If any one event in history were caused by any other single event, or indeed if any trend of events were caused by any other single trend, historical research would be a relatively simple matter. But history is not so simple. A history of government does not involve politics alone, nor does a history of baseball involve simply the quality of the pitcher's and batter's techniques. Likewise the history of a church includes far more than the Sunday sermons, however important these may be. The complexity of a given historical institution can perhaps be typified by the subject of the present study: the Reformed Presbyterian Church. As a church, this one is not at all typical, but as an historical problem, it rates well. Economic, cultural, social and geographic factors intertwine its growth, while through the years it has stood as a theological thunderbolt and a political peculiarity- Small though the physical features of this church may be in comparison with the immensity of certain other organizations, the breadth and depth of its history is just as great. The complexity of a given historical institution can perhaps be typified by the subject of the present study: the Reformed Presbyterian Church. As a church, this one is not at all typical, but as an historical problem, it rates well. Economic, cultural, social and geographic factors intertwine its growth, while through the years it has stood as a theological thunderbolt and a political peculiarity- Small though the physical features of this church may be in comparison with the immensity of certain other organizations, the breadth and depth of its history is just as great. On the other hand, although in tracing the history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church it would be possible to establish its Biblical foundations through the Old and New Testaments and the early Christian era, and theoretically feasible to follow the line of pure teaching through the Middle Ages and to the times of Huss, Wycliffe, and Lefevre, such a study, valuable as it certainly is, lies beyond the scope of this paper. Indeed Calvin, the master theologian who expresses perfectly the beliefs of every twentieth-century Reformed Presbyterian, and Knox himself, the conqueror of the Scottish soul, can scarcely be mentioned personally at all. The subject must be limited. Thus, this paper is at once a limited yet a very complex study: limited in time and space, complex in issues.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-03-22T15:35:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 joaohenriquedossantos.pdf: 3442571 bytes, checksum: 5fd532fdc76dde7d9dc53b7f93b172b9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-03-24T11:54:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 joaohenriquedossantos.pdf: 3442571 bytes, checksum: 5fd532fdc76dde7d9dc53b7f93b172b9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-24T11:54:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 joaohenriquedossantos.pdf: 3442571 bytes, checksum: 5fd532fdc76dde7d9dc53b7f93b172b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-12-03 / A presente Tese de Doutorado tem seu foco nos principais tratados escritos por Martinho Lutero no ano de 1520, dos quais os mais importantes são: Sobre o cativeiro babilônico da Igreja; Sobre a liberdade do cristão e a Carta à Nobreza Cristã da Nação Alemã sobre a melhora do estamento cristão. Tais documentos podem ser considerados como o “programa da Reforma”, visto estabelecerem novas bases e postulados teológicos, assim como fundamentarem nova estrutura e ordenamento eclesiástico. Portanto, o que se pretende mostrar é que a Reforma efetivamente ocorreu em 1520, e não em 1517. Escritos antes de sua excomunhão, e sendo, no limite, as razões últimas desta, os documentos apontam para uma irreconciliável ruptura com Roma. Será apresentado também de que forma esses escritos foram lidos pela Igreja Romana e pela nobreza e povo alemães, mostrando as repercussões nesses estamentos. A Introdução apresentará as questões gerais que nortearam o trabalho, traçando o plano geral da Tese. O Capítulo I mostrará o percurso intelectual e humano de Martinho Lutero até a redação dos documentos estudados. O Capítulo II apresentará um panorama da Igreja Católica Romana e da Cristandade do Cisma do Ocidente (1378-1418) até o momento da eclosão da Reforma, focando especificamente na questão da crise de auctoritas e potestas, mostrando a crise do projeto hierocrático, e na questão das indulgências. Neste Capítulo, ainda, será apresentado o estado do Sacro Império Romano-Germânico quando da morte de Maximiliano I e da eleição de seu neto Carlos V, em 1519. O Capítulo III apresentará os tratados e sua repercussão nos diferentes estamentos da sociedade alemã e na Igreja Romana. A Conclusão retomará e aprofundará as questões apresentadas na introdução, à luz do exposto e desenvolvido nos três capítulos precedentes. / This Thesis focuses on the major treatises written by Martin Luther in 1520, of which the most important are: On the Babylonian captivity of the Church; On the freedom of the Christian and the Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation concerning the improvement of the Christian Estate. These documents may be taken as the “program of the Reformation”, as they established new theological basis and postulates, and founded a new ecclesiastical structure. Thus, what is intended to state is that the Reformation effectively happened in 1520, and not in 1517. Written shortly before his excommunication and being, at last, the ultimate reasons for it, such treatises point to an irreconcilable rupture with Rome. The work presents explanations on how these writings were read by the Roman Church and by the German nobility and people, pointing the repercussions in such estates. Introduction will present the general questions which guided the research, outdrawing the main plan of the Thesis. Chapter I will show Martin Luther’s human and intellectual path towards the writing of the studied treatises. Chapter II will describe the situation of the Roman Catholic Church and that of the Christendom from the West Schism (1378-1418) to the eve of the Reformation, focusing particularly on the crisis of auctoritas and potestas, showing the crisis of the hierocratic project, and the question of the indulgences. This Chapter will introduce the situation of the Holy Roman Empire at the moment of the death of Maximilian I and the election of his grandson Charles V, in 1519. Chapter III will present the treatises and their repercussions on the different estates of the German society and of the Roman Church. Conclusion will retake and deepen the questions presented in the Introduction, after all exposed in the three previous Chapters.

