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Christian Identity Studies in Reformed Theology Editor-in-chief Eduardus Van der Borght, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Editorial Board Abraham van de Beek, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Martien Brinkman, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Alasdair Heron, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, emeritus Dirk van Keulen, Leiden University Daniel Migliore, Princeton Theological Seminary Richard Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena Gerrit Singgih, Duta Wacana Christian University, Yogjakarta Conrad Wethmar, University of Pretoria VOLUME 16 Christian Identity Edited by Eduardus Van der Borght LEIDEN • BOSTON 2008 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data International Reformed Theological Institute. International Conference (6th : 2005 : Seoul, Korea) Christian identity / edited by Eduardus van der Borght. p. cm. -- (Studies in reformed theology ; v. 16) Includes index. ISBN 978-90-04-15806-1 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Identification (Religion)--Congresses. 2. Reformed Church–Doctrines--Congresses. I. Borght, Ed. A. J. G. van der, 1956- II. Title. III. Series. BV4509.5.I58 2005 261.2--dc22 2008018712 ISSN 1571-4799 ISBN 978 90 04 15806 1 Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS ChristianIdentity:anIntroduction................................... 1 Eduardus Van der Borght ChristianIdentityisIdentityinChrist................................ 17 Abraham van de Beek part one theological principles Devastating Grace: Justificatio Impii andI-Dentity.................... 33 Phillipe (Flip) Theron ChristianIdentityasBaptismalIdentity.............................. 51 Christiaan Mostert Christian Baptism and an Identity of Inclusivity, Dignity, and Holiness ............................................................. 67 Nico Koopman ChristianIdentityandNationalIdentity ............................. 83 Ferenc Szucs˝ Christian Identity. Augustine on Faith, Hope, and Love............. 91 J.H. (Amie) van Wyk Identity and Remembrance ........................................... 105 Binsar Pakpahan Christian Identity in an Age of Difference ........................... 119 Jaco Kruger part two christian identity and the identity of the church Confessionality and Identity of the Church—a Reformed Perspective .......................................................... 135 Conrad Wethmar vi contents ConfessingtheFaithandConfessionsOfFaith...................... 151 Alan P.F. Sell ChristianIdentityandChurchUnity................................. 169 Callie Coetzee Transforming Identities: Reformed Churches and the Petrine Dialogue............................................................. 181 Clint Le Bruyns IdentityandMinistry.................................................. 201 Eduardus Van der Borght TheChurch’sCorporateCultureandIdentity ...................... 213 Johan Buitendag Why Are You Called a Christian? Question 32 of the Heidelberg Catechism........................................................... 225 Willem Verboom part three christian identity in the public square Salt, Yeast, Lamps, and Gadflies: Biblical Guides for Christian IdentityandCivilSociety .......................................... 241 Carol M. Bechtel ChristianIdentityintheContextofSocial-EconomicTensions .... 255 Osni Ferreira Stranger in a Familiar Land: Living as a Christian in Christian Nationalism ......................................................... 273 Annette Mosher Christian Identity in The Public Square—Karl Barth on the Beyers Naudé Centre for Public Theology ........................ 283 Martin Laubscher ChristianIdentityandCallingina .ComWorld..................... 297 Frank Sawyer contents vii part four christian identity and religious dialogue Christians and the Religions: Towards a Contextual Theology of Religions ............................................................ 313 Hendrick M. Vroom Christian Identity in Inter-Religious Dialogue: The Challenge of HansKüng’sStrategy .............................................. 325 Paul Kruger Freedom of Religion and the South African Constitution—The PositionofChristianIdentity....................................... 341 Pieter Coertzen part five christian identity in context AffirmingChristianIdentitywithinIndonesianSociety............. 357 Bambang Subandrijo ChristianIdentityintheKoreanContext............................ 373 Seung-Goo Lee African-Caribbean Perspectives on Christian Identity: Emerging ChallengesforGlobalChristianity................................. 393 Daniel J. Antwi Christianity or African Christianity? On Christian Identity in Sub-Saharan Africa................................................. 405 Godwin I. Akper The Inevitability of Culture and its Continued Struggle with Christianity: A Challenge for Reformed Theology in South AfricaToday ........................................................ 421 Rothney Stok Tshaka TheQuestforAfricanChristianWomen’sIdentity.................. 439 Akua Frimpong Challenges of Christian Identity in the Hungarian Reformed Context.............................................................. 453 Szilveszter Füsti-Molnár viii contents Protestant Identity in an Orthodox Context: The Example of Serbia................................................................ 467 Luka and Angela Ili´c The Identity of a Religious Minority: Innovation and Integration inFrenchProtestantism ............................................ 481 Paul Wells On The Way to the Living God in Post-Christian Amsterdam. A SevenfoldInvitationtoOvercometheCrisisoftheChurch...... 497 Willem J. de Wit Index................................................................... 513 CHRISTIAN IDENTITY: AN INTRODUCTION Eduardus Van der Borght When we discuss issues such as ethnicity or violence, does it really mat- ter that we are Christians? If we say that we are against violence, secu- lar humanists and Buddhists will say the same. So do Christians have a specific identity? And what is its nature? Is it ethical or is it something else? These questions took central stage during the discussions held at the members meeting at the end of the biannual conference of the Inter- national Reformed Theological Institute, with the theme of Faith and Violence, in Kinasih, Java, Indonesia in July 2003. The members decided to make Christian Identity the central theme of the next biannual conference that was to be held in Seoul from 5 to 10 July 2005. This volume contains a part of the keynote lectures and the work- shop presentations of the 2005 IRTI conference. Not all were submitted for publication, and they all went through a double, blind, refereeing process that led to the withdrawal of some papers and the thorough redrafting of many others. At the conference, the keynote lectures were organized according to the three themes of Christian identity and the socio-political contexts, Christian identity in the context of religions, and Christian identity in cultural contexts. Bram van de Beek, the then director, opened the conference with a lecture, Christian Identity as Identity in Christ, in which he did not not only introduce the theme, but in which he also placed his cards on the table in a provocative style. With a reference to the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism, Van de Beek defined Christian identity as one who belongs to Christ and no longer to oneself, and jux- taposes this position against the tendency in church history to reduce Christian identity to applied ethics. When Kant reduced God to the field of practical reason at the dawn of modernity, he did not invent something new. Eusebius of Caesarea had already theologically justi- fied the merger of the mission of the Roman Empire and the mission of the church. He recognizes the same tendency of the merger of pol- itics and Christian faith, and of empire and the kingdom of God, in the documents of WARC and WCC. The consequence of the rediscov- ery of righteousness as a central biblical concept in the 20th century 2 eduardus van der borght should not lead to Christian strife for justice in the world, and also not to the hope that human beings will change the world for the bet- ter; but rather, to a focus on death (Irenaeus)—The death of Christ for our sins, and our own death, since we no longer live our own identity. Dying with Christ in baptism, we have been transferred to his eschato- logical community in which we are called to sanctification—not in the sense of moral improvement, but of growing in our true identity as cit- izens of heaven. Free in Christ, Christians lose their fear of confronta- tions, and expect God to save and renew this created world through death. The volume opens with this challenging lecture. We have arranged the contributions according to five themes: theological basics of Chris- tian identity, Christian identity and the identity of the church, Christian identity