Some reflections on the genealogy of the ‘Pretoria model’: Towards a definition of theological education at a public university

Abstract

Raison d'êtreThis contribution is, in a certain sense, the conclusion of my research project of the position of theology at a public university. Several publications have emerged from this (Buitendag 2014(Buitendag , 2016Buitendag & Simuț 2017a, 2017b. This research was undertaken for two reasons: the position and future of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria had been under severe review (2013)(2014)(2015)(2016), and the Faculty had celebrated her centenary in the year 2017. The author was Dean of the Faculty at the time (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) and took it upon himself to address these issues inquiringly and systematically.However, there is still 'unfinished business'. This is not only with regard to the historical value of the transformation of the Faculty, but also as a certain apologia 1 for my view of theology in particular and therefore a sort of auto-ethnographic inquiry. This is supposed to bring to the surface the underlying theological principles of the 'Pretoria model', or at least the one that I have promoted. I owe it to my colleagues to share some contours of the reference I have been working from. 2 When the renowned New Testament scholar Marcus Borg turned 70 in 2012, he prepared a special sermon in his home church. 3 The idea for a book was born from this exercise and he realised that, 't[T]he convictions that have emerged in my life seem to me to be important for Christians more generally', and in the Preface he states that, 't[T]his book is personal and more than personal' (Borg 2014:4, 1). It is in this vein that I present my view of inquiry theology at a public university here, and in another article I put the focus on the academia as such, especially with regard to its contingency at Pretoria.1.With this Latin expression, I deliberately allude to John Henry Newman's book, 'Apologia pro vita sua ' (2005), written in response to attacks for joining the Roman Catholic Church in 1843. His honest and passionate defence consists of a personal history of his religious convictions. Newman won respect and admiration and clarified perceptions among readers of every faith (see the back cover of the book).2.The world as I see it is the title of a book by Albert Einstein, which is a compilation of essays published towards the end of his life. Despite the severe critique from churches, Einstein said clearly, 'I am a deeply religious man' (2000:5), and 'I maintain that cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest incitement to scientific research' (2000:28). 3.The Trinity Episcopal Cathedral of Portland in Oregon, US.In this article, the author engages with the question 'what is so theological about theological education', which he calls the genealogy of theology. This matter is approached from a very specific vantage point as the author was the former Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and has been engaged in this research project over the last 5 years as the Faculty was under severe review ...

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