Papers by jan Nieder-Heitmann
Thesis (M. Th.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1981.Full text to be digitised and attached to bib... more Thesis (M. Th.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1981.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record
International Review of Mission, 2003
... The burgeoning missionary movement also contributed to this crisis in anoth-er way. It led to... more ... The burgeoning missionary movement also contributed to this crisis in anoth-er way. It led to the development of the ecumenical movement that vehe-mently opposed the new Christendom of the apartheid era. ... It is small wonder that dissident voices were few and far between.I8 ...
The pnmary research question of this dissertation is: What \vas the particular form that Christen... more The pnmary research question of this dissertation is: What \vas the particular form that Christendom took on at the Cape during the formative period of the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) rule and how did it shape the Dutch Reformed Church as established church in this locale? This question was prompted by my hunch that the Dutch Reformed Church at the Capel and in the later South Africa has since VOC rule displayed signs of regarding itself as an important ecclesiastical partner in a Christian establishment. This was evidenced in the development of the Church 2 into a quasi-established position (during British rule and thereafter), and the Volkskerk of the Afrikaner people and nationalism. In post-VOC times Christendom at the Cape Colony and in South Africa has also undergone various transformations. The answer to 74 Bonhoeffer, Ethics, 6011. 75 Bonhoeffer, Ethics, 122.
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 2012
Amid a plurality of religions and secular world views, some of which claim to serve the common go... more Amid a plurality of religions and secular world views, some of which claim to serve the common good while others restrict themselves to the private sphere-and yet others deny Christianity and other religions's relevance in the public sphere-the church has to constantly reinterpret its own claims, as well as those of other religions and secular world views. The church has to do this in order to ascertain its relationship with other religions and world views, and their adherents in general, but more particularly with regard to specific public issues. Public theology needs to be intra-disciplinary with the theology of other religions, and in conversation with the science and philosophy of religion. IntroductIon In the West, since the Enlightenment, there exists a broad consensus that a plurality of religions in one society creates the potential for conflict and, therefore, that religions are detrimental to the common good, to unity, and to peace. Hence, religions has to be kept in check by and within a neutral state. The reason for this, it is felt, is that conflicting religious commitments cause intolerance, strife and war, and this should disqualify religions from participation in the public sphere. According to Slenczka (2010), Christians at least have more tolerance due to their awareness of their own imperfection, sinfulness, and guilt. Yet Christians, like others, should refrain from participation in public life on the basis of their religious commitments (cf. Slenczka 2010:1). Current inter-religious tensions and war in Europe tend to strengthen this conviction, and hence the constitution of the European Union grants religions only scant scope for participation in public life. Clashes between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria and the insistence that Shari'a law be generally enforced also strengthen this view of religions. In colonial times, tribal religions that used to bolster the political claims of tribal heads were also proscribed in order to combat tribalism and its undermining of the state. This is one of the reasons why, for example Nigeria, like European countries, adopted a constitution that entrenches a secular state.
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 2012
As a general concept, Christendom (corpus Christianum)-and particularly the phenomenon of patrona... more As a general concept, Christendom (corpus Christianum)-and particularly the phenomenon of patronage-are useful tools to understand the relationship between churches and cultures, and between political and civil society. This is particularly true of Western churches, but also of former Western colonial possessions and churches within them. In Christendom, patronage is usually associated with privileges bestowed upon a church by the state (political society)-state control over church/es in its realm. However, civil society and a culture, too, can assume patronage over a church, threatening the latter's integrity and prophetic witness. The colonial Cape (Dutch Reformed) Church's character was formed by powerful political patronage to the extent that it found it difficult to live and witness under the sole patronage of its crucified Lord. Ever since, it also continually sought to align itself with one or more of the above mentioned powers in South Africa. IntroductIon In October 1991, on the eve of a new, non-racial, democratic South Africa, the late influential South African theologian Willie Jonker addressed the Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. He sketched a political and cultural situation in which the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) would experience the diminishing of its traditional influence on both its membership and in public life in South Africa. This came about as a result of a break in the DRC's historical alliance with both political and cultural powers. The long-established position of dignity and honour, even dominion, which the DRC had inherited from the church in Europe, was also drawing to an end. The alliance of the DRC with the old political order was about to be terminated, as the end of the colonial era finally dawned upon South Africa.
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Papers by jan Nieder-Heitmann