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The need to find clarity concerning (1) the relationship between scientific and religious cosmological discourses and (2) the imagining of a space where various religions could meet in fruitful conciliation as far as (1) is concerned, formed the basis of the article. The aim of the article was to investigate the relevance of Buddhaghosa’s Visuddhimagga (5th CE, Pali compendium of Theravāda Buddhism) with regard to the above problems. The methodology employed involved clarifying the historical context of the Visuddhimagga; understanding the subjective intentions of Buddhaghosa and extrapolating non-emphasised but promising underlying tendencies in his magnum opus, conducive to a perspective of ultimate, universal peace as far as Cosmos, all of humanity and its various religious discourses are concerned. The reading of the Visuddhimagga revealed a mythology of many deities, tolerated but demoted to a status lower than that of enlightened humans; the denial of a Creator God; no notion of an analogia entis between humans and a living Cosmos, nor any tendency towards pantheism and a commitment to the ideal of universal happiness for all beings. The main conclusion was that Theravāda Buddhism (and, to a lesser extent, Christian theology) could be extended towards the notion of a living, evolving Cosmos, appearing from and disappearing into non-substantial silence. It is not claimed that Buddhaghosa succeeded in achieving a great cosmology. It remains an unrealised possibility, latently possible as an extension of Theravāda. Contribution: The contribution of the article is that it uncovers deeply hidden lines in Buddhism (and Christianity) that are emerging and converging. ‘Theo-logy’, re-interpreted as mystical ‘cosmo-sophy’, would not amount to a cynical debunking or irresponsible annexation of Buddhaghosa for utterly unthinkable ends, but as a topic worthy of investigation. The article is part of work in progress.

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Some scholars have declared metamodernism to be postmodernism’s successor, and Afrikaans novelist Ingrid Winterbach’s work has been argued to be an example of this distinct move away from the postmodern paradigm. However, in this article I present the alternative interpretation that Winterbach’s play, Spyt (Regret), rather represents postmodernism’s inability to give way to its successor. An investigation from a postmodern perspective leads me to conclude that, in both the text and performance of this play (directed by Brink Scholtz), an escape from the postmodern paradigm entails the end of all representation. Winterbach reduces all of the characters’ endeavours to surfaces which become parodies. All their experiences are commodified and any attempt at uncovering a deeper meaning to life is undermined by ridicule. Winterbach furthermore draws attention to some of her characters’ limited vocabulary and reliance on English loanwords. This culminates in a powerful scene where the loanword ‘awesome’ is repeated to the extent that it becomes simultaneously meaningless and indispensable; a tension that she does not resolve. In addition, the crossing of the boundary between life and death, which has been described as postmodernism’s final frontier, is portrayed by relying on an obsolete narrative. The play therefore suggests a postmodern impasse, rather than a move towards a new paradigm. an a move towards a new paradigm.

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The focus of this article is the Sabbath commandment as it is expressed in Exod 20. A number of factors that contribute to its expression are examined: the place of the Decalogue in the life of Israel, the stipulations for proper Sabbath observance, and the reasoning and motivation that lie behind its keeping. Additionally, various facets of human life that mark the seventh day of creation are connected to specific terminology within the fourth commandment. The article concludes by arguing that the Sabbath commandment in Exodus, properly observed, is a picture of the seventh day of creation and that a desire to recover that situation motivates its keeping.

In this article, the nature of God’s rest in the first creation account is examined by describing what “rest” entailed for God. It is suggested that God’s notion “rest” emerges from the creational activity of the first six days, that it continues into the present time, and that it serves as a counterpoint to the notions of rest presented by other cultures of the ANE. It is also argued that, while God rested on the seventh day, humanity was busy with its appointed tasks of subduing the earth, exercising dominion, and expanding the borders of the garden as they multiply and fill the earth.

