Research Articles (Dogmatics and Christian Ethics)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/2561

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Now showing 1 - 20 of 482

At the heart of our life's stories lies the heart : on making (fictional) sense of reality
Veldsman, Daniel Petrus (Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2026-04-09)
In our multifarious (contextual) ways of making sense of reality as embodied personhood, lies the heart: an embodied heart. From a powerful historical and multi-disciplinary exploration of the metaphoric significance of the “heart” and its constitutive fictional role in making sense of our realities, my article argues for a broader and life-affirming understanding of a model of rationality, shaped and constrained by our evolutionary biological makeup and our cognitive-affective ways in relating to, experiencing and engaging with our realities. It’s not an argumentative plea for irrationality, but for a deeper and broader multi-disciplinary pursuit for the understanding of the manners in which being human as personhood finds clues in our linguistic traditions in the context of theology-science discourses for (wholeheartedly) making sense of reality, and the contextual capturing of the meaningfulness of life.
Doxastic and epistemological justification of religious beliefs in a secular age
Antombikums, Aku Stephen (AOSIS, 2025-05-09)
Although most of the world today is religious, there has always been resentment against religious beliefs, given that they are thought not to be empirically verifiable. This article examines the doxastic justification of religious belief. The article focusses on the question of whether faith can be epistemically justified in a secular age where scepticism towards religious claims is prevalent. The article draws insight from contemporary epistemological theories of justification to investigate if religious beliefs are rationally and logically viable today. To do this, the article argues that faith is a belief-forming process which is first internalised before it is practised. Further, it argues that belief has a practical relevance in daily living. Furthermore, the article argues that religious beliefs can be epistemically justified because experience can be considered evidence. In the end, the article concludes that to be epistemologically unjustifiable, the internal witnesses of a religious belief must contradict its praxis. CONTRIBUTION : This article contributes to the ongoing debate by arguing that rather than placing the burden of proof on the religious worshipper to epistemically justify their beliefs, the evidentialists and contemporary critics of Christianity have the burden of proof for their claims against the Christian religious beliefs.
Divine aseity and the paradox of divine self-limitation
Antombikums, Aku Stephen (AOSIS, 2025-01-16)
This article explores the paradox between the classical doctrine of divine aseity and the notion of divine self-limitation. Drawing from biblical narratives and theological concepts such as divine accommodation and kenosis, the article shows that God’s choice to enter into a temporal and relational interaction with creation affects God in such a way that God would not have been affected without the creation. Given the foregoing, open and relational theists conceptualised the notion of divine self-limitation in which, as a result of the creation and human libertarian freedom, God cannot maximally exemplify his great-making properties upheld in traditional theism. I argued in this article that although God seems to become vulnerable because of the act of creation, He nevertheless remains a se because He is not only the source of his existence, but the creation of significant others could not cause God to lose his essential attribute of independence. Therefore, God is still omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, immutable and the like because the possession of these divine attributes does not rule out the possibility that God can enter into a temporal relationship with the creatures. Divine self-limitation predicates real limitations of God contrary to the negating language of the Scripture and, therefore, undermines God’s Almightiness. CONTRIBUTION : It is argued in this article that although it may be possible to speak about God’s vulnerability because of his act of creation, which seems like a hard choice because He is omniscient, a weaker version of divine aseity that ascribes real limitations to God is not viable.
From dominion to communion : theology as an interlocutor towards planetary well-being
Buitendag, Johan (AOSIS, 2026-04-13)
This article advances an integral eco-theology by incorporating two major normative developments of 2025 – the Conference of the Parties (COP) COP30 outcomes in Belém and the Earth Charter+25 renewal – into a coherent theological response to the climate emergency. Building on my earlier integration of Pope Francis’s integral ecology and Ken Wilber’s ‘all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all states, and all types’ (AQAL) framework, theology is reconceived as a holistic engagement with reality across subjective, cultural, behavioural and systemic dimensions. This exposes the limits of anthropocentric dominion and opens a path towards kenotic communion with the community of life. A dialectical approach rooted in diastasis sustains creative tension without dissolving differences, allowing true transversal dialogue. Within this framework, the Belém Political Package is evaluated for its progress in adaptation finance and just transition mechanisms, as well as for its shortcomings in achieving a fossil fuel phase-out. Earth Charter+25 presents a renewed moral horizon focused on ecological integrity and intergenerational responsibility. CONTRIBUTION : By holding COP30’s policy trajectory and Earth Charter+25’s ethical vision in diastatic tension, the article provides a publicly accountable theological framework for Christian praxis, in which degrowth and rewilding function as normative expressions of ecodomy.
