Browsing by Author "Havenga, Marthinus Johannes"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Acting liturgically: Wolterstorff's philosophical reflections on religious practice
    (Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2020) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    This review article offers an engagement with Nicholas Wolterstorff's recent publication, Acting liturgically: Philosophical reflections on religious practice. It begins by contextualising the project, tracing Wolterstorff's lifelong interest in liturgy, as documented in his memoir, In this world of wonders. This is followed by a careful exposition of each of the book's four sections (with the headings "Liturgy, Enactments and Scripts," "Liturgy and Scripture," "God in the Liturgy" and "Liturgy, Love and Justice"). The article concludes with a few critical observations about the book in which it is shown why this is indeed a significant text which makes an important contribution to the (philosophical) study of liturgy.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Christ as performance: On Hans Urs von Balthasar’s dramatic Christology from below
    (Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2020) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    This essay will explore Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Christology as performance from below. It will begin by introducing Balthasar’s theodramatic project as presented in his five-volume work Theo-drama. Here, it will be shown how Balthasar engages with and uses the conceptual resources of drama and the theatre to develop a theological dramatic theory with the performance of Christ at its very centre. This will be followed by an investigation into Balthasar’s dramatic Christology and what he saw as the re-performance of the Christ-drama on the world stage. The essay will then conclude with a few brief remarks on the continued relevance of Balthasar’s dramatic Christology, especially for those interested in doing - and performing - theology from below.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The infinitude of beauty as expression of the beauty of the infinite? : a critical evaluation of the use of the analogia entis in the theological aesthetics of David Bentley Hart
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-04) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes; Vosloo, Robert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to investigate if American Orthodox theologian David Bentley Hart's use of the classical Thomistic principle of the analogia entis (in his monograph The Beauty of the Infinite: The Aesthetics of Christian Truth), can be deemed to be a valid, responsible and beneficial manner of affirming a continuity between the beauty of God and the beauty of creation, and opposing the seemingly problematic worldview of dualism. After reviewing a selection of works in the field of theological aesthetics, this study is conducted both as a historical analysis and a systematic exposition on the analogia entis, by critically examining the use (and critique) of analogy and the analogy of being in Greek (Aristotle), Scholastic (Thomas Aquinas) and 20th century thought (Erich Przywara, Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar), before inspecting and ultimately affirming David Bentley Hart’s own use thereof (in regards to the beauty of God and the beauty of creation).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Justice as beauty-in-action? insights from Hans Urs von Balthasar's aesthetics and dramatics
    (University of the Free State, Faculty of Theology, 2019) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    This essay explores the relation between beauty and justice by turning to the thought of the Swiss Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. It begins by giving an exposition of Balthasar's theological aesthetics, as developed in his work The glory of the Lord, which shows how, for Von Balthasar, earthly beauty participates in, and expresses something of God's divine glory and reaches its apex in the revelation of the beautiful form of Jesus Christ. This is then followed by an exposition of Von Balthasar's theological dramatics, as developed in his work Theo-drama, which shows how, for Von Balthasar, this beautiful form of Christ is not merely a static image, icon, or artwork but, in fact, a dynamic event, a dramatic act, an embodied performance which reveals to us, along with God's glory and beauty, God's unbounded goodness. The essay subsequently turns to questions of justice (in light of Von Balthasar's understanding of the relation between beauty and goodness), and ultimately argues that, according to Von Balthasar's thought, justice can be viewed as a form of beauty-in-action that asks to be performed in the world.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    On theological aesthetics, decolonisation, and doing theology through the arts
    (Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2021-01-18) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    Throughout history, works of art have often served as a prominent mode of theological expression – also, importantly, here in South Africa. In, thus, revisiting the history of theological inquiry in South Africa as part of a larger process of decolonisation, it is important and necessary to also look to the arts, which is what this article will attempt to do. It will begin with an exploration of the relationship between theology and the arts, before looking at the emergence of the field of theological aesthetics. This will be followed by some comments on the relevance of this field for South African theology, especially when it comes to questions of decoloniality. The article will then conclude with a brief discussion of the South Africa sculptor Jackson Hlungwani as an example of someone who did theology through the arts.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Performing Christ : a South African protest play and the theological dramatic theory of Hans Urs von Balthasar
