The doctrine of pactum salutis has in the past sparked serious theological debate and has often been rejected because of its contradictions with Reformed orthodoxy. Among other early church fathers and theologians, the pactum salutis is found in the writings of Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas and Martin Luther. This doctrine is closely related to, or possibly overlaps with, the doctrine of predestination, as both involve the belief that God has already determined the object of his salvation. It has been (...) criticised for, among other things, its denial or insufficiency of Trinitarian understanding and its pro-Subordinationist character. The refutation of this doctrine may be warranted, particularly when viewed in the light of contemporary missiology, particularly the Missio Dei perceptions that arose from the 1952 IMC conference in Willingen. As there is little or no research examining the rationality of the pactum salutis on the basis of or in the light of the Missio Dei, this article draws on the available missiological literature to refute its coherence, relevance and authenticity. Contribution: This article made a significant missiological contribution to the field of Christian theology, analysing the validity of pactum salutis against Reformed orthodoxy and consequently rejecting it as incompatible with the objectives of Missio Dei. (shrink)

Augustine’s thoughts on human salvation not only influenced early Protestant theology but also dominated the conceptualisation of the missio Dei from the perspective of the 1952 Willingen Conference. His doctrine of synergism arguably only manifested much later in the conception of the missio Dei, which anticipated human obedience or active participation in the mission to attain the goal of human salvation. The idea of synergism in this regard, or in the context of the missio Dei, is that (...) while salvation remains an unmerited gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, God prescribes human cooperative involvement in its attainment. In this way people do not become unresponsive recipients of God’s grace, but active and willing participants in a mission of salvation. With this in mind, this article examined the available literature on the topic of synergism in order to provide further insights into the conceptualisation of the missio Dei. The account of Noah in Genesis 5:32–10:1 and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16–20 were used to redefine the doctrine of synergism or its relevance in the context of the missio Dei. Contribution: This article recalled the doctrine of synergism in order to enrich the complex understanding of the missio Dei, essentially adding new knowledge in the field of missiology. (shrink)

Structures for mission have been under review as a result of many factors. In particular have been the widening influences of globalisation, and to a lesser degree, glocalisation. Various models of leadership praxis and structures have been proposed along the way. As Christianity moved farther away from the Christendom model of centralised control to other models of structure and leadership, other paradigms have been proposed along the way. However, one possibility, called the concept of polycentrism, has not been considered with (...) any significant effort. In order to understand polycentrism, this research covered a literature review of seven spheres: the urbanised-economic context; political-ideological associations; globalglocal socio-cultural situations; organisational-leadership contexts; missional movements; the global church; and the journey of the mission agency called the Wycliffe Global Alliance. The application of the concept of polycentrism to the specific context of the Wycliffe Global Alliance has enabled conclusions about the relevance of polycentrism in mission structures that are part of the missio Dei. The study concluded that polycentrism was a very helpful methodology that understood and resolved the inherent tensions and influences brought about by globalisation upon structures in God’s mission. The implications shaped what leadership communities look like in terms of values and ideals because of the benefits of polycentrism. Through polycentrism, there has been a deliberate movement away from established centres of power, so that leadership occurred among and with others, while creatively learning together in community.Keywords: Polycentrism, globalisaiton, glocalisation, mission leadership, global church. (shrink)

The incarnation of the missio Dei practice model for the Dutch Reformed Church of Africa. The decline of the church in the West is of great concern to many today. The Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa (NRCA), experiences the same tendency. We are living in a time when survival is on the mind of most mainline congregations and denominations. The question is what shall we do to turn this situation around? The answer is to be found in the rediscovery (...) of what it means for the church to be missional. The knowledge about how the early church functioned helps us to rediscover the character of early Christian mission, much of what is drawn together in the concept of incarnational mission. This article examines incarnational mission as the understanding and practise of Christian witness that is rooted in and shaped by the life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Understanding mission incarnationally in this manner is an integrative way to approach the church’s missionary vocation and to avoid the typical Western reduction of mission to one of the many programms of the church. The article, by exploring the meaning of incarnational mission, endeavours to be both constructive with regard to the biblical and theological understanding of the message, and polemical with regard to the context and history of mission, especially in the Western tradition. This article follows Darrell Guder in arguing that the historical ‘happenedness’ of Jesus’ life both enables and defines Christian witness. In exploring the missional ignificance of the incarnation, the article tries to avoid any dilution of the centrality of the incarnation event. (shrink)

