Address

Faculty of Theology
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch
South Africa

http://academic.sun.ac.za/theology/

Global Research Network Classes

Reading the Old Testament in Africa
Reading the New Testament in Africa
Public Theology in South Africa
Systematic Theology – Ecumenical, Contextual, Confessional?

Scholars involved 

Prof. Hendrik L. Bosman, Professor of Old Testament Studies

Prof. Louis C. Jonker, Professor of Old Testament Studies

Prof. Nico N. Koopman, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics

Prof. A. Elna J. Mouton, Professor of New Testament Studies

Prof. Dirkie J. Smit, Professor of Systematic Theology

Prof. Robert R. Vosloo, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology (Church History)

Prof. Hendrik L. Bosman

Professor of Old Testament Studies

Theology Faculty
Stellenbosch University
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fax: +27 21 808 325

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/theology/Profiles/bosman_profile.htm

Research Profile

Prof. Bosman's research interest focuses on theological and ethical issues relevant in African contexts. Themes that have recently triggered his interest are: the theological interpretation of the book of Exodus as narratives concerning origin and migration that influence the ongoing negotiation of identity by religious communities; the redefinition of “prophet” and “prophetism” in view of social anthropological research conducted in Africa; the role of the “fear of the Lord” as an integrating theological concept in the priestly and wisdom reflection on the presence of God in the post-exilic Jewish society; the impact of fundamentalism in the interpretation of canonical texts in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities of faith.

Teaching Profile

Postgraduate supervision is focused on topics related to the book of Exodus; prophetic and wisdom literature in the Old Testament; and the theological and ethical interpretation of the Old Testament in view of its reception by reading communities in Africa. Students who are interested in Old Testament research are free to suggest their own preferences and these suggestions are further developed in view of the capacity within our department. Our current contingent of masters and doctoral students hail from different African countries, India, Korea and the USA.

Selected Publications

"Origin and Identity: Rereading Exodus as a Polemical Narrative Then (Palestine) and Now (Africa),"  in Scriptura 90 (2005): 869-877.

"Vorsehung: III. AT," in: H. D. Betz et al., eds. Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart 8. 4th ed. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005: 1214–1215.

"Monotheism and Trinity beyond Arithmetic," in: M. Welker et al., eds. Biblische Theologie: Altes Testment und Moderne. Münster: LIT, 2005: 135-138.

"Adultery, Prophetic tradition and the Decalogue," in: W. Brown, ed. The Ten Commandments: The Reciprocity of Faithfulness. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2004: 267-274.

"Poor or not Poor? Pragmatic and Idealistic Perspectives on the Poor in Deuteronomy 15:1-11," in Neerduitse gereformeerde teologiese tydskrik 45 (2004): 238-243.

Prof. Louis C. Jonker

Professor of Old Testament Studies

Theology Faculty
Stellenbosch University
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fax: +27 21 808 3251

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/tsv/jonker.html

Research Profile

Prof. Jonker's research focuses mainly on two interests: (i) Intercultural Bible Reading: In this research exposure to intercultural Bible reading is used to facilitate a move from multiculturality to interculturality in South African society. (ii) Chronicles as "Reforming history": The hermeneutical dynamics of reinterpretation that produced the Books of Chronicles in the Late Persian province of Yehud, are explored. This research rests on an interdisciplinary basis in which insights from text-pragmatical analysis, socio-cultural studies, social psychology (on identity formation), post-colonial criticism (on power relations in an imperium) and reception-theological studies (on contemporary interpretations) are utilized.

Teaching Profile

Graduate teaching is done with a view to theological education for the ministry (in Protestant churches). He teaches courses in Pentateuch, Historical Books, and Lyrical Literature in Old Testament studies. Postgraduate levels students are free to pursue their own specific research interests.

Selected Publications

Josiah in the Chronicle's Mirror: Late Stages of the Josiah Reception in II Chr 34f. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlag, 2003.

