In this article, the notion of 'desire' is critically interpreted in terms of the classic theological notion of 'quaerens' (as for instance in: fides quaerens intellectum; faith in search of understanding). 'Quaerens' indicates the quest for (or paradox of) something that is not yet attained, although already experienced, here understood as a quest for beauty - fides quaerens pulchrum. The concept of beauty is multi-layered, but traditionally it is viewed in a romanticized sense, as something (or an experience) that is fine, excellent, noble and honourable. In this article this romanticized view is critiqued within an aesthetical understanding of practical theology, in which beauty is understood as the quest for a radically different (and paradoxical) form of proportion within the experience of pain, horror and destruction. In this sense beauty is not contradicted by the notion of ugliness, but rather indicates the quest for the healing of proportions and the connection between the visual and transcendent meaning. The article takes a brief look at the development of some paradigmatic shifts in practical theological methodology, before discussing possible aesthetical practical theological meanings of beauty. doi: 10.7833/108-1-1

Johan Cilliers bied hier ’n teologiese boek aan wat tegelykertyd ook ’n kunswerk is – en wys daarmee dat teologiese diskoerse ’n opwindende kombinasie van skilderye, gedigte, refleksies, verhale, baie humor, Bybelse woorde, preke en meditasies kan wees. Hierdie boek is ’n ‘bricolage’ – ’n skepping uit ’n verskeidenheid van dinge – en demonstreer dat ons lewens ook ’n skone bricolage in God se oë is. In sy estetiese vorm, maar ook inhoud, is hierdie boek geheel en al anders as baie ander wat al oor ‘die sin van die lewe’ geskryf is. Johan Cilliers onderbreek elke selfgefabriseerde produksie van betekenis en stuur sy lesers in die rigting van die gawe van genade. Hy open die horison na God en die genade van die betekenis wat God aan ons as klein, maar kosbare fragmente skenk. Hierdie is ’n boek oor ons ‘eskatologiese eksistensie’ – maar dit klink veels te abstrak. Ek het baie ontdek en geleer deur hierdie boek te lees, het in kontak met die skrywer en sy familie gekom, het bestudeer wat hom fassineer, en baie beter gevoel nadat ek dit klaar gelees het. Dit is waarskynlik die beste wat mens oor ’n teologiese boek kán sê. Alexander Deeg: Professor in Praktiese Teologie, Leipzig, Duitsland. In hierdie diep persoonlike boek maak bekende Cilliers temas — insluitend die skep van sin, prediking, moderne kuns, kleur, Stellenbosse wyne, en die Karoo — op ’n verrassend nuwe wyse hulle verskyning. Hulle word verbind met intens gelukkige en uiters hartseer outobiografiese momente, en word as niks meer as fragmente aangebied nie. Terwyl mens egter die boek lees, begin die fragmente as ’n geheel met mekaar kommunikeer, en skep só al spelende ’n verrassende, eksistensiële teologie. ’n Teologie wat aanhaak by jou eie eksistensie as leser. Neem, lees, en geniet hierdie smaakvolle boek. Marcel Barnard: Professor in Praktiese Teologie aan die Protestantse Teologiese Universiteit, Amsterdam, en Buitengewone Professor aan die Universiteit Stellenbosch.

The similarities and differences regarding responses in the media to the phenomenon of lockdown liturgy in the Netherlands and South Africa is firstly explored in this article. The findings of Goyvaerts and Woude, which is based on their study of discussions in Dutch media, is briefly presented and thereafter compared to responses in the South African Afrikaans media. Based on this comparison, core themes are identified and discussed as creative liturgical theological tensions pertaining to lockdown liturgies. These tensions include: Excarnation – Incarnation; Global – Local; and Prophetic – Pastoral. Revisiting and exploring these tensions are invaluable for reimagining the liturgia condenda pertaining to lockdown liturgy specifically and online liturgy in general.

The similarities and differences regarding responses in the media to the phenomenon of lockdown liturgy in the Netherlands and South Africa is firstly explored in this article. The findings of Goyvaerts and Woude, which is based on their study of discussions in Dutch media, is briefly presented and thereafter compared to responses in the South African Afrikaans media. Based on this comparison, core themes are identified and discussed as creative liturgical theological tensions pertaining to lockdown liturgies. These tensions include: Excarnation - Incarnation; Global - Local; and Prophetic Pastoral. Revisiting and exploring these tensions are invaluable for reimagining the liturgia condenda pertaining to lockdown liturgy specifically and online liturgy in general.

There is good reason to introduce the cultural-anthropological notion of ritual into practical theology.As we have shown elsewhere¹,t he notion forces the researcher who uses the notion to be constantlya ware,n ot onlyo fh is or her own cultural roots,b ut alsoo ft he anthropological and cultural contextsi nw hich the rituals he or she investigatesa re performed. Rituala nd itsC ultural and Anthropological ContextThe notionofritual finds its origin in cultural anthropologyrather thanin(practical) theology.It is, however,o bvious that ar eligion without rituals is not conceivable.Burnt paper offeringsi nC hinese ancestral worship, the hajj to Mecca in Islam,t he Passover Sederi nJ ewish religion, the Eucharist or the HolyS upperi nC hristianity, they are just as many rituals, even though each religion still has separate indications for those rituals.Since this handbook examines religious practices related to specific culturalcontexts and positions, the cultural-anthropological notion of ritual presents itself as av ery suitable one.Ritual is indeed determined by its anthropological and culturalc ontext,a nd this also holds true for religious ritual.That does not exclude that denominational, ecclesiological, and theological notions also playarole in the design of religious ritual, but that is not the primary focus of this chapter.

This scholarly book is the final result of a team-research project, done by ten Practical Theologians from three denominations in the Reformed tradition in South Africa. The authors posed the following research problem and-question: What would be the relationship (if any) between preaching (and the liturgy of which it is a part) and the development of missional congregations? And secondly, what kind of preaching and preacher would best serve (even facilitate) such a process of missional congregational development in preaching and worship?

The core question posed by this article is, ‘what are the characteristics of a transgressive rhetoric, as evidenced by preaching in South Africa, in particular in view of the transition to democracy, and as based on the African philosophy of Ubuntu?’ Or, the other way around, ‘what type of (homiletical) rhetoric was in fact needed to achieve the political transition in South Africa?’ Cognisance is taken in particular of the rhetorical structures used in this regard by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, under the headings of inter-facing, inter-forming and inter-futuring. These rhetorical structures are evaluated in the light of certain rhetorical principles, as expressed in classical Roman oratory. Contribution: This article traces elements of historical thought and source interpretation by revisiting the particular historical role that former Archbishop Tutu played in the formation of democracy in South Africa, by means of an interpretation of selected writings, i.e. sermons and speeches by the former Archbishop.

In hierdie diep persoonlike boek maak bekende Cilliers temas – insluitend die skep van sin, prediking, moderne kuns, kleur, Stellenbosse wyne, en die Karoo – op ’n verrassend nuwe wyse hulle verskyning. Hulle word verbind met intens gelukkige en uiters hartseer outobiografiese momente, en word as niks meer as fragmente aangebied nie. Terwyl mens egter die boek lees, begin die fragmente as ’n geheel met mekaar kommunikeer, en skep só al spelende ’n verrassende, eksistensiële teologie. ’n Teologie wat aanhak by jou eie eksistensie as leser. Neem, lees, en geniet hierdie smaakvolle boek.

In his familiar and much-loved poetic style, Johan Cilliers takes up his pen like a walking stick, leads the way and invites his readers on a journey.On route, he explores the landscape of the meaning of life by visiting three places: where we come from, where we are going and who we are.The grace for humankind he finds in this space is well timed, given the Covid -19 pandemic, as people are now more than ever longing for meaning and in need of the comforting message of Grace upon grace.With this monograph, he completes his trilogy and, just like A Space for Grace and Timing Grace, Grace upon Grace is an important theological as well as a beautiful achievement.

