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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.

One of the most influential figures in recent theological reflection upon interreligious dialogue is Raimon Panikkar. Panikkar was an ordained Catholic priest who also practiced the Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Panikkar lived a life of mystical faith in which his identity was simultaneously Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist, a phenomenon often called `multiple belonging'. However, this mystical unity is not merely an element of Panikkar's faith life, but it also essential to his theology. In fact, it is mystical unity that underlies the very concept of identity in Panikkar's thought. Identity is found through union. It is in the realization of this unity that the concept of `Christ' comes into play. Christ is the principle of this identifying unity, which is found throughout all of Reality. Panikkar's overall theological vision can best be described by his own term: `cosmotheandric', which describes this unity of all of reality in its three poles: the world (cosmos), God (Theos), and Human (Aner). In this way, the very nature of Reality itself is Trinitarian. With this in mind, this dissertation seeks to deduce the ecclesiological and soteriological implications of this theological vision. The key to understanding Panikkar's ecclesiology and soteriology is the interrelation of the concepts of `Christ' and `identity'. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Theology / PhD / Dissertation

One of the primary images for ecclesiology is Paul's "body of Christ" metaphor. The contemporary church, as the body of Christ, sometimes struggles with its sense of identity and mission as well as with its relationship with other social bodies in the world. This study examines the intersection of ecclesiology, disability, embodiment, and liturgy and offers possibilities for developing a general ecclesiology of disability that is grounded in human embodiment and embodied practices. The interconnections between disability theory and theology are explored, followed by an examination of the "body of Christ" metaphor, starting with Paul's context and continuing with an analysis of how the metaphor functions linguistically. A review of how body theology developed and functioned in church history is presented, and then consideration is given to how the work of theologians such as Louis-Marie Chauvet and Edward Schillebeeckx is grounded in a theology of the body. A brief history of ecclesiology is followed by an assessment of the embodied ecclesiology of Chauvet, Schillebeeckx, John Howard Yoder, and Stanley Hauerwas. The relationship among embodiment, liturgy, and Christian formation is probed using the work of Don Saliers, Gordon Lathrop, and James K. A. Smith. Finally, principles are proposed that answer the question, "What would it mean for the church to be a disabled body?" The intention of these principles is to help churches dis-able those beliefs and practices that keep them from being the message of the kingdom of God and from embodying the new social reality of the gospel that challenges the values of other social bodies in the world. / 2017-05-30T00:00:00Z

Magister Theologiae - MTh / This study will assess Stanley Hauerwas's claim that peacemaking is a virtue of the church in which peace exists as a necessary characteristic of the church. Christians are formed by practices of the church and so gain the skills required to live faithfully in the world. Such formation teaches us to be truthful and to be at peace. Peace is not only part of this formation; it is this formation. Such formation is based on the present existence of peace in the church through Christ. Not only is peace a part of the local and catholic church but war has been abolished through Christ. Hauerwas claims theology as a legitimate discourse in relation to social and physical sciences. Theology has its primary locus in the church rather than in ahistorical accounts or the university. This claiming of the language of the church creates space for particularity which is often subsumed under the universalizing assertions of the nation-state. With peace as a characteristic of the church, Hauerwas asserts that peacemaking is a virtue of the church and not merely an optional aspect of its life.

