To be sure, the more productive field of the international research on Protestantism is related to the subject of social history. In the case of the Calvin studies, for instance, readers will see, much has been written about the operation of the Genevan civil-church administration, consistorial discipline, sexual sins, and family-marital life. Their authors’ outstanding effort was to consult with the original manuscripts of the Genevan Archives. However, the early generations of Protestant preachers not only in Western, but in Central East Europe were trying to commit everything to renew the public morality of people, still the illumination of the Hungarian pastors’ views on the new spiritual and religious dimensions of family life, is still a neglected part of the research. Consequently, it would be interesting to scrutinize, for instance, the public morality related to the sexual crimes of local townsfolk of the city of Debrecen which apparently was the center of the Hungarian Reformation since 1562/63. Doing so, the present research deals with the operation of the law court, the number of cases, the crimes, and motives represented in the Registers of the Magistracy of Debrecen during the period of 1547–1625. Figures and statistics presented by the article point out how important was the practice of forgiveness in the religious life in Debrecen. It is taken for granted that the main results of the study permit to take a brief comparison of the sexual morality of the two Calvinist towns, namely: Debrecen and Geneva.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article is based on the field of systematic theology. The study offers an attempt to understand sexual sins/crimes in their 16th and 17th century theological, judicial, and historical context.
{"title":"Fornication and adultery in the city of Debrecen (1547–1625) compared with the morality of Geneva","authors":"Balázs D. Magyar","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2791","url":null,"abstract":"To be sure, the more productive field of the international research on Protestantism is related to the subject of social history. In the case of the Calvin studies, for instance, readers will see, much has been written about the operation of the Genevan civil-church administration, consistorial discipline, sexual sins, and family-marital life. Their authors’ outstanding effort was to consult with the original manuscripts of the Genevan Archives. However, the early generations of Protestant preachers not only in Western, but in Central East Europe were trying to commit everything to renew the public morality of people, still the illumination of the Hungarian pastors’ views on the new spiritual and religious dimensions of family life, is still a neglected part of the research. Consequently, it would be interesting to scrutinize, for instance, the public morality related to the sexual crimes of local townsfolk of the city of Debrecen which apparently was the center of the Hungarian Reformation since 1562/63. Doing so, the present research deals with the operation of the law court, the number of cases, the crimes, and motives represented in the Registers of the Magistracy of Debrecen during the period of 1547–1625. Figures and statistics presented by the article point out how important was the practice of forgiveness in the religious life in Debrecen. It is taken for granted that the main results of the study permit to take a brief comparison of the sexual morality of the two Calvinist towns, namely: Debrecen and Geneva.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article is based on the field of systematic theology. The study offers an attempt to understand sexual sins/crimes in their 16th and 17th century theological, judicial, and historical context.","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44610312","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}
This article is a follow-up of an article that describes the proponents of the eternal functional subordination (EFS). This evangelical movement was introduced by George Knight in 1977. The EFS refers to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son as an eternal authoritative position held by the Father, while the Son occupies an eternal subordinated position. This is not the position held by the mainline Protestant churches. The proponents of the EFS find the origin of their premise in the Bible as well as the tradition of the early church. Just like the Protestants, they refer to the Creeds and the Councils, as well as the Church Fathers to verify their arguments. Although the differences between the mainline Protestants and the EFS are seemingly insignificant, it can lead to interpretations that are detrimental for the growth of the church. In this article, the main opponents of the EFS are critically discussed in order to lay bare the shortcomings of the EFS and, to a lesser degree, the shortcomings of the anti-EFS proponents. Naturally, the scholars who are opposing the EFS, do not always speak from the same mouth, as each proponent has their own point of view. This emphasises the fact that a constant debate on the holy Trinity is imperative.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The EFS movement proposes the eternal submission of Jesus to the Father – contra the Christian Creeds. Anti-EFS proponents are opposing this movement, indicating the equality between the three Persons of the Trinity on both the ontological and/or immanent and the economic and/or functional side. Practical Theology, Church History and New Testament (NT) disciplines are utilised.
