The essay discusses the potential of the theological significance of the so-called “African presence” in the Bible, that is, biblical texts referring to entities that today would be labelled “African,” in particular, references to Egypt and Cush. The focus, therefore, is on the encounter between these texts and the socio-religious experiences and concerns of contemporary African biblical studies. The essay concludes that the presence of “Africa and Africans” has the potential of balancing the universalistic trajectory of the Bible. Without a concrete example such as “Africa,” universalism would be empty rhetoric and without a universalistic frame of interpretation, the “African presence” would face the danger of simply repeating—although this time from an Afrocentric perspective—the ethnocentric fallacy we have seen so much of by Eurocentricists in the past.
https://doi.org/10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n1a13
Demographic change, change in family structures, growing ethnic plurality resulting from migration, social inequality and so on require new ways of addressing spiritual and social needs in many Western European countries. In view of these current social changes, increasingly more effort is being put into strengthening cooperation between church congregations and diaconal institutions at the local level. This article will focus on the reciprocal relationship between the church and its immediate local context by focusing on one of the church’s ministries – diaconia – as a service of God’s people to the world. Although diaconia is part of the church, it has developed in organisations separate from the church and thus as a parallel structure to the institutionalised church structure in many countries. The current changes offer opportunities for the church and diaconia to join forces and to overcome cooperational difficulties at the local level. The objective of this article is to draw attention to the potential of the social space for collaboration, to analyse hindrances to collaborative efforts on a practical level and to point out what steps the church and diaconia may take to further local collaboration.
Contribution: The contribution of this article is to analyse the social space with regard to the collaboration between local churches and diaconal organisations, and thereby to point out its potential for their further development in line with the journal’s focus on original ideas in practical theology.
God gave us the Earth, to use and enjoy. So says the Bible, and so says John Locke (1632-1704). The
individualism and liberalism in Locke’s philosophy makes it decidedly modern and appealing to us
today. However, he often uses God as a source of truth and premises in his arguments. This
undermines the modern appearance and leaves us with a philosophy that is at times contradictory, at
times brilliant, and at all times fixed to the anthropocentric rail that guides his philosophy. In this
article, the element of Locke’s philosophy that concerns humanity’s relationship with the natural world
is examined. Particular attention is paid to the value and nature of both biotic and abiotic nature. I
argue that the religious aspects of Locke’s philosophy cannot be fully purged in an effort to create a
pure rationalist, and this leads me to focus on how the religious aspects relate to Locke’s rationalism,
and in particular what implications his combination of philosophy and theology carries for the
prospects of a Lockean environmentalism. I conclude that such environmentalism has clear limitations,
while still providing certain foundations for the idea of sustainability and scientific conservationism.
Didache1:4b – ἐὰν λάβῃ τίς ἀπὸ σοῦ τὸ σόν, μὴ ἀπαἱτει, οὐδὲ γὰρ δύνασαι [if anyone takes something from you that is yours, do not ask it back, because you should not or would not be able to] – is discussed in this article as problematic to the present mindset of the Nigerian church, especially as frontal attacks and premeditated persecutions from rival religions daily threaten to exterminate the Christian faith in Nigeria. This article argues that the Christians in Nigeria unwittingly interpreted this first-century document and wrongly so because this interpretation has metamorphosed into an ideology. The article suggests a sharp measure against this ideology.
Contribution: The church in Nigeria is controlled in their attitude towards self-defense by the text of Didache 1:4b. This article’s contribution is a reexamination of the text in comparison to its parallel in the synoptic texts to assert that the synoptic texts, instead of Didache 1:4b, suggests non-violent self-defense.
O artigo analisa o texto de 1Co 4,14 em seu contexto literário, histórico e sociocultural. Objetiva-se interpretá-lo a partir da mentalidade de ‚honra e vergonha‘ em seu tempo, especificamente em que isso contribuiu para a construção da masculinidade hegemônica patrikiriarcal. Com elementos exegéticos, hermenêuticos e a categoria analítica de gênero, demonstra a força transformadora e contracultural da posição e da mensagem de Paulo em relação à percepção e à práxis diferenciadas e críticas a essa concepção e sua base ideológico-filosófica de poder patriarcal. O questionamento apostólico aos líderes da comunidade em Corinto baseiam na práxis da graça e do serviço, e não no exercício da masculinidade que baseia em discriminação e preconceitos. Com isso, o artigo visa fomentar análise crítico-construtiva de textos sagrados e de sua história interpretativa, que corrobora até hoje com o ‚alinhamento‘ ideológico dessa masculinidade hegemônica, também responsável por violência de gênero, de classe e etnia.
