Ernst Conradie Research Articles

THE PROJECT / PROSPECTS OF “REDEEMING SIN?”: SOME CORE INSIGHTS AND SEVERAL UNRESOLVED PROBLEMS

This contribution offers an overview of a five-year project on Redeeming Sin that included a number of postgraduate projects registered at the University of the Western Cape, a series of international colloquiums hosted more or less annually, two monographs by Ernst Conradie (one forthcoming), and a number of articles. The notion of “redeeming sin” is ironic, as Christians typically speak of redemption from sin. Here it refers to attempts to retrieve the category of sin in the public sphere, for example in relation to ecological destruction, economic inequality and various forms of violence based on race, gender, language and culture. The polemic nature of the project is highlighted – to acknowledge but also to challenge a preoccupation with the theodicy problem (focused on the relationship between natural evil and social evil) in North Atlantic Christian theology.

EDITORIAL

The set of articles on sin included in this volume of Scriptura is derived from a project entitled “Redeeming Sin: Hamartiology, Ecology and Social Analysis” registered at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in 2014. This collaborative project included a series of international colloquiums on “Redeeming Sin?” that were hosted at the Stellenbosch institute for Advanced Studies (2015), San Antonio (Texas, 2016), Denver (Colorado, 2018) and San Diego (California, 2019). The articles included here were first presented at the concluding colloquium of this project in San Diego (November 2019). The article by Ernst Conradie offers an overview of the five year project and describes some of the lessons learned from this project and various unresolved problems that require further attention.

The Trinity in African Christian theology: An overview of contemporary approaches

This contribution offers a survey of the modern African theological discourse on the Trinity as a distinctive Christian doctrine of God. It is a systematic narrative review of primary literature on the doctrine of the Trinity in modern African theology with a view to identify main trends, key concepts and major proponents. It is argued that the contemporary African Trinitarian Hermeneutics cannot be understood in isolation from African debates on translatability of concepts of God framed first in terms of the reinterpretation of the theological significance of pre-Christian African concepts of God and subsequently as an outcome of African Christological reflection. The article affirms an apophatic resistance to any tendency to take God for granted as recently advanced by Ernst Conradie and Teddy Sakupapa.

Geloof sonder sekerhede: Perspektiewe op die gesprek met Ernst Conradie

This article continues the discussion with Ernst Conradie in view of his earlier and critical review of the revised edition of Anton van Niekerk’s book Geloof sonder sekerhede [Faith without certainties]. The author provides further clarity on his notion of the nature of religious faith which, for him, essentially coincides with the life of love proclaimed and demonstrated by Jesus of Nazareth. The rest of the article contains Van Niekerk’s analyses of the three “creative tensions” that Conradie identified in his original discussion of the book. These are the alleged tensions between orthodoxy and orthopraxis, between faith and certainty, as well as between scientific knowledge and the knowledge of faith. Most attention is paid to the last tension which, according to Van Niekerk, reveals an unfounded metaphysical presupposition in Conradie’s position, as well as the yielding of too much intellectual territory to scientism in Conradie’s insistence on the ontological continuity between God and creation.

Editorial

Editorial

Being transdisciplinary theologians in and beyond apocalyptic environments

This article offers a description of transdisciplinary facilitation that is suitable for theologians and ministers. The reflective aspect of transdisciplinary facilitation is illustrated through an engagement with transdisciplinary research on environmentalism and ecotheology. This article also suggests that Ernst Conradie could be appreciated, drawn on and critiqued as a transdisciplinary theologian and not a contextual theologian.

Hoe vertel hulle die storie? Oor Karl Barth

The paper argues that the theme of the consultation on "How are they telling the story?", raises complex but intriguing questions when put to the theology of Karl Barth. In a straightforward way, the question seems to be whether Barth himself regarded story (or narrative) as the appropriate way "to gather the fragments" (Ernst Conradie) of the Christian faith, of the Biblical message, of the proclamation of the Church. Barth scholarship has been divided over this question for many years. While some well-known Barth scholars maintain that his theology was indeed a form of narrative theology, sometimes claimed about his doctrine of reconciliation, sometimes claimed about the whole of the Church Dogmatics, other prominent scholars disagree and argue that the structure or movement within his theology was much more determined by reflection and discursive argument than by story and plot. In an attempt to take the question (and this ongoing scholarly controversy) seriously, the paper points in a second section to six formal but characteristic ways in which Barth dealt with stories. In a next section the question is taken a step further, when it is argued that materially, behind these formal characteristics, Barth saw indeed no meta-narrative, but rather a Person, a Living One, about whom he spoke by means of a "Trinitarian grammar." A brief conclusion therefore claims that Barth's theology was called forth by "the scandal of particularity," indeed coming in story form, but calling for reflection and argument, witness and proclamation, and prayer and life, rather than for further story-telling.

