Beyond the quadrilateral : the place of nature in John Wesley’s epistemology of theology

Many writers have sought to outline Wesley's conception of how human beings obtain revelational knowledge. In this regard, the use of what has been dubbed the Wesleyan quadrilateral continues to remain widespread in both the academy and the pulpit. However, this presentation of Wesley's thought has received severe criticism from the late William Abraham, philosopher of religion and Methodist commentator. He has proposed the creation of a new subdiscipline in epistemology for examining theology. This view has prompted a handful of attempts to extrapolate John Wesley's epistemology of theology from his various writings. The present essay will contribute to this discussion by examining Wesley's approach to these questions. In doing so, it explores mainly the function and place of nature in Wesley's theological reflections. Drawing mainly upon Wesley's A View of the Wisdom of God in Creation (1763), this essay shows that the natural world (read: creation) played an important, neglected role in Wesley's epistemology of theology. CONTRIBUTION: This article contributes to a new subdiscipline in epistemology for examining theology by presenting a new perspective on John Wesley by exploring the role of nature in his thought. Offering an epistemological-theological interpretation of John Wesley, this article fits well within the scope of HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, particularly this subsection.http://www.hts.org.zaDogmatics and Christian Ethic

Newman, Wesley and the logic of unity: An inductive approach to ecumenism

It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to the Festschrift dedicated to Professor Johan Buitendag, Emeritus Dean, Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. While his own work often examined the relationship between theology and natural science, he was also passionate about ecumenism and, in that spirit, the present essay utilised what might be described as an inductive approach to an important ecumenical question, the unity between Methodists and Catholics. Ecumenical dialogue is often undertaken from a theological and dogmatic perspective. This essay took a different approach in that it sought to inductively examine what might be described as the inner logic of two ecclesial systems (Methodist and Catholic). In doing so, it was premised upon an Aristotelian philosophical principle, epistemic fit, in that it presupposed that both these ecclesial bodies possess an intrinsic logic that can be brought to the surface in order to exhibit parallel contours in the wider ecclesial terrain. Contribution: This article fits well within the scope of HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies in that it contributed to a new subdiscipline in epistemology, which explores the conceptual and epistemological dimensions of ecclesiology. Using the concept of epistemic fit, the article offered an inductive approach to some of the practical issues that emerge in ecumenical dialogue

Canon, criterion and circularity: An analysis of the epistemology of canonical theism

In recent years, William J. Abraham has suggested the creation of a new subdiscipline for examining the epistemology of theology. This article provides an overview of this proposal, highlighting some of the philosophical concepts, such as ‘Aristotelian epistemic fit’ and particularism, that Abraham drew upon when formulating this approach. It then proceeds to an examination of Abraham’s application of these ideas to his preferred theological scheme, canonical theism. Limitations and challenges to Abraham’s position are discussed as well as ways in which weaknesses in his approach might be addressed

Ecclesia Ghana : realising Afro-Catholicism in Ghana

What is the essence of the Gospel? Which aspects of the church’s ministry are contingent? The story of the Anglican Church in Ghana offers an opportunity to reflect upon these questions. While the history of this colonial church is fraught with ethnocentrism, it also demonstrates a number of ways in which a rich theological tradition can be realised on Ghanaian soil. This essay explores these possibilities with the hope of identifying an authentic Afro-Catholicism.http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=19577am2016Church History and Church Polic

The LHCb upgrade I

The LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

ECCLESIA GHANA: REALISING AFRO- CATHOLICISM IN GHANA

What is the essence of the Gospel? Which aspects of the church’s ministry are contingent? The story of the Anglican Church in Ghana offers an opportunity to reflect upon these questions. While the history of this colonial church is fraught with ethnocentrism, it also demonstrates a number of ways in which a rich theological tradition can be realised on Ghanaian soil. This essay explores these possibilities with the hope of identifying an authentic Afro-Catholicism

Ecclesia Ghana: Realising Afro-Catholicism in Ghana

What is the essence of the Gospel? Which aspects of the church’s ministry are contingent? The story of the Anglican Church in Ghana offers an opportunity to reflect upon these questions. While the history of this colonial church is fraught with ethnocentrism, it also demonstrates a number of ways in which a rich theological tradition can be realised on Ghanaian soil. This essay explores these possibilities with the hope of identifying an authentic Afro-Catholicism.http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=19577am2016Church History and Church Polic

An Ambazonian theology? A theological approach to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon

The last 3 years have witnessed a period of substantial volatility in Cameroon. In 2016, protests within the minority Anglophone regions against the obligatory use of French in schools triggered a period of considerable unrest, in which hundreds of people have been incarcerated and killed. Following an increased security presence in the English-speaking regions, armed groups have surfaced calling for secession – the creation of an independent nation of Ambazonia. In view of this escalating crisis, this article will investigate how the ‘Anglophone problem’ in Cameroon might be brought to bear upon the African theological debate by examining issues of violence, marginalisation and fragmentation within the two Englishspeaking areas of Cameroon.This research is part of the research project, ‘History of Theological Education in Africa’ directed by Prof. Dr Graham Duncan of the Department of Church History and Church Polity at the Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria.http://www.hts.org.zaam2020Church History and Church Polic