scholarly journals Integrating spirituality and rationality the long and arduous journey of the historical development of theological training in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Nel ◽  
Fika Janse van Rensburg

The chequered path of the development of theological training in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM of SA) started with animosity towards any form of training in favour of the presumed equipment provided by the anointment with the Spirit. Later it led to recognition of the need for better training in the form of Bible school equipment for ministering in assemblies. Finally, the need for proper theological training was acknowledged. The composition of the church’s membership and the way it was treated by other denominations influenced the way the Pentecostal Movement defined its stance towards theological training. In this article the AFM of SA’s journey and development of its viewpoint towards theological training will be discussed.Keywords: Theological training, AFM of SA, Bible school, Auckland Park Theological Seminary, North-West University

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 192-207
Author(s):  
Marius Nel

The article hypothesises that the historical development of Pentecostal hermeneutics is closely related to and illustrated by Pentecostals’ attitude towards theological training. A short survey is given of the development of theological training within the Pentecostal movement in order to demonstrate how it accompanied a change in the way the Bible was considered during the past century in terms of three phases. For the first three decades Pentecostals had no inclination towards any theological training; they considered that the Bible provided all they needed to know and what was important was not what people in biblical times experienced with or stated about God, but the way these narratives indicate contemporary believers to an encounter with God themselves, resulting in similar experiences. From the 1940s, Pentecostals for several reasons sought acceptance and approval and entered into partnerships with evangelicals, leading to their acceptance of evangelicals’ way of reading the Bible in a fundamentalist-literalist way. From the 1970s they established theological colleges and seminaries where theologians consciously developed Pentecostal hermeneutics in affinity with early Pentecostal hermeneutics, although most Pentecostals still read the Bible in a fundamentalist-literalistic way − as do the evangelicals. Its hermeneutics determined its anti-intellectual stance and the way Pentecostals arranged the training of its pastors. The history of the Pentecostal movement cannot be understood properly without realising the close connection between its hermeneutics and its view of theological training.


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelebogile T. Resane

The Assemblies of God (AOG) celebrates its centenary in 2017. The paper aims to show the historical development of theological education and ministerial training and formation in this denomination. It starts by showing how internationally AOG embraced the Bible Institute movement as a way of evangelism, church planting and growth from the early decades of the 20th century after the birth of the Pentecostal Movement. Then there is a South African scenario, lamenting the de-emphasis of the importance of theological education, though there was emphasis on evangelism and missional endeavours on the grassroots. The research unfolds the development of institutions from 1949 to the present. All in all, 10 institutions are identified and briefly explained, some of them with their demise. The article concludes by historical reflections on what was taught and identifies the gaps by suggesting that the Pentecostal curriculum should be relevant to the context of Africa by embracing inclusivity: Hidden Curriculum, Gender Studies, Inculturation and Liberation ideals and renaissance of pneumatology.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Nel

The phenomenon of discrimination against women within Pentecostal churches in terms of ministry and leadership is investigated to propose a strategy for deconstructing such structural violence. The violence is described in terms of a case study, the history of a prominent South African Pentecostal denomination (Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa) that initially recognised the involvement of women in all forms of ministry; subsequently in the 1940s refusing their ministry as preachers and pastors, and eventually at the end of the 1970s offering them the same ministerial privileges as for males. Their recognition is, however, characterised by a practical non-application of a church order that in effect represents the commitment of violence against women. It is argued that the change in perspectives of women’s ministry and leadership is hermeneutical in nature. To deconstruct it would need revisiting Pentecostalism’s original hermeneutic as well as restoring its restorationist urge of egalitarianism and inclusiveness.


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Nel

Die Pinksterbeweging het met verloop van tyd sy begrip van die leer van goddelike genesing verander. Die veranderings is hoofsaaklik as gevolg van vorderings wat deur die mediese wetenskap gemaak is en die pinksterteologie moes opnuut die verhouding tussen versoening en heling definieer. Die veranderings word in terme van die geskiedenis van die wit afdeling van die Apostoliese Geloof Sending van Suid-Afrika (AGS), die grootste pinksterdenominasie in Suid-Afrika, beskryf. Dit dien tot ’n groot mate as verteenwoordigend van veranderings in die res van die AGS, maar ook van die Pinksterbeweging as sodanig. Die ontleding toon dat die veranderde houding teenoor die gebruik van medisyne en inenting sowel as mediese prosedures soos operasies pinksterkerke uiteindelik dwing om toegewings in sy genesingsbediening te maak wat aan sy Skrifbeskouing verwant is. Dat die kerk veranderings aanbring in ’n belangrike leerstelling soos dié van goddelike genesing, hou belangrike implikasies vir die kerk in. Die implikasies hou verband met die wyse waarop die pinkstermense die Bybel lees en benut en dit noodsaak die Pinksterbeweging om ook oor ander leerstellings na te dink wat uitdagings daaraan stel, byvoorbeeld die eskatologie en ekklesiologie.Implications of developments in die doctrine of divine healing in die Pentecostal movement. The Pentecostal movement changed over time its understanding of the doctrine of divine healing. These changes are mainly in the attitude towards the advances made by medical science and reflected in the way pentecostal theology defined the relation between atonement and healing. The changes are described in terms of the history of the white division of the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa (AFM), the largest pentecostal denomination within South Africa. It serves to a large extent as representative of the changes in the AFM, but also the Pentecostal movement per se. The analysis shows that the changed attitude towards the use of medicine and vaccination as well as medical procedures such as operations eventually forced pentecostal churches to make concessions in its healing ministry, leading to changes in its scriptural view of the doctrine under consideration. That the church changed in aspects related to such an important doctrine poses important challenges that it must take note of. These implications are related to the way pentecostal people read and use the Bible and require that the church reflect on other doctrines that also challenge the Pentecostal movement, like its eschatology and ecclesiology.


Author(s):  
Hilde Roos

Opera, race, and politics during apartheid South Africa form the foundation of this historiographic work on the Eoan Group, a so-called colored cultural organization that performed opera in the Cape. The La Traviata Affair: Opera in the Time of Apartheid charts Eoan’s opera activities from its inception in 1933 until the cessation of its work by 1980. By accepting funding from the apartheid government and adhering to apartheid conditions, the group, in time, became politically compromised, resulting in the rejection of the group by their own community and the cessation of opera production. However, their unquestioned acceptance of and commitment to the art of opera lead to the most extraordinary of performance trajectories. During apartheid, the Eoan Group provided a space for colored people to perform Western classical art forms in an environment that potentially transgressed racial boundaries and challenged perceptions of racial exclusivity in the genre of opera. This highly significant endeavor and the way it was thwarted at the hands of the apartheid regime is the story that unfolds in this book.


2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P.G.J. Meiring

The author who served on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), focuses on the Hindu experience in South Africa during the apartheid years. At a special TRC Hearing for Faith Communities (East London, 17-19 November 1997) two submissions by local Hindu leaders were tabled. Taking his cues from those submissions, the author discusses four issues: the way the Hindu community suffered during these years, the way in which some members of the Hindu community supported the system of apartheid, the role of Hindus in the struggle against apartheid, and finally the contribution of the Hindu community towards reconciliation in South Africa. In conclusion some notes on how Hindus and Christians may work together in th


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document