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The society in which we currently live and operate is globally the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and locally our (unique) environment or community. Although we are still in a lag period between the 3IR and 4IR, the 4IR already has a global disruptive effect, with artificial intelligence being gradually implemented, with fluid contexts, and where nobody agrees on anything. Deep learning, unlearning and relearning must take place on a daily basis. The question could well be asked if there is any place for the Bible and Christianity in this new vibrant global community. All theology is contextual. Although theology deals with what is most absolute in reality, citing Mellert, it is also relative in that there is never a final or last answer to most religious questions. The handbook and norm for our theology and religion is still the Bible – a compendium of books written approximately 2000 years ago with no new information added to it ever since. The challenge of the church is to make that information contextual in this ‘disruptive’ era and to bring the gospel in a new and fresh way to everybody without compromising the basic truths and normativity of the Bible. This article argues that the Bible should still take centre stage in the academic training of our theological students, in our preaching of the gospel on a daily basis, in our engagement with people in need and in the transformation of our societies in general. As the centre of Jesus’ preaching on earth was the (coming of the) kingdom of God, he also acted as the perfect example of how to establish the kingdom of God and the flourishing life on earth. Contribution: This is a more practical article and puts the notion of the significance of the Bible within the environment of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As this is a disruptive era, it requires from us to also present the word of God in a ‘disruptive’ way. We will have to present the ‘old’ word of God in a brand-new way so as to make sure that the people of this era will grasp it.

‘Teachers expect parents to teach you. Parents expect teachers to teach you. So actually you learn nothing and nobody wants to talk about it’. This quote from this research study is an adolescent girls’ cry for liberation from the silence related to sexuality because of the general reluctance of adults to talk to them about it. Given the growing concerns raised about the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in South Africa, the aim of this study was to conduct research with adolescent girls as subjects in order for girls’ voices to enhance adult researchers’ understanding of children’s need for support and guidance in the context of sexuality education. The purposively selected sample included 75 participants from three diverse high schools in the Western Cape. The research was conducted using a phenomenological approach that values the lived experiences of participants as significant in contributing to the knowledge on adolescent sexuality. A qualitative interpretative research design was applied to collect the data. This article argues that adults cannot help adolescents in their sexual emancipation – to be free – if they themselves are not free. If they were free, they would have been able and willing to engage with adolescents in every aspect, which includes their sexuality. Including adolescent girls as partners in transforming sexuality education is presented as a core principle for the sexual emancipation of both adolescent girls and adults.

During Women’s month in South Africa (August), a group of Sunday school children from the rural congregation of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), Middelburg- Nasaret, got together to read the narratives of the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus and the healing of the woman suffering from a blood disease. The exercise which appears to be quite innocent is in a sense subversive in its hidden script. In the Reformed tradition, the pulpit as a centre of reading and preaching the Word has become the ‘holy of holiest’ which nobody, leave alone children, except the ordained minister could occupy. This is of course contrary to the intention of the Reformation to return the Bible to the people and have the people return to the Bible. The reading exercise of this article goes beyond all exegetical and theological presuppositions, unsettling conventional interpretations of Scripture. The children allow their real life experiences in the township of having witnessed, among others, child and women abuse to inform their reading of Mark 5:21–43. In the process they avoid a linear reading of the Bible which is based on the explication-application scheme of matters. Put differently, instead of doing a deductive reading of the portion, i.e. trying to explain or exegete the text clinically and then applying it to their context, they read it inductively, resulting in a hope sharing and hope giving understanding of the rising from the dead of the 12-year-old girl and the healing of the woman with a blood disease. A major spin-off of such reading of the Bible by children is the unlocking of refreshingly new avenues of reading the Bible and interpreting the text.

The evidence from Romans 1:18-32 about God’s revelation. A syntactical, stylistical and thought-structural analysis of the text The question at stake in this article is to what extent people who have not heard the Gospel of Jesus can know God – according to Romans 1:18-32. In the ensuing argumentation the evidence from syntactical, stylistical and thought-structural analyses is investigated in search of answers to this issue. It becomes clear that it is crucial to take into consideration the function of this pericope within Paul’s wider argumentation in attempting to interpret it. Before Paul can indicate that salvation is equally available to Jews and Gentiles, he must prove that all people are equally in need of it. His purpose is thus to draw up the indictment that everyone, non-Jews (Rom. 1:18/19-32) and Jews (Rom. 2:1-3:8) alike, are in the power of sin and subject to God’s judgement. Paul marshals the evidence against everyone. The way in which Paul demonstrates this is by dividing the human race into two sections and accusing every one of them. He begins by reminding each group of their knowledge of God and His goodness. He then confronts them with the fact that they have not lived in accordance with their knowledge of God. Instead, they have deliberately suppressed it by continuing to live in unrighteousness. They are therefore inexcusably guilty. Nobody can plead ignorance. To interpret Paul as if it would be possible to attain saving faith without the Gospel demonstrates a misunderstanding of Paul’s argumentation.

Wolfhart Pannenberg's thoughts as answer against the devaluation of history. In this day and age, nobody any longer believes in the redemptive essence of history (Lyotard). One result of modernism is that humankind is left without history, due to a number of factors. Thus, history as such, and more specifically, church history as theological discipline, finds itself in a crisis. Yet, despite criticism that can be levelled against Pannenberg's thinking, his theory, nevertheless, serves as an answer against the devaluation of history. Given that, the Person ofthe Risen Lord as head of the church has, unquestionably, throughout the ages occupied a central position in both the history of the church and that of the world, Pannenberg's consideration of Chist's resurrecion, in particular, may stand the church in good stead.

Thou shalt not murder’: The meaning of the sixth commandment for medical ethics In this article the author analyses the meaning of the sixth commandment in terms of medical ethics. According to this command no life may be taken illegally. Although life should be treated with respect, this respect is not an absolute value. Life is God-given. It is God who deserves absolute respect - not life. People who want to preserve life at any cost treat life as an abstract, biotic object rather than a subject that is part of personhood. This is also the reason why nobody has the right to decide whether he wants to live or not. In conclusion, the author emphasizes that it is not always possible to fulfil the meaning of the sixth commandment - especially in borderline situations. A borderline situation occurs when one is confronted with two equally unacceptable possibilities. When one chooses between these equally unacceptable options a conflict of duties emerges. The Christian has no choice left to him in a borderline situation other than that of the lesser of two evils. It is in this situation that the compromise is discussed