https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4215 2026-05-01T09:17:56Z 2026-05-01T09:17:56Z Mogashoa, Humphrey https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4596 2022-05-18T12:30:13Z 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

The "Age of Enlightenment" is not the "Enlightened Age": revisiting Kant's (1724-1804) argument on the Enlightenment Mogashoa, Humphrey The Enlightenment era, critical as a period in its own right, is also a pivotal phase in the history of Christianity. Also critical in this period was Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a formidable scholar who formulated and differentiated between Age of Enlightenment and the Enlightened Age. Kant's background, early learning and life in academia provide the necessary background to understand the intellectual journey of philosophising that was to culminate with, among others, this formulation and differentiation. Kant argued that society was still in the Age of Enlightenment because both the individual and the public are still under tutelage that was self-imposed. Tutelage is a complex process and has methods of sustaining and advancing itself. It is possible for human beings to be released from this tutelage but since the majority of the society is still under this tutelage, society has not reached the Enlightened Age. The Age of Enlightenment and the Enlightened Age are two distinct phenomena, worthy of note and differentiation in the broader history of Christianity. Peer reviewed

2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Molobi, Victor https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4594 2022-05-18T13:33:31Z 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Vanguard of African culture : an analysis of the oral history of selected AICs in Tshwane (Pretoria) Molobi, Victor AICs do not make the outright claim that they are defending African culture, but their behaviour does reflect their original African cultures in its adaptation to Christianity. These churches have been accused of syncretistic practices in the past and were seldom given the chance to prove their Christian abilities, especially alongside the mainline or mission churches. Across Southern Africa these churches are known for their colourful images and their presence everywhere in the rural and urban open spaces, under trees, on the hills and in school classrooms which they temporarily rent. What are the stories behind their faith praxis? We will investigate whether the AICs in townships are in the forefront of African culture or not. Some selected oral stories from AICs in the Tshwane (Pretoria) townships of Atteridgeville and Mamelodi will be used as samples to determine the validity of this claim. Inculturation and dual religious systems are concepts which will help clarify the issue. Peer reviewed

2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Egan, Anthony https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4578 2022-05-19T10:18:23Z 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

Detention without trial : the experience of the Reverend Douglas Thompson in the South African state of emergency, 1960 Egan, Anthony This article is a Lyotardian “little narrative” of the experience of Methodist minister Douglas Thompson’s period in detention during the 1960 state of emergency in South Africa. It highlights the way in which Thompson boosted the morale of fellow detainees through his conduct of religious services – acts which reflect Scott’s “arts of resistance” of the powerless. It presents a picture of the white left/liberal opposition during this period and illustrates the importance of the churches to act decisively against the apartheid state during the period. Peer reviewed

2009-01-01T00:00:00Z Hale, Frederick, 1948- https://ir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4577 2022-05-19T10:58:08Z 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z

A Cape Town minister contra orthodoxy : Ramsden Balmforth's evaluation as a religious liberal Hale, Frederick, 1948- South African Unitarianism remains a minimally explored topic in church history. Beginning as the Free Protestant Church in Cape Town, it traced its primary roots to liberal theology, especially historical criticism of the Bible, in the Netherlands, which was brought to the Cape of Good Hope by David P Faure and other young Afrikaners in the 1860s. However, by the end of the nineteenth century the movement in South Africa had become linked to the tradition of British Unitarianism. The present article traces the theological development of Ramsden Balmforth (1861-1941), who served as the minister of the Free Protestant, or Unitarian, Church in Cape Town for forty years beginning in 1897. It is demonstrated that until in his twenties Balmforth was an irreligious sceptic, but his exposure to the study of social Christianity and comparative religion while still in Yorkshire made him amenable to certain strands of liberal Protestantism. He consequently studied theology in Oxford and brought his convictions, many of which were anchored in historical criticism of the Bible, social Darwinism, and optimistic assumptions about human perfectibility, to South Africa, where he propagated them and linked the fledgling Unitarian movement there to that of the United Kingdom. Peer reviewed

2009-01-01T00:00:00Z