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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Confessional theology'
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Tshaka, Rothney Stok. "Confessional theology? : a critical analysis of the theology of Karl Barth and its significance for the Belhar confession." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/16522.
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Thesis (D. Th.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Christian confessions are frequently seen as Christian documents that have nothing to do with the subject of politics. This study endeavours to investigate the relationship between Christian confessions and politics, looking particularly at how the relationship between them has been construed in the theology of Karl Barth, the Barmen Declaration and the Belhar Confession. It concludes that a relationship between confession and politics is unavoidable, yet this relationship is only best comprehended when one looks at it in a confessional manner. A ‘confessional manner’ of reading Karl Barth’s theology is explained. Issues such as the primacy of the Word of God, the church as the subject of theology, the public witness of Christ to the world, the political context in which this theology takes place, as well as the ethical implications which emanates from this theology characterises confessional theology. The usage of the concept “confession” is informed by Barth’s observation that as Christians we are obliged to speak about God, but we are human beings and therefore cannot speak about God in an manner that suggest that God is fully comprehensible. By confining itself not merely to his monumental work – the Church Dogmatics – but also to Barth’s preceding and succeeding works, this research is able to render a detailed illustration of how Barth viewed the relationship of confessions to politics. Chapter 1 establishes the confessional nature of his theology. This chapter traces the most influential people and events that shaped the confessional nature of Barth’s theology. These include Luther, Kant, the Blumhardts, as well as Calvin and the Reformed theology in particular. Chapter 2 investigates whether Barth was true to his 1925 understanding of what constituted a Reformed confession when he was confronted with the need to confess in 1934. The historicity of the Barmen Theological Declaration is explored to illustrate that Barth continued to view theology in a confessional manner. Chapter 3 deals with Barth’s Church Dogmatics, illustrating that Barth never wanted his work to be seen as a complete event, but preferred to see it as a process. It argues that contrary to the 1930s where Barth’s theology insisted on the essence of confessional theology, the entire Church Dogmatics (especially the parts that proceeds the era indicated) should be read as confessional theology. Chapter 4 deals with the Belhar Confession that was adopted in South African in 1986. Admitting that the Belhar Confession was influenced by the theology of Barth, the characteristics of confessional theology are also explored in this Confession. It is argued that many have failed to see the Belhar Confession’s call for embodiment, because they have interpreted this Confession without regard for the new church order. Finally, it is argued that the confessional nature of Belhar allows this Confession to contribute positively to the current democratic dispensation in South Africa. It is admitted that the Belhar Confession is a confession of its time and. It is also argued that a confessional theology can be a suitable theological alternative that can contribute to the current theological deliberations. Additionally a confessional theology can provide a platform of discussing ways in which theology and politics, which remain intertwined, can both exist side by side, without the one dictating to the other.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Christelike belydenisse word dikwels beskou as Christelike verklarings wat geen verband met die politiek het nie. Gevolglik is daar 'n neiging om hierdie dokumente bloot te sien as teologies maar nie polities nie. Hierdie navorsing bespreek dié siening, maar voer aan dat, hoewel hierdie dokumente nie as sodanig polities is nie, ons tog nie die politieke kontekste waaruit hulle voortspruit, kan ignoreer nie. Twee belydenisse word gebruik om hierdie punt te illustreer, naamlik die Barmen Teologiese Verklaring (1934) in Nazi-Duitsland, en die Belharbelydenis (1986) gedurende die apartheidsregering in Suid-Afrika. Die gevolgtrekking van hierdie studie is dat daar in die teologie van Karl Barth én die Belhar Belydenis 'n onvermydelike verhouding tussen die Christelike belydenis en politiek bestaan. Die woord ”belydenis” word hier in verband gebring met Barth se interpretasie van die opdrag om oor God te praat uit hoofde van ons Christelike oortuigings, en ons onvermoë om oor God te praat weens ons menslike feilbaarheid. Hiervolgens is belydende teologie gekant teen neigings om oor God te praat op 'n manier wat voorgee dat God in sy volheid aan ons bekend is. Vyf opsigtelike kenmerke in die teologie van Barth word ondersoek. Hierdie kenmerke illustreer die mate waartoe teologie en politiek aan mekaar verwant is, en dat politiek altyd in Barth se teologie geïmpliseer word. Die studie voer ook aan dat Barth se teologie relevant is omdat dit probeer om die Woord op 'n ander manier te interpreteer na aanleiding van die spesifieke konteks waarbinne daar oor God gepraat word. Die studie beweer verder dat Barth se hele teologie as belydende teologie gelees moet word. Die gevolgtrekking word gemaak dat belydende teologie verskil van “konfessionalisme” en altyd die beliggaming van dít wat bely word, impliseer. Deur hierdie kenmerke van belydende teologie in die teologie van Barth waar te neem, word daar besef dat sy teologie steeds ‘n deurslaggewende rol in ander teologiese kontekste speel. Om hierdie rede word daar aangevoer dat die Belharbelydenis grootliks deur die teologie van Barth beïnvloed is. Die debat oor die Belharbelydenis bring ook belangrike vrae oor die teologiese situasie in Suid-Afrika na vore. Ten slotte word daar aangevoer dat belydende teologie 'n nuttige teologie is wat teologie in die algemeen kan beskerm teen die kloue van “geteologiseerde politiek”. Hierdie teologie kan dus steeds 'n konstruktiewe bydrae tot die huidige teologiese debatte in 'n demokratiese Suid-Afrika lewer.
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Bartsch, Malcolm Ian, and res cand@acu edu au. "The Dialogue of Theology and Education: Clarifying the role of Lutheran confessional theology for Australian Lutheran school education." Australian Catholic University. School of Religious Education, 1998. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp200.02072009.
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Aim: This study aims to clarify the role of Lutheran confessional theology in informing and shaping policy and practice for Australian Lutheran school education. In doing this, it also seeks to provide another step in the on-going process of developing for Australian Lutheran schools a comprehensive theoretical framework that reflects insights from both Lutheran confessional theology and educational theory and research. Scope: The thesis begins with the presupposition that education is a value-laden process and that schools need shared beliefs and values to function effectively. In the current scenario of change in society in general and in education in particular, such a common vision is difficult to maintain. However, Australian Lutheran schools begin with theology as the starting point for their value base. This means that they can share a common vision drawn from God's revelation in Scripture. However, this theology needs to be expressed in such a way that it can be brought into dialogue with educational theory and research in order to develop insights relevant for determining the nature and purpose of Australian Lutheran schools. Since Lutheran theology sees itself as 'confessional' in nature, and since the Lutheran Church defines itself in relation to its confessional writings, the Book of Concord (1580) is taken as the theological basis for this thesis. While the Book of Concord could be seen as containing documents from a different era, nevertheless it is still the accepted theological basis of Lutheranism and any attempt to provide a theoretical framework for Australian Lutheran schools would need to be consistent with its theology. Before examining the theology of the Book of Concord, the study briefly traces the development of Lutheran schools in Australia and the aims and purposes for which they were established. The role of theology in motivating the establishment of those schools is also considered. The rapid expansion of Australian Lutheran schools during the past three decades is then investigated for the purpose of identifying current issues faced by these schools which need to be addressed through insights from Lutheran confessional theology. The study then turns to the Book of Concord in order to summarise major emphases of Lutheran confessional theology. This is done to identify critical Lutheran theological perspectives which need to be brought into dialogue with the educational challenges faced by Australian Lutheran schools in the current context of rapid social, cultural and educational changes. The central teaching of the Book of Concord, the doctrine of justification by grace through faith on account of Christ, is examined first. This is followed by theology of the cross, law and gospel, the perspective of the 'two kingdoms' and the individual as saint and sinner. Throughout this process, the dialectic nature of Lutheran confessional theology is emphasised. In bringing these major teachings of the Book of Concord into dialogue with the educational issues identified earlier in the thesis, a number of implications are developed for Australian Lutheran school education. In particular, the Australian Lutheran school is considered as a 'confessional community' and examined from the perspective of the 'two kingdoms'. Other educational issues are explored, including Lutheran anthropology of the individual, the place of the Bible in Lutheran schools, the role of the law in Lutheran schools and the implications of 'theology of the cross' for life in the church and the world. Conclusions: In attempting to clarify the role of Lutheran confessional theology for Australian Lutheran school education this study deduces that theology and education exist in a process of 'dialectic dialogue' with each other, 'listening to each other' but also retaining certain levels of dialectic tension as each side responds to the other. However, this study also emphasises the dialectic nature of Lutheran confessional theology which must be preserved in order to avoid the danger that only one side of the theological tension will be considered in the dialogue with education. Thus this study concludes that if Lutheran confessional theology is to play its vital role in developing a comprehensive theoretical framework for Australian Lutheran school education, then a 'double dialectic' needs to be maintained - the dialectic tension within Lutheran confessional theology in dialectic dialogue with educational theory and practice. In this way balance can be maintained in developing insights into the nature and purpose of Australian Lutheran school education based on Lutheran confessional theology.
