Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=1015-875820200001&lang=en vol. 40 num. 1 lang. en http://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.za http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The social dynamics of the world of early Christianity is characterised by the limit of upward mobility and social disparity between classes in terms of access to both material resources such as lands and funds and nonmaterial resources such as honour and political power. This phenomenon was endemic throughout the imperial Roman world, which was the immediate sociopolitical context of early Christianity. This article generally focuses on the province of Judea and its vicinities, as well as the first two centuries of the imperial Roman world as the mother womb context of early Christianity reflected in the New Testament. Social minority is not a statistical concept. The most naïve and flawed understanding of social minority has to do with the "quantity" of people. The chief benchmark identifying the social minorities in the world of early Christianity concerns the matter of the "quality" of communal life experience of a given group. This article provides the reader with four defining categorical criteria for identifying the socially marginal in the world of early Christianity: minority markers and social visibility, power deficiency, ascribed minority attributes or stereotypes, and discrimination. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In many churches, a group of people with a particular identity may often feel like "outsiders" and battle to fit into the community; yet "insiders" rarely recognise their difficulties. One such group in South Africa are refugees, particularly those coming from francophone Africa. This empirical study attempts to waken South African members of a local church to the heavy concerns carried by fellow Christians who have had to flee their homelands. The study intends to not only highlight refugees, but also any group within a church that may feel "excluded". The aim is to show that a more supportive community can be fostered through an application of principles from many disciplines (studies relating to community-building, lament, empathy, and rituals). It is hoped that other churches can benefit from this example, thus promoting unity and incorporating the "excluded", and enabling the establishment of healthier communities. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This is a collaborative retrospective/introspective study of over forty years of spiritual and faith learning and teaching in search of answers to the following questions: Why did so many of the youth Coetzee (2019) taught develop into some of the most prominent leaders at all levels of South African society? What did he do right? How did he construct his teaching ministry? Hermans' (2003) didactics of learning as a theoretical learning theory is employed as a theoretical framework in response to the above research endeavour. Coetzee's (2019) methodology (hereafter, the Y-model) is applied as a case study of didactic scaffolding. The Y-model serves as an example of how faith education can support contemporary religious education as a relevant and meaningful alternative to producing authentic and successful leaders. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In South Africa, the youth face immense challenges and problems. Farming communities in Christiana grapple with problems such as unemployment, poverty, occultism, Satanism, alcoholism and violence. The challenges for this specific community are widespread, because they encounter one problem after another, on the one hand, and increasing statistics of social ills such as prostitution, child-trafficking, substance use and abuse, violence and rape, on the other. As a consequence, numerous young people's lives are being destroyed. My current study focuses on the youth of the Christiana District in South Africa as target for a holistic missional outreach programme. The purpose of the study is to give hope, build resilience, and improve or enhance the lives of young people through the TOTAL LIFE programme, despite the challenges they are facing daily. This missional and biblical tool is designed in a constructive, creative-critical way, from a missio Dei perspective. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In cultures such as Ancient Israel and the Igbo people of South-eastern Nigeria, the qualities of women and the essential roles they play in society are elucidated in various ways. The Hebrew Bible conveys these in narratives, while the Igbo people do so in female personal names. This article presents the role Moses' mother played in saving him (Ex. 2:1-10) and similar actions of mothers in Igboland, as encoded in female personal names. Narrative analysis is employed in the study of the biblical text. The explanatory analysis of Igbo personal names uses data collected from families who give and bear such names. This article aims to uplift the excellent roles of women and demonstrates that patriarchy does not obliterate those contributions in society. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article discusses the term Sola Scriptura and the consequences of its application on the church, commencing with the Church Fathers, when the principle/ idea of Sola Scriptura was already present, and followed by Martin Luther, whose 95 theses served as an ignition for the Reformation. Luther's action led to the founding of the Protestant movement, with his followers separating themselves from the Roman Catholic Church on the grounds of Scripture. Over the past 500 years, a myriad of different churches has been established within the Protestant movement, separating themselves from other Protestants, each with the conviction of Sola Scriptura. The impression is that, although the authority of Scripture is maintained, their interpretation of Scripture has led them to found new churches. This then applied to the traditional Afrikaans-speaking Reformed Churches in South Africa, that came to this country as one church, and led to the establishment of at least five separate churches. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This contribution briefly outlines some of the prominent problems encountered in Malachi 3:22-24 (Eng. 4:4-6). The question posed can be formulated as an investigation of the most important problems that confront research on this final part of the book of Malachi and, secondly, what possible prospects are there to solve (at least some of) the problems? This contribution argues that Malachi 3:22-24 (Eng. 4:4-6) should be viewed as two (Mal. 3:22 and 3:23-24, respectively) later additions to the book. It is also argued that the reading of the Septuagint, where verse 22 is placed as the last verse of the book, should be accepted as the better reading. Verses 23-24 were initially added to serve as an update to the previous unit (Mal. 3:13-21). http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Hilary of Poitiers deals with the question concerning our knowledge of God. Knowledge of God will never be attained by human efforts. God is only known through Jesus who is God in the human flesh. We learn this not from philosophy, but from the apostle John. The reality of God in Christ precedes our knowledge of God, and this knowledge dominates language. The word "Trinity" refers to this knowledge, but it has no meaning apart from the confession that Christ is homoousios with both the Father and the Spirit. Consequently, Hilary does not attempt to render the Trinity understandable. It is simply another word for homoousios. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100010&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Hilary of Poitiers deals with the question concerning our knowledge of God. Knowledge of God will never be attained by human efforts. God is only known through Jesus who is God in the human flesh. We learn this not from philosophy, but from the apostle John. The reality of God in Christ precedes our knowledge of God, and this knowledge dominates language. The word "Trinity" refers to this knowledge, but it has no meaning apart from the confession that Christ is homoousios with both the Father and the Spirit. Consequently, Hilary does not attempt to render the Trinity understandable. It is simply another word for homoousios. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Hilary of Poitiers deals with the question concerning our knowledge of God. Knowledge of God will never be attained by human efforts. God is only known through Jesus who is God in the human flesh. We learn this not from philosophy, but from the apostle John. The reality of God in Christ precedes our knowledge of God, and this knowledge dominates language. The word "Trinity" refers to this knowledge, but it has no meaning apart from the confession that Christ is homoousios with both the Father and the Spirit. Consequently, Hilary does not attempt to render the Trinity understandable. It is simply another word for homoousios. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100012&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Hilary of Poitiers deals with the question concerning our knowledge of God. Knowledge of God will never be attained by human efforts. God is only known through Jesus who is God in the human flesh. We learn this not from philosophy, but from the apostle John. The reality of God in Christ precedes our knowledge of God, and this knowledge dominates language. The word "Trinity" refers to this knowledge, but it has no meaning apart from the confession that Christ is homoousios with both the Father and the Spirit. Consequently, Hilary does not attempt to render the Trinity understandable. It is simply another word for homoousios. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1015-87582020000100013&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Hilary of Poitiers deals with the question concerning our knowledge of God. Knowledge of God will never be attained by human efforts. God is only known through Jesus who is God in the human flesh. We learn this not from philosophy, but from the apostle John. The reality of God in Christ precedes our knowledge of God, and this knowledge dominates language. The word "Trinity" refers to this knowledge, but it has no meaning apart from the confession that Christ is homoousios with both the Father and the Spirit. Consequently, Hilary does not attempt to render the Trinity understandable. It is simply another word for homoousios.