Van Ruler Research Articles

Kingdom, Office, and Church: A Study of A.A. van Ruler's Doctrine of Ecclesiastical Office

Kingdom, Office, and Church: A Study of A.A. van Ruler's Doctrine of Ecclesiastical Office

The theological significance of the state in the thought of Paul Tillich and Arnold van Ruler

This article looks at the importance of the state in the theologies of Paul Tillich and Arnold van Ruler. The state is the community in which both the individual and the community are actualised. It is also the institution that organises the life of the nation. The orientation of the state has a direct impact on the direction of human life. The state is the centre of power and justice in reality; it is the political core of history. The state also has the power to actualise itself according to the justice that it posits and in this process love is embedded as the ultimate criterion of justice. Love, power and justice are intimately related to the kingdom of God. The state, even the pagan state, thus performs the reuniting and saving work of God on earth.

Perspectivas Européias das Relações Públicas

This article presents the results of the EBOK (European Body of Knowledge) study, which involved 37 participants from 25 countries. The objective of the study was to verify whether there exists a genuinely concept of public relations. The study examined five basic questions: the name used for public relations in the different countries; the debate between the relationship and communication concepts; the formal parameters of public relations; public relations as an independent area of knowledge; the conceptual definition of public relations. The results of the EBOK study have led to an on-going debate regarding four characteristics that van Ruler and Vercic have named European public relations, namely: reflexive; managerial; operational; educational.

Theologen van de twintigste eeuw en de Christologie

Theologically the twentieth century can be conceived as a century of Christology. In order to fill in the background for this, we first sketch the opposite position, in Arnold Van Rulers idea of Christ as an emergency measure. Van Ruler was, however, one of the rare theologians in the core of the twentieth century who resisted the wave of Christological thought that was initiated by Karl Barth. Barth firmly stated that Christ is the only source of revelation, and thus theology depends fully on Christology. Even Emil Brunners idea of truth in encounter (which is sketched in 3) was opposed by a strict No from Barth. Hendrikus Berkhof can be considered as a transition to a thought in which the human being moves more to the centre of the stage. For Berkhof (4) Christ was the revelation of true humankind, as revelation of Gods will. Later on theologians progressed further along this path. Liberal theologians - of whom William Thompson is taken as an example (5) - saw in Jesus an expression of the idea of humanity, whereas the Dutch theologian Harry Kuitert (6) brings Christology to an end by considering Jesus as a normal Jewish man, whose beliefs we can share - or maybe not. In the meantime in Germany the pendulum moved in the other direction. Wolfhart Pannenberg (7) tried to argue that Christ was the ultimate evidence of the divinity of Israels God. The resurrection of Jesus is the objective proof of God. Jurgen Moltmann (8) is in some ways close to Pannenberg, but he stresses strongly that Christ is an expression of Gods self-limitation, culminating in the crucified God. Thus God is the God of the poor and sinful, and of loving care for a suffering creation. Roman Catholic theology is usually less liberal than Protestant theology is. But the confrontation with modern thought could not be avoided - and according to many theologians, should not be avoided. As representative of a theologian who tried to integrate both modernity and classical tradition the chooses Piet Schoonenberg (9), a theologian who merits more attention than he has been given until now. His reflections on Word and Spirit as different ways of expressing the mystery of Christ go back to a supposed variety of traditions in the early church. In the last paragraph the summarises his own position in a reflection concentrating on the Nicene Creed and the Ante-Nicene Fathers. (Acta Theologica: 2002 22(1): 165-194)

Die rol van die Ou Testament in die ordening van die samelewing by A A van Ruler

The role of the Old Testament in the arrangement of society as applied by A A van Ruler. This study considers A A van Ruler's position with regard to theological themes like eschatology, theocracy, torah and volkskerk. It endeavours to grasp Van Ruler's understanding of the Old Testament as the norm for establishing a theocratic social order. The following two conclusions are reached: the context of the Old Testament must be taken into account when interpreting it or when drawing support from it, and the Old Testament should not be used to back up preconceived notions about theocracy and the arrangement of society. The influence Van Ruler exercised on the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk compels this church to reconsider its position with regard to his points of view.

Communication management in The Netherlands

This article is a study of the daily practice of persons working in Dutch public relations, nowadays often called “communication management.” Two research projects were analyzed, focusing on the tasks and position of the communication management departments in (Dutch) companies, including the background of their heads. The first study is a quantitative, empirical description of the profession; the second is a qualitative study of labor differentiation. Although chief executive officers and authors on communication management acknowledge communication as a strategic variable within an organization, the daily practice of the communication management departments consists, reportedly, for most part of copy production and representation. Consequently, even executives with management positions function merely as “technicians.” Most of the officers interviewed acquired their professional background in other areas and come from other departments; they had no relevant training in communications, nor did they have significant knowledge of relevant theories. The position of the communication management department within the organization reflects its operational activities and (lack of) professional background.Betteke van Ruler is associate professor in Communication Science and Communication Management at the Free University of Amsterdam.

