DIE REFORMATORIESE VERSTAAN VAN DIEGELOOFSGEMEENSKAP (GEMEENTE) AS ’NPUBLIEKE GEMEENSKAP
Abstract
The Reformation’s Understanding of the Faith Community (Congregation) as a Public Community This article focuses on the Reformed theological understanding of the church as a public church. Although the Reformation did not know the term ‘public church’, the concept behind the term was from the beginning intrinsic to the Reformed ecclesiology. The article further argues that the specific Reformed contribution to the term lies in two unique emphases: firstly, their grounding of a public understanding of the church in a public understanding of the Gospel, and secondly, a strong commitment not only to ideas and visions but also to practical plans and strategies. In the second part of the article these principles are applied to the current South African situation.Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this Journal.
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