Thesis advisor: Brian Dunkle / The eighteenth-century Enlightenment movement that swept across much of Europe, notably France, England and Germany, came to mean different things to different peoples, embodying different strands and currents of thought. Even with the national and cultural specificities, the common element that cut across national boundaries was the appeal to reason as the point of departure in interpreting individual and communal behavior. The Aufklärung, that is, the German strand of the Enlightenment, was particularly acute in its interaction and more pointedly, its challenge of traditional Christian orthodoxy and doctrines. Given this obvious interest in Christian thought by the Aufklärung, it is quite predictable that Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI became concerned with the perspectives and positions of the Aufklärer. To Ratzinger, the Aufklärung marked an enduring criticism of revealed faith, a critique that the Church is yet to fully engage and respond to. The critique of faith by the Aufklärung has lost nothing of its freshness and attraction, two centuries later. This task of opening avenues of rational engagements with the modes of thought of the Aufklärung is not just the expedient thing to do. There is a more profound reason: Christianity, as Ratzinger has repeatedly pointed out, is a religion of the Logos, a Logos that at the fullness of time (Gal 4:4), entered history. To foster this rapport between faith and the Aufklärung, Ratzinger therefore finds a ready tool in the Johannine appropriation of the Greek concept of the Logos. In Ratzinger, one discerns a five-fold usage of the concept of logos that could be useful in creating a space of interaction and engagement with the Aufklärung: As Creative Reason, Son, Person, Unity of Love and Word. These five appropriations of logos will therefore provide avenues by which Ratzinger will engage the Aufklärung. What this dissertation seeks to achieve by way of moving the needle of knowledge is to study Ratzinger from the philosophical prism of the Aufklärung, that is, how do Ratzinger’s theological ideas, convictions and conclusions place him in dialogue and engagement with the philosophical currents of the post-Aufklärung era, especially the philosophers that emerge from Germany? This thesis therefore places Ratzinger in dialogue with notable Aufklärung figures like Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger around the central Christological and Ecclesiological questions as seen in the multiple appropriation of the concept of logos by Ratzinger. Overall, one gains a deeper appreciation not only of Ratzinger’s Christo-ecclesial hermeneutical framework, but also the philosophical currents and presuppositions that shaped and contextualized the thinking of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, especially from the prism of the dialogue between faith and reason, and the continuous relevance for such a hermeneutical framework for today’s Church, as we continue to grapple with the challenges of the autonomy of reason and science vis-à-vis the traditional claims of Christian orthodoxy. / Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

Diploma thesis " The Concept of the Church in the work of Walter Kasper " is about ecclesiology of German Cardinal Walter Kasper. The first part describes briefly his personality and his work in academic role and pastoral role as the diocesan episcopus and his work in the Roman Curia. This marked his understanding of the church. It follows a description of his journey from pneumatological ecclesiology to communio ecclesiology. The concept of communio is the key word in his understanding of the Church. The main part is devoted to Kasper understanding of communio, communio mystery and his vision of the Church as congregatio fidelium and communio sanctorum. Communio ecclesiology is the key concept after the Second Vatican Council and the fundamental expression of the Christian understanding of salvation. Kasper sees the church as an institution and a event. It follows a description of particular forms of church as communio. Kasper distinguishes in the Church different charisms and services, that serve the unity of the Church. The work is completed of Kasper vision of the Church in today's world and its importance for future generations. Keywords Walter Kasper, communio, ecclesiology, church