{"title":"The anti-eternal functional subordination versus the eternal functional subordination","authors":"W. H. Oliver","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2781","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2781","url":null,"abstract":"This article is a follow-up of an article that describes the proponents of the eternal functional subordination (EFS). This evangelical movement was introduced by George Knight in 1977. The EFS refers to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son as an eternal authoritative position held by the Father, while the Son occupies an eternal subordinated position. This is not the position held by the mainline Protestant churches. The proponents of the EFS find the origin of their premise in the Bible as well as the tradition of the early church. Just like the Protestants, they refer to the Creeds and the Councils, as well as the Church Fathers to verify their arguments. Although the differences between the mainline Protestants and the EFS are seemingly insignificant, it can lead to interpretations that are detrimental for the growth of the church. In this article, the main opponents of the EFS are critically discussed in order to lay bare the shortcomings of the EFS and, to a lesser degree, the shortcomings of the anti-EFS proponents. Naturally, the scholars who are opposing the EFS, do not always speak from the same mouth, as each proponent has their own point of view. This emphasises the fact that a constant debate on the holy Trinity is imperative.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The EFS movement proposes the eternal submission of Jesus to the Father – contra the Christian Creeds. Anti-EFS proponents are opposing this movement, indicating the equality between the three Persons of the Trinity on both the ontological and/or immanent and the economic and/or functional side. Practical Theology, Church History and New Testament (NT) disciplines are utilised.","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43629297","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}
Whereas the Song of Songs can be said to be about Eros, the Book of Job could be about Thanatos. Yet, the Song ends with a crucial reference to death, and in the Book of Job there are subtle traces of sexuality: the first chapter tells about probably promiscuous parties held by Job’s children who then die during such a feast. Job reacts by referring to the womb, which presumably has sexual connotations. The womb is once again an issue in chapters 3 and 10. Twice he mentions breasts, although negatively connoted. In his last speech, Job suddenly refers several times to hypothetical transgressions with women, which betrays his hidden desires behind his piety. In addition, apart from body-parts such as the feet, hands and heart, a tail, loins and even a nose might sometimes be interpreted as euphemisms with phallic hints. In the final chapter his three ‘new’ daughters are the most beautiful in the world, perhaps presenting him as eventually allowing his libido to be re-introjected. Through a psychoanalytical lens it is, however, possible to make sense of this unexpected presence of sexual traces in a book about death.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Approaching texts from a psychoanalytical perspective challenges historical-critical exegesis by questioning its assumption that universality dissolves into historicity. It adds unconscious aspects of a text, here interpreting unexpected traces of sexuality in a book about mourning. This is done in a divergent way by pointing out various possible understandings.
{"title":"Signs of sexuality in a book about death seen through a psychoanalytic lens: Paradox and parody in play and perversion","authors":"Pieter Van der Zwan","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2638","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2638","url":null,"abstract":"Whereas the Song of Songs can be said to be about Eros, the Book of Job could be about Thanatos. Yet, the Song ends with a crucial reference to death, and in the Book of Job there are subtle traces of sexuality: the first chapter tells about probably promiscuous parties held by Job’s children who then die during such a feast. Job reacts by referring to the womb, which presumably has sexual connotations. The womb is once again an issue in chapters 3 and 10. Twice he mentions breasts, although negatively connoted. In his last speech, Job suddenly refers several times to hypothetical transgressions with women, which betrays his hidden desires behind his piety. In addition, apart from body-parts such as the feet, hands and heart, a tail, loins and even a nose might sometimes be interpreted as euphemisms with phallic hints. In the final chapter his three ‘new’ daughters are the most beautiful in the world, perhaps presenting him as eventually allowing his libido to be re-introjected. Through a psychoanalytical lens it is, however, possible to make sense of this unexpected presence of sexual traces in a book about death.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Approaching texts from a psychoanalytical perspective challenges historical-critical exegesis by questioning its assumption that universality dissolves into historicity. It adds unconscious aspects of a text, here interpreting unexpected traces of sexuality in a book about mourning. This is done in a divergent way by pointing out various possible understandings.","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":"71 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134955247","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":"Voorwoord: Diakonaat herontdek?","authors":"Johannes J. Knoetze","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2858","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2858","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:p>N/A</jats:p>","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42786811","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":"No wisdom, no future: The education factor in the sustainability discourse","authors":"B. Ott","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2712","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43989600","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":"Mistakes of Western Christian missions in Africa and related response, mid-19th to 20th Century","authors":"M. T. Masuku","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2746","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2746","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41645315","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}
Theology as a story of doubt and imagination is to be understood against the background of interdisciplinary social science and in contrast to the traditional paradigm of theology as a system of propositional certainty. The concepts of doubt and imagination are part and parcel of narrative research and can also be linked to postfoundational philosophy. The relevancy of this theological paradigm will be discussed on the basis of the following: (1) It is in touch with its own doubt, (2) It is in touch with its own story (tradition), (3) It can therefore interact with other stories, stories of hope and despair, stories of suffering, stories of power and of marginalisation, (4) It can also imagine alternative stories.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The interaction with ‘other stories’, which is one of the important outcomes of this postfoundational approach, makes it possible for theology to be a humble but important participant at the interdisciplinary conversational table.
