scholarly journals Missional postures and practices for South African Baptist churches

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond Henry
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Missio Dei ◽  
Baptist Churches ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Missional Practices ◽  
Participant Observer

This article enumerates the importance of a missional posture in our Baptist cultural moment and details various issues related to the author’s definition of the concept missio Dei. Moving to contextual practices among South African Baptists, the author deals with missional practices deployed in the Baptist context from a participant observer basis. Important principles for the effective implementation of those missional practices across the evangelical denominational divide can be drawn.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article seeks to challenge the modern conception of church as attractional and presents an alternative model that aligns with the recent missional conversations by highlighting five missional practices for congregations to implement for the common good. The fields of theology, missiology and ecclesiology are impacted by this study as it uses the author’s contextual findings as participant observer.

Maṣlaḥa as Sovereignty: Fadlallah and Khomeini Compared

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-112
Author(s):  
Nachman Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Political Thought ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Islamic History ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Islamic Political Thought ◽  
Popular Movement ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

This article examines how Fadlallah and Khomeini’s respective quests for sovereignty are reflected in their political thought, particularly vis-a-vis their notions of maṣlaḥa, which I define as the “common good.” I argue that if, to an extent, Islamic political thought seeks to maximise maṣlaḥa, then this can also constitute a claim to sovereignty, the definition of which remains multidimensional and contentious. By closely examining Fadlallah and Khomeini’s writings and pronouncements on governance, popular movement, and state, I attempt to reveal how discussions regarding Islamic governance demonstrate a broader claim to authority in Islamic history.

Beyond stateless democracy

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41
Author(s):  
William J. Novak ◽  
Stephen W. Sawyer ◽  
James T. Sparrow
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
John Locke ◽  
The State ◽  
Direct Response ◽  
Classical Liberal ◽  
Liberal Conception ◽  
Neutral Site ◽  
The Common ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of

Pierre Bourdieu began his posthumously published lectures “On the State” by highlighting the three dominant traditions that have framed most thinking about the state in Western social science and modern social theory. On the one hand, he highlighted what he termed the “initial definition” of the state as a “neutral site” designed to regulate conflict and “serve the common good.” Bourdieu traced this essentially classical liberal conception of the state back to the pioneering political treatises of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke.1 In direct response to this “optimistic functionalism,” Bourdieu noted the rise of a critical and more “pessimistic” alternative—something of a diametric opposite.

scholarly journals Social cohesion and social capital: Possible implications for the common good

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Common

The main objective of the article is to identify the possible implications of social cohesion and social capital for the common good. In order to reach this overarching aim the following structure will be utilised. The first part explores the conceptual understanding of socialcohesion and social capital in order to establish how these concepts are related and how they could possibly inform each other. The contextual nature of social cohesion and social capital is briefly reflected upon, with specific reference to the South African context. The contribution of religious capital in the formation of social capital is explored in the last section of the article. The article could be viewed as mainly conceptual and explorative in nature in order to draw some conclusions about the common good of social capital and social cohesion.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article contributes to the interdisciplinary discourse on social cohesion with specific reference to the role of congregations. It provides a critical reflection on the role of congregations with regard to bonding and bridging social capital. The contextual nature of social cohesion is also addressed with specific reference to South Africa.

scholarly journals The Economic Value of Digital Earth

2019 ◽  
pp. 623-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Craglia ◽  
Katarzyna Pogorzelska
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Earth Observation ◽  
Economic Approach ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Digital Earth ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract In this chapter, we approach the economic value of Digital Earth with a broad definition of economic value, i.e., the measure of benefits from goods or services to an economic agent and the trade-offs the agent makes in view of scarce resources. The concept of Digital Earth has several components: data, models, technology and infrastructure. We focus on Earth Observation (EO) data because this component has been undergoing the most dramatic change since the beginning of this century. We review the available recent studies to assess the value of EO/geospatial/open data and related infrastructures and identify three main sets of approaches focusing on the value of information, the economic approach to the value of EO to the economy from both macro- and microeconomic perspectives, and a third set that aims to maximize value through infrastructure and policy. We conclude that the economic value of Digital Earth critically depends on the perspective: the value for whom, what purpose, and when. This multiplicity is not a bad thing: it acknowledges that Digital Earth is a global concept in which everyone can recognize their viewpoint and collaborate with others to increase the common good.

Climate Change and the Common Good: Some Reflections from the South African Context

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst M. Conradie
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South African ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
African Context ◽  
The Common ◽  
Christian Discourse ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractThis article is based on the observation that any theological discourse is always from a particular location and a particular point of view, which is immediately recognized by others. At the same time, any (theological) discourse cannot escape the use of universals, of common categories that we need to communicate with others. We make constructions of the whole, of that which is common, albeit that we ineluctably make particular constructions of the whole. This poses particular challenges for discourse on the common good in the context of public theology. On this basis the article investigates a selection of ecclesial statements on climate change produced during the course of the year 2009 alone that are available in English. It focuses on how these statements handle the dilemma of speaking about the universal and the particular, given the moral ambiguities surrounding any Christian discourse on climate change. It argues that most of these documents are plagued with problems of reception; namely, whether the stipulated addressees would actually receive and read the documents, let alone respond to them appropriately.

