Suchergebnisse

Knowledge transmission and generation belong to the core mission of the public university. In democratic South Africa, the transformation of these processes and practices in higher education has become an urgent and contested task. The Faculty of Theology at the University of the Free State has already done some original work on the implications of these for theology. One area of investigation that has not yet received due attention concerns the role of theological disciplines, and especially the relation between academic disciplines and societal dynamics. This research project addresses the challenge and this volume reflects the intellectual endeavour of lectures, research fellows and a post-graduate student associated with the faculty. Each theological discipline has its own history and has already experienced reconstruction, both globally and in South Africa. Some of these genealogical developments and re-envisioning are mapped by the contributions in this volume. The critical questions addressed are: what are the contours of the (post)apartheid condition and what are the implications for responsible disciplinary practices in theology? The chapters convey an impression of the vitality of theology at the University of the Free State and in South Africa and give expression to fundamental shifts that have taken place in theological disciplines, and also of future tasks. This research project aims to stimulate reflection on responsible and innovative disciplinary practices of theology in South Africa, which, we envisage, will contribute to social justice and human flourishing. -Rian Venter, University of the Free State

This article intends to make a scholarly contribution by mapping the main developments in the field of eschatology. Such an attempt could deepen reflection in a multidisciplinary conversation with, for example, Missiology. Exciting and constructive shifts have taken place in eschatology, and five such trends are briefly highlighted. Eschatology is not a mere appendix to the Christian vision, but belongs to its very nature, and requires careful hermeneutical exploration and articulation. The recent appreciation of marginalised voices have wrought exciting new sensibilities and should be cautiously heeded. Attempts are underway to expand the notion of a singular final telos, based on a broadened notion of the divine. Finally, the performative effects of eschatological discourse, especially the political, should be explicitly accounted for. The article concludes with seven guidelines that identify scholarly gains and areas for special future attention.