Esta dissertação procura compreender como a performance ritual contribui na elaboração e sustentação do ethos carismático em duas distintas instituições religiosas: a Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil e a Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana. Para isso, procuro verificar que recursos de performance são acionados no ritual de cada um destes grupos carismáticos. Centro a análise na compreensão de como os artificios da performance agem sobre os participantes do ritual. A fim de alcançar este entendimento, são usados os pressupostos de teorias sobre ritual e performance. Além de estudar o fenômeno supracitado nas duas igrejas separadamente, esta dissertação propõe uma análise comparativa entre as mesmas. O trabalho foi construído com base na pesquisa etnográfica realizada junto a comunidades carismáticas das instituições religiosas em referência, situadas em algumas cidades da Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre. / The objective of this dissertation is to understand how the ritual performance contributes in the elaboration and support of the charismatic ethos in two distinct religious institutions: the Evagelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil and the Roman Catholic Church. In order to do that, I pursuit to verify which performance resources are impelled in the ritual of each one of these charismatic groups. I focus the analysis in the comprehension of how the performance artifice acts on the participants of the ritual. In order to achieve this understanding, it is used the presupposed of ritual and performance theories. Besides studying the foresaid phenomenon in both churches separetely, The present text proposes a comparative analysis between them. This dissertation was built based on the ethnographic research realized into charismatic communities of the religious institutions in reference, placed in some cities of Porto Alegre Metropolitan Area.

Esta dissertação procura compreender como a performance ritual contribui na elaboração e sustentação do ethos carismático em duas distintas instituições religiosas: a Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil e a Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana. Para isso, procuro verificar que recursos de performance são acionados no ritual de cada um destes grupos carismáticos. Centro a análise na compreensão de como os artificios da performance agem sobre os participantes do ritual. A fim de alcançar este entendimento, são usados os pressupostos de teorias sobre ritual e performance. Além de estudar o fenômeno supracitado nas duas igrejas separadamente, esta dissertação propõe uma análise comparativa entre as mesmas. O trabalho foi construído com base na pesquisa etnográfica realizada junto a comunidades carismáticas das instituições religiosas em referência, situadas em algumas cidades da Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre. / The objective of this dissertation is to understand how the ritual performance contributes in the elaboration and support of the charismatic ethos in two distinct religious institutions: the Evagelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil and the Roman Catholic Church. In order to do that, I pursuit to verify which performance resources are impelled in the ritual of each one of these charismatic groups. I focus the analysis in the comprehension of how the performance artifice acts on the participants of the ritual. In order to achieve this understanding, it is used the presupposed of ritual and performance theories. Besides studying the foresaid phenomenon in both churches separetely, The present text proposes a comparative analysis between them. This dissertation was built based on the ethnographic research realized into charismatic communities of the religious institutions in reference, placed in some cities of Porto Alegre Metropolitan Area.

Esta dissertação procura compreender como a performance ritual contribui na elaboração e sustentação do ethos carismático em duas distintas instituições religiosas: a Igreja Evangélica de Confissão Luterana no Brasil e a Igreja Católica Apostólica Romana. Para isso, procuro verificar que recursos de performance são acionados no ritual de cada um destes grupos carismáticos. Centro a análise na compreensão de como os artificios da performance agem sobre os participantes do ritual. A fim de alcançar este entendimento, são usados os pressupostos de teorias sobre ritual e performance. Além de estudar o fenômeno supracitado nas duas igrejas separadamente, esta dissertação propõe uma análise comparativa entre as mesmas. O trabalho foi construído com base na pesquisa etnográfica realizada junto a comunidades carismáticas das instituições religiosas em referência, situadas em algumas cidades da Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre. / The objective of this dissertation is to understand how the ritual performance contributes in the elaboration and support of the charismatic ethos in two distinct religious institutions: the Evagelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil and the Roman Catholic Church. In order to do that, I pursuit to verify which performance resources are impelled in the ritual of each one of these charismatic groups. I focus the analysis in the comprehension of how the performance artifice acts on the participants of the ritual. In order to achieve this understanding, it is used the presupposed of ritual and performance theories. Besides studying the foresaid phenomenon in both churches separetely, The present text proposes a comparative analysis between them. This dissertation was built based on the ethnographic research realized into charismatic communities of the religious institutions in reference, placed in some cities of Porto Alegre Metropolitan Area.

