Gender, Space, and Religious Privacy in Amsterdam

Silva Perez and Kristensen examine the intersection of gender and religious traditions for the use of space for two distinct religious groups: the Amsterdam beguines, a Catholic community, and the Portuguese Nation, a Jewish community. In the religiously diverse environment of seventeenth century Amsterdam, only the Dutch Reformed Church was officially authorized to have visible places of worship. Unsanctioned religious groups such as the beguines and the Portuguese Nation had to make arrangements to regulate visibility and access to their spaces of worship. Using privacy as an analytical lens, the authors discuss how strategies employed by the two groups changed over the course of the century.

Kerkorde en erediens

A church order and church service – Article 48 of the Church Order of the Dutch Reformed Church investigatedFor the church order of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), article 48, the core of a church service is the fact that the Triune God is meeting his church and that this meeting should be determined by the core truths or lines of the relationship between God and his church or believers. This point of departure for a church service has been maintained in article 48 since 1962. It is accepted by many churches and creates the understanding that a church service is initiated by God who speaks and his church or the believers who answer. The rhythm of God who speaks and the church who answers should be the basic movements in each service.The content and changes of church order article 48 of the DRC from 1962–2017 are investigated. Some of the changes reveal some thought or beliefs in the DRC on these issues at that time.

Die lewensbeskouing van D.F. Malan (1874–1959) soos weerspieël in openbare standpunte

The world view of D.F. Malan as reflected in his public stance. D.F. Malan was born in 1874 and grew up on a farm near Riebeeck-Wes in the Western Cape. He died in 1959 in Stellenbosch. Malan started his career as a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church. Before that he regarded himself as a student in Theology with a vocation. In 1905 he became a Doctor in Theology at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. He entered politics in June 1915 by becoming the first editor of the new Dutch-Afrikaans newspaper, De Burger, and at the same time, the leader of the National Party (founded in 1914) in the Cape Province. Malan had a career in politics for almost 40 years. He retired as the Prime Minister of South Africa in 1954. In his time Malan concentrated especially on unity among the Afrikaners in culture and politics, the cooperation between Afrikaans- and English-speaking citizens, and the well-being of all the people in South Africa. As a reformed Christian in every sphere of life, Malan believed in God-given principles and a timely application of this by believers. This worldview of his became known through his preaching, speeches, articles and commentaries on matters. His worldview influenced his approach to politics and the cultural aspect of his existence. The purpose of this article is to explain this view by using primary sources. The main figure in this article was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church with a noticeable influence in the affairs of the church, and he was also a South African politician on national level. These aspects influenced the history of the church, as well as the political or general history of South Africa. It also made an imprint on church political concepts and ethical considerations that had to come to grips with Malan leaving the church ministry for politics, as well as the ethics of policies like apartheid and the political unity of an officially bilingual Union of South Africa. For Malan, his worldview determined his aims in politics, namely the cultural unity among Afrikaners, while they and their English-speaking counterparts form a successful state, and the relationship between all South Africans.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The interdisciplinary implications of this article involved the subjects of church history, general history and a political ethics approach.

Die herlewing van sekulêre spiritualiteit in Europa en die implikasie daarvan vir die NG Kerk in Suid-Afrika

The revival of secular spirituality in Europe and its implication for the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. This article critically reflected on the insights of David Tacey in which he notes that there is currently a revival in post-secular spirituality in the West, but that its deep religious roots are lacking. What would be the implication of these trends for the South African religious landscape where traditional mainstream churches such as the Dutch Reformed Church are shrinking significantly? People often say yes to God, but no to the church. Some in the church may totally renounce God. What lessons could be learned by the South African mainstream churches and theology if these trends in the West were taken into account? In this article a critical literature review (desk research) was done and the study was structured as follows: In the first place, the implication of superdiversity, supermobility and the reality of a post-COVID-19 consciousness was discussed. Next we engaged in research by scholars in which it was shown that our time, at least in the West, is characterised by existential anxiety and uncertainty. Thirdly, we engaged in the insights of David Tacey in which he also argued the fact that the uncertainty of the time in which we live, often causes people to return to spirituality. Finally, the implication of these trends for the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa was reflected on.Contribution: This research makes a contribution to the nature and scope of the journal, in that it finds that the rise in secular spirituality, in the context of anxiety and uncertainty in a post-COVID-19 world, provides an opportunity for the Dutch Reformed Church to find meaning and significance.

The Dutch Reformed Church and Multi-cultural Ministry: Angolana, a Rural Challenge

The article deals with the complexities of a multi-cultural ministry within the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (DRCSA). Although the DRCSA is an “open” church where anyone from any race, culture or language is welcomed, the praxis of multi-cultural ministry is not always feasible. This article sets out to explore some of the reasons why the synodical declarations and decisions did not influence or help a rural congregation, particularly a non-white rural congregation in the DRCSA. Herein, the decisions of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa are deliberated, particularly regarding multi-cultural ministry and the implications thereof for congregations like Angolana. Specific attention is given to Angolana because of the socio-political and cultural contexts of this congregation. The role and the calling of the church in a context where a community is challenged by forced removals are also considered.

