Koers (E-Journal)
Not a member yet
2282 research outputs found
Sort by
Post-Reformation Reformed exegesis: Continuity or discontinuity of John Calvin?
Get PDFAlthough the Post-Reformation Reformed theologian, philosopher and Hebraist Petrus van Mastricht (1630–1706) praises John Calvin (1509–1564) as one of the best commentators of Scripture, he rarely refers to Calvin’s work in his Theoretico-practica theologia and, if he does, he either takes issue or concurs with it. This contribution explores the reception of Calvin’s work by Mastricht, focusing on exegetical continuities and discontinuities in their comments on the psalms. It concludes that Mastricht gives more attention to etymological and philological issues of the Hebrew text than Calvin does, and emphasises more than the Genevan Scripture commentator does the doctrine of divine immensity and the Reformed concept of the covenant
Spiritual and ethical transformational leadership: Critical discourse analysis within a practical theology praxis
Get PDFThe objective of this article is to focus renewed attention on ethics in contemporary dialogue through value-based leadership. This is done with reference to the value of meaning in social research and critical discourse analysis within a framework of leadership discourse praxis. Discourse constructs, such as dominance and power, are analysed in the (re)production of oppression, injustice and inequality. The objective is to analyse the way in which human ideas and the actions of powerful and dominant leadership elites are influencing and dominating ethical and/or unethical public enactments. The hypothesis is that ethical discourse enactments (practices) could foster authentic ethical and transformational leadership
Violent societies: Educating the upcoming generations about their social contract
Get PDFThe citizens of many countries in the world, particularly of South Africa, are experiencing the collapse of the social order in their country as a result of certain circumstances. This fact of social disintegration has led educationists to again examine the nature and contents of the social contract that the South African citizenry has entered into. In secular states, the social contract should at least be rooted in two ethical principles, namely trust and humanistic versions of the Golden Rule. Analysis of the South African social contract demonstrates this point, and also shows how a positive modus vivendi [living together] can flow from the recognition and application of these two principles. The upcoming generations should therefore be educated to understand the nature and content of their social contract, the two ethical principles, and the need for a positive modus vivendi based on their particular social contract
Spiritual character traits and leadership in the school workplace: An exploration of the relationship between spirituality and school leadership in some private and religiously affiliated schools in South Africa
Get PDFThe South African educational system is in a crisis. This situation places huge demands on school principals and school management teams, and raises many theoretical and empirical questions. Transformational leadership is needed to deal with these challenges and complexities. Not all school leaders show the same level of transformational leadership. Some leaders conform more to other leadership styles. The aim of this article is to explore the relation between spiritual character traits and leadership styles from a theoretical and empirical perspective. The theoretical part focuses on the conceptualisation of leadership (styles) and spirituality. The empirical research consists of a web-based survey conducted in some private and religiously affiliated schools in South Africa in 2011–2012. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and Cloninger’s shortened Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-140) were used to measure leadership styles and spiritual traits respectively. Statistical procedures included confirmatory factor analysis, correlation (Pearson rho) and regression analysis. Key findings are that leaders of private schools in South Africa mostly conform to a transformative leadership style, disagree with corrective leadership and strongly disagree with passive-avoidant leadership. Regarding the spiritual character traits they agree with self-transcendence and strongly agree with self-directedness. Spiritual character traits are strong predictors for transformational and passive-avoidant leadership. Higher levels of self-transcendence and self-directedness are strong predictors for transformational leadership. Our research suggests that traditional religious variables are less important as predictors of leadership style than spiritual character traits
Kuyperania in recent years
Get PDFThis paper is a review of several books written by Kuyper and about Kuyper published in the last two years
Die skoolorde van Genève 1559: ’n Basis vir ’n gereformeerde skoolorde
Get PDFThe school order of Genève 1559: A basis for a reformed school order. Calvin and education are synonymous. Apart from his written legacy, which speaks of his intense love for education, he endeavoured to put schools in place where young people could be educated in the ways of the Lord. This was not only in the curriculum, but also in the way it was presented and the teachers who presented those lessons received special attention from Calvin. The light of God’s Word is shed over everything. This article shows how, given his own historical background and the tools available to him, he tried to develop a school system in the city of Geneva where children could be educated in accordance with the promise of their parents at their baptism. The school order of Geneva (1559) in conjunction with the Genevan Church order (1561) gives us insight in the doings and thoughts of Calvin on education. I hope to indicate some lines that could be of use in the present dialogue on educational matters. Sadly, the way Calvin set up a system for education is no longer evident in schools. Isn’t there an urgent need for a well-defined and fundamental school order amongst all the school policies and rules? This question will receive attention in the article
Die teoloog as sendeling – Op soek na ’n sleutel vir Calvyn se sendingbeskouing
Get PDFThe contention that the Reformers, and especially Calvin, had little or no interest in mission is not new in church historiography. While many studies, conducted over years, have demonstrated the contrary, this groundless allegation continues to assert itself from time to time, for example as found in a recent best-seller by one of the world’s leading church historians. Given that 2009 marked the world-wide commemoration of Calvin’s birthday 500 years ago with the consequence of many studies published, it is appropriate to elucidate the question in a different manner: What theological motives are important in Calvin’s view of mission? This article examines the issue of the relationship between mission and Calvin with regard to the concept of mission, but also concerning some other theological questions.According to Calvin, every believer has a role to fulfill in evangelism. The ‘mission field’ is comprised of every nation, all peoples, the entire world. Calvin interprets the task of mission ecclesiologically: for him the church (as local congregation) is only church when it has a missionary orientation