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In this article we provide a close reading of selected poems written during creative writing workshops at a drug rehabilitation centre. We argue that these poems expose some of the uncertainties and complexities that characterise the representation of identity in experiences of addiction and recovery. We show that the speakers in these poems attempt to imagine and represent their experiences in language through a number of structuring binaries. These binaries include those between the speaker’s experiences of active addiction and recovery, and the speaker’s personal experience versus societal expectations and perceptions. Our reading of these poems is informed by the clinical context in which they were written, and our analysis reflects the bifurcation that governs this liminal space. Individual agency in these different spheres is approached in a very tentative way, and the speakers in these poems are shown to have trouble envisioning the future at the same time as their pasts appear unsettled. We argue finally that while current discourses and vocabularies surrounding addiction seem incomplete and inadequate for the expression of some complex experiences, poetry provides a platform that accommodates ambivalence and a multiplicity of meanings.

This article explores the possibility of an alignment of (a) theology (understood as study concentrating on one faith from the faith suppositions of that faith) and (b) a study of world religions, open to all regardless of faith in the context of an encompassing theory. This article argues that far from undermining the dignity and value of any religion, (b) could add value to the theological study of any one religion. This article proceeds to develop a model for (b). Utilising a methodology revolving around the strategies of careful historical criticism, faithful intentional understanding and imaginative yet trustworthy tendentional interpretation, this article explores a model harmonising the key concepts of metaphysical mysticism (understood as the peak of religious aspiration), conditionality (emphasising the unique singularity of individual religions), totality (emphasising the religious landscape as one coherent whole) and horizon (emphasising the non-absoluteness of all religions, petering out on, and arising from, silence).

This article suggests a theoretical and methodological perspective primarily hinging on the categories of Horizon, Totality and conditionalism, with an outspoken mystical orientation, radically relativising yet simultaneously treasuring diverse religious expression. This model was developed with a view to interpreting the history of religions, in this case applied to the history of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria from 1917 to 2017. Utilising this perspective, the history of the faculty is analysed in terms of three qualitatively distinct yet continuous epochs, overlapping with the three epochs of South African history during the twentieth century: 1902–1948, 1948–1994 and 1994 to present. In particular the article focuses on two dimensions of theological existence at the University of Pretoria: firstly, its interaction with the state over this century, that is, its political existence during the decades prefiguring apartheid, during apartheid and during the aftermath of apartheid; secondly, its relationship with the wider world of religious pluralism over the past century, implying its notion of religious truth. Differences of emphasis and conflicts during the century, involving both sets of problems, are explained and understood conditionalistically and with reference to Totality and Horizon. Racial exclusion and religious exclusion are understood as mutually determining and are both informed by and dependent on a certain view of religious truth. In the context of its own ambit this article has a reconciliatory intention, not evaluating the mistakes of the past in terms of the categories of sin and guilt, but rather in terms of tragic misjudgements of situations: shortcomings in historical hindsight, sufficiently wide peripheral vision, realistic foresight and sufficient insight into the epochal conditions of the times and the essence of religion. Greed and hatred, seemingly ingrained in human nature, are taken to feed on such lack of insight.

‘Have you but one blessing?’: Peace as overflow of blessings in Genesis 12–50. A theme often overlooked in the patriarchal history (Gn 12–50) is the blessings bestowed on individuals outside the covenantal lineage, for example Ishmael and Esau. This article considers how blessings, promised to the patriarchs, also brought peace and benefits to individuals who were assimilated into the covenant as well as to divarications of the covenantal lineage, and to individuals with whom the patriarchs interacted in civil society. Blessings, promised to Abraham’s descendants, had a spiralling effect and universal tendency.

According to the blurb from Time on the cover of The Shadow of the Hummingbird, Athol Fugard is “the greatest living playwright in the English-speaking world.” Indeed, Fugard does have an impressive oeuvre, acknowledged especially for his works like Nongogo (1959), Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act (1972), and My Children! My Africa! (1989) which sharply criticize the apartheid regime.

Jesus’ table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners: aspects of a missional ecclesiology Christian churches with a historically powerful socio-cultural presence often have to adjust to a new marginalised and disempowered existence, stripped of influence in an increasingly secular society dominated by postmodern values. Many churches view this as a threat, and attempt to protect themselves through strengthening of the boundaries between them and the surrounding community, citing the holiness of the church as reason. This results in isolated and exclusive faith communities with no missionary identity, and a split between ecclesiology and missiology. This article proposes that Jesus’ table fellowship with tax collectors and sinners provides a motif for restating a missional ecclesiology. Jesus defined his identity as the Holy One of God by removal of boundaries and an inclusive seeking out of the marginalised in the society of his time. He shaped a new community of God’s people among them. Likewise, a missional church will understand her holiness not as separation from the world, but as service to God’s redemptive purposes, and will devote herself to inviting vulnerability and redemptive entering into the lives of others similar to the incarnation of the Son of God. This will result in the conscious social relocation of the church to the disempowered margins of society, as a sign of the eschatological community of Christ that He continues to gather around Himself in the present.

