African Journals Online
Acta Theologica

Volume 22, Issue 1, June 2002
Abstracts

Title: Die Tweetoringkerk as een van die N.G.-gemeentes van Bloemfontein gedurende
die Anglo-Boereoorlog 1899-1902
Authors: Britz, R.M.

Abstract: The Dutch Reformed Congregation of Bloemfontein during the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902 
This article focuses on the local Dutch Reformed congregation of Bloemfontein during the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902. As such it deals with a rather neglected, though very important, theme concerning this destructive war in South Africa. In the Boer Republics the church and Christian faith played a constitutive role. The article thus makes a significant contribution to the recent research on the Anglo-Boer War. It tells the story of the life and times of a local congregation during war-time. Lead by the remaining consistory (elders and deacons), it survived the war. It had to adapt to the war situation and to a new dispensation when the Orange River Colony, replacing the Republic, was instituted during March 1900. This caused tension among the members of the congregation. Some accepted the new dispensation, and acted accordingly. Others were much more sceptical. Its members were involved in, and supported, the newly formed congregation in the concentration camp. It also related to its (non-white) Dutch Reformed Mission congregation in the same city.

Title: On the state of the debate in ecological theology : review essay
Authors: Conradie, E.M.

Abstract: This review essay assesses the state of the debate on a Christian Ecological Theology with specific reference to the important volume of essays Christianity and ecology: seeking the well-being of earth and humans edited by Dieter Hessel and Rosemary Ruether (2000). It also reflects on the future agenda for an ecological theology, drawing on literature from other contexts around the world.


Title: Die verhouding tussen kerk en agape in Pauliniese perspektief
Authors: Du Rand, J.A.

Abstract: The aim of this contribution is to investigate the pivotal semantic position taken by ajgavph in its relationship to the Pauline concept of church. ajgavph is a kov po"a strenuous labour (1 Thess. 1:3), not to be considered a means or strategy to achieve something but to characterise the typical depicted eschatological character of the Pauline ej kklhsiv a . Selected aspects of ajgavph in 1 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians and Ephesians are investigated to illustrate the remarkable relationship between ejkklhsiva and ajgavph.


Title: Woorde in die mond gelê? Psalmomdigting en die proses van kanonvorming
Authors: Kloppers, E.


Abstract: The versifying of the psalter and factors concerning the formation of canons 
In a previous article (HTS 2000/1:192-204) I have examined the process of versifying the Psalter and have questioned the principle of a so-called reproductive versification, the lack of a sound hermeneutical approach, the necessity of versifying all 150 psalms - especially in one form and style as metrical psalms that are meant to be sung, and the liturgical function of many of the texts that had been versified in this manner. In this article the origin and history of these views are investigated and are evaluated against the background of the formation of canons on various levels. Some canonised views and traditions that need critical rethinking are indicated at the end of the article.


Title: 'n Kritiese evaluering van die kompromie as etiese figuur in die teologiese etiek van J. Douma, J.A. Heyns, S.J. Ridderbos en W.H. Velema
Authors: Lategan, L.O.K.


Abstract: A critical evaluation of the compromise as ethical figure in the theological ethics of J. Douma, J.A. Heyns, S.J. Ridderbos and W.H. Velema 
Although the concept of a compromise is known in ethics, very little attention has been paid to the meaning of this concept in Reformed Ethics. In this article the author looks into the meaning of the compromise in the theological-ethical frameworks of J. Douma, J.A. Heyns, S.J. Ridderbos and W.H. Velema. In analysing this concept, it is pointed out that a compromise has to do with the choice between two conflicting norms in a borderline situation. In a borderline situation these norms are in conflict with each other and a conflict of interest is created. It then necessitates a choice between one of the norms in a borderline situation. To this choice is then referred to as a choice between the lesser of two evils. This is where the compromise comes into play. 


Title: A literary-historical analysis of Daniel 2 : Two powers in opposition
Authors: Nel, M.

