51 research outputs found
Sacralisation and the colonial-indigenous encounter in Southern African Christian history : the memory and legacy of Johannes du Plessis as case study
No full textCITATION: Muller, R. 2016. Sacralisation and the colonial-indigenous encounter in Southern African Christian history : the memory and legacy of Johannes du Plessis as case study. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 41(2):82–99, doi:10.17159/2412-4265/2015/375.The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.zaThe role of the Dutch Reformed Church's mission policies in the development of apartheid ideology has in recent times come under increased scrutiny. In terms of the formulation of missionary theory within the DRC, the controversial figure of Johannes du Plessis played a significant role in the early twentieth century. In addition to his work as a mission theorist, Du Plessis was a biblical scholar at Stellenbosch University who was found guilty of heresy by his church body, despite having much support from the rank and file membership. This article asks questions regarding the ways in which his memory and legacy are often evaluated from the twin, yet opposing perspectives of sacralisation and vilification. It also considers the wider intellectual influences on Du Plessis such as the missiology of the German theologian, Gustav Warneck. Du Plessis's missionary theory helped to lay the groundwork for the later development of apartheid ideology, but perhaps in spite of himself, he also introduced a subverting discourse into Dutch Reformed theology. Some of the incidental consequences of this discourse, particularly in relation to the emerging theme of indigenous knowledge, are furthermore assessed here.http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1017-04992015000200006Publisher's versio
The Dutch Reformed Church, mission enthusiasts and push and pull of empire
No full textCITATION: Muller, R. 2019. The Dutch Reformed Church, mission enthusiasts and push and pull of empire. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 45(1):1-14, doi:10.25159/2412-4265/4763.The original publication is available at http://www.scielo.org.zaThe various ways in which the British Empire acted as both a beacon and a repellent for Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) mission enthusiasts in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, are considered here. Focusing especially on Andrew Murray Jr, D.F. Malan and J.G. Strydom, but also with references to Johannes du Plessis and G.B.A. Gerdener, among others, the article illustrates the evolution of Afrikaner attitudes to Empire in this period. The Empire in question is primarily the British Empire, but this paper will make the case that the developing Afrikaner nationalism, in which some of these mission enthusiasts played leading roles, in some ways appropriated imperial aspirations, while simultaneously disavowing Empire in public discourse. The wider and more general relevance of this paper is that it sheds light on the allure of power, and how a minority in opposition to power might become contaminated, even captured, by that very power it seeks to oppose.http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1017-04992019000100004Publisher's versio
Incarnation theology versus the sacralisation of authority
No full textCITATION: Muller, R. 2015. Incarnation theology versus the sacralisation of authority. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 71(3): 1-9, doi: 10.4102/hts.v71i3.2707.The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.zaPublication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.This article juxtaposed the theological theme of incarnation with quasi-religious invasions
of public power structures and institutions in southern Africa, which has been described by
the term sacralisation of authority. Incarnational theology as constructed on the model of the
Incarnation of Jesus Christ concerns a Divine-human border crossing from above to below
or from power into powerlessness. Sacralisation of authority concerns an opposite process
whereby mundane structures and people of power seek to bolster their authority even further
by the acquisition of godlike attributes. This article referred to political realities in southern
Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe and South Africa as illustrative of the latter, whereas the
Tshwane Leadership Foundation – a non-governmental organisation (NGO) operating in
Tshwane’s inner city – served as a case study in incarnational theology of the grassroots.http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/2707Publisher's versio
British imperial wars and the strengthening of the Dutch Reformed Church's mission : Mashonaland in the late 19th to early 20th centuries
No full textCITATION: Muller, R. 2017. British imperial wars and the strengthening of the Dutch Reformed Church's mission : Mashonaland in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, 43(3):#3161, doi:10.17159/2412-4265/3161.The original publication is available at https://www.upjournals.co.za/index.php/SHEThis focus is on conflicts in which the British South African Company (BSAC) had a direct hand, and in which British forces were victorious. Three specific conflicts will be highlighted: the First Matabele War (1893-1894), the First Chimurenga (18961897), and the Second Anglo Boer War/South African War (1899-1902). It is argued that the Cape Dutch Reformed Church's (DRC) missionary enterprise directly and indirectly benefited from these wars. The personal letters and other writings of A. A. Louw, pioneer DRC missionary to Mashonaland, reveal a relatively good relationship with Cecil John Rhodes and the BSAC. The weakening of powerful local polities through the colonial suppression of African uprisings might have helped mission stations such as the DRC's Morgenstêr to attain surrogate status as centres of power in the affected areas. After the South African War, a number of Boer prisoners of war were recruited for the DRC missionary campaigns, including Mashonaland. A contextualising feature to this narrative of Afrikaner mission in British Colonial Africa is the fact that two of the foremost recruiting agents were direct family members of A. A. Louw.https://www.upjournals.co.za/index.php/SHE/article/view/3161Publisher's versio
