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      Besluitneming in die Gereformeerde Kerkverband Translated title: Decision-making in the Reformed Churches in South Africa

      research-article
      In die Skriflig
      Reformed Theological Society
      church order, church atmosphere, exegesis, collegialism, collegial representation, voting

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          Translated abstract

          The hypothesis for this article is that no complete certainty can exist on whether a resolution taken by a meeting of people is an authoritative expression of the will of God. The church [ekklésia] of Christ refers to the universal church of all times and places, as well as the local church (congregation). The general nature of collective decision-making involves the notions of representation and voting. The Reformation liberated churches from the overlordship of Rome, but also had the unintended consequence of the entrenchment of the liberal notions of individual sovereignty and self-sufficiency. The foundational Reformed confessional documents were formulated and adopted at gatherings convened and overseen by extra-clerical (state) institutions. It is likely that decision-making in the churches was directly influenced by the rationalism, humanism, and liberalism that has been influential since the 17th century. Contemporary participants in collective decision-making can find it difficult to distinguish between liberal-democratic processes and those of the church. Christ is the only head of his church and exegesis and hermeneutics are not exact sciences, it is, however, possible to deliberate on alternative Scriptural interpretations, but impossible to prove one to be correct and the other false. The inability of a major assembly of churches to resolve an exegetical question unanimously, attests to the human inability to know the will of God completely. Resolutions of major assemblies should be subject to unrestricted revision as the assemblies are not meetings of a church or of the church itself. Influential opinions among Reformed authors hover between independentism and collegialism, both having been influenced by liberal thinking. CONTRIBUTION: A range of interdependent matters need to be clarified to resolve questions concerning representation in and decision-making by major assemblies. A list of such questions has been set out at the end of the article.

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          Most cited references17

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          The Unintended Reformation : How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society

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            Die kerkorde in praktyk

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              'Hermeneutiese vertrekpunte vir gereformeerde eksegese'

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                ids
                In die Skriflig
                In Skriflig (Online)
                Reformed Theological Society (Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa )
                1018-6441
                2305-0853
                2024
                : 58
                : 1
                : 1-10
                Affiliations
                [01] Potchefstroom orgnameNorth-West University orgdiv1Faculty of Law South Africa
                Article
                S2305-08532024000100013 S2305-0853(24)05800100013
                10.4102/ids.v58i1.3021
                15cadf22-c208-4cfa-92c2-0d831eb8d878

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 25 September 2023
                : 30 November 2023
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 24, Pages: 10
                Product

                SciELO South Africa


                church order,exegesis,church atmosphere,voting,collegial representation,collegialism

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