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Scriptura : Journal for Contextual Hermeneutics in Southern Africa

E-ISSN: 2305-445X
Scriptura is an independent journal which publishes contributions in the fields of Bible, Religion and Theology refereed by peers. It is international in scope but special attention is given to topics and issues emerging from or relevant to Southern Africa. Scriptura publishes contributions in English but also in other languages relevant to the Southern African region (such as Afrikaans, Xhosa, Sesotho, Zulu, French and German).
Publisher | University of Stellenbosch |
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Frequency | Annually |
Coverage | Vol 79 2002 - current |
Accreditation(s) |
Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) SciELO SA |
Language | English/Afrikaans |
Journal Status | Active |
Collection(s) |
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Ecumenical ecclesiology in the African context : towards a view of the church as ubuntu
This purpose of this essay is to provide an overview of approaches to ecclesiology in the African context with specific reference to various institutional expressions of the ecumenical movement. While wider ecumenical ecclesiological debates have pondered on the distinctive nature of the church, African contributions have focused on the embeddedness of the church in the African context with its evolving cultures and social context. Decrying the split between what the church is (read: ecclesiology) and what it does (read: ethics) as a false dichotomy within the African context, I will argue for a critical appropriation of the sub-Saharan African nondualistic notion of ubuntu as apposite for articulating an ecumenical ecclesiology within the African context. This is buttressed by the connotations of communality, communion and interrelatedness that ubuntu carries in addition to its resonance with other concepts in African thought, such as vital participation and vital force.
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The spelling eye and the listening ear : oral poetics and new testament writings
Concepts such as orality, media criticism, manuscript culture, oral reading and performance have been introduced to New Testament scholarship since the 1980s, but their impact on and contribution to mainstream research are still in question. A resurgent interest in these socio-cultural notions is raising fundamental questions about approaches to and conclusions about early Christian texts. Some of the impli-cations and possibilities of these developments are reviewed and briefly illustrated. Rather than emphasising another method or ‘criticism’ that could be ‘added’ to the repertoire of biblical scholarship, it is proposed that a multifaceted conceptualising of ‘speaking-hearing-remembering’, an ‘oral poetics’, inform NT scholarship.
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Examples of contemporary laments (based on biblical laments), illustrating theological insights
Many of us do not see God in our suffering as a result of our notions of who God is and how God interacts with us. But a study of the psalms of lament can help us bring all our emotions – those emanating from pain, frustration, faith, and a need for revenge – to God. In this article, examples are given of lament poems composed by young Zulu ‘pain-bearers’, after they had come to understand the language of biblical lament, as seen in three psalms. A careful review of these lament psalms gave insight to the participants as to who God is and how we can approach God. They also noted that in the Bible suffering was part of the normal human condition. By composing their own personal laments, the young people were able to process their pain better, and gain a sense of agency, being able to tell their stories and be heard with respect and compassion.
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Intersection of personhood and culture : a narrative approach of pastoral care to gender-based violence
What contribution does a narrative approach make to effective care for those affected by gender-based violence? Notwithstanding the contributions of feminist theologians who take experience and identity seriously (Ackermann and Ruether), open-ended narrative includes lived experience, embodied communication, and the identity of the victim as formative community as an effective approach of care. Experience as lived experience or actual reality is not what is interpreted by the dominance of those in the centre, but it is primarily the experience of the vulnerable at the margins. The post-structuralist critique of the structuralist approach to communication and difference and the other within a fluid community will be considered within the narrative approach of care. This article will also address the intersection between gender and culture. I will use Ackermann and Ruether’s feminist lens as theological framework.
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Jesus as brugbouer : Jesus en die buitestanders in Johannes 4:1-42
This article deals with Jesus and the outsiders in John 4, with particular focus on John 4:1-42. Methodologically, the study focuses on social identity theory, and asks the question of how Jesus gets the Samaritan woman, who is a member of the outside group, into the insider group. The focus of the study is thus what the behaviour and attitude of the historical and non-conventional Jesus was toward outsiders in the strongly hierarchical social structure of his day.
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History of the Jewish interpretation of Genesis 1:26, 3:5, 3:22 in the middle ages
The present article analyses the plural forms occurring in Genesis 1:26, 3:5 and 3:22 which might appertain to God and which acted as focal points for theological and exegetical discussion within the framework of the Jewish tradition. Furthermore, the article studies the mediaeval Jewish exegesis of these forms as recorded in the representative Jewish commentaries and situates it against the early Jewish reception of these forms.
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E-ISSN: 2305-445X
© Publisher: University of Stellenbosch

E-ISSN: 2305-445X
© Publisher: University of Stellenbosch