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Words are more than vehicles for semantic meaning; they can also be regarded as ‘things’ with an ‘agency’ of their own. This happens when they are seen (iconic to legitimise) or heard (performative to inspire). According to S. Brent Plate, a key researcher on materiality (see reference list) ‘words are bodies, full of power’. Words, along with many ‘things’ (fetish, ritual, book, nature, place, etc.) mediate between the material known and the immaterial unknown; they make the invisible visible or experienceable. Birgit Meyer , the pioneer of the so-called material turn in the study of religion, says, words ‘effect the transcendental’ for the initiated. Not inherently potent but through ascribed or endowed meanings they in turn affect their creators. The so-called material turn in the study of religion has rediscovered that matter or ‘things’ really ‘matters.’ Words as powerful ‘things’ or agents are also attested to in Proverbs. When wisdom words are externalised (e.g. through ornaments, Pr 1:8–9), they legitimise their users; when they are internalised (in the heart or mind, Pr 2), they persuade almost like ‘powerful personae’ to follow the wise lifestyle; and when they are personified (Pr 8), they become the ‘mediatrix’ to the thought-world of wisdom, and its ultimate source, Yahweh. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The material turn in the study of religion (anthropology) emphasises the appreciation of materiality or ‘things’. It questions an exclusive mentalistic or inward approach in cognate disciplines, such as Religious Science, Theology and Old Testament and New Testament textual studies. It also stimulates a dialogue with other humaniora such as philosophy, psychology, literary studies, media studies and art history.

Especially since the late 20th century, former ‘Western’ cults such as the Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and Branhamites, became a real threat to churches in the greater Kolwezi, the rest of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and several other places in Africa. Because these cultic groups question some of the most basic teachings of Christianity, including who God is and whether salvation occurs through Jesus Christ alone, it is crucial for Christian churches confronted with them, to respond apologetically in an effective way. To be able to do it, it is important to understand why these groups made such inroads and proselytes from Christian churches. In the article such background is given and a way forward through Christian apologetics and a missionary strategy is discussed.

It has been the claim of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that ‘many plain and precious truths’ have been removed from the Bible, although Smith did not explicitly or concisely elaborate on what those missing truths were. Later, Dr Clyde J. Williams of Mormon-owned Brigham Young University provided that concise list. Writing for Ensign magazine in October 2006, Williams argued for at least eight specific doctrines that were ‘restored’. Upon examination and rebuttal, it is demonstrated that the Bible remains sufficient for all matters pertaining to Christian faith and practice, as John Calvin and the Reformers concluded years ago, and is emphasised in their stance on Sola Scriptura.

It is a mandate that all Muslims believe in all previous revelations given by God along with the Qur’an (Surah 2:4). Relative to discussions with Christians, Muslims are required to believe the Bible. Some Muslim apologists today contend that the Bible has been ‘corrupted’ or tainted through the infusion of faulty doctrines and the exclusion of valuable texts that support Islamic ideas by dubious scribes and malicious copyists. According to them there is no way of knowing what was in the ‘original text’ of the Bible. This article offers both a response to the Muslim apologist arguments regarding biblical integrity and trustworthiness as well as explains that what Muhammad knew as the Bible through the Syriac Peshitta is essentially the same in biblical content as what most reputable Bible versions contain today. Through the efforts of labour intensive manuscript discovery and exhaustive textual criticism, both Christians and Muslims can know with precision what the early writers of both the Old and New Testament wrote as ‘inspired’ Scripture. In order for the Muslim to be consistent in following the mandate to believe all the books previously given by God as well as the Qur’an, he must believe the Syriac Peshitta, or a Bible version that is a comparable translation, in order for the Muslim mandate to make sense. Such a concession, however, places the Muslim in an extremely difficult position that needs to be discussed between Christians and Muslims if they both wish and desire to be thought of as worshiping the one true God.