Elías García Martínez’s fresco “Ecce Homo” (Behold the Man), in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church in Borja, Spain, was deteriorating so rapidly that, in 2012, 81-year-old Cecilia Giménez decided to restore it. Her failed attempt led to the fresco being called “Ecce Mono” (Behold the Monkey). Due to the failed restoration attempt the artist initially faced criminal charges. However due to much interest generated from extensive media coverage and internet exposure, the artwork became a tourist attraction. Even a local wine was created to immortalise the event. In 2016, an interpretation centre for this artwork was built in Borja with the artist, Cecilia Giménez, the hero who unintendedly put her town on the proverbial world map. Pictured against the backdrop of social media, and more specifically the social media platform of Twitter, this case study serves as the focus for the research portrayed in the article, sketching the importance and meaning of everyday expressions of theology. Some of the latest developments in practical theology show similar perspectives within the domain of “lived religion” and address spiritual practices inside, but also in particular, outside the church walls as daily expressions of faith. This orientation corresponds with the notion that theological language does not exclusively belong to formal academy and the church. Daily life provides a rich canvas for incorporating various forms of “ordinary”, “espoused”, “implicit”, “operant”, “everyday”, and “lived” theology and religion. The argumentation in the article is further developed by reflecting on the meaning of social media, specifically Twitter, in order to accommodate the sketching and meaning of alternative expressions of the language of faith. In the sketching of these everyday experiences of faith as portrayed in the Cecilia Giménez case study, the multi-layered beauty and sacredness of folly are illustrated. 1 Some of the perspectives portrayed in the article were initially described in the author’s PhD-thesis with the title “Tweeting God: a practical theological analysis of the communication of Christian motifs on Twitter” (Van den Berg, 2018). Some of these perspectives were further developed and presented at the annual Society for Practical Theology in Potchefstroom (January 2019) and as the author’s inaugural lecture, University of the Free State (March 2019). 508 Van den Berg • STJ Supp. 2019, Vol 5, No 2, 507–524

CITATION: Cilliers, J. 2019. Timing grace : reflections on the temporality of preaching. Stellenbosch: SUN PReSS, doi:10.18820/9781928480235.

Historically speaking, many Christian traditions have been influenced in their liturgy and preaching by Western understandings of time, i.e. as a linear progression from past, to present, to future. Africans do have a strong sense, not only of the past, but also of the future – in contrast to what some scholars would advocate. But African notions of time also harbour a particular understanding of the present, as the experience of social events. In Africa, time is not so much duration as it affects the fate of the individual, as it is the rhythm of the breathing of the social group. Perhaps the image of a spiral depicts best what Africans understand as time – a spiral that includes both linear and cyclical dimensions, as it reflects the rhythms of life. In this paper, an attempt is made to reflect on the contribution of a decolonised understanding of time on preaching in Africa, in dialogue with keywords like memory, present, community, event, and movement.

This paper attempts to identify some ethical dimensions in the preaching of Beyers Naudé, as being representative of a structural-contextual-ethical mode of moral discourse. Cognisance is taken in particular of sermons preached shortly before the first general elections were held in South Africa, and sermons preached in the aftermath of this historical event. This is done to determine whether any fundamental changes took place in Naude’s thinking on justice during these times of transition. A brief discussion of different theological discourses on restorative justice in South Africa is given. The paper concludes with some observations on the continuous relevance of Naudé for the current debate on restorative justice in South Africa.

This article will try to indicate that while the church's approach during the apartheid era was characterized by liberation theology and preaching, the post-apartheid era that is still characterized by social decay, moral impoverishment and especially an increase in poverty, family violence, divorce and a spirit of individualism - asks for an increased focus on sustainable poverty eradication. It is argued that in post-apartheid South Africa a fundamental consensus on binding values, non-negotiable standards and morally acceptable ground attitudes are urgently needed. It is in this context that the role of ethical preaching is examined. In a context of widespread poverty, unemployment and a sense of insecurity, apathy, unconcern and depression among many ethical preaching, as an orientation event, can bring a new dignity to people.

Martin Laubscher (UFS) interviewed Johan Cilliers (US) on his work in Practical Theology.