Browsing by Author "Pekeur, Andre Herman"

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    In search of congruence between confessional theology and church polity discourse : a church judicial inquiry in light of the reception of the Belhar Confession in the Dutch Reformed family of churches
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03 ) Pekeur, Andre Herman; Mahokoto, Sipho; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study searches for the relevance between and the parallelism of Confessional Theology and church polity discourse. The premise of the researcher is that the DRC family1 should come to grips with an understanding of Reformed confessions of faith as expressions of what a body of Christians believe in common. Reformed confessions are widely accepted but their authority is rooted in Scripture, and it is important to remember that a confession cannot exceed the Word of God. When we look at churches and confessions it is important to note that confessions can say a lot about the church’s integrity, identity, and faithfulness. We must also keep in mind that confessions are relevant to a specific time and place. One of the important premises of the research is that confessions or creeds are often born in difficult times when the true gospel is at stake and the church needs to affirm what it believes. It needs a faith community to confess and act to protect God’s honour. The study will look at how Reformers of the past and present view confession and how this has impacted the Reformed tradition. It will focus on the origin of confessions, and the specific time, context, and history that impacted the confessions. In this study, it is clear that the origin of confessions, the status confessionis, is an important aspect of a confession. So, the study will investigate what urges a church to declare a confession. The Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) was established in 1881 and grew from the mission endeavours of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). It is very important to note that on a church judicial2 level the DRMC was subordinate to and to a large extent directly governed by the DRC. The study includes research of primary documents reporting how the DRMC was initially established and governed, as well as how separate development was later enforced by the DRC. These documents include acts and agendas of the DRMC Synod. The DRMC was a racially segregated church for people of mixed descent, in which the power resided with the Mission Commission of the DRC. I will argue that the apartheid laws impacted the church and how the DRMC and ecumenical partners struggled with apartheid. Out of this struggle in South Africa, the racial segregation and injustice towards God’s people, WARC declared a status confessionis, which in turn led to the DRMC reaching a kairos moment and declaring apartheid a heresy. This ultimately led to also declaring a status confessionis at the DRMC Synod of 1982 and drafting the Belhar Confession. The study will then attend to the advocacy, reception, and protestation of the Belhar Confession. History shows that the church was stiving for a position of ecclesial autonomy and the acknowledgment of its autonomy by the DRC. In April 1994, the DRMC and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) united in forming the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA). This church has as its confessional foundation the Belgic Confession of Faith, the Canons of Dordt, and the Heidelberg Catechism, as well as the Belhar Confession. The church order of URCSA is built on these confessions and in particular on the Belhar Confession. The DRCA and Reformed Church in Africa (RCA) were reluctant to accept the Belhar Confession, but eventually they added it to their confessional basis. URCSA and the DRC agreed to the Memorandum of Understanding that paved the way for accepting the Provisional Order.