232 research outputs found
Rights of love and the dynamics of social benevolence: interpreting Martin Luther’s thoughts on social rights
No full textA constructive interpretation of Martin Luther’s teaching on social rights reveals that human rights are not the institutions or instruments of evil that some Christian viewpoints take them to be. On the contrary, natural rights are gifts of God, inscribed on humankind’s heart in the kingdom of creation for serving God and one’s neighbour through love. Human rights are fundamentally rights of love, to be maintained for the glory of God. In the social sphere both private and public social rights are of fundamental importance in steering humanity towards attaining peace and justice in societ
TUSSEN DIE AARDSE JERIGO EN DIE HEMELSE JERUSALEM. RUTGER SCHUTTE (1708-1784) EN DIE PELGRIMSMOTIEF IN SUSANNA SMIT (1799-1863) SE GODSDIENSTIGE DAGBOEKE
No full textRutger Schutte (1708-1784), the pietistic author of popular hymnbooks, composed his spiritual verses at a time the religious culture of Pietism was approaching its zenith in the Netherlands and other European countries. In addition to his contribution to Een Nieuw Bundeltje Uitgeknipte Geestelyke Gezangen [A new collection of suitable spiritual songs] (third edition, 1721), he composed three collections of Stichtelijke Gezangen [Edifying hymns] from the early 1760s. In addition to the extensive prefaces in these collections, Schutte added long annotations, thereby creating the impression of academic depth – a style which elicited much criticism. However, Schutte’s hymns introduced a new popular culture of hymn-singing. At the time of his death his hymns had found staunch adherents in many spheres of life. This essay identifies several themes central to Schutte’s hymns: the quest for practical piety; the tension between the heavenly Jerusalem and the earthly Jericho; and the spiritual marriage bond between Jesus and the believer. These themes also surface prominently in the spiritual diaries of the Voortrekker woman Susanna Smit. The entries in her diaries from the early 1840s reflect extracts from Schutte’s hymn “The voyage to Jerusalem†in particular. Her descriptions of and reflection on the metaphor of the Christian pilgrim’s voyage to the eternal Jerusalem served as an important point of reference in her spiritual exercises
Andries Vierlingh, Tractaet van dyckagie (eds. J. de Hullu en A.G. Verhoeven)
No full textTranscriptie uit 1920 van het manuscript van Andries Vierlingh uit 1579 over het ontwerp en de aanleg van dijken. Zijn werk is hoofdzakelijk uitgevoerd in West Brabant. De publicatie uit 1920 is later heruitgegeven door de VBKO (Vereniging van Waterbouwers)
Political naturalism and the French" Nouvelle Droite": reflections on politocratic communitarianism in contemporary Afrikaans political literature
No full textAn increasing lack of confidence over the last couple of years in government’s will and ability to govern
South African political society has stimulated Afrikaans publications on the notion of community
in general, and political community in particular. The publication, Politokrasie. ’n Peiling van die
dwanglogika van die territoriale staat en gedagtes vir ’n antwoord daarop (2011), focuses on the issue of
political community in particular. In this work, Koos Malan envisages a political enclave in the form of
the Aristotelian idea of the Greek city-state as an alternative to the “territorial state”; it is envisaged to
be a small, natural entity governed by a small elite. In this essay the roots of the politocratic community
envisaged by Malan are traced to the legacy of Ferdinand Tönnies and its further development
by the French New Rightist author, Alain de Benoist. This contribution is a critical reflection of the
political naturalism of the French “Nouvelle Droite” and its manifestations in Malan’s politocratic
communitarianism. It is hoped that this contribution will stimulate debate on the issues emanating from
Malan’s publication.Publisher's versio
Political naturalism and the French "Nouvelle Droite": Reflections on politocratic communitarianism in contemporary Afrikaans political literature