Creation and Mission

International Review of MissionVolume 101, Issue 2 p. 339-344 Breath of Fire: Transformative Spirituality Creation and Mission Dr Ernst Conradie, Dr Ernst ConradieSearch for more papers by this author Dr Ernst Conradie, Dr Ernst ConradieSearch for more papers by this author First published: 20 November 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.2012.00107.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume101, Issue2November 2012Pages 339-344 RelatedInformation

The Salvation of the World and Saving the Earth: An Orthodox Christian Approach

In his article in this volume, Ernst Conradie proposes a “conceptual map” for speaking about salvation based on the Reformed tradition. The present essay aims to provide some vistas of a terrain for which Conradie’s “map” would be largely uninformative if not misleading. We outline the basic understanding of salvation according to the Orthodox Christian tradition, with particular reference to St Maximus the Confessor, emphasizing its essential cosmic dimension and commenting occasionally on Willis Jenkins recent treatment of the subject (Jenkins 2008). Following on from Conradie’s discussion of soteriological metaphors, we briefly revisit some of these and other traditional images for the way in which Christ saves and the effects of his saving work, and reflect on their relevance for a response to environmental crises.

In Search of Appropriate Soteriological Concepts: An Ecofeminist Perspective

Ernst Conradie offers a reconstructed soteriology from the perspective of the Christian Reform tradition and within the context of the ecological crises of today, especially with reference to South Africa. This paper is a response to his invitation to read and address his reconstruction from various viewpoints. I offer some ecofeminist reflections on and critiques of the traditional images, especially those of Gustav Aulen, which Conradie employs. I suggest that an ecofeminist perspective might engage very different images that would try to avoid the oppressive baggage the traditional redemption images have carried for women. Images that suggest the strongly transgressive nature of the cross in Christianity may be a better route from an ecofeminist perspective.

An African Gospel of Survival in an Age of Ecological Destruction

This paper uses the example of African Christians known as Masowe Apostles to answer Ernst Conradie’s questions about the construction of culturally appropriate soteriological concepts for saving the earth. It is argued that Masowe Apostles develop a soteriological concept that is comprehensible among Shona speaking people, and hundreds of other groups African people living with problems of global warming in sub-Sahara Africa. With God conceptualized as the giver of life in whom to place hope for saving the earth, Masowe Apostles lay for us foundational ideas for a distinctly African soteriology in an age of ecological destruction. Masowe Apostles highlight their need for salvation by worshipping God in a language that draws attention to nature, and by making it a point to pray out-doors, in the wilderness, close of barren soil, and sometimes unoccupied forests, mountains and rivers. This paper begins with a summary of the background to environmental degradation in Africa. It ends with a discussion on how to go beyond instilling and reinforcing ecotheological attitudes that Masowe Apostles show through what they express on a ritual plane to making the concept of the salvation of earth a way of promoting earthkeeping.

The Church and Climate Change – By Ernst Conradie

The Church and Climate Change – By Ernst Conradie

Towards an Agenda for Ecological Theology

This contribution to outline an agenda for (Christian) ecological theology includes a position paper from Ernst Conradie (Part 1). Responses to this position paper from Sigurd Bergmann, Robert Borrong, Steve Bouma-Prediger, Celia Deane-Drummond, Denis Edwards, William Everett, David Field, Samson Gitau, Jesse Mugambi and Peter Scott, form Part 2. There is also a rejoinder by Ernst Conradie. The paper identifies a number of issues that an ecological theology has to address in the fields of ethics and systematic theology (only). It calls for a proper theological rationale for Christian earthkeeping and seeks to avoid theological reductionism.Responses to this paper were invited from a somewhat random group of friends, colleagues and associates from all around the world. A rejoinder that offers a reply to these responses concludes this contribution.

Earth habitat: eco-injustice and the church's response

This signal volume gathers theologians from around the world to address three pressing questions: How can Christianity and Christian churches rethink themselves and their roles in light of the endangered earth? What earth-honoring elements does justice-oriented Christianity have to contribute to the common good? And how can local communities and churches respond creatively and constructively on a level to these vast global forces? This volume captures the chief themes and presentations from the October 1998 conference on social justice, ecology, and church, entitled Ecumenical Earth and held at Union Theological Seminary. Among the 18 contributors to this trailblazing conference are Rasmussen and Hessel, James Cone, Kusumita Pedersen, Brigitte Kahl, Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, Steven Rockefeller, Havid Hallman, Ernst Conradie, Peggy Shepard, and Troy Messenger.