An Opportunity Missed for Male Rape Survivors in South Africa: Masiya v Director of Public Prosecutions and Another

2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ntombizozuko Dyani
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
Rape Survivors ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Anal Penetration

AbstractThe Constitutional Court of South Africa recently handed down a judgment on the extension of the common law definition of rape to include anal penetration of women, but not of men. The court argued that women form part of the most vulnerable group in society. This article analyses the court's judgment and argues that the court should have included anal penetration of men in the light of South African lower courts' decisions, international law and the fact that there is currently a law before parliament which pertains to the anal penetration of men. The article also argues that the court should have taken into consideration that this case involved a child, who is also from the most vulnerable group in society.

scholarly journals The Wafers Dumped: Lamenting a Bleeding Nation in Cry, the Beloved Country

2021 ◽  
pp. 23-34
Author(s):  
Dr. Leon BASHIRAHISHIZE,
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Skin Color ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Society ◽  
African Community ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right

Alan Paton’s wistful novel Cry, the Beloved Country which was released at the threshold of Apartheid in South Africa relates the South African socio-political instability at the time when racism and poverty are profoundly shaking the nation’s foundations [1]. The work explores the aftermaths brought by racial bondage that the subjugated black endures and the repercussions it casts on the whole South African society. This chapter examines how the writer grapples with the dangers brought by racial discrimination and urban life on the South African community as a whole. Paton’s view of Race and city projects a negative perception about the white racism and black crime that create tensions between the national forces [1]. This social polarity puts at risk the nation’s prospects that would build and maintain the “beloved country” which is gradually collapsing. It is this decaying state of the nation that Paton mourns in the novel. The study establishes that race and skin color do not have any relation that would define an individual’s nature and inner feelings to justify one’s deportment. The wrong or the right is a result of an individual’s moral predisposition coupled with the socio-cultural forces that feature his environment. It has also been noted that urban life corrupts; in some situations, it converts an individual into a rogue becoming a threat against society and an enemy against oneself to impair the common good.

scholarly journals Seeking the Common Good or Just Making Us be Good? Recent Amendment to New Zealand's Social Security Law

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Māmari Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Sufficient Conditions ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Moral Obligations ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Social Security Act ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of

New Zealand's social security system was born out of a vision of society consistent with a definition of the common good informed by Christian ethics. The past 30 years, in particular, have seen fierce ideological battles fought between the left and right over the extent, coverage, and generosity of the system. Yet a remnant of the vision of the common good remains, whereby individuals can have some access, by virtue of social security, to the sufficient conditions of social life to be free enough to find some level of fulfilment in that life. However, the freedom to be good, as is also required by a broad understanding of the common good, is under threat within New Zealand's social security law. Social security law asserts a vision, and not a coherent one, of what it means to be good in New Zealand society.  Newly minted social obligations in the Social Security Act 1964 go beyond the purposes of the legislation; being unconnected to relieving need, maintaining fiscal prudence, or even seeking paid employment as a means of achieving welfare. These modern moral obligations ensure that beneficiaries' freedom to choose to live life in a way consonant with the common good is frustrated, if not substantially abrogated, striking the wrong balance between the law's protection of individual autonomy and its implementation of social imperatives in pursuit of the common good.

Empirical Foundations of the Common Good

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Catholic Social Thought ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Effective Path

What has social science learned about the common good? Would humanists even want to alter their definitions of the common good based on what social scientists say? In this volume, six social scientists—from economics, political science, sociology, and policy analysis—speak about what their disciplines have to contribute to discussions within Catholic social thought about the common good. None of those disciplines talks directly about “the common good”; but nearly all social scientists believe that their scientific work can help make the world a better place, and each social science does operate with some notion of human flourishing. Two theologians examine the insights of social science, including such challenging assertions that theology is overly irenic, that it does not appreciate unplanned order, and that it does not grasp how in some situations contention among self-interested nations and persons can be an effective path to the common good. In response, one theologian explicitly includes contention along with cooperation in his (altered) definition of the common good.

What is the Common Good? The Case for Transcending Partisanship

Daedalus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Mickey Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Political System ◽  
General Election ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right

Even if most of us can agree on a definition of the “common good” (not a simple matter), there are substantial barriers to establishing public policies in accord with that agreement. The “democratic” element in our political system – the right of voters to choose the men and women who will create our laws – depends on the views of those voters being given considerable weight in determining eventual policy outcomes. Unfortunately, we have developed a political system – both in our elections and in the governing process – that gives disproportionate influence to relatively small numbers of voters (who are also the most partisan) and allows political parties through their closed procedures to limit the choices available to general election voters. Coupled with legislative rules that allow partisans to determine the makeup of legislative committees, the resulting process leaves the common good, however defined, a secondary consideration at best.

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