The (non-)translatability of the Holy Trinity
No full textCITATION: Muller, R. 2019. The (non-)translatability of the Holy Trinity. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 75(1):a5405, doi:10.4102/hts.v75i1.5405.The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.zaPublication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access FundThis article considers the ambiguous translatability of the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. The theme of the Trinity, as a central Christian doctrine, is brought into conversation with the so-called ‘translatability thesis’ regarding Christian history, which has been particularly expounded upon by Lamin Sanneh and Andrew Walls. Does the translatability of the gospel also imply the translatability of the Trinity, or is the equation not that straightforward? In answering this question, specific reference is made to early church formulation and controversy surrounding the theme, as well as attention to specific attempts at translation or interpretation in the modern and contemporary forms of Christianity. The article acknowledges the problematic nature of Trinitarian translatability and concludes that such translatability is nonetheless possible as long as a static conception of Trinitarian doctrine could be avoided.https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5405Publisher's versio
The other's humanity with or without the other's religiosity? Reflections on the affirmation and limitation of human dignity in early Afrikaner missionary discourse in Central Africa
No full textCITATION: Muller, R. 2021. The other's humanity with or without the other's religiosity? Reflections on the affirmation and limitation of human dignity in early Afrikaner missionary discourse in Central Africa. Verbum et Ecclesia, (42)2:a2324, doi:10.4102/ve.v42i2.2324.The original publication is available at https://verbumetecclesia.org.zaTaking Wentzel van Huyssteen’s work on early human uniqueness in relation to symbolic or religious awareness as a starting point, this article raises a question whether an implicit connection between humanity and the capacity for religiosity had anything to say about how one could evaluate the so-called other’s religion and their humanity. Does the recognition of the other’s full humanity demand an equal recognition of their religiosity, or are these separable? Rather than attempting to answer this hypothetically, the question is approached historically. The article touches on how the capacity to evaluate religion from the outside emerged in modernity and discusses some of the ways this capacity played out in Christian theology. In reference to the colonial era Afrikaner missionaries in Central Africa, the article argues that even partial recognition of the other’s religiosity might have detrimental consequences particularly where this is tied to a partial recognition of their humanity as had happened during the apartheid and proto-apartheid periods.
Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article challenges both critical and affirmative scholarly views of religiosity by positing an essential link between humanity and religiosity whilst simultaneously suggesting that a scientific approach to religiosity, which has uncovered important relationships between religiosity and humanity, might be the appropriate approach for full recognition of the other’s humanity.https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/2324Publisher's versio
Fear and Loathing on the Margins of Empire: Socio-religious perspectives connecting the Netherlands and South Africa before and into the South African War
No full textFocusing especially on writings by the theologian Abraham Kuyper and the impact of two Dutch born clergymen with substantial careers in South Africa’s Dutch Reformed Church in the late 19th century, this article develops a perspective on the intertwined relationship between groups and cultural factors involving the Netherlands and South Africa during this period. This intertwined relationship went far beyond Reformed theology, but the literature produced by Reformed theologians and pastors is one area or lens through which one might perceive this relationship quite clearly. The article's thesis is that both the Netherlands and parts of South Africa during much of the colonial period experienced themselves as on the margins of a British Empire perceived with varying degrees of apprehension and hostility and that both the first and the second Anglo Boer Wars of the late 19th and early 20th century catapulted such shared sentiments into overdrive. Yet Dutch sympathisers often had to counterbalance their identification of shared culture and religion that they had with the Boers with their more general, perhaps growing, sensibilities regarding racial equalization and democracy, which created tensions in this complex relationship, as this essay will show
The Awkward Positioning of a Dutch Reformed Missionary in Apartheid South Africa
