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Item Open Access Thompson's modes of operation of ideology and depth hermeneutics as hermeneutical tools: ideology and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 4 23-7:29)(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Foshaugen, E. K.English: This article will first provide a synopsis of Thompson’s understanding of ideology and then apply it to two selected verses (Mt. 5:3 & 4) from the Sermon on the Mount. An attempt will be made to reveal the existence of an ideology in the text, determine its symbolic form and construction, and confirm the suitability of Thompson’s modes of operation of ideology and depth hermeneutics as tools of interpretation to be applied to the text. This methodology will disclose how one could control the masses with an ideology that claimed to benefit them; how the text can be presenting an opposing ideology to the prevailing ideologies and finally show that the text also reveals an asymmetrical relation of power and dominion between God and the hearers of the text that ultimately will benefit them. Reading the text in its particular social-historical setting this article will endeavour to disclose and draw attention to symbolic phenomena that serve and sustain relations (domination being one aspect of this association) between God and his people who are the oppressed and persecuted.Item Open Access Calvin and other religions(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Potgieter, P. C.English: Widely differing views on ways leading to true knowledge of God is at present characteristic of discussions in the sphere of religion. Although Calvin worked in a completely different scene, he has laid down certain principles based on his interpretation of Holy Scripture that may contribute to current theological thought on this issue. In this article his views on true and false religion, non-Christian faiths, the uniqueness of Christ as Mediator and Redeemer, and universalism is discussed from the perspective not only of his Institutes, but also of his Commentaries, Tracts and Treatises and Letters. His conviction is that careful observation of God’s Word leads to the principle of Christ as the only way to God. Any kind of self-invented religion, even though it is the result of an appeal by God’s general revelation on the sensus divinitatis in mankind, leads to idolatry. The view that all faiths are so many different ways to come to knowledge of the Divine Being, is not only widespread, but is obviously becoming more popular among people in many different walks of life. Religious freedom is seen by many not only as part and parcel of human rights, but also as contrary to the ideas of those who proclaim the uniqueness of their particular faith for a true relationship with God and for salvation to eternal life. Many people — among them well-known theologians — will certainly find the distinction between true and false religions abhorrent. For those, proselytism and even mission work among people of traditional religions has become improper, offensive and unacceptable. Du Preez lists a number of reasons why attention should currently be paid to developing a sound theology of religions. He mentions inter alia the better knowledge and respect for non-Christian faiths in the Western World; the realisation that religious pluralism is a fait accompli; the misgivings about Christianity among some Third World people; the relative decline of Christianity in Europe; a new interest in oriental mysticism among many young people; and the question of whether the Church should indeed continue its mission work among people of other faiths. Factors like these necessitate a theologia religionum (Du Preez 1983:129). In this regard John Calvin’s view of other religions may be of significant value.Item Open Access New Testament exegesis in theory and practice(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Du Toit, A. B.Englsh: Exegesis should incorporate the basic insights of modern linguistics and literary studies, without ignoring the older grammarians and rhetoricians. Divergent interpretations of a text is possible, but authentic understanding remains within certain parameters. Responsible exegesis needs a multi-dimensional approach. The contribution from various sciences towards the theory of responsible exegesis is discussed. The two most decisive elements in specifying meaning are text and context. Contrary to the voices calling for the death of the author, he remains an important factor. The role of the reader has become increasingly important. The ideal would be a controlled and controllable exegetical procedure. An exegetical programme is proposed to serve as a very basic and flexible vademecum.Item Open Access Reflections on the ecclesiastical interpretations of 6th April 1652 as a South African symbolic date(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Britz, R. M.English: This article verifies the theological interpretation of the 6th April 1652 as a South African symbolic date, which marked the beginning of the European and Christian contribution to the history of Southern Africa. The exposition deals, in particular, with 1752, 1852 and 1952 interpretations by leading ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church, the “oldest and original church of the land.” The three commemorative addresses are scrutinized and presented in terms of the historical and ecclesiastical settings against which each was articulated. Obviously, the orators were subjected to contemporary perceptions, sentiments and experiences. The interpretations of the 6th April 1652 were deliberately theological, but they were however not based on a comprehensive exposition of Scripture. Consequently, theological and cultural inferences that played into the hands of an ideological understanding or appropriation of the past and its symbolic date, hampered a critical and responsible assessment. This was illustrated at the 1952 celebrations. To many blacks the date commemorated inaugurated three centuries of wrong. They could not assess it as an event caused by the determinant will of God. The article argues that this is the consequence of a (church) historical interpretation which is not accompanied by a theological- critical reflection and confessional consideration in terms of the Church of Christ with the Word of God as norm. This methodological preference presupposes a fundamentally different way of coming to terms with history (and its perplexing symbolic dates) to what happened in 1992 in Latin America. Instead of advancing radical theology in order to rectify history, what happened should be appreciated in view of Scripture.Item Open