OPENBARE GETUIENIS EN PUBLIEKE TEOLOGIE VANDAG? VRAE OOR VERSKEIE VANSELFSPREKENDE VOORVERONDERSTELLINGS

Abstract

The article argues that it is not to be taken for granted that Christian churches have a public witness and that Christian theology should play a public role in South Africa today. Although many believers may indeed proceed from these assumptions without any self-critical awareness and reflection, there are simply too many unspoken assumptions embedded in these convictions that have become problematic in the eyes of many, both within and outside ecclesial and theological circles, also in South Africa. The article points to some of these critical considerations that are suggested by typically modern conditions, by the radical transformation of South African society to a secular democracy, and by the particular legacy of South Africa’s recent history and the role of church and theology during that history. The article achieves this by arguing that at least three clusters of questions should be separated from one another for careful consideration. In a first section it iterates and briefly motivates a cluster of questions all dealing with the necessity of public witness and theology. In a second section it briefly proposes a separate set of questions focusing on the content of any possible public witness and theology. In a third and final section it suggests a third cluster of issues all related to the practical question how such public witness and theology could and should take place under conditions prevailing in South African society today.1