The God of life a counter-intuitive confession

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/erev.12023In ecumenical theology the conviction that the triune God may be described as the “God of life” is widely accepted. This became foregrounded with the theology of life initiative of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the 1990s.1 It therefore comes as no surprise that it provides the central theme for the assembly of the WCC to be held in Busan, Korea, in 2013: “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.” One may safely say that the wide acceptance of this phrase has to do with the recognition of the ethical significance of the theme. To emphasize that life belongs to God is to resist the forces of death and destruction. This is born from grassroots experiences of the threats to life, that is, economic injustices, numerous forms of violent conflict (rape, domestic violence, class struggles, colonial exploitation, civil and other forms of war, religiously infused violence, etc.) and environmental destruction. This calls for a Christian praxis of resistance against the powers of death that destroy communities of life for the sake of political and economic gain. A theology of life is therefore shorthand for affirming the social agenda of the ecumenical movement.IS

Land, Liturgy & Life: overture to the "comma" and the "and" in a very small dogmatics

This contribution observes a Trinitarian logic in the theme of 'Land, Liturgy and Life' addressed at the 2013 annual meeting of the Theological Society of South Africa. The Trinitarian mystery needs to be protected with the doxological language of the liturgy. In this contribution I will offer an overture (or prolegomena) to such a doxology, by weaving together four themes pertaining to the nature of the Christian confession of faith in the triune God. In a rather unreformed move I will give a certain priority to seeing instead of hearing and suggest a) that the Christian confession offers a way of seeing the world, b) that it sees the world (the land) as the beloved household of God, c) that this is best understood as a liturgical vision and d) that it is this vision that enables the resurrection of life.Department of HE and Training approved lis

‘For God so loved the world…’The story of God’s work on earth according to Douglas John Hall

This essay reconstructs the way in which Douglas John Hall tells the story of God's work. The argument of this essay is that Hall's entire theology could be described as an exposition of the famous formula in John 3:16, "for God so loved the world". His emphasis on a theology of the cross is explored with reference to the doctrines of creation, humanity, providence, redemption, the church and the eschatological consummation. It is argued that Hall's strength (his Christological focus on a theology of the cross) is also his weakness, given his underdeveloped pneumatology. It would therefore be important to further investigate Hall's understanding of the filioque problem.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Only a fully trinitarian theology will do, but where can that be found?

The argument of this contribution, departing from a famous article by Arnold van Ruler, is that a fully Trinitarian theology requires attention to God's work and not only God's identity and character. The three relationships between Father and Son, Son and Spirit and Father and Spirit are briefly explored in order to demonstrate how difficult it is to do justice to both God's work of creation and of salvation, to both the freedom of the Spirit and the discernment of the Spirit, and to both a diversity of spiritualities and the identity of the Spirit as the one commissioned by the Father of Jesus Christ. This yields the conclusion that a fully trinitarian theology remains elusive despite the trinitarian renaissance over the last few decades

Ecology and structural violence: The South African reception of Lutheran voices from North America

Th is review essay offers an assessment of two recent monographs by Larry Rasmussen and Cynthia Moe-Lobeda in the field of ecotheology. It focuses on the category of moral vision that both authors employ. It shows how the notion of critical moral vision helps to identify and assess the root causes of economic inequalities and ecological destruction in terms of structural violence, structural evil and the very nature of sin. It also explains why such moral vision forms the key but by itself remains insufficient for social transformation. Th e influence of such insights in the South African context is illustrated with reference to teaching and research done at the University of the Western Cape and, more specifically, the category of transfiguration in Desmond Tutu's theology.DHE

Confessing guilt in the context of climate change: Some South African perspectives

This contribution explores the significance but also the immense complexities of Christian discourse on confessing guilt within the context of climate change. It draws especially on South African discourse on confessing guilt in the context of apartheid. The argument of the essay is twofold: Christians with an enduring large carbon footprint may wish to confess their guilt in this regard, but typically find it difficult to live from God’s liberating forgiveness and are therefore prone to rather desperate efforts to save the world themselves. By contrast, Christians with a small carbon footprint may opt for alternative understanding of salvation, namely in terms of redemption from the looming threat of climate change.Department of HE and Training approved lis