The identification of the speakers in John 3:13-21 and 3:31-36 has remained a longstanding question in biblical studies, confirmed by the difference of opinion in commentaries and the lack of agreement over the placement of quotation marks in contemporary versions of the Bible. The scholarly debate has centered on whether these passages ought to be interpreted as continuations of the words of Jesus and the Baptist, or as authorial commentary appended to their respective discourses. The purpose of this study was to remedy this interpretive difficulty by approaching the question from a wholly different angle: that of tracing the reception history of John 3 in the patristic period (up to A.D. 450). By critically surveying how these earliest readers of John’s Gospel interpreted the speakers, this thesis provides a fresh basis for evaluating the divergent theories of modern commentators and for reconsidering the placement of quotation marks in Bible versions.

This paper is a study of the relationship between Martin Luther's theology of the church and the practical development of the religious life of the church under his leadership, as this relationship relates to the active and passive roles of the layman in the church. The thesis question is: Did Luther hold a social prejudice against the lower classes and in favor of the upper class that caused him to modify or reinterpret his concept of the church in the course of his career?

This paper attempts to compare the ecc1esio1ogies of the fourth century Bishop of Hippo and the controversial twentieth century theo1ogian. In doing so, a study is made of each writer independently in order to extract his conceptual models of the Church. Special significance is given to the names each attributed to the Church and the consequences of these names as they pass from an analogical to an ecc1esio1ogica1 sphere. A study is also made of the functions of office within the Church with respect to the fulfillment of specific ministries. Here the two divide, Augustine meets the Donatist challenge by condemning disunity, while urging contemporary Christians to true internal reform, reminding them of the necessity of grace available only through the Church to heal their natures. Special attention is given to two specific topics from Augustine: the use of force to compel at least outward conformity, and the belief in the inability of man to do any good outside the Body of Christ. Kung diverges in another way in different times. He emphasizes the communal nature of the Church as those called by God and, on earth, represented by the ministry of ecclesiological office, including Ecumenical Councils and the Papacy. The Church, according to Kung, is the Kingdom of God moving towards manifestation and must reflect its apocalyptic nature by its witness and proclamation of the Word. He finds fault with the teaching office of the Church for its adherence to verbal propositions and concludes advocating a non-propositional attachment to kerygma. The contrast between the writers is sharply emphasized by a comparison of their positions on certain points, including authority, the Papacy and finally the four marks or distinguishing characteristics of the Church. The attitudes towards the first two differ markedly on some points, but a consistency of approach towards the four marks of the Church, with the exception of the Apostolic characteristic, can be seen. Several conclusions are propounded but the essence of each lies in the attitude of each writer towards human nature. Augustine finds the same wholly depraved without grace, which is given through the Word and human collaboration. Kung finds a response to divine call sufficient and is less concerned with limits on freedom in the name of love of neighbor. The interplay between these two schools of thought has punctuated Church history in the same manner as it does human history.

