Benno Zuiddam

North-West University | NWU · Research Unit of Reformed Theology and the Development of the South African Society

This article argues that from classical to early modern times, repentance and forgiveness have been experienced as desired qualities for human coexistence in a fallible world. The early church Fathers reveal a basic continuity in expression of repentance between Christianity and the classical world, as the church sometimes resorted to prevailing cu...

The pre-existent Christ as agent of creation has had a profound influence on the early Christian worldview. This is reflected in the gospel according to St John, but also elsewhere in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:1-3). Its evaluation as a core element of the Christian creed was confirmed by the councils of Nic...

Miracles do not happen. Men do not survive in fish, or rise from the dead. Daniel 's prophecies are so accarate that someone must have claimed his name and written them down after the events took place. Enlighment scholars? Not at all. Welcome to the classical world of Greek scholarship in the second and third century AD.

An overview of contemporary approaches by Southern African scholars indicates that 1 Timothy 2:11-15 has patriarchal overtones which are irreconcilable with socio-political agenda's that aim at a greater leadership involvement of women in church or society. A philological examination of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 brings similarities in argument to light wit...

The Roman Catholic Church reflects a tension between its traditional teachings and the current views of its leadership. While many bishops and nearly all Catholic universities promote evolution, historical creation remains the official doctrine of the church.

The Roman Catholic Church reflects a tension between its traditional teachings and the current views of its leadership. While many bishops and nearly all Catholic universities promote evolution, historical creation remains the official doctrine of the church.

Christiaan Willem Hendrik van der Post (1856-1914) was 'n veelsydige skrywer wie se werk teruggaan op ooggetuieverslae uit die voortrekkertyd. Sy boek Piet Uijs of Lijden en Strijd der Voortrekkers in Natal stel dat geloof en regverdigheid deugde is wat nagestreef moet word, selfs al eindig dit in mislukking. Van der Post se werk vertoon 'n teokrat...

Despite claims of creationists and evolutionists to the contrary, a philological examination of the extant writings of the Greek philosophers Thales, Anaximander, and Empedocles shows that there is no textual-historical basis to credit the pre-Socratic philosophers with developing a theory of evolution.

This article builds on the increasing recognition of divine communication and God’s plan as a central concept in the prologue to the Fourth gospel. A philological analysis reveals parallel structures with an emphasis on divine communication in which the Logos takes a central part. These should be understood within the context of this gospel, but ha...

Revelation and experience, a reformed-confessional approach to 2 Peter 1:16–21. The experience of divine revelation is of crucial importance to the author of 2 Peter and in the age of the Reformation this notion was reflected in the way Guido de Brès used this epistle in the Belgic Confession. Both documents teach a divine authorship of Scripture w...

This article builds on the increasing recognition of divine communication and God’s plan as a central concept in the prologue to the Fourth gospel. A philological analysis reveals parallel structures with an emphasis on divine communication in which the Logos takes a central part. These should be understood within the context of this gospel, but ha...

Die eerste brief van Clemens Romanus aan die Korintiërs vertoon ‘n afhankelikheid van heilige Skrif en gebed. In die konteks van hierdie vroegchristelike brief is dit die Skrif wat gebed bevorder en vorm gee. Clemens het vir sy kennis van God staatgemaak op God se skriftelike openbaring, aangesien hy die Skrif beskou as Godsspraak in terme van inho...

The Word as norm, the implication of oracle in 1 Peter 4:11 In 1 Peter the author uses the rare oracular word λόγια followed by the added θεοῦ to refer to the collective oracles of God, his revealed words. For all practical purposes: sacred Scripture. He suggests that these divine oracles should set the standard for all Christian speech and proclam...

This article explores the story and plot of Daniel 8 and 9, and argues that the angel Gabriel assists Daniel in handling the shock factor associated with Divine revelation concerning a seemingly successful antichrist. A comparison of the Septuagint traditions with the Masoretic text this article shows that Daniel 8 and the later part of 9 present v...

This article established the role of the Rev. M.C. Vos (1759–1825) as an internationally oriented Pietistic minister who encouraged mission work amongst the slaves and non-Europeans in the Cape Colony. It clears up several misunderstandings about Vos’s genealogy and argues that there is no genealogical warrant to treat Vos as something else than a...

Hebrews uses the words λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ to denote authoritative Divine speech. These are treated as oracles from heaven with an inherently divine quality. Hebrews’ use of λογίων as such implies a divine source and this is reinforced by τοῦ θεοῦ. Both the wider and narrower context of Hebrews 5:12 show that this expression is used in a context of rev...

Living oracles from God to us: The implication of λόγια ζῶντα in Acts 7:38 In what turned out to be his final sermon on earth, Stephen the Deacon used the expression λόγια ζῶντα� to describe the authoritative oracles from God as the people of Israel received them from God and his angels through Moses. From a philological understanding of this passa...

In Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, the expression τὰ λόγια τοῦ θεοῦ refers to speech of God that was entrusted to the Jews as a people. This includes everything He spoke through Moses and the prophets. The apostle presents this as a matter of the greatest privilege to his readers, both for its authoritative contents and the personal involvement of th...

This article establishes the role and view of Scripture in Clement of Alexandria's literary legacy. It argues that his writings reflect a belief in the verbal divine inspiration of Holy Writ that extended to words and even syllables. In Clement's view the Scriptures served as an educational tool in the hand of God to teach people his ways. The Holy...

This article deals with nineteenth-century liberal thought in the Cape Colony. It argues that both orthodox rationalism and liberal reason failed to provide the liberal minister the Rev. D. Faure with a satisfactory source and standard for theological thinking. As a basis for this conclusion serves the correspon- dence between Faure, the first libe...

This article explores the use of λóγιоν in literature (Septuagint and New Testament) and shows how this agrees with its classical use as authoritative message from the gods. Building on an overview of the function of λóγιоν in its several textual contexts, it defines and distinguishes this use of λóγιоν against the background of λóγоς. This culmina...

This paper explores the use of λόγιον in biblical literature (Septuagint and New Testament). Building on an overview of the function of λόγιον in its several textual contexts, it defines and distinguishes this use of λόγιον against the background of λόγος. This culminates into a summary of the use of λόγιον in biblical literature, which argues for...

When the Christian message spread through the Greco-Roman world of the first century AD, the ancient world was facing a theological crisis of its own. The gods, so much revered in the Greek oracle religion, had ceased to speak. It wasn't the Christians or the Jews saying so, but members of the Greek philosophical and religious elite, as they discus...

From the days of the Dutch humanist scholar Vossius only seven or less letters from Ignatius'corpus are recognized as genuine. This article re-evaluates the basis for Vossius' restrictions in the light of a 15 th and 16th century publications by Reinhardus and Martiales. It argues that the text-critical evidence and literary unity of the longer rec...

Irenaeus' (c.135-202) five books Adversus Haereses (Against the Heresies) give evidence of a mature and circumscribed concept of Scripture. From an analysis of relevant passages, using a philological method, this article demonstrates that Irenaeus suggested to his readers that: 1) The Scriptures are divine oracles of God, revealed from heaven. 2) T...

Thesis (Ph.D. (Greek))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.