Johan M Van der Merwe
Biographic Data
| ID | 6794819 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johan M Van der Merwe |
| GIVEN NAMES | Johan M |
| FAMILY NAME | Van der Merwe |
| SIGNATURE | VAN DER MERWE J M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pretoria |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7678-5452 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Ecology versus poverty
In the battle between ecology and poverty, ecology will always be the loser. This statement is proved in this article by using the Kruger National Park in South Africa as an example. In recent times, poaching of rhinos, snaring of other wildlife, and the poisoning of vultures have become a serious threat to the wildlife in the park. This is because of the immense poverty of people living adjacent to the park. The best way to address this ecologic…
Revisiting the Kairos document after 40 years
It has been 40 years since the publication of the important Kairos document in 1985. Although much has changed in South Africa, many things have also remained the same. Millions of people are still suffering, and this has once again brought the country to the brink of disaster. That is what this article is about. It provides a short overview of the context and key content of the Kairos document, followed by an examination of the various aspects o…
Kerklike tug
Church discipline: embarrassment or a new opportunity? In 2004, 2007 and 2011 the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church decided that the way in which church discipline functions in the church, should be researched and investigated. This article is based on the doctoral study of the co-author, who tragically died of COVID-19 during the pandemic of 2020-2021. She investigated the development of church discipline in the Dutch Reformed Church fr…
Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda
Prof. W.A. Dreyer played an important role in the continuous reformation of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA). This contribution to his Festschrift is not about him. He would not want that. It is about the church and how his understanding of reformed ecclesiology became the basis on which the transformation from ‘ Volkskerk ’ to missional church took place. According to himself, that was his calling and his life’s work. The import…
Women’s statement at the 1990 Rustenburg Church Conference
The Rustenburg Conference of churches that took place in 1990 was a critical turning point for Christianity in South Africa. Besides the important declaration at the end of the conference, a statement was also made by the women at the conference. Although this statement is lesser known, it was and still is of utmost importance because it addresses the plight of women in South Africa. The focus of this article is the relevance of the statement mad…
Saving the rainbow nation
Education in Africa is in a crisis. Some scholars go as far as to say that it is broken. This was also noted when the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, linked to the Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, were developed. One of the goals was defined as to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. This article explores the important role of education in transforming societies. To …
Transformasie in die diverse Afrikanergemeenskap in die postapartheidera
Transformation in the diverse Afrikaner society in the postapartheid era: Four case studies. Since the end of apartheid in South Africa, Afrikaner people have been faced with disentangling their culture from Afrikaner nationalism. This article argues that the transformation of the Afrikaner people, or the lack thereof, will influence the future and place of Afrikaners in postapartheid South Africa. This article investigates the transformation wit…
Poverty and the Covid-19 pandemic
This article addresses the challenge to the church in the struggle against poverty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It starts by giving an overview of the enormity of poverty in a post-apartheid South Africa. It also indicates how the pandemic has enlarged the problem to extreme proportions. After looking at poverty through the lens of the Bible, the article attempts to define poverty as different forms of deprivation on the one hand and inequality …
Die Paasfeesviering van die Henogitiese Quartadecimane in die eerste drie eeue van die Christendom
The celebration of the Passover of the Enoochite Quatradecimans during the first three centuries of Christianity. Development concerning the determination of Passover or Pascha’s annual date took place during the first three centuries of Christianity. This led to a controversy in the mid-second century AD which became known as the Quartadecima Controversy. The date and duration of the Passover were the main issues. During the controversy two main…
Kenmerke van ’n kerkorde van betekenis vir ’n geloofsgemeenskap in ’n postmoderne konteks, met spesifieke verwysing na die werk van Zygmunt Bauman
Characteristics of church ordinances with meaning for faith communities in a postmodern context, with spesific reference to the work of Zygmunt Bauman. Postmodernity changed the function, content and structures of church ordinances. This is a reality that cannot be denied by faith communities. New possibilities arise. Every ‘absolute truth’ can be formulated in a different way. Multiple truths suggest multiple possibilities. Plurality does not cr…
The Dutch Reformed Church as a prominent established South African church
The Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk) is in transition because of the influences of the more recent South African epochs of democratisation, Africanisation and globalisation. The histories of these epochs extend over more than 20 years and have had a significant influence on the church. The Dutch Reformed (DR) Church changed institutionally because its place and influence within society changed considerably as a result of pol…
Versoening en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk
The Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria chose oikodome as a Faculty Research Theme (FRT) in 2014. This term refers to life in its fullness. The Dutch Reformed Church, as one of the partners of the Faculty, contributed to life in its fullness through the important role it played in the reconciliation in South Africa since 1986. One of the beacons on this road of reconciliation was the General Synod of 1994. It became known as the ‘Sy…
Die reis met kerkeenwording tussen die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika
The journey to church unification between the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa. The article gives a historical overview of judicial problems that the Dutch Reformed Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) encountered in their journey to church unification. On 14 April 1994 the DRMC and the DRCA merged and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) came into being. …
The history of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria
In 1938 the Faculty of Theology Section B was established at the University of Pretoria, which could be likened to a small fountain. As the fountain flowed through the decades of history, it grew and became a river that made a huge impact on the university, the Church and society. The aim of this article, coinciding with the centenary of the University of Pretoria, is to focus on the positive contribution of the Faculty of Theology towards univer…
Hervormers wat ons nie mag vergeet nie
Church Reformers we should not forget. On thefifth of November 1980, the Reformed Day Witness was published in Die Kerkbode by eight theologians of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Witness, as it became known, soon had storm clouds gathering in the church, because of it's content. It was a wakeup call to the church about it's prophetic call, it's guidance to government and it's role in reconciliation. Many ministers and members of the church suppor…
