Die resepsie van die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis in Suid- Afrika, met spesifieke verwysing na die konfessionele neo- Calvinisme van die 1930’s
Date
2013-02
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch University, Department of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology
Abstract
This article was first read at a symposium marking the 450 year celebration of the
Confessio Belgica held at the Faculty of Theology of Stellenbosch University in
November 2011. It reflects on a specific aspect of the reception of the Confessio
Belgica (or Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis) in South Africa, namely the way in which
the Confessio Belgica was read and interpreted by Professor E.E. van Rooyen in the
1930s. Van Rooyen, who was professor of Old Testament and Apologetics at the
Theological Seminary at Stellenbosch, can be viewed as a proponent of the so-called
confessional neo-Calvinism that became stronger in certain circles in the 1930s. By
attending to Van Rooyen’s commentary on the Confessio Belgica (as published in the
journal Die Gereformeerde Vaandel between 1933 and 1937), the article identifies
and underlines the way in which “Modernism” functions as a type of “enemy
construction” (vyandsbeeld) in Van Rooyen’s writings, over against which Reformed
or Calvinist identity is posited. In light of this exploration, the final part of the article
briefly reflects on the question whether the discourse in South Africa today on
Reformed Confessions in general, and on the Confessio Belgica in particular, can find
a way between, on the one hand, the neglect of confessional particularity and, on
the other hand, insular exclusivism.
Description
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
The original publication is available at http://ngtt.journals.ac.za/pub
CITATION: Vosloo, R. R. 2013. Die resepsie van die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis in SA. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 53(3&4):413-421, doi:10.5952/53-3&4-280.
The original publication is available at http://ngtt.journals.ac.za/pub
CITATION: Vosloo, R. R. 2013. Die resepsie van die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis in SA. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 53(3&4):413-421, doi:10.5952/53-3&4-280.
Keywords
Belgic Confession, Reformed Church -- Creeds, Van Rooyen, E. E., Calvinism -- Controversial literature
Citation
Vosloo, R. R. 2013. Die resepsie van die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis in SA. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif, 53(3&4):413-421, doi:10.5952/53-3&4-280.