Objektiewe Skrifuitleg? Kanttekeninge by Skrifuitleg in die Ned Geref Kerk 1930-1990

Objective interpretation of Scripture? Marginal notes to the interpretation of Scripture  in the Dutch Reformed Church 1930-1990This article seeks to understand developments in biblical scholarship in the Dutch Reformed Church in the period 1930 to 1990 from the perspective of epistemology and methodology, and that of socio-political history. It also tries to explain developments on the epistemological level from the perspective of socio-political history. An explanation is thus attempted for the sometimes confusing fact that apartheid, which was once presented as a ‘biblical’ imperative by the Dutch Reformed Church has recently, on ‘biblical’ grounds, been proclaimed a sin by the same church

The Bible in discussion: Three recent South African publications on Scripture

Three recent South African books on Scripture from various theological trad itio n s and social circles (one Reformed, one Dutch Reformed and one Methodist, two by white authors and one by a black author) are discussed in order to evaluate their arguments and ascertain their points of difference, with a view to enhancing a meaningful South African dialogue on Scripture

Die kerk: ’n Verenigende of verdelende faktor in die ontwikkeling van Suid-Afrika?

The church: A unifying or dividing factor in the development of South Africa?In South Africa churches have, by mystifying institutions, beliefs, prejudices, political strategies, violence and theological views, contributed towards ethnocentrism, egotism, etc. The church will have to demystify these institutions and views in order to prevent theomachy, sacrifice its Constantine privileges, and become the servant of the world - whether the state allows it to function publically or not - in order to contribute towards peace

Moet teologiese opleiding kerklik-konfessioneel wees?

Should theological education be ecclesiastical and confessional?This article seeks to evaluate the involvement of the church in theological education at universities, and proceeeds from a cosmological rather than a pragmatic perspective. From a cosmological perspective, no university can claim to study universalia while  ignoring religious perspectives on reality. The Christian religious perspective therefore has every right to be studied and taught at universities. Since this tradition can be adequately understood only with reference to its own assumptions (as professed by the ecumenical church), theological education has to pay close attention to ecclesiasticaland denominational confessions. However, no state-funded theological education at university level may be bound by denominationally biased prescriptions

'Gekontroleerde' eksegese en/of 'kreatiewe' uitleg

'Controlled' exegesis and/or 'creative' interpretation Exegetes often regard  epistemological questions as unnecessary and of 'academic' interest. Yet, answers to questions such as; 'What is a text?' and 'What is meaning?' are of fundamental importance in the argument about exegetical method(s). For instance, exegetical techniques focussing on the 'structure' of texts, although often claimed to be anti-positivist, do not of themselves imply a divorce from positivism, because the epistemological frameworks within which exegetical techniques are applied, determine their hermeneutical function. The influence of epistemological choices on the definition of the entities 'text' and 'meaning' as well as on the evaluation of textual expositions is discussed, and a few remarks are made on the (often determining) influence of  theological tradition on such epistemological choices

Host transcriptomic response to Newcastle disease virus in relatively resistant and susceptible inbred chicken lines

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has devastating impacts on poultry throughout the world. The inbred Fayoumi and Leghorn chicken lines, previously characterized as relatively resistant and susceptible, respectively, to various pathogens were utilized to characterize host response to the NDV vaccine and identify potential genes and pathways associated with NDV resistance. Three-week-old chicks were inoculated with La Sota NDV (challenged) or PBS (nonchallenged) via the oculonasal route. At 2, 6, and 10 days post infection (dpi), approximately one-third of the birds within each line and challenge group were euthanized for tissue collection. At 2 and 6 dpi, lachrymal fluid was collected from all birds for viral quantification using qPCR. At 0 and 10 dpi, serum was collected from all birds to quantify NDV antibody levels using ELISA. The transcriptome response in tracheal epithelial cells, lungs, and Harderian glands from four birds per treatment group (line, dpi, and challenge group; 48 birds total) was analyzed using RNA-seq. These three tissues chosen for their location near the site of infection. A separate study analyzed mean survival time after challenge with velogenic NDV. These studies found the Fayoumi and Leghorn chickens were relatively resistant and susceptible, respectively to lentogenic and velogenic NDV, based on lachrymal fluid viral load, antibody levels, and within-tissue viral transcript counts detected by RNA-seq after the lentogenic challenge, and survival analysis after a velogenic challenge. The trachea, lung, and Harderian gland RNA-seq data were analyzed individually and jointly to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of lentogenic NDV challenge using differential expression and co-expression analyses. The tissues with detectable viral transcripts, trachea and Harderian gland, activated T cell related pathways after challenge. The challenge had the largest impact on the trachea transcriptome, based on principal component analysis and numbers of differentially expressed genes. In the lung and Harderian gland, especially, the two lines had distinct responses to the virus. The combined tissue analysis revealed clusters of co-expressed genes that were correlated with important factors like line, challenge status, and dpi. Overall, EIF2 signaling, mTOR signaling, collagen related genes, and TNFSF13B / TNFRSF13B were identified as potential candidate genes and pathways related to NDV resistance. Further studies are required to determine and confirm how these genes and pathways impact NDV resistance

Profete in Israel: ’n Probleemstelling

Prophets in Israel: Stating a problemThe Writing Prophets have, in Christian circles, traditionally been painted in a fairly romantic light as the giants of faith. A comparison between the superscriptions of the prophetic books and the historical literature of the Old Testament as well between the Jewish, Samaritan and Christian traditions’ views of the prophets raises several questions regarding the ‘office’ of the prophets, their social role and the notion of the church’s ‘prophetic’ calling. In the light of these questions the article calls for a fresh historical look at the Writing Prophets and identifies a few problem areas that may warrant further investigation