J M Vorster
Biographic Data
| ID | 6795077 |
|---|---|
| NAME | J M Vorster |
| GIVEN NAMES | J M |
| FAMILY NAME | Vorster |
| SIGNATURE | VORSTER J M |
| AFFILIATIONS | North-West University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4529-5343 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 3 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The justice of God’s kingdom
This article explores the meaning of Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 6:33 from a systematic-theological perspective to gauge its implications for Christian moral agency in contemporary South Africa. The research question is: ‘What is the moral relevance of seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness in South Africa today – a society plagued by economic inequality, moral decay, corruption, and pockets of hedonism?’ This question gives rise to the foll…
The concept ‘light from light’ in the Nicene creed
From a classic Reformed theological perspective,1 two questions arise when reflecting on the metaphor ‘light from light’ in the homoousios formulas of the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitanum of AD 381, especially within the domain of theological ethics. Firstly, what was the main classic interpretation of this metaphor; and secondly, is the metaphor still appropriate today considering the modern trend of ‘low’ Christologies as the key approach to Christ…
N Christelik-etiese metateorie vir vandag
A Christian-ethical metatheory for today: A classic Reformed perspective. The aim of this article is to contribute to the development of a metatheory of Christian ethics from the perspective of the classical Reformed Theological tradition. In contrast to the moral relativism advocated by modern liberal ethical patterns of reasoning, as well as the plea for an exclusive focus on divine command ethics characteristic of contemporary evangelicalism, …
Principles for the Bernese policy on religion
Traditional confessional-based state policies on religion only address the relationship between the state and the state-recognised churches. In view of the changing religious landscape, these policies suffer from a loss of relevance. By ignoring other churches and religious communities and the non-denominational part of the population, unadjusted policies may in the foreseeable future represent a social minority. They fail to meet today’s demands…
Die begrippe ‘gemeen akkoord’ en ‘buite kerkverband plaas’ in kerkregtelike perspektief
burning issue in Reformed Churches world-wide and even resulted in divisions and schisms. This is currently also the case in the community of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCA) (Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika [GKSA]). The 2009 General Synod of the RCA resolved that women may not be ordained in the offices of ministers and elders. Subsequent Synods re-affirmed this decisions by a mere majority of votes according to Article 31 of the C…
The moral agency of civil society in post-election South Africa
With the dawn of the new post-election Government of National Unity (GNU) in South Africa, this article ventures some ideas on the possible contribution of civil society to this new dispensation with the aim of turning the tide of moral decay and to set the course to hope and the development of a community of character. The research approaches the topic from a Reformed theological-ethical paradigm and considers social ethics within the context of…
Six decades of Moltmann’s Theology of Hope and tangible hope in South Africa today
Moltmann’s Theology of Hope still resonates in theological discourses 60 years after the publication of his epoch-making book containing this concept. At a time of fading hope among South Africans, a revisitation of Moltmann’s pattern of reasoning holds the promise of reward. This article focuses on the quest for raising tangible hope in South Africa and the possible contribution of the Theology of Hope in this regard. The central theoretical arg…
Christian hermeneutics in South Africa
Hermeneutics remains a divisive and polarizing topic within scholarly and ecclesiastical communities in South Africa. These tensions are not limited to theoretical differences but often crystallize on a grassroots level when local churches and church assemblies have to make important decisions on controversial ethical topics such as ordaining women in church offices, assessing the ethics of gay marriages, and taking a stance on the land debate in…
Publieke teologie of koninkryksteologie? Gedagtes oor die sosiale relevansie van Gereformeerde Teologie
Public theology or kingdom theology? Thoughts on the social relevance of Reformed Theology. This article investigated the metatheoretical assumptions of the contemporary discourse about Public Theology. The investigation attended to the historical roots of the movement to understand the notion of defining theology as a mere social programme where the principles are sought in a contextual reading from the context of the reader – thus a reading ‘fr…
Key questions on the outmoded Bernese policy on religion
