scholarly journals Migration history in South Africa as a lens for interpreting God’s mission: Towards a challenge for churches to embrace migrants

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Magezi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Church History ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Migration History ◽  
God's Mission ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

This article challenges the church to embrace migrants by presenting migration history in South Africa during the era of European explorers as a lens for interpreting God’s mission. In avowing the aforementioned, it argues for migration history of the European explorers to South Africa as the way God has used in establishing the church in South Africa. However, in view of the subsequent colonialism and slave trade in South Africa that emerged from the period of European explorers, this article recognises the conception of slave trade and colonialism during the era of European explorers as an evil act. Notably, in bringing Joseph’s forced migration to Egypt as a theological lens to interpret some sinful acts that were embedded in the migration of European explorers to South Africa that also resulted in the establishment of the early church in South Africa, it contends that God’s purpose and plans are not frustrated or thwarted by human sin. God, in his grace and love to reach his remnant people with the gospel, utilises various migrations of European explorers to South Africa (regardless of how sinful they are) to advance his kingdom to South Africa. The notion of migration history in South Africa as a lens for interpreting God’s mission is utilised to challenge the churches to embrace migrants because God uses migration or migrants to advance his kingdom to all the earth. The article concludes by calling the church to embrace all migrants because humankind are usually unacquainted with the particular migrants that God is utilising to advance his kingdom.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article outlines theological research agenda for migration history in South Africa as a lens to interpret God’s mission. It considers migration history in South Africa during the era of European explorers as a tool that God used to advance his kingdom. As such, it is a theological interdisciplinary article integrating church history and mission. The contribution of this article lies in establishing the emergence of the early church in South Africa as a result of migration, which it utilises as a challenge for churches to embrace migrants.

scholarly journals The Relevance of Singing the Te Deum Laudamus in the Postmodern Era

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phemelo Olifile Marumo
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
Missio Dei ◽  
Te Deum ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
God's Mission ◽  
Pertinent Question ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Church ◽  
Te Deum Laudamus

This paper investigates the relevance of singing and performing the Te Deum Laudamus in the postmodern Christian era, especially in view of changing enactments and perceptions of the purpose of the hymn. The Te Deum has been used in various ways in church history, sung as a confession of praise and regularly used since the time of St Benedict during Matins (morning service). While the Reformers were critical of the late medieval worship, they did not query incorporating the Te Deum into their liturgies, because it brought meaning to the glorification of a benevolent God. This explains its use also by most Christian churches in their liturgies in the postmodern era. However, the pertinent question remains: Is the Te Deum still applicable to the postmodern church, which is characterised by secularism, charismatic sermons, and commercialised worship. The question is instigated by events and conceptions of the universe from the era of Gregorianism to Darwinism. In answering this question, the paper highlights the history of the Te Deum and its application within the church, and seeks to find out whether the hymn addresses the present needs of Christians, which have been affected by postmodernism. The paper contends that the Te Deum is still relevant and contributes to the glorification of God’s mission (missio Dei).

Slavery in the Early Church

2020 ◽  
pp. 38-63
Author(s):  
Mary E. Sommar
Keyword(s):  
Church History ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Early Church ◽  
General Reader ◽  
History Of ◽  
Specialist Knowledge ◽  
Church Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
Historical Periods ◽  
Insight Into

This is the story of how the church sought to establish norms for slave ownership on the part of ecclesiastical institutions and personnel and for others’ behavior toward such slaves. Chronicles, letters, and other documents from each of the various historical periods, along with an analysis of the various policies and statutes, provide insight into the situations of these unfree ecclesiastical dependents. Although this book is a serious scholarly monograph about the history of church law, it has been written in such a way that no specialist knowledge is required of the reader, whether a scholar in another field or a general reader interested in church history or the history of slavery. Historical background is provided, and there is a short Latin lexicon. This chapter discusses slavery in the first three centuries of Christianity.