No full textThe Rev. D. P. (David) Botha was a lifelong apartheid critic and minister in the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) and later the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). Early in his career, he served as a “missionary” in a DRMC congregation in Wynberg, and subsequently in other congregations in the Western Cape, South Africa. During his career, he wrote an important book and engaged in public discourse through contributions in newspapers and other mainstream publications. Focusing on these sources, most of which now form part of his private collection in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) Archive, this article traces Botha’s growing agitation regarding the implementation of apartheid policies, in the aftermath of the institution of the 1950 Group Areas Act. Among other things it illuminates the early apartheid-era white view of the other, as experienced and critiqued by this insider-outsider minister with respect to his assessment of general white perceptions of so-called “coloureds” in the Cape Town area. Through specific attention to Botha’s correspondences with A. P. Treurnicht and Beyers Naudé, this article also shows the problematic perspective of a white missionary seeking to alleviate the impact of policy decisions on his church members, while simultaneously buying into the predominant ideology of racial categorisation
Christianity and globalisation: An alternative ethical response
No full textThis article critically evaluated the role of Christian Ethics in response to globalisation. It showed that ethical critiques of globalisation inevitably fall short when Christianity’s historical contributions to processes of globalisation are neglected or de-emphasised. A Christian Ethics that attempts completely to wash its hands of and disavow globalisation is therefore indicated to be perched on a false premise. In this regard, the author specifically discussed the divergent stances of Max Stackhouse and Rebecca Todd Peters and opted for the former as the more helpful when considered from an interdisciplinary approach. In the final analysis, the author argued that the problem of globalisation might fruitfully be addressed with an ethics that is not averse to bring the various insights of missiology, church history and practical theology to the table, focusing particularly on rituals of reconciliation and forgiveness
From disengagement to engagement : interrogating the political hermeneutics of Neo-Pentecostals in Kenya (2000-2022)
No full textThesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Neo-Pentecostalism is the new face of Christianity with global and local manifestations. Studies on Christianity in Africa have shifted their focus from mainstream Christianity to Pentecostalism. This study contributed to the discourse on Pentecostalism specifically on Pentecostal engagement in the public sphere. Therefore, the study interrogated the political hermeneutics of Neo-Pentecostals explaining the shift from
disengagement to engagement in politics in Kenya (2000 -2022). Towards this end, the study was guided by the following objectives: To analyse the history and the theology of Neo-Pentecostals in Kenya; to examine the theological shift of the Neo - Pentecostals from disengagement to engagement in Kenyan politics; to discuss the biblical-political hermeneutics of Neo-Pentecostals and its impact on the Neo-Pentecostals involvement in Kenyan politics; to analyse the nature, extent and the prophetic role of Neo-Pentecostal’s engagement in Kenyan politics. While studies have been done on Neo-Pentecostals and public engagement, this study delved into the Neo-Pentecostal aspect
of biblical interpretation regarding political involvement. On methodology, the study used a descriptive research design employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. To arrive at the appropriate study sample purposive, simple random, and stratified sampling procedures were used to sample bishops, pastors, and Church members from three Neo-Pentecostal Churches in Nairobi County and Nakuru County in Kenya. The study included two members of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK), which is a representative body of Pentecostals on social matters. In total, the study sampled 221 respondents. Questionnaires, interview schedules, Focus group discussions, and personal observations were utilized in data collection. The field data was integrated with library research in analysing Neo-Pentecostal’s political hermeneutics, especially the shift from disengagement to engagement. The study data
revealed that Neo-Pentecostalism finds its emergence within classical Pentecostalism through a period of growth within the story of the church. That Neo-Pentecostal theology is pneumatic, and although initially borrowed from evangelicalism, with time their theology has become more experiential with an emphasis on the lived experiences of the adherents. Further, the study found that while historically, the Neo-Pentecostal shift from disengagement to engagement was situated in eschatological contexts, eschatology with the quest of understanding the millennium and its place in the church
was not purely what informed the shift. Besides, eschatology was the different
hermeneutics that accompanied the Neo-Pentecostal emphasis on the Third person of the trinity; Holy Spirit. With a pneumatic posture in theology, Neo-Pentecostals interpret the Bible from a spiritualized orientation; what this study labelled spiritualized-selective-literal hermeneutics Concerning the Neo-Pentecostal nature and extent of involvement in Kenyan politics, the study established that Neo-Pentecostals are not normally active in terms of being prophetic. However, with a pneumatic theology and spirituality, demons and evil spirits are interpreted as the cause of individual and national problems. Consequently, their involvement in politics is spiritualized in the sense that prayer takes the centre stage.
