Browsing by Author "Jooste, Simon"

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    Is it ethical for a Christian to treat depression with anti-depressants?
    (Pieter de Waal Neethling Trust, 2018) Jooste, Simon
    In this essay I consider whether it is right for a Christian to use an anti-depressant to treat depression. All human beings are responsible to image God in a moral and dignified manner as mortal creatures living in a broken world. It is not easy to do so in our modern culture of narcissism and therapy, which encourages the abuse of medicine. The calling of the Christian, however, extends beyond the ethics of a common humanity. The disciple of Christ suffers by virtue of living in a fallen world, but also because of her baptism into the death of Christ. Like Jesus, believers suffer first and then find glory. Suffering and death are, paradoxically, God’s means of accomplishing and furthering salvation. In light of the body and soul components of depression, and in view of the Christian vocation of suffering, the use of anti-depressants invites careful reflection. In this essay I argue that in some cases it is appropriate to incorporate the likes of Prozac into a holistic approach to treating depression. I set forth my case in four parts. First, I show how depression is part of the plight of humanity broken in body and soul, but not without God’s mercy extended through health care and the cross. Secondly, consideration is given to the Christian’s call to and benefit from a life of cross-shaped suffering. Thirdly, I argue that the Christian mind must guard against a theology of glory clothed in the therapeutic narcissism of our age. Finally, I set forth a recovery programme grounded in the sacred means of the church and the God-given helps of modern medical science.
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    Recovering the Calvin of "Two Kingdoms"? : a historical-theological inquiry in the light of church-state discourse in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Jooste, Simon; Vosloo, Robert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is a historical-theological inquiry into the social thought of John Calvin through the lens of the “Calvin” of the church struggle with the purpose of recovering his doctrines of two kingdoms and natural law for Christianity and culture discourse in South Africa today. This thesis enters into conversation with a body of scholarship in North America that has sought to recover and refine these early Reformed theological categories, which is suggestive of their promise in other contexts. Is there perhaps a compelling alternative to the apartheid and antiapartheid “transformationist” reading of Calvin, which might provide some resolution to his contested legacy as well as more adequately equip the church as it engages the challenges of life in South Africa’s young democracy? In order to answer such questions, this thesis sets out on the road back to Calvin through the lens of his appropriation in the church struggle, with the hope of gaining instruction in cultivating a more faithful historical hermeneutic. Once in sixteenth-century Geneva, both the theology and practice of Calvin’s social thought are examined for evidence of substantive doctrines of two kingdoms and natural law. The findings of this historical inquiry generate the claims of this thesis. Central among them is that Calvin did make constructive and meaningful use of the doctrines of two kingdoms and natural law in relating Christianity and culture, church and civil magistrate. Herein lies a different portrait of Calvin, which challenges his previous appropriations in the South African context and offers fresh theological resources for critical reflection in ongoing Christianity and culture discourse. To provide a sense of their ongoing promise, this thesis outlines the major contours of North American theologian and ethicist, David VanDrunen’s, development of the Calvin-informed and early Reformed two kingdoms and natural doctrines as a normative paradigm for Christians living in South Africa today. When considered against the backdrop of Calvin’s contested legacy and the challenges presented by South Africa’s young liberal democracy, this paradigm offers liberating trajectories for the Reformed churches today, and therefore potential for reformation and renewal by “goods” already constituting its broader historic tradition.