Les auteurs contemporains, des plasticiens aux réalisateurs de blockbusters, créent des images où le réel et le virtuel semblent de la même étoffe. Leurs films, vidéos et installations exposent un monde qui émerge de l’immatérialité des écrans.À la différence des images qui procèdent de l'imprégnation de la lumière réelle sur des surfaces photosensibles, les simulacres numériques résultent du langage binaire. Ils correspondent à du code informatique qui transforme l’image en une somme de données.Dès lors, ceux-ci entraînent-ils une mutation de notre rapport à l’image ? En quoi induisent-ils une nouvelle perception des représentations artistiques où prime l’apport d’une subjectivité ?Les simulacres numériques apparaissent après des millénaires d’images qui relèvent de l’ontologie et entretiennent un lien sensible avec le réel. Le spectateur ayant besoin de se projeter dans ce qui emprunte à sa nature et ce qui interroge ses aspirations, ses sentiments comme ses croyances, il attend de la simulation numérique la même capacité d’incarnation et de transfiguration que les autres moyens d’expression.Entrelaçant la tradition et le contemporain, cette recherche analyse l’éloquence sensible du simulacre numérique au défi du vivant dans le cinéma et les arts plastiques des années 2000-2010 selon les concepts de présence, représentation et simulation.Comment le numérique actualise-t-il des codes culturels et esthétiques hérités de l’histoire de l’art ? Cette recherche tente de comprendre la nature et le sens des simulacres numériques du vivant en tant qu’ils conjuguent l’incorporel synthétique à l’argument ontologique. / The contemporary authors, from visual artists to blockbusters’ directors, create images where the real and the virtual seem from the same cloth. Theirs movies, videos and installations show a world which emerges from the immateriality of the screens.Unlike images which are the result of the impregnation of the actual light on photosensitive surfaces, digital simulacra stem from binary language. They are made of pure computer code that can transform the image into a sum of data.Therefore, will the digital simulacra change our relationship to images? How do these digital sham images induce a new perception of artistic performances where subjectivity and its contributions are the prime factors?We are confronted with these digital simulacra of images after millennia of imagery that relate from ontology and that maintain a significant link with reality. The viewer, having the need to project himself into something that borrows from his nature and that questions his aspirations, his feelings as well as his beliefs, expects from the digital simulation the same capacity for incarnation and transfiguration that he experiences from others means of expression.Confronting and intertwining the traditional and the contemporary, this research analyses the sensitive eloquence of digital simulacra and how they face the challenge of real life, through film and in visual arts over the decade 2000-2010, based on the concepts of presence, representation and simulation.How do the various uses of digital technology force us to update the cultural and aesthetic codes that we inherited from Art history? Thus, this research attempts to understand the substance and the meaning of the digital pretence of life, which combines the synthetic intangible with an ontological argument.

