Abstract:
This article aims at exploring the theme ‘Living God, renew and transform us’ under the
following headings: the living God and the gods of death, the desolation of atheism and the
sun of righteousness, just law and the fullness of life. The author relates the ‘God of Life’ to a
‘theology embracing life’. He links the ‘gods of death’ to racism, capitalism and terrorism in
which we ‘encounter a new religion of death’. He points out that Christianity is a religion of
joy in God and sets out to illustrate this with selected biblical texts. In the section ‘The desolation
of atheism’, the author argues that modern atheism offers a ‘reduced life’. To make his point,
he refers to his own personal experience and the theological ‘protest atheism’ which arose in
the 19th century. The author concludes by stating that atheism offers nothing positive. In the
final section, ‘The sun of righteousness, just law and the fullness of life’, the author addresses
issues of justice. In referring to the Reformation doctrine on justification, the author states that
the justification of victims requires confessio oris, rising up from humiliation and forgiveness.
Description:
The former president of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), Prof. Jerry Pillay, invited Prof Jürgen Moltmann to
speak at the General Council of the WCRC in Leipzig, Germany, from 29th June to 9th July 2017. In a special session on Theology, he was
requested to focus on the future of Reformed Theology from the perspective of the theme of the General Council, Living God, renew and
transform us.
