Vaccination Against COVID-19 as a Christian Duty? A Risk-Analytic Approach

The Covid-19 pandemic inspired a fierce discussion on pros and cons of vaccinations among Christians. Frequently, this emotional dispute is not based on facts, and this might be due to the fact that the decision situation (“to be vaccinate or not to be vaccinated”) is quite complex. In this paper we develop a risk-analytic model of the vaccination decision and explain the benefits of vaccinations against SARS-Cov-2 on different levels. Furthermore, we show that the Great Commandment of love calls for avoiding all harm to the neighbor even if this harm is indirect and under uncertainty. Consequently, it is a Christian duty to love one’s neighbor and be vaccinated.

Mission, Empire, and the Ultimate Good: Colonel John Munro, Benjamin Bailey, and the Church Missionary Society “Mission of Help” to Travancore (1816–18)

The Church Missionary Society “Mission of Help” to the Syrian Church of Travancore in the nineteenth century provides much instructive food for thought concerning debates that continue in mission up to the present day. In particular, the episode shows that the links between mission and empire cannot be reduced to seeing mission as a mere handmaiden to imperial concerns, although empire certainly provided a context to missionary endeavor throughout the imperial period. In this specific instance it was the forceful personality of Colonel John Munro who ensured that the Mission of Help became more intertwined with empire than might otherwise have been the case. Another effect of this imperial context for the Mission of Help was that the nature and scope of mission inevitably ended up being broadened to include aspects of societal transformation. It is shown that Benjamin Bailey was not primarily motivated by such concerns, yet was not unconcerned about them. Bailey’s thinking through of these tensions perhaps provide a way to think today about the links between the “Great Commission,” the “Great Commandment,” and cultural transformation.

Theology-missiology on the Move: Loving and One Another, Back to Basics

The present article, with a special attention to migration dynamics, envisions a theology-missiology relevant to both academic and non-academic settings by means of a quest to place theology at the heart of the definition of missiology. The article argues that a theology-missiology defined through ‘love God’ and ‘love your fellow human being’ reboots the agenda for theology’s engagement with migration studies. The article seeks to demonstrate that the ‘hermeneutic of love’ in the Great Commandment leads us to accentuate a theology of ‘creation out of love’ (creatio ex amore), and this hermeneutic further questions the framework of common theological approaches to migration studies, urgently asking for more awareness when building a theological vocabulary of contemporary manifestations of human mobility. The discussion on ‘migrant churches’ points to some problems of the migration terminology used currently. The article ends by spelling out interdisciplinarity in terms of intradisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, pluridisciplinarity, and infradisciplinarity.

A Christian understanding of the significance of love of oneself in loving God and neighbour: Towards an integrated self-love reading

This article addresses the meaning of the great commandment of love (Mt. 22:35–40) with afocus on the understanding of self-love as considered within a Christian context. Christians ingeneral understand the commandment as applying to love of God and one’s neighbour. Thereference to self-love tends to be ignored or misunderstood, especially when love of self isviewed in the context of the Christian virtues of humility and self-mortification. The conceptof narcissism (self-preoccupation or self-glorification) has devastating effects on relationshipswith God, human beings and the world. In the Christian context self-love is not a thirdcommandment and it is not clearly outlined in Scripture. Furthermore, the love of oneselfseems to be the norm by which the love of God and neighbour are measured. It appearstherefore that by bringing narcissism into the equation of self-love, a better understanding canbe achieved of what a healthy Christian self-love should entail. Furthermore, a brief discussionon the views of the self as mind, emotions and will as well as agape, philia and eros is requiredfor a proposed integrated self-love reading.

The command to love the neighbour in Paul and the Synoptics

When sayings of Jesus are compared between the Pauline letters and the Synoptic Gospels in an attempt to locate parallels, Galatians 5:14 and Romans 13:8�10 have frequently been put forward as possible parallels to the Synoptic renditions of the great commandment of Mark 12:28�34 (Mt 22:34�40; Lk 10:25�28). These Pauline and Synoptic texts all contain the command to love the neighbour, but the Synoptic texts have added the command to love God to the command to love the neighbour. Paul never quoted the great commandment. Consequently, a relationship between the verses is normally rejected. However, not all possibilities have been explored. In the search for parallels between Pauline and Synoptic Jesus traditions it has been overlooked that Paul and Matthew render the command to love the neighbour more than once. Matthew delivers the command to love the neighbour three times. Only once he has connected it to the command to love God. Matthew renders the single command to love the neighbour twice, resembling the Pauline use of the command. Using the criteria for validating parallels between Pauline and Synoptic Jesus traditions, including verbal agreement and the unique use of the command to love the neighbour by Paul and Matthew, it is argued that a connection between Romans 13:9 and Matthew 19:18�19 is likely.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research explores the use of Leviticus 19:18b by the New Testament authors. It is argued that the command to love the neighbour was given high prominence in the early church, as it was used by the Synoptic authors and by Paul to summarise Jesus� ethical teachings.

Is God (in)konsekwent? Heerskappy, oorweging en aanspreeklikheid in die Dawidsgeskiedenis in die boeke van Samuel

As ’n eenheid openbaar die Samuelboeke die aanspreeklikheid van mense in hulle verhouding tot mekaar en tot God. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die vraag na God se konsekwentheid wat ook die vraag impliseer of alles onder sy heerskappy plaasvind. Die bevinding is dat alles onder God se allesoorkoepelende, vrymagtige en persoonlike heerskappy gebeur. Vir die beperkte menslike oorweging is dit geheel en al onpeilbaar anders. Dit is nie ’n nuutskepping oor sy Woord wat die lig bring nie, maar die nuutontdekking in sy Woord. Hy laat reg en geregtigheid geld, maar in ’n nog sterker mate ook sy genade. Uiteindelik is sy konsekwentheid – ‘die dwaasheid van die kruis’ – ten volle geopenbaar in die verwagte Messias, Jesus Christus. In die huidige stukkende werklikheid oefen God ook sy heerskappy uit deur persone wat hulle eie agendas het, selfs bose agendas. So laat Hy gelowiges tot selfontdekking, berou en bekering oor hulle sonde kom. Hulle leef met kinderlike vertroue op God en volgens die groot gebod van die liefde.The books of Samuel as a unity reveal the accountability of people in their relations to each other and to God. This article explores the issue of God’s consistency, including the question whether everything happens under his reign. The finding is that everything happens under his all-embracing, all-powerful and personal sovereignty, which is unfathomable by the limited human deliberation. It is not a new creation about his Word which brings the light, but the new discovery in his Word. He asserts justice, and to an even greater extent, his grace. His consistency – ‘the foolishness of the cross’ – is ultimately fully revealed in the expected Messiah, Jesus Christ. In the present broken reality God also asserts his sovereignty through people who have their own agendas, even evil agendas. Thus, He brings believers to self-discovery, remorse and repentance from their sins. They live with childlike trust in God and according to the great commandment of love.