"The Rhetorics of Finding a New Identity in a Multi-Cultural and Multi-Religious Society," in Verbum et Ecclesia 24 (2003): 396-416.

"The Cushites in the Chronicler's Version of Asa's Reign: A Secondary Audience in Chronicles?" in Old Testament Essays 19 (2006): 863-881.

"Reforming History: The Hermeneutical Significance of the Books of Chronicles," in Vetus Testamentum 57 (2007).

"The Disappearing Ne–ushtan: The Chronicler's Reinterpretation of Hezekiah's Reformation Measures," in I. Cornelius/L. C. Jonker, eds.  Syro-Palistinian Religions and the Hebrew Bible. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007.

Prof. Nico N. Koopman

Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics

Theology Faculty
Stellenbosch University
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fax: +27 21 808 3251

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/tsv/koopman.html

Research Profile 

Prof. Koopman's research focuses on the implications of Christian faith for moral and public life. From the perspective of Trinitarian thinking he deals with various themes in ethical life (political, economic, medical, sexual) and public life (spheres of politics, economics, public opinionformation and civil society – including churches and academic institutions). He is a theologian in the Reformed tradition who draws from contemporary ecumenical systematic theological and ethical discourses. Besides global political, economic, social and cultural transitions, transitions in South Africa and the rest of Africa constitute the context of his work.

Teaching Profile

At the undergraduate level he teaches modules in various fields of systematic theology and ethics, which form part of theological education for ministry in Protestant churches. Postgraduate students focus on various themes in the fields of Ethics and Public Theology. These students include students from South Africa, other African countries and other parts of the world.

Selected Publications

"… in a Special Way the God of the Destitute, the Poor and the Wronged … ; A Basic and Neglected Conviction of (Reformed) Theology?" in P. Coertzen, ed. 350 years Reformed: 1652-2002. Bloemfontein: CLF, 2002.

(with R. Vosloo)  Die ligtheid van die lig: Morele oriëntasie in ‘n postmoderne tyd. Wellington: Lux Verbi, 2002. ("The Lightness of the Light. Moral Orientation in Postmodern Times").

"The Dis(Otherly)abled and Public Morality," Scriptura (2003).

"Some Comments on Public Theology," Journal of Theology for Southern Africa (2003).

"HIV en aids als etische en theologische uitdaging in Zuid-Africa," in Theologisch Debat 1 (2004).

"Bonhoeffer’s Anthropology and the Anthropology of Ubuntu," in Nederlandse Theologische Tijdschrift (2005).

"After Ten Years: Public Theology in Postapartheid South Africa: Lessons from a Debate in the USA," in Nederduitse gereformeerde teologiese tydskrif (2005).

"Theology and the Fulfillment of Social and Economic Rights," in A. van der Walt, ed. Theories of Social and Economic Justice. Stellenbosch: Sunmedia, 2005.

"Curing or Caring? Theological Comments on Healing," in Religion and Theology 13 (2006).

"An Ethic of Vulnerability for a Continent of Vulnerability? Christian Ethics in Africa" (paper read at the Annual Conference of the Society for Christian Ethics, Dallas, USA, 2007).

Prof. A. Elna J. Mouton

Professor of New Testament Studies

Theology Faculty
Stellenbosch University
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fax: +27 21 808 3251

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/theology/Profiles/mouton_profile.htm

Research Profile

Prof. Mouton's specializes in New Testament Studies including the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Gospel according to Mark and the transformative power of the Bible in threshold situations. She is interested in the use of the New Testament in Christian ethics – particularly in redefining the role of women in church and family life. She has extensive experience reading the Bible in the context of various ministries of the church in Africa and has received several invitations to teach internationally.

Teaching Profile

Since 2005 she has served as Dean of the Faculty of Theology. However, she views the teaching of biblical exegesis and hermeneutics as central to her task and is still involved in some graduate teaching and extensively in postgraduate supervision. She is an active member of the regular postgraduate seminars in biblical subjects in the faculty.

