{"title":"Lyding – ’n dringende aansporing: 1 Petrus 4:12–19 eksegeties nuut ondersoek","authors":"D. Breed","doi":"10.4102/ids.v58i1.3009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v58i1.3009","url":null,"abstract":"Suffering – an urgent exhortation: 1 Peter 4:12–19 exegetically re-examined. This article provides a new exegetical examination of the specific way Peter encourages the readers in 1 Peter 4:12–19 to remain faithful amid suffering. In this article, the grammatical-historical model, as practiced in the Reformed tradition, is followed in the exegesis. Peter exhorts the readers in 1 Peter 4:12–19 to be willing to suffer as Christians. He reinforces his exhortation by indicating that faithfulness amid suffering confirms the equipment of the Spirit and that faithfulness will result in joy when Christ’s glory is revealed. He warns that unfaithfulness will result in judgement.Contribution: This article highlights Peter’s encouragement to his readers in 1 Peter 4:12–19 and the urgency of this encouragement. It indicates that the readers, as chosen strangers of the diaspora, are encouraged in this thought unit to unite with Jesus Christ amid suffering and glorify God. This exhortation is reinforced in 1 Peter 4:12–19 by using the Old Testament to illustrate the consequences of faithfulness and of unfaithfulness.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"66 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139526857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Using ecumenical experiences to respond to new public life challenges","authors":"John Gaga, Gift Masengwe, B. Dube","doi":"10.4102/ids.v58i1.2994","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v58i1.2994","url":null,"abstract":"The description of the history of the church in Zimbabwe highlights the presence of a visibly united church that has been actively involved in supporting public life since the colonial era. The division within the Christian community is not a recent phenomenon but has existed throughout colonial history. The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) serves as an umbrella organisation that aims at re-uniting Christian efforts of Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, and Indigenous traditions, in order to have a collective influence on democratic processes in Zimbabwe. The ZHOCD takes a combative approach towards state tyranny and is proactive in seeking solutions for public life challenges. This active engagement is beneficial for national agendas, that allow citizens to freely choose and join political parties of their preferences. The individual actions and activities of the ZHOCD members contribute towards the overall work of the churches in Zimbabwe. This demonstrates religious confidence in addressing the political and economic impacts on human well-being. By fulfilling its mission and tasks, the ZHOCD actively participates in the shaping public life in Zimbabwe.Contribution: The article contributes towards alternative ecumenical responses to national crises, using the case of the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations. These responses can be used by any ecumenical Christian bodies to deal with challenges arising in a state due to political differences and challenges.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"57 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139527705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The pastoral role in moral regeneration – A South African perspective","authors":"M. E. Baloyi","doi":"10.4102/ids.v58i1.2993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v58i1.2993","url":null,"abstract":"In the past, the role of the pastor was not only recognised by the church in which he served, but also by the entire community. Government, institutions, and society at large to an extent relied on pastors to help build up communities. For this reason, politicians and the media sought pastoral opinions in times of strife, boycotts, and other upheavals. Public offences such as rape, murder, robbery, violence and other crimes have always been described as the deeds of evil people whose lives are far removed from the Christian and other religions. What makes corruption and crime worse in our country, is the perception of moral degeneration, among other reasons. It is a concern of this researcher that, instead of pastoral leadership preaching peace and addressing issues related to moral regeneration, they are becoming part of the problem rather than the solution. This article intends to show, by way of research, that, for pastors and ministers to participate in corrupt and immoral deeds, is problematic not only for the churches they serve, but also the communities in which they live. This article offers pastoral guidelines on the church’s responsibility in combatting pastors’ immoral actions.Contribution: Church pastors, as community leaders, have some responsibility for eliminating and reducing rather than dismissing or contributing to the moral degeneration engulfing South Africa. It is the conviction of this author that, if pastors practise what they preach, half of the fight against moral degeneration would be won through their exemplary lives. The pastoral position has a moral impact and an influence in local communities.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":" 30","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139621695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The ‘people’ of Israel according to Judith: A Greimassian semiotic reading of Judith 5:1–24","authors":"Risimati S. Hobyane","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.2968","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2968","url":null,"abstract":"The concept, ‘people’, could in fact be a driving force behind the authorship of the Judith narrative. On this particular theme, many insightful contributions that have already been made by various scholars are applauded. The theme and concept of people still remain a topic that needs further exploration. In this article, the use and significance of the concept ‘people’ in the Judith narrative, is explored. The aim is not only to identify and describe the concept, but aspires to further demonstrate its distinct function in view of the reader. The analysis will be done from both the figurative and the thematic level of analysis of the Greimassian semiotic approach to literary texts. It is asserted that the utilisation of the concept ‘people’, is possibly an intentional literary strategy by the author, to encourage the reader (first and implied) to embrace the idea of Jewish reunification in the second temple period.Contribution: This is a literary analysis of the occurrence, use and significance of the concept, ‘people’, in the book of Judith, particularly chapter 5:1–24. The study focuses on the distinctiveness of the people of Israel and its possible function regarding the readers. The values making the people of Israel unique are studied and the suggestion made that this could have been the impetus behind the authorship of the story. The study is intuitive and does contribute towards the understanding of the religious dynamics of the book of Judith.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"2 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139153634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nicholas Allen Festschrift","authors":"Pierre J. Jordaan, Johan Steenkamp","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.3045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.3045","url":null,"abstract":"No abstract available.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"114 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139163640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Jews in the Society of Jesus: Claudio Acquaviva and his critics","authors":"Marianne R. Dircksen, Victor Houliston","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.2971","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2971","url":null,"abstract":"The Spanish origins of the Society of Jesus entailed a sensitivity about the Jewish ancestry of many of its members. This article examines the decision taken by the Fifth General Congregation of the Society (1593–1594) to exclude persons of Jewish descent (conversos), in light of strong criticism voiced by three leading Jesuits: Robert Persons (1546–1610), superior of the English mission, Diego de Guzmán (c.1522–1606), a noted Spanish preacher and catechist, and Antonio Possevino (1533–1611), an Italian Jesuit involved in high-level diplomacy. This article analyses selected correspondence in which they confronted the superior general, Claudio Acquaviva (1543–1615, in office 1580–1615), questioning the argument that conversos inhibited the work of the Society. The writers’ rhetorical strategies include logical argument and practical demonstration as well as appeals to ethos and pathos through personal experience and dramatised precedent, hoping to shame the general into moderating the policy. Acquaviva’s resistance to their persuasion is explained by his need to retain the support of the Spanish royal court in asserting his authority over dissident Jesuits in Spain as well as to sustain his project to increase the effectiveness of the Society through internal coherence and tight organisation.Contribution: The article illustrates the use of rhetorical strategies to reinforce the biblical principle of racial equality within the Society of Jesus in the Reformation era.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"179 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139169175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The fundamental idea of Paul’s ‘I’ in Romans 7:14–25 and Christian spirituality as a lived experience","authors":"Janke L. Du Plessis","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.3001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.3001","url":null,"abstract":"The idea of ‘I’ in Romans 7:14–25, used rhetorically, is written to have an impact on its reader and to reach into something readers have experienced: a spiritual reality. When Paul wrote the pericope, it was written in a specific context to and a specific group of people. They would have recognised what Paul’s fundamental idea was concerning ‘I’ and the law. That is, the struggling image of ‘I’ under the law, wanting to do what is right, but is unable to. However, the way the original audience would have received and understood the law and the tension would differ exponentially to the way the pericope is read today. But does that make Paul’s fundamental argument invalid for readers today? An initial reading of the text does evoke some kind of inner experience, relating or convicted by Paul’s ‘I’. This falls in the realm of spirituality as a lived experience. What makes it spiritual is the fact that the pericope is part of the Christian sacred text, and there is a certain initial stance or attitude taken when the text is read. The author is painting a mental picture using ‘I’ as a rhetoric device to lead the reader in participating in Paul’s argument. Thus, the text is experienced. There is no spirituality without experience. This participation leaves a lasting impact on the reader, and pointing the reader by the Spirit in a direction that moves from hopelessness to hopefulness found in Jesus Christ.Contribution: Firstly, the article adds to the body of work done on Romans 7:14–25, particularly the discussion referring to ‘I’. Secondly, there has been a large volume of work done on this specific pericope, especially on the interpretation of the text. However, a contribution can be made in respect of spirituality and the lived experience of the reader in relation to the text, because not much on the topic was found. The focus on the fundamental idea as a lived experience constitutes a specific angle to the text that may contribute to scholarly body of knowledge.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"14 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139168168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exodus 20:5 in light of the teaching on retribution in the neo-Pentecostal churches in Nigeria","authors":"S. Ademiluka","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.2958","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2958","url":null,"abstract":"The idea of God punishing children for the sins of their parents in Exodus 20:5 sounds contrary to divine justice as represented in the Old Testament (OT). However, despite the apparent contradiction, strands of Christianity have continued to hold the view of retribution in Exodus. In Nigeria, it is reflected in the teaching on breaking generational curses in the neo-Pentecostal churches. This article has critically examined Exodus 20:5 as a basis for this doctrine, employing the historical-critical and descriptive methods. Contrary to the claim by some scholars that the doctrine of collective responsibility in Exodus 20:5 contradicts individual retribution that is found in Ezekiel and Jeremiah, this article found that these prophets express collective responsibility when they attribute the exile to the sins of the ancestors. Moreover, the belief in corporate responsibility continued to be held among the Jews after the exile. The teaching on generational curses in Nigeria is partly a reflection of the continuing influence of Exodus 20:5. This article concluded, however, that deducing the doctrine of generational curses from the Exodus text fails to take cognisance of the folkloristic character of Exodus. Given this character, the words visiting the iniquity of parents upon the children are those of the narrator, and not of God.Contribution: Contributing to the scholarly discourse on the notion of inherited punishment in Exodus 20:5, this article postulates that it is hermeneutically incorrect to base the belief in generational curses on this text.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"104 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139175017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Jews in Republican Rome: The literary sources","authors":"Johan Steenkamp","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.2943","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2943","url":null,"abstract":"There is considerable literary evidence that gives us some insight into the Jewish culture in the city of Rome from different perspectives after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Yet, there are few primary accounts of Jews in the city of Rome during the 1st century BCE. In this article it is argued that there was already a significant Jewish population in Rome during the middle of the 1st century BCE and it already had a noted influence on daily life in the capital city. In the wake of the Roman Republic’s imperialistic successes, the city saw an influx of foreign peoples and cultures, including Jews, and they were mentioned in the literature of the time. The little that was written about Jews during this time pertain to those aspects of their culture and religion that appeared peculiar to the Romans, especially in the so-called higher genres of philosophical treatises or history. Yet, we also have texts describing everyday live in Republican Rome – lyric and elegiac poetry. These, too, feature references to Jewish culture. Although Roman poetry is never explicitly interested in Jews or Jewish people, it did paint a picture of Rome at street-level, so to speak, through the eyes of a literate citizen and this picture sometimes included Jews. In this article this type of evidence available to us will be reconsidered to fill in the gap in our historical knowledge.Contribution: This article presents an interpretation of Jews and Jewish practices mentioned during the 1st century BCE in Roman poetry. The poetry of Tibullus, Horace and Ovid, written from a Roman perspective, have been contextualised in their literary traditions and informed by the established philosophical opinions of the time from Cicero, Varro and Lucretius. The result is a useful discussion of how extensive and how reliable these sources are for the understanding of Jewish culture in Rome during the 1st century BCE.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139213721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reviewing Calvin’s eradication strategy to poverty biblically from a Missio Dei perspective","authors":"Takalani A. Muswubi","doi":"10.4102/ids.v57i1.2960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/ids.v57i1.2960","url":null,"abstract":"Most of the marginalised and underprivileged people across the globe live in the vicious cycle of poverty. Poverty is a thorny issue. The World Justice Project (WJP) estimated that two thirds of the world’s population are not only confronted by multiple injustices which include the civil, administrative, or criminal justices, but they are also living in a vicious cycle of being marginalised and underprivileged across the planet. The poverty-stricken victims are left hopeless and helpless due to unfair socio-economic and justice systems. Attempts are coming from different fronts on how to eradicate poverty. The researcher realised the two extreme ends of these attempts, namely the rich-oriented capitalist and the poor-oriented socialist extremist. Their debates around poverty tend more to a dichotomy contestation. The question is how can the best of their contestation be utilised for poverty eradication locally and globally. The problem that this article is addressing, is the underlying misconceptions which comes to the fore in the contestation between the rich and the poor in their attempts to eradicate poverty. When such misconceptions are left unchecked, they hinder any attempts or efforts from both sides to obey God’s missional call to eradicate poverty.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article adds the voice (value) regarding addressing the rich-oriented capitalist and the poor-oriented socialist extremist in their attempts to eradicate poverty, conscientizing them that, as they have the same make-up and Maker despite their positions and conditions in life and therefore, based on the ecodomy framework for equitable justice, they should make a conscious decision to eradicate poverty as their missional call before their Maker.","PeriodicalId":510153,"journal":{"name":"In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139209973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}