Die Christologiese en Pneumatologiese grondslag van die homiletiek: Perspektiewe vanuit A. A. van Ruler se denke

The ChristologicaI and Pneumatological basis of homiletics Perspectives from A. A. van Ruler’s reflections A. A. van Ruler’s thorough thinking about the differences between the Christological and Pneumatological structures indicates a way for homiletics. In this article the homiletic perspectives which arise from Van Ruler’s reflections are exploited.

P J Hoedemaker: ‘Wat ék bedoel, is die behoud van die kerk’

P J Hoedemaker. ‘What I aim at, is the conservation of the church’ The birthday of the wellknown Dutch Reformed theologian P J Hoedemaker 150 years ago, was celebrated in the Netherlands during 1989. In his struggle against the formidable dr Abraham Kuyper, it became more and more evident that Hoedemaker was himself a very perspicacious, independent theologian. His dramatic struggle for the unity and the wholeness of the church against every schismatic action is really unique in the history of the church. The theological concepts of Hoedemaker strongly influenced the thoughts of Dutch theologians like Th L Haitjema and A A van Ruler, and consequently also a large number of South African theologians in the Dutch Reformed Churches.

DE GESCHIEDENIS VAN HET HEIL IN DE THEOLOGIE VAN DR. A. A. VAN RULER

SUMMARY Van Ruler has an extremely juridical concept of the atonement: “Zion shall be redeemed by justice” (Is. 1, 27). Nevertheless, he never worked out a doctrine of the.atonement or a christology: he just presupposes this. Salvation does not originate in our existence. Salvation comes from Palestine, and is present in the historical Jesus, whom heaven must receive, who assumes our place. Van Ruler does not give weight, however, to an “aplicatio salutis objectiva”. The personal application is very important in his theology, and that is exactly the point where he differs from Karl Barth! This application is worked out by the Holy Ghost, through his effusion and indwelling. This indwelling, however, will come to an end at the eschaton (as the incarnation). Through the Holy Spirit I am directed to the realization of salvation in the world, the realization of God's Kingdom. If Christianity were ever to lose sight of the theocratic vision, it would lose its spirit. The Reign of God is realized through a number of “figures”: e.g. Holy Scripture, preaching, ministry, church, spiritual experience, dogma and confession, church law, church and culture, church and state. Their functioning in God's Kingdom according to Van Ruler's theology is described. Van Ruler pleads for the ongoing ecumenical dialogue, especially in the field of theology. Every church should take very seriously the questions put to her by other churches. With regard to Roman Catholic theology, Van Ruler considers the scheme natural-supernatural to be the root of all distortion. Roman Catholic theology and church structure do not distinguish enough between the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. In a christological way of thinking one is too much inclined to a perfectionist way of understanding. One loses sight of the historicity and fallibility in the church structures.

DE STRUCTUUR VAN DE THEOLOGIE VAN DR. A. A. VAN RULER

SUMMARY Theology is a speculative science which asks questions about the truth of anything and everything; a feature which it shares with philosophy. In both sciences, one is concerned with the same kind of questions and the same kind of answers. In its answers, however, theology articulates its creeds. Man cannot overlook the ultimate questions without doing violence to his own humanity. This is the reason why theology is not a function of a teaching church; but rather a function of a christian culture. Its proper place is in the university. Theologians try to locate the data of revelation within the totality of the whole of reality. Up to a point we can learn something about God from His creation. Indeed, Van Ruler accepts what this analogy can teach us. But he retains the words “grace” and “salvation” for man's redemption from sin. Creation does not exist for redemption. In other words, the fact that I exist is not reducible to the fact of my redemption! We can talk about what creation means up to a po...

The absorption of various gases on clean and oxidized germanium surfaces.: A H Boonstra and J Van Ruler, Surface Sci, 4, 1966, 141–149

The absorption of various gases on clean and oxidized germanium surfaces.: A H Boonstra and J Van Ruler, Surface Sci, 4, 1966, 141–149

God’s Son and God’s World. By A. A. Van Ruler, Professor of Dogmatic Theology, University of Utrecht. Translated from the Dutch by Lewis B. Smedes. (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1960. 79 pp. $2.00.)

God’s Son and God’s World. By A. A. Van Ruler, Professor of Dogmatic Theology, University of Utrecht. Translated from the Dutch by Lewis B. Smedes. (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1960. 79 pp. $2.00.)