Selected Publications

Reading a New Testament Document Ethically. Academia Biblica 1, Atlanta: SBL 2002/Leiden: Brill 2002.

"Interpreting the New Testament in Africa: Bernard Lategan on the Threshold of Diverse Theological Discourses," in C. Breytenbach/ J. Punt et al., eds. The New Testament interpreted. Essays in Honour of Bernard C. Lategan. Leiden: Brill, 2007: 177-198.

"Remembering Forward and Hoping Backward?; Some Thoughts on Women and the DRC," in: W. Weisse/C. Anthonissen, ed. Maintaining Apartheid or Promoting Change? The Role of the Dutch Reformed Church in a Phase of Increasing Conflict in South Africa. New York: Waxmann Münster, 2004: 283-292.

"(Re)Describing Reality? The Transformative Potential of Ephesians Across Times and Cultures," in A.-J. Levine, ed. A Feminist Companion to Paul: Deutero-Pauline Writings. Sheffield: Continuum, 2003: 60-88.

"A Rhetoric of Theological Vision? On Scripture's Reorienting Power in the Liturgy of (Social) Life," Neotestamentica 35 (2001): 111-127.

"The Transformative Potential of Ephesians in a Situation of Transition" Semeia 78 (1997): 121-143.

Prof. Jeremy Punt

Professor of New Testament Studies

Theology Faculty
Stellenbosch University
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fax: +27 21 808 3251

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/tsv/punt.html

Research Profile

Prof. Punt's primary research interest is in biblical (New Testament) hermeneutics, with a twofold focus: ancient biblical hermeneutics with the appropriation of the Scriptures of Israel in the Pauline literature as an area of specialisation; and contemporary biblical hermeneutics, including the role and use of critical theory and specifically postcolonial and queer theories in biblical interpretation; as well as the relationship between cultural studies and the Bible, including its appropriation in popular media. In both focus areas, special attention is given to issues related to identity politics and social location (and includes categories such as gender and sexuality).

Teaching Profile

Graduate teaching is done with a view to theological education for the ministry (in Protestant churches) and on postgraduate levels students are free to pursue their own specific research interests. Postgraduate students in New Testament are from countries in Africa and elsewhere, and they can follow either a more traditional biblical scholarship-oriented track or a programme focused on biblical interpretation.

Selected Publications

"Why not Postcolonial Biblical Criticism in Southern Africa: Stating the Obvious or Looking for the Impossible?" in Scriptura 91 (2006), 63-82 (SBL 2003 Seminar Papers, Atlanta: SBL, 2003, 17-44).

"A Politics of Difference in the New Testament: Identity and the Others in Paul" in: C. Breytenbach/ J. Punt et al. (ed.), The New Testament Interpreted: Essays in Honour of Bernard C Lategan. Novum Testamentum Supplement Series 124. Leiden: Brill, 2006: 199-225.

"Biblical Allusion in The Matrix: Messiah and Violence," Journal of Theology in Southern Africa 119 (2004)_ 90-107 (J. Bekkenkamp/Y. Sherwood (ed.), Sanctified Aggression: Legacies of Biblical and Post-Biblical Vocabularies of Violence, JSOTSS 400, Bible in the Twenty-First Century Series 3. London: T&T Clark International, 2005: 139-155).

"Postcolonial Biblical Criticism in South Africa: Some Mind and Road Mapping," Neotestamentica 37 (2003), 59-85.

"Towards a Postcolonial Reading of Freedom in Paul," in: J.S. Ukpong et al., eds. The Bible in the Global Village: Cape Town. Global Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship Series 3, Atlanta: Scholars Press/Leiden: Brill, 2002: 125-149.