In the beginning was the work : Donald MacKinnon's metaphysics after Lenin
Delport, Khegan M.; Demjaha, Dritero (Wiley, 2026-01)
Donald MacKinnon expressed a distinctly realist and actualist metaphysic. One aspect of his metaphysics that is less frequently commented upon, however, is his reception of Vladimir Lenin. While not an unqualified admirer of Bolshevism, it is readily apparent that MacKinnon incorporated elements of Lenin’s philosophy and theories regarding practice into his critique of idealism and his Christology also. Beginning with the writings of Lenin himself, and tracing this influence throughout MacKinnon’s oeuvre, we give the most expansive treatment to date of MacKinnon’s reception of Lenin, showing that there is a coherency in his reception of Lenin with his philosophical realism and actualist metaphysics more generally. This can be seen especially in the way that he reads Leninist philosophical tactics as a variety of metaphysical actualism, insofar as revolutionary agency and freedom may exceed reductionist accounts of historical causality or spiritual idealisation. The burgeoning forth of new options and circumstances as a result of revolutionary action, coupled with his belief in the primacy of resurrection, hereby undermines any pseudo-tragic or culturally pessimistic reading of MacKinnon’s trajectory.
The Lord of limits : on Trinitarian ontology and the tragic
Delport, Khegan M. (Wiley, 2025-10)
The essay focuses on a dimension of the trinitarian metaphysics of Rowan Williams. It aims to articulate his understanding of the ontological implications of the Trinity, particularly in relation to his theological leitmotif of the tragic, and has a reparative focus of easing some of the tensions that may arise in such relating. The argument brings focus on the interconnections between trinitarian identity-in-difference and creaturely finitude, showing that Williams's trinitarian ontology articulates a model of metaphysical analogy in which creaturely limit and externality is grounded in the distinction of the Father and the Son, in a trinitarian circulation of dispossession and reception. This trinitarian movement of giving and receiving forms the principle of created finitude and contingency, exemplified in the experience of “distance” between the crucified Son and the Father. However, this hypostatic distinction is supplemented by a movement of generativity in which self-expenditure is not the mutual annihilation of the dyad of Father and Son, but always already a donation of identity-in-otherness in which there is no divine “individuality” prior to relation. Moreover, intratrinitarian love is not merely an erotic movement of self-fulfilment in the other, but a desire for the desire of the other, a ‘deflection’ to the other of the other. In the trinitarian logic, this other is conceived as the personal hypostasis of Holy Spirit. Hereby, Williams sustains a grammar of trinitarian aseity while also giving a grounding for finitude within the intratrinitarian difference in which creatures are incorporated, through the Spirit, into the eternal kenosis of the Son.
A grammar of trinitarian experience? On Sarah Coakley’s théologie totale
Delport, Khegan M. (AOSIS, 2024-12-12)
The Anglican theologian Sarah Coakley has attempted to think trinitarian doctrine in explicitly experiential terms. Her erotically-charged, pneumatically-centred account of salvific incorporation attempts to articulate, on the one hand, an account of the purgation of desire and the senses through ascetic practice, contemplative prayer and liturgical habituation, while also maintaining, on the other hand, the priority of spiritual appetition as being itself the route through which believers are, gradually, drawn into the trinitarian life. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS :: The study makes a contribution by critically articulating an aspect of Coakley’s ‘théologie totale’, a new proposal for the method of systematic and dogmatic theology, one that is centrally focused on bringing in a wider interdisciplinary focus to the practice of systematic theology.
A political theology for the Ghanaian context from Christ's perspective
Boaheng, Isaac (AOSIS, 2024-05-31)
One of the key challenges facing contemporary Ghana is ineffective political structures and leadership. Leadership failure is the main reason why Ghana continues to experience socio-economic challenges such as poverty, hunger, poor education system, poor road networks, injustice, high unemployment rate, human right abuse, and local currency depreciation despite the country’s vast natural resources. Ghana’s socio-economic problems continue to attract scholarly attention and yet, the problems persist. As a predominantly Christian nation, the church has a major responsibility to engage the country’s political space by analysing and scrutinising political structures with the effect of chatting a new path of socio-economic and political developments. This research was, therefore, conducted to contribute to the ongoing discussion by exploring how a contextual application of political and leadership lessons embedded in Jesus’s teaching in Mark 10:35–45 might address the Ghana’s political needs. The article is a qualitative research that analysed data collected from books, Bible commentaries, journal articles, and dissertations. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/ INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : This research involves systematic and/or political theology, New Testament studies, and leadership and/or governance. It argues that for Ghana to overcome her political challenges, leadership must be seen as a position of service rather than an opportunity to amass wealth at the expense of others. The article contributes to the field of political theology in the Ghanaian setting.