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Hervormers wat ons nie mag vergeet nie
Church Reformers we should not forget. On thefifth of November 1980, the Reformed Day Witness was published in Die Kerkbode by eight theologians of the Dutch Reformed Church. The Witness, as it became known, soon had storm clouds gathering in the church, because of it's content. It was a wakeup call to the church about it's prophetic call, it's guidance to government and it's role in reconciliation. Many ministers and members of the church suppor…
The history of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria
In 1938 the Faculty of Theology Section B was established at the University of Pretoria, which could be likened to a small fountain. As the fountain flowed through the decades of history, it grew and became a river that made a huge impact on the university, the Church and society. The aim of this article, coinciding with the centenary of the University of Pretoria, is to focus on the positive contribution of the Faculty of Theology towards univer…
Die reis met kerkeenwording tussen die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika
The journey to church unification between the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa. The article gives a historical overview of judicial problems that the Dutch Reformed Church (DRMC) and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) encountered in their journey to church unification. On 14 April 1994 the DRMC and the DRCA merged and the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) came into being. …
Kenmerke van ’n kerkorde van betekenis vir ’n geloofsgemeenskap in ’n postmoderne konteks, met spesifieke verwysing na die werk van Zygmunt Bauman
Characteristics of church ordinances with meaning for faith communities in a postmodern context, with spesific reference to the work of Zygmunt Bauman. Postmodernity changed the function, content and structures of church ordinances. This is a reality that cannot be denied by faith communities. New possibilities arise. Every ‘absolute truth’ can be formulated in a different way. Multiple truths suggest multiple possibilities. Plurality does not cr…
The Dutch Reformed Church as a prominent established South African church
The Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk) is in transition because of the influences of the more recent South African epochs of democratisation, Africanisation and globalisation. The histories of these epochs extend over more than 20 years and have had a significant influence on the church. The Dutch Reformed (DR) Church changed institutionally because its place and influence within society changed considerably as a result of pol…
Versoening en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk
The Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria chose oikodome as a Faculty Research Theme (FRT) in 2014. This term refers to life in its fullness. The Dutch Reformed Church, as one of the partners of the Faculty, contributed to life in its fullness through the important role it played in the reconciliation in South Africa since 1986. One of the beacons on this road of reconciliation was the General Synod of 1994. It became known as the ‘Sy…
Die Paasfeesviering van die Henogitiese Quartadecimane in die eerste drie eeue van die Christendom
The celebration of the Passover of the Enoochite Quatradecimans during the first three centuries of Christianity. Development concerning the determination of Passover or Pascha’s annual date took place during the first three centuries of Christianity. This led to a controversy in the mid-second century AD which became known as the Quartadecima Controversy. The date and duration of the Passover were the main issues. During the controversy two main…
Poverty and the Covid-19 pandemic
This article addresses the challenge to the church in the struggle against poverty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It starts by giving an overview of the enormity of poverty in a post-apartheid South Africa. It also indicates how the pandemic has enlarged the problem to extreme proportions. After looking at poverty through the lens of the Bible, the article attempts to define poverty as different forms of deprivation on the one hand and inequality …
Women’s statement at the 1990 Rustenburg Church Conference
The Rustenburg Conference of churches that took place in 1990 was a critical turning point for Christianity in South Africa. Besides the important declaration at the end of the conference, a statement was also made by the women at the conference. Although this statement is lesser known, it was and still is of utmost importance because it addresses the plight of women in South Africa. The focus of this article is the relevance of the statement mad…
Saving the rainbow nation
Education in Africa is in a crisis. Some scholars go as far as to say that it is broken. This was also noted when the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, linked to the Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, were developed. One of the goals was defined as to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’. This article explores the important role of education in transforming societies. To …
Transformasie in die diverse Afrikanergemeenskap in die postapartheidera
Transformation in the diverse Afrikaner society in the postapartheid era: Four case studies. Since the end of apartheid in South Africa, Afrikaner people have been faced with disentangling their culture from Afrikaner nationalism. This article argues that the transformation of the Afrikaner people, or the lack thereof, will influence the future and place of Afrikaners in postapartheid South Africa. This article investigates the transformation wit…
Ecclesia reformata semper reformanda
Prof. W.A. Dreyer played an important role in the continuous reformation of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA). This contribution to his Festschrift is not about him. He would not want that. It is about the church and how his understanding of reformed ecclesiology became the basis on which the transformation from ‘ Volkskerk ’ to missional church took place. According to himself, that was his calling and his life’s work. The import…
Kerklike tug
Church discipline: embarrassment or a new opportunity? In 2004, 2007 and 2011 the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church decided that the way in which church discipline functions in the church, should be researched and investigated. This article is based on the doctoral study of the co-author, who tragically died of COVID-19 during the pandemic of 2020-2021. She investigated the development of church discipline in the Dutch Reformed Church fr…
Revisiting the Kairos document after 40 years
It has been 40 years since the publication of the important Kairos document in 1985. Although much has changed in South Africa, many things have also remained the same. Millions of people are still suffering, and this has once again brought the country to the brink of disaster. That is what this article is about. It provides a short overview of the context and key content of the Kairos document, followed by an examination of the various aspects o…
Ecology versus poverty
In the battle between ecology and poverty, ecology will always be the loser. This statement is proved in this article by using the Kruger National Park in South Africa as an example. In recent times, poaching of rhinos, snaring of other wildlife, and the poisoning of vultures have become a serious threat to the wildlife in the park. This is because of the immense poverty of people living adjacent to the park. The best way to address this ecologic…
Christian Theology and Mission (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Political science (10 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · History (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Theology (8 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Religion, Society, and Development (6 works) · History (5 works)