The author spoke in August 2010 in Potchefstroom, giving an expert exposition of the Canadian law on the restructuring of insolvent corporations in Canada.

The rule of law as a foundational constitutional value constrains the exercise of public power but the precise limits of the constraints it sets are not well defined. In Masethla v President of the Republic of South Africa 2008 1 BCLR 1 (CC), the majority of the Constitutional Court opted for an interpretation of this value that frees the President from adherence to the demands of procedural fairness when exercising certain constitutional powers. This note will investigate the soundness of that interpretation against the background of theoretical expositions of the rule of law and earlier Constitutional Court judgments.

From animosity to reconciliation: Colossians as narrative of cosmologic migration Ethical discussion concerning the phenomenon of animosity can gain a lot in depth and effectiveness if a strategy is followed of uncovering the cosmological narratives on which worldviews are based. Each worldview generates its own ethical system on the basis of fundamental metaphysical matrices in the form of cosmological narratives. In this article, the letter to the Colos- sians is used to demonstrate how a cosmological narrative of cosmic estrangement results in an ethic of animosity, while a cosmological narrative of reconciliation in Christ results in an ethic of peace and reconciliation. Three cosmological narratives are compared for this purpose: a popular pagan, a Jewish apo- calyptic mystical and a Christ-centred cosmological narrative are read together. In this way it is demonstrated that a new ethic – which ends the common animosity of our world – is only possible if a cosmic migration occurs, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In the discussion, the church will play a prominent role as exem- plary community of the new creation, because it is in the church that the peace of Christ, the result of his victory over the powers, rules over and in people, in this way establishing new relationships of peace and justice.

The historic reformed confessions are sometimes blamed for the apparent lack of missionary zeal among churches of the RCSA, and called an embarrassment to the church. This article investigates these allegations and attempts a missionary read- ing of the confessions. Because of the specific focus of the con- fessions, they should not be expected to give guidance on the whole life of the church. However, careful reading of the creeds does offer a surprisingly abundant missionary harvest. They offer both the foundations and the limits for mission, and in defining the identity of Christians, also define the missionary identity of the church. As the community of fellowship with Christ, the church is both a unique instrument in the “missio Dei” and the end objective of mission (mission as church plant- ing). Creeds offer beautiful expositions of the loving, fellowship- seeking heart of God who has not given up on fallen humanity, but who continues to call people to fellowship with Him in his self-revelation in creation, Scripture and the incarnation of the Son. Surprisingly, it is the Canons of Dordt (2.5) which offers the only explicit call to mission in the three creeds!

The place of Empedocles in metaphysical-mystical tradition This article argues that Empedocles was more than a pre-Socratic philosopher. His thinking was also essentially mystical and should be situated on a large map of metaphysical-mystical continuities with the following dimensions: A historically discernable cultural and religious pool, encompassing not only South-Eastern Europe, Asia Minor and Mediterranean Africa, but also the north-eastern Eurasian shamanic tradition, and India; an historically largely inaccesible esoteric tradition; a set of structural elements of the human psyche, running under and across historical religions through time; and the development of a new convergence of previously historically unconnected mystical traditions in the social and cultural circumstances of today. In particular, the article investigates similarities and differences between Empedocles and Indian (specifically Buddhist) views on various issues, such as the four roots and the cyclical dialectic of love and strife. In that context the article notes the remarkable interpretation of Empedocles by Peter Kingsley which seems to draw Empedocles closer to Buddhism, but without explicating this implication of his reception.