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Stoesz, Donald B. "The confessional and apologetic aspects of Gordon Kaufman's thought : an interpretation." Thesis, McGill University, 1991. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=70241.
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Several contemporary theologians have maintained that the proper setting for Christian theology is an ecclesiastical one. The formation of character, the internalization of beliefs and values, and the representation of these principles and behavioural patterns in religious and political practices should be the priority of the church.Other have argued that this circumscribed "confessional" approach is not enough. Biblical stories and religious convictions are not only rooted in faith communities but are also reflected in universal concerns. The reciprocal relationship between text and reader, church and world, requires a broadly-based "apologetic" method.
These two models are used to evaluate Gordon Kaufman's epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and theologies of revelation, divine agency, and construction. One of the surprising discoveries of this dissertation is that his relative theory of knowledge and employment of a Christian categorial scheme undergird a confessional approach. The thesis nevertheless concludes that his thought is oriented towards a realistic empirical method. The discussion ends with a recommendation that Kaufman link his apologetic concerns to a more identifiable corporeal structure.
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Watson, Peter Anthony. "Anarchy, order, and the politics of moral theology : censuring the French confessional right, 1924-1934." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.271054.
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Preus, Jacob A. O. "The hermeneutics of liberation theology a Lutheran confessional response to the theological methodology of Leonardo Boff /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1986. http://www.tren.com.
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Arci, Michelle Razuck. "O ensino religioso confessional protestante: discutindo a proposta comeniana de interação didático-pedagógica." Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, 2010. http://tede.mackenzie.br/jspui/handle/tede/2390.
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Previous issue date: 2010-12-13Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie
In 1988 Constitution and in the enactment of law 9,475 of July 22 1997, which altered LDB/1996 section 33, Religious Education is to be part of the grounds of citizenship education, integrating the curriculum of Elementary Public Schools. We intend, through the present work, to meet the constitutional grounds of the confessional school and confessional education, concluding that the Constitution and the rights protected in it, guarantee the existence, the functionality and viability of confessional educational in Brazil today. Religious Education classes, in the confessional approach, should not be limited to liturgical practice alone, once the school is not a church extension. However, the main concept of protestant confessional education, is centered on the student's formation as a whole and the method is the indissociable from teaching, from moral and mercy; having an integrated and integrating vision. The present work aims to identify the indissociable factor from teaching, moral, and mercy as fundamental grounds to Protestants Religious Education classes and to personality formation, through faith teaching. It was necessary to examine the historical and legislative evolution of Religious Education in the Brazilian Constitution and in Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional, as well as identify the main ideas and practices concerning the subject. Furthermore, we seek the constitutional base to its existence and viability of confessional education. Thereafter, it also describes Comenius educational proposal to the full formation of the student, on the educational, social, moral, ethical and religious sphere, in order to, subsequently, identify the indissociable factor from teaching, moral and mercy as fundamental principle of confessional protestant teaching.
Na Constituição de 1988 e a partir da promulgação da Lei nº. 9.475 de 22 de julho de 1997, que alterou o artigo 33 da LDB/1996, o Ensino Religioso passa a fazer parte da formação básica do cidadão, constituindo-se componente curricular das escolas públicas de Ensino Fundamental. Procurou-se, no presente estudo, encontrar a base constitucional da escola confessional e da educação confessional, concluindo-se que a Constituição Federal e os direitos nela reconhecidos, garantem a existência, a funcionalidade e exiquibilidade da educação confessional no Brasil contemporâneo. As aulas de Ensino Religioso na modalidade confessional, não pode ser limitada a apenas práticas litúrgicas, uma vez que a escola não é uma extensão da igreja. Todavia, o postulado central da educação confessional protestante e, logo, do ensino religioso confessional protestante, jaz na formação integral do aluno e o método é a indissociabilidade do ensino, da moral e da piedade, tratando-se de uma visão integrada e integradora. O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar a indissociabilidade do ensino, da moral, e da piedade como princípio fundamental para as aulas de Ensino Religioso Protestante e para a formação da personalidade, por meio do ensino da fé. No caminho para atingir tal objetivo, foi necessário discorrer acerca da evolução histórica e legislativa do Ensino Religioso nas Constituições Brasileiras e nas Leis de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional, bem como identificar as principais ideias e práticas em torno desta disciplina, além de buscar a base constitucional para a existência e exequibilidade da educação confessional. Em seguida, procurou-se também descrever a proposta educacional de Comenius para a formação plena do aluno, no âmbito educacional, social, moral, ético e religioso, para num terceiro momento identificar a indissociabilidade do ensino, da moral e da piedade como princípio fundamental do ensino confessional protestante.
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Raymann, Acir. ""The people of God" in the Old Testament the view of Eichrodt and Gutierrez as evaluated by confessional Lutheran hermeneutics /." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 1999. http://www.tren.com.
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Merkle, Benjamin R. "Triune Elohim : the Heidelberg antitrinitarians and Reformed readings of Hebrew in the confessional age." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6673c702-a1b2-47e8-a112-92d98e689918.
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In 1563, the publication of the Heidelberg Catechism marked the conversion of the Rhineland Palatinate to a stronghold for Reformed religion. Immediately thereafter, however, the Palatinate church experienced a deeply unsettling surge in the popularity of antitrinitarianism. To their Lutheran and Catholic opponents, this development revealed a toxic connection between Reformed theology and the tenets of antitrinitarianism. As early as 1565, for instance, the Catholic Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius argued anonymously that the Reformed principle of sola scriptura was indistinguishable from the biblicism which had led heretics to reject the doctrine of the Trinity on the grounds that it was nowhere explicitly justified in the biblical text. Seven years later, the displaced Italian theologian and Heidelberg professor, Girolamo Zanchi, countered this argument in his De Tribus Elohim (1572). This huge landmark of this early theological crisis in Heidelberg sought to oppose the biblicism of the early antitrinitarians by arguing that the doctrine of the Trinity was explicitly taught within the Hebrew divine names Jehovah and Elohim. The following year De Tribus Elohim received an Imperial Privilege from the Catholic court in Vienna, a distinction virtually unheard of for a Reformed theological text. Zanchi’s argument was then widely promulgated in the marginal notations of the tremendously influential Biblia Sacra of Franciscus Junius and Immanuel Tremellius, and became a staple of refutations of antitrinitarianism thereafter. Yet Zanchi’s confidence that trinitarian theology was contained within the Hebrew of the Old Testament was not shared by many of his own Reformed colleagues. John Calvin’s exegetical works had explicitly rejected this argument; and theologians like David Pareus (Zanchi’s younger colleague in Heidelberg) and the Dutch Hebraist Johannes Drusius preferred a more historical-grammatical reading of the Old Testament and dismissed Zanchi’s reading of the name Elohim despite the danger that this might sacrifice a valuable defence against antitrinitarianism. Complicating the picture further, the Lutheran polemicist Aegidius Hunnius directed Zanchi’s arguments against Calvin in his Calvinus Iudaizans (1593). This variety of responses to Zanchi’s argument demonstrates the diversity of assumptions about the nature of the biblical text within the Reformed church, contradicting the notion that the Reformed world in the age of “confessionalization” was becoming increasingly homogenous or that the works of John Calvin had become the authoritative touchstone of Reformed orthodoxy in this period.
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Jurison, Ryan. "The Flamekeeper : The Confessional Purgation of the Soul in the Poetry of Robert Lowell." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Engelska institutionen, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-182206.
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This essay is a critical textual analysis of the poetry of Robert Lowell with focus on religious symbolism used in his work, and the Catholic theology which informed it. This results in a new, contrasting interpretation to the conventional view that he had abandoned his religious focus by mid-career, while accounting for his own assessment that he had not. Insights gained through this analysis, combined with those relating to Lowell’s personal history, reframe his confessional poetry while bolstering this claim. Through this study, poems selected from Lord Weary’s Castle, The Mills of the Kavanaughs, Life Studies and For the Union Dead are reinterpreted in order to explore the consequences of what Lowell could have intended with this stylistic modification, and discover the religiosity that he claimed was hidden. Lowell’s confessional poetry up until 1964 is examined and recast as the anguished wails of a Catholic soul in Purgatory. This fresh approach to one of America’s finest twentieth-century poets provides a novel foundation for the reinterpretation of the entirety of Lowell’s professional oeuvre.
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Morehead, Daniel R. "Auricular confession in the theology of John Calvin." Online full text .pdf document, available to Fuller patrons only, 2002. http://www.tren.com.
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Wilkes, Nicola Jane. "Private confession of sin in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.709336.
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Steinke, Robin Joy. "Confessing and status confessionis : a study in the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.624150.