Baie predikers vind dit moeilik om Christus vanuit die Ou Testament te verkondig. Die probleem van Christosentriese prediking uit die Ou Testament is wesenlik ’n hermeneutiese probleem. In hierdie artikel word gepoog om ’n antwoord hierop te bied deur eerstens bepaalde ankers in ’n see van hermeneutiese moontlikhede te identifiseer. Hierdie ankers sluit in die Christelike karakter van die Ou Testament en die eenheid tussen die Ou en Nuwe Testament met ’n universele boodskap. Ten einde Christus op ’n geloofwaardige en verantwoordelike wyse vanuit die Ou Testament te preek, is ’n eksegetiese metode waarin rekening gehou word met die karakter van die Ou Testament, sowel as die verhouding daarvan tot die Nuwe Testament, onontbeerlik. Die holisties histories-kritiese metode dien, na ons mening, Christosentriese prediking uit die Ou Testament die beste, aangesien dit die literêre, historiese en teologiese aspekte van ’n teks verreken. Terwyl ’n verantwoordelike eksegetiese metode die basis lê vir Christosentriese prediking uit die Ou Testament, word daar ook ’n verkenning gedoen van sinvolle (organiese) oorgange vanuit Ou-Testamentiese narratiewe na die Nuwe Testament. Aangesien Christosentriese prediking uit die Ou Testament nie sonder gevare is nie, word enkele slaggate ten opsigte daarvan uit die Ou-Testamentiese narratiewe uitgelig.

Many medical practitioners in private practice use a locum tenens when they themselves are not available to practice. The locums are often appointed without consideration of the legal consequences or requirements. Legislation distinguishes between an employee and an independent contractor. If the locum is appointed as an employee the doctrine of vicarious liability comes into play which is not the case with an independent contractor. Contracts currently available to appoint a locum give the contracting parties a choice between being appointed as an employee or an independent contractor; this should be changed in that all locums should be appointed as independent contractors especially if the working of the Consumer Protection Act is also taken into consideration. Furthermore, according to the rules of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) the onus to ensure that the locum tenens is registered and fit to practice, rests with the principal.

For the Lord will offer sacrifice in the land of the North (Jer 46:10). The present article ‘For the Lord will offer sacrifice in the land of the North (Jer 46:10)’ combines two focal points of my research, namely the issue of the Old Testament image of God and the interpretation of the book of Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 46:2–12, the first oracle against Egypt sketches a frightening picture of the destruction of Egypt’s army, which was crushingly defeated by the Babylonians at Carchemish. The destruction is represented as a sacrificial meal, at which the divine sword feasts on the flesh and the blood of God’s enemies. In order to adequately understand the purport of his prophetic interpretation, I present a contextual exegesis of the pericope. It is read in its literary context and against its historical background. After a concise analysis of its structure and a detailed exegesis of the pivotal verse (46:10), I conclude with a theological evaluation concerning the meaning and significance of this eerie prophecy.

Bron Taylor defines dark green religion as: �� a deep sense of belonging to and connectedness in nature, whilst perceiving the earth and its living systems to be sacred and interconnected�. It not only emphasises a felt kinship with the rest of life but also evokes awe, wonderment and humility towards nature that binds to something �greater than oneself�. Do the intimate �oneness� and living in the moment of the two young lovers in the Song also extend to a diminishing of the self and an experience of oneness with a greater, timeless, mysterious reality? In order to determine whether the Song of Songs complies with a form of nature spirituality, the notions of belonging, interconnectedness and sacredness were investigated as they appear in this ancient book of love. It was found that the Song is representative of a form of dark green religion of a non-doctrinaire, immanent kind. It exhibits ubiquitously the notions of belonging and connection (kinship with nature, an interconnectedness and interdependency of the web of life) and the sacredness of the earth and its inhabitants (their intrinsic worth that evokes awe, wonderment and humility). The experience of sensuality, living mindfully in the moment, transforms into a timeless spirituality of connection to �another, mysterious world�.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The relevance of reader-oriented appreciations of biblical texts, notably ecological hermeneutics, is demonstrated; this approach can also be extended to other sacred texts apart from the Bible; furthermore, it points to the need for the ongoing dialogue with the natural sciences.Keywords: dark green religion; nature spirituality; belonging;interconnectedness; sacredness; Song of Songs