Die Algemene Sinode van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk van 1990 en die Gelofte van 1838

The General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church of 1990 and the Covenant of 1838. The Dutch Reformed Church as a church consisting of mainly Afrikaners, was confronted by a new societal dispensation and a new government in South Africa in and after 1994. The trend of the new constitution of 1996, as well as a new public discourse laid the emphasis on the individual and his rights in a society open to all. This discourse implicitly communicated negative tones on actions, activating minority groups for their own separate ideas. As if the General Synod expected this coming challenge, the Synod of 1990 already had a report of its Commission on Doctrine and Actual Affairs on the Dutch Reformed Church, keeping the Day of the Covenant of the Voortrekkers in 1838. This article investigated the stance of this General Synod on this issue with two, seemingly main objectives: an acceptable, grounded reason for people to keep the Day of the Covenant, and a positive link between the Covenant of 1838 and reconciliation in a modern South Africa. The method used was a study of literature and primary sources on these issues. The General Synod of 1990 made two relevant statements in its new environment. In the first place, it decided that individuals should associate with the Covenant on moral grounds and not because they are forced to do so. The core of the Covenant of 1838 was the request that God enable people taking the vow, to win the battle foreseen – the Battle of Blood River – and to promote Christian values for establishing a new Christian society. An issue which is still relevant in South Africa today. That is why the Voortrekkers promised to build a church as the focus point of their forseen society. The second statement of this Synod was that reconciliation as a catchword in the 1990s in Christian South Africa, is part of the promotion of a Christian society. Reconciliation in a biblical perspective remains relevant in South Africa.Contribution: Seen from the approach of this article as a Christian approach, these statements of the General Synod of 1990 help the Dutch Reformed Church as church to fulfil its tasks in Soutern Africa today.

Traversing a Tightrope between Ecumenism and Exclusivism: The Intertwined History of South Africa’s Dutch Reformed Church and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in Nyasaland (Malawi)

During the first few decades of the 20th century, the Nkhoma mission of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa became involved in an ecumenical venture that was initiated by the Church of Scotland’s Blantyre mission, and the Free Church of Scotland’s Livingstonia mission in central Africa. Geographically sandwiched between these two Scots missions in Nyasaland (presently Malawi) was Nkhoma in the central region of the country. During a period of history when the DRC in South Africa had begun to regressively disengage from ecumenical entanglements in order to focus on its developing discourse of Afrikaner Christian nationalism, this venture in ecumenism by one of its foreign missions was a remarkable anomaly. Yet, as this article illustrates, the ecumenical project as finalized at a conference in 1924 was characterized by controversy and nearly became derailed as a result of the intransigence of white DRC missionaries on the subject of eating together with black colleagues at a communal table. Negotiations proceeded and somehow ended in church unity despite the DRC’s missionaries’ objection to communal eating. After the merger of the synods of Blantyre, Nkhoma and Livingstonia into the unified CCAP, distinct regional differences remained, long after the colonial missionaries departed. In terms of its theological predisposition, especially on the hierarchy of social relations, the Nkhoma synod remains much more conservative than both of its neighboring synods in the CCAP to the south and north. Race is no longer a matter of division. More recently, it has been gender, and especially the issue of women’s ordination to ministry, which has been affirmed by both Blantyre and Livingstonia, but resisted by the Nkhoma synod. Back in South Africa, these events similarly had an impact on church history and theological debate, but in a completely different direction. As the theology of Afrikaner Christian nationalism and eventually apartheid came into positions of power in the 1940s, the DRC’s Nkhoma mission in Malawi found itself in a position of vulnerability and suspicion. The very fact of its participation in an ecumenical project involving ‘liberal’ Scots in the formation of an indigenous black church was an intolerable digression from the normative separatism that was the hallmark of the DRC under apartheid. Hence, this article focuses on the variegated entanglements of Reformed Church history, mission history, theology and politics in two different 20th-century African contexts, Malawi and South Africa.

Dort, Doleantie and Church Order

This article attends to the relationship between minor and major assemblies as prescribed by the foundational principles of Reformed church polity proposed by Mary-Anne Plaatjies-Van Huffel. It reviews the limited autonomy of local congregations and the authority of broader assemblies in the Church Order of Dordrecht (1618/19), the touchstone of Dutch Reformed church polity. It considers the challenge to historic Reformed church polity posed by the ecclesiology of the Doleantie, a secession from the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (NHK) in 1886 under the leadership of Abraham Kuyper. Finally, it evaluates a contemporary church order (of the United Reformed Churches in North America), that explicitly codifies Doleantie ecclesiology. The church order fails to embody the principles of Reformed church polity set forth by Plaatjies-Van Huffel. This article concludes that it cannot be considered a Reformed church order.

Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, hermeneutiek en etiek? (1986–2019)

The Dutch Reformed Church – hermeneutics and ethics (1986-2019)?In this article I ask about the relation between hermeneutics and ethics in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) from 1986–2019. The article, more specifically, asks about the relation between hermeneutics and homosexuality. For the DRC, homosexuality has been the most critical ethical theme since 1986. The article’s main concern is with the reports of the Algemene Sinode (General Synod) on the Bible, on the one hand, and homosexuality, on the other. The article, therefore, especially focusses on the two reports on homosexuality of the AS of 2007. It is within these two reports that one finds at least some of the definitive hermeneutical differences within the Dutch Reformed Church.

Armoede

Poverty: A challenge for the Afrikaans reformed churches, 1994-2019This contribution gives an overview of how four of the important reformed churches in South Africa responded to the challenge of poverty from 1994 to 2019. Following an introduction, the first part of the chapter defines poverty and describes the extent of the crisis. It then gives an overview of how the Dutch Reformed Church responded by imbedding compassion into the missional calling of the church. It also describes how early childhood development became the focus of the church in the struggle against poverty. The chapter then describes how the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa was guided in her action by the Belhar Confession. The church integrated the struggle against poverty with the struggle of justice and reconciliation in a post-apartheid South Africa. The focus of the reformed churches in South Africa in addressing poverty was the role of the deacons in the local church. Education is also an important part of their fight against poverty. The Dutch Reformed Church of Africa rose to the challenge by making important structural changes in the church after 1995. This led to the empowerment of deacons in local churches through which the church addressed the poverty of members. The research shows in conclusion how the four churches used different routes to respond to the challenge of poverty in South Africa over the past 25 years.