Genesis 3:15 is ’n crux interpretum met uiteenlopende verklarings. Hierdie artikel fokus op verklarings wat Suid-Afrikaanse Skrifverklaarders van die teks gee en plaas sodanige verklarings binne verskillende rasionaliteitsmodelle. Verklarings van die teks berus dikwels eerder op keuses vir ’n bepaalde verstaansmodel as op die noukeurige lees van die teks. Genesis 3:15 dui op sigself nie op Jesus Christus nie, maar binne ’n bepaalde rasionaliteitsmodel is dit geldig om die teks as moederbelofte (protevangelium) te beskou. Genesis 3:15 in South African context. Genesis 3:15 is a crux interpretum that lends itself to diverse interpretations. The focus of this article is the interpretations of this text offered by South African scholars. The article views these interpretations against the background of various models of rationality. Interpretations of this text are more likely to be determined by the interpreter’s preferred model of understanding, than to be determined by a mere close reading of the text. Genesis 3:15 in itself does not point to Jesus Christ, but within a specifi model of rationality it is valid to regard the text as a foundational promise of salvation (protevangelium).

The influence of the Second War of Independence (1899-1902) on the Theological Seminary of Burgersdorp In this article the reasons for the War are pinpointed as England’s imperialism and the underlying motif of getting hold of the riches and gold of the ZAR. At the outbreak of the War the students and lecturers of the Burgersdorp Theological Seminary, as most Boers in the Cape Colony, had to make a decisive choice: loyalty to the Government of the Cape Colony or to their fellow kinsmen in the North (and thus siding with the latter). Varying facets of the war-torn situation are touched upon in this article: the lecturers were for example accused of treason but acquitted. The outcome of the 30 students’ situation, however, differed. Those students origally from the northern Republics returned home to join their commandos. Some of these students were taken prisoners of war. Most of the Cape students showed their solidarity with their northern compatriots by joining the Ambulance Corps. Three students and two former students eventually died (one was the son of Prof. Lion Cachet). In honour of these students a monument was erected in 1906. Only one student and three former students were rebels, as far as is presently known. At a later stage three students were able to continue their studies in the Netherlands. Two of these, J.D. du Toit and F. Postma, later returned to South Africa and committed their lives to the Theological Seminary at Potchefstroom and the Potchefstroom University for CHE.

Hierdie uitgawe van In die Skriflig bevat agt uiteenlopende artikels in die sin dat die artikels nie uit ’n bepaalde navorsingsprojek voortspruit nie. Tog kan die artikels in drie groepe verdeel word.

Aan die einde van 2002 het prof. Fika Janse van Rensburg die tuig as redakteur van In die Skriflig neergelê. Hierdie uitgawe word ingelei deur ’n kort waarderingswoord. Dankie aan Fika dat hy In die Skriflig uitgebou het tot ’n tydskrif om op trots te wees.

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In die vorming van ons voorouers se lewensbeskouing het die tydsomstandighede en die literatuur van die tyd 'n deurslaggewende rol gespeel. Dit is vandag nie meer moonllik nie om vas te stel tot welke mate Jan van Riebeeck en sy tydgenote wat aan die begin van die tweede helfte van die 17de eeu die Kaapse volksplanting gestig het, bewuste draers van die Calvinistiese erfenis was.

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My kennismaking met prof. Andries van der Walt dateer vanaf Februarie1925, nou een-en-dertig jaar gelede.

Waar ons tans die stigting van die blanke volksplanting aan die Kaap driehonderd jaar gelede herdenk, gaan dit nie om bloot in die herinnering terug te roep ’n eenmalige gebeurtenis van April 1652 nie, maar veel meer die uitwerking en gevolge daarvan, soos sigbaar in die Unie van Suid-Afrika vandag.

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Die grondslag is van huis uit Gereformeerd. Dieselfde bodem dus waarop die Kerk van die Skool gefondeer is. Nader verklaar, beteken dit, dat ons Teologiese Skool staan op die beginsels van die Bybel, soos dit in die drie Formuliere van Enigheid vertolk en vasgelê is deur die Nasionale Sinode van Dordrecht, in die jaar 1619.

A theme often overlooked in the patriarchal history (Gn 12-50) is the blessings bestowed on individuals outside the covenantal lineage, for example Ishmael and Esau. This article considers how blessings, promised to the patriarchs, also brought peace and benefits to individuals who were assimilated into the covenant as well as to divarications of the covenantal lineage, and to individuals with whom the patriarchs interacted in civil society. Blessings, promised to Abraham's descendants, had a spiralling effect and universal tendency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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