Abstract

VAN DER MERWE, Dirk. Rethinking biblical hermeneutics for mobilizing Christian believers to proclaim the Good News in a post-secular age. Missionalia (Online) [online]. 2015, vol.43, n.2, pp.166-185. ISSN 2312-878X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7832/43-2-71.

The continuous changing of the Zeitgeist, from modernism through postmodernism to metamodernism (post-secularism), contributes to the continuous changes in our societies, which undoubtedly lead to changes in the area of religion, in particular the Christian religion. This has resulted in a dichotomy - on the one hand we have religious diversity and decay, and on the other hand church growth and an increasing interest in Christian spirituality, depending on which part of the world is focussed. In order to address these changes from a Christian perspective, biblical hermeneutics has to be amended to make the Christian kerugma in a post-secular age more relevant, and to make Christian living in a post-secular age viable. In order to proclaim the gospel in a post-secular age, Christian believers will have to build friendships, while the gospel should be reformulated and redefined in a remix, idiom. To succeed in addressing the spiritual needs of Christians and to mobilise them to proclaim the gospel, the church will have to pay much more attention to Christian spirituality and the embodiment of the kingdom of God (and the divine self) in the lives of believers and in the world.

Keywords : secular age; Kearney; Taylor; spirituality; demythologizing; embodiment; friendship.

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