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Thesis (DTh (Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology))—University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study is a critical investigation of a theological basis for believers and the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in Malawi to support a culture of human dignity and human rights, and specifically in the light of the classic Reformed doctrine of atonement, as reflected in the works of Calvin and Barth and also the Westminster Confession. It is argued in this study that the very essence of public recognition and consistent implementation of human rights is far reaching when understood in the light of the Reformed view of the atonement. In fact, in important and influential studies on human rights in ecumenical Reformed circles, the support for human rights is normally based on other doctrines. This study, however, argues that Jesus’ earthly life, sayings or parables in the Gospel narrative are all integral to the atonement process according to classical Reformed understanding, and are of great importance and relevance as a transformative power for the renewed life of the Reformed Christians in Malawi. It is argued that such a transformative power is capable of leading Reformed Christians in Malawi to a different view concerning their reception and building of a human rights culture in Malawi. Other Reformed Christian responses to human rights do provide an excellent overview of the liberating power of Christ’s cross and resurrection, and how believers may understand and affirm their vocation in light of this. However, the claim of this dissertation is that a fuller and more faithful understanding of the atonement will assist Reformed Christians in Malawi to see more clearly the importance of a culture of human rights specifically for the more faithful practice of their own Reformed faith and piety. For that reason, the research study has two research questions. The main research question investigates the relationship between the classic Reformed doctrine of atonement and human rights. The secondary question inquires about the implications of the classic Reformed doctrine of atonement for the promotion of human rights in Malawi. Hence, the research study comprises of five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the problem being research, whilst Chapter 2 argues for a more faithful understanding of the Reformed view of the atonement. Chapter 3 provides the necessary background for the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian and its involvement in political change, and its response to the introduction of human rights and freedoms in Malawi. Chapter 4 discusses human rights in Malawi, in light of the Reformed doctrine of the atonement. The last Chapter (Chapter 5) summarizes and makes conclusions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is ‘n kritiese ondesoek van ‘n teologiese basis vir gelowiges en die Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in Malawi om ‘n kultuur van menswaardigheid en mensregte te ondersteun, spesifiek in die lig van die klassieke gereformeerde leerdtelling van versoening soos dit uitgebeeld word in die werke van Calvyn en Barth asook die Westminster Belydenis. Daar word in die studie geredeneer dat die wese van publieke erkenning vir en konsekwente toepassing van menseregte ver-reikend is wanneer dit verstaan word volgens die gereformeerde siening van versoening. Inderwaarheid is die steun vir menseregte in belangrike en invloedryke studies oor menseregte in ekumeniese gereformeerde kringe gewoonlik gebaseer op ander leerstellings. Hierde studie redeneer egter dat Jesus se aardse lewe, gesegdes en gelykenisse in die evangelies ‘n integrale deel van die klassieke gereformeerde verstaan van die versoeningsproses is, en uiters belangrik en relevant is as transformatiewe mag tot die hernude lewe van gereformeerde Christene in Malawi. Daar word geredeneer dat sodanige transformatiewe mag in staat is om gereformeerde Christene in Malawi te lei tot ‘n ander standpunt wat hul ontvanklikheid vir en vestiging van ‘n menseregte-kultuur in Malawi betref. Ander gereformeerde Christelike reaksies op menseregte bied ‘n uitstekende oorsig van die bevrydende mag van Christus se kruisiging en opstanding, en hoe gelowiges in die lig hiervan hul roeping kan verstaan en bevestig. Hierde dissertasie beweer egter dat ‘n voller, meer getroue verstaan van versoening gereformeerde Christene in Malawi sal help om die belang van ‘n menseeregte-kultuur duideliker te sien, juis vir ‘n meer getroue beoefening van hul eie geloof en piëteit. Die navorsingstudie fokus dus op twee navorsingsvrae. Die hoof-navorsingsvraag ondersoek die verhouding tussen die klassieke gereformeerde leerstelling van versoening en menseregte. Die sekondêre vraag kyk na die implikasies van die klassieke gereformeerde leerstelling oor versoening vir die vestiging van menseregte in Malawi. Die navorsingstudie bestaan uit vyf hoofstukke. Hoofstuk 1 stele die navorsingsvraag wat andersoek word, terwyl Hoofstuk 2 argumenteer vir ‘n meer getroue verstaan van die gereformeerde siening van versoening. Hoofstuk 3 gee agtergrond-inligting oor die Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, die kerk se betrokkenheid by politieke verandering en reaksie op die instel van menseregte en –vryhede in Malawi. Hoofstuk 4 bespreek menseregte in Malawi in die lig lig van die gereformeerde leerstelling oor versoening. Die laaste hoofstuk (Hoofstuk 5) som op en bereik ‘n slotsom.

Thesis (DTh (Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology))—University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / This study offers an overview, interpretation and critical evaluation of the theology of the Lutheran American theologian Robert Jenson. The first aim is to give an outline of his theology in such a way that the importance of the relation between God and time in his thought will become clear in this process. This study will therefore focus on specific themes in his theology and the implications for the current theological debate on time, eternity, history and God. The title was also the title of Jenson’s own early study of the work of Karl Barth, Alpha and Omega. Jenson’s theology is ecumenical by driven from the beginning to the end. He tries to formulate a theology for the one united church of the future. In his theology he thus focuses on early writers, the church fathers and on ecumenical confessions such as Nicea. He wants to get clarity why the church differs on certain points and investigates where it all started. He then brings his theology in connection with current Orthodox theologians, as well as with the Western theologians of different church traditions and tries to build on the common factors between them. His theology has an ecumenical aim, but it is first and foremost a theology written in reaction to postmodernism and especially the nihilism of his Western and primarily North-American cultural context. To find answers to these (ecumenical and nihilistic) questions, Jenson focuses on mainly three themes that will be discussed in this study: (1) the relation between time, eternity and Trinity, (2) the trinitarian identity and character of God, and (3) the importance of the narrative nature of theology. Jenson appropriates much of Karl Barth’s thought on the Trinity and on the Trinity’s relation to time and eternity but he draws much more radical implications and consequences. He therefore differs from Barth on these issues at critical points. Jenson stands in the tradition of eschatological and trinitarian theologians of the previous century and he builds his theology around these foci in order to serve his ecumenical aim. Finally the critical question is also asked whether and to what extent Jenson succeeds in his aim. It looks at the specific contributions Jenson made and which questions still remain unanswered regarding this key question for Christian faith, thought and life.