The question of suffering, specifically that experienced by human beings, has been contentious in the discourses of biology and religion. The dilemma, especially in the Christian faith tradition has been to reconcile suffering with the idea of a benevolent deity in whose image humans are believed to have been created. Evolutionary biology, and specifically the field of cognitive psychology, contends that the experience of suffering may have more pragmatic origins, while not necessarily being to the benefit of the individual, may be a mechanism that favours the longevity of a species. This article explores the understanding of ‘natural suffering’ from the perspective of evolutionary biology and Christian faith convictions and proposes principles that can facilitate a mutually beneficial religion and science discourse.Contribution: This article investigates suffering in evolutionary biology and Christian theology respectively. Its interdisciplinary nature contributes towards the science and religion discourse.
{"title":"Suffering in evolutionary biology and Christian theology: Mutually exclusive notions?","authors":"Wessel Bentley","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.182","url":null,"abstract":"The question of suffering, specifically that experienced by human beings, has been contentious in the discourses of biology and religion. The dilemma, especially in the Christian faith tradition has been to reconcile suffering with the idea of a benevolent deity in whose image humans are believed to have been created. Evolutionary biology, and specifically the field of cognitive psychology, contends that the experience of suffering may have more pragmatic origins, while not necessarily being to the benefit of the individual, may be a mechanism that favours the longevity of a species. This article explores the understanding of ‘natural suffering’ from the perspective of evolutionary biology and Christian faith convictions and proposes principles that can facilitate a mutually beneficial religion and science discourse.Contribution: This article investigates suffering in evolutionary biology and Christian theology respectively. Its interdisciplinary nature contributes towards the science and religion discourse.","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47690926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A theo-political analysis of Muslim–Muslim presidency in a ‘secular’ Nigeria","authors":"B. O. Igboin","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.169","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46562239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
to them. They were essentially breathing through the wound in their own homes: Baphefumula ngenxiba . This article, through a literature review, will highlight how the lives of women were endangered during the lockdown in response to the global pandemic in South Africa. This article aims to call missionary churches to practice the theology of missio Dei within this context. Contribution: In the light of the above challenges of GBV, the missionary churches are called to practice the theology of missio Del within the context of gender-based violence that took place in private homes during COVID-19. ‘ Siphefumula Ngenxeba ’ is a Zulu phrase that means [we are breathing through the wound]. The church is therefore called to play a significant role in response to GBV in South Africa.
{"title":"Siphefumula Ngenxeba in our own homes: Gender-based violence during COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"H. P. Khosa-Nkatini, J. Mofokeng","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.178","url":null,"abstract":"to them. They were essentially breathing through the wound in their own homes: Baphefumula ngenxiba . This article, through a literature review, will highlight how the lives of women were endangered during the lockdown in response to the global pandemic in South Africa. This article aims to call missionary churches to practice the theology of missio Dei within this context. Contribution: In the light of the above challenges of GBV, the missionary churches are called to practice the theology of missio Del within the context of gender-based violence that took place in private homes during COVID-19. ‘ Siphefumula Ngenxeba ’ is a Zulu phrase that means [we are breathing through the wound]. The church is therefore called to play a significant role in response to GBV in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45402353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An African-study of the contribution of Neanderthals to funeral rituals","authors":"A. Jock","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.173","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43678158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In recent times, the quest for miracles among Nigerian Christians has become a social menace as many have fallen victim to fake miracle workers. The article studied the quest for miracles in Nigeria against the purpose and significance of miracles in the New Testament (NT), and sought to appraise this behaviour as a possible effect of the poor economic situation in the country. It applied the reader-oriented and descriptive methods. The work found that the manner of the quest for miracles by many Nigerian Christians indicates their lack of understanding of the essence of miracles in the NT. This wrong perception also explains the frantic efforts by some pentecostal preachers to work miracles, including commercialisation of miracles and certain occult practices. The essay concluded that Nigerian Christians wrong attitude towards miracles is an effect of the high rate of poverty in the country. The menace can, therefore, be ameliorated by addressing the economic situation. Government should change its corrupt attitude towards the economy while the church has to educate their members about the teaching of the Bible on miracles, and direct her preaching against corruption and its perpetrators.Contribution: The article is a contribution to the discourse on the controversies on miracles. It argues that Nigerian Christians’ perception of miracles contradicts the essence of miracles in the NT, and that this perception and the practices involved are an effect of the poor economic situation in the country.
