Kerklike inspraak in teologiese opleiding en in die beoefening van teologie?

Abstract

Should the teaching and practice of theology be dictated by the church?

In this article it is argued that the practice of theology as a science, based on the presupposition that the Bible is the word of God, is inherently part of the calling and responsibility of the church. Therefore, practising theology as a science rooted in faith should also be ecclesiastically subservient to theology in general, and should indicate the way for the training of ministers of the Word. In this article it is argued that practising theology as a science rooted in faith is not to be regarded as an old-fashioned approach as this way of practising theology can be related to one of the positive trends in post-modernism: the increasing need for expressed presuppositions. This view stands in opposition to the rationalistic approach of theology in which the Bible is seen as a collection of texts of historical origin. According to the rationalistic view point, the Bible represents a collection of texts which reflect narratives of people’s experiences and should be studied historically-critically. Thus the Bible becomes an object of rational analysis. Should the focus of theology (in contemporary postmodern times) move to the phenomenon of religions emphasizing rational analysis, churches will have to take the sole responsibility for the training of future ministers – even if the consequence implies that the involvement of universities in theological training be excluded.