No full textAn increasing lack of confidence over the last couple of years in government’s will and ability to govern South African political society has stimulated Afrikaans publications on the notion of community in general, and political community in particular. The publication, Politokrasie. ’n Peiling van die dwanglogika van die territoriale staat en gedagtes vir ’n antwoord daarop (2011), focuses on the issue of political community in particular. In this work, Koos Malan envisages a political enclave in the form of the Aristotelian idea of the Greek city-state as an alternative to the “territorial state”; it is envisaged to be a small, natural entity governed by a small elite. In this essay the roots of the politocratic community envisaged by Malan are traced to the legacy of Ferdinand Tönnies and its further development by the French New Rightist author, Alain de Benoist. This contribution is a critical reflection of the political naturalism of the French “Nouvelle Droite” and its manifestations in Malan’s politocratic communitarianism. It is hoped that this contribution will stimulate debate on the issues emanating from Malan’s publication
Gereformeerde piëtisme, Hieronymus van Alphen (1746- 1803) en die hemelse versugting in Susanna Smit (1799-1863) se godsdienstige dagboeke
No full textReformed Pietism, Hieronymus van Alphen and the heavenly quest in Susanna Smit’s spiritual diaries
Hieronymus van Alphen’s pious poetry saw the light at a time Dutch pietism had reached its zenith. Van Alphen’s poetry comprises both poetic literature and hymns. Acting as co-author with Pieter Leonard van de Kasteele, Van Alphen was responsible for Proeve van stichtelijke mengelpoesij [Proofs of pious mixed poems] (1771). This source had a warm reception in religious circles at the Cape. His Proeve van stichtelijke gesangen [Proofs of pious hymns] (1802) had a similar impact in Holland and in Cape Reformed circles. Both works played a significant role in the Voortrekker woman Susanna Smit’s religious mentality profile, particularly the quest to be united with Jesus in heaven served as a significant point of reference in Susanna’s spirituality. In this essay the impact of Van Alphen’s pietistic poetry in Susanna’s religious diaries and the effects thereof on her religious mentality profile are investigated.
Key terms: Hieronymus van Alphen, mysticism, poems, Pietism, Susanna Smit
Hieronymus van Alphen se stigtelike poësie sien die lig op ‘n tydstip wat die Nederlandse piëtisme ‘n hoogtepunt bereik. Van Alphen se poësie val in twee kategorieë uiteen: poëtiese verse en digsange. Saam met Pieter Leonard van de Kasteele, was Van Alphen verantwoordelik vir die Proeve van stichtelijke mengel-poesij wat in 1771 verskyn het. Dié bron het ook in die Kaapse geloofsgemeenskap neerslag gevind. Sy Proeve van liederen en gezangen (1802 [1801]) het eweneens groot effek in Nederlandse gereformeerde kringe en aan die Kaap gehad. Beide werke speel in die Voortrekkervrou Susanna Smit se geloofsprofiel ‘n belangrike rol. Dit is egter veral die sug na die hemelse vereniging met Christus wat in dié verband by Susanna sterk na vore tree. In hierdie artikel word die neerslag van Van Alphen se piëtistiese poësie in Susanna se godsdienstige dagboeke en die effek daarvan op haar godsdienstige mentaliteitsprofiel ondersoek.
Sleutelterme: Gedigte, Hieronymus van Alphen, mistiek, piëtisme, Susanna Smit</jats:p
Die Rooms-Katolieke Wortels van die Mistiek in die Sewentiende en Agttiende-Eeuse Kaapse Piëtisme
No full textThe research on Cape spirituality of the eighteenth and nineteenth century by Christina Landman, Celestina Pretorius and Karel Schoeman shifted the focus from a constructivist to a transconfessional religious profile. The research of Landman and Schoeman heralded a new era in Pietism research in South African religious and historiographical publications: both authors point out the manifold religious origins of Pietism at the Cape, the mystical nature of Cape Pietism and suggest Medieval origins of the mysticism at the heart of Cape pietistic spirituality. This essay traces the mystical roots of Cape Pietism to prominent Roman Catholic authors: Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas à Kempis and Johann Tauler. It is concluded that the mystical roots of Cape Protestant spirituality are not the exclusive inheritance of Roman Catholic spirituality but also of Protestant spirituality in Dutch and German Pietis
Hendrina Cecilia Kruger se godsdienstige mentaliteitsprofiel in haar mistieke oordenkingsbundel (ca. 1750–1810) uit die trekboertyd
No full textHendrina Cecilia Kruger’s religious mentality profile in her mystical devotional book (c. 1750−1810) from the Trekboer period. The religious views of the Trekboers on the frontier were shaped by pietistic religious literature circulating in the Cape interior. The religious ego-text of Hendrina Cecilia Kruger reflects elements of two streams of pietism: Dutch Second Reformation devotional literature and the works of German pietists in the line of Spener and other German mystics. The cumulative impact of experiential faith in Reformed mysticism and the mystical views of German pietism produced a spirituality of exceptional intensity in the pioneering communities of Reformed believers on the frontier. It is concluded that the mystical religious mentality of the Trekboer pietists exhibited exceptional levels of faith amidst dire physical and emotional conditions on the frontier. In spite of high levels of mystical pietism in her devotional book Kruger remained committed to the basic tenets of Reformed spirituality
