Conspectus Volumes

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14194/3061

Values, Scope, and Aim of the Journal

Conspectus is the journal of the South African Theological Seminary. The journal is fully accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training. Like the Seminary, the values of the journal are encapsulated in the phrase, “Bible-based, Christ-centered and Spirit-led.” Operationally, the journal is marked by four distinctives:

  1. With interdisciplinary discourse being a prized research objective at SATS, the journal publishes articles from across the broad spectrum of theological studies (Biblical Studies, Practical Theology, Systematic Theology, Studies in Church and Society), as well as studies that link with extra-theological disciplines.
  2. Conspectus is a Christian journal whose ethos does not divorce academic reflection and engagement from belief in God, obedience to the Scriptures, and commitment to the church. Consequently, Conspectus welcomes articles that are soundly Scriptural in perspective, approach, and content. The tone should reflect a commitment to the inspiration, authority, and relevance of Scripture, and to a theology that serves the church and honors God.[1] Publishing articles that employ reader-centered methodologies for exegesis does not lie in Conspectus’s[2]
  3. Like the Seminary, Conspectus prioritizes representation and input from various nations, ethnicities, and denominations under a broadly evangelical umbrella. This is reflected in the Editorial Board, Editorial Team, Board of Referees, and the journal’s content.
  4. As SATS is based on the African continent, its journal is largely representative of the Majority World—reflecting on/from and speaking into this context. Although this emphasis is apparent, this does not preclude contributions and contributors from elsewhere in the world.

Conspectus is an open-access journal, meaning that the journal is made available to readers at no cost. The journal is catalogued under ATLA (American Theological Library Association), Logos Bible Software, Galaxy Software, Sabinet, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), African Journals Online (AJOL), and is available on the SATS website. To be published in Conspectus, an article must go beyond a summary of secondary sources and present the results of sound theological research into a biblical or practical problem in a way that would be valuable to the church, including scholars, pastors, students, missionaries, or other Christian workers.