Access Christianity and Islam — the development of modern science and the genesis of the modern (just) state(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Strauss, D. F. M.English: This article focuses on the formal similarities between Christianity and the Islam present during the later middle ages — a period in which both legacies subscribed to a relatively totalitarian societal condition manifested in the existence of their respective empires. The ideal of the Corpus Christi as the societas perfecta of medieval Christianity is explained in the light of the contest between church and state during the later middle ages. This legacy was eventually challenged by an intellectual movement initiated by John the Scott and William of Ockham that caused the breaking apart of the former ecclesiastically unified culture. The alternative development within the Islam world is sketched before the spirit of modernity is explained as a secularization of biblical Christianity. Humanism initially inspired explicitly totalitarian theories of the state. It was only within the Protestant countries of Europe that the modern constitutional state under the rule of law emerged, accompanied by a process of societal differentiation unparalleled in world history. Although the more recent attempts of Islamic countries to benefit from the fruits of the modern natural sciences inspired them to introduce the teaching of the natural sciences within the Muslim world, these countries did not succeed in benefiting from the significant transformation of the medieval empires into modern democratic states. Since the Muslim world is still embedded in the relatively undifferentiated embrace of a societal setting guided and integrated by the Muslim faith it did not succeed as yet to transcend the inherent limitations entailed in a typical empire in the classical sense of the word.Item Open Access Afrikaanse Bybelvertalings "vir Afrika". Die vertalers en hulle kulturele agenda(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Naudé, J. A.English: The purpose of the article is to indicate the ideological dominance of the Afrikaans target culture in Afrikaans Bible translations. This is measured by the way in which the Ancient Near Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean cultures of the source texts are domesticated. An analysis of nine Afrikaans Bible translations is provided in terms of commission and intention of the translation, the translation process (translator, source text, work method, translation method), and product of the translation. It is shown that the trend is to create translations that read fluently, i.e. the appearance that the translation is not in fact a translation, but the original.Item Open Access "Die skurwe liefde om te besit": teologiese riglyne vir sake-etiek(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Lategan, L. O. K.English: This article points out the importance of business ethics and the guidelines needed by Christian business people for participating in business activities. For this reason theological guidelines are provided for business activities. Section 2 focuses on three key concepts, namely man as manager of God’s property; the central love command and the religious conviction of man. Section 3 argues that no business ethics can exist without understanding the role of compromise in daily life. Section 4 discusses two case studies against the background of values for business ethics. The article concludes with three important guidelines for business ethics.Item Open Access A Shona assessment of evolving missionary Christianity in Zimbabwe(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Hale, F.English: Beginning before the wave of African decolonisation of the 1960s but accelerating noticeably thereafter, both Christians and non-Christians across much of the continent created retrospective literary reconstructions of the impact of missionary Christianity on traditional societies. They thereby added important perspectives, many of them highly critical, on the saga of the church in Africa. One of the few female indigenous observers was the Shona novelist, Tsitsi Dangarembga (b. 1959), whose award-winning Nervous Conditions was published in 1988. Though bitingly critical in some respects, Dangarembga came neither to bury nor to praise, and her insights amalgamate disparagement of European condescension and heavy-handedness with acknowledgment of instances of missionary respect for indigenous culture. She also emphasised that religious intolerance was not an exclusively European phenomenon.Item Open Access New Testament exegesis in theory and practice: the various stages of the exegetical programme(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Du Toit, A. B.English: The various stages in the exegetical programme include preliminary selection of a passage, first close reading, demarcation, textual criticism, determining the real world context, the literary type, the place of the micro-text within its macro-structure, analysing the structure of the micro-text, detailed analysis, formulating the message for the first readers, guidelines for understanding the text’s message for today and (optional) a translation. Lexico-grammatical, literary and semantic criteria for text demarcation are presented. Under detailed analysis a new linguistic tools, metaphors, Semitic influence and intertextuality are discussed.Item Open Access A partial preterist understanding of Revelation 12-13 within an intertextual framework(Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2004) Du Rand, J. A.; Song, Y. M.English: There are two lines of thought in exegetical circles concerning the interpretation of partial preterism, applied to Rev. 12-13: (1) the consistent partial preterism, according to which the whole book of Revelation is God’s judgement directed toward the apostate Jews in AD 70; (2) the transitional partial preterism which argues that the main theme of Rev. 12-19 is God’s judgement on Rome. To solve these conflicting opinions, intertextual views are applied to Rev. 12-13. We have observed that two main intertextual tensions arise. These are the conflict between John’s intertextuality and that of his audiences on the one hand, and on the other hand, the different views held by the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. However, the problem of the two lines of partial preterism is not a matter of either/or but of both/and. Nonetheless, the matter of priority for each group of John’s audiences is of exegetical significance. For the Jewish audience, the judgement of Jerusalem is still a matter of priority, but for the Gentile audiences, God’s judgement on Rome is decisive.