El objetivo del presente artículo es reflexionar sobre la espiritualidad en el deporte a partir de una doble significación como falsa religión y como competición y juego. En ese sentido, se presentan las contradicciones de esta manifestación social así como sus alternativas de comprensión. El método que se utiliza es la hermenéutica teológica, desde la perspectiva del olimpismo y de la teología cristiana. Se aborda el sentido competitivo del deporte y su significado como juego teológico, toda vez que se reconoce su función en términos del cultivo del ser humano y de la promoción social, y no del culto.
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.
Social phenomena which proves many couples have got interfaith marriage in Indonesia and other countries. In this case, interfaith marriage is a marriage of a man of Muslim with non-Muslim women or otherwise, marriage the women of Muslim with male non-Muslim. Therefore, it is necessary for a comprehensive explanation about the law of interfaith marriage. Interfaith marriage in al-Quran and Sunnah can be classified into three, first, the marriage of men of Muslim with the polytheists (musyrikah) women, within the merriage of male of Muslim with polytheists women are disagreement about the law, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari permit the marriage of this category on condition that the polytheistic woman came from the non-Arabs nation’s which have a holy book or the bible, should be married by men of Muslim. Second, the marriage of men of Muslim with women Ahl al-Kitab (kitabiyyah). In this case the majority of ulama get argue that married to of kitabiyah women (Jewish and Christian faiths, either dhimmi or harbi) is permissible. And, third, the marriage of women of Muslim with a male of non-Muslim, whether the merriage to polytheistic or Ahl al-Kitab (kitabi) which in this case is based on the consensus among ulama of islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) that marriage with this category is haraam, whether the male non-Muslim kitabi classified or not.
„Come out of her!“ (Rev 18:4): Four Female Characters and Their Part in the Organization of Space in Revelation
At first glance, Revelation seems to be based on dualistic categories like abovebelow, inside-outside, saved-condemned, male-female. Under the point of view of spatial theory, especially the dualism between inside and outside is of interest. This dualism is closely connected to gendered images within Revelation: Jezebel (Rev 2:20) is portrayed as exterior to the community of Christ believers in Thyatira. Likewise, John appeals to his addressees to come out of the whore Babylon (Rev 18:4), but to enter the New Jerusalem, which is portrayed as a bride. Flawed outsiders, however, have to stay outside (Rev 22:15). Thus, the spatial categories “inside” and “outside” bring about positive or negative connotations. In this article, networks of dualistic categories are being explored to show that they are not as dualistic as the first impression suggests. Instead, they help to describe the Christ believing community as an existence on the threshold between spaces.
The first part of this article explores the figurative exploitations of the word צֵל ‘shadow’ in Biblical Hebrew. Special attention is paid to the poetical language. Alongside the metonymy “shelter”, the metaphorical usage of this word is centred on the ideas of protection and transitoriness. The second part of the article takes into account the renderings of צֵל in the Old Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The data collected suggest that the translators refrain from using the equivalent σκιά in those contexts involving the abstract idea of protection and rather opt for the noun σκέπη. The discussion moves further by evaluating the motivations that could have led the translators to judge the term σκιά as unsuitable to express the idea of protection metaphorically. A first line of argument takes into account factors within the Hebrew biblical text; a second line of argument considers the usage of σκιά within Greek literary sources; finally, a third line of argument looks at those non-literary varieties of Greek found in documentary papyri of the Ptolemaic age
Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar, Oriental languages and literatures
The author proposes a model for theological anthropology as embodied sensing that is based on an interdisciplinary exploration of the corporeal turn from a southern African perspective. The work of James B. Nelson is acknowledged, stating that body theology starts with the concrete, the bodily expressions of life and not with doctrines about God and humanity. The theological anthropology of David H. Kelsey is evaluated as a theological anthropology with a sentiment of the flesh. Based on clearings in the work of David Kelsey and an interdisciplinary research, the author proposes a model for theological anthropology as embodied sensing which functions within the intricate and complex connection of the living body, language and experiencing in a concrete lifeworld with an openness to the ‘more than’. The author considers the use of bodymapping within narrative therapy as a way in which to uncover the intimate and intricate connection between the living body, experience and language, and implementing insights from theological anthropology as embodied sensing.
