Vol 47, No 1 (2026)

Browse Archives

  • Ecotheology in Southern Africa, guest edited by Prof. Johannes Knoetze (0000-0002-2342-2527), Prof. Kenneth R. Ross (0000-0003-3627-1358) and Dr Gertrude A. Kapuma (0000-0002-0776-0112). This collection contributes to the journal by offering theological reflections on ecological ethics, creation care, and humanity’s responsibility toward the natural world. Grounded in contextual and interdisciplinary scholarship, the articles explore renewed understandings of humanity’s relationship with Earth, biodiversity, and justice for all living beings, contributing to environmentally engaged and socially relevant theology.

  • Meeting the Biblical Jesus AFresh, guest edited by Prof. Erna Oliver (0000-0003-3606-1537). This collection aligns with the scope of the journal by grounding its contributions firmly in the biblical text rather than in newly constructed ideologies or subjective reinterpretations. The articles engage Scripture as the primary source and authority, seeking to speak to readers from a biblical perspective that allows the text itself to shape theological reflection, thus contributing to faithful, text-oriented scholarship in service of both church and academy.

  • African Hermeneutics, guest edited by Prof. Dirk Human (0000-0003-0346-4209). This collection contributes to the journal by engaging Theology and Religion through African contextual hermeneutics in an interdisciplinary manner. The articles centre African worldviews, interpretive frameworks, and lived experiences, advancing the journal’s mission to promote contextually rooted theological scholarship.

  • Echoes of eco-discourses, guest edited by Prof. Wessel Bentley (0000-0002-1167-4858). This special collection brings theological reflection into dialogue with contemporary ecological concerns. Drawing predominantly on theological contributions within a transdisciplinary framework, the collection explores the relationship among faith, science, and environmental responsibility. As part of the South African Science and Religion Forum’s research programme, it contributes to ongoing scholarly engagement with the ethical and theological implications of ecology within the church and society.

Original Research
The unchanging gospel in a changing world: A theological framework for divine healing today
Sonny E. Zaluchu
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3640 | 14 January 2026

Original Research
Understanding the ecclesial model of conflict transformation from a study of the Nigerian Baptist Convention in Northern Nigeria
Oladele P. Adehanloye, Teddy C. Sakupapa
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3598 | 15 January 2026

Original Research
A pastoral theological critique of “stokvel” ecclesiology through John Calvin’s doctrine of the true and false church
Gift T. Baloyi
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3625 | 16 January 2026

Original Research
Of angels and giants: Thomas Merton’s warnings to a technologically fixated humanity
Peter D. Langerman
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3591 | 16 January 2026

Original Research
Dialogus cum Filio soli: Tracing and examining Takatso Mofokeng’s footprints in Black Theology
Mnyalaza T. Masuku
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3638 | 16 January 2026

Original Research
Biblical stewardship and environmental sustainability: A scriptural study
Peggy S. Tewu, Joni K. Kampilong
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3695 | 22 January 2026

Original Research
An emerging ethnographic grounded theory of moral-soul injury: Perspectives of former activists of the liberation struggle in South Africa
Gordon E. Dames
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3644 | 28 January 2026

Original Research
The ecological–theological implications of the narrative of creation in the Pauline tradition
Seo-Jun Kim
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3879 | 22 May 2026

Original Research
From Imago Dei to Imago Digitalis: How AI and theology cohere in dialogue
Zia Ul Haq
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3707 | 30 January 2026

Original Research
Distinguishing the true Christ: Semantic and theological implications of allos and heteros in the New Testament
Isak Suria, Muner Daliman, David Ming
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3572 | 20 February 2026

Original Research
Missional review of the matrifocal role of Makhadzi and of Bathsheba in their patriarchal context
Takalani A. Muswubi
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3722 | 27 March 2026

Original Research
The scalpel and the sword: Reason’s role in shaping safe religions in the post-secular age
Walter Firth
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3745 | 07 April 2026

Original Research
An appreciative reflection on the use of artificial intelligence in sermon-making from a South African perspective
Alfred R. Brunsdon
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3802 | 10 April 2026

Original Research
From sacred space to cyberspace: Digital spirituality and millennial social relations
Susanto Dwiraharjo, Bobby Kurnia Putrawan
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3761 | 13 April 2026

Original Research
The woman threatened with stoning in John 7:53–8:11 in the light of gender-based violence: New insights for interpreting the pericope
Juan A. Casas-Ramírez
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3698 | 30 April 2026

Original Research
From victimisation to restoration: Rereading Psalm 29 from the Earth perspective
Juliana A. Tuasela, Agustinus M.L. Batlajery
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3795 | 30 April 2026

Original Research
Comparing Pauline christology in the disputed and undisputed letters
Philip La G. Du Toit
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3871 | 20 May 2026

Original Research
Reflections of ethical church leadership through the Beatitudes in the Matthean vision: In conversation with Prof. Francois P. Viljoen
Walter Maqoma
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3661 | 28 May 2026

Original Research
Mimicry in the Beelzebul controversy (Mk 3:22–30) as nonviolent resistance
Andreas Hauw
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3774 | 28 May 2026

Original Research
Theological response to insurgency in Nigeria
Michael D. Olajide
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3684 | 29 May 2026

Original Research
The blunt and frank: A critique of Nelson Mandela and José Rizal for the liberative motif today
Thinandavha D. Mashau, Fides Del Castillo
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3716 | 29 May 2026

Original Research
‘Let the Children Come to Me’: A biblical-contextual analysis of Luke 18:15–17 and its relevance to the philosophy of Anakhonhi do Hamoraon di Au in Batak culture
Raulina Raulina, Herowati Sitorus, Roy Haries Ifraldo Tambun
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3887 | 08 June 2026

Original Research
Violent text, violent context, and the Lukan Jesus in Luke 9:51–56
Godwin A. Etukumana
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3692 | 29 June 2026

Original Research
The empty seats: Ecclesial failure in Matthew 22:1–14
Wilson W. Suwanto
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3869 | 30 June 2026

Review Article
The sublimity of the ABSURD as a paradox in physics and metaphysics
Johan A. van Rooyen
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3633 | 20 February 2026

Correction
Corrigendum: A social-scientific reading of John 4: Lessons for the Zimbabwean Adventist church
Tendai Takawira, Mphumezi Hombana
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3780 | 16 March 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: African Hermeneutics
A critical look at imprecatory prayers in Psalm 109 and their usage among present-day Christians in Nigeria
Onyekachi G. Chukwuma
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3653 | 20 March 2026

Editorial - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Echoes of eco-discourses: Conversations on sustainable living and development
Wessel Bentley
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3893 | 01 June 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Soil and identity in the indigenous spirituality of the Ndau of south-eastern Zimbabwe: Unlocking the potential for environmental sustainability in the 21st century
Macloud Sipeyiye
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3685 | 05 March 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Stewardship and sustainability: An assessment of Christian and secular responses to the environmental crisis
Louisa J. du Toit
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3715 | 31 March 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Where ecospirituality is grounded: Nature as place
Knut-Willy Sæther
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3730 | 31 March 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Biblical ecological framework for re-evaluating the Nigerian Land Use Act: An exegetical study of Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15
Uzoma A. Dike
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3732 | 31 March 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Situating Marombo as sacred spaces in climate-change discourses among the Ndau people of south-eastern Zimbabwe
Tenson Muyambo
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3754 | 09 April 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
The meaning of being human and the future of humanity in the world of artificial intelligence
Martin Mujinga
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3721 | 16 April 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
Ecological justice in the work of Puleng LenkaBula
Christina Landman
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3727 | 29 April 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Echoes of eco-discourses
‘No place like home?’: Artificial intelligence-ecology within religious sacred stewardship and the digital Anthropocene
Nomatter Sande
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3720 | 25 June 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
John Buchanan of Zomba: Disgraced missionary or pioneer of ecotheology?
Kenneth R. Ross
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3693 | 31 March 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
From the theological encyclopaedia to doing ecotheology: On finding and losing the way
Ernst M. Conradie
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3687 | 20 April 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
Taking hands to save creation: An African perspective on ecotheology
Jaco Beyers
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3696 | 30 April 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
Rethinking ecotheology as a practice of relationality
Michael Biehl
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3817 | 07 May 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
The interrelatedness between wisdom literature, creation theology and ecological responsibility
Ananda Geyser-Fouché
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3793 | 10 June 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
Addressing the ecological crisis in Southern Africa through a missional dialogue with African values
Buhle Mpofu
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3821 | 11 June 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
Ecology versus poverty: The loser is …
Johan M. van der Merwe
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3811 | 12 June 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
Adam cried bitterly: Ecotheology in the lives of urban Malawians
Elizabeth Tilley, Blair D. Bertrand, Marc Kalina, Jonathan Kwangulero, Thoko Chilembwe
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3838 | 24 June 2026

Original Research - Special Collection: Ecotheology in Southern Africa
Recreation as restoration in Southern Africa: On the need for Bavinck to embrace the doctrine of apokatastasis
Dieter de Bruin
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Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 47, No 1 | a3735 | 30 June 2026