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    Conspectus Volume 31
    (South African Theological Seminary, 2021-04) Adjei-Brown, Clement; Ajah, Miracle; Owiredu, Charles; Kwiyani, Harvey; Ola, Joseph; Wilson, Alistair I.; Mzondi, Abraham Modisa Mkhondo; Cookey, Paul; Adeleye, Femi; Banda, Collium; Cloete, Anita; Coetsee, Albert; Coon, George; Darko, Daniel K.; Du Toit, Philip; Godfrey Harold; Henry, Desmond; Kabongo, Luc; Kunhiyop, Samuel W.; Kwiyani, Harvey; Lioy, Dan T.; Malherbe, Johannes S.; Manomi, Dougara Ishaya; Manyika, Batanayi I.; Mburu, Elizabeth; Mouton, Elna; Ntseno, Caswell; Linzay Rinquest; Sindo, Vuyani; Strange, Daniel; van Deventer, Cornelia; Wendland, Ernst; Long-Westfall, Cynthia; Wilson, Alistair; Manyika, Batanayi I.
    In “A Procedure for Analysis of Contemporary Reception of Biblical Texts in Ghana: A Methodological Consideration,” Clement Adjei-Brown reflects on reception theory, charismatic preachers, and Ghanaian traditional religions. His methodological article bridges the disciplines of Bible interpretation and contextual theology, charting a course for hermeneutical strategies that speak directly to African realities. Next is an essay entitled “The Concept of Cult Centralization in Deuteronomy and its Possible Implications for Today” by Miracle Ajah. Motivated by a vision of an inclusive society, Ajah reads Deuteronomy exegetically and historically, tracing the debate on cult centralization and its social implications in antiquity. From this discussion, he submits an appropriation of Deuteronomy that could address fiscal federalism and resource control in several African countries. Charles Owiredu enters the world of metaphor, analyzing the conceptualization of the “nose” in the Hebrew Bible. His paper “Metaphoric and Metonymic Conceptualization of the Nose in Hebrew and Twi” leverages Conceptual Metaphor Theory to explicate the use of the nose metaphor in human experiences and its codification in the Akuapem Twi Bible of 1964. Harvey Kwiyani and Joseph Ola’s paper entitled, “God in Oral African Theology: Exploring the Spoken theologies of Afua Kuma and Tope Alabi” brings orality and theology into crystal focus. Their approach documents the rich theological heritage of a couple of West African women, providing a credible counterpoint to Occidental theological refrains. The conceptualization of God and the formulation of African identity are featured in continuity with luminaries such as Mbiti and Bediako. In a rejoinder to the simplistic view that considers the Reformed tradition underdeveloped in its pneumatology, Alistair I. Wilson presents the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as an established tenet in Reformed theology. His paper, “The Holy Spirit in Relation to Mission and World Christianity: A Reformed Perspective” etches lines of continuity between pneumatology in the Reformed tradition and Christianity’s global reach. Wilson deconstructs preconceived pneumatological binaries and edifices, inviting us to a charitable interdenominational dialogue informed by nuance and commonality. Abraham Modisa Mkhondo Mzondi engages the sphere of leadership through an analysis of John L.M. Dube’s values. Mzondi’s approach is refreshingly novel in that it traces Dube’s leadership principles through ecclesial and political successors. At the heart of his articulation is a holistic view of reality captured in the phrase “a non-dichotomous perspective of Ubuntu.” Mzondi’s article, “John L.M. Dube’s leadership: Evaluating Frank Chikane, Kenneth Meshoe, and Mmusi Maimane as Leaders” is a theologically- informed interrogation of leadership for a South African context. Last, but not least, Paul Cookey of the Theological College of Northern Nigeria reviews Carmen Joy Imes’s 2019 monograph Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, published by InterVarsity Press. I would like to thank the authors for their meaningful contributions and for choosing to publish with Conspectus. May these writings serve us with fresh theological insights and a deeper appreciation for God who is at work in Africa and beyond.
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    Conspectus Volume 33
    (South African Theological Seminary, 2022-04) Wendland, Ernst R.; Owiredu, Charles; Huovila, Kimmo; Lioy, Dan T.; Antombikums, Aku Stephen; Kasera, Basilius M.; Barron, Joshua Robert; Wamahiga, Florence; Burlet, Dustin; Lovelace, Christopher J.; Urga, Abeneazer G.; van Deventer, Cornelia; Long-Westfall, Cynthia; Wilson, Alistair; van Deventer, Cornelia
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    Conspectus Volume 35
    (South African Theological Seminary, 2023-04) Wendland, Ernst R.; Lioy, Dan T.; Pienaar, Frans-Johan; Owiredu, Charles; Banda Chiwoko, Maxwell; Badenberg, Robert; Barron, Joshua Robert; Menzies, Robert P.; Urga, Abeneazer G.; van Deventer, Cornelia; Long-Westfall, Cynthia; Wilson, Alistair; van Deventer, Cornelia
    In the first article, “Theologizing in Africa: With Special Reference to Bible Translation in Chichewa,” Ernst Wendland emphasizes the many ways in which Bible translators function as theologizers. To illustrate this, he focusses on the New Testament Study Bible in Chichewa, reflecting on the art of conveying the meaning of a biblical text in understandable ways in order to serve the reader(/hearer) well. Next, Lioy, Dan T. argues for the basic categorization of human speech as either verbum efficax or verbum inefficax in his article, “The Destructive Power of the Tongue as a Verbum Inefficax: A Canonical-Literary Reading of James 3:1–12 through the Lens of Speech-Act Theory.” Employing speech-act theory, Lioy discusses efficacious speech as the proclamation of the gospel and inefficacious speech as marked by James in 3:1–12, concluding that efficacious speech promotes human flourishing, while inefficacious speech leads to decay. In his article, “Salt and Light: Reading Matthew 5:13–16 within the Context of the Matthean Community,” Frans-Johann Pienaar explores the rhetorical effect of Jesus’s command to be salt and light in the lives of the original audience of Matthew’s Gospel. Pienaar argues that Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:13–16 come as a challenge to an audience facing daily temptation to assimilate after the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Next, Charles Owiredu discusses the metaphors used for menstruation in the Old Testament in his article, “Euphemisms and Metaphors for Menstruation in the Old Testament and Two Ghanaian Bible Translations.” Owiredu analyzes the metaphorical conceptualizations of menstruation in the Hebrew Bible and then compares them with their translations in two Ghanaian Bibles, Twi and Gã, demonstrating that in both Ghanaian and Israelite thought, ideas around indisposition and separation are prominent when language about menstruation is concerned. Finally, in his article, “Reimagining the Role of the Pastor as a Teaching Elder in the Twenty-First-Century Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Nkhoma Synod Context: A Situational Audit of Lilongwe City Congregations,” Maxwell Chiwoko underscores that most preaching in the Nkhoma Synod is done by laypeople. The author argues for a reimagining of the fulfillment of the teaching responsibilities of pastors and for more effective training for laypersons. The issue concludes with three book reviews. Robert Badenberg reviews Who Do You Say I Am? Christology in Africa (2021), edited by Rodney L. Reed, and David K. Ngaruiya. This is followed by a review of Nijay Gupta’s, Tell Her Story (2023), written by Joshua R. Barron. Finally, Robert P. Menzies reviews Adams, Scott's book, In Jesus’ Name: Johannine Prayer in Ethical, Missional, and Eschatological Perspective (2022).
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