This research highlighted the main purpose of a state policy on religion, which is to clarify the basic attitude of the state to religion, to grant individual and collective religious rights, to govern the relationship between state and religious communities, and to promote religious peace in a highly differentiated religious landscape. By presenting the Swiss Canton Bern as a case study, this research aimed to demonstrate that while the Bernese …
The gift of life
The concept ‘human life’ and what it entails have become a prominent idea in current theological-ethical discourses, especially in the growing Christian reflection on bioethics, eco-ethics, and social justice. Contemporary Christian ethicists focus on concepts such as ‘flourishing life’, ‘happiness’ and ‘joy’, and how these deep human desires can be realised and fulfilled in life today amidst perennial surges of racism, xenophobia, sexism, system…
Life in transit
Migration is an issue that is under discussion worldwide and affects South Africa, the United States of America and Germany in a distinctive way. This book reflects academically on this significant and topical subject of migration from the often neglected perspective of the fields of theology and Christian ethics. While the majority of contributions are from the South African context, there are also chapters reflecting on the topic from the other…
Neo-liberalism, social democracy or a social market system in South Africa
Despite the establishment of a full democracy in South Africa 25 years ago, the economy of the country has not answered to the ideals of economic growth and the alleviation of poverty as set by the various parties at the dawn of this new dispensation. Several political administrations have since endeavoured to address the problem with different plans and economic programmes. Characteristic of these plans is the fact that the focus fluctuated betw…
Changing religious landscapes challenge confession-based state policies on religion
In contrast to state-religion systems of separation, many European states have a confession-based policy on religion. This describes the relationship of the state to one or more preferred state-recognised religious confessions. State recognition, or preferential treatment of the chosen religious confessions, can occur in many variations. These preferred confessions are predominantly the (former) Christian state churches. Such policies date from a…
Die impak van die gereformeerde teologie op die moderne staatkundige denke in Suid-Afrika
The impact of the Calvinist Reformed theology on the constitutional reflection in South Africa is overshadowed by the perception that Calvinist social ethics, as argued and practised in the colonial era in South Africa, was responsible for apartheid and must therefore be perceived as immoral and unacceptable. This research focuses once again on the political philosophy that resulted from the social-ethical reasoning of Calvin and his followers su…
Christian ethics and political economy
The value-free and relativistic human and scientific discourses have led to an era of ideology. From fascism at the dawn of the century, through liberalism and the associated phenomenon of unfettered statism, to the current disillusionment of postmodernism and relativism with endeavours towards new mercantilism. All have maintained poverty, inequality and created scepticism amongst both lay persons and academics. Above all else a renewed yearning…
Pastoral Banking Practice – A Christian-ethical and pastoral perspective on financing, credit and moneylending
Financing of human activity through borrowing from third parties is widespread in the Western world. Such financing may give rise to several questions of moral and ethical character. The ethical underpinnings of such banking activity are somewhat unclear and not uniform among the involved actors. Christian thinkers have been divided as to what moral norms should apply and, traditionally, the matter has been discussed mostly in connection with the…
Reoriented Investment Protocol – a Christian-ethical perspective on investments
The current state of economic globalisation and attendant cross border flow of capital and investments has spurred interest for what ethically sound financial practices, which are increasing among secular politicians, investors and academics, entails. Time may have come to address this state of international financial activity from a Christian-ethical perspective.Traditional approaches, both within secular and ecclesiastical communities, have bee…
Die Christelike huwelik – ’n sosiale konstruk of ’n verbondsgegewe
In die huweliksetiek van die postmoderne era pleit verskeie christelike teoloë vir ’n eietydse inkleding van die huwelikskonsep. As beginpunt word die standpunt oorweeg dat daar nie sprake van ’n sogenaamde ‘bybelse huwelik’ kan wees nie omdat die huwelik as instelling ’n sosiale konstruk is wat kultureel en tradisioneel bepaal word. So kan alternatiewe saamblyverhoudings deur christene in die huidige postmoderne era as geldig aanvaar word. Na di…
Christelike etiek in 'n sekulariserende samelewing
Christelike etiek in ’n sekulariserende samelewing produces authoritative, fully evidenced and well-reasoned treatment of Christian ethics, a major topic that is of central concern to South Africa’s people. It disseminates original research, fosters collaboration of experts and generates new developments within the specific field of Reformed Theology and Christian Ethics. The author applies in Christian ethics the concept of the kingdom of God as…
