A. G. van Aarde

Skrifgebruik: Hermeneutiese riglyne

The use of Scripture: Principles in hermeneutics The use of Scripture encompasses the total hermeneutical circuit which includes the act of preaching. This context of interaction represents a melting-pot where the exegetes informed reading of the Bible melts into the church-members naive reading. In this process the text, contextless as it is, is supplied with a context. The reconstruction of context leads to the construction of an applicable meaning of the text. However, the following hermeneutical fallacies have to be avoided: intentional, genetic, referential, affective and the fallacy of misplaced concreteness. The emphasis in the article is laid on a discussion of these fallacies.

Jesus and Perseus against the background of common Greco-Roman thinking

Abstract The intention of the article is to retell Ovid’s story of Perseus who was conceived virginally and to show why the second-century philosopher Celsus thought that the Christians unjustifiably mirrored this Greek hero, child of Zeus, in their depiction of Jesus. According to the myth, Perseus was the abandoned son of Danae by Zeus. This story was not only very familiar in the first-century Greco-Roman world, but also came to mind when Gentile philosophers of that period reflected on what Christians said about Jesus, child of God. The article argues that the divine births in the mythological narratives of the gods and the emperor cult form the background against which Luke represented the birth of Jesus in light of the hellenistically interpreted Old-Testament traditions concerning the holy men of God.The intention of the article is to retell Ovid’s story of Perseus who was conceived virginally and to show why the second-century philosopher Celsus thought that the Christians unjustifiably mirror...

Demonologie in die Nuwe-Testamentiese tydvak

Demonology in New Testament times Modem demonology has become a cult just as it had been in mediaeval times. But there is a difference. Then people opposed the Devil; now people believe in the Devil. This paper argues that modem demonology is an escapism of reality and in direct contrast to the New Testaments message. The thesis is debated against the background of a discussion of demonology in New Testament times. In this discussion it is indicated how the face of evil has changed from Old Testament times up to the New Testament period. Evil has become an extraterrestrial figure, symbol and power. As the personification of the prince of evil, the Devil is inter alia identified with the mythological serpent in a lost paradise and is defeated at the realization of Gods messianic kingdom in Jesus Christ, the prince of light. The New Testament proclaims that salvation means that man determines to exist as man of God before evil made man his slave.