This is accompanied by a theology of deliverance, exorcising the demons which destroy the nation and its citizens. The findings of the study put together formed this thesis. The thesis will later be a source of scholarly articles and research papers on Pentecostal political hermeneutics.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Neo-Pinksterisme is die nuwe gesig van die Christendom met globale en plaaslike manifestasies. Studies oor Christenskap in Afrika het hul fokus verskuif vanhoofstroom Christendom na Pinkster. Hierdie studie het bygedra tot die diskoers oor Pinkster spesifiek oor Pinksterbetrokkenheid in die publieke sfeer. Daarom het die
studie die politieke hermeneutiek van Neo-Pinkstermense ondervra wat die
verskuiwing van onbetrokkenheid na betrokkenheid by politiek in Kenia (2000 -2022) verduidelik. Vir hierdie doel is die studie gelei deur die volgende doelwitte: Om die geskiedenis en die teologie van Neo-Pinkstermense in Kenia te ontleed; om die teologiese verskuiwing van die Neo-Pinkstermense van onbetrokkenheid na betrokkenheid by Keniaanse politiek te ondersoek; om die Bybels-politieke hermeneutiek van Neo-Pinkstermense en die impak daarvan op die Neo-Pinksterbetrokkenheid in Keniaanse politiek te bespreek; om die aard, omvang en die profetiese rol van Neo-Pinkster se betrokkenheid in Keniaanse politiek te ontleed.
Terwyl studies oor Neo-Pinkstermense en openbare betrokkenheid gedoen is, het hierdie studie in die Neo-Pinkster aspek van Bybelse interpretasie rakende politieke betrokkenheid gedelf. Wat metodologie betref, het die studie 'n beskrywende navorsingsontwerp gebruik wat beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe benaderings gebruik. Om by die toepaslike studie uit te kom, is doelgerigte, eenvoudige ewekansige en gestratifiseerde steekproefprosedures gebruik om biskoppe, pastore en kerklede van drie Neo-Pinksterkerke in Nairobi County en Nakuru County in Kenia te monster. Die studie het twee lede van die Evangeliese Vereniging van Kenia (EAK) ingesluit, wat 'n
verteenwoordigende liggaam van Pinkstermense oor sosiale aangeleenthede is. In totaal het die studie 191 respondente gesteek. Vraelyste, onderhoudskedules, Fokusgroepbesprekings en Waarnemings is in data-insameling gebruik. Die velddata is geïntegreer met biblioteeknavorsing in die ontleding van Neo-Pinkster se politieke hermeneutiek, veral die verskuiwing van ontkoppeling na betrokkenheid.
Die studiedata het aan die lig gebring dat Neo-Pentekostalisme sy opkoms vind binne klassieke Pinksterisme deur 'n tydperk van groei binne die storie van die kerk. Dat Neo-Pinksterteologie pneumaties is, en hoewel dit aanvanklik aan evangelisasie ontleen is, het hulle teologie mettertyd meer ervaringsgerig geword met die klem op die geleefde ervarings van die aanhangers. Verder het die studie bevind dat hoewel die Neo-Pinksterverskuiwing van ontkoppeling na betrokkenheid histories in eskatologiese kontekste geleë was, was eskatologie met die soeke om die millennium en sy plek in die kerk te verstaan nie suiwer wat die verskuiwing ingelig het nie. Buitendien was eskatologie die verskillende hermeneutiek wat met die Neo-Pinksterbeklemtoning op
die Derde persoon van die drie-eenheid gepaard gegaan het; Heilige Gees. Met 'n pneumatiese houding in die teologie interpreteer Neo-Pinkstermense die Bybel vanuit 'n vergeestelikte oriëntasie; wat hierdie studie as vergeestelikte-selektiewe-letterlike hermeneutiek bestempel het.
Wat die Neo-Pinkster-aard en omvang van betrokkenheid by Keniaanse politiek betref, het die studie vasgestel dat Neo-Pinkstermense nie normaalweg aktief is in terme van profeties nie. Met 'n pneumatiese teologie en spiritualiteit word demone en bose geeste egter geïnterpreteer as die oorsaak van individuele en nasionale probleme. Gevolglik word hulle betrokkenheid by die politiek vergeestelik in die sin dat gebed die middelpunt inneem. Dit gaan gepaard met 'n teologie van bevryding, wat die demone uitdryf wat die nasie en sy burgers vernietig. Die bevindinge van die studie saamgestel het hierdie tesis gevorm. Die tesis sal later 'n bron wees van vakkundige artikels en navorsingsartikels oor Pinkster politieke hermeneutiek.Doctora
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