The Arrival of Angels

Chapter 1 traces the images of angels and sacred embodiment as these emerge within the culture of eleventh- and twelfth-century reforms and underwrite its suspicion (and ultimate rejection) of popular charismatics. In an unrecognized irony, reformers’ model of a sexually purified and angelic priesthood came to require both persistent defense and the unholy specter of demonic transfiguration (2 Cor. 11:14) as the countervailing threat to clerical authority and its narratives of spiritual power. The anxieties informing the several cultural transitions underway throughout the twelfth century were accordingly projected onto holy men and women, including anchorites, whose spirituality was often assumed to be in competition with that authority and potentially out of alignment with orthodox culture generally. Through forms of imitatio clerici/angeli, a subject to which later chapters will return, anchorites not only resembled their (at times unreformed) clerical counterparts but even outstripped them in charismatic power.

Mystery and multiculturalism: Should the musterion of Ephesians 3 encourage multiculturalism in South African churches?

The objective was the examination of the musterion of Ephesians 3, whether it encouraged multiculturalism in South African churches. The knowledge gap was to find further biblical direction for churches experiencing cultural transitions and demographic changes. The research method was a qualitative analysis of biblical texts, as applied specifically in a South African setting, with global implications. The significance would be the cultural transitions of churches from homogeneous, local churches into culturally heterogeneous, local churches. Further questioning the homogeneous unit principle (HUP) in the light of Scripture, especially Ephesians. The results found that the musterion in Ephesians 3 pointed to the Holy Spirit’s original intension for multicultural local churches. This mystery was found to be the witness of the church in this world and cosmically, to allay fear and prejudice. Further research is recommended into addressing the fears of globalisation in local churches. The contextual context affected local churches in post-Apartheid South Africa and many local churches around the world experiencing globalisation. These findings affect possible blind spots in theological studies in the New Testament, cross-cultural care in Practical Theology, Missiological findings for church growth and church planting, along with sociological findings in multiculturalism.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article deals with concerns for New Testament, missiology and practical theology. It challenges the homogenous unit principle in the light of Pauline discourse and synthesises research to form a contextual response to the need for multiculturalism in South African churches.

Religie in BMGN: heilig en profaan

BMGN heeft inzake onderzoek en disseminatie van het thema religie een rol van betekenis gespeeld. Die rol nam BMGN veeleer impliciet op, zelden expliciet. Religie stond niet centraal in de redactionele missie, maar was inhoudelijk wel degelijk aanwezig en bij momenten ook heel zichtbaar. Het tijdschrift verbond niet alleen historici, het verbond ook onderzoek van historici en van andere menswetenschappers uit Nederland en Vlaanderen rond het thema religie en stimuleerde op velerlei wijzen de verspreiding van methodologische vernieuwingen en innovatieve inzichten. Jammer genoeg heeft BMGN religie of religiegeschiedenis nooit expliciet geproblematiseerd. Naast een meer klassieke benadering van religie (de werking van de geïnstitutionaliseerde religies of kerken) lag de focus op de rol van religie in het politieke en sociaal-maatschappelijke leven, maar ook in culturele evoluties (identiteitsopbouw of identiteitsconstructies). BMGN dreef veeleer mee met de ontwikkelingen in de religiegeschiedenis, het was geen trendsetter. In deze vaststelling schuilt een uitdaging voor de volgende tien jaar. Bij een feestnummer hoort een wens: religie mag en kan, als inherent onderdeel van de cultuurgeschiedenis, een explicieter onderdeel worden van BMGN. The BMGN has been of great significance in researching and disseminating religion as a theme. The journal tended to assume this role implicitly but rarely did so explicitly. Religion was not pivotal in the editorial mission but indeed present in substance and at times very visible as well. In addition to connecting historians, the journal brought together research by historians, and by extension other scholars of the humanities, from the Netherlands and Flanders in relation to the theme of religion, and encouraged dissemination of methodological innovations and innovative insights in many ways. Unfortunately, the BMGN has never explicitly addressed religion or the history of religion. Aside from a more conventional approach to religion (the effect of institutionalised religions or churches), the main focus was the role of religion in politics and society, as well as in cultural transitions (identity constructions). The BMGN tended to go along with developments in the history of religion and was not a trend setter. This observation embodies a challenge for the decade that lies ahead. A festive issue includes a wish: religion is permissible and acceptable, as an inherent part of cultural history, as a more explicit part of the BMGN.