A holistic ubuntu artificial intelligence ethics approach in South Africa
Mokoena, Katleho Karabo (AOSIS, 2024-05)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most spoken-about topics in the media, academia, government and other platforms. One of the aspects that is often discussed is the ethical implications of AI and approaches to mitigate the risks. Artificial intelligence has an undeniable impact on industries as well as socio-economic structures; however, this article focusses on the impact of AI on three concerns mainly, humanity, spirituality and the environment. This article is an interdisciplinary study of African theological ethics and the philosophy of technology. It discusses the theological implications (doctrinal issues) of emerging technologies, particularly AI. It discusses technology as power which has impacted Africa since the first industrial revolution and emphasises the importance of African ethics in the context of AI in Africa. This article critically discusses ubuntu ethics and its critique. It focuses on AI and its impact on humanity, spirituality and the environment, and proposes a holistic ubuntu AI ethics approach in South Africa. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/ INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : This article is an interdisciplinary study of African theological ethics and the philosophy of technology. Ubuntu ethics in this article derives from African Theology and African Philosophy. Ubuntu AI ethics is important for various disciplines such as theology, law, social sciences, computer sciences and information technology (especially designers and developers).
Kerklike tug : verleentheid of nuwe geleentheid?
Van der Merwe, J.M. (Johan Matthys); Van Graan, Bianca R. (AOSIS, 2024-05-10)
In 2004, 2007 and 2011 the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church decided that the way in which church discipline functions in the church, should be researched and investigated. This article is based on the doctoral study of the co-author, who tragically died of COVID-19 during the pandemic of 2020-2021. She investigated the development of church discipline in the Dutch Reformed Church from 1652 to the present day, to determine why church discipline has become an embarrassment to the church. This article is based on a part of the outcome of her research. The article discusses the purpose, nature of and need for church discipline, and states that the way in which members of the church understand discipline in the church, should change. The authors emphasise that church discipline must be built on the foundation of brotherly love within the framework of tolerant care. This will not only help to change the understanding of informal and formal church discipline but will also challenge the church to create a safe space for confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation. By doing so, church discipline as tolerant care will become part of the spiritual journey of members of the church. As such, it will change from being an embarrassment to becoming a huge opportunity for spiritual growth. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The article focuses on church discipline as tolerant care. In doing so, church discipline does not only function as part of the study field of Church Polity, but it also incorporates Practical Theology. The most important implication is that discipline is understood as care.
Evolving belief and being human : the emergence of religion in science and theology
Serfontein, Bernice (AOSIS, 2024-05-31)
Every human society as well as almost all human life is infused with ethics. There is common acknowledgement that morality and ethics are indispensable in addressing the serious global challenges humanity is faced with today. However, we seemed to have lost our grip on what morality is. How do we best understand human morality and ethics? This research argues that responsible ethics rests on a credible understanding of what it means to be human. The following exploration of the emergence of religion within the science and religion discourse formed part of a series of three seminars that have as their main objective to address a giant void regarding ethical and moral reflection within our society. This research was part of the discourse of the first seminar with the following main research question: What do we learn from the empirical study of morality (in the evolutionary sciences, the neurosciences, cultural anthropology, sociology, and moral psychology) about the sources, functions and characteristics of morality, and its relation to religion? This study offers an exploration of our capacity for religious awareness and belief against the background of niche construction theory. The capacity for imagination seems to have contributed to human evolutionary success and consequently our religious disposition. This transdisciplinary study combines perspectives of some of the most prominent interlocutors in the contemporary discourse on the emergence of religious awareness. By integrating the numerous perspectives evident in this study, this research explores how evolutionary thought can be constructively appropriated to interdisciplinary theology and ethics. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : This article explores the origin of religious awareness and belief as part of a larger discourse on morality in history. The interdisciplinary conversation covers the fields of evolutionary anthropology and theology within the contemporary science-theology discourses.