{"title":"(Practical) Theology: A story of doubt and imagination","authors":"J. C. Muller","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2650","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2650","url":null,"abstract":"Theology as a story of doubt and imagination is to be understood against the background of interdisciplinary social science and in contrast to the traditional paradigm of theology as a system of propositional certainty. The concepts of doubt and imagination are part and parcel of narrative research and can also be linked to postfoundational philosophy. The relevancy of this theological paradigm will be discussed on the basis of the following: (1) It is in touch with its own doubt, (2) It is in touch with its own story (tradition), (3) It can therefore interact with other stories, stories of hope and despair, stories of suffering, stories of power and of marginalisation, (4) It can also imagine alternative stories.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The interaction with ‘other stories’, which is one of the important outcomes of this postfoundational approach, makes it possible for theology to be a humble but important participant at the interdisciplinary conversational table.","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48553528","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}
The Dutch Reformed Church has a history of social care and development through its professional social service organisations, and of goodwill through its congregations and members. Since 2002, declarations of intent for transformative service from the church in all its facades have testified to the Dutch Reformed Church’s commitment to contribute to a better life for everyone in South Africa. However, it appears in practice that the Dutch Reformed Church’s response has fallen into silos and that it has been challenging to accomplish collective impact.The publication of the Dutch Reformed Church’s Framework Document for Missional Transformation (2013) has increased the need for an in-depth discussion about the diaconate. An outdated diaconate policy (1994) exposed problems with which the Dutch Reformed Church is struggling. It showed, among other things: the ecclesiocentric focus of the diaconate; a theological departure that has not kept pace with the development of a missional theology; and the disposition for separate operatives between the different forms of ecclesiastical diaconate.The aim of this article is to react to the potential for collaboration between different forms of the diaconate in the Dutch Reformed Church. The Research Strategy for Missional Transformation (2018) provides an approach that allows clarification of a research problem that leads to the design of prototypes in the next phase of research. The research shows that collaboration should be approached in a nuanced way, and that practice theory for integrated diaconal ministry should be further researched and developed.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: Theological development contributes to a new appreciation for a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to diaconal work.