Laymen in synod: an aspect of the beginnings of synodical government in South Africa

1971 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 321-327
Author(s):  
Peter Hinchliff
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Church History ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Privy Council ◽  
Ecclesiastical Courts ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Church

Even quite eminent Tractarians tended to think that, however impossible things might be in the Church of England, the colonies provided the sort of field where they could create the kind of Church in which they really believed. That Church would follow patristic patterns, of course, would be free from the nexus of establishment, and would be governed by synods. As regards South Africa they nourished particularly high hopes. Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town, was campaigning for synodical government, the creation of ecclesiastical courts to replace the Erastian Privy Council, and to check and outlaw the heresy of Bishop Colenso. It looked so very much as though this were a situation—heresiarchs and councils locked in battle—straight out of the pages of early church history. So when Gray lost his case against Colenso in the Privy Council in 1855, Dr Pusey wrote in a letter to the Churchman, ‘It is no loss to us that it is discovered that the Queen had no power to give the temporal powers which the former legal advisers of the Crown thought she could.. .The Church in South Africa, then, is free.’

Using the Past against the Papacy: Luther’s appeal to Church History in his Anti-Papal Writings

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 132-143
Author(s):  
Charlotte Methuen
Keyword(s):  
Catholic Church ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Church History ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Past ◽  
Church Life ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

It is well known that Martin Luther found ultimate authority sola scriptura. The evangelical endeavour which he initiated and exemplified focused on the return to the gospel and the rediscovery of a church modelled according to scriptural lines. For the Reformers, the truly catholic church was that church which adhered most closely to the church established by Scripture. The early church, being chronologically closest to that established in Scripture, was more authentic, not yet affected by innovation. But how were the details of that church to be discovered? Scripture was not always informative on practical questions of church life and ecclesiastical order, and for these an appeal to church history was necessary. Drawing particularly on Scott Hendrix’s study of Luther’s attitude towards the papacy, and the studies by John Headley and others of Luther’s view of, and appeal to, church history, this essay explores the ways in which Luther used his knowledge of church history to define and support his developing critique of the papacy. It focuses on his early writings to 1521, but will also consider the later work Von den Consiliis und Kirchen (1539), a testimony to Luther’s growing interest in the history of the church.

scholarly journals Early African Christianity–A Thematic Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 264-273
Author(s):  
Aidan Kwame Ahaligah
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Church History ◽  
Religious Culture ◽  
Early Church ◽  
African Theology ◽  
African Christianity ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
The Church

This article is devoted to a thematic analysis of early or ancient African Christianity and its influence on ecclesial practices and thinking in contemporary Africa. Drawing on literature in the history of the church in antiquity this paper re-tells the story of how Africa and Africans in the first millennium developed and shaped World Christianity. Specifically, it discusses the contributions made to the early Church by the African Fathers of the faith, Origen and Augustine. The paper contest sentiments and perceptions that Christianity is a “white mans” religion and to reclaim African Christianity’s identity as a global religious culture which has existed since antiquity. Moreover, it argues that a lot is lost, with its attendant misinterpretations, when Christianity in Africa is only viewed as a result of the fruits of the nineteenth-century missionary activities. The paper contributes to the study of African Church history, the contextualisation/inculturation of the gospel, and African theology.

scholarly journals A socio-historical analysis of the sections in the Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa from 1908 to the present

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mookgo S. Kgatle
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Mixed Race ◽  
Church History ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
Apostolic Faith Mission ◽  
Scholarly Contribution ◽  
The Church

The article presents a socio-historical analysis of the sections in the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) of South Africa from 1908 to the present. In order to achieve this, the article studies the relationship between the South African social politics and the ecclesiastical politics. It demonstrates how the AFM got divided into sections. The sections are the white, mixed race, Indian and black sections. The four sections in the AFM were not equal in power and responsibilities. The white section of the church was the major and domineering section of the AFM. Although other sections like mixed race and Indian were also inferior to the white section, the black section was the most inferior and marginalised section. The article also studies how the divisions in the AFM were addressed and solved. The purpose is to demonstrate how the church that was once divided into sections according to racial groups was able to move into unity.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article makes a valuable scholarly contribution to the ongoing research on the history of the AFM in the field of church history. It juxtaposes church history with the problems facing society today like racial segregation and how such problems can be addressed and solved.

scholarly journals Die belydenis van Belhar in dogma-historiese perspektief

1998 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Vorster
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Church History ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Reformed Tradition ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

