Die Departement Praktiese Teologie (Afd A): Die ‘De Wet-era’ en daarna

The Department of Practical Theology (Sec A): The ‘De Wet era’ and subsequent yearsThe Department of Practical Theology (Sec A) at the University of Pretoria was established in 1968 when Professor J I de Wet was appointed head of the Department. He held this position until his death in 1983. He can thus be depicted as the ‘father’ of Practical Theology within the Faculty. This paper is an attempt to identifyhis viewpoints and to trace his influence in the academic and ecclesiastic spheres. The results show that he can be described as a practical theologian who stood for the preservation of the theological character of this discipline, based on biblical principals. He rejected the ‘gesellschaft’ as theoretical basis for Practical Theology. Trends since his death in 1983 will also be identified

Die akkommodering en bestuur van diversiteit in gemeenteverband

The accommodation and management of diversity at congregational levelDiversity is becomming a prominent phenomenon of our society within a postmodern context. Many clergy and church members believe it threatens the peace and stability of churches and local congregations. Seemingly, diversity contributes to the escalation of conflict and the stress levels church leaders are experiencing. This article attempts to analize and describe the phenomenon of diversity from the angles of postmodernity, personality preferences and systems thinking. The research is based upon the hypothesis that diversity does not necessarily threaten the unity of local congregations. The manifestation of unity within diversity is only possible if leaders are sensitized to manage the challenges of pluriformity

Karl Barth as a homilist

Any tribute to Karl Barth as the most important theologian of the 20th century must show an awareness of the many facets of his work. He will long be remembered for his monumental contribution to church dogmatics. The inspiration for his dogmatics was his dilemma in preaching the Word of God. Preaching and proclaiming the Word of God were his main interests. This article attempts to analyse his homiletic stance, not only as an academic theory, but in relation to his own sermons. Finally, the importance of Barth’s theology for preaching in a postmodern society is outlined

Poging tot ’n herdefínisie van die prediking binne die raamwerk van die Reformatiese teologie

An attempt to redefine preaching in terms of Reformational theologyIn the field of biblical studies and hermeneutics, modern research, in many aspects results in questioning the authority of the Bible as the Word of God. Theconsequences of these results often undermine preaching as the Word of God. Within the theology of the reformation , preaching is based upon sound exegetical study and expository of the biblical text. Hence scientific exegetical research brings the authorityof preaching to a crisis. This paper is an attempt to redefine preaching in order to incorporate the results of modem research, as well as to conserve the fundamental concept of preaching as the Word of God

'n Praktíes-teologiese evaluering van moontlike bedieningstrukture in die Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk toegespits op die rol van die predikant

A practical theological evaluation of potential structures oi ministry within the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk, focused on the role of the ministerDie modern society in which the church has to fulfill its ministry, differs in many aspects from the traditional society. The question arises whether the old pattern of ministry is still sufficient to accommodate new trends. This paper is an attempt to identify and establish alternative structures. This is done by means of investigating and exploring scriptural perspectives on church ministry. Certain alternative models are weighed against biblical findings and modem concepts. Finally, a revised pattern ofministry is proposed

Die benutting van vraelyste met die oog op meer effektiewe toerusting tydens huweliksvoorbereiding

The utilization of questionnaires with the intent to make marriage preparation more effectiveThis study aims to promote the idea that questionnaires used as part of marriage preparation, could be a valuable tool. The article also attempts to identify some themes that should form part of the discussion between the pastor and a couple to prepare them for their marriage. Furthermore, the aim is to assist pastors, especially those in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika, utilizing questionnaires during marriage preparation

’n Verkennende studie met die oog op die identifísering en kategorisering van leerteorieë met verwysing na die prediking

An introductory study to identify and classify theories of learning with regard to the task of preachingLearning is a lifelong process in which man must be what he can be, namely a being interacting with his world in a creative problem-solving manner for the well-being of himself and others. In a similar sense the church has always seen her task in preaching, supported by all the other domains of churchlife, as that of teaching people to come to terms with the gospel of Jesus Christ in their daily existence. This article proposes to identify, categorize and integrate the acknowledged theories underlyingthe learning process, as they exist in the social sciences, into an all encompassingmodel for learning; a model from which conclusions are drawn in the hope that further studies can spell out the implications of these conclusions as they are applicable to the task of preaching within the church

Conserved Quantities in Background Independent Theories

We discuss the difficulties that background independent theories based on quantum geometry encounter in deriving general relativity as the low energy limit. We follow a geometrogenesis scenario of a phase transition from a pre-geometric theory to a geometric phase which suggests that a first step towards the low energy limit is searching for the effective collective excitations that will characterize it. Using the correspondence between the pre-geometric background independent theory and a quantum information processor, we are able to use the method of noiseless subsystems to extract such coherent collective excitations. We illustrate this in the case of locally evolving graphs.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Quantum Histories and Quantum Gravity

This paper reviews the histories approach to quantum mechanics. This discussion is then applied to theories of quantum gravity. It is argued that some of the quantum histories must approximate (in a suitable sense) to classical histories, if the correct classical regime is to be recovered. This observation has significance for the formulation of new theories (such as quantum gravity theories) as it puts a constraint on the kinematics, if the quantum/classical correspondence principle is to be preserved. Consequences for quantum gravity, particularly for Lorentz symmetry and the idea of "emergent geometry", are discussed.Comment: 35 pages (29 pages main body), two figure