Word of God

Ecclesia ex Auditu A Reformed View of the Church as the Community of the Word of God

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-31
Author(s):  
Alan E. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Word Of God ◽  
Systematic Account ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
The People ◽  
God's Word ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Tradition

Does a church in the Reformed tradition ever express its own essence and self-understanding more clearly than when, in the liturgy, with the subtlest blend of invitation and command, the minister bids the congregation: ‘Hear the Word of God!’? Here, in dramatic, personal (but corporate) encounter between the people and God's Word — delivered first as Scripture and then expounded as proclamation — the church becomes anew what it already and always is: a community of the Word. A people are summoned into being by living, creative, divine Speech, and from their own side come into being — or better, move toward their true being — through the only appropriate response to divine Speech, namely that faith which comes by hearing (Rom. 10: 17). Our concern here is not to offer a systematic account of this Reformed understanding of the church in all its major aspects, but simply to raise a few of the hermeneutical questions involved: what does it mean for a church tradition to understand itself in these predominantly verbal and auditory categories, indeed to think of the whole encounter between God and man as occurring primarily in the mode of speech and hearing?

scholarly journals THE CONTRIBUTION OF REFORMED THEOLOGY TO HERMENEUTICS

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-233
Author(s):  
Jan Van Doleweerd
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
The Self ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Inner Light ◽  
Vantage Points ◽  
The Church

Modern Hermeneutics is rooted in the realities of the readers and their culture. But what if readers are going to be their own Hermes? What kind of authority is left for the Bible as the Holy Word of God? The Calvinistic concept of autopistia, the self-convincing of Scripture, attempts to preserve the balance between tradition and inner light, between objectivity and subjectivity. It ties the Bible to God and the Holy Spirit but also to the readers and their context. With the autopistia as background this article contributes with a new hermeneutic frame with three vantage points: (1) the Text as Viva Vox Dei, (2) the reader, and (3) the historical and present hermeneutical community of readers, the church.

Grace and Freedom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Muller
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Divine Grace ◽  
Freedom Of The Will ◽  
Ultimate Cause ◽  
The Will ◽  
Libertarian Freedom ◽  
The Church

Grace and Freedom addresses the issue of divine grace in relation to the freedom of the will in Reformed or “Calvinist” theology in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century with a focus on the work of the English Reformed theologian William Perkins, and his role as an apologist of the Church of England, defending its theology against Roman Catholic polemic, and specifically against the charge that Reformed theology denies human free choice. Perkins and his contemporaries affirmed that salvation occurs by grace alone and that God is the ultimate cause of all things, but they also insisted on the freedom of the human will and specifically the freedom of choice in a way that does not conform to modern notions of libertarian freedom or compatibilism. In developing this position, Perkins drew on the thought of various Reformers such as Peter Martyr Vermigli and Zacharias Ursinus, on the nuanced positions of medieval scholastics, and on several contemporary Roman Catholic representatives of the so-called second scholasticism. His work was a major contribution to early modern Reformed thought both in England and on the continent. His influence in England extended both to the Reformed heritage of the Church of England and to English Puritanism. On the Continent, his work contributed to the main lines of Reformed orthodoxy and to the piety of the Dutch Second Reformation.

The Doctrine of the Sacraments

2019 ◽  
pp. 239-251
Author(s):  
Gordon S. Mikoski
Keyword(s):  
Digital Age ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Holy Communion ◽  
Christian Initiation ◽  
The Core ◽  
Reformed Church ◽  
The Church

This chapter maps the essential contours and points of dialogue or contention pertaining to the sacraments among Presbyterian denominations. First, the chapter examines the distinctively Presbyterian understanding of sacraments in general. The chapter then explores in detail the theological meaning and practices of the two Presbyterian sacraments: baptism and Holy Communion. For Presbyterians, baptism serves as the rite of Christian initiation. The chapter also explains why Presbyterians practice paedobaptism. While baptism is for Presbyterians the sacrament of initiation into the church, the sacrament of Holy Communion is at the core of the church’s corporate life and work. The chapter next examines several contemporary issues related to the sacraments for Presbyterians. In the spirit of “the Reformed church always being reformed according to the Word of God,” the chapter concludes by posing several provocative questions for Presbyterian denominations and the sacraments in the digital age.

