For his outstanding scholarship in the emerging field of Biblical Spirituality, Prof. Christo Lombaard (Discipline Leader: Christian Spirituality) is the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Krister Stendahl Medal in Biblical Studies from the Graduate Theological Foundation. He is also one of the recipients of the Unisa 2013 Prestigious National Research Award, which forms part of Unisa’s Research and Innovation Week (11-15 March).
Published in 2012, The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality: Theoretical and practical essays from a South African perspective, has placed Unisa, and the discipline of Christian Spirituality further on the global map.
This follows the awarding of the prestigious 2013 Krister Stendahl Medal in Biblical Studies to Professor Christo Lombaard, Discipline Leader: Christian Spirituality in the College of Human Sciences for his outstanding scholarship in the emerging field of Biblical Spirituality. The Krister Stendahl Medal, which was established by the Graduate Theological Foundation in honour of the late Dean of the Harvard Divinity School, is a celebrated international award. Past recipients include Reverend Professor John Barton of Oriel College, University of Oxford, and Rabbi Dr David Aaron of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Lombaard, who has also been named an Honorary Fellow of the Graduate Theological Foundation, said he is extremely grateful for the award as it elevates the book’s profile, the scholarship of South African academics and researchers represented in the book, as well the young discipline of Biblical Spirituality, which seeks to understand the dynamics of the faith-text interaction in the ancient and modern worlds.
The Old Testament central to spirituality
Lombaard explains that the book, published by the Society of Biblical Literature, is a collection of previously published journal articles and book. “The power of this book is the emphasis on the Old Testament and Israel’s spirituality. The Old Testament is a central part of many believers’ spirituality. The Old Testament shows how faith and life fit together seamlessly, how faith and the everyday are interwoven together and how Israel’s spirituality fits into ordinary, imperfect existence. And as one reads the book, one understands the depth of Israel’s spirituality.”
Christian spirituality, continued Lombaard, draws strongly on the Bible, yet it is the New Testament which features most prominently. He said possible reasons for why the Old Testament takes on a “disproportionately diminutive role in the practice and study of spirituality” include, amongst others, the non-scientific nature of the Old Testament world, the socio-cultural gap between our world and that of the Old Testament, theological difficulties, and the way scripture has traditionally been referred to by writers on spirituality.
Furthering the scholarship of Biblical Studies
The book forms part of International Voices in Biblical Studies (IVBS), a series initiated by the Society of Biblical Literature. IVBS publishes monographs, volumes of collected essays, conference proceedings, and single articles meant to further scholarship in biblical studies. Its main goal is to ensure the work of colleagues in under-resourced parts of the world, such as Africa, India and South America, become better known all over the globe, including in the traditional centres of scholarship in (mainly) Europe and North America.
“The SBL has deliberately worked towards ensuring the research of scholars from outside the main academic centres is read within the academic mainstream. For scholars in Europe and the USA, for instance, books are much easier to source, and at more affordable prices. So these scholars naturally read each other’s work more than the work of scholars from central Europe, India, South America and Africa. In addition, with the strong growth currently experienced in the field of Spirituality Studies and Biblical Spirituality, this book makes the field more accessible to a wider audience, in the hope of providing some further impetus to the multiple fields of study which combine to form the academic discipline of Biblical Spirituality, or more specifically in this case, Old Testament Spirituality.”
Acknowledging innovation
In recognition of this international achievement, Lombaard is also one of the recipients of the Unisa 2013 Prestigious National Research Award. He will receive this award in absentia at a gala dinner, which forms part of Unisa’s Research and Innovation Week (11-15 March). In the year that Unisa commemorates 140 years of shaping futures in Africa, the main objectives of the Research and Innovation Week are for Unisa to expand research collaborations with research intensive organisations, also in BRICS countries, and to provide a platform for institutions to display their innovation initiatives. The week is designed to encourage Unisa staff to enhance their ability and effectiveness to engage in research.
Lombaard joined the discipline of Christian Spirituality at Unisa in 2006. Having studied Communications, with a master’s degree in Journalism (University of Johannesburg) and a doctorate in Religious Communications (North-West University, Potchefstroom), and Theology, culminating in a doctoral degree in Old Testament Studies (University of Pretoria), his strengths have been cross-disciplinary work and a strong research focus (about 80 publications to date). Apart from scholarly writing, he also writes and performs rock, blues, folk, and esoteric music under the stage name chrisman baard. He has authored minor literary publications and journalistic contributions for newspapers and websites, and he co-hosts a monthly spirituality radio call-in show on RSG.
The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality: Theoretical and practical essays from a South African perspective, published by the Society of Biblical Literature in 2012 is is a collection of previously published journal articles and book. This earned Prof. Christo Lombaard (Discipline Leader: Christian Spirituality in the College of Human Sciences) the 2013 Krister Stendahl Medal in Biblical Studies from the Graduate Theological Foundation.
“The profile of the book has been lifted by the prize,” Lombaard related, “with interesting invitations for guest presentations that have followed. The book is also read more widely now, and hopefully the scholarship will be taken further by others. That is after all the purpose of research – to advance understanding.”
“The award has been good for both the discipline of Spirituality, which is a young discipline, and for Biblical Spirituality, which has thus far been a minor field. But it is a discipline that has been growing steadily over the past decade, with new appointments and new chairs being created at universities around the world, because this is a field that has so much to offer to the wider theological and humanities enterprises.”