{"title":"Missionale diakonaat: Van fragmentasie na integrasie en impak","authors":"Nioma Venter","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2774","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2774","url":null,"abstract":"The Dutch Reformed Church has a history of social care and development through its professional social service organisations, and of goodwill through its congregations and members. Since 2002, declarations of intent for transformative service from the church in all its facades have testified to the Dutch Reformed Church’s commitment to contribute to a better life for everyone in South Africa. However, it appears in practice that the Dutch Reformed Church’s response has fallen into silos and that it has been challenging to accomplish collective impact.The publication of the Dutch Reformed Church’s Framework Document for Missional Transformation (2013) has increased the need for an in-depth discussion about the diaconate. An outdated diaconate policy (1994) exposed problems with which the Dutch Reformed Church is struggling. It showed, among other things: the ecclesiocentric focus of the diaconate; a theological departure that has not kept pace with the development of a missional theology; and the disposition for separate operatives between the different forms of ecclesiastical diaconate.The aim of this article is to react to the potential for collaboration between different forms of the diaconate in the Dutch Reformed Church. The Research Strategy for Missional Transformation (2018) provides an approach that allows clarification of a research problem that leads to the design of prototypes in the next phase of research. The research shows that collaboration should be approached in a nuanced way, and that practice theory for integrated diaconal ministry should be further researched and developed.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: Theological development contributes to a new appreciation for a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to diaconal work.","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47255579","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}
This article reflects on the use of heteronormative God-talk within African Pentecostalism in modern South Africa. God-talk has often been used as a tool to push specific socio-political ideologies within the global community and in discourses about gender and sexuality. In Africa, these discourses are often characterised by debates and influenced by normative, moral religious and Christian views. Research indicates that African Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing Christian movements in the world and it has great influence on sexual moral discourses. The advent of neo-Pentecostalism in South Africa was marked with the abuse of God-talk. Different media platforms reported on the commercialisation and abuse of religion as Pentecostal prophets used God-talk often disguised as prophecy to perform unusual practices and to make religious remarks regarding gender identities and sexualities. This forced and reinforced the hegemony of heterosexuality in society. Therefore, the decolonial motif was applied in this article to reflect on the coloniality of power embodied in God-talk. Decoloniality can be a tool that can reveal both the liberating and oppressive elements in the use of God-talk in South Africa.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: The decolonial move here was motivated by the progressive post-heteronormative South African paradigm. The article used the interdisciplinary approach, namely socio-political sciences and Missiology to challenge the abuse of God-talk within contemporary Pentecostalism in South Africa. Positive use of God-talk can liberate both the church and society by transforming the traditional heteronormative views and by empowering congregants irrespective of their gender or sexuality. Such transformation can be possible if post-heteronormativity can be embraced by both church and society.
{"title":"Pentecostalism and heteronormative God-talk in modern South Africa: A decolonial approach","authors":"Themba Shingange","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2763","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2763","url":null,"abstract":"This article reflects on the use of heteronormative God-talk within African Pentecostalism in modern South Africa. God-talk has often been used as a tool to push specific socio-political ideologies within the global community and in discourses about gender and sexuality. In Africa, these discourses are often characterised by debates and influenced by normative, moral religious and Christian views. Research indicates that African Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing Christian movements in the world and it has great influence on sexual moral discourses. The advent of neo-Pentecostalism in South Africa was marked with the abuse of God-talk. Different media platforms reported on the commercialisation and abuse of religion as Pentecostal prophets used God-talk often disguised as prophecy to perform unusual practices and to make religious remarks regarding gender identities and sexualities. This forced and reinforced the hegemony of heterosexuality in society. Therefore, the decolonial motif was applied in this article to reflect on the coloniality of power embodied in God-talk. Decoloniality can be a tool that can reveal both the liberating and oppressive elements in the use of God-talk in South Africa.Intradisciplinary and interdisciplinary implications: The decolonial move here was motivated by the progressive post-heteronormative South African paradigm. The article used the interdisciplinary approach, namely socio-political sciences and Missiology to challenge the abuse of God-talk within contemporary Pentecostalism in South Africa. Positive use of God-talk can liberate both the church and society by transforming the traditional heteronormative views and by empowering congregants irrespective of their gender or sexuality. Such transformation can be possible if post-heteronormativity can be embraced by both church and society.","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43713515","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}
implications: The theme of gender-based violence is by definition of multidisciplinary interest. This contribution highlighted the less-talked-about abuse of men, which is also of significance within multiple disciplines including biblical studies, social anthropology
{"title":"Of seduction and male abuse: Exploring the less-talked-about using Tamar’s stratagem (Gn 37–38)","authors":"Canisius Mwandayi","doi":"10.4102/ve.v44i1.2767","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v44i1.2767","url":null,"abstract":"implications: The theme of gender-based violence is by definition of multidisciplinary interest. This contribution highlighted the less-talked-about abuse of men, which is also of significance within multiple disciplines including biblical studies, social anthropology","PeriodicalId":38411,"journal":{"name":"Verbum et Ecclesia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47395262","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}
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