Cette thèse, relevant de la problématique des avatars et des métaphores de la figure humaine et deses multiples représentations scéniques, interroge les créations contemporaines de la marionnette. Elle a pourpoint de départ la pratique de la marionnette et la place conférée à la figure dans les dispositifs scéniques.Fondés sur des confluences des figures animées et des images de synthèse, les dispositifs contemporains issusdes nouvelles techniques de l’image et du son ont permis de dépasser la structure traditionnelle de lamarionnette. A mi-chemin entre poupée et forme raffinée, la marionnette dépasse ses contours et ouvre vers denouvelles représentations scéniques : des ombres, des doubles virtuels, des avatars de synthèse, pouvant êtretransformés et évolués en temps réel. Toutes ses représentations posent la question de l’incarnation. Ainsi lafigure de l’avatar se présente comme un possible prolongement de la marionnette. Les outils technologiquespermettent une nouvelle manière de former, d’élaborer la figure. Ils offrent une infinie possibilité de ladédoubler, de la multiplier, de la répliquer. Dans ce geste répétitif la figure tend progressivement vers uneffacement de ses contours. Loin de la forme anthropomorphique, elle symbolise le plus souvent une idée, unconcept, un mot en jouant sur l’essence de la matière et les agencements plastiques d’objets et de matières.Quant aux possibles dédoublements de l’interprète réalisés grâce aux technologies de l’image et du son, lecorps vivant en chair et en os se démultiplie dans des figurations comme les ombres, les reflets et les doublesvirtuels. Ces derniers deviennent un indice, une icône de notre présence. La démultiplication spatiale etcorporelle de leur présence iconique fait scintiller les nombreux subterfuges d’une ruse scénique. Car cettenouvelle figure, construite par les jeux d’illusions et de leurres qu’autorise l’usage du numérique effaceprogressivement les contours traditionnels de la figure humaine en brouillant les pistes d’une identificationtangible. Ces nouvelles figures se présentent comme des images décalées et sont une véritable invitation àpenser l’absence et la présence, l’apparition et la disparition. La figure s’ouvre à une interprétation multiple etoffre une vision différée en interrogeant la place de l’humain dans notre société. Les dispositifs scéniques quiabritent ces figures deviennent une véritable iconostase pour leur déploiement. Espace d’une fiction du regard,la figure compose et décompose sans cesse ses contours en offrant son image à celui qui la regarde. Lespectateur est invité à vivre une expérience oculaire en le transformant en véritable acte de voir. / This thesis studies the problematics of avatars and metaphors of the human form and its manifoldstage representations; it questions contemporary ‘creation’ in the field of puppetry. The practice of puppetryand the place bestowed on the human form in staging devices are the starting point of the study. Located at theconvergence of animated figures and of computer graphics, contemporary staging devices that stem from newtechniques of sound and video have allowed us to surpass the traditional framework of the puppet. Halfwaybetween doll and refined figure, the puppet goes beyond its outline and opens the path towards new stagerepresentations; shadows and virtual doubles, CGI avatars, which can all be transformed and developed in realtime. All its representations beg the question of incarnation. Thus the face of the avatar is presented as apossible extension of the puppet. Technological tools allow new ways of devising and developing the face. Theyoffer infinite possibilities to divide the face, to multiply and replicate it. In this repetitive gesture, the facetends gradually to be effaced of its outlines. Far from the anthropomorphic figure, it symbolises here an ideamost often, a concept, a word that underscores the essence of the material and the visual arrangement of objectsand matter. As for the potential splitting of the performer achieved thanks to new technology in video andsound, the living boy in flesh and blood multiples as shadows, reflections and virtual doubles. The latterbecome a sign, an icon of our presence. Spatial and corporeal duplication of their iconic presence makes thenumerous subterfuges involved in a staging device sparkle. Because this new figure, built from simulatedreality games and digital lures, gradually erases the traditional contours of the human form by blurring thepaths to any tangible identification. These new forms are presented as staggered images and are a realinvitation to rethinking absence and presence, appearance and disappearance. The face/form is exposed tomultiple interpretations and offers a deferred vision by questioning the place of the human being in our society. Staging devices that shelter these forms become a true iconostasis for their demonstration. The face –the space belonging to the fiction of the gaze – incessantly makes and breaks its outlines by throwing up itsimage to those who watch him. The viewer is invited to undergo an ocular experience by transforming it into atrue act of seeing.

Consecrated life or religious life as it is sometimes called within the Catholic Church is almost as old as Christianity. All baptised persons are consecrated persons by virtue of their baptism, but the consecrated life to which some people feel called, is a special and fruitful deepening of the consecration received in baptism and confirmation.. This dissertation explores Christian spirituality as it is manifested in consecrated life with relation to inculturation and religious life. The scope has been limited to a study of one congregation, the Companions of St Angela as a case study. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Relational theology became a major voice in the theological conversations of the twentieth century and now in the twenty-first century it is poised to become the major influence in doctrine of God discussions. Relational theology argues for a model of God that emphasizes a dynamic interaction between God and the cosmos. Reformulating the divine nature contra Classical theism, Relational theology instead includes images of God as sympathetic, mutable, limited in power and knowledge, creative, and as a risk-taker. The assertion is that such images or metaphors for the divine are necessary rightly to understand and discuss God's relationality with the world. This thesis argues that given the relational nature of God the metaphor of faith should be added to the list of God's attributes. The thesis begins by discussing issues of methodology then reviewing Relational theology in the forms of process and open theism as contrasted with Classical theism. This is followed by explorations of various depictions of faith as found in the Old Testament and New Testament. Faith is also examined theologically and philosophically as including the elements of belief, trust, hope, and risk. It is then argued that faith has a decidedly relational nature in that faith most properly takes place between persons. The crux of the thesis is the development of a theology of divine faith. Because humans are free, God is limited, and creation has a purpose, the argument is made that God relates to the world through faith. A case for God's faith is developed exegetically and logically through explorations of the concepts of divine belief, trust, hope, risk, and doubt, concluding that faith is a necessary inclusion for Relational theology. Finally, two primary Church doctrines, creation and christology, are explored through a theology of divine faith. God demonstrates divine faith in bestowing an evolving creation with both freedom and a purpose. God has faith in the creation to produce persons who can freely share faith and love with God. The fully kenotic coming of Jesus Christ demonstrates the Father's faith in the Son, the second person of the triune God. The coming and death of Christ also reveals God's faith that the cross will be efficacious in reconciling those who have abused their God-given freedoms. / Sysytematic Theology & Theological Ethics / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

In transmitting the Gospel, Western missionaries passed on their portrayal of Christ as a European. Conversion to Christianity was aimed more at promoting Western cultural, moral and spiritual issues. Western culture has thus been an obstacle or hindrance to effective cross-cultural communication of the Christian message. Batswana believers are challenged to peel the Western cultural layers off Christianity, in order to reclaim Christ. Batswana Christians will have to dress Christianity in the Tswana cultural heritage if it is to be of any lasting significance to them. Christian spirituality is centred on Jesus Christ, in the worldview of all Christians. Jesus joins faith and culture together. If Christianity is truly universal, then every culture should surrender to Jesus Christ and not to any other culture. Jesus’ question “who do you say that I am?” (Mk 8: 29), challenges Batswana Christians to write their own fifth Gospel. / Christian Spirituality Church History & Missiology / Thesis (M. Th. (Christian Spirituality))

This dissertation suggests the Song of Songs as a biblical paradigm for Christian spiritual direction based on the poem’s human dynamics, theological poetics and mystical aesthetic. The Song of Songs is paradigmatic as a journey from a state of self-neglect (depletion), through dynamic encounters of love (transformation), to living who I am in union with the divine I AM (deification). Identifying the human beloved as archetypal seeker and positing transformation in love as the raison-d’être for spiritual direction, the research delineates important implications for spiritual praxis, namely: the human subject (locus); human yearning (focus); the human search (journey); dynamics of human transformation and spiritual maturation (process); aspects of life-integration and union with God (purpose); and becoming a living sacrament in the world (epiphany). With its experiential-existential approach, The Canticle of Spiritual Direction serves as an interdisciplinary and intercultural resource on the Song of Songs, Christian spiritual direction, and Christian mysticism. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

This study tries to investigate the extent of inculturation in African Churches in general and in Zimbabwe in particular. Some mission churches, like the Catholic, the Anglican and the Methodist Churches were selected for the study. The main areas of investigation are baptism, the Eucharist:, marriage, burial and healing. The study discovered that there is some inculturation going on in all the churches under discussion, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. On the other hand, it was also discovered that the African Independent Churches, such as Vapostori and the Aladura, churches are much more at home with the implementation of inculturation especially in the area of healing. We concluded that Christianity is not yet deeply rooted in African soil, in particular in Zimbabwe. This is because not much inculturation has taken place in the mission churches. Some recommendations are made to help facilitate the implementation of inculturation and to enable Christianity to take flesh in Africa so as to become an authentic African Christianity. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

The non-fiction introduction to The Wyvern’s Tale: A Thought Experiment in Bakhtinian Dual Chronotope Occupation documents the evolution of the novel, The Wyvern’s Tale, from the ideas that inspired it to its current incarnation as a full-length novel intended for an adult audience. It comprises an explanation of the novel’s main concept, Bakhtinian dual chronotope occupation, as well as an idea-focused account of the creative-writing process. Detailed in the introduction’s theoretical premise is the relationship between Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of chronotope and the carnivalesque and the ideal of the divided union in Chalcedonian Christology. This relationship revolves around the state of existing in two time-spaces at once. The novel, The Wyvern’s Tale, explores this dual existence imaginatively using the setting of parallel worlds – the every-day world and a fictional world called Wyvern – as well as a protagonist, who functions in the fictional world as a Christ-figure. Particular thematic emphasis is placed on differing perceptions of truth and reality, and on the transformative power of costumes. The novel’s outcome, dependent on the reader’s decision as to whether dual chronotope occupation is possible or impossible, is respectively either hopeful or tragic. It attempts to reflect the outcome of the life and death of Christ depending on whether his co-existence as God and man was real or imagined.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This thesis seeks to demonstrate that, in failing to take the sacramentality of the Word seriously, the preaching of the Church has suffered negative consequences. In short, preaching has often become, at best, a form of instruction or, at worst, an incantation of sorts, rather than an integral part of deepening our relationship with Christ by functioning sacramentally to bring about divine participation with Jesus' corporeal humanity in his living Word. Moreover, this trouble has had a profoundly negative effect on my own Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod due, in part, to our Reformation heritage as Christians who believe, teach, and confess the sole authority and divine inspiration of Holy Scripture. Yet, what has been lost over the past 500 years since the Reformation began is the reality of Christ's ongoing corporeal presence in and for the Church, particularly as he is present in the viva vox of preaching. In order to recover that reality, I propose that one should consider the annunciation to Mary where, with a sermon of sorts, the corporeal Christ took up residence in the flesh of his hearer. In addition to granting Mary a son, however, this tangible presence of Jesus also delivered to her precisely what was contained within his own flesh: the fullness of the Godhead (Col 2:9). When understood as a biblical paradigm for the Church, it becomes clear that what happened to Mary can, indeed, happen to Christians of the present day. To that end, I propose that preaching today, when understood sacramentally, can deliver the fullness of the person of Christ, who continues to come in corporeality, with humanity and divinity, in the viva vox of preaching.