This paper investigates the concept of missio Dei at Willingen and beyond, and identifies its most remarkable feature which regards God as the initiator and subject of mission, thereby redefining missio ecclesiae with three striking characteristics: first, all places of the world including both the immediate neighborhood and the uttermost parts of the earths; second, all spheres of life such as society, politics, economy and culture; and finally, all events of the time such as catastrophes in the history.In (...) so doing, this paper clearly discovers that missio Dei is here approached primarily in a differentiation from or a sharp contrast to missio ecclesiae from the start, and that, for that reason, the concept of missio Dei at Willingen and beyond has not been fully trinitarian, though it often mentions the triune God. And it also discovers that it goes further either toward an emphasis on culture on the one hand, or toward that on the world on the other hand.Such being the case, this paper suggests that it is necessary to consider the implications of the doctrine of the Trinity for mission more fully to reconfigure the concept of missio Dei. Due to some limits, this paper does not deal with this issue full-fledgedly, but intends to suggest a couple of guidelines for doing so. First, we need to approach missio Dei quite differently, that is, primarily not in relation to missio ecclesiae but in relation to processio Dei, that is, the procession of the triune God. Second, noting that, since the early church, missio Dei has been understood primarily in relation to processio Dei, we need to keep in mind that we could not discuss missio more fully without dealing with processio, and vice versa. If we have these two guidelines in mind, the concept of missio Dei would be much more abundant and fruitful. Further studies on some particular implications of the doctrine of the Trinity for mission need to be done in missiology and also theology in general in the near future. (shrink)

The Christian image of God rightly goes back to the Bible as the only source of revelation. According to the creation account in the book of Genesis, God is primarily seen as the creator of heaven, Earth and humankind. Following this understanding, the International Mission Conference (IMC) in Willingen in 1952 expanded the scope of mission beyond the ecclesiastical sphere and anchored it in the doctrine of the Triadic God. In other words, the Willingen Conference correctly classified the Triadic God (...) as the only source of mission in the world. However, the question remains as to what a person’s mandate is in relation to the missio Dei. Based on a literature review, this article introduces missio hominum as a framework that encompasses human participation in missio Dei. Selectively, the extraordinary personalities of Noah, Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul in the Bible are examined in order to validate the framework of the missio hominum as derived from the missio Dei. By its very nature, this article warrants further exploration of human involvement in the work of the missio Dei, in order to consolidate the missio hominum as an important framework for aligning human efforts with the work and ultimate goal of the missio Dei.Contribution: The contribution of this article is to deepen the reflection on the relationship between the Triadic God and human beings on the one hand and human temporal participation in the eternal economy of the missio Dei on the other. In doing so, it provides missio scholars and theologians with new insights that encompass the human mission in relation to the missio Dei. (shrink)

Academic data show little evidence that the concept of the missio hominum was ever explored beyond its context as developed by Nico Smith. There is little to no research that has conceptualised this phenomenon in light of imago Dei and the role it should play in fulfilling missio Dei’s mandate. It uses the relational nature of the Union of the Divine Trinity derived in imago Dei to conceptualise the idea of the missio hominum in the broader context (...) of missio Dei. It aims to examine the role of missio hominum in fulfilling the objectives and scope of missio Dei. Missio Dei here means the mission of God, which uses human relationships as an instrument to achieve the eternal goal of missio Dei. Nico Smith’s account is used here to support the need for missio hominum within the broader understanding of missio Dei. This research is a first step towards a deeper understanding of the missio hominum in service to missio Christos and missio spiritus and the collective participation of missio ecclesiae towards the goal of missio Dei. The academic focus on missio hominum from Smith’s perspective is lacking or neglected by missiology scholars.Contribution: This article, therefore, presents overarching research areas in missiology, which are important for the overall and further understanding of missio Dei. It uses literature research as a method to gain knowledge about missio hominum. (shrink)

Dans Le sabbat des sorcières Ginzburg, s’efforçant d’expliciter la « méthode morphologique » à l’œuvre dans cet ouvrage, affirme reprendre à son compte certaines « questions » formulées par Frazer dans Le Rameau d’or – soit un comparatisme élargi –, sans en « accepter les réponses ». « Mon Frazer a lu Wittgenstein » ajoute-t-il dans une boutade. Dans cet article, on se demandera en quel sens la morphologie de Ginzburg diffère d’une approche « transculturelle » et on analysera comment (...) cette démarche morphologique se fraie une voie dans un dialogue entre histoire et anthropologie. (shrink)

