Die Nuwe Hervorming: verwagting of verydeling?

Abstract

The New Reformation: Expectation or frustation? In the Reformed-Christian tradition the idea of a continuing reformation is – and should never be questioned: “ecclesia reformata semper reformanda”. The relevant question should be: what kind of reformation should be expected? In this article the author critically investigates the claims of the so-called New Reformation that were widely discussed in daily newspapers during 2002. The views of the New Reformation as far as the doctrines of God, Christology, ecclesiology, eschatology and Scripture are concerned, are scrutinised and evaluated in this article. The author discovers a very close relationship – in many ways – between the views of the New Reformation and that of Rudolf Bultmann, who was strongly influenced by the Aufklärung of the eighteenth century. The author concludes that the New Reformation, although there are some aspects that should be appreciated, cannot (in totality) be typified as a “new reformation” – it is not “new” and does not represent a “reformation”.

Keywords

• Christology
• Jesuology
• Doctrine Of God
• Panentheism
• New Reformation
• Its Ecclesiology
• Eschatology
• Doctrine Of Scripture