Christian ethics in the face of secularism
This article deals with the implications of modern secularism for the concept of Christian ethics. How does the decline of Christianity in modern Western societies impede the validity of a Christian ethical approach to contemporary social issues? The concept secularism is explained. The argument then moves to the meta-theory of Christian ethics, namely the revelation of God as it is expressed in the book of nature , the written word, and the inca…
An ethics of forgiveness
This article investigates the argument that the Christian idea of forgiveness can and should be translated into a socio-political context, from a Reformed perspective. It furthermore endeavours to provide guidelines that can be applied in the sphere of a political transition of the basis of an ethics of forgiveness. The new post-Apartheid society of South Africa is a good example of such a political transition. The central theoretical argument of…
The Ethics of Land Restitution
Many indigenous communities were dispossessed of their land during the period of colonial rule. This long process resulted in forced demographic removals and perennial poverty. Nowadays these communities, especially Third World groups, seek redress of this situation through legal processes of land restitution. This process is met by resistance from landowners in these countries, the colonial powers of old, as well as from big corporations that be…
Christian attitude in business
The beginning of the twenty-first century faces new challenges in the field of business ethics. Totally new macro-ethical challenges have arisen and they have already inspired constant ethical reflection. Two major developments in the field of economics paved the way for this new interest in business ethics: the total dominance of the market driven economy and economic globalization. This article investigates the ethical challenges posed by this …
Ecocide, the integrity of creation and the rights of the next generation
Environmental Ethics is currently a highly important theme in Christian Ethics. This is due to the disturbing results of the current ecological research. Scholars today speak of “ecocide” – a term which describes the on-going destruction of ecosystems by means of pollution, deforestation, modern warfare, toxic waste and the increase in poverty. Of special concern is the accusation that Christianity with its emphasis on the dominium terrae is part…
Christian ethics in the face of secularism
This article deals with the implications of modern secularism for the concept of Christian ethics. How does the decline of Christianity in modern Western societies impede the validity of a Christian ethical approach to contemporary social issues? The concept secularism is explained. The argument then moves to the meta-theory of Christian ethics, namely the revelation of God as it is expressed in the book of nature , the written word, and the inca…
An ethics of forgiveness
This article investigates the argument that the Christian idea of forgiveness can and should be translated into a socio-political context, from a Reformed perspective. It furthermore endeavours to provide guidelines that can be applied in the sphere of a political transition of the basis of an ethics of forgiveness. The new post-Apartheid society of South Africa is a good example of such a political transition. The central theoretical argument of…
Human Rights and Moral Conflicts
Racism, Xenophobia and Human Rights
Ecocide, the integrity of creation and the rights of the next generation
Environmental Ethics is currently a highly important theme in Christian Ethics. This is due to the disturbing results of the current ecological research. Scholars today speak of “ecocide” – a term which describes the on-going destruction of ecosystems by means of pollution, deforestation, modern warfare, toxic waste and the increase in poverty. Of special concern is the accusation that Christianity with its emphasis on the dominium terrae is part…
The Ethics of Land Restitution
Many indigenous communities were dispossessed of their land during the period of colonial rule. This long process resulted in forced demographic removals and perennial poverty. Nowadays these communities, especially Third World groups, seek redress of this situation through legal processes of land restitution. This process is met by resistance from landowners in these countries, the colonial powers of old, as well as from big corporations that be…
Christian attitude in business
The beginning of the twenty-first century faces new challenges in the field of business ethics. Totally new macro-ethical challenges have arisen and they have already inspired constant ethical reflection. Two major developments in the field of economics paved the way for this new interest in business ethics: the total dominance of the market driven economy and economic globalization. This article investigates the ethical challenges posed by this …
An ethics of forgiveness
