Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae Volume 35 Number 2, October 2009https://hdl.handle.net/10500/42142024-03-29T13:17:10Z2024-03-29T13:17:10ZOral history interviewing and its value in practical theological hermeneutics : an example from a study on a Pentecostal congregationThomas, Andrew J.https://hdl.handle.net/10500/45992022-05-24T08:05:55Z2009-01-01T00:00:00ZOral history interviewing and its value in practical theological hermeneutics : an example from a study on a Pentecostal congregation
Thomas, Andrew J.
Prior experience has been recognised as an important element of hermeneutics in both
secular and theological studies. A problem for practical theologians who are
investigating Pentecostal situations is the quality of the historical record that is available
for analysis. This is an issue that is also relevant to this research and it was therefore
decided to use the social scientific approach of oral history interviewing to provide a
more detailed documentary record. The resulting interaction between contextual
perception and the historical record revealed three central themes for further analysis: (1)
autonomy, (2) authority and (3) the role of the Spirit. The lack of community was
identified as a key issue in these areas, especially concerning participation. The
importance of participation through ministry in the Spirit was identified as a possible
means whereby an attractive community with a strong identity in Christ can be
developed in the future.
Peer reviewed
2009-01-01T00:00:00ZThe influence of conflicting medieval church and social discourses on individual consciousness : dissociation in the visions of Hadewijch of BrabantKruger, Christahttps://hdl.handle.net/10500/45982022-05-25T22:36:50Z2009-01-01T00:00:00ZThe influence of conflicting medieval church and social discourses on individual consciousness : dissociation in the visions of Hadewijch of Brabant
Kruger, Christa
This article examines the influence of the conflicting discourses
in the medieval church and its social context on the
subconscious experiences of Hadewijch of Brabant, a 13th century
Flemish visionary, mystical author, vernacular theologian
and Beguine leader. Her 14 visions of becoming one with God
are analysed for evidence of dissociative states. Her dissociative
experiences are interpreted in the light of a contextual
model of dissociation, according to which dissociation is an
information-processing tool that fosters a sense of self-insociety
in the face of conflicting discourses. Hadewijch’s
visions and dissociation, which she used to teach her fellow
Beguines, reveal her growth towards an integrated God-consciousness
and her inner psychological integration of consciousness
and the unconscious. The contextual model of dissociation
provides a useful conceptual framework and hermeneutical
tool for evaluating the consciousness of a person in a
remote historical-cultural epoch.
Peer reviewed
2009-01-01T00:00:00ZThe dual story line of Calvin's sense making approachVan Niekerk, Erasmushttps://hdl.handle.net/10500/45972022-05-25T04:34:13Z2009-01-01T00:00:00ZThe dual story line of Calvin's sense making approach
Van Niekerk, Erasmus
Calvin’s sense-making approach, which is embedded in his
Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559), can be construed as
a story embodying two reflexive realms, one of creation and
the other of redemption. In each of these realms, two trajectories
operate closely together. The first is a “vertical”
mirroring trajectory with God and human beings facing each
other. The second is a “horizontal” trajectory consisting in a
process that begins with God approaching human beings and
the natural cosmic world. Calvin, who was at times very
eclectic but could be very consistent too sometimes, contradicted
what usually made sense to him (e.g. his instrumentality
in the death of Servetus).
Peer reviewed
2009-01-01T00:00:00ZTowards a postcolonial Pentecostal historiography : ramblings from the SouthChetty, Irvin G.https://hdl.handle.net/10500/45842022-05-24T11:19:48Z2009-01-01T00:00:00ZTowards a postcolonial Pentecostal historiography : ramblings from the South
Chetty, Irvin G.
This article focuses on contestations around the birth of
Pentecostalism. Azusa Street Pentecostalism is very well documented
therefore the bias was tilted in its favour. While this
expression of Pentecostalism opened up new frontiers it also
displayed some regrettable retreats around the issue of race
relations. In stark contrast, both in South Africa and in Brazil,
inter alia, societal concerns, inclusive of racial issues have
been taken up by a new breed of Pentecostals. The current state
of Pentecostalism reveals that the majority of Pentecostals live
outside of the USA and Canada and that the rapidly emerging
churches in the southern world are Pentecostal and indigenous,
and function autonomously from Western Pentecostalism.
Starting from the eighties, large independent Pentecostal
churches have emerged in Africa. African Pentecostalism in
South Africa is a relevant, flexible and rapidly increasing
Christian formation. Unlike the dualistic tendencies of Western
Christian approaches, the African Pentecostal worldview does
not separate the physical from the spiritual or the individual
from the social. Los Angeles cannot be viewed as the “Jerusalem”
from which the “full gospel” imperialistically emanated
centrifugally to the world. Other equally significant and simultaneous
Pentecostal outpourings have been overlooked. Pentecostalism
historiography may have to engage in perhaps one of
the most important postcolonial ecclesiastical reconstructions
yet.
Peer reviewed
2009-01-01T00:00:00Z