Venter, R.Van der Kooi, C.Van den Bosch-Heij, Deborah2015-11-202015-11-202012http://hdl.handle.net/11660/1689English: This study is an exploration of the link between the Holy Spirit and healing in Africa from a Reformed perspective. It is meant as a contribution to the development of Reformed contextual perspectives on healing in Southern Africa, and investigates whether a pneumatological exploration, sensitive to multi-layered understandings of health, could open productive avenues for Reformed theology in Southern Africa. The exploration consists of two parts. The first part is based on interdisciplinary research, and gives an overview of African health concepts that are influential in Southern Africa. The exploration starts with the struggle to find an appropriate definition of health, resulting in the understanding of health as a social construct. This means that one’s social context determines one’s understanding of health. The approach of social constructivism is non-essentialist and inherently open to the contextual, social and subjective nature of health. As such, social constructivism provides the epistemological frame for this thesis’ understanding of health and healing in the African context. Social constructivism implies that there are multiple understandings of health in a society. When a health concept occurs in a systematic or coherent pattern of ideas and practices, this coherent structure can be characterized as a health discourse. In Southern Africa, various health discourses can be identified: (1) the African traditional healing or the ngoma discourse; (2) the missionary medicine discourse; (3) the HIV/AIDS discourse; and (4) the church-based healing discourse. Each African health discourse is determined by a specific notion which characterizes the way health is interpreted according to that particular health discourse. The notions that have been identified are: (1) relationality; (2) transformation; (3) quality of life; and (4) power. In the second part of the study, the relationship between African health discourses and Reformed theology is developed on the basis of a pneumatological focus, which begins with an account of pneumatological approaches, developed by Reformed theologians (Calvin, Kuyper, Barth, Van Ruler, Moltmann, Welker, Veenhof and Van der Kooi), and a description of the Heidelberg Catechism’s pneumatology. The overview of Reformed pneumatologies suggests that most key ideas of the African health discourses correlate with specific motifs of the Reformed pneumatological matrix. Only the motif of power seems to be underdeveloped in Reformed thought. Four pneumatological sketches of healing are offered. These sketches are fragments of language about God and healing, because the suggestion of a grand narrative about God and healing should be avoided. This study seeks to appreciate aspects such as contextuality, nonessentialism, diversity, non-closure and particularity. The implication is that the four pneumatological sketches may be contradictory but cannot be mutually exclusive: that is, each fragment refers to the diverse ways of the Spirit who brings healing in human life. The four sketches show that Reformed language about Spirit and healing can be developed on the basis of the motifs of relationality, transformation, quality of life and power. It is proposed that Reformed pneumatological perspectives on healing include (1) the retrieval of the identification of the Spirit as the bond of love and as ecstatic God who communicates God’s relational life to creation; (2) the focus on the disorienting and counter-cultural ways of the Spirit of adoption; (3) the biblical idea that the Spirit, the breath of life, redefines the vulnerability of human life as quality and beauty; and (4) the development of the idea that the Spirit redefines power and gives resurrection life after non-survival, even in this life.Afrikaans: Hierdie studie is ‘n verkenning van die verband tussen die Heilige Gees en genesing in Afrika vanuit ‘n Gereformeerde perspektief. Dit dien as