Quo Vadis church history? : some theses on the future of church history as an academic theological discipline

Date
2009
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Theology
Abstract
In response to the invitation to reflect on the future of Church History as an academic theological discipline, this essay discusses five theses: (i) The vitality of Church History as an academic discipline is linked to its ability to contribute towards a responsible engagement with the Christian past in a culture of historical amnesia and harmful memory; (ii) a constructive dialogue with the social sciences can be helpful en route to a more responsible historical hermeneutic for Church History; (iii) as a theological discipline Church History ought to be attentive to “history from below”; (iv) it is necessary for Church History to continue reflecting on its mapping habits; (v) the focus on shared history, which attends to the way in which divisive histories are interwoven, holds much promise for South African church historiography.
Description
CITATION: Vosloo, R. 2009. Quo Vadis church history? : some theses on the future of church history as an academic theological discipline. Scriptura, 100:54-64, doi:10.7833/100-0-653.
The original publication is available at http://scriptura.journals.ac.za
Keywords
Church history
Citation
Vosloo, R. 2009. Quo Vadis church history? : some theses on the future of church history as an academic theological discipline. Scriptura, 100:54-64, doi:10.7833/100-0-653