Algunas versiones del realismo jurídico pretenden compatibilizar la pretensión de que el derecho es un conjunto de normas con un fuerte compromiso con el empirismo. De conformidad con este último, el derecho no está constituido por entidades abstractas de ningún tipo sino por hechos empíricamente constatables. En vistas a llevar a cabo esta compatibilización, en varios trabajos Riccardo Guastini ha defendido una concepción de las proposiciones normativas, i.e. aserciones existenciales sobre normas jurídicas, como enunciados teóricos acerca del derecho vigente, necesariamente (...) referentes a ciertos hechos. Se concibe así al derecho vigente como el conjunto de textos que son resultado de interpretaciones estables, consolidadas y dominantes que los jueces han llevado a cabo en sus decisiones en el ordenamiento de que se trate. Partiendo de esta versión del realismo jurídico, este trabajo procura sembrar algunas dudas. Primero, sobre este modo de concebir a las proposiciones normativas. Segundo, sobre el modo en que, en consecuencia, queda configurada la teoría del derecho. Tercero, y más en general, sobre la pretensión de compatibilizar la visión del derecho como conjunto de normas con la tesis empirista. (shrink)

Although Christianity has abundant literature against racism, the menace negatively affects human relationships in contemporary westernised societies. The near silence of most Christian denominations leads to one crucial question: how should Christians deal with racial prejudice in contemporary westernised societies? This article is a social criticism of racism from the perspective of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As a Christian, Bonhoeffer struggled with the morality of racism, particularly regarding the experience of black people in the United States and Jews in Germany. His reflections (...) and action against racial injustice are a robust framework that could inspire a positive Christian attitude in dealing with racism. This article describes the causes and remedies of racial injustice from his perspective. The central argument is that faithfulness to the communal social character is a significant way to deal with racism in contemporary westernised societies.Contribution: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s reflections and actions against racial injustice are a robust framework for dealing with racism. The central argument is that faithfulness to the communal social character is a significant way Christians can deal with racism in contemporary westernised societies. (shrink)

Calls to decolonise education systems cannot be removed from broader social struggles. Scholars have engaged in theoretical discussions on what decolonisation entails, emphasising the need for transforming thoughts, beliefs, and practices. However, the lack of sustained engagement and widespread resistance to decolonising the curriculum remains evident (Shahjahan, Estera & Surla, 2021; Fataar, 2018; Margolis, 2001), underscoring the urgency to envision new futures and explore relationalities between educators and students.In this article, we delve into the evolving terminologies surrounding Decolonisation, Anti-Colonisation and (...) Indigenisation, emphasising their pivotal roles in the broader project of educational decolonisation (Louie et al., 2017). We argue that a reassertion of Indigenous resistance and futurity in higher education forms the cornerstone of this transformative process. Through an examination and understanding of these terminologies, we aim to contribute to the ongoing dialogue surrounding educational decolonisation and envision inclusive, equitable, and anti-colonial learning environments that center Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. (shrink)

The Human Being in History affirms the ontological dignity of the human being, arguing that the challenges posed by the twenty-first century are not just political, economic, and social, but existential and metaphysical. In the face of these challenges, philosophy must show how to confront issues in a new way: not as problems that admit technical resolution, but as questions which involve openness to meaning and which demand the exercise of freedom.

Leadership praxis, development and succession can become a bloody battlefield in Africa, mainly because of economic, cultural, theological and political factors. Just like some secular leaders who fail to serve their mandate paradoxically fight for further conquest and retention of power at all costs, certain spiritual leaders miscarry Christian leadership, struggle to deliver their missionary service and tragically battle to stay in power, instead of passing the baton. Church leadership ought to be successional, transformational and intergenerational enough to disciple and (...) develop leaders to sustain and promote other-centred missio Dei and missio Ecclesiae. Yet, the majority of Pentecostal church founders and leaders are neo-patrimonial, authoritarian and serving themselves at the expense of God’s mission. That way, they deface the missionary identity of the Church. Engaging with available literature and observing multifarious leadership trends in Africa, this article unravels problematic Christian leadership development and succession in view of Jesus Christ’s servant leadership model. It disconnects self-centred incumbents and connects the few who are Christ-like with tomorrow’s leaders. Contribution: This article advances Christian leadership development and succession in view of Jesus Christ’s intergenerational servant leadership model. (shrink)

