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By reflecting on sexuality, gender and gender roles, this article compared the contributions of two sources: one from the medical sciences and one from theology. These publications paved the way for an informed theological reflection on the ministry of people from an LGBT orientation. The motivation for this article was McHugh and Mayer’s statement that science offers limited answers to gender matters and that help should be sought from the humanities. The interdisciplinary nature of the research challenged us to consider non-theological data and to formulate our theological convictions better. An integrative literature review was used as research method and key research concepts included sex, gender and what influences these predispositions. The findings were analysed and synthesised and presented in a way that posed new questions for future research. It encouraged us to make informed decisions when offering theological responses to sex and gender. The inability of the natural sciences to identify causative factors of gender confusion opened the door to the humanities. It afforded theology an opportunity to engage with other sciences while addressing sex and gender from a faith perspective. This article presented a broad multi-disciplinary understanding of gender and sexual orientation and paved the way for theological reflection that is scientifically sound. Shifting our focus from causative to environmental factors in gender research was a profitable endeavour. Our first responsibility as religious practitioners is not to protect truth and condemn behaviour at the cost of people, but to liberate people to share in the fulness of life. Contribution: This article promoted collaboration between theology and the natural sciences on matters of gender and sexual orientation. It was found that there is room for theology to investigate the role that environmental factors play in this regard. This approach corresponds with the aim of In die Skriflig / In Luce Verbi to promote multi-disciplinary research where religious studies engage with social sciences, human sciences, or even natural sciences.

Within an academic environment and context of higher education, the question of disciplinary differentiation and research methodology are burning issues to adhere to the quest for scientific and sound epistemological based knowledge. While dealing with the dual tension: wisdom (sapientia) and reason (scientia), it is difficult for practical theology to identify and maintain its theological character. Under the pressure of human sciences, research in practical theology tends to turn to phenomenology so to gain clarity on the philosophical framework or paradigm for performing research projects in a systematic and methodological way. In this regard, existential phenomenology probes into the meta-realm of meaning-giving; it describes the frailty of life in terms of being (Dasein) as exposed to anxiety, dread, despair and fear of death. Due to the demand for empirical research, the threat of empiricism and the danger of Platonification (the ‘causation trap’) is discussed. To maintain both its spiritual-theological character (ministerial and ecclesial context), and its relevancy for the dynamics of life events (contextuality), a ‘spiritual empiricism’ is proposed by means of a praxis of practical theological verbing, namely understanding and interpreting, communicating and verbalising, acting, hoping, imagining, seeing, beautifying and living. It is argued that the notion ‘praxis of God’ could serve as theological paradigm in theory formation. The passio Dei is both a spiritual matter and existential-experiential entity within the encounter of God–human beings. It refers to both the reason or logic of God (ḥesed) and the wisdom of grace (compassion).

There are increasing calls for academics to abandon "traditional" disciplinary research and to engage in multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research. The argument is that this will serve to break down working in "silos" and somehow lead to more innovative research. This article examines the concepts of multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research to determine if this kind of research is possible in legal research. The basic premise is that science is unified by the need for some kind of justification, arguably in the form of falsifiability of theories. But science is also divided into natural, social and human sciences and this article argues that this division is based on methodological differences. Whilst the natural sciences employ a mostly empiricist methodology and the human sciences employ a mostly rationalist methodology, the social sciences seem to employ a mixture of the two methodologies. Law is a human science and moreover a professional discipline. Some argue that this professional nature militates against multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary (MIT) research as it requires law students to be taught how to "think like a lawyer". The article concludes that most law researchers engage in multidisciplinary research on a regular basis, but that interdisciplinary research is highly unlikely and transdisciplinary research almost never happens.Keywords: Philosophy of science; Multidisciplinary research; Interdisciplinary research; Transdisciplinary research; Methodology

This paper draws on the work of Michel Foucault in order to sketch a preliminary genealogy of the practice of confession in the twentieth century. The essay argues that confession has undergone major transformations, not only from a chiefly religious to a secular practice, hut to a form of psychologised self-knowledge productively typical of knowledge itself in post-Kantian modernity. In other words, we argue that confession has become diffused through knowledge practices such that it becomes imperative to confess to a particular style or use of language in the pursuit of such knowledge. The confession of a style in language thus becomes a prerequisite for such knowledge, or the inability to arrive at it. We investigate the phenomenon in the examples of the ‘factional’ literature of Norman Mailer, and the human science of ethnography.

