Original Research

Gesinsbediening in ’n postmoderne kerk vanuit Bybels-teologiese perspektiewe

J.M. (Thinus) van Staden, Yolanda Dreyer
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 69, No 1 | a2049 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v69i1.2049 | © 2013 J.M. (Thinus) van Staden, Yolanda Dreyer | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 19 August 2013 | Published: 01 November 2013

About the author(s)

J.M. (Thinus) van Staden, Department of Practical Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Yolanda Dreyer, Department of Practical Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Biblical perspectives on family ministry in a postmodern church. The aim of the article is to reflect on biblical-theological perspectives on family in order to enrich postmodern faith communities. In the post-biblical period the biological family was central to the process of the institutionalisation of the church and the spiritual aspect of family was underplayed. The church father, Augustine, indowed marriage with sacramental status. This emphasised the presence of God in the family, but ‘procreation’ dominated his theology of marriage. The sacramental status of marriage along with the dominance of patriarchy made marriage indisputable. This obstructed any possibility of thinking creatively about marriage in a postmodern context. In his reformation of marriage Martin Luther succeeded in deconstructing the sacramental status of marriage, but did not succeed in overturning patriarchal dominance. The reality of postmodern families differs vastly from that of biblical times and the times of Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. The challenge of the church in a postmodern world is to reflect in a responsible biblical theological way on the relationship between adults and children from the perspective of the kingdom of God. This article aims to contribute in this regard.

Keywords

Family ministry; patriarchy; biblical-theological perspectives; postmodern marriage; spiritual dimension.

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