Between the 15th and 19th centuries Avendersteen (Avesnes stone) was used for many sculptural works in the Netherlands. The stone, locally used as building material, was excavated in underground quarries near the village of Avesnes-le-Sec, in the north of France. That region was part of the Netherlands in the 15th and 16th centuries. Avendersteen was transported along the river Scheldt. That is why most of the Avendersteen can be found in the southern part of the Netherlands, but it appears that it was also used in Utrecht and even in Kampen. The use of Avendersteen seems to be connected with sculptors from the Southern Netherlands, e.g. Colijn de Nole from Cambrai. Avendersteen is a very pure, finegrained Cretaceous limestone. Until recently the stone was not recognized by stone-experts and in many cases wrongly identified as Baumbergersteen (Baumberg stone), a calcareous sandstone from the surroundings of Münster in Germany. Avendersteen has a typical texture caused by burrowing organisms, a feature that is not found in Baumbergersteen. The findings indicate that Avendersteen was a very important material for sculpture between 1500 and 1900. However, nowadays only a few examples can be found, as Avendersteen easily weathers. Treatment of the stone has been applied to prevent weathering. These treatments need to be looked after, as they might even enhance the process of weathering. Avendersteen is the mason’s term for a white to light-grey limestone from Cretaceous North France, used in the Netherlands from the 15th century to approximately 1900. The stone was mined in underground quarries in the surroundings of the village of Avesnes-le-Sec, twelve kilometres north-east of Cambrai. Similar types of stone are known from nearby Hordain (Hordain stone). By way of the river Scheldt this limestone was transported downstream and traded in Antwerp. The greater part of the presently known monuments with sculpture made of Avendersteen are in Belgium and the Southern Netherlands, particularly in Breda and ‘s Hertogenbosch, but the material was also used in Utrecht, Amsterdam and Kampen. Almost without exception stonemasons and sculptors from the Southern Netherlands were involved in the application of Avendersteen. For a long time Avendersteen was mainly used for very finely detailed work. Around 1500 Avendersteen was delivered at various building sites (among others, the cathedral in Utrecht (the Dom) and St John’s Cathedral in ’s Hertogenbosch). In mineral contents and structure the limestone from Avesnes shows some similarity to Baumbergersteen, a calcareous sandstone from the surroundings of Münster. As Avendersteen has frequently been mistaken for Baumbergersteen, the use of Avendersteen for sculpture is much larger than was assumed so far. Although the ‘peak’ in its use was in the 16th and 17th centuries, this material continued to be used until well into the 19th century. The fact that the stone passed into disuse is to be explained by the availability of the white French limestone towards the end of the 19th century. However, Avendersteen is not the only type of stone that passed into disuse for this reason. The difficult mining of Gobertange stone to the east of Brussels was stopped for similar reasons. Nowadays the stone can still be obtained on a limites scale. A special 19th-century application are the three statues by the Antwerp sculptor J. de Cuyper at the façade of the Roman-Catholic church in Westwoud, in the northern part of North Holland. The material proved to be less suitable for external use, but in a number of cases it has nevertheless survived for a long time. Possibly this has to do with the treatment the stone was once subjected to. Research of the statues in Westwoud, which we hope will soon be restored, may result in new facts on the means used to protect the stone against every kind of weather. Research, including determination of the materials used, is important for a correct diagnosis and possible intervention. However, for most objects from Avendersteen it is already too late. In Vught the stone is fully saturated with acrylic resin and this seems to be the reason why the material can be preserved in situ. This intervention is irreversible. The ornamental stone at the entrance of the historical museum in Amsterdam has been restored in a manner that is less in conflict with the starting points of the restoration. By maintaining the thick layers of paint and only restoring it in some places the stone is still in situ after the restoration a few years ago.

Even though the life stories of Jesus and the so-called second Christ, Francis of Assisi, incline to the fantastical, their value for a modern ecological consciousness is defendable. Behind Francis� personification of nature and his mystical experiences of nature lie an intuitive sense of interconnectedness and interdependence, of being fully part of the natural web of life (confirmed by empirical science). The same is true of the immanence of Jesus. Religious figures like Francis and Jesus can provide a sound moral attitude towards caring for the natural world, but attitudes need to be informed by scientific knowledge to act ecologically correct. A partnership between attitudes and knowledge hopefully contains good news for a sustainable �green� planet.Intradisciplinary and/or�interdisciplinary�implications: Ecological hermeneutics (part of liberation theology or hermeneutics) challenges traditional theologies� often anthropocentric bias in the intra-disciplinary arena. It respects the interconnectedness or interdependence of human and non-human life, including the non-organic, empirically substantiated by natural science. This shared realisation allows for a fruitful inter-disciplinary discourse with science to address the global ecological crisis.

Isaiah Berlin quoted Archilochus to distinguish between two styles of academic reasoning that, to some extent, summarises the transition of historiography from Modernism to Postmodernism: �The fox knows many things but the hedgehog knows one big thing.� The modernistic master narratives of the first half of the 20th century (quests for the �centre of the Old Testament� etc.) were in obvious decline during the second half of the 20th century and, triggered by the Annales school of historiography social scientific methods, were incorporated into the study of ancient Israel. Historiography became less of an art that depended on an informed imagination and more like a science that presupposed empirical or social scientific research and a multidisciplinary approach to describe and explain the past. Against this backdrop, the historical understanding of the Old Testament in South Africa was discussed, starting with one of its oldest exponents, Bishop J.W. Colenso (disproving the chronological priority of the �E source�, rejecting the �truth proving� function of archaeology and interpreting biblical texts within the historical context of its writing), and concluding with the current chair of the Old Testament Society of South Africa, Prof J.H. le Roux (influenced by Old Testament scholars such as G. von Rad and E. Otto and historiographers such as E. Troeltsch and R.G. Collingwood). The methodological principles of historiography suggested by Troeltsch (criticism, analogy and correlation) were adapted to describe and explain some trends in South African Old Testament historiography that go beyond a superficial division between maximalists and minimalists.

bespreking proefschrift H.J. (Dika) Luijendijk. Vascular heart and brain disease and incident late-life depression Ongeveer 15 tot 20 procent van de mensen ontwikkelt tenminste één keer in zijn leven een depressie. Depressie bij ouderen is een van de belangrijkste gezondheidsproblemen van de 21ste eeuw in termen van ziekte, sterfte en het gebruik van de gezondheidszorg. Voor zowel onderzoekers als praktiserende clinici is het belangrijk om meer te weten over de factoren die bijdragen aan het ontwikkelen van een depressie bij ouderen.

The status of psalm singing in the Dutch Reformed ChurchOver the past three decades, there have been consistent and increasing signs that psalms are disappearing from the repertoire of hymns that are sung in the Dutch Reformed (DR) Church. In an attempt to turn this tendency around, research was undertaken to determine the seriousness and the cause of the current situation. An empirical study was done to determine the frequency of use and the functionality of psalms, and to identify the practical factors that influence these.Results confirmed the low application frequency, dysfunctionality, unpopularity and sparse liturgical employment of psalms, and showed that most psalms that appear in the hymn book of the Church, Liedboek (2001), have not become part of the repertoire of hymns of the DR Church. Respondents also provided valuable information in their explanations of why psalms are out of touch with the needs of congregations in contemporary Afrikaans culture.The research concluded that psalm singing is falling into disuse in the DR Church in South Africa. Only a small number of psalms stand a chance to survive, and then only in congregations where the singing of psalms is propagated, where well-known psalms are sung regularly and where new psalms are being learned.

A 53-year-old man with non-Hodgkin lymphoma developed red, flaky skin, which was initially suggestive of a drug reaction. He also had pneumonia, for which he was admitted for antibiotic treatment. During admission the skin picture changed and blisters and erosions appeared on his body. Skin biopsy and immunological examination led to the diagnosis of paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP). The patient died five months after the diagnosis of PNP due to PNP pneumonia. PNP is a rare and often aggressive bullous disease with an autoimmune pathogenesis, associated with underlying lymphoproliferative disease. It is characterised by a polymorphous skin rash, painful mucosal erosions, sometimes with respiratory complications due to bronchiolitis obliterans. Diagnosis is based on clinical, histological and immunological findings. The prognosis is unfavourable; death occurs in 90 percent of patients. This case illustrates the importance of histology, immunofluorescence microscopy, and immunoserology in misunderstood skin disorders in patients with lymphoproliferative disease.