It is a well thought out book that leads one to meditate on the themes raised with its juxtaposition of chapters and prayers. The feel of it is different from other books for that reason. I'd encourage people to read ... more abstractIt is a well thought out book that leads one to meditate on the themes raised with its juxtaposition of chapters and prayers. The feel of it is different from other books for that reason. I'd encourage people to read it because it introduces crucially important themes tied to God's reconciling work and key ideas associated with those themes. The door, covenant, the world, the reconciler and the church are core biblical themes the text considers. The notes at the end of each unit cite resources with fullness to help the reader see what is behind the main text. The book claims to be devotional theology. I think that is a very apt description. It contains theology that leads you to contemplate God and his work afresh. That is a worthy goal for any book to reach. And this book reaches that goal well. Darrel Bock (Research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas). What a beautiful book! The style is creative and perfectly suits busy readers who quickly wants get to the core of an issue. The book is theologically well-grounded. It binds the messages of the Old and New Testament together and develops the theme of the covenant wonderfully well. It refers to the best contemporary sources and its exegesis is excellent. Prof. H.J.C. Pieterse (Department Practical Theology, University of South Africa). "I liked the format of reflections and prayer -- which itself communicates something essential about our doing theology. Nearly everywhere I was in agreement with the book." Mark Seifrid (Mildred and Ernest Hogan Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary).

Theology, Prayer, Christology, Devotional literature, Jesus, and 3 more

Missiology, Missiology and Mission Theology, Christian Missions, Spirituality, Missiology and Ecclesiology, Christian Theology and Missiology, and 1 more

Location: South Africa

More Info: Peter Vumisa (ed)

Publisher: INSERV

Publication Date: 2012

Publication Name: Evangelical Christian Missions: An African Perspective

This book and the accompanying DVD lectures introduce new and prospective theological students to the strange and exciting world that faces them at Bible College and Theological Seminary as they seek to delve more dee... more abstractThis book and the accompanying DVD lectures introduce new and prospective theological students to the strange and exciting world that faces them at Bible College and Theological Seminary as they seek to delve more deeply into the Word of God and prepare for Christian ministry. A Taste of Glory deals with some crucial theological and spiritual issues that students must engage with to make a success of their theological studies, such as: • What can I expect from my theological studies? • What makes theological studies so unique? • How do we develop theologically? • What kinds of knowledge do we need to acquire in theology? • What subjects do we have to study and why? • How do the various theological subjects interact with each other? A Taste of Glory also contains practical study skills material, such as: • How to develop an aggressive reading strategy; • How to read faster; • How to write a good assignment; and • How to master theological information.

Christianity, Theology, Practical theology, Student Motivation And Engagement, Academic Writing, and 7 more

Location: Perth, Australia

Publisher: Snowgoose Media

Publication Date: 2007

Worship – The Way To Know God focusses on the object of our worship - God Himself. For this reason, this book reaches beyond being just another standard description of worship or merely a simple conglomeration of reci... more abstractWorship – The Way To Know God focusses on the object of our worship - God Himself. For this reason, this book reaches beyond being just another standard description of worship or merely a simple conglomeration of recipes to help us in our worship of God. Worship - The Way To Know God commits us to think through some deeper issues: - Who is God? - Why should we worship Him? - How is is possible for us to know and love Him? The unique syle of this book entices us to think carefully on the One whom we are called to worship; through it we are confronted by more than just dry academic facts about God and the worship of Him, we are invited to participate with our whole beings in the search for true worship. Worship is conversational, a personal response to the divine initiative. In the same way this book leads the reader to first reflect on the One we worship, and to then respond in prayer. Worship - The Way To Know God takes us on a journey, a journey away from ourselves and to the very heart of God Himself.

Studies on worship, Worship, and Knowing God

Location: Perth, Australia

Publisher: Snowgoose Media

Publication Date: 1998

Christian Ethics, Christian Theology, Ecological Theology, Christian environmental ethics, Ethics and Christian Life, Christian ethics and apologetics, Christian Ethics and Social Ethics, and 1 more

More Info: Accepted for publication

Journal Name: Hervormde Teologiese Studies

Publication Date: Sep 17, 2015

Semiotics, Ecclesiology, Church, and Missional Church Theology

More Info: Accepted for publication

Journal Name: Verbum et Ecclesia

Publication Date: Jun 22, 2015

Prophetic texts are difficult to preach from. The stern warnings, calls to repentance, promises, tears and threats of the Biblical prophets that once moved the nation of Israel, now often seem irrelevant or simply o... more abstract Prophetic texts are difficult to preach from. The stern warnings, calls to repentance, promises, tears and threats of the Biblical prophets that once moved the nation of Israel, now often seem irrelevant or simply odd, extreme, or fanatical to modern day listeners. The vitality and urgency with which the prophets spoke and pleaded with the people on behalf of their God, simply do not communicate easily to people far removed from those situations. The problem is amplified when one considers the church’s task to continue to preach prophetically into situations of today. Can there still be a new prophetic word, after the final Word of God, spoken in these last days, through the Son (Heb.1:1)? What is the relationship between the threatened judgements of God that we find in the prophetic texts and the new context of the church that is founded on the Good News of salvation through Jesus? How can the preacher apply the prophetic word from God within the radically different socio, cultural, political, historical and theological contexts of today?