The discussions about the unity of the Church within the churches in the Reformed tradition in South Africa are presently highly influenced by the Belhar Confession. Should the acceptance of this Confession be seen as a prerequisite for the eventual unification of these churches? This article deals with this question against the background of the guidelines given by the formation of confessions in the disciplines of Church History and especially in History of Dogma. The central theoretical argument of this article is that history reveals a certain pattern which can be applied in the evaluation of confessions in general and thus today also of the Belhar Confession. First of all, a confession must deal with a problem concerning churches worldwide; secondly a confession in the Reformed tradition should be based on Scripture; and thirdly, a confession should be accepted after it has been preceded by an ecumenical debate about the necessity, contents and formulation of the particular confession. The Belhar Confession is eventually evaluated on the basis of these premises.

scholarly journals Formation of the early Church (beginning from the appointment of the first deacons to the end of the apostolic period)

2015 ◽  
pp. 168-220
Author(s):  
Алексей Иванович Сидоров
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Church History ◽  
The Other ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Church

Публикация представляет собой продолжение очерка по истории становления первохристианской Церкви. Исследование основано на свидетельствах первоисточников и привлечении широкого спектра мнений отечественных и зарубежных специалистов по истории Древней Церкви. События проповеднической деятельности апостола Павла, возникновение разногласий в первохристианской общине и последовавший за ними Апостольской Собор, который утвердил необязательность соблюдения ветхозаветных постановлений, рассматриваются в контексте появления в среде первых христиан так называемых «эллинистов». Последние вывели проповедь Евангелия за пределы Палестины, а апостол Павел и его сподвижники основали христианские Церкви во многих частях «ойкумены». Кроме того, повествуется о кончине святого Иакова Праведного и судьбе Иерусалимской Церкви, деятельности апостола Петра и Иоанна, как и прочих апостолов, вплоть до завершения апостольского периода в истории древней Церкви. This publication is a continuation of the essay on the history of the formation of the early Christian Church, based on first-hand evidence and engaging a wide range of views of domestic and foreign researchers of early Church history. Both the results of Paul’s preaching, the emergence of differences among early Christians, and the subsequent Apostolic Council, which approved some sort of compliance with the regulations of the Old Testament, are all considered in the context of the emergence among early Christians of the so-called «Hellenists», who brought the preaching of the Gospel beyond Palestine, while Paul and his associates founded Christian communities in many parts of the «Oecumene». Moreover, the article tells the story of the death of St. James the Just, and the fate of the Church of Jerusalem. It describes the activities of Apostle Peter and John, as well as the other apostles, up until the end of the apostolic period in the history of the ancient Church.

Polydore Vergil and Ecclesiastical Historiography in hisDe Inventoribus RerumIV–VIII

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 144-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Arnold
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Church History ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Religious Orders ◽  
True Nature ◽  
The Bible ◽  
History Of ◽  
Popular Work ◽  
Scientific Phenomena ◽  
The Church

Polydore Vergil (c.1470–1555) was a controversial critic of the church of his day. As this essay will show, his radical solution to its problems was based upon his reading of the church’s history. An Italian cleric on English soil for much of his life, Vergil is most famous for hisAnglica Historia(1533), the first Tudor history of England. However, he was also responsible for another great (although now neglected) work,De Inventoribus Rerum(‘on the inventors, or discoverers, of all things’). Consisting of eight volumes, it is an example of early encyclopaedic technique from original Latin and Greek sources, including the Bible, Josephus and Eusebius, as well as observation from contemporary life, in which ‘invention’ is depicted as a category of historiography and a means of examining scientific and cultural history. The first three books were published in 1499 in Venice and deal mainly with scientific phenomena. The other five books, with which we are concerned here, consider the origins of Christian institutions(initia institutorum rei Christianae)and were published much later, in 1521, although Vergil continuously revised the entireDe Inventoribus Rerumuntil his death. The topics covered range from early church history, baptism, clerical and religious orders, penance, prayers and simony, to heresies and schisms, martyrs and the triumph of Christianity. An extremely popular work, with over forty editions in Vergil’s lifetime, it was, nonetheless, censured for its criticisms of the church. Indeed, the purpose of Books IV–VIII was to demonstrate what was initiated by Christ and what the true nature of the church was, not by examining its doctrine but by seeking the origins of its practice.

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