’N EGGO VAN AFRIKANER-NASIONALISME: ’N HOMILETIES-ANALITIESE TERUGBLIK OP NEDERDUITSE GEREFORMEERDE PREDIKING UIT DIE JARE 1960 - 1980

Abstract

The period 1960 – 1980 marks a time of political, economical and social turmoil in South Africa. In this article fourteen sermons, reflecting the experience of threat and fear by a section of the white population, and the theological and homiletical effort to counteract this, are analyzed and evaluated. The sermons were published in the official magazine of the Dutch Reformed Church (“Die Kerkbode”) and illustrates a general hermeneutical tendency. Firstly, to purpose analogies between the experiences of the Afrikaner and those of Israel. Secondly, to implement these analogies as a basis for moralistic preaching, and thirdly, to project guilt on to a caricaturized enemy. The paper concludes by suggesting the need for an ecumenical hermeneutics in which diverse perceptions of the Biblical message will/can be controlled and enriched.