A partir do final do século passado, na esteira das preocupações e debates sobre a biodiversidade, chega-se à afirmação da importância da Amazônia. No bojo dessa dinâmica, colocam-se também as pressões internacionais e as políticas estatais para a região e para as populações tradicionais, nela concentradas. Até então alijadas dos interesses políticos do Estado, estas populações passam agora a ser vistas como detentoras de culturas, de saberes "locais", cruciais diante da necessidade "global" de conservação da biodiversidade. Em estreita mescla com (...) os saberes tradicionais, expressam-se inumeráveis formas de religiosidade, dentre as quais se destacam a "encantaria" e a pajelança. Em relação à Amazônia brasileira, esse lugar central ocupado pela religiosidade é tratado via três eixos: presença da Igreja Católica e de outras organizações religiosas em seus processos organizativos; politização da natureza e da religiosidade associada à emergência de múltiplas identidades coletivas; importância da "encantaria" e da pajelança ecológica para a conservação da biodiversidade. Palavras-chave: biodiversiade; religiosidade; Amazônia; encantaria; políticas estatais.From the end of the last century, at the base of the concerns and debates on biodiversity, one comes to asserting the importance of the Amazon. Amid this dynamic, there are also international pressure and public policies for the region and its traditional people. It is known that such populations have Ordinarily being shut out from the political interests of the state. However, these traditional population is beginning to be understood as having cultures, there is to say, "local" knowledge, given the crucial need for "global " biodiversity conservation. Closely intertwined with traditional knowledge, innumerable forms of religiosity is expressed, among which is highlighted the so called "encantaria" and "pajelança". Regarding the Brazilian Amazon, this central place occupied by religiosity is handled via three routes: the presence of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations in their organizational processes; politicization of nature and of religiosity associated with the emergence of multiple collective identities; the importance of the so called "encantaria" and of the ecological "pajelança" (shamanism) towards conservation of biodiversity. Key words: biodiversity; religiosity; Amazon; encantaria; public policies. (shrink)

O texto parte do reconhecimento da importância das populações tradicionais na conservação da biodiversidade, tanto em termos históricos quanto em projetos socioambientais baseados no paradigma da sustentabilidade. Foca a civilização do mangue do Salgado Paraense e, em particular, as comunidades da Reserva Extrativista de Caeté-Taperaçu (município de Bragança/PA). Destaca aspectos de sua territorialidade em articulação com sua religiosidade, na qual são tratados os santos e, sobretudo, os encantes (xamanismo caboclo). A partir desta religiosidade (crenças, superstições, lendas), a discussão se centraliza (...) em torno de dificuldades para a efetivação de diálogos e de interlocuções necessários à construção de projetos de conservação da biodiversidade envolvendo aquelas populações, os quais incluem a participação de mediadores (letrados, ambientalistas, ecologistas, governamentais e não governamentais) e implicam a geração de uma nova ordem social. Ancora-se, ainda, em entrevistas semidirigidas que vêm sendo realizadas há três anos na região e no acompanhamento da implementação da Reserva Extrativista criada em 2005 no município (reuniões do Conselho Deliberativo, recadastramento de usuários). Palavras-chave: Conservação da biodiversidade. Mangue. Religião popular. Territorialidade/população tradicional.This article highlights the importance of traditional biodiversity conservation, both in historical terms and in environmental projects, based on the paradigm of sustainability. It focuses on mangrove of "Salgado Pará" and, in particular, on the communities of the Extractive Reserve Caeté-Taperaçu (municipality of Bragança / PA). It also highlights some aspects of its territoriality in connection with its religiosity, in which are treated the saints, especially the Encantes (caboclo shamanism). From this religiosity (beliefs, superstitions, legends) the discussion is organized around the difficulties for building dialogues and interlocutions required to build projects for biodiversity conservation surrounding these populations. These dialogues include the participation of mediators (scholars, environmentalists, ecologists, government and non-government) and the construction of a new social order. This text is anchored in semi-structured interviews that have been conducted for three years and in monitoring the implementation of the Extractive Reserve, created in 2005. Keywords : Biodiversity conservation. Mangrove. Popular religion. Territoriality/traditional population. (shrink)

Containing both theoretical discussions of globalization and specific case analyses of individual African countries, this collection of essays examines the intersections of African education and globalization with multiple analytical and geographical emphases and intentions.

The question asked in this article is: what is a parasite?. Defining a parasite requires defining its host at the same time. A difficult question therefore arises about host-parasite relationships. The object of general parasitology is in fact to study the relationship between a host and its parasite. The initial question what is a parasite? has to be reformulated within a conceptual framework, that of relationship. This article is an attempt to transpose into parasitology some concepts which have been profitable (...) in the fields of physics and chemistry. The studies of R. Thom about the individual are also used. Concepts like that of field and principles like that of minimization are probably operational on a high level of organization. The description of host-parasite relationships could benefit from these concepts. (shrink)

