Reconciliation in the Public Domain

Borght, E.A.J.G. van der

doi:10.1163/15697320-12341414

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…On the other hand, there is a "lack of conceptual clarity" and various "layers of meaning" -including political and theological layers of meaning -that coshape public imaginings (cf. Van der Borght 2015) of what reconciliation is and what reconciliation means (Solomons, 2017:5-7;Solomons, 2020a:198). One may wonder, with John de Gruchy, whether this word could still be of any use, as a concept that has become "so overloaded with ambiguity in some contexts and so emptied of significant meaning in others" (2002:25).…”

Section: Speaking Of Reconciliationmentioning

confidence: 99%

By another's death?

Marais

2024

STJ

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In South Africa, the rhetoric of reconciliation is complex and contested. Indeed, reconciliation itself is viewed as “a controversial symbol”. In part, this may have to do with the different ways in which theological and social, political understandings drive the conceptualisation of reconciliation in South Africa. Within the theological tradition, salvation has long been portrayed by way of the metaphor of reconciliation, and many theologians have engaged the fruitful but potentially confusing difference in assumptions regarding what reconciliation is and requires of us. For a thicker, more robust theological concept of reconciliation, it may be important to consider what the intended use is of this complex notion when employed as a soteriological concept. This article explores David Kelsey’s portrayal of reconciliation by another’s death with some suggestions for contours of a soteriological grammar of reconciliation that could shape more lifegiving ways of speaking about reconciliation in South Africa today.

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Section: Speaking Of Reconciliationmentioning

confidence: 99%

By another's death?

Marais

2024

STJ

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“…Insofar as reconciliation became the national and public galvanising symbol of a response to apartheid in this initial transitional era, understanding how reconciliation is imagined and expressed by the DRC is important for reading its overall response to apartheid. Not merely for the TRC, but for all theological, social, and political responses to apartheid, reconciliation was, and remains, a contested symbol with multiple interpretations (Solomons 2018;Van der Borght 2015). The DRC's response to the TRC serves as a 5 In 2015, the DRC General Synod approved a Common Set of Rules ("Tussen-orde"), a set of church orderly provisions that gives a legal base to cooperation between churches on the road to unification (Handelinge 2015:57).…”

Section: Community Involvement: "Die Dienskneggestalte Pas Nou Die Be...mentioning

confidence: 99%

other side of whiteness

Van der Riet,

Van Wyngaard

2022

STJ

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This article will provide an overview and analysis of developments in the Dutch Reformed Churchâ€™s (DRC) General Synod concerning race, racism, and racial reconciliation from 1986 until 2019. It seeks to extend the multiple accounts of the DRCâ€™s adoption and rejection of apartheid theology by tracing its further attempts at grappling with questions of racism during and after the transition to democracy, into the present. Three primary discourses are explored, namely the search for an inclusive ecclesiology, the commitment to community involvement in the reconstruction of South Africa after apartheid, and the transformation of interpersonal ethics towards greater respect and care for others. Thereafter, the article highlights four territories that remain largely unexplored within the DRC in the past quarter of a century and argues for their future exploration. These trajectories could contribute to a deeper transformation and conversion from the white Christianity historically tied to the DRC.

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Overcoming Reconciliation as a Wicked Problem

Solomons

2020

Philos. Reformata

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This contribution provides clues as to why (the quest for) reconciliation in South Africa fits the broad definition of a wicked problem. Popularized by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber (1973), wicked problem refers to something that is either too difficult or nearly impossible to resolve. It is abundantly clear from the available literature that reconciliation is understood in very different ways. Not only is there a lack of conceptual clarity, but strategies aimed at working towards this ideal reveal or produce new problems as an unintended consequence. Some strategies approach the discourse for the purpose of political expediency, while others are more interested in its theological (or existential) properties. This tension is referenced as the dominant split between heaven and earth. Notwithstanding the complexity of the problem, this contribution alludes to the limitations of such approaches if those who propagate them insist that such views remain mutually exclusive. Building on the theology of Allan Aubrey Boesak and Curtiss Paul DeYoung (2012), this contribution is an attempt to avoid the polarization of such views and highlight the fundamental asymmetry between divine and human action. This is underscored by the work of Christ through which God reconciled the world to himself (2 Cor. 5:19) and the ministry of reconciliation in society. In taking this approach, one avoids the tendency to provide superficial answers to a complex (wicked) problem.

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Reconciliation in the Public Domain

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

By another's death?

By another's death?

other side of whiteness

Overcoming Reconciliation as a Wicked Problem

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