Die Middeleeus-mistieke en Kaaps-piëtistiese Kontekstualisering van Dorothea Magdalena Goosen (c.1774–c.1840) se Uitdrukkings van Liefdesnumineuse in haar Outobiografiese Aantekeninge en Poësie
No full textCape Pietism is a hybrid, transnational and transconfessional form of spirituality, emanating from the Pietistic movement in Germany, with its emphasis on medieval mysticism, piety and spiritual devotion to Christ, and Dutch Second Reformation influences. Feminine Pietists in South African frontier communities were the practitioners of this form of spirituality, analogous to similar trends in the mystical cultures in German and Dutch Medieval mysticism. In addition to the influence of religious literature of German and Dutch Pietists, the marginalisation and isolation of feminine believers on the South African frontier cultivated tendencies similar to those in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Pietism in Europe. Lay feminine spirituality in Cape frontier communities reflects forms of Pietistic mysticism parallel to the Beguines, the Dominican penitent women and female mystics elsewhere in Europe. Common to the diverse mystical cultures in Europe and the Cape frontier communities, is the expression of numinous experiences through mystical love metaphors—a legacy of Dionysius the Areopagite and other Neoplatonic Christian believers. Dorothea Magdalena Goosen is an exponent of Cape Pietistic tendencies with a strong undercurrent of melancholy and a feeling of spiritual abandonment. Her autobiographical ego-text and self-composed verses testify to her finding consolation in the grace of God through the inpouring of Christ’s love in her heart. Typical to female exponents of Cape Pietism, she longs for the heavenly rejoicing with Christ and the sweet elation of the heart following the embrace of the Bridegroom and restored consolation. Her numinous mystical experiences are recorded in Pietistic outpourings of love and bridal metaphors—mostly in an erotic form. A study of her mystical spirituality adds to broaden the corpus of knowledge of Cape Pietistic mysticism by tracing the roots of her love mysticism to the Neoplatonic legacy of German and Dutch female spirituality. The conclusion provides a clearer view of the mystical profile of feminine members of the petit bourgeoisie and their efforts at spiritual self-empowerment in their isolated living conditions in South African pioneering communities
Rhijnvis Feith en Melancholiese Gesangdigting in die Voortrekkervrou Susanna Smit se Godsdienstige Dagboeke
No full textThe Dutch Evangelical hymnbook, introduced in the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederlandsch Hervormde Kerk) in 1807, contained 192 religious songs authored by poets from diverse religious backgrounds. The themes of these hymns covered a wide spectrum: meditations on the attributes of God, faith, trust in God’s omnipotence, prayer, death, and the Christian’s life with Christ. Hymn writers from a broad spectrum of religious persuasions—like Christian Gellert (1715–1769), Friedrich Klopstock (1724–1803), Georg Neumark (1621–1681), Jodocus van Lodenstein (1620–1677) and Isaac Watts (1674–1748)—contributed directly or indirectly towards the hymnbook. The hymnbook drew criticism from Reformed circles as deviating from the scriptural truths, subverting the Reformed faith, propagating salvation through human endeavour and reflecting Enlightenment values in opposition to the orthodox Reformed faith. Furthermore, it was criticised for being sentimentalist and promoting earthly love, peace and patience based on humanist principles. Throughout the nineteenth century, Reformed authors, the likes of Hendrik de Cock, Dirk Postma, Pierre Dammes Marie Huet and S.J. du Toit, objected to Feith’s hymns as hymnody deviating from the Reformed conviction. In spite of such criticism, Feith’s hymns remained popular in Reformed circles. In addition, the Voortrekker woman, Susanna Smit, found Feith’s hymns inspiring under dire circumstances and trials on the South African frontier. In spite of her formal commitment to the Reformed faith, Susanna relied heavily on the spiritual strength she drew from Feith’s hymns. Under the influence of German Romantic literature, Feith’s hymns inspired and/or undergirded the same sentiments in her spiritual mentality profile
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