Op ’n mespunt. Die ontvangs van Johannes Calvyn in die denke van Willie Jonker

Abstract

This paper, originally read as the fourth Willie Jonker commemoration lecture (October 2009), explores how the central tenets of Jonker’s theology have been fundamentally shaped by John Calvin. It is argued that Jonker’s very understanding of Reformed theology is derived from Calvin. Furthermore, on three issues, Calvin plays an important role: Jonker’s insistence on the visible unity of the church, the importance of social ethics, and the church as the people of God superseding the ethnic notion of a volkskerk. The paper concludes with a list of contemporary theological and ethical issues that may be addressed from the Calvin-Jonker line of thinking.