Consonance precipitates collaboration : the role of faith-based organisations in policymaking for environmental protection
Buitendag, Johan; Puglisi, Antonino (University of Stellenbosch, 2024)
The dialogue between science and religion, aiming for collaboration, not conflict, is crucial in addressing global crises like climate change. Both sides recognise each other's presuppositions without trying to impose beliefs on the other. The anatheistic approach, which suggests working together regardless of dogmatic belief in God to address mutual threats and find solutions for the planet, is a prime example. This inclusive, synergistic approach involving science and religion is not just a theoretical concept but a practical necessity for comprehensively addressing ecological challenges. It is not enough to discuss these issues in theory. Action is urgently needed. We must engage all stakeholders, including international bodies, in this approach. Faith-based organisations (FBOs) have a significant role in addressing environmental issues. Their unique perspective and resources can contribute to the development of effective policies. Integrating scientific evidence with beliefs and values is essential when making policies on issues like climate change.
Reconfiguring a theological-spiritual vocabulary about death : mysticism, magic, and the case of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore
Van Wyk, Tanya (University of the Free State, Faculty of Theology, 2025-06)
Even to the most casual reader, J.K. Rowling’s overarching story about the “Boy who lived” is about death. Since the publication of the first book of the Harry Potter series in 1997, theologians and scholars of philosophy of religion have explored this theme within the story, as well as other eschatological related themes in the series. This article explores the topic of death in the Harry Potter series within the fields of Christian spirituality and eschatology and builds on previous research in this regard. The article focuses on the nature of Christian religious language about death, using Evelyn Underhill’s approach to mysticism and Jurgen Moltmann’s “personal eschatology”. The purpose is to indicate how the approaches to death of two main characters – Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore – could contribute to a theological-spiritual vocabulary about death, and therefore to a Christian eschatology.
On missional leadership : a critical engagement with Nelus Niemandt
Veldsman, Daniel Petrus (AOSIS, 2025-05)
In my engagement with Nelus Niemandt, I will primarily focus on his most recent and major book Missional Leadership in which he seeks to develop an appropriate leadership model for missional churches. The core of his academically influential viewpoint on missiological leadership within the South African context will be briefly shared at first, followed by a discussion of only one specific aspect of his model for missiological leadership, namely the contours of the anthropological model that he works with or implicitly presumes with regard to theological reflection. Given the insights from contemporary philosophy of science and theology-science discourses, I will focus on and highlight the unavoidable danger of the total isolation of his theological reflection on missional leadership. Furthermore, it makes critical and meaningful dialogue with non-theological sciences impossible through the immunisation of theological reflection. And with regard to anthropology, one specific anthropological evolutionary implication (affectivity) will be presented lastly in a brief discussion of embodied personhood, coupled with the most important features that are already enriching and broadening in Nelus’ viewpoint on missiological leadership. INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The article represents a critical engagement with the proposed model for missional leadership in the field of missiology from contemporary discourses on evolutionary epistemology (philosophy of science), science-theology on human distinctiveness and embodied personhood as well as from systematic theology.
New wine into old wineskins : a theological reflection on police brutality in South Africa
Mokoena, Katleho Karabo (Africa Journals, 2024-01)
South Africa is one of the most violent countries in the world with different types of violence associated with crime, gender-based violence, and sexual violence amongst others. While the South African Police Service (SAPS) is supposed to protect the most vulnerable victims of violence in communities, they are also the perpetrators of violence in various forms of police brutality such as using excessive force and torture which leads to death in some cases. Police brutality is not a new phenomenon in South Africa; the South African Police (SAP) during apartheid was para-military and known for its brutality. It was transformed into SAPS in democratic South Africa to regard human dignity in policing. However, police brutality is still a major problem, especially towards the poor in society. This was also evident during the COVID-19 lockdown as South Africa was one of the top countries that had the most brutal lockdown enforcement in the world. This article provides a theological reflection on police brutality from the biblical text Mark 2:18-22 ‘…no one pours new wine into old wineskins…’ This article argues that the SAPS has not transformed regarding policing that upholds human dignity. It argues that SAPS is losing confidence in communities as wounds of the past are re-emerging. This article proposes Ubuntu in the SAPS for its transformation and emphasises collaborative efforts to combat police brutality, heal wounds, and restore human dignity.