{"title":"Assessing the quest for miracles in Nigeria from the economic perspective","authors":"S. Ademiluka","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.179","url":null,"abstract":"In recent times, the quest for miracles among Nigerian Christians has become a social menace as many have fallen victim to fake miracle workers. The article studied the quest for miracles in Nigeria against the purpose and significance of miracles in the New Testament (NT), and sought to appraise this behaviour as a possible effect of the poor economic situation in the country. It applied the reader-oriented and descriptive methods. The work found that the manner of the quest for miracles by many Nigerian Christians indicates their lack of understanding of the essence of miracles in the NT. This wrong perception also explains the frantic efforts by some pentecostal preachers to work miracles, including commercialisation of miracles and certain occult practices. The essay concluded that Nigerian Christians wrong attitude towards miracles is an effect of the high rate of poverty in the country. The menace can, therefore, be ameliorated by addressing the economic situation. Government should change its corrupt attitude towards the economy while the church has to educate their members about the teaching of the Bible on miracles, and direct her preaching against corruption and its perpetrators.Contribution: The article is a contribution to the discourse on the controversies on miracles. It argues that Nigerian Christians’ perception of miracles contradicts the essence of miracles in the NT, and that this perception and the practices involved are an effect of the poor economic situation in the country.","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41741846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Contrary to some Vhavenḓa poets who recognise Ṅwali and/or Raluvhimba as Jehovah, this article argues that Ṅwali and Jehovah are two distinct deities. It further asserts that there is no kinship or continuity between these deities. Although there are possibilities of there being some similarities of attributes between these deities, their conceptual distinctions highlight significant incongruities between them. Ṅwali in Tshivenḓa traditional religion (TTR) is identified as the Semitic Ṅwali, which is arguably evidence that there has been a ‘Hellenisation’ of TTR and the Vhavenḓa’s concept of God. Consequently, the Vhavenḓa have been left with essentially two distinct deities to consider – a fact that has contributed and still contributes immensely to the ambivalence of the modern-day Vhavenḓa’s spiritual lifestyle. This article might add to the ongoing discourse on the decolonisation of African traditional religions and their attendant theology.
{"title":"Blurry boundaries between Ṅwali and Jehovah in some Tshivenḓa modern poems","authors":"Moffat Sebola","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.160","url":null,"abstract":"Contrary to some Vhavenḓa poets who recognise Ṅwali and/or Raluvhimba as Jehovah, this article argues that Ṅwali and Jehovah are two distinct deities. It further asserts that there is no kinship or continuity between these deities. Although there are possibilities of there being some similarities of attributes between these deities, their conceptual distinctions highlight significant incongruities between them. Ṅwali in Tshivenḓa traditional religion (TTR) is identified as the Semitic Ṅwali, which is arguably evidence that there has been a ‘Hellenisation’ of TTR and the Vhavenḓa’s concept of God. Consequently, the Vhavenḓa have been left with essentially two distinct deities to consider – a fact that has contributed and still contributes immensely to the ambivalence of the modern-day Vhavenḓa’s spiritual lifestyle. This article might add to the ongoing discourse on the decolonisation of African traditional religions and their attendant theology.","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134967710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards a postmissionary review of mission station names in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe","authors":"Gift Masengwe, B. Dube","doi":"10.4102/tv.v47i1.170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v47i1.170","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44466769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu is a Xitsonga idiomatic expression implying that the road to marital success is for a wife to endure hardships. This idiomatic expression is firmly embedded in patriarchal beliefs, as it is only applicable to wives and not husbands. From time immemorial, the VaTsonga people have been aware of the complexities of marriage. Although they regard it as being a vital step towards full adulthood and maturity, they have several sayings which point out that marriage is not an easy undertaking, such as the well-known saying, Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu. The purpose of this article was to examine the VaTsonga idiomatic expression Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu, as well as its impact on VaTsonga marriages and patriarchy in VaTsonga marriages. Furthermore, the study provided recommendations to pastoral caregivers to promote gender equality and discourage the abuse of women in Tsonga marriages. A literature review methodological approach was adopted in this research to indicate that the idiomatic expression Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu chimes well with the patriarchal mindset of VaTsonga people with regards to marriage in general. Culture is patriarchal and this is general knowledge; therefore, this article argued that women are told and taught to accept male patriarchal rule along with the injustice and hardships that it causes them. Hence, this article challenged practical theology to play a role in fighting against this Tsonga patriarchal rule of marriage.Contribution: In the light of the above-named challenges, the one-sided view of VaTsonga marriage endurance and its patriarchal nature was discussed. Practical theology was called to respond to these issues, as it can play a significant role in challenging pastoral care to respond to such patriarchal VaTsonga idioms.
Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu是Xitsonga的一个习语,暗示婚姻成功的道路是妻子忍受苦难。这种惯用语深深植根于父权制信仰,因为它只适用于妻子而不适用于丈夫。自古以来,瓦松加人就意识到婚姻的复杂性。尽管他们认为这是迈向完全成年和成熟的重要一步,但他们有几句谚语指出婚姻不是一件容易的事,比如著名的谚语Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu。本文的目的是研究瓦松加语的惯用语Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu,以及它对瓦松加婚姻和瓦松加族婚姻中父权制的影响。此外,该研究还向牧民看护人提供了建议,以促进性别平等,防止在宗加婚姻中虐待妇女。本研究采用了文献综述的方法论方法,表明Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu的习语表达与瓦松加人在婚姻方面的父权心态非常吻合。文化是父权制的,这是常识;因此,本文认为,女性被告知并被教导接受男性父权制,以及父权制给她们带来的不公正和苦难。因此,本文挑战了实践神学在对抗宗加父权制婚姻中的作用。贡献:针对上述挑战,讨论了瓦松加婚姻承受力及其父权性质的片面观点。实践神学被要求对这些问题作出回应,因为它可以在挑战田园关怀方面发挥重要作用,以回应这种父权制的瓦松加习语。
{"title":"The one-sided view of VaTsonga marital endurance, Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu: A challenge to pastoral care","authors":"H. P. Khosa-Nkatini, D. Khosa","doi":"10.4102/tv.v46i1.167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/tv.v46i1.167","url":null,"abstract":"Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu is a Xitsonga idiomatic expression implying that the road to marital success is for a wife to endure hardships. This idiomatic expression is firmly embedded in patriarchal beliefs, as it is only applicable to wives and not husbands. From time immemorial, the VaTsonga people have been aware of the complexities of marriage. Although they regard it as being a vital step towards full adulthood and maturity, they have several sayings which point out that marriage is not an easy undertaking, such as the well-known saying, Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu. The purpose of this article was to examine the VaTsonga idiomatic expression Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu, as well as its impact on VaTsonga marriages and patriarchy in VaTsonga marriages. Furthermore, the study provided recommendations to pastoral caregivers to promote gender equality and discourage the abuse of women in Tsonga marriages. A literature review methodological approach was adopted in this research to indicate that the idiomatic expression Vukati VA Kandza hi Mbilu chimes well with the patriarchal mindset of VaTsonga people with regards to marriage in general. Culture is patriarchal and this is general knowledge; therefore, this article argued that women are told and taught to accept male patriarchal rule along with the injustice and hardships that it causes them. Hence, this article challenged practical theology to play a role in fighting against this Tsonga patriarchal rule of marriage.Contribution: In the light of the above-named challenges, the one-sided view of VaTsonga marriage endurance and its patriarchal nature was discussed. Practical theology was called to respond to these issues, as it can play a significant role in challenging pastoral care to respond to such patriarchal VaTsonga idioms.","PeriodicalId":34066,"journal":{"name":"Theologia Viatorum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48206959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}