Preaching, Repentance, Salvation, Promises, Contextualization of the Word of God, and 3 more

Publication Date: May 2015

Publication Name: Colloquium 47 (1)

This article develops a non-linear model of the ordo salutis with Christ at the centre. It shows that each individual event is a manifestation of what Christ has done and a call to faith in him. Faith is shown to comp... more abstractThis article develops a non-linear model of the ordo salutis with Christ at the centre. It shows that each individual event is a manifestation of what Christ has done and a call to faith in him. Faith is shown to comprise of consensus (agreement) and fiducia (trust). Through this model, the creative tension between the objective (indicative) and the subjective (imperative) dimensions of the gospel as well as the tension between God’s eschatological time and our unfulfilled time are maintained in such a way that they both complement and limit each other. This tension, it is argued, is intrinsically linked to the way in which Christ continues to be present within our world as both Lord and Spirit. As Lord, Jesus is proclaimed as the One who has already overcome our broken reality; as the Spirit, Christ continues to be vulnerable to be resisted and rejected by us. As the Spirit of the risen Lord, he is nevertheless able to perform miracles and overcome our broken reality as the gospel is proclaimed. A short analysis of the way in which the Bible refers to some of the events in the ordo salutis confirms the legitimacy of this model. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: It is argued that this model overcomes many objections against the traditional understanding of the ordo salutis. By challenging the underlying presuppositions of both Arminiaism and Calvinism, this article provides a unique alternative which does justice to key insights from both traditions and adds a new voice to the ongoing debate between Arian, Pelagian and semi-pelagian theologians, on the one side, and Reformed theologians, on the other side. It thus makes a significant intradisciplinary contribution to systematic theology. It also aligns the universality of salvation in Christ as the second Adam to the continuing need for a personal faith response to Christ.

Systematic Theology, Reformed Epistemology, Faith, Reformed theology, Eschatology, and 5 more

Publication Date: Aug 2014

Publication Name: Verbum et Ecclesia

General revelation is used by Paul to show why all people stand under the judgement and anger of God. In this article I plead for an expansion of Neil Ormerod's metaphysical transcendent epistemological frame to inclu... more abstractGeneral revelation is used by Paul to show why all people stand under the judgement and anger of God. In this article I plead for an expansion of Neil Ormerod's metaphysical transcendent epistemological frame to include a theological immanent epistemological frame. The rational metaphysical conversion that Ormerod pleads for is shown to be inadequate. To speak meaningfully of the God, a second repentance, which Ormerod develops in his theological hermeneutics, is required, namely a repentance from sin. An epistemology grounded on ontology is hereby replaced by an epistemology grounded on theology, anthropology and hamartiology. Humanity's sinful response to general revelation is understood as her unwillingness to place herself at the mercy of a God who is radically different from this reality. The article calls for agnosticism regarding God and the embracing of despair in the light of the human longing for an alternative reality. The transcendent God, it is argued, can only be reached by first embracing the salvation-historical interpretive framework offered in the canonical tradition. General revelation may still be used as a believing reinterpretation of nature, not only in terms of what creation is, but also in terms of what it should become.

Theology, Revelation, Natural Theology, Agnosticism, Repentance, and 6 more

Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: Australian eJournal of Theology

Jesus' imperatives in the Sermon on the Mount continue to play a significant role in Christian ethical discussions. The tension between the radical demands of Jesus and the impossibility of living this out within the ... more abstractJesus' imperatives in the Sermon on the Mount continue to play a significant role in Christian ethical discussions. The tension between the radical demands of Jesus and the impossibility of living this out within the everyday world has been noted by many scholars. In this article, an eschatological-ontological model, based on the social construction of reality, is developed to show that this dialectic is not necessarily an embarrassment to the church but, instead, belongs to the essence of the church as the recipient of the Spirit of Christ and as called by him to exist now in terms of the coming new age that has already been realised in Christ. The absolute demands of Jesus' imperatives, it is argued, must relativise all other interpretations of reality whilst the world, in turn, relativises Jesus' own definition of what 'is' and therefore also the injunctions to his disciples on how to live within this world. This process of radical relativisation provides a critical framework for Christian living. The church must expect, and do, the impossible within this world through her faith in Christ who recreates and redefines reality. The church's ethical task, it is further argued, is to participate with the Spirit in the construction of signs of this new reality in Christ in this world through her actions marked by faith, hope and love.

Ontology, Ethics, Applied Ontology, Applied Ethics, Faith, and 4 more

Publication Date: 2014

Publication Name: Verbum et Ecclesia

Theological education can no longer operate according to a modernistic epistemology if it is to equip students to minister in a postmodern world. This article explores the possibility of developing a theological epist... more abstractTheological education can no longer operate according to a modernistic epistemology if it is to equip students to minister in a postmodern world. This article explores the possibility of developing a theological epistemology which does not blindly reflect the presuppositions of either modernism or postmodernism. It is argued that the theological notions of faith, hope and love provide a unique approach to truth that frees theological epistemology from fideism, fundamentalism and triumphalism. Faith renders theological theories vulnerable to being challenged by experiences of lived-through reality and alternative interpretations of that reality, while hope sets truth within the context of critical transformational actions based on relational commitments marked by love. A meta-theoretical model for theological education is constructed to indicate how this epistemological approach may be realized in educational praxis.