This article investigates the argument that the Christian idea of forgiveness can and should be translated into a socio-political context, from a Reformed perspective. It furthermore endeavours to provide guidelines that can be applied in the sphere of a political transition of the basis of an ethics of forgiveness. The new post-Apartheid society of South Africa is a good example of such a political transition. The central theoretical argument of…
Christian ethics in the face of secularism
This article deals with the implications of modern secularism for the concept of Christian ethics. How does the decline of Christianity in modern Western societies impede the validity of a Christian ethical approach to contemporary social issues? The concept secularism is explained. The argument then moves to the meta-theory of Christian ethics, namely the revelation of God as it is expressed in the book of nature , the written word, and the inca…
Christelike etiek in 'n sekulariserende samelewing
Christelike etiek in ’n sekulariserende samelewing produces authoritative, fully evidenced and well-reasoned treatment of Christian ethics, a major topic that is of central concern to South Africa’s people. It disseminates original research, fosters collaboration of experts and generates new developments within the specific field of Reformed Theology and Christian Ethics. The author applies in Christian ethics the concept of the kingdom of God as…
Die Christelike huwelik – ’n sosiale konstruk of ’n verbondsgegewe
In die huweliksetiek van die postmoderne era pleit verskeie christelike teoloë vir ’n eietydse inkleding van die huwelikskonsep. As beginpunt word die standpunt oorweeg dat daar nie sprake van ’n sogenaamde ‘bybelse huwelik’ kan wees nie omdat die huwelik as instelling ’n sosiale konstruk is wat kultureel en tradisioneel bepaal word. So kan alternatiewe saamblyverhoudings deur christene in die huidige postmoderne era as geldig aanvaar word. Na di…
Reoriented Investment Protocol – a Christian-ethical perspective on investments
The current state of economic globalisation and attendant cross border flow of capital and investments has spurred interest for what ethically sound financial practices, which are increasing among secular politicians, investors and academics, entails. Time may have come to address this state of international financial activity from a Christian-ethical perspective.Traditional approaches, both within secular and ecclesiastical communities, have bee…
Pastoral Banking Practice – A Christian-ethical and pastoral perspective on financing, credit and moneylending
Financing of human activity through borrowing from third parties is widespread in the Western world. Such financing may give rise to several questions of moral and ethical character. The ethical underpinnings of such banking activity are somewhat unclear and not uniform among the involved actors. Christian thinkers have been divided as to what moral norms should apply and, traditionally, the matter has been discussed mostly in connection with the…
Neo-liberalism, social democracy or a social market system in South Africa
Despite the establishment of a full democracy in South Africa 25 years ago, the economy of the country has not answered to the ideals of economic growth and the alleviation of poverty as set by the various parties at the dawn of this new dispensation. Several political administrations have since endeavoured to address the problem with different plans and economic programmes. Characteristic of these plans is the fact that the focus fluctuated betw…
Changing religious landscapes challenge confession-based state policies on religion
In contrast to state-religion systems of separation, many European states have a confession-based policy on religion. This describes the relationship of the state to one or more preferred state-recognised religious confessions. State recognition, or preferential treatment of the chosen religious confessions, can occur in many variations. These preferred confessions are predominantly the (former) Christian state churches. Such policies date from a…
Die impak van die gereformeerde teologie op die moderne staatkundige denke in Suid-Afrika
The impact of the Calvinist Reformed theology on the constitutional reflection in South Africa is overshadowed by the perception that Calvinist social ethics, as argued and practised in the colonial era in South Africa, was responsible for apartheid and must therefore be perceived as immoral and unacceptable. This research focuses once again on the political philosophy that resulted from the social-ethical reasoning of Calvin and his followers su…
Christian ethics and political economy
The value-free and relativistic human and scientific discourses have led to an era of ideology. From fascism at the dawn of the century, through liberalism and the associated phenomenon of unfettered statism, to the current disillusionment of postmodernism and relativism with endeavours towards new mercantilism. All have maintained poverty, inequality and created scepticism amongst both lay persons and academics. Above all else a renewed yearning…
Key questions on the outmoded Bernese policy on religion
This research highlighted the main purpose of a state policy on religion, which is to clarify the basic attitude of the state to religion, to grant individual and collective religious rights, to govern the relationship between state and religious communities, and to promote religious peace in a highly differentiated religious landscape. By presenting the Swiss Canton Bern as a case study, this research aimed to demonstrate that while the Bernese …
The gift of life
The concept ‘human life’ and what it entails have become a prominent idea in current theological-ethical discourses, especially in the growing Christian reflection on bioethics, eco-ethics, and social justice. Contemporary Christian ethicists focus on concepts such as ‘flourishing life’, ‘happiness’ and ‘joy’, and how these deep human desires can be realised and fulfilled in life today amidst perennial surges of racism, xenophobia, sexism, system…
Life in transit
Migration is an issue that is under discussion worldwide and affects South Africa, the United States of America and Germany in a distinctive way. This book reflects academically on this significant and topical subject of migration from the often neglected perspective of the fields of theology and Christian ethics. While the majority of contributions are from the South African context, there are also chapters reflecting on the topic from the other…
Christian hermeneutics in South Africa
Hermeneutics remains a divisive and polarizing topic within scholarly and ecclesiastical communities in South Africa. These tensions are not limited to theoretical differences but often crystallize on a grassroots level when local churches and church assemblies have to make important decisions on controversial ethical topics such as ordaining women in church offices, assessing the ethics of gay marriages, and taking a stance on the land debate in…
Publieke teologie of koninkryksteologie? Gedagtes oor die sosiale relevansie van Gereformeerde Teologie
Public theology or kingdom theology? Thoughts on the social relevance of Reformed Theology. This article investigated the metatheoretical assumptions of the contemporary discourse about Public Theology. The investigation attended to the historical roots of the movement to understand the notion of defining theology as a mere social programme where the principles are sought in a contextual reading from the context of the reader – thus a reading ‘fr…
Six decades of Moltmann’s Theology of Hope and tangible hope in South Africa today
Moltmann’s Theology of Hope still resonates in theological discourses 60 years after the publication of his epoch-making book containing this concept. At a time of fading hope among South Africans, a revisitation of Moltmann’s pattern of reasoning holds the promise of reward. This article focuses on the quest for raising tangible hope in South Africa and the possible contribution of the Theology of Hope in this regard. The central theoretical arg…
Principles for the Bernese policy on religion
Traditional confessional-based state policies on religion only address the relationship between the state and the state-recognised churches. In view of the changing religious landscape, these policies suffer from a loss of relevance. By ignoring other churches and religious communities and the non-denominational part of the population, unadjusted policies may in the foreseeable future represent a social minority. They fail to meet today’s demands…
Die begrippe ‘gemeen akkoord’ en ‘buite kerkverband plaas’ in kerkregtelike perspektief
burning issue in Reformed Churches world-wide and even resulted in divisions and schisms. This is currently also the case in the community of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (RCA) (Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika [GKSA]). The 2009 General Synod of the RCA resolved that women may not be ordained in the offices of ministers and elders. Subsequent Synods re-affirmed this decisions by a mere majority of votes according to Article 31 of the C…
The moral agency of civil society in post-election South Africa
With the dawn of the new post-election Government of National Unity (GNU) in South Africa, this article ventures some ideas on the possible contribution of civil society to this new dispensation with the aim of turning the tide of moral decay and to set the course to hope and the development of a community of character. The research approaches the topic from a Reformed theological-ethical paradigm and considers social ethics within the context of…
N Christelik-etiese metateorie vir vandag
A Christian-ethical metatheory for today: A classic Reformed perspective. The aim of this article is to contribute to the development of a metatheory of Christian ethics from the perspective of the classical Reformed Theological tradition. In contrast to the moral relativism advocated by modern liberal ethical patterns of reasoning, as well as the plea for an exclusive focus on divine command ethics characteristic of contemporary evangelicalism, …
Sociology (23 works) · Political science (20 works) · Law (19 works) · Philosophy (17 works) · Religion, Society, and Development (15 works) · Politics (12 works) · Environmental ethics (10 works) · Christian Theology and Mission (9 works) · Theology (8 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (5 works)