This book is the second in the new series of works edited and published by the Institute for Historical Research of the Human Sciences Research Council under direction of Dr C. M. Bakkes. The first book, Die Dagboek van H. C. Bredell, cast new light on President Kruger's years in exile; in the new publication some insight is given into the tensions and struggles in the mind of the writer, who orginally fought with the Boers but later went over to the British and actively supported them as a National Scout.

About 20 years ago the HSRC (Human Sciences Research Council) conducted an empirical investigation on the singing of psalms in three Afrikaans reformed churches. Vos and M�ller (1990) dealt with different aspects of this investigation, especially the questions of which melodies are sung in the churches, what the frequency of the use of the different psalms is, the way in which new songs are introduced, the situation in the different churches and the influence of church attendance on the love of the psalms. In an investigation undertaken in 2008 (Van Rooy 2009) these matters were investigated in the Reformed Churches in South Africa, a denomiation that introduced a new hymnal in 2003. The comparison of the two investigations revealed that the number of favourite psalms and the same psalms remained fairly constant. The acceptance of new hymns is related to a number of factors, especially the melody and the liturgical usefulness of the new hymns. The new metrical version of the psalms is still not used very frequently in the Reformed Churches in South Africa. This can partly be ascribed to the lack of structured programmes to learn the new hymns.

Indrukwekkende studie van Suid-Afrika se Schaborts.: Schabort familiegeskiedenis 1500 – 2000 / Schabort family history 1500-200 Piet en Peet Schabort, ISBN 0620275464. This a Book Review of Private publikasie, Johannesburg, Eerste uitgawe (ook kennisname van jongste Engelse vertaling), 2001. Posbus 95268 Emmarentia 2029.

This review article places Van Niekerk's book in the context of the current debate on rationality and relativism. The most important challenge which emerges from this debate is to develop a conception of rationality which neither reverts to an a-historical foundational ism nor succumbs to the temptation of relativism. Van Niekerk responds to this challenge by developing a hermeneutical model of rationality for the human sciences. My discussion of Van Niekerk’s book highlights his critique of relativism and his efforts to reconcile rationality and historicity. In evaluating his arguments for this reconciliation, I come to the conclusion that his efforts are beset by unresolved tensions.

The first technological revolution, in the fourth millennium BC, was followed by immense social progress. The second revolution, which is now taking place, could lead to an even greater development in the human sciences, by setting men free from their daily struggle for existence while simultaneously exacting high social standards. Natural law - the “marriage between the ways of heaven and the ways of earth” of the Chinese - represents a route to such progress. In natural science and technology, natural law demands that conclusions be based on observation rather than speculation. The social sciences would do well to follow this example.

Paradigms and progress in theology: A perspective on the HRSC conference of April 1988 The title refers to a conference believed to be the first interdisciplinary meeting on said theme in South Africa held under the auspices of the South African Human Sciences Research Council in Pretoria last year. Future developments in this field may prove it a major happening in South African theology and methodology yet. An anthology of selected papers read appeared from the press recently. This article contains a number of abstracts made from the book and brief discussions of papers thus abstracted. A basic hesitancy pertaining to the meaning and encompass of the concept ‘paradigm’ as well as a widespread uncertainty regarding theology’s accountability towards science are noted. Fears of dimensional reduction are expressed.

PS Dreyer: Beacons on the path of science Professor PS Dreyer is an academic who has shown insight and vision into several problems of the human sciences since 1951. He has identified problems, but also contributed solutions to them. In this respect his philosophy on causality and freedom is of utmost importance. The same applies to his investigations into the relationship history-Christianity as well as the unity of sciences and how the concepts scientific, unscientic and nonscientific are related to one another. His contribution to the understanding of Greek philosophy should be of significance for time to come. Two milestones could be distinguished: Dreyer's particular solution to the problem of the criterion on truth, viz meaningfulness and his notion of the knowledge of values in ethics by valuation in contradistinction to knowledge through feeling, reason and will.