Epistemology, Theological Education, Theological Epistemology, and Fideism

Publication Date: May 2013

Publication Name: Journal of Adult Theological Education

Irrevocably singular: Baptism as a symbol of unity in the church. In this article I conduct a phenomenological analysis of the concept ‘one baptism’ in Ephesians 4:4−6. Such an analysis seeks to reveal the essence o... more abstractIrrevocably singular: Baptism as a symbol of unity in the church. In this article I conduct a phenomenological analysis of the concept ‘one baptism’ in Ephesians 4:4−6. Such an analysis seeks to reveal the essence of a particular concept by bracketing out the theological and ideological presuppositions usually associated with it. The essential concept is then expanded by linking it to the terms most closely surrounding it in the text. A critical theological reflection on the expanded concept shows that ‘one baptism’ refers to an event by which believers are inducted, once and for all, into the church as the one body of the one Lord, Jesus Christ. The church exists through the presence of the one Spirit who binds believers in an unbreakable bond of love to God and to each other. Because baptism can never be undone or repeated, any liturgical act depicted as a ‘re-baptism’ is, by definition, impossible. This means that churches that baptise the children of believing parents are able to accommodate requests from people who, having been baptised as an infant, in later life wish to celebrate and testify to some significant milestone in their spiritual journey by means of an official church ritual. Such ritualised testimonies, however, refer to the existential lifeworld of believers (their repentance, confession of faith etc.) and are distinct from baptism that refers to the singular eschatological work of Christ and thus cannot be repeated. The church should, however, take pastoral care to ensure that people do not substitute their own spiritual experiences for the reality of salvation that is founded on the singular act of God, for us once and for all in Christ, to which baptism irrevocably refers.

Christianity, Theology, Poetry, Baptism, Infant Baptism, and 3 more

Publication Date: Jan 2013

Publication Name: HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

The command to pray invites believers to critically engage with their broken reality with a view of transforming it in the light of the new reality in which they participate in Christ. Practical theology, operating in... more abstractThe command to pray invites believers to critically engage with their broken reality with a view of transforming it in the light of the new reality in which they participate in Christ. Practical theology, operating in the context of the bi-polar and tense relationship between theory and praxis, should be expanded to accommodate prayer as the inner mode of its operations to embrace the existential dimension of the faith praxis, instead of simply limiting itself to a socio-scientific empirically based descriptive paradigm. This implies that practical theology has to be embedded within the church as the domain of faith. Prayer, understood within the context of practical theology, offers a critique of theological theories that do not adequately address the implications for God, the world and believers inherent in the new anthropological status that the invitation to pray confers on those who pray. Prayer also critiques the existing praxis in three ways: it is, firstly, a transformational act in itself; it, secondly, acknowledges its own inadequacy to accomplish the needed transformation and is thus able to critique its own methodologies and practices; and, thirdly, it continues to hope for the transformation of the existing praxis based on the promise of the presence of God in and through the Spirit of Christ in the church. In looking beyond the existing praxis to God, believers are called to continually work and pray for signs of the coming Kingdom to be realised within their world. (English)

Prayer, Faith, Church, Kingdom of God, Faith and Reason, and 1 more

Publication Date: Oct 2012

Publication Name: International Journal of Practical Theology

When do we encounter God in the Pauline imperatives, or when is it Paul, the man of his times, that we are dealing with? This article develops a model to help us determine the reach of the imperatives into our socio... more abstractWhen do we encounter God in the Pauline imperatives, or when is it Paul, the man of his times, that we are dealing with? This article develops a model to help us determine the reach of the imperatives into our socio-cultural context today. The imperatives are shown to be more than ad hoc injunctions but, rather, legitimate expressions of the new symbolic world in which both Paul and believers participate by faith. The imperatives carry an illocutionary force which relies on such a shared symbolic world. By analysing Paul’s imperatives in terms of this symbolic world it is clear that he, at times, simply accepted the dominant cultural interpretation of reality of his day at the cost of limiting the expression of his symbolic world. At other times he modified the dominant cultural interpretation by calling believers to act contra-culturally in the light of the gospel’s new interpretation of reality. There are also instances where Paul directly rejects certain aspects of the culture of the day in the light of the symbolic world. Paul’s flexibility to develop a variety of responses towards the dominant culture of his day in the light of the indicatives of the gospel message provides an important key to developing a model to determine ‘if?’, ‘when?’ and ‘how?’, to apply the imperatives into our context today.

Theology, Socio-cultural theory, Apostle Paul and the Pauline Letters, Symbolism (Religion), and Pauline Theology

Journal Name: Verbum et Exxclessia

Publication Date: 2011