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes; Vosloo, Robert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the latter part of the 20th century, against the backdrop of incidents such as the Sharpeville Massacre and the Soweto Uprising, theatre became one of the principal means of ‘artistic resistance’ in apartheid South Africa. An important play from this time was a work titled Woza Albert!, which was created and performed by the actor-duo Percy Mtwa and Mbogeni Ngema in 1981, with the help and creative input of the renowned theatre-maker and political activist, Barney Simon. What made this piece of protest theatre so powerful and provocative was the fact that it retold the Christ-narrative, as found in the Gospels, in the context of apartheid South Africa, with Jesus, or Morena (as he is called in Sesotho), arriving at the Pass Office in Albert Street, Johannesburg, to preach the Good News to the poor and to liberate the oppressed, who were suffering under the apartheid regime. This dissertation will aim to provide a theological reading of this important protest play, informed by the theological dramatic theory of the Swiss Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. It will begin by conducting an investigation into the nature, task, and scope of theology, before offering an extensive engagement with Balthasar’s theological dramatic theory, as developed in his five-volume work, Theo-drama (the second installment of his trilogy on ‘beauty’, ‘goodness’, and ‘truth’). This will be followed by an exploration of the history of (protest) theatre in South Africa, and a discussion of how Woza Albert! came into being. Balthasar’s theological dramatic theory will then be used to give a theological reading of the play.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Towards an engaged systematic theology?
    (University of the Free State, Faculty of Theology, 2020) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    This article explores the question of what the scope and focus of theology should be, by considering two closely connected suggestions in this regard. The first suggestion comes from a group of theologians from the mid-twentieth century who played an important role in instigating the ressourcement movement. These theologians, it is shown, aimed at moving beyond the dualisms of Neo-Scholasticism, by turning anew to the theological style and method of the earliest Christian thinkers. The second related suggestion comes from the contemporary systematic theologian, Graham Ward, a scholar who draws on the thought of the ressourcement theologians in his development of what he calls a "culturally engaged" or simply "engaged" systematic theology. After examining the contributions of both the ressourcement theologians and Graham Ward, the article asks how these insights could inform the way we approach and do theology in our own context.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Worship as primary ethical act : Barth on Romans 12
    (AOSIS, 2020) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    Following the centenary year of the publication of the first edition of Karl Barth’s Der Römerbrief, this article attempts to look at what a contemporary South African audience could potentially learn from Barth’s reading of Romans 12. This article begins with a few preliminary remarks on the reading of Barth in both apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa, and asks whether his theology still has any role to play in current theological and ethical discourses (amidst calls that theology should be decolonised). After arguing that Barth might still have ‘a’ contribution to make (as we further develop our own theologies), this article provides an in-depth exposition and analysis of Barth’s reading of Romans 12. Here it is shown how, in his commentary on this chapter (under the heading ‘The Problem of Ethics’), Barth maintains that worship, that is, the offering of our bodies as ‘living sacrifices’ to God, should be seen as the primary ethical act, which precedes and renders possible all other secondary ethical conduct. This is then followed by the last section of this article, which explores the possible meaning and relevance of Barth’s insights for life in present-day South Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Woza Albert! Performing Christ in apartheid South Africa
    (The Church History Society of Southern Africa, 2020) Havenga, Marthinus Johannes
    This article investigates the important South African anti-apartheid protest play, Woza Albert!, written and performed in 1981 by Percy Mtwa and Mbogeni Ngema, which retells the story of Jesus Christ so that it takes place in apartheid South Africa. The article begins with a historical overview of how the play came into being, followed by an exposition of the play's script, specifically focusing on the way it reimagines the gospels' account of Christ's life, death and resurrection. The article finally engages theologically with the play (with the help of Hans Urs von Balthasar's theological dramatic theory), in an attempt to see why Woza Albert! has proved to be such an effective literary tool in speaking out and protesting against the injustices of the apartheid state.