scholarly journals Science of Religion and Missiology at the Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria: Historical overview, theological discourses and future possibilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cornelius J. Niemandt ◽  
Jaco Beyers

The history and contributions of the Department Science of Religion and Missiology at the UP have been described with a particular focus on a discussion of the understanding of both disciplines. In the case of Science of Religion, the research covers theological discourses in the discipline, attending to issues such as secularisation as well as Theology of Religions. It is argued that, in future, Science of Religion will continue to contribute to three areas of concern, namely studying religions, secularisation and theology of religion and religions. The section concludes with a brief overview of future contributions by the Department. Missiology is defined in terms of current insights in the discipline against the background of the decline in mission studies at many universities. The research argues for Missiology to be an intrinsic part of Theology. The following discourses in Missiology are noted, namely flourishing life, ecological justice, the role of the Holy Spirit in the missio Dei, missional church, contextualisation and indigenisation, and mission from the margins. Past and future contributions from the Department are described. This includes an argument for the change of the name of the Department to the Department of Religion Studies. In terms of future developments, research into flourishing life as well as deep incarnation are noted as exciting new possibilities.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robby igusti Chandra

Abstrak Tulisan ini meneliti ajaran yang tersembunyi dalam narasi mengenairespon terhadap penglihatan Paulus dalam Kisah Rasul 16.Pendekatannya adalah interpretasi narasi. Sebagai hasilnya, Kisah Para Rasul 16mengajarkan pertama, kedaulatan Roh Kudus yang mendorongpemimpin-pemimpin yang dipilihnya melintasi batas-batas pandanganmereka dan kedua, mengenai peran-Nya mengajarkan agarkepemimpinan bersama perlu diterapkan di dalam prosesmelaksanakan Misi Allah.   Abstract The studi analyses the unrecognized teaching of the narratives in the Book of Acts chapter 16 concerning the response to the vision of Paul. The method used is narrative interpretation. As the results, the Book of Acts 16 teaches about both the role of the Holy Spirit to bring the chosen leaders to cross their boundaries as well as to teach them to practice Shared-Leadership in Missio Dei process.    


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Verster

The missional church in communities in informal settlements. Mission in informal settlements faces huge challenges, which include poor living conditions and structures, lack of infrastructure and medical facilities, extreme poverty, illnesses, criminality, youth subcultures, et cetera. Massive urbanisation plays an important role in this regard. From the missio Dei perspective the missional church should view the communities with a holistic approach. Missio Dei means that the living God sends his Son to the world in need so that the church, through the Holy Spirit, can become a mission church. The glory of Jesus Christ is central in the proclamation of this message and transcendence should be acknowledged in mission. The living church will emphasise and live out kerugma, diakonia, marturia, koinonia and leiturgia. Much attention will be given to Christian hope to empower communities who live under dire circumstances. Love and justice will also be emphasised. Only when the missional church becomes a true living church can the full community be served.


Author(s):  
Sarah Stewart-Kroeker

Christ’s healing of humanity consists, crucially, in forming human beings for loving relationship with himself and others. In this respect, Christ also takes the role of the beautiful beloved. Believers become pilgrims by falling in love with the beautiful Christ by the initiative of the Holy Spirit, who cleanses their eyes to see him as beautiful and enkindles desire in their hearts. By desiring and loving the beautiful Christ, the believer is conformed to him and learns to walk his path. Desiring the beautiful Christ forms a believing community shaped aesthetically and morally for a particular way of life: pilgrimage to the heavenly homeland. Formation is both earthly and eschatological, for so too is the journey and the activity of the pilgrim.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Gallagher

AbstractThis paper explores the key characteristics of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf's mission theology that influenced the early Moravian missional practice. After discussing the early eighteenth century European historical context and the Spirit-renewal of the Herrnhut community, the paper considers Zinzendorf's theology on the death of Christ, the prominent role of the Holy Spirit, and harvesting the "first fruits." These theological distinctives contributed in determining the motivation and message of these pioneer Protestant missionaries. It then takes into account some of the subsequent methods such as working with the marginalized, practicing the love of Christ in cultural humility, and preaching the gospel in the vernacular. The main contributions of the early Moravians to mission were that they brought an understanding that spiritual renewal preceded mission renewal, the atoning death of Christ is central to mission theology, and a Protestant recognition that it had an obligation to do mission. On the other hand, the foremost negative aspects of Moravian mission were their obsession with the physical death of Christ and an ignorance of the broader social issues that at times resulted in a lack of contextualization, religious syncretism, indifference to social justice, and extreme subjectivism.


