31 articles in this issue
David Tuesday Adamo
Semiotics is defined as ‘thinking in signs’ that is, a set of theories and analytical practices concerned with the process of ‘production of meaning.’ Hence, semiotics is anything that is used to tell or communicate. Semiotic exegesis is the applica... see more
Obaji M Agbiji,Ignatius Swart
Religion constitutes an inextricable part of African society. As such, political and socio-economic activities are often flavoured with religious expressions and rituals. Whilst Africans are steeped in religiosity – this is expressed in many ways – ... see more
AO Balcomb
The ethos of the academy in South Africa, as is the case in the West in general, has been shaped profoundly by the Enlightenment. Theological and religious studies in the secular academy have had to conform to this ethos. This has led to the anomalo... see more
Blessing Onoriode Boloje,Alphonso Groenewald
This article presents some perspectives about Yahweh and ethics from Malachi’s criticism of the rituals of the temple. Malachi’s theological and ethical uniqueness is observed somehow most clearly in the preponderance of negative emphasis the prophe... see more
Joy R Bostic
This article focuses on the religious world view and organizing strategies of United States activist, Joan Southgate who, at the age of 72, mapped out and completed a three-stage, 519 mile walk to North American Underground Railroad sites. Following... see more
Johan Cilliers
In this article an introductory look is taken at the phenomenon of the monumentalisation of religion, particularly in view of its imperial expressions. The history and religious meaning of the Voortrekker Monument, situated outside Pretoria in South... see more
Ernst M Conradie
This contribution raises the question about where things have gone wrong in evolutionary history. In classic Christian discourse it is typically assumed that the primary problem is human sin, while the problem of natural evil is emphasised elsewhere... see more
Musa W Dube
This article seeks to trace the fussy boundaries of religion and the public space in the modern colonial archive of southern Africa. It investigates how drawing such boundaries became a central strategy in translating indigenous cultures into sin an... see more
Annette Evans
After the demise of the Apartheid regime the Religious Instruction syllabus of the Christian National Education system was changed to ’Religious Education’. The new syllabus requires that all religions should be taught in schools. Compounding the di... see more
David N Field
Public theology has become an important mode of theological engagement in secular and pluralistic contexts yet there is debate as to the character of this engagement. This article argues that an analysis of the nascent public theology developed by John We... see more
Hester Fourie,Jan Albert Van den Berg
A Narrative Pastoral Involvement with Adolescent Girls who have experienced Sexual Abuse The phenomenon of sexual abuse is a complicated matter that includes therapeutic as well as legal aspects and which is the result of the complex interaction bet... see more
Rosinah Mmannana Gabaitse
The Pentecostal movement remains one of ambivalence, tensions and paradoxes. On the surface, worship and practice appear democratic, yet research shows that women and men do not occupy the same status because the movement endorses male dominance and... see more
Chammah J Kaunda
In this article, I argue that the church as Christ’s symbolic presence in the world is a Missiological expression of God loving non-violent involvement and witnessing presence in the world permeated with violence. Through two case studies that exemp... see more
Antony J Khokhar
Cyril Lucaris’ Bible translation is a curious case from the Middle Ages. This article attempts to bring to the fore Lucaris’ efforts in translating the Bible and its aftermath. We begin by unfolding a few pages from the life of Lucaris in order to s... see more
Christian Locatell
The promise of Jeremiah 31:34 that "all of them will know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," has been of crucial importance for the paedo – vs. credobaptism debate. However, there has been little discussion of what the quantifier m... see more
Christo Lombaard
Continuing from the author’s previously published research track on Biblical Spirituality, in this paper three different approaches to reading the Psalms in relation to faith experience are taken into review. First, the theoretical framework for the... see more
Loreen Maseno
This article draws upon African widowhood for theological reflection. It shows that experiences of widowhood characterize widows in rural western Kenya as liminal individuals located at a threshold. These widows experience deep loneliness besides ot... see more
Matthew Michael
Based on the cross-centred ecumenism of Moltmann, this article describes the problems of ecumenism among the churches of the global south. While acknowledging the paradigmatic shift in the centre of Christianity to these regions, it notes the proble... see more
Itumeleng Daniel Mothoagae
In 2013 the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference released the book. "God, Love, Life and Sex: Guide and Resource for Christian Living Marriage and Family." In chapters five and six of this book assumptions are made on reasons why women choo... see more
Marius Nel
What is distinctive about Pentecostals’ reading of the Bible? In what way do Pentecostal people read the Bible so that they reach different conclusions than believers of other denominations? Is it possible to speak of a Pentecostal herme-neutics? In... see more
Ian Nell
On 27 April 2014 we celebrated twenty years of democracy in South Africa. Celebrating this important day in our history also afforded us the opportunity to reflect on what has transpired in our country during the past two decades. From theories in t... see more
GC (Piff) Pereira
The overarching question is: "How do we make the biblical text relevant for our present context?" The answer ultimately resides in reading the text theologically. Therefore, the question must be: "How do we read the Old Testament theologi-cally?" Th... see more
Juanita M Pienaar
Land reform is a temporal process that was embarked on in two distinctive phases in South Africa: first by way of an exploratory programme before the new constitu-tional dispensation commenced, followed by, secondly, an all-encompassing programme af... see more
Miranda Pillay
In the Gospel of Matthew the Kingdom of Heaven which Jesus preaches about is in conflict with the dominant culture which creates tension between what is and ought. Those whom society despises are pronounced ‘blessed’ (5:1-12); the inclusiveness of t... see more
Riaan Rheeder
In 2005 the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR) of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was accepted unanimously by the world community – consisting of 191 member nations – which means tha... see more
Cesar Motta Rios
Philo of Alexandria, the first century Jewish exegete, is one of the most important non-Christians in the history of Christianity. It is common to find brief reference to his works in theological manuals or introductory books on the New Testament. H... see more
Tumi Senokoane
The academic institutions in South Africa are systematically and structurally white. In short, shades of white ethics blight academic institutions such as Unisa. This article, therefore, aims to expose the argument that Unisa is still excluding blac... see more
Guillaume Hermanus Smit
This article argues for an integrated paradigmatic approach to conducting practical theological research. This integration is prompted by the researcher’s experience as theologian in a culturally diverse community where theologies from different per... see more
MA Van der Westhuizen,T Greuel,CH Thesnaar
Even if legalised segregation (i.e. Apartheid) has ceased, individuals, groups and communities remain sensitive owing to past experiences. Furthermore communication obstacles lead to on-going misunderstandings that result in mistrust (Williams, 2002... see more
Vuyani Vellem
Radical Democracy proposes that capitalism should be theorised deeply and furthermore, that the liberal tradition must not be denounced and rejected by the Left. It is possible that what seems to be a ‘confusion,’ or ‘confoundedness,’ ‘diffusion’ an... see more
Mark W Wilson
This article examines a problem of translation in Acts 9:27 regarding who should be the subject of the sentence – Barnabas or Saul. Through a close examination of the Greek text in its broader pericope, it explores whether Barnabas was the one who t... see more