Baptist identity in ecumenical context : a critical exposition of the 1987 Statement on Baptist Principles of the Baptist Union of South Africa

Baptist Identity In Ecumenical Context is, essentially, an exposition of the 1987 statement on Baptist Principles of the Baptist Union of South Africa. The Statement has had no critical reflection given it to date and therefore this study is a new contribution to the growing corpus of material on Baptist theology in South Africa. The thesis explains the identity of South African Baptists using the key word discipleship. Though not stated as such, the1987 Statement on Baptist Principles is an expression of discipleship. Discipleship is described and critically analysed in the thesis as community, its sign as baptism, ministry is discipleship expressed in society, and freedom is the term given to denote the focus on religious liberty and the separation of church from the state, as well as indicating the church's prophetic role. Drawing from the rich heritage of Anabaptist and English Baptist history and theology, and reflecting on other evangelical and ecumenical theological writings, the thesis shows the value of 'discipleship' as the motif for Baptists in the contemporary South African setting. The thesis invites South African Baptists to re-discover this motif both in the context of their own tradition and in their relations with other Christian churches.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Religious Studies

Year dc:date.issued

1996

Author dc:creator

• Harris, James Ian

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• De Gruchy, John W

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18194

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18194