Federalism and Reformed Scholasticism

2021 ◽  
pp. 182-198
Author(s):  
Willem van Vlastuin
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Function ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Reformed Tradition

Jonathan Edwards’s understanding of the covenant is treated in this chapter. It is made clear that Edwards developed this theology in the broader context of reformed theology and in his own specific context. In his reflections on the covenant, Edwards concluded that one must draw a distinction between the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace if one is to understand Arminianism and Antinomianism. Drawing this distinction also allows one to interpret God’s works in history. In his understanding of the covenant of grace, Edwards developed a stricter view of the covenant. In comparison with the reformed tradition and the puritan tradition of Westminster, he minimized the instrumental function that the covenant has, because he interpreted it as a marriage between Christ and his believers. The emphasis on the indwelling of the Spirit in the covenanted believers caused him to reject the preaching of law to believers. Ultimately he also rejected the Half-Way Covenant.

Mengkaji Bahaya Sinkretisme dalam Konteks Gereja

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Yesri E. Talan
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Absolute Truth ◽  
In Christ ◽  
True Knowledge ◽  
The Church

Syncretism is not just phenomenology in the church but is a real and serious problem. Syncretism is a mixture of Christian faith and culture that results in the congregation losing its identity as a believer, blurred beliefs and do not have absolute truth. Syncretism in the church is a real and serious problem in the life of the church because it negatively impacts spiritual growth.The church cannot grow in true knowledge about Jesus Christ because of the dualism of belief, so Jesus Christ is not the only way of truth and life. The method used in this paper is theological qualitative research. Qualitative is a research method that emphasizes an in-depth understanding of a problem with the process of observation and interview. Conducting literature review and exposition of verses related to the discussion material. This research is descriptive. The results obtained are found the danger of syncretism to the church, namely: the absence of absolute truth in Christ because of the dualism that affects the spiritual growth of the church. Abstrak Sinkretisme bukan hanya fenomenologi di gereja tetapi menjadi masalah nyata dan serius. Sinkretisme adalah percampuran antara iman Kristen dengan budaya yang mengakibatkan jemaat kehilangan identitasnya sebagai orang percaya, kepercayaannya kabur dan tidak memiliki kebenaran absolut. Sinkretisme adalah masalah serius dalam kehidupan gereja karena memiliki dampak negatif pada pertumbuhan rohani. Gereja tidak dapat bertumbuh dalam pengenalan yang benar akan Yesus Kristus karena dualisme kepercayaan, sehingga Yesus Kristus bukanlah satu-satunya jalan kebenaran dan kehidupan. Metode yang dipakai dalam peulisan ini adalah kualitatif teologi. Kualitatif adalah metode penelitian yang menekankan pada suatu pemahaman secara mendalam terhadap suatu masalah dengan proses observasi dan wawancara. Melakukan kajian pustaka dan eksposisi ayat-ayat yang berkaitan dengan materi pembahasan. Penelitian ini bersifat deskriptif. Hasil yang diperoleh adalah ditemukan adanya bahaya sinkretisme terhadap jemaat, yaitu: tidak adanya kebenaran mutlak di dalam Kritus karena adanya dualisme yang mempengaruhi pertumbuhan rohani jemaat.

scholarly journals Missional theology and social development

2007 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Jurgens Hendriks
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Development Work ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Missional Theology ◽  
God's Mission ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Church

The article describes a theological paradigm shift taking place in congregations in South Africa that empower them to become involved in development work as a way of serving their neighbor. It also opens the possibility of working interdisciplinary without compromising theological and faith values. The perspectives and assumptions of the new paradigm are outlined and the basic methodology of doing theology is described. The new paradigm is a missional one, taking the focus on God as its point of departure and describing the identity and purpose of the church by looking at God’s identity and plan or mission with creation and humankind. Social development is seen as being in line with God’s mission and as such the church should not have difficulty in working with those who pursue the same goals.

scholarly journals Reformed identity revisited: Proposals in the spirit of Ecclesia Semper Reformanda est

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Vorster
Keyword(s):  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Original Sin ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Reformed Theology ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
Human Uniqueness ◽  
Existential Perspective

This article commences by reflecting on the evolving nature of traditions. In order to pass the continual test of plausibility and authenticity, traditions need to be flexible enough to incorporate new insights into its core intellectual matrix. Implausible elements need to be re-articulated or dispensed with. This rationale is subsequently applied to the reformed tradition who considers the necessity to continually reform itself (Ecclesia Semper Reformanda est) as a fundamental aspect of the tradition. Recently, various tenets of the reformed faith have come under scrutiny. These include the reformed faith’s understanding of God’s relation to creation; its view of human uniqueness; its understanding of original sin and the transmission of sin; and its supposed sola Scriptura approach to ethics. This article addresses these critiques by proposing that reformed theology incorporates the notion of creation as a gift in its thinking; that it dispenses with attempts to provide a historical narrative on the origin and transmission of sin and rather approach the theme from an existential perspective; and that it works towards an ethics that is scripturally based but ecclesiastically shaped.

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