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DeLashmutt, Michael W. "Sketches towards a theology of technology : theological confession in a technological age." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2006. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3946/.
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This thesis will argue that information technology (IT) has given rise to a cultural mythology which offers a competing theological model to the model offered by kerygmatic Christian theology. The theological model advocated by IT culture regards human technical creativity and material culture to be the means by which ultimate concern can be mediated and satisfied. This model will be judged inauthentic, when theological authenticity is measured in terms of a theology’s ability to point beyond itself – to the transcendent and the infinite – as they symbol of that which is truly ultimate. This inauthentic ‘techno-theology’ purveyed by IT culture will be contrasted with a theology of technology, which seeks to engage technology hermeneutically by finding the meaning of technology at the nexus of its use and invention, and by judging the appropriateness of technology against the norm of the Christian kerygma. It is hoped that by contrasting techno-theology with a kerygmatic theology of technology, that an ethics of technological practices may be approached. The context for this thesis will be the contemporary information technology culture, running from roughly the mid 1980’s to the present, with specific attention given to the phenomenon of posthuman discourse to which this culture has contributed. Of the four types of information technology examined in this thesis (actual/realistic, idealised, imagined, and speculative), examples of actual IT will be taken from cybernetics research and computer science; examples of idealised IT will be taken from philosophical and theological treatments of virtual reality, cognitive science and artificial intelligence research; examples of imagined IT will be taken from science fiction literature and film; and examples of speculative IT will be taken from speculative science with a specific interest in posthumanism and radical life extension.
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Monseth, Francis Wesley. "Millennialism in American Lutheranism in light of Augsburg Confession, Article XVII." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1986. http://www.tren.com.
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Magee, Neal E. Hamner M. Gail. "Remembering to forget theological tropologies of confession and disavowal (Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Slavoj Zizek, Jacques Derrida) /." Related electronic resource: Current Research at SU : database of SU dissertations, recent titles available full text, 2004. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/syr/main.
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Stonestreet, John Ryan. "A Confession of Miraculous Mythological Epistemology for Health Communication." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1412942733.
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Schulz, Klaus Detlev. "The missiological significance of the doctrine of justification in the Lutheran confessions." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1994. http://www.tren.com.
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Lee, Kil Ho. "A comparative study of covenant theology in the thought of John Calvin and the Westminster Confession." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1993. http://www.tren.com.
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Schultheiß, Jochen [Verfasser]. "Generationenbeziehungen in den "Confessiones" des Augustinus : Theologie und literarische Form in der Spätantike / Jochen Schultheiß." Stuttgart : Franz Steiner Verlag, 2017. http://d-nb.info/1142381501/34.
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Goeschl, Gary Edward. "Toward an understanding of Reformed theology an introductory commentary on five major chapters of the Westminster Confession of Faith /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1993. http://www.tren.com.
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Kouam, Michel. "Theologie et esthetique : recherche du beau et montee vers dieu d'apres les confessions de saint augustin." Université Marc Bloch (Strasbourg) (1971-2008), 1988. http://www.theses.fr/1988STR20050.
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C'est principalement a partir des confessions de st augustin que nous avons entrepris la recherche en question. Mais bien d'autres oeuvres, entre autres le de ordine (386), le de musica (387), le de bono viduitatis (414). . . , nous ont fourni des renseignements concernant les multiples visages de la comprehension augustinienne du beau. Les propos de ces textes choisis laissent entrevoir une evolution, un progres dans l'itineraire intellectuel du philosophe de milan, devenu en 397 eveque d'hippone. Le "pulchrum" avant les conversions du jeune berbere d'afrique se rapporte au domaine des choses sensibles ("pulchra inferiora"). A ce propos, de nombreux exemples sont evoques dans les chapitres i, ii et iv de notre these. La metamorphose de la doctrine augustinienne du beau et de dieu s'opere radicalement a cause de son engagement philosophique (conf. Vii, chap. Iii). Le theme de la "beaute interieure" est une notion importante chez augustin. Il evoque le domaine de l'ethique et de la mystique (chap. V et vi). Dans ces deux chapitres sont posees les conditions de l'union de l'ame a "dieu - pulchritudo antiqua noua".
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Dawn, Maggi Eleanor. "Confessions of an inquiring spirit : a study of the relationship between form and content in the written theology of S.T. Coleridge." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.620293.
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Monroe, Ty Paul. "The Development of Augustine's Early Soteriology." Thesis, Boston College, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108005.
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Thesis advisor: Boyd CoolmanThis study considers the development of Augustine's early soteriology in the years leading up to and including his writing of Confessions. Central to that inquiry is a treatment of his increasing use of the term humilitas. Yet that inquiry necessitates a broader account of the fallen soul and its healing by the Incarnate Savior. The result is a mostly chronological survey that shows Augustine developing clearer connections between his soteriology, Christology, and sacramental theology
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Theology
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Alley, Zachary W. "Michael Praetorius's Theology of Music in Syntagma Musicum I (1615):A Politically and Confessionally Motivated Defense of Instruments in The Lutheran Liturgy." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1402316351.
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Hornby, Catherine Muriel. "A history of confession: the dialogue between cynicism and grace in selected novels of J.M. Coetzee." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002232.
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In introducing the four novels under discussion as a “History of Confession”, this study explores the resistance to the dominant discourse of ‘history’ offered by the sustained confessions of individuals. In examining Coetzee’s oeuvre it is possible to delineate the outline of a dialogue between cynicism and grace, and the effects of these on the process of confession in each of the works Chapter One, dealing with Age of Iron, draws on Levinas’ theory of ‘the Other’ in order to elucidate the role played by the interlocutor or confessor in the process of confession.The recognition of the passage of the self through the Other is integral to the attainment of a state of grace, without which confession cannot be brought to an end The countermanding claims of the writer's will-to-write and duty to society are illuminated as a source of cynicism which overwhelms the intervention of grace. The Master of Petersburg, discussed in Chapter Two, is a confession of the guilt and despair faced by the writer who sacrifices his soul to answer the urge to write. Chapter Three, which examines Coetzee’s excursion into autobiography, represents a continuation of the confessional trend. The distance between the narrator and protagonist of Boyhood illustrates the convolutions of self-deception in the process of confession. The chapter which deals with Disgrace identifies a new trend in Coetzee’s writing:the concern with animals. Levinas’ theory, which identifies the encounter with the Other as necessary to precipitate an intervention of grace, is again useful in explaining how Coetzee has postulated the unassimilable otherness of animals as primary to human ethical development. This chapter also concludes that Disgrace represents a high point in the recovery of both grace and agency in Coetzee’s oeuvre.The concluding chapter suggests that the accumulation of meanings to the term ‘grace’enables its definition as a semi-religious abstraction. Coetzee suggests that belief in its existence has the power to affect interactions on the physical plane, especially those between the self and the Other.