Imago dei and soul : how to justify a special position of humans?
May, Andreas (Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Toraja, 2024-06)
Today, it is highly controversial in Western societies, that humans are made in the image of God (“imago Dei”). This article is looking for a unique feature of man that can justify his special position. The methodological approach consists of contrasting research results and social developments documented in current publications with modern theological and philosophical publications. Our intelligence and the fact that we are self-aware are no longer sufficient as a unique human feature, because biology, palaeoanthropology and computer technology call it into question. This article shows that the soul remains the unique feature of the human being. But often no clear distinction is made between the transcendent soul and the immanent mind. The article therefore emphasises that the soul is transcendent, eternal and a gift of God from transcendence. In order to achieve this, we must abandon the bipartition of man into body and soul and accept the tripartite division of man into body, mind and soul. The transcendence of the soul provides us with a justification for why humans and only humans are “imago Dei”. This gives us a basis for claiming the right of every human being for life and personal realisation.
Cry the beloved country? Revisiting Mamdani's South African moment through Chief Albert Luthuli's self-narrated alliance politics
Mushambi, Dambudzo Darlington; Van Wyk, Tanya (Routledge, 2025)
Mamdani posits that the nation-state, an institution inextricably linked to violence and exclusion, creates and politicizes racial and tribal identities, inscribing some as permanent majorities and others as minorities within the political community so constructed. Mamdani avers that in the “South African moment” in the 1970s and 1980s, South Africa decolonized the political by reconstituting the political community without reference to race. This article revisits Mamdani’s analysis through Chief Albert Luthuli’s autobiography Let My People Go, suggesting that the South African moment was birthed earlier than Mamdani argues. Autobiography, which is part of history-making, inscribes one’s personal identity and subjectivity, challenging imposed identities and implicating the lives of others by framing them as friends or strangers in the narrative. In this way, autobiographies create associations or distance between the self and others, resulting in entrenched or contested hierarchies, and the possibility of reconstructing or fabricating social realities and political communities.
Is embracing metaphysical determinism or free will a better response to suffering?
Antombikums, Aku Stephen (AOSIS, 2024-12-19)
Metaphysical determinism argues that God divinely predetermines everything, including human suffering. Contrary to metaphysical determinism, free will or libertarianism argues that not everything is predetermined by God. Therefore, evil does not serve any divine purpose. Libertarianism argues that metaphysical determinism is simply incoherent because it holds that God can predetermine an action and, at the same time, holds that He could stop such an action. This study seeks to find out which of these two views might be promising in responding to the problem of suffering. Contrary to these two positions, this study argues that suffering must be understood contextually. The above-stated responses do not always provide viable answers to the problem of suffering because they are often generalised and conceived from the God-eye view without considering the sufferers’ perspectives. CONTRIBUTION : Although there are a plethora of publications on metaphysical determinism and freewill, this study re-examined both and sheds a nuance for a further development of these two competing views. The article argues that none of these two responses offers the best response to the problem; rather, each has its strengths and weaknesses because they seem to focus on God rather than the sufferer.
Honouring Andries van Aarde : a journey of faith, justice, and inclusivity
Buitendag, Johan (AOSIS, 2024-12)
The passing of Andries van Aarde on Monday, 25 November 2024, marks a profound loss for the Church and the academic community. Born on 25 April 1951, Andries dedicated his life to pursuing theological understanding and promoting social justice.
Analytic philosophy and scriptural interpretations
Antombikums, Aku Stephen (AOSIS, 2024-10)
The task of interpreting the Holy Scriptures has been a daunting enterprise throughout the history of the Church. This article explores how analytic philosophy could be promising in biblical interpretation. Notwithstanding the suspicion related to analytic philosophy, this article argues that analytic philosophy could creatively aid the interpretation of the Holy Scripture. My interest is in how its focus on coherence and clarity of description could add force to making sense of the truth claims of the Bible. I argue that when used creatively, analytic philosophy holds excellent prospects for biblical interpretation, especially in distinguishing between the presupposition of the message of a Bible text and the presupposition of the interpreter. CONTRIBUTION: The article argues that the omission of the Hebrew Bible from academic discussion in fields like political philosophy or psychology and mainstream philosophy because it is considered a product of revelation that must not be approached using reasoning is a false dichotomy because, in the Scriptures, we find God inviting us to reasoning.

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