The subject of spirituality is descriptive, comprehensive, transformative, and interdisciplinary. This study is about the spirituality of Kikuyu PCEA (Presbyterian Church of East Africa) pastors in Nairobi. This research seeks to find expressions and meanings of Christian spirituality of the research context. Thus, the concrete aims of this research are: (1) to understand the complex spiritual/religious/cultural world of Kikuyu pastors of the Presbyterian Church in Nairobi; (2) to study biblical and historical spirituality in order to find biblical and Western-historical spiritual perspectives; (3) to have critical hermeneutical dialogue between narratives, different cultural/religious traditions, biblical/Western-historical spiritual perspectives, and African theological perspectives with a view to finding strategies for transformation of the research participants, churches in Africa, and African society at large. To achieve the aforementioned aims of this research, a research paradigm was employed which is comprised of postfoundationalism, practical theology, narrative, and social constructionism. Postfoundationalism provided theological positioning; practical theological process laid a framework of the research as the main research methodology; narratives generated essential experiences for the research; social constructionism provided a method with which to form the realities socially which would have a relevance to the context. Thick questions were formulated from the following studies: the narratives of the research participants, African (Kikuyu) cultural/religious traditions, Christianity’s influences on the research context, and the socio-economic-political phenomena of the Kenyan society. The questions were: (1) Would mission Christianity including the Presbyterian Church of East Africa continue to be an effective form of Christianity in Kenya and among the Kikuyu?; (2) What is the relationship between charismatic spirituality and the contextual spirituality of East Africa?; (3) How can spirituality shape and influence the socio-economic-political context more than it being influenced by the context?; (4) What would the biblical and historical spirituality suggest to the spiritualities of the research participants? In regards to biblical/historical spiritualities, the spiritualities of both Old and New Testament and each historical period were unique, and the spirituality of each period was developed distinctively by the needs of the time. Then the fusion of horizons between the research context and biblical/historical spiritualities turned out to be a valuable process for the making of the final strategies for transformation. The strategies for transformation reflect the essential elements of African Christian spirituality, which can be applied to the African socio-religious context beyond the scope of the current research arena. Christian spirituality in the 21st century Africa demands African expression and identity whether it means contextualisation, liberation, or reconstruction. Structures, governance, forms, and expressions of the Christianity of the past century need to be re-evaluated for the formation of authentic African Christian spirituality. African society faces tremendous challenges and pressures providing Christianity with both an unprecedented privilege and obligation to impact African society with the message of love and hope. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

This study investigated the state of leadership mentoring and succession planning in the Charismatic Churches in Bushbuckridge. In order to gain a full understanding of the Charismatic Movement which emerged in Bushbuckridge only four decades ago, it was necessary to trace its origin from the Azusa Street Revival which gave birth to Pentecostalism almost a century ago. The Charismatic Movement emerged as a distinct movement only five decades later following the birth of the Pentecostal Movement. The reviewed literature revealed that the Charismatic Movement is a child of the marriage between the Pentecostal Movement and traditional denominations. The main watermark distinction between the theologies of the two movements is based on the fact that the Pentecostal Movement emphasises speaking in tongues while the Charismatic Movement places emphasis on the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. By virtue of their one-man-founder, Charismatic Churches are likely to experience the same leadership mentoring and succession problems that are common to family businesses. An assessment of leadership mentoring and succession practices in the business world proved that the concept has been researched, practiced, and perfected more in the secular world than in the world of religious and biblical studies. Although this study uncovered some exceptionally successful mentoring relationships in both the New and the Old Testaments, they do not provide details of what those who were involved in the mentoring relationships did for them to be successful. It is in the secular world that mentoring relationships, stages and models have been researched and practiced. It is when mentors and protégés are pared correctly and their relationships managed properly throughout all the mentoring stages that organisations can be assured of smooth leadership transitions. A triangulation of the qualitative and the quantitative methods was used to collect data in this study. On the qualitative side of the research, data was collected by means of interviews and focus group studies. Interviews with the apostolic fathers of the Charismatic Movement in South Africa raised a concern over the lack of leadership mentoring and succession programmes, especially amongst the younger generation of churches. The concern was confirmed in all the focus group studies which were conducted in Bushbuckridge. The data which was collected from the qualitative side of the study provided a basis for the content of the questionnaire the researcher drew up for the quantitative side of the study. This side of the study contradicted the views of the participants in interviews and focus groups in that it reported that many Charismatic Churches in Bushbuckridge do in fact have leadership mentoring and succession programmes (85% and 72% respectively). The quantitative side of the study further revealed that education levels and gender have a statistically significant effect in leadership mentoring, while location does not. The researcher suggests that the contradiction in the outcomes of the two research methods deserve a follow-up study. This study presents to Charismatic Church leaders in Bushbuckridge lessons drawn from the leadership mentoring and succession practices of both the biblical and secular worlds. This study would be incomplete without the bringing to the fore of an illustrative text in the 2 Timothy 2:1-3. Generally speaking, adherents in the Charismatic Churches read and interpret the bible as authoritative for faith and life. The participants‘ call for the introduction or/and enhancement of leadership mentoring and succession is therefore harnessed by the biblical message in 2 Timothy 2:1-3. Such model of leadership could serve as an important and significant form of discourse in Africa in the context of leadership. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th (Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology)