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Beukes, Jacques Walter. "'n Praktiese-teologiese besinning oor die betekenis van Artikel 4 van die belydenis van Belhar as grondslag vir die vestiging van 'n teologie van ontwikkeling in die Vereniging Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika(VGKSA)." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86393.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study, the researcher studied the Belhar Confession of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), which gained shape following the social injustices that resulted from the policy of apartheid. The researcher argues that the Belhar Confession, especially Article 4 of the said confession, forces URCSA to establish a Theology of Development within their structures. While URCSA‟s role (Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa pre-1994) during the apartheid era was that of resistance, the church‟s role in a post-apartheid South African context was supposed to change to reconstruction and assistance. But was this the case? The researcher compared the South African socio-economic context before and after apartheid, and judged whether or not the ANC‟s “better life for all” campaign of 1994 made a significant difference in the post-apartheid South Africa. Did the new constitution make a difference in terms of the socio-economic situation of the country? Did the ANC campaign honour their word and did it result in a better life for all? Although the researcher argued that certain areas did change and differences were achieved, the researcher is convinced that poverty in South Africa is still a real problem – in the country and the rest of the world. Based upon this judgment, the researcher is of the opinion that given the current socio-economic situation of the country, the Belhar Confession is now more than ever relevant and exactly therefore should be the basis and motivation for the church to serve and be involved in the fight against poverty in South Africa. This motivation for the church to be involved is also justified according to the Bible. Through this justification and Biblical cry the church is challenged to not only rely on welfare projects in their role as poverty combaters. Here the researcher uses the generation theories of David Korten as support to make it clear that although welfare projects (generation one/two modes of engagement) address the immediate needs of the poor, they do not however address the root of the real poverty problem. The researcher also proposed a third/fourth generation mode of involvement from the church to combat poverty through systemic and asset-based systems and influence policies at various levels of government to address the poverty problem. Yet, even a third/fourth generation approach would not be sufficient on its own. The researcher suggests that the church should simultaneously implement generations 1 to 4 modes of engagement in order to be able to play an active role. Nonetheless, the intriguing questions are, is the church not already doing all of this? What role does Badisa play in all of this? Don‟t local churches, presumably, hide behind Badisa as an answer in their own involvement in the fight against poverty? Even if the church is involved in various modes of engagement, is it Belhar Confession driven? The researcher is convinced that the church is forced to stay involved in the fight against poverty at all levels. The Belhar Confession is an ecclesial theological response to the poverty and injustice context of South Africa because of the theological content of the confession as well as the context in which it originated. The confession originated in a context of racial segregation, religious apartheid and the theological justification of apartheid as well as large scale socio-political and socio-economical wrongdoing. Currently, there is still widespread poverty and socio-economic injustice in South Africa that make the Confession of Belhar relevant. Therefore, URCSA cannot help but to be involved because a church that belongs to God and confesses a confession like Belhar is called to stand where God stands, amongst the poor. This means that the church must witness and act against injustice and against all the powerful who selfishly seek only their own interests.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie bestudeer die navorser die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika (VGKSA) se Belydenis van Belhar, wat beslag gekry het na aanleiding van die sosiale ongeregtighede wat die gevolg van die beleid van apartheid was. Die navorser argumenteer dat die Belydenis van Belhar, maar veral Artikel 4 van die genoemde belydenis, die VGKSA noop om ‟n Teologie van Ontwikkeling in die betrokke kerk te vestig. Waar die VGKSA in die apartheidsera (toe die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk en Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika, onderskeidelik) se rol tydens die apartheidsera dié van weerstand was, moes die kerk se rol in ‟n post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaanse konteks na een van rekonstruksie en bystand verander. Is dit egter die geval? Die navorser vergelyk die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-ekonomiese konteks voor en na die apartheidsbestel en oordeel of daar na aanleiding van die ANC se “better life for all” veldtog van 1994 ʼn wesenlike verskil in post-apartheid Suid-Afrika is. Het die nuwe grondwet ʼn verskil gemaak in terme van die sosio-ekonomiese situasie van die land? Het die ANC-veldtog hulle woord gestand gedoen en ʼn beter lewe vir almal tot gevolg gehad? Alhoewel daar op sekere gebiede veranderinge en verskille bewerkstellig is, is die navorser oortuig dat armoede in Suid-Afrika steeds ʼn wesenlike probleem in die land, maar selfs ook in die wêreld is. Op grond hiervan oordeel die navorser dat, gegewe die huidige sosio-ekonomiese situasie van die land, die Belydenis van Belhar stééds relevant is en dit juis as grondslag en as beweegrede vir die kerk moet dien vir daadwerklike betrokkenheid in die stryd teen armoede in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie motivering word ook Bybels geregverdig en die kerk word uitgedaag om nie net op welsynsprojekte staat te maak in hulle rol as armoedebestryders nie. Hier gebruik die navorser die generasieteorieë van David Korten ter ondersteuning en maak dit duidelik dat alhoewel welsynsprojekte (generasie een/twee modusse van betrokkenheid) die onmiddellike nood van armes aanspreek, dit nie die wortel van die kwaad aanspreek nie. Die navorser hou wel voor dat die kerk na die derde/vierde generasie modusse van betrokkenheid moet beweeg wat sistemiese en bategerigte stelsels vir die verligting van armoede tot gevolg het en beleide op verskeie regeringsvlakke moet aanspreek. Tog kan dit ook nie alleen gebeur nie. Die navorser stel voor dat die kerk tegelykertyd op generasie 1 tot 4 modusse van betrokkenheid moet fokus om sodoende ʼn daadwerklike rol te kan speel. Die vrae is egter: Doen die kerk dit nie reeds nie? Watter rol speel Badisa hierin? Skuil plaaslike gemeentes nie dalk agter Badisa as antwoord in hulle eie betrokkenheid tot die stryd teen armoede nie? Die navorser is oortuig dat die kerk, in alle gestaltes waarin sy haar bevind, genoodsaak word om betrokke te bly in die stryd teen armoede op alle vlakke. Die Belydenis van Belhar is ‟n kerklik-teologiese respons op die armoede en ongeregtigheidsituasie in Suid-Afrika vanweë die teologiese inhoud van die belydenis sowel as die konteks waarin dit ontstaan het. Die belydenis het sy ontstaan gehad in ‟n konteks van rassesegregasie, kerklike apartheid en die teologiese regverdiging van die apartheidsbeleid asook grootskaalse sosio-politieke/ekonomiese ongeregtigheid. Vandag heers daar steeds grootskaalse armoede en sosio-ekonomiese ongeregtigheid in Suid-Afrika wat die belydenis steeds relevant maak. Daarom kan die VGKSA nie anders nie, want ‟n kerk wat hierdie belydenis bely en ‟n kerk wat aan God behoort, is geroep om te staan waar God staan, saam met die armes. Dit hou in dat die kerk sal getuig teen onreg en teen alle magtiges wat uit selfsug slegs hulle eie belange sou soek al word ander daardeur benadeel.
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Meiring, Lieze. "Exploring ubuntu language in bridging gaps : a narrative reflection on discussions between members of two Reformed Churches in a rural town of South Africa." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/61580.
Full textAbstract:
Discussions with members of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting Reformed
Church in Southern Africa in Ohrigstad, illustrate the possibilities of ubuntu language
in dealing with misunderstanding and distrust.
This research utilises a narrative approach, based on a postmodern epistemology
and pastoral practical theology that explores ubuntu language as a helpful discourse.
It engages the context of these two churches in Ohrigstad and investigates
experiences and challenges within the local community. The local experiences are
described against the broader history of the Dutch Reformed Church and the Uniting
Reformed Church in Southern Africa, which the Ohrigstad churches are imbedded in.
Individual narrative research conversations with church members in Ohrigstad
display a longstanding relationship with stories of trust and distrust. This culminates
into a group discussion that explores the role of ubuntu language - and at times the
lack thereof - in the concrete relationship between these two faith communities as an
expression of recent South African history. The conversations offer local knowledge
which displays both unique outcomes by strengthening identity, unleashing potential,
celebrating diversity, awakening solidarity, revealing humanity, bolstering
responsibility and enhancing Christianity, and it also deconstructs oppressive
discourses including race and otherness, rich and poor, and language.
The research offers an approach to deal with distrust and misunderstanding on grass
roots level, using insights gained from ubuntu language.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Practical Theology
PhD
Unrestricted
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Mercês, Gerson da Silva. "A confissão sacramental na Igreja Católica e o aconselhamento psicológico." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2012. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/15221.
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Previous issue date: 2012-10-26The objective of this dissertation was to reflect on spiritual counseling and sacramental confession in the perspective of psychological counseling developed in the person-centered approach. To achieve this goal presented the history of confession since its inception, its historical evolution and its relationship with spiritual counseling. Secondly, presented the sacramental confession to the light of catholic theology, emphasizing the basic attitudes that the confessor should adopt. Then, I tried to understand the spiritual counseling and confession as aid relationship that approximate the relationship between counselor and client proposal by the personcentered approach for psychological counseling. In conclusion, I present the gains that the knowledge developed in the area of counseling can bring to the work of spiritual counselor and confessor
O objetivo desta dissertação foi refletir sobre o aconselhamento espiritual e a confissão sacramental na perspectiva do aconselhamento psicológico desenvolvido na abordagem centrada na pessoa. Para atingir essa meta apresentei a história da confissão desde seu surgimento, sua evolução histórica e sua relação com o aconselhamento espiritual. Num segundo momento, abordei a confissão sacramental à luz da teologia católica, salientando as atitudes básicas que o confessor deve adotar. Em seguida, busquei compreender o aconselhamento espiritual e a confissão como relações de ajuda que se aproximam à relação entre conselheiro e cliente, proposta pela abordagem centrada na pessoa para o aconselhamento psicológico. Na conclusão, apresento os ganhos que os conhecimentos desenvolvidos na área do aconselhamento psicológico podem trazer para o trabalho do conselheiro espiritual e do confessor
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Baade, Joel Haroldo. "Da guerra à união: uma abordagem histórica da caminhada da Associação Evangélica de Comunidades e do Sínodo Evangélico-Luterano até a sua fusão e formação do Sínodo Evangélico-Luterano Unido." Faculdades EST, 2007. http://tede.est.edu.br/tede/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=42.