The Bible tells us not only about God, but about human beings and anthropological
relationships. By reflecting on relationships of some biblical families, we can gain
the potentials of overcoming different kinds of deep relational conflicts. In this
way we might learn how to approach Jeremiah’s prophetic oracle: No longer will
anyone go around saying, “Sour grapes eaten by parents leave a
sour taste in the
mouths of their children” (Jer. 31:29). According to the stories about Abraham and
his family, Isaac and his family, Jacob and his family, and Josef and his reconciliation
with his brothers in Egypt, we see that the “taste of the grapes” from the previous
generations undoubtedly affects the next generation. To overcome the negative
consequences and to prevail over the compulsive repetitions of the past generations,
the biblical stories have lessons that cannot be ignored, lessons that are didactic even
to contemporary men and women, especially in the context of the crisis which family
life is experiencing today. By accepting the history and in learning from it, which
includes at least some levels of forgiveness and reconciliation with the past, the next
generation can potentiality cultivate the ability to “live different” and to “do better”.
In that context God is giving the chance for a “new life” to each new generation.
Hubertus Siegert’s impressionistic documentary, Berlin Babylon, illuminates the demolition and urban renewal of Berlin during the mid-late 1990s. This was a critical phase in the city’s history, as it prepared, amidst a flurry of excitement and anticipation, to become the united Germany's seat of power. Siegert's film seeks to give pause for thought, but deliberately eschews a “voice of god” voiceover, opting instead for a poetic audiovisual montage. This includes shots of the cityscape (and its lacunae), archival footage documenting the wartime devastation and subsequent dynamiting of buildings, observational cinema of the city’s busy building sites, and of verbal snippets from various architects, developers and politicians––following the film title’s cue, the agents in a rerun of the construction of the Tower of Babel––as well as epigraphs from the Bible and Walter Benjamin, and a prominent soundscape and musical score. As this article will demonstrate, the film’s (mostly) sombre soundtrack plays a critical role here, commenting on the footage, and beyond that on the whole project of the new ‘Berlin Republic’ and its attitude to architectural heritage and twentieth century history. Re-figuring the theme of this volume, Berlin Babylon’s music is a form of writing about (collapsing, old) architecture and history. And yet, the soundtrack is not as unambiguous as a voiceover might have been, and thereby allows creative space for the audience’s interpretation, a matter that was very important to the film’s director. This article will focus, in particular, on three elements: the use (and treatment) of historical recordings in the film; the use of silence; and finally the way in which tracks from the Berlin band Einstürzende Neubauten use music, noise and text to comment on the project of the new Berlin.
Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration, Sociology (General)
This article is dedicated to Prof. Dr Andries van Aarde who has mentored a large number of students during his time as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria. It is written at the time when workers in South Africa are striking. Industrial psychologists are involved in mediation and aim to develop a culture of understanding between workers and management. The article analyses some causes of tension between managers and workers in the South African context and indicates how mentorship may help to foster growth amongst workers and managers. A case study explores the issue of cultural differences which often lead to misunderstandings, especially when managers do not understand the world in which workers live. The aim of the article is to contribute to existing insights that may help to create a healthy working relationship between managers and workers which will benefit both.
Modern society is in an unsustainable state. There is a crisis in our political systems, economies, finances and, what is worse, in our morals and value standards. On one side, American capitalism is burdened with the struggle for profit and social justice, and on the other, Europe is burdened with a grand unifying project as a way of building stability and security. Where is the Christian church in all of this? What does Christianity offer? Is there a Christian socialism? Regardless of how the system is named – be it capitalism, socialism or something else - only a system without the basic objective of profit maximization, one that does not consume resources to the point of their exhaustion, beyond its borders, one which is not based on greed, only considering its own well-being, and that does not blame others for its mistakes, but the one that is aware of its neighbor, only that one has a future.