Spirituality is a word in frequent use in contemporary society. In a broad sense it refers to the 'raison d'etre' of our existence, the meaning and values to which we ascribe. Everyone embodies a spirituality in this wider sense, whether it be nihilistic, materialistic, humanistic or religious. The present study evaluates the phenomenon of the Toronto Blessing in the light of spirituality in general and Christian spirituality in particular. By means of a broadly-based phenomenological methodology, the manifestations accompanying the Toronto Blessing are evaluated firstly, with respect to the Bible; secondly, with respect to the Hindu experience of 'Kundalini awakening'; and thirdly, in terms of neuroscience and certain psychological processes, such as hypnosis, mass hysteria, and the role of body and mind in creating spiritual experiences. Although Charismatics claim that the Toronto Blessing has a sound biblical foundation, no evidence to support this claim has been found. However, striking similarities are found between the manifestations of the Toronto Blessing and the techniques used in the 'Kundalini awakening' for the transference of energy. Finally, the major findings of this study support the conclusion that the Toronto Blessing is largely the result of psychological techniques. The possibility of Godly intervention is not totally excluded, but caution is urged, so as to be aware of extraneous factors that create similar manifestations. While it is agreed that the Toronto Blessing can be seen as an expression of spirituality in a broad sense, nevertheless it cannot be viewed as an expression of Christian spirituality in the Charismatic Movement. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

本研究試圖從實際的例子觀察基督宗教的神聖感在組織中如何形成。以靈恩運動當中的神聖感現象為例，首先了解整體靈恩運動的發源以及區域的發展，再縮小到台灣的靈恩運動；本研究選擇由長老教會牧師組成的台灣教會更新協會，及其訓練單位頌泉內在醫治學校作為田野觀察對象。 一開始先由兩個層面了解內在醫治，首先是內在醫治的抽象概念以及發生的原則，它強調基本的認知符合基督教聖經教義，並相信靈界的存在，以及在靈界中有聖靈與邪靈的正邪力量存在。其次是內在醫治的身體實踐，它將人分成靈魂體三個部分因為靈會影響人的身心，因此身體的疾病和心理的困擾都和靈相關，其中聖靈帶來正面的影響，邪靈則帶來負面影響；所以內在醫治便以一些得到恩賜能力的信徒，本文稱為服事者，在儀式語言中驅逐邪靈或以及與其他靈之間不合宜的連結。 本研究一方面以韋伯的宗教社會學分析靈恩卡里斯瑪力量在宗教組織產生的身分分化，以及靈恩運動組織受到全球化以及本地化的影響；另一方面以現象學分析內在醫治的實際做法，藉由實際田野的觀察，將信徒在內在醫治當中的感知分成身體的感知以及意象的感知，並且引用Csordas對他者意識形成的分析，以及梅絡龐蒂對習慣形成的分析，解釋內在醫治當中信徒神聖感的形成，自我的神聖感與醫治的關係。 / This study tries to observe how the understanding of sacredness is formed in Charismatic Christian organizations. Therefore, this study starts the investigation from the development of Charismatic movement in North America and how it spread to Taiwan. To involve more and provide reliable observation, a charismatic organization Taiwan Church Renewal Ministry and its training partner organization Singing Waters Ministries thus are chosen as study cases. These two organizations stress on a specific Charismatic activity called inner healings. The investigation of inner healing can be divided to two dimensions, the understanding of the concepts and principles of inner healing which always stress its teaching that have matched Christian faith, and the body practice of inner healing. Human beings are divided into three parts—body, soul, and spirits in inner healing teachings. For that the spirits will affect bodies and souls of human beings, there could be both positive and negative influences. Holy spirits bring positive effects such as the feeling of heats and peace, while evil spirits bring negative effects such as illnesses and disturbance on emotions. There will be some gifted disciples designated “servers” are able to help the participants to chase away evil spirits or cut the inappropriate connection among human souls, “soul-ties.” Inner healing phenomenon could be analyzed through sociology of religion of Max Weber by charismatic domination and its influences on religious organizations. Besides, it could be set in a globalization context as well. On the other hand, it could be analyzed by phenomenological approaches. Through the approaches such as the sacred self and alterity theory of Csordas Thomas and the habitus theory of Merleau Ponty can not only explