Women’s submissions to husbands are an accepted phenomenon in Africa and across the globe. The triad, Indigenous cultures, African Traditional Religions (ATR) and Christianity are the sources and shapes of theologies of women’s submission. Whenever cultural practices and religious theologies go hand in hand, people tend to regard such practices as par excellence and pay less attention to their negative impact. This article explores the dilemmas of women’s submissions in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Zimbabwe. The article uses the Feminist theory as a theoretical framework to interpret the meaning of theologies of women’s submission in COVID-19. Data for this study were gathered through desktop research. The article concludes that the unprecedented emergence and challenges of global COVID-19 have further unmasked African women’s unique difficulties in society, especially on the much-celebrated practices of the theologies of submission. Women’s submission trapped women to be affected more by COVID-19 than their male counterparts.
Contribution: This article investigates submission theologies and dilemmas regarding women’s submissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It foregrounds that the celebrations of theologies of women’s submissions through religion and cultural practices in society make it difficult for people to pay attention to their subtle harmful vices. It concludes that theologies of women’s submission negatively trap women to be more affected by pandemics than their male counterparts.
The purpose of this article is to analyse the descriptions of the locust (Joel 1) and the approaching army (Joel 2) in an attempt to reconstruct the scenario of events that could explain the maximum details of the text. Usually, scholars identify the locust and the army based on an assumed date of the book’s composition. This article suggests a different approach: first to identify the characters of Joel 1 and 2 based on the thorough analysis of the text and reconstruct the possible scenario of the events, before trying to define with which time frame this scenario better fits. The analysis arrived at the following conclusions: the author deliberately portrays the invasion of the locust (Joel 1) and the approaching army (Joel 2) as two events of a similar significance, scope and consequences. Both, the locust attack and the approaching army should be interpreted as pointing to the military vents. The description of the locust invasion is used as a metaphor for the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria. The prophet invites the population of Judah to wail over the destruction of the sister-state but no one heeded the prophet’s invitation. Then Joel announces another calamity (Joel 2) that will hit Judah if the people do not repent.
https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n2a12
This essay examines Benedict XVI’s treatment in his Jesus of Nazareth trilogy of the purification of the heart as leading to a manner of seeing and knowing of God, a treatment which follows an Augustinian interpretation of the beatitude: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt 5:8). Benedict’s account is much indebted to Augustine’s theological epistemology, the main elements of which he outlines in his early writings. After setting forth the main elements of Ratzinger’s analysis of Augustine’s theological epistemology, the essay examines the three places in Jesus of Nazareth where Benedict discusses purification of the heart in Augustinian terms and in relation to Matt 5:8: his interpretations of the “pure in heart” beatitude, the Footwashing, and the Father-Son saying in Matt 11:25–27. With Augustine, Benedict speaks of the purification of the heart as God’s action which he works in people by the gifts of faith and love. Benedict emphasizes the place of the believers’ spiritual communion with Jesus in this graced process of purification.
Since its publication and subsequent revisions, the Good News Bible (GNB) has remained popular among certain segments of the population, used by millions of people. It often serves as a model text for Bible translation projects in various parts of the world that adopt the functional equivalence approach, with far-reaching consequences. This article begins with a brief overview of GNB, examines some issues pertaining to using GNB as a model text, and highlights some areas where GNB could be adapted and localized to better serve the needs of the intended users.
This article examines moments of suffering in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Initially Gilgamesh himself causes much suffering by abusing his power as king and tormenting his subjects day and night. Enkidu is created to curb the king’s energy and to alleviate the distress of the people. Gilgamesh’s greatest joy in finding a true friend also turns into his greatest sorrow when Enkidu becomes ill and dies. Gilgamesh is inconsolable and his suffering drives him away from his palace and his city, in search of life everlasting. When a snake snatches away his last hope of living forever, he realises that life eternal is to be found in life here and now. The article concludes with some suggestions of appropriating Elizabeth Kubler Ross’ five stages of grief to the Epic of Gilgamesh.
https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2020/v33n3a19
Bible translation presents local-language communities not only with “offers of information” but opportunities to promote the target language through adoption of advances in the fields of translation studies, exegesis, and biblical studies. Drawing on skopos theory, this paper encourages communities to include within their translation brief the explicit goal of taking advantage of such opportunities to the end that translators are freed up to transcend the exegetical and translational choices imposed by a language of wider communication. In so doing, the local language will add additional functions as well as intrinsic and extrinsic value to the target text. Finally, potential objections to such an approach are forestalled by addressing sociolinguistic factors with which translating communities will have to come to terms.
The discussion of key themes or the message of Zechariah 1-8 is neglected in commentaries that were published during the past five years. This article focuses on this neglected part of Zechariah research and investigates the following key themes: YHWH’s divine presence and the rebuilding of the temple in Zion; The lordship and sovereignty of YHWH; Sin and punishment/judgment; Turn to YHWH (repentance) and obedience; YHWH’s return, grace, love and forgiveness; Realized eschatology and future hope; Israel and the nations; and Leadership. One cannot really say that there are any unique themes in Zechariah 1-8 or that the author/s had one central theme in mind. There are many similarities with other books in the OT, especially the post-exilic prophetic books. However, we must acknowledge that Zechariah 1-8 places more emphasis on certain themes and discusses them in a unique way.
Racism is again a burning issue in our country. One may define racism as the conviction that not all humans are equal, but that some are ‘worthier’ than others. Usually those who are regarded as ‘unworthy humans’ are not treated on par with the rest. The ‘othering’ of humans in the Western world did not commence in the 16th, 17th, 18th or 19th centuries. It is argued that the roots of racism in the Western world date back to the 1st century CE when the early Christians severed their ties with the Jewish people and their religion, and started humiliating and denigrating them. Traces of this can be found in the New Testament in inter alia John 8:44, Revelation 2:9 and 3:9. The Jewish people and their synagogues were associated with the Devil. However, Paul also contributed to the anti-Judaism sentiments of early Christians. He argued that the gospel superseded the law. This eventually led to the conviction that Christianity superseded Judaism, and that Jews and Judaism ranked lower than Christians and Christianity. These beliefs created fertile soil for the development of racism in the Western world. The article presents a brief overview of the history of Christianity, how it developed, how it became the state religion of the Roman Empire and the dominant religion in the Western world, and how the religious convictions fed into the sociopolitical and economic policies of the Western world. The article delivers a plea for accepting the view that all religions are human constructs and that their adherents need to meet the ‘other’ on an equal footing. The Western world especially needs to look at how Christianity contributed to the way it treated other people during the course of history.
From the sixth century on a form of salvare (instead of sanctificare) seems to be the preferred text of 1Cor 7:14a, that implies a concrete meaning, i.e. the salvation of the soul. In addition to this the future tense is very appropriate to spur Christian Queens on converting their husbands to Christianity in order to gain the hole people for Catholicism.
This article aims to establish that a Bible team translating the Bible in a minority language can have the same level of quality as a translation carried out by a large, well-funded team in a national language. In order to validate this claim, the article first looks at the criteria of a good-quality translation, and then investigates how these criteria are affected by the different contexts in which Bible translation takes place. The final conclusion states what conditions must be met in minority Bible translation projects to achieve good-quality translations.
In a qualitative study recently carried out by the author amongst ministers in a Circuit of Dutch Reformed Congregations in a suburban context in the Western Cape, South Africa, respondents were asked whether they sensed a ‘shift of view’ concerning the role of leadership during the past 20 years in their respective congregations. The research results paint a picture of ‘the end of leadership’ at least in some form. One can also sense a ‘shift of power’ over the past two decades in these local congregations, indicating the changing dynamics of leadership. There seems to be a shift of power from the individual leader to the team, the group and the network. The aim of this paper is, firstly, to present some of the empirical results and then to reflect on the underlying reasons for this shift of power by giving a description of some broader philosophical and sociological perspectives influencing this state of affairs. This will be followed by a description of, and reflection on, theological developments on the Trinity and power that might help to understand the ‘end of leadership’ in some ways. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the role of power and leadership processes at work in local faith communities.
Este artigo apresenta apontamentos sobre a difusão e o desenvolvimento do espiritismo no Brasil, a partir de uma naturalização do sobrenatural que, dentre outras possibilidades, consolidou uma religiosidade entre a casa e a rua. Para tanto, enfoca como a atuação do médium Chico Xavier e a promoção das terapêuticas do Culto do Evangelho no Lar e da fluidificação da água se tornaram importantes índices para a formatação de uma nova prática religiosa instituída no entre-lugar. Tal configuração demonstra como a crença espírita na cura se torna um fator significativo no campo de produção simbólico.
The Ebstorf Map (Wilke, 2001; Kugler, 2007; Wolf, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009a,
b), the largest medieval map of the world whose original has been lost, is
not only a geographical map. In the Middle Ages, a map contained mystic,
historical and religious motifs. Of central importance is Jesus Christ, who,
in the Ebstorf Map, is part of the earth. The Ebstorf Map contains the
knowledge of the time of its creation; it can be used for example as an
atlas, as a chronicle of the world, or as an illustrated Bible.
<span>This article deals with the approach to exegesis of biblical narrative, especially in Exodus, in finding its theological significance for contemporary and relevant biblical interpretation. It shows that the historical-critical method is unable to span the divide between the original context and our contemporary context, and to provide the present relevance of Scripture. After arguing for the validity of a set canonical text, this article shows that biblical narrative in general, and the Exodus narratives in particular, are best explored theologically by means of a canonical approach. It shows that the theological significance translates more easily into life-application. It demonstrates how the Exodus narratives are employed canonically for its theological significance throughout the Bible. It concludes that the Church needs teachers who recognise their responsibility to accurately interpret their whole Scriptures, the Bible, with the necessary historical, linguistic (rhetorical) and theological considerations, and that this is best done in a canonical context - whether we use a synchronic or a diachronic approach.</span><br />
The article discusses the issue of how strongly contemporary ecclesiological and scholarly approach to the Sacred Scripture is rooted in the Second Vatican Council Constitution Dei Verbum. The Bible originates from the faith of the Church, and, together with Tradition, helps to build this faith. The text consists of three sections. The first one focuses on God, who reveals Himself and His plan of salvation to man. Then, the ways in which God communicates with man through human authors and the long process of writing the inspired sacred books are mentioned. The last part emphasises how important it is for man to respond to the Word of God, which will enable the salvific dialogue of man with his Father, through His Son in the Holy Spirit. The community of Church faith is a natural environment of research, devotional reading and encounters with the Word of God, which are the elements of Christian life that the Constitution Dei Verbum (no. 25) encourages to implement.