Abstrak: Tujuan dari artikel ini adalah menginterpretasi dan mengafirmasi bahwa Ada (das Sein) dalam “pertanyaan tentang Ada” (die Seinsfrage) dalam pemikiran Heidegger adalah univok sebagaimana konsep Ada itu univok dalam pemikiran Duns Scotus. Oleh karena itu, pertanyaan utama yang menuntun artikel ini adalah, bagaimana dapat ditunjukkan hubungan antara konsep Ada itu univok antara Dun Scotus dan Heidegger? Untuk memahami dengan baik tema ini, kita akan mengulasnya dalam empat bagian. Pertama, kita akan berkonsentrasi pada pengertian konsep ekuivok, analog, univok. Kedua, kita (...) fokus pada konsep analogi dan univok dalam pemahaman Abad Pertengahan. Bagaimana Duns Scotus memahami Ada itu univok akan dijelaskan pada bagian ketiga. Kemudian, kita akan mengelaborasi sebuah penafsiran Ada itu univok dalam pemi- kiran Heidegger pada bagian keempat. Pada akhirnya, konsep Ada itu univok dalam pemikian Heidegger terletak pada konsepnya tentang waktu. Kata-kata kunci: Ekuivok, analog, univok, metafisika, Ada, Dasein, In- nerzeitigkeit, Zeitlichkeit, ekstasis, transendental. Abstract: The scope of this article is to interpret and affirm that Being (das Sein) in Heidegger’s “question of Being” (die Seinsfrage) is similarly univocal to Duns Scotus’ concept of the univocity of Being. Therefore, the central question which guides this article is, how can it point to the relationship between Duns Scotus and Heidegger in regards to the concept of the univocity of Being? To understand well this theme, we will explain it in four parts. First, we concentrate on the definitions of equivocity, analogy and univocity. Second, we focus on the concepts of analogy and univocity in the Middle Ages. How Duns Scotus understands the univocity of Being will be pointed out in third part. After that, we will elaborate an interpretation of the univocity of Being in Heidegger’s thought in fourth part. In the end, concept of the univocity of Being in Heidegger’s thought is put in his concept of time. Keywords: Equivocity, analogy and univocity, metaphysics, Being, Dasein, Innerzeitigkeit, Zeitlichkeit, ecstatic, transcendence. (shrink)

Philologus, founded in 1846, is one of the oldest and most respected periodicals in the field of Classics. It publishes articles on Greek and Latin literature, historiography, philosophy, history of religion, linguistics, reception, and the history of scholarship. The journal aims to contribute to our understanding of Greco-Roman culture and its lasting influence on European civilization. The journal Philologus, conceived as a forum for discussion among different methodological approaches to the study of ancient texts and their reception, publishes original scholarly (...) contributions with a strong international focus. Publications languages are: German, English, Italian, French. As of 2014 the publication of supplementary volumes will be resumed. The series Philologus. Supplemente / Philologus. Supplementary Volumes will publish monographs and edited volumes pertaining to all aspects of the study of ancient literature and its reception, with a special focus on topics concerning literary theory, philosophy and the history of scholarship from an interdisciplinary perspective. (shrink)

BackgroundGiven that advances in research continuously raise new ethical issues, a multidisciplinary working group of investigators involved in biomedical research has gathered to discuss and compare ethical viewpoints in their daily practice.MethodsThe working group has drafted a Charter for Ethics in Biomedical Research that encompasses all the steps in the research process, i.e. from the initial idea to analysis and publication of the results.ResultsBased on key principles for ethically responsible research, the Charter may serve as a tool for performing research, (...) discussing research issues and training researchers.ConclusionsThe Charter should stimulate researchers to think about their responsibility for research in a progressive, caring society. (shrink)

El autor lleva a cabo una revisión de la obra The Many Faces of Normativity intentado resaltar algunos rasgos comunes que se van presentando a lo largo de los diversos textos que componen la obra revisada. Luego de abordar la visión de Robert Audi acerca de las tendencias hacia la naturalización de la normatividad así como el análisis que Jaap Hage efectúa de los conceptos normativos, se tratan dos ataques a la distinción ser-deber ser que defienden argumentos que, sobre la (...) base de esa distinción, han sido considerados falaces al menos desde David Hume. Posteriormente se tratan una serie de aportes con una tendencia común, y que a criterio del autor dan una especial identidad a la obra en su conjunto. Se trata de la tendencia, en buena medida reduccionista, que acopla la explicación de la normatividad a hipótesis provenientes del flamante campo de las neurociencias. (shrink)

Containing both theoretical discussions of globalization and specific case analyses of individual African countries, this collection of essays examines the intersections of African education and globalization with multiple analytical and geographical emphases and intentions.