In this dissertation we are not only converned in studying the development of the ecumenical movement, but our attention will also be focused upon this question, "In what particulars in the ecumenical movement relevant to the New Testament Church?" Our first concern will be to give an account of this movement noting personnel, places, conferences, emphases, etc. Then we shall compare and contrast the ecumenical movement with the organism called the church, the earliest record of which is in the New Testament.

The object in writing this thesis has been to pursue the theological development of the doctrine of the trinity in the Church of the early centuries through the writings of the Church fathers. It is a continuation of a former study, A New Testament Study of Trinity, a thesis submitted for the Bachelor of Divinity degree, which was received in July, 1952. This entire study has been an attempt to soak the self in the patristic writings and to arrive at a first-hand conception of the classical doctrine of the trinity, which we believe, is a creation of the fourth century.

The call of Church leaders to "raise the bar" placed direct attention on the preparation of future missionaries. Also, the new Preach My Gospel missionary guide emphasized effective personal scripture study in order for missionaries to fulfill their purposes of teaching by the Spirit and inviting others to come unto Christ. Thus, "raising the bar" and Preach My Gospel together created an important focus on the personal scripture study of prospective missionaries. However, available social research offered little indication of the state of scripture study among future missionaries. Consequently, this study maintained an exploratory design and utilized qualitative research methods to discover the nature of personal scripture study among prospective missionaries. The aim of this study was to find descriptive data that would be useful to parents, trainers, leaders, and future researchers in helping prospective missionaries to improve their personal scripture study. From February to April 2006, six respondents participated in repeated interviews and eleven others informed two focus groups. This study reported results and conclusions with rich description—involving ample use of evidence and quotations from the narrative data. Findings of this study include the following: They all knew scripture study was the right thing to do. None of them studied well while in high school. They all had improved their scripture study during the year prior to their mission. Their upcoming missions served as a prime motive for wanting to improve their scripture study. They all had experienced blessings from scripture study. Reading the scriptures out of obligation or for an extrinsic reward is less-effective scripture study. Particular methods and factors produced meaningful results. Primarily, this research found that personal agency, a structured routine, and knowledge of why and how to study the scriptures were vital to effective scripture study.

The Prophet Joseph Smith stood in a unique position as the leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He held positions of translator, prophet, seer and revelator. He was taught the responsibilities of his calling as he translated ancient scripture - the Book of Mormon and the Bible. He was further instructed concerning his calling as he received revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants. This study examines scriptural passages that surely influenced the Prophet's understanding of his own calling. It then illustrates Joseph Smith's view of his calling as evidenced by statements in his writings and discourses. It examines what he understood to be his duties in his position as President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and head of the dispensation of the fullness of times.

As early as 1831, critics attacked Joseph Smith by comparing him to Muhammad. Over time, the comparison deepened as critics and scholars observed doctrinal and political similarities between Mormonism and Islam. Later, scholars compared Joseph Smith to Muhammad because both had generated a new religion and there seemed to be several similarities in the lives of Joseph Smith and Muhammad. These and other comparisons between the two men and their religions have been made from 1831 to the present, yet there have been few thorough, non-polemic examinations of Joseph Smith and Muhammad in the typology of prophethood. While notable similarities exist in the lives of many prophets, the unique similarities shared by these two has warranted further inquiry. I argue the comparison, though initially the result of anti-Mormonism, is justifiable and enlightening. It reveals unique commonalities that occur in the lives of restoration prophets as a result of the role they are divinely called to fulfill. While modern scholarship strongly tends to ignore the possibility of divine influence, I argue that prophetic similarities between Muhammad and Joseph Smith are best explained by divine influence acting in similar circumstances. While I approach the topic in the language of a scholar, this work is intended to contribute in the context of Mormon studies. For Latter-day Saint scholars, a better understanding of Muhammad's mission and role as a prophetic figure could allow us to see him in a different light, not as founder of a false tradition, but as a revelator to his people in his own right, providing the portion of God's knowledge that he was granted, even if incomplete from a Latter-day Saint perspective.