Author(s):  
Rik Van Nieuwenhove

Contemplation, according to Thomas Aquinas, is the central goal of our life; yet a scholarly study on this topic has not appeared for over seventy years. This book fills that obvious gap. From an interdisciplinary perspective this study considers the epistemological and metaphysical foundations of the contemplative act; the nature of the active and contemplative lives in light of Aquinas’s Dominican calling; the role of faith, charity, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in contemplation; and contemplation and the beatific vision. Key questions addressed are: What is contemplation? What is truth? How can we know God? How do faith and reason relate to one another? How does Aquinas envisage the relations between theology and philosophy? What role does charity play in contemplation? Throughout this book the author argues that Aquinas espouses a profoundly intellective notion of contemplation in the strictly speculative sense, which culminates in a non-discursive moment of insight (intuitus simplex). In marked contrast to his contemporaries Aquinas therefore rejects a sapiential or affective brand of theology. He also employs a broader notion of contemplation, which can be enjoyed by all Christians, in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are of central importance. This book should appeal to all those who are interested in this key aspect of Aquinas’s thought. It provides a lucid account of central aspects of Aquinas’s metaphysics, epistemology, theology, and spirituality. It also offers new insights into the nature of the theological discipline as Aquinas sees it, and how theology relates to philosophy.


Author(s):  
Andrew Pinsent

Abstract As a theological disposition revealed in Scripture, the recognition of hope as an important virtue coincided with the radical transformation in virtue ethics in the early Middle Ages. As the ideals of pagan antiquity gave way to the Christian aspirations for the Kingdom of Heaven, early work on hope was strongly influenced by writers with a monastic background, such as Pope St Gregory the Great. The rise of scholasticism in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, however, gave an impetus to finding a coherent account of virtue ethics that would incorporate hope along with the other theological virtues and revealed attributes of perfection, such as the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. This chapter examines, in particular, the attempt of St Thomas Aquinas to develop such an account and the role of hope in this account, drawing from new research in experimental psychology. The chapter concludes by considering briefly the transposition of the medieval account of hope to aspects of contemporary life.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
David M. Friel

Abstract Chrysostom’s homily De coemeterio et de cruce (CPG 4337) was delivered during a full eucharistic synaxis on Good Friday in a cemetery outside the gates of late-fourth-century Antioch. It demonstrates both rhetorical and theological prowess. Chrysostom consoles his hearers by likening death to sleep and reflecting on the cemetery as a “sleeping place” (koimeterion). The text is notable for its theology of physical space, its conception of liturgical anamnesis, and its presentation of the Christus Victor atonement motif. The homily also highlights the liturgical role of the Holy Spirit, especially by alluding to the eucharistic epiclesis, and it chastises the congregation for their poor behavior during the communion rite. This article presents the homily’s full text in Greek with English translation, followed by a commentary that probes its major themes and liturgical aspects.


Author(s):  
Charles Robertson

Seventeenth-century Thomists, with the exception of John of St Thomas, are today virtually unknown. Nevertheless, in their day they contributed to the Catholic reception of the thought of the Angelic Doctor not only by continuation of the commentarial tradition but also by engaging in the intramural Catholic debates in which the Holy See intervened. After introducing the reader to some of the more prominent Thomists of the century, this chapter outlines some Thomist responses to intramural Catholic debates concerning the formation of conscience in light of probable opinions, the nature of our desire for the beatific vision and its compatibility with love of God above self, and the role of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.


Author(s):  
Jan Stievermann ◽  
Ryan P. Hoselton

Jan Stievermann and Ryan P. Hoselton consider the role of experiential piety in the exegesis of Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards. Both were deeply engaged in the new critical questions of their day, and both were also committed to nurturing religious piety—though they differed somewhat in how they handled these concerns. Although Mather was profoundly interested in the philological and historical issues in the Bible, he prioritized devotional and contemplative engagement with Scripture. Edwards, Stievermann and Hoselton argue, drew on the experimental language and philosophy of the Enlightenment to construct a case for the supernatural authority of the Bible against increasingly naturalistic arguments. Edwards held that one gains spiritual understanding as the Holy Spirit harmonizes the believer’s internal senses with the Word; this reconstruction affected Edwards’ approach to the emotive element in Scripture, the dynamism of typology, and the nature of the regenerate interpreter of the Bible.


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