bydrae tot die ontwikkeling van Gereformeerd kontekstuele perspektiewe op genesing in Suidelike Afrika, en ondersoek of ‘n pneumatologiese verkenning, wat sensitief is vir ‘n multi-dimensionele verstaan van genesing, produktiewe insigte kan open vir Gereformeerde teologie in Suidelike Afrika. Die verkenning bestaan uit twee dele. Die eerste is gebaseer op interdissiplinêre navorsing, en bied ‘n oorsig van Afrika genesingskonsepte wat invloedryk is in Suidelike Afrika. Die navorsing begin met die soeke na ‘n gepaste definisie van genesing, en bied uiteindelik ‘n verstaan daarvan as ‘n sosiale konstruksie. Dit beteken dat ‘n mens se sosiale konteks die verstaan van genesing bepaal. Die aanpak van sosiaal-konstruktiwisme is nie-essensialisties en inherent oop vir die kontekstuele, sosiale en subjektiewe aard van genesing. As sodanig bied sosiaal-konstruktiwisme die epistemologiese raamwerk vir die proefskrif se verstaan van gesondheid en genesing in die Afrika konteks. Sosiaal-konstruktiwisme impliseer dat gesondheid op verskillende wyses in ‘n samelewing verstaan word. Wanneer ‘n gesondheidskonsep in ‘n sistematiese of koherente patroon van idees en praktyke voorkom, kan hierdie samehangende struktuur as ‘n gesondheidsdiskoers beskryf word. In Suidelike Afrika kan verskeie sodanige diskoerse geïdentifiseer word: (1) die Afrika tradisionele genesings- of ngoma diskoers; (2) die missionêre medisyne diskoers; (3) die MIV/Vigs diskoers; en (4) die kerk-gebaseerde genesingsdiskoers. Elke Afrika gesondheidsdiskoers word bepaal deur ‘n spesifieke begrip wat die wyse waarop gesondheid geïnterpreteer word in daardie spesifieke diskoers aandui. Die begrippe wat geïdentifiseer is, is: (1) relasionaliteit; (2) transformasie; (3) kwaliteit van lewe; en (d) krag. In die tweede gedeelte van die studie word die verhouding tussen die Afrika gesondheidsdiskoerse en Gereformeerde Teologie ontwikkel op grond van ‘n pneumatologiese fokus; dit bied ‘n oorsig van pneumatologiese benaderings ontwikkel deur Gereformeerde teoloë (Calvyn, Kuyper, Barth, Van Ruler, Moltmann, Welker, Veenhof en Van der Kooi), en ‘n beskrywing van die pneumatologie van die Heidelbergse Kategismus. Die oorsig van die pneumatologieë suggereer dat die meeste van die Afrika gesondheidsdiskoerse korreleer met spesifieke motiewe van die Gereformeerde pneumatologiese matriks. Slegs die motief van krag is onderontwikkel in Gereformeerde denke. Vier pneumatologiese sketse van genesing word aangebied. Hierdie vier sketse is fragmente van taal oor God en genesing, omdat die moontlikheid van ‘n omvattende verhaal van God en genesing vermy moet word. Die studie streef daarna om aspekte soos kontekstualiteit, nie- essensialisme, diversiteit, openheid en partikulariteit te waardeer. Die implikasie is dat die vier pneumatologiese sketse kontradiktories mag wees, maar nie wedersyds uitsluitend nie; dit beteken dat elke fragment na die verskeidenheid van maniere verwys waarop die Gees genesing in die menslike lewe kan bring. Die vier profiele toon aan dat Gereformeerde taal oor Gees en genesing ontwikkel kan word op grond van die motiewe van relasionaliteit, transformasie, kwaliteit van lewe en krag. Dit word voorgestel dat Gereformeerde pneumatologiese perspektiewe op genesing die volgende kan insluit: (1) die herwinning van die identifikasie van die Gees as band van liefde en as ekstatiese God wat God se relasionele lewe aan die skepping kommunikeer; (2) die fokus op die disoriënterende en kontra-kulturele werk van die Gees van aanneming; (3) die Bybelse idee dat die Gees, die asem van lewe, die broosheid van die lewe herdefinieer as kwaliteit en skoonheid; en (4) die ontwikkeling van die idee dat die Gees krag nuut verstaan en opstandingslewe bied na nie-oorlewing, selfs in hierdie lewe.enThesis (Ph.D. (Systematic Theology))--University of the Free State, 2012Healing -- Africa -- Religious aspectsHoly SpiritTraditional medicine -- AfricaCalvinismMissions, Medical -- AfricaQuality of lifeSpiritual healing -- ChristianityThesisUniversity of the Free State