Prof. Dirkie J. Smit

Professor of Systematic Theology

Theology Faculty
Stellenbosch University
171 Dorp Street
7600 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Fax: +27 21 808 3251

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/tsv/smit.html

Research Profile

Prof. Smit's research interest is in contemporary ecumenical systematic theology, particularly from a Reformed perspective. Topics include the role of the Bible in Christian faith and doctrine; the relationship between doctrine, worship and ethics; implications of the faith for Christian life; the nature and calling of the church; and so-called public theology (together with several colleagues, including Koopman and Vosloo). He has been dealing with these themes against the backdrop of recent South African history and the contemporary challenges facing the church in South Africa.

Teaching Profile

Graduate teaching is done with a view to theological education for the ministry (in Protestant churches) and on postgraduate levels students are free to pursue their own specific research interests. Postgraduate students in systematic theology include many students from several countries in Africa and from outside the continent.

Selected Publications

"No Ulterior Motive – and Public Theology?" in E. A. J. G. van der Borght, ed. Religion without Ulterior Motive: Studies in Reformed Theology 1, Leiden: Brill, 2006: 21-45.

"On Social and Economic Justice in South Africa Today: A Theological Perspective on Theoretical Paradigms," in A. J. van der Walt, ed. Theories of Social and Economic Justice. Stellenbosch: Sun Press, 2005: 225-238.

"On Adventures and Misfortunes: More Stories about Reformed Theology in South Africa," Studies in Reformed Theology (2004): 208-235.

"On the Impact of the Church in South Africa after the Collapse of the Apartheid Regime," in: K. Bediako et al, eds. A New Day Dawning: African Christians Living the Gospel. Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum, 2004: 128-149.

"Ecumenical Hermeneutics? Historical Benchmarks and Current Challenges of a Concept," in A. Fröchtling/N. Phaswana, ed. Being (the Church) beyond the South-North-Divide: Identities, Othernesses and Embodied Hermeneutics ... Münster: LIT, 2003: 23-48.

Prof. Robert R. Vosloo

Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology (Church History)

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Homepage: http://academic.sun.ac.za/theology/Profiles/vosloo_profile.htm

Research Profile

Prof. Vosloo's research interests focus on themes like the notion of hospitality, Trinitarian theology, the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, South African church history (with special focus on the reception of theologians like Calvin and Bonhoeffer in South Africa), and issues dealing with memory and historiography.

Teaching Profile

Teaching includes courses on Reformation History, 19th and 20th century Church History, Systematic Ecclesiology, Reformed Confessions and South African Church History.

Selected Publications

"Hospitality and Truth-Telling: Revisiting the Legacy of Beyers Naudé," in L. Hansen/R. Vosloo, ed.  Oom Bey for the Future: Engagements with the Witness of Beyers Naudé. Stellenbosch: Sun Media, 2006: 129-136.

"Body and Health in the Light of the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,"  Religion and Theology 13 (2006): 23-37.

"Archiving Otherwise: Some Remarks on Memory and Historical Responsibility," Studia Historiae Ecclesiastica 30 (2005): 379-399.

"Identity, Otherness and the Triune God: Theological Groundwork for an Ethic of Hospitality,"  Journal of Theology for Southern Africa (2004): 69-89.

"Public Morality and the Need for an Ethos of Hospitality," Scriptura (2003): 63-71.

"The Gift of Participation: On the Triune God and the Moral Life," Scriptura (2002): 93-103.

"Reconciliation as the Embodiment of Memory and Hope," Journal of Theology of Southern Africa 109 (2001): 25-40.

"The Promise of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theological Anthropology for Reconfiguring Holiness," in: C. Gremmels/W. Huber, ed. Religion im Erbe: Dietrich Bonhoeffer und die Zukunftsfähigkeit des Christentums. Güterloh: Kaiser, 2002: 125-143.

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Prof. Hendrik L. Bosman, Professor of Old Testament Studies

Prof. Louis C. Jonker, Professor of Old Testament Studies

Prof. Nico N. Koopman, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics

Prof. A. Elna J. Mouton, Professor of New Testament Studies

Prof. Dirkie J. Smit, Professor of Systematic Theology

Prof. Robert R. Vosloo, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology (Church History)