Abstract: This article investigates some aspects of Daniel 2 and attempts to demonstrate the value of the literary-historical approach to biblical texts. The literary-historical approach consists of three elements: a structural, a historical and a narrative analysis of the text. Firstly, the structural investigation uses Propps model for a functional analysis of the text, followed by a semiotic analysis to identify the functions and qualifications in the text. A description of the functions and qualifications is essential in order to identify the texts pertinent transformations as well as its underlying semiotic squares. The latter enables the researcher to formulate the theological values or persuasions which the writer wished to convey to her readers. Secondly, synchronic and diachronic insights are integrated in an analysis of the text. Lastly, the results of the study are concluded in a narrative synthesis, in terms of the narrator, setting, characters, plot and style. 
In Daniel 2 the Babylonian king, shortly after being enthroned, dreams about his political insecurity. The narrator emphasises that it is God who appoints and dethrones kings. He reveals the future (Dan. 2:29, 47). He rules over the world (Dan. 2:21, 37, 44), and He cares for His people (Dan. 2:48-49). Israel will rule over the world once God destroys all other kingdoms (Dan. 2:44-45). The narrator of Daniel 2 conveys two persuasions to her readers: she emphasises the sovereign rule of God, not only in Jerusalem but also in Babylon, and the responsibility of the faithful.3 
Most researchers accept that the tale in Daniel 2 is not literally true. It should be read as a literary text. However, the tale has also functioned in various historical contexts and should be read from a historical-critical perspective. 
The hypothesis of this article is that the tale in Daniel 2 would be better understood if read from a literary as well as historical perspective. 


Title: Bridging the cultural gap : Bible translation as a case in point
Authors: Nord, C.

Abstract: Translation practitioners have always been aware of the fact that translation is not a purely linguistic operation but a means of facilitating communication between members of different cultures. Translation scholars have only recently discovered this fairly obvious aspect of their field - and the functional approach to translation - or skopos theory - was instrumental in turning it into one of the main concerns of modern translation studies. New Testament and early Christian texts refer to a culture from which we are separated by a huge cultural gap. They have been translated and re-translated many times during the past (almost) 2000 years and into almost all languages on the planet. In spite of that, we do not always feel that the cultural gap has really been bridged. Does this justify yet another translation? Together with my husband, Klaus Berger, who is a New Testament scholar at Heidelberg University, I was engaged in a fascinating project: We translated the texts of the New Testament plus a large number of apocrypha from the original Greek (and Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Arabic) into German. It was the first translation of these texts that involved a theologian and a translation scholar, and it was the first translation based on modern functional translation theory. Using a few examples from our translation and comparing them to several translations into other modern languages (such as Afrikaans, English, and French), I would like to show how we went about in order to bridge the cultural gap, making the texts understandable to modern German readers without taking away their strangeness.


Title: Gelukkig hij die uw kinderen zal grijpen'
Authors: Peels, H.G.L.

Abstract: Happy is he who seizes your infants…. Hermeneutical and biblical-theological positioning of the Old Testament imprecations 
The Old Testament contains many prayers for the shaming, punishment or destruction of the godless, especially in the Psalms. This imprecatory prayer, which still forms one of the most troublesome dimensions of Scripture for modern Bible-readers, is usually explained very negatively as a human but intolerable expression of personal or national rancour/hostility, and as such put in sharp contrast with the New Testament message of love for the enemy. This article makes a plea for a more hermeneutically responsible exegesis, by paying attention to the background, context and intention of the imprecatory prayer itself. After having delineated the indigenous horizon of interpretation of the Old Testament imprecatory prayers, a comparison with New Testament data is made, leading to the conclusion that on the one hand the condemnation of Old Testament imprecatory prayer from the perspective of New Testament ethics is incorrect, but on the other that it is also impossible within the New Testament situation to raise the imprecatory prayer in the same manner as was done by the psalmists of the Old Testament.

Title: De-automatisation in Romans 1-5
Authors: Snyman, A.H.