The earth in God’s economy: Reflections on the narrative of God’s work

This essay is an abbreviated version of an inaugural lecture, read on 24 October 2007 at the University of the Western Cape. It investigates the role of cosmological narratives that help people to understand where they come from, who they are, how they can cope with the demands of life and with evil, and where they are going to. It focuses on one such a narrative, namely the Christian story of God’s work of creation, evolution, the emergence of human beings and human culture, the distortions resulting from human sin, God’s providence, redemption, the formation of the church, its ministries and missions and the consummation of all things. These themes have traditionally been captured under the notion of ‘God’s economy’. This term is derived from the Greek word oikos which is understood in the Christian tradition as ‘the whole household of God’. In contemporary ecumenical theology this term provides a clue as to how the moral of this story may be understood to address ecological degradation, economic injustices and ecumenical fellowship. The argument of the essay is that a retrieval of the underlying narrative structure of the story of God’s work can help to avoid the ways in which one ‘chapter’ of the story tends to be subsumed under another

In die netwerk van nadenke oor die omgewing

In the network of thinking about the environment. This contribution is based on a talk delivered at a conference for continuous education for pastors. The argument commences with reflections on thinking with one's hands, more specifically with engaging in earthkeeping praxis, with getting one's hands dirty. It is suggested that such thinking leads sooner rather than later to a widening network of fundamental questions about the human condition, the meaning of history, the possibility of knowledge and the social construction of reality itself. A Christian engagement in earthkeeping is therefore not merely a matter of transformative praxis; it also provides churches with an opportunity for fundamental renewal. If so, this may be regarded as an example of thinking globally but acting locally. This underlying logic of inquiry implies that the scope of contemporary ecotheology cannot be restricted to environmental ethics or creation theology. It is this underlying logic of inquiry that this contribution seeks to describe.DHE

Why cannot the term development just be dropped altogether? Some reflections on the concept of maturation as alternative to development discourse

This contribution is aimed at some provocation by questioning the basic assumptions of current development discourse (also in the context of religion and theology). It asks for conceptual clarification and differentiation on the meaning of various process terms. It needs to be recognised that the word development remains a metaphor than can indeed be extended but can also become over-extended and ossified. The concept of development is then contrasted with the process of maturation. It is argued that the concept of maturation is, (1) better able to indicate the final goal of the process than most other process terms, (2) recognises inherent limitations and (3) follows natural cycles better than exponential growth, sustained development or endless progress.DHE

What on Earth did God create? Overtures to an ecumenical theology of creation

This is the submitted author version of a paper accepted for publication in The Ecumenical Review. The final form is forthcoming.The need for an adequate theology of creation is typically taken for granted given the familiarity of the theme in terms of the Christian confession. However, at times there has been a dangerous neglect of creation theology in order to focus, for example, on the existential and contextual relevance of the message of salvation, or on God’s transforming mission in the world, or on secular processes of social transformation, or on the institutional needs of the church, or on a vague sense of spirituality. This leads to an inability to relate the realm of grace to the realm of nature. At the same time, wherever creation theology has become the focus of attention, often in isolation from the soteriological core of the Christian gospel, it has all too often been used to provide ideological legitimation for the interests of dominant groups in society. Creation theology, already in biblical times, was often the prerogative of a royal elite. Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa provide notorious recent examples in this regard. In such a context it may be necessary to remind oneself of the social significance of a doctrine of creation. This is already indicated in widely used phrases such human dignity, black liberation, economic justice, cultural authenticity, women’s emancipation, or environ¬mental sustainability. In each case a soteriological qualifier is added to an aspect of the material world that may be re-described by Christians as part of God’s creation. Theological reflection on such phrases therefore assumes some or other form of creation theology.Web of Scienc