The theological coherence between the Belhar confession and some antecedent church witnesses in the period 1948- 1982

Abstract

The theological coherence between the Belhar confession and some antecedent church witnesses in the period This article explores the historical and theological relation between the Confession of Belhar (1982) A confession of faith cannot be carefully planned like a systematic theology or a catechism. The very nature of a confession as a moment of truth when the church "is hit on the mouth to proclaim credo" (Barth), renders it highly contextual and time-bound 1 , though obviously not without wider and further significance beyond its own time. This kairoscharacter does nevertheless not detract from the fact that a confession does not "fall from the sky" without significant antecedent developments.The people involved in formulating and accepting a confession bring with them their own histories and shaped convictions. The biblical and theological roots of a Christian confession lie far behind the confession itself in the canon, the tradition (including earlier confessions), and continued reinterpretations thereof. In fact, the confession is a confession not because it wants to declare an unknown secret, or spring a surprise on the church, but exactly because it aims at a renewed interpre-

Confessing the One Faith: Theological Resonance Between the Creed of Nicea (325 Ad) and the Confession of Belhar (1982 Ad)

“…I have in a previous paper (Naude 2002b) shown that Belhar's confession of Christ's Lordship exhibits the same bi-focal vision of antecedent church witnesses. Christ is firstly Lord of the church, but also Lord of history and society.…”

Confessional theology a belligerently public theology – How confessional theology relates to notions of Africanness and Reformedness

“…For many in URCSA, to embody Belhar means that URCSA is the Belhar Confession (cf. Smit 2000). It is, how ever, not enough to merely say that the URCSA is the Belhar Confession.…”

Why not Belhar? Some Reflections on the Foremost Barrier in the Process of Church Reunification

“…Both Naudé (2003) and Kritzinger (2010), among others, have done extensive work to designate how the three principles of Belhar were living and confessed in the hearts of believers long before the drafting of Belhar in 1982. In an article called, "The Theological Coherence between the Belhar Confession and some Antecedent Church Witnesses in the Period 1948-1982," Naudé (2003 attempts to find theological coherences between Belhar, the DRMC Circuit of Wynberg's decision on apartheid Africa (1982). Naudé (2003) indicates numerous correlations between Belhar and the documents as mentioned above, illustrating how these documents foreshadow the principles of unity, reconciliation and justice, as confessed in Belhar.…”