Abstract: In Romans 1-5 Paul foregrounds certain main themes by way of stylistic devices, which effectuate a retardation in the reading process and thus an intensified perception. These devices can all be described as devices of de-automatisation, and include paradoxon, rhetorical questions, anacolouthon and parenthesis, as well as ambiguous sentence structures, newly coined words and a sudden change in person. By way of these devices, Paul draws the attention of his readers/listeners to important themes in his argument, such as justification through faith alone; Gods judgement on what man does, not who he is; the benefits of justification through faith; and life for all, who believe in Christ. These themes are foregrounded, due to a careful balance between automatisation and de-automatisation. 
It is proposed that, with a view to effective communication, translators should, whenever possible, honour these devices in translating Pauls letters.


Title: Is it possible to do theology without philosophical presuppositions?
Authors: Strauss, D.F.M.

Abstract: Particularly in connection with the doctrine of God the unavoidability of philosophical presuppositions becomes apparent. The uncritical theological practice to speak about a concept of God is in need of the epistemological distinction between concept and idea, which is philosophical in nature. If this foundational distinction is ignored one easily ends up with a theo-ontological duplication of the diversity within creation. Terms which are actually employed within the context of an idea (in the sense of exceeding the limits of concept formation) may then be misunderstood. Such (creational) terms are then lifted from their given creational context and in an original sense positioned with/in God (as essential properties). The (theo-ontological) circle is completed when these properties (for example the infinity of God) are then, in a derivative sense, brought back to the domain of creation from where it was kidnapped in the first place. The fact that concept formation always proceeds in terms of universalia, on the other hand implies that one can only talk about a concept of God if God is no longer unique (in the biblical sense that there is but one true God). Alongside many other gods God would then have to conform to a universal law for being God. But since it is only characteristic of created entities that they are subject to the order which God as Creator has set for them, this ultimately entails that grasping God in a concept subjects God to a creational law. The distinction between concept and idea is also elucidated with reference to conceptual and idea-usages of the term constancy (inertia). All in all our argumentation fits within the context of a new account to address in a meaningful way (also in scientific theological parlance) the possibility to employ creational terms in talking about God while at the same time honoring Gods transcendence.


Title: Theologen van de twintigste eeuw en de Christologie
Authors: Van de Beek, A.

Abstract: Theologians of the twentieth century and Christology 
Theologically the twentieth century can be conceived as a century of Christology. In order to fill in the background for this, we first sketch the opposite position, in Arnold Van Rulers idea of Christ as an emergency measure. Van Ruler was, however, one of the rare theologians in the core of the twentieth century who resisted the wave of Christological thought that was initiated by Karl Barth. Barth firmly stated that Christ is the only source of revelation, and thus theology depends fully on Christology. Even Emil Brunners idea of truth in encounter (which is sketched in 3) was opposed by a strict No from Barth. Hendrikus Berkhof can be considered as a transition to a thought in which the human being moves more to the centre of the stage. For Berkhof (4) Christ was the revelation of true humankind, as revelation of Gods will. Later on theologians progressed further along this path. Liberal theologians - of whom William Thompson is taken as an example (5) - saw in Jesus an expression of the idea of humanity, whereas the Dutch theologian Harry Kuitert (6) brings Christology to an end by considering Jesus as a normal Jewish man, whose beliefs we can share - or maybe not. 
In the meantime in Germany the pendulum moved in the other direction. Wolfhart Pannenberg (7) tried to argue that Christ was the ultimate evidence of the divinity of Israels God. The resurrection of Jesus is the objective proof of God. Jurgen Moltmann (8) is in some ways close to Pannenberg, but he stresses strongly that Christ is an expression of Gods self-limitation, culminating in the crucified God. Thus God is the God of the poor and sinful, and of loving care for a suffering creation. 
Roman Catholic theology is usually less liberal than Protestant theology is. But the confrontation with modern thought could not be avoided - and according to many theologians, should not be avoided. As representative of a theologian who tried to integrate both modernity and classical tradition the author chooses Piet Schoonenberg (9), a theologian who merits more attention than he has been given until now. His reflections on Word and Spirit as different ways of expressing the mystery of Christ go back to a supposed variety of traditions in the early church. In the last paragraph the author summarises his own position in a reflection concentrating on the Nicene Creed and the Ante-Nicene Fathers