1. The problem:
In order to be able to confront the modern child
with a meaningful and intelligible interpretation of
Holy Scripture, the teacher in religious education
munt have a sound knowledge of contemporary issues regarding Biblical interpretation, as well as of the situation of the modern child.
Uncertainty prevails in theology and radicalism
and nee-positivism have led some theologians to
announce the death of God. Characteristics of the
milieu of the modern child are absurdity, chaos,
secularism and horizontalism, loneliness, materialism
and industrialism tend to depersonalize modern man.
Relativism leads to a hyperdynamic and pluriform
culture. Prevailing philosophies (existentialism and
neo-positivism on one hand and nee-empiricism and nee-realism
on the other) determine and dominate contemporary thought.
This is the background against which children
have to receive religious education nowadays.
Contemporary tendencies confront teacher, parent and catechist with problems which demand an answer.
2. The origin of modern existentialist theology:
Modern existentialist theology has its origin in
the old Gnostics and the "Aufklarung", especially the
positivism of Lessing and the anti-metaphysical conclusions of Kant. The search for a concept of reality
developed into phenomenology, nee-positivism, neo-realism and secularism. Hegelian dialectics and existentialism with their anti-metaphysical tendencies and
anthropocentrism were the cradle of the "new" theology. Contributory factors are the emerging natural
and technical sciences, historical criticism, Barthianism, Bible criticism, pietism, nineteenth century modernism, contemporary problems of Biblical interpretation for modern man and the relative neglect by the
church of "secular" matters.
3. The nature of ecistentialist theology:
The Bible is regarded as mythological writing
that needs to be interpreted existentially in order to
be comprehensible to modern man. Jesus is conceived
of as a human model and not as Saviour. Radicalists
plead for the abandonment of religion by the church.
For them the church is an altruistic institution for
the advancement of human happiness and welfare in this
world. Love for one's fellowman is considered to be
the sole standard of morality.
4. The implications of existentialist theology for
religious education:
Recent years have seen the publication of some
text-books and educational articles on religious education, which reveal undeniable features of existentialist theology. In Chapter 4 of this thesis a few of
these books and articles are discussed as examples of
the influence on religious education of the "new" theology.
5. Critical evaluation of existentialist tendencies:
in theology and religious education.
Modern theology has many valuable contributions
to make to religious education, summoning us to responsicle faith in God, demanding a greater interest in
man and his world, giving Christ a central position in
religion, opening up new perspectives of the human element in Holy Scripture and disclosing the dangers of
a purely conventional religious attitude.
On the other hand, modern theology contains many
negative and dangerous elements. It is humanistic,
dualistic and superficial. Atheism is a direct
result of the abandonment of religion. Religion
disappears in love of one's fellow man and for Christology
and Pneumatology the "new" theologians substitute
anthropology. The authority of the Bible is denied
while the concrete is absolutized and; idolized. If
the church agreed to become merely a welfare organisation, it would lose the true message of the Gospel.
6. The correct understanding and interpretation of Holy Scripture:
Modern theology compels the teacher to ascertain
what the writers of the Bible were saying to the people
of their own day. Modern theology also requires the
teacher to declare the eternal truths contained in
Holy Scripture and to expound its character as the
Word of the living God for the present time. To aid
the teacher in interpreting the Bible intelligibly to
modern children, Chapter 6 of this thesis presents some
hermeneutic principles which take into account the socio-historical background as well as the purpose and
real meaning of the respective pericopes.
7. Other methodological and didactic guidelines for
an intelligible religious education for the present time:
Chapter 7 of this thesis presents methodological
and didactic guidelines for the teacher in religious
education, such as will help him to avoid the adverse
and will enable him to utilise the beneficial elements
in the new theological tendencies.
The author pleads for real Christian emphasis in
the teaching of all school subjects, for purposeful
religious education, for actuality and existential
experience of the Biblical subject matter for education
towards responsibility for stimulation of independent
thinking, for implementation of meaningful exercises,
for accentuation of perceptivity rather than objective
knowledge and memory, for involvement of the scholar in
the truths he is learning, for development of a proper
conception of the unity of Scripture, for understanding
of the child in his situation, for cogent proclamation
of the risen Christ (also to be seen in the lives of
his modern disciples) and for education in compassion
for one's suffering fellow man. / Proefskrif--PU vir CHO
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/10387 |
| Date | January 1970 |
| Creators | Van Wyk, Jan Hendrik |
| Publisher | Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | other |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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