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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoA presente dissertação de mestrado é uma análise em torno da identidade confessional e do discurso étnico no contexto do processo de aproximação de dois sínodos que vieram constituir a IECLB em 1949, a saber, a Associação Evangélica de Comunidades e o Sínodo Evangélico Luterano, apontando para os conflitos no processo de convergência intersinodal em nível institucional e comunitário. A dissertação está dividida em três capítulos. No primeiro capítulo, aborda-se a questão confessional implicada na relação entre os dois referidos sínodos, sendo central a reprodução dos discursos das instituições de formação por parte dos pastores e o descompasso desse discurso em relação às ênfases comunitárias. No segundo capítulo, procura-se descrever a valorização do pensamento étnico ocorrido nos sínodos, sua relação com as conjunturas políticas alemã e brasileira e em que medida ele marca a relação intersinodal. E, no terceiro capítulo, discute-se a aproximação e fusão dos sínodos e de que forma elas foram influenciadas pelos discursos confessional e étnico. De forma geral, pode-se dizer que a caminhada convergente da Associação Evangélica de Comunidades e do Sínodo Evangélico Luterano é marcada por conflitos, divergências e "guerras", mas também se evidenciam sinais claros de compromisso cristão e busca de cooperação e unidade.
This masters thesis is an analysis dealing with confessional identity and ethnic discourse in the context of the approximation of two synods which would constitute the IECLB in 1949, these being, the Associação Evangélica de Comunidades (Evangelical Association of Congregations) and the Sínodo Evangélico Luterano (Evangelical Lutheran Synod), pointing out the conflicts in the process of intersynodical convergence at the institutional and congregational levels. This thesis is divided into three chapters. In the first chapter the confessional issues involved in the relation between the two synods is discussed. The central part of this chapter is the reproduction of the discussions of the educational institutions on the part of the pastors and the divergence of this discussion in relationship to the congregational emphases. In the second chapter we describe the importance of ethnic thinking that occurred in the synods, its relation to the German and Brazilian political situation and to what extent this marked the intersynodical relations. In the third chapter we discuss the coming together and merger of the synods and in what way this process was influenced by the confessional and ethnic discussions. In general, one can say that the coming together of the Associação Evangélica de Comunidades and the Sínodo Evangélico Luterano is marked by conflicts, differences of opinion and wars, but also clear signs of Christian commitment and the search for cooperation and unity are evident.
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Saffo, Martin. "Bikten : En jämförande studie av synen på bikt inom Katolska och Syrisk-Ortodoxa kyrkan." Thesis, Södertörn University College, School of Gender, Culture and History, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-3524.
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Mitt syfte med denna uppsats var att undersöka Katolska och Syrisk-Ortodoxa kyrkans förståelse av bikten. Det var på grund utav mitt intresse för båda kyrkorna samt att jag inte funnit något liknande material på svenska som jag valde just detta syfte med min uppsats. Jag har i bästa möjliga mån försökt presentera och analysera bikten utifrån katolsk och syrisk-ortodox tradition. Jag har genom att granska de båda traditionernas katekeser samt bibeln och andra källor, försökt söka deras förståelse av bikten samt hur de tänker kring de olika delarna som bikten omfattas av. Jag valde ut de texter som jag kände passade bäst och var mest representativa för traditionerna samt de texter som har en koppling till kyrkans auktoriteter, det vill säga påvar och patriarker. Genom att använda mig av primärkällor som är skrivna ur ett inifrån perspektiv har jag kunnat få ta del av den korrekta förståelsen om av vad traditionerna egentligen tycker om och förstår av bikten.
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Picon, Marina. "Normes et objets du savoir dans les premiers essais leibniziens." Thesis, Lyon, École normale supérieure, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015ENSL1058.
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La doctrine leibnizienne de la science repose-t-elle sur une théorie de la connaissance? Après avoir montré, dans des travaux préalables, qu’une telle dépendance ne se rencontre pas dans l’œuvre de la maturité, nous nous intéressons ici aux premiers écrits de Leibniz. La Nova Methodus discendae docendaeque Jurisprudentiae (1667) dresse, suivant l’exemple de Bacon, un inventaire raisonné des disciplines que doit réunir la nouvelle encyclopédie. Comme dans les projets leibniziens ultérieurs, cet inventaire est précédé de la distinction entre types de savoir en fonction des critères logiques selon lesquels les propositions se répartissent entre histoires, observations et théorèmes. Nous nous attachons en particulier à la définition de ceux-ci comme propositions « démontrables ex terminis ». Cette norme de la science étant posée, quels fondements in re Leibniz entend-t-il donner au savoir démonstratif ? Prenant pour fil conducteur sa polémique avec l’humaniste Marius Nizolius, nous étudions sa tentative pour fonder la validité des propositions de vérité éternelle sur des universaux subsistant indépendamment de l’existence des individus. Ce n’est cependant que dans les premiers écrits parisiens (1672-1673) que se dégage sa réponse définitive à ce problème : apparue d’abord comme un autre nom de la signification qu’« exprime » une définition, la notion d’idée y prend consistance en tant qu’archétype subsistant en Dieu. Les principaux traits de la théorie leibnizienne de la science sont ainsi fixés, indépendamment de toute « doctrine de l’entendement »Does Leibniz’s doctrine of demonstrative knowledge rest upon a theory of cognition? Having shown in previous articles that such was not the case in his mature works, we now turn to his early writings. The Nova Methodus discendae docendaeque Jurisprudentiae (1667) contains a reasoned inventory of the disciplines that should constitute the new encyclopaedia. As in later projects, Leibniz precedes this inventory with a classification of the types of knowledge based on the logical criteria according to which propositions are divided in histories, observations and theorems. Particular attention is given to the definition of the latter as propositions « demonstrable ex terminis ».This norm of scientific necessity once defined, what real (in re) foundation does Leibniz give to demonstrative knowledge? Following the various threads offered by his polemic against the Italian humanist Marius Nizolius, we study Leibniz’s attempt to ground the validity of propositions of eternal truth on universals subsisting independently of the existence of individuals. But one has to wait until the first Paris writings (1672-1673) to see the emergence of his mature answer to that problem: first conceived after the model of the significatio which a definition « expresses », the notion of idea reaches its latter ontological status as an archetype subsisting in God’s mind. The principal features of Leibniz’s theory of demonstrative knowledge are thus in place, prior to and independently of what he will later call his « doctrine of the understanding »
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Gabriel, Denis. "Robert de Sorbon et son oeuvre (1201-1274)." Thesis, Aix-Marseille 1, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011AIX10048.
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Ce travail a pour objectif de faire le point sur les connaissances concernant Robert de Sorbon. Le cursus scolaire du personnage peut admettre de nouvelles filières par le constat d'une fréquente présence de l'ordre de Prémontré autour du village de Sorbon. La seule date qui soit vraiment assurée est l'année de sa mort en 1274, la tradition de fixer sa naissance en 1201 remontant au XVIIe siècle. La plus grande partie de sa vie reste dans l'ombre jusqu'en 1249. Robert de Sorbon n'est pas d'origine paysanne malgré la remarque de Joinville. L'étude des actes du cartulaire permet de comprendre les méthodes et les personnes soutenant la fondation de la Sorbonne. Celle-ci n'est pas, dans les premiers documents (actes et statuts), décrite comme une institution charitable, mais comme une maison de formation pour Séculiers, répondant aux attentes des chanoines des chapitres du nord du royaume, concurrencés alors par les succès des ordres mendiants au sortir de la polémique universitaire. Les écrits pénitentiels de Robert sont connus depuis plusieurs siècles et un regain d'intérêt récent a multiplié les éditions et surtout des sermons : un premier inventaire de ses écrits était donc nécessaire. On étudie ensuite quelques textes des manuscrits de la collection de l'auteur et une version inédite de son traité le plus connu, le De Conscientia pour repérer les techniques utilisées par Robert de Sorbon, sa langue, ses idées, les exempla utilisés et les liens entre les différentes œuvres. Ainsi, sont mises en évidence les différentes facettes d'une même personnalité qui accompagne la croissance de l'Université parisienneThis work aims to gather knowledge concerning Robert de Sorbon. Thus the curriculum of character can admit new ways by finding frequent presence on the order of Premontre around the village of Sorbon. The only guaranteed date is the year of his death in 1274, while the habit of fixing his birth in 1201 did not appear until the seventeenth century. Much of his life is rather obscure until 1249. Robert de Sorbon is defenitly not of peasant origin whatever said Joinville. Studying acts of the cartulary helps to understand the methods used and also to know the people supporting the foundation of the Sorbonne. At the beginning, the domus is not described as a charitable institution but as a formation House for Secular and it links up the expectations of the canons of chapters from the northern kingdom of France, then competed for the success of the mendicant orders after the university polemic. The pentiential writings of Robert are knomn for centuries but a recent surge of interest has multiplied editions of texts and especially sermons : an initial inventory of his works was necessary. We study thereafter some texts of the personal collection of sermons and a manuscript known to contain a new version of its best-known treaty, De Conscientia to understand the techniques used by Robert de Sorbon, language, ideas, exempla used and the links between different works. So, are highlighted the different facets of the same personality during the growth of the parisian University
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Jacobsen, David Schnasa. "The Practice of Homiletical Theology in a Confessional Mode: An Interim Report on the Homiletical Theology Project." 2018. https://ul.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A31545.
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Preachers rightly fret about getting from text to sermon, but their commission is to go preach the gospel. While homiletical theology generally is focused on seeing preaching as a theological task focused on the “gospel in context,” confessional homiletical theology, as a particular type, considers preaching to be a theological enterprise centered on the gospel and brought into critical dialogue with texts, contexts, and situations. Consistent with the position of André Resner, who argues preachers start this dialogue from a “working gospel,” this article explores how this confessional, working gospel as theological habitus then dialogues critically with texts, contexts and situations reflectively and critically so the gospel might be heard for the life of the church and for the sake of the world that God so loves.
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Nohel, Petr. "Výuka církevního práva na teologických a právnických fakultách v Českých zemích v letech 1918-1989." Doctoral thesis, 2016. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-355934.
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The work deals with the history of teaching religious-legal subjects of theology and law in the Czechlands in the years 1918-1989. The author examines the structure of all subjects thematically related to canon law and describes changes depending on the legislative and historical contexts of individual time periods. The work also maps the roles of different lecturers at universities that have been providing religious-legal subjects. Moreover, the author mentions major publications of those teachers. In its conclusion the thesis presents structured medallions of the teachers mapping their studies, subsequent exposure to individual universities, their publishing and other relevant activities in ecclesiastical structures. Complete lists of religious-legal subjects are then included in separate annexes chronologically grouped separately for each university.
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Troskie, Mariza. "Ervaring van mag in konfessionele bybelse berading." Diss., 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1216.
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Text in AfrikaansI wanted to investigate the way people experienced confessional pastoral therapy by conducting a qualitative research study. The role of the pastor were examined as well as the effect of discourses of power and ethics in pastoral counseling. I interviewed clients who were counseled by pastors of the AFM Church (Apostolic Faith Mission). The research supposes that knowledge and power discourses have a major influence in pastoral counseling which is often not accounted for. I wanted to see how clients experienced the effects of these discourses of power and ethics. I furthermore wanted to see how these power discourses could result in clients feeling subordinate to the pastor and his knowledge and the effect that these feelings might have on them. The purpose of this study was not to generalize the experiences of the participants, but rather to set a contextual background of the experiences of power in confessional pastoral counseling.
Practical Theology
M. Th. (Pastorale Terapie)
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Bronkhurst, Willem J. "A critical comparison of the Ecclesiologies of the catechism of the Catholic Church and the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/2873.
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This thesis attempts to answer the following questions: What are the implications of the differences and similarities between the ways in which Catholics and Reformed Baptists understand the concept “church” and the church’s constitution and characteristics, and can a critical evaluation of the agreements and differences in any way facilitate ecumenical dialogue between Roman Catholics and Reformed Baptists?Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.
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"The Victorian Religious Novel: Conversion, Confession, and the Marriage Plot." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1911/70297.
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Victorian scholars of fiction have hitherto largely overlooked that fiction was an important site for Victorian authors and readers to engage in open discussion of religious issues in the Victorian period, often known, even to itself, as the "Age of 'Faith and Doubt.'" Along with sermons and religious tracts, which often directly addressed popular audiences, fiction became one of the most popular arenas for debating theology and religious practices. My project aims to revive interest in the religious novel genre by defining the genre, positioning it within its cultural context, and looking at how it engages in active and reciprocal conversations with other genres, fictional and nonfictional. This new approach reveals how the religious novel, long derided or ignored by critics, often leads the way with narrative innovations. Most interestingly, the religious novel, whose alternative name is tellingly the "theological romance," embraces and adopts one of the most popular plot lines of the Victorian novel tradition, namely the marriage/courtship plot, and develops it into the post-marriage plot, a plot that focuses on and examines marital life. The marriage plot serves, for many of these novels, in place of detailed theological arguments as a way of producing and embodying conversion. The religious novel actually anticipates changes in the nineteenth- century novel by expanding the plot beyond courtship and marriage.
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Lehmann, Lando Leonhardt. "Theology and the Gospel in a new paradigm." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13888.
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Karickal, Jose Thomas [Verfasser]. "From professional functioning to personal confession : Henri J. M. Nouwen's contribution to the contemporary spirituality of pastoral care / vorgelegt von Jose Thomas Karickal." 2008. http://d-nb.info/988033542/34.
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Morris, Allen William. "Prophetic theology in the Kairos tradition : a pentecostal and reformed perspective in black liberation theology in South Africa." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/25907.
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This study focused on the ‘silence of the prophets’ in the post-apartheid era. It
sought to understand why the prophets, who spoke out so vehemently against
the injustices of apartheid, did not speak out against the injustices of the
government after 1994 even when it became blatantly apparent that corruption
was beginning to unfold on various levels, especially with the introduction of the
so-called Arms Deal. Accordingly, the study singles out Drs Allan Boesak and
Frank Chikane who were among the fiercest opponents of the apartheid regime
before 1994.
The study traced the impact of the ideological forces that influenced Boesak and
Chikane’s ideological thinking from the early Slave Religion, Black Theology in
the USA and Liberation Theology in Latin America. Black Theology and Black
Consciousness first made their appearance in South Africa in the 1970s, with
Boesak and Chikane, among others, as early advocates of these movements.
In 1983, Boesak and Chikane took part in the launch of the United Democratic
Front (UDF) in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. This movement became the voice of
the voiceless in an era when the members of the African National Congress
(ANC) and Pan African Congress (PAC) had been sent into exile. It also signalled
a more inclusive and reconciliatory shift in Boesak and Chikane’s Ideological
thinking. Whereas Black Consciousness sought to exclude white people from
participating in the struggle for liberation, the UDF united all under one banner
without consideration for colour, race, religion or creed. After the advent of liberation in South Africa in 1994, it became increasingly
obvious that corruption was infiltrating many levels of the new government. But
the prophets were silent. Why were they silent?
The study presents an analysis of the possible reasons for this silence based on
interviews with Boesak and Chikane as role players and draws conclusions
based on their writings both before and after 1994. Overall, the study concluded
that they were silent because they had become part of the new political structures
that had taken over power.
To sum up, the study demonstrates the irony of prophetic oscillation and
concludes that no prophet is a prophet for all times. Thus, as a new democracy
unfolds in South Africa, the situation demands new prophets with a new
message.Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D. Phil. (Theology)
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Daka, Reuben. "Faith and theology discussed within the ambit of being Zambian and Presbyterian." Diss., 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/995.
Full textAbstract:
The function of patterns of faith experience and theology in religion and society forms part of the whole complex system of God, life and world views which operate amongst Zambian Presbyterians Christians. The dissertation endeavors to make an assessment of the place of faith and theology within the ambit of a Black Zambian and Presbyterian God-life-world view. This home grown African God-life-world view of Zambian Reformed Presbyterian making, is similar in some respects and differs in others with European and Western God, life and world views of the Reformed and Presbyterian brand.
In the first chapter the stage for this dissertation is set. I do not claim to be exhaustive or definitive in discussing the mixture of faith patterns and theories of faith (theologies) from different parts of the Reformed/Presbyterian world. What plays an important operational role in this analysis and synthesis are what can be called a God, life and world pattern or view which is more or less the same as a sense making system, an ideology or a belief system. Therefore quite a number of pages are allotted to this phenomenon in the first chapter. Furthermore a broad outline of the basic points of departure of a contextual-historical approach which operate with a radical, integral and differential view of God, human life, and the physical world is spelled out. The last part of the chapter is devoted to provisional comments on a view of the experience of everyday faith and a theory of faith. The latter is the designation for what is usually called theology. In here I have tackled the problem of theology and human experience of faith from the angle of the traditional double sided or dualistic view of faith as a extraordinary supernatural and ordinary natural support structure for a discipline like theology. Theology is not intrinsically involved in people's faith experience and thus is not a real reflection of their everyday faith experience. When one is however emphasising that a faith (belief) pattern includes belief towards God, belief of the self (self-confidence) and belief towards the many neighbours as well as belief towards the physical-organic environment then one is closer in the neighbourhood of a radical and integral black African faith pattern and what we call a theory of faith.
In chapter two the Reformed/Presbyterian legacy is discussed and reflected upon in terms of nine features of a Reformed/Presbyterian sense making system, ethos or God, life and world view which emerged in Reformed history since the days of John Calvin (1509-1564). Reformed-Presbyterian theologies, theories of faith and philosophies are examined as well as the major impact of Calvin on the characteristic features of Reformed God, life and world views or sense making systems. Some of the main features of these Reformed/Presbyterian sense making systems repetitively recur in the majority of Reformed experiential settings, communities and churches. The nine features or characteristics of a Reformed-Presbyterian ethos are the following:
the well known soft duality of special and general;
the social attitude of accepting every phenomenon and immediately start to criticize it;
the tendency of pilgrimage through life;
the idea of the extra-calvinisticum;
the dual idea of special and general determination, that is the doctrine of election and the doctrine of providence and its strong encapsulation by a very strong theology of covenantal duality;
the idea that a Reformed community or church is always in the process of reformation (ecclesia reformanda semper reformata);
the doctrine of the dispensation of the gifts of the Spirit;
the idea of a presbyter system and the democratic legacy that flows from it;
and the regulative principle of the Church or the Kingdom of God?
In chapter three the black-African-Zambian-Reformed-Presbyterian heritage is discussed in terms of the nine features discussed in chapter two. The idea in this chapter is to acknowledge the fact that an interchange, exchange and mixed appropriation between Reformed/Presbyterian contextual settings has taken and is taking place and that a Reformed/Presbyterian ethos is already incorporated and accommodated within the African milieu and experience. Our task in this chapter is to deal with the African reflections on faith and theology looking for black African similarities with the nine main features that we have detected as determinative of a Reformed/Presbyterian ethos.
The predicament of non-African (European Western, Eastern and others) and Bantu-speaking black African experience manifests their differences in the realness and concreteness of their God-life-world views. Generally speaking, one of the main differences in the experience of faith and theology in the European Western and Black African Southern hemisphere contexts amount to the difference between reflective thinking experience as typically European Western and action directed reflective experience as the main emphasis of Black African experience. This entails that we must identify the foremost traits of European Western Reformed-Presbyterian theology and compare and contrast these with Black African, specifically Zambian Reformed-Presbyterian experience. The comparison and contrasting of these two broad contexts, that is European Western Reformed and Zambian Reformed are caught up in the complexities of a to and fro networking of Reformed ideas, clues and cues all over the world.
There is more than one view of faith and theology and more than one God-life-world view in both
the European cum Western and African ways of life. The existence of various views of faith, theology and God, life and the world explains the co-existence of these views of faith and theology and God, life and world views amongst African Christians. Africans and African Christians are not only Bantuspeaking and black because even if we take our white African counterparts out of the equation about who and what an African is, the Moroccans, the Egyptians, Algerians, Felani Hausas, Wollofs and others would surely disclaim such a statement.
In chapter four theology as a theory of faith is discussed as aware reflection of everyday experiences of faith and belief that is far more important than doctrinal ideas that hover abstractly in the minds of ministers, pastors and theologians and is thus not intrinsically part of people's day to day experiences of faith and belief. A few markers on the way to a theory of faith as a functional paradigm is discussed. In order to do this four things have been touched upon:
Firstly themes are compared in the Christian theological and philosophical world from both Eurocentric as well as the Afrocentric worlds.
Secondly, theology as theory of faith is discussed as a concrete enterprise of aware reflection in the midst of the experience of a faith community or a church.
Thirdly, some issues are highlighted which are analysed and synthesised in an attempt to expand a Reformed ethos and agenda by using clues, cues and hues from both Eurocentric and Afrocentric experiences of faith, belief and trust as well as the written and oral theological and faith theoretical reflections of these experiences.
Finally, an attempt is made to interweave theories of faith from both contextual worlds as a functional paradigm. The desire to know God, oneself and other human beings as well as the physical-organic environment in this life in tandem and coterminously has a great bearing as a black African contribution to the ongoing building of a holistic Reformed/Presbyterian ethos or sense making system.Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics
M.Th. (Systematic Theology)
42
Nyandoro, Rudolf. "The pastoral role of the sacrament of confession : a life narrative study in the Masvingo Diocese in Zimbabwe." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18866.
Full textAbstract:
The laxity and continuous apathy among some members of the Catholic Church of the
Masvingo Diocese in Zimbabwe towards the Sacrament of Confession prompted this study.
The claim of Zvaiwa (2009) that confession is disappearing while psychology is being used
more, as reflected in the title of his article ―Confession out, psychology in‖, motivated this
research. The objective of the study was therefore, to explore the practical therapeutic value
of the Sacrament of Confession among members of the Catholic Church in Masvingo
Diocese in Zimbabwe. A theoretical and qualitative life narrative study was done from within
a practical pastoral therapeutic perspective of practical theology. The sample of the empirical
study consisted of 30 priests and laypeople in the five deaneries. A lifeline and semistructured
interview instrument was used. A key finding of the study was that the Sacrament
of Confession was not threatened by psychological counselling or psychotherapy. Another
significant finding was that the Catholic Diocese of Masvingo was experiencing a
devaluation of the church‘s pastoral confessional practice among its priests and laypeople.
The study confirmed that the Sacrament of Confession has therapeutic value and spiritual
meaning in the Church. The Sacrament of Confession and psychological counselling or
psychotherapy were found to collaborate as therapeutic disciplines in pastoral therapy. A new
model of therapeutic counselling that embraces spiritual direction through psychological
counselling and reconciliation is proposed. It is rooted in cultural value; spirituality; private
confession followed by prayer and absolution; and change in existential life, to enhance the
pastoral role of the Sacrament of Confession in the Diocese of Masvingo, Zimbabwe. This
model has interdisciplinary elements borrowed from medical, pastoral, psychological and
social research fields. If adopted in the Diocese it would decrease the spiritual indifference
amongst the parishioners and prevent them from defecting to other denominations.Practical Theology
D. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)
43
Karoon, David S. Thevendran. "D.T. Niles’ theory of preaching : a Reformation assessment / D.S.T. Karoon." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/16486.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to ascertain to what extent D.T. Niles’ theory of preaching is Reformed and Biblical and can help in the dialogue between Western and Non-Western Christianity. The study achieves this aim by employing the qualitative case-study research to meet four objectives. First, it describes Niles’ theory of preaching as found in his trilogy of lectures on preaching, explicating especially the double calling of the preacher, the double content and the pneumatological character and nature of preaching, the three-fold purpose and double consequences of preaching. Second, it interprets Niles’ theory of preaching in the light of his own cultural background and in dialogue with the works of key Reformation figures including Erasmus, Zwingli, Luther, Calvin and Bullinger’s Second Helvetic Confession. Based on this examination, the study determines that Niles’ homiletical theory is in concert with the theology of preaching of the Magisterial Reformers as summarised in Bullinger’s classic statement: ‘The preaching of the word of God is the word of God’ . Third, this study evaluates critically Niles’ theory of preaching within the normative context of the preaching of Jesus in the Synagogue in Nazareth and the wider New Testament teaching on preaching and finds that Niles’ homiletical theory is in agreement with Scriptural norm. Fourth, having found Niles’ theory of preaching to be broadly in concert with the understanding of the Reformers and the Biblical teaching on the nature of preaching, this study undertakes the pragmatic task of developing a global theology of preaching that would promote dialogue between Western and Non-Western Christianity. This study was undertaken because of the dearth of theologies of preaching written from a Non-Western perspective and the lack of dialogue between Western and Non-Western homiletical theories. The result of the investigation is the conclusion that the preaching of the word of God is the word of God since preaching is a pneumatological event where God is present in the act of human preaching so long as the preacher himself is lawfully called and the content of his preaching is Christological and soteriological.PhD, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
44
Eckert, Klaus Ludwig Robert. "Die Metanoia-Botschaft des Evangeliums als Ausgangspunkt für die Erarbeitung einer praktisch-theologischen Theorie in der Erlebnisgesellschaft." 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/16732.
Full textAbstract:
Text in GermanThe impulse for this research comes from the present crisis of the penitential practice within the Roman Catholic communities of Germany, where notwithstanding all pastoral efforts the practice of sacramental confession has dropped to almost nothing. The procedure adopted is based on the method of R. Zerfass. 1" step: An investigation on the present practice has been done with a previous research: 2nd step: The present research, in the first chapter deals with the New Testament origins of penance and the historical development up to the present time. An essential result attained is the insight that conversion (Mk 1,14 f.) does not consist of a message of doom but urges the audience to pursue the salvation of the reign of God. As a consequence the believer experiences an ethic motivation whereby he takes as orientation the rules of the kingdom of God. 3rd step: The sociological situation of the target group is the topic of chapter two. The study is based on the work of G. Schulze. The central point made by his analysis is the affirmation that people in contemporary society are basically experience orientated and that all opportunities and offers are assessed according to their experiential value. Because of the confusing oversupply of experiences and the avoidance of disappointments caused by unfulfilled expectations homogeneous groups (milieus) emerge. People, in search of experience orient themselves according to these experiences and shape them in their turn. In the realm (market) of experiences which cannot be controlled supply and demand come together. The supplier who do not follow the laws of the market is ousted because of failing to supply what is demanded. 4th step: In chapter 3 a practical theological theory is developed that present penitential crises is routed in a crises of faith. For this reason an updated pastoral approach to conversion needs to take as its starting point the liberation message of Jesus and at the same time to take into consideration the rules that govern the market, the contemporary segmentation of the milieu included. The final step will consist in a pastoral concretisation
Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology
D.Th. (Practical Theology)
45
Kouznetsov, Viktor Matveyevich. "A view on Russian evangelical soteriology: scripture or tradition." Diss., 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1760.
Full textAbstract:
The Russian Evangelical Soteriology as a phenomenon was evaluated in the dissertation.
The original Russian Evangelical confessions of faith and some other historical documents
of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries are used to present the following
hypothesis. The historic fluidity of Soteriology of Russian Evangelica1s may only be
understood in the light of their consistent adherence to the principles of Sola Scriptura and the
Priesthood of all believers.
We come to conclusion that the existence of Russian Evangelical Soteriology is not a
question to be discussed, but a clear historical fact. We show that it has its past and present, a
well-defended subject of study with clear presuppositions, rather developed vision, and it is
unique as a phenomenon.
The major principles of this theology strictly devoted to the Scripture and a flexible
formulation of doctrines. We strongly insist that it is impossible without being eclectic
combine the Evangelical Soteriology of Scripture with the Orthodox Soteriology of Tradition.
The additional result of the study is the attempt to evaluate the possibility for a
reconstruction of Russian Evangelical Soteriology as a part of a self-identification process.Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics
M. Th. (Systematic Theology)
46
Horn, Ruan. "Lewenskontekstuele hermeneutiek-met verwysing na Sewendedag-Adventiste." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/23382.
Full textAbstract:
Summaries in English and AfrikaansIn die tesis word die modernistiese en laat/postmodernistiese reduksionistiese benaderings in die Adventiste wêreld nie bloot afgewys nie, nie net omdat dit deel van ons ervaring is nie maar ook omdat die reduksies wat in die moderne en laat/postmoderne tyd ontstaan het in ʼn gemodifieërde sin die boustene is van ʼn hermeneutiese benadering wat poog om holisties en in multiverse sin oorvleuelend te werk met die antieke, moderne en laat/post moderne benaderinge. In ʼn hermeneutiek wat holisties oorvleuelend en multivers integrerend aan die gang is, vorm die vierledige opset van die handelinge en beweginge van God, die menslike bewustelike self, medemens(e) as die ander mens en die natuurlike kosmiese wêreld ʼn misterie van vierledig aktiewe teenwoordighede wat nie-vermengd saambestaan maar tog ontsettend naby aan mekaar is as die voortgaande ervaringskaart van elke konteks en situasie. Juis die uitmekaar ruk van die vierledige aktiewe teenwoordighede inonservaringswêrelde vorm die agtergrond vir moderne teologisme met God alleen speler van die spel, psigologisme met die bewustelike menslike self as die kaptein van sy siel en die meester van sy lot, humanisme waarin die mensheid as kollektiewe menswees die enigste roerder van die menslike brousel in die geskiedenis is en naturalisme waarin die natuurlik kosmiese omgewing die naturaliserende ordeningsagent van die kosmiese chaos is. Wat radikaal deur ʼn holisties oorvleuelende en multiverse integrerende aanpak sny, is dat die vierledige teenwoordighede gedra word asook ingebou is in wat in die Bybels-historiese tydslyn vorendag kom as die vier prominente dade van God se voortgaande skepping, versoening in Jesus Christus, alomvattende vernuwing deur die Gees en voleindende volmaking tot in die aanbreek van die nuwe hemel en die nuwe aarde. Binne die omraming van ʼn hermeneutiek wat holisties oorvleuelend en multiversintegrerend werk, word algemene moderne en postmoderne benaderinge oor tekse, teorieë, menslike handelinge en die natuurlike kosmiese gebeurtenisse beskryf. Terwyl die moderniteit – en ook die postmoderniteit – uitgaan van die hoofsaaklik opponerende verskille tussen sinmakende beskouinge word hier gepoog om eers die oorvleuelingsareas refleksief te betrek en daarna aandag gee aan die verskille. Die drie breë benaderinge wat hoofsaaklik beskryf word is die van fundamentalistiese spieëling, liberale interpretasie en die konsinlike onderhandeling van tekse, teorieë, menslike handelinge en natuurlik kosmiese gebeure.Juis teen hierdie agtergrond word diverse SDA omgangspatrone met die Bybel, ervaringe in die kerklike arena en alledaagse ervaringe in ʼn draaikolk van multivers oorvleuelende en differensiërende refleksiwiteit beskryf.
In the thesis Adventist approaches making use of modernist and late/postmodernistic reductionist philosophies are not rejected out of hand. Not only are the reductions which emerged in the modern and late/modern era part of our experience but they are in a modified sense the building blocks of a hermeneutical approach in which an attempt is made to work in an overlapping holistic and multiverse way with approaches of the ancient world, modernity and late/post modernity. In a hermeneutics that operate holistically with overlaps and in a multiverse integrative sense, the quadruple setting of actions and movements of God, the conscious human self, neighbour(s) as the other human and the natural cosmic world forms a mystery of foursome active presences that do not exist together in a mixed sense but are very close to each other as the continuous experiential map of every context and situation. The dislocation of the foursome active presences in our experiential worlds forms the backdrop of modern theologism in which God is the sole player in the game, psychologism with the conscious human self as the captain of his or her soul, humanism in which humanity as the collectiveness of being human is the only stirrer of the human concoction in history and naturalism in which the natural cosmic environment is the only naturalistic agency that arranges the cosmic chaos. Cutting radically through the holistic overlapping and multiverse integrative approach is that the foursome presences are carried and built into what come to the fore in the biblical historical timeline as the four grand acts of God of continuous creation, reconciliation in Jesus Christ, all embracing renewal through the Holy Spirit and fulfilling fulfilment as in the dawn of the new heaven and the new earth. Within the embrace of a hermeneutics which works with overlaps in a holistically and integrating in a multiverse sense general modernist and late/post modern approaches regarding texts, theories, human doings and natural cosmic events are described. While modernity – and late/post modernity - depart from mainly opposing differences between sense making views the attempt is made here firstly to engage oneself in a reflexive sense with the areas of overlapping and only then to pay attention the differences. The three broad approaches mainly described are that of fundamentalist mirroring, liberal interpretation and consensual negotiation of texts, theories, human doings and natural cosmic events. It is against this background that diverse SDA engagement patterns with the Bible, experiences in the arena of the church and everyday experiences is described in a vortex of holistic overlapping and multiverse integrative reflexivity.
Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology
D. Th. (Systematic Theology)
47
Wolff, Matthias Christian. "Zukunft der protestantischen Denominationen in Hamburg." Diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/23549.
Full textAbstract:
Text in GermanDiese MTh Dissertation mit dem Titel Identität und Zukunft der protestantischen Denominationen in Hamburg befasst sich mit der Entwicklung protestantischer Kirchen in Hamburg und dem Bild, auf das die protestantische Landschaft möglicherweise zusteuert. Ausgangspunkt ist eine Reihe von Beobachtungen und Entwicklungen, die Raum für die Hypothese geliefert haben, dass denominationelle Unterschiede ihre Bedeutung verlieren und sowohl protestantische Zusammenarbeit als auch eine gemeinsame christliche Identität an Gewicht gewinnen werden. Die Befragung setzte einen besonderen Akzent auf das Verhältnis von liberalen und konservativen (evangelikalen) Protestanten. Die empirische Untersuchung, die sich der Methodik der Grounded Theory bediente, wie auch das umfassende Literaturstudium konnten die Hypothese im Allgemeinen bestätigen. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich die Perspektive einer stark an den Bedürfnissen der Gesellschaft orientierten kirchlichen Arbeit, die von einem deutlichen Bewusstsein des gemeinsamen Christuszeugnisses und einem ausgeprägten ökumenischen Geist getragen ist. Neben dem Ziel einer empirisch gestützten validen Zukunftsperspektive soll diese Arbeit Entscheidungshilfe und Impulspapier für christliche Leiter in Hamburg und Deutschland sein.
This MTh dissertation titled Identity and Future of Protestant Denominations in Hamburg deals with the development of protestant churches in Hamburg and the picture, the protestant landscape is possibly heading for. Initial point is a number of observations giving room for the supposition that denominational differences will loose their importance and protestant cooperation as well as a common christian identity will gain relevance. The survey put special attention on the relationship of liberal and conservative (evangelical) protestants. The empirical research, using the method of Grounded Theory, as well as the widespread literacy investigation served for – generally speaking – a confirmation of the hypothesis. As a result, it appears a perspective of a church that is strongly orientated towards the needs of society and carried by a clear awareness of the common testimony of Christ and a distinct ecumenical spirit. Besides the goal of a valid and empirically based future perspective, this work intends to be a decision aid and discussion paper for christian leaders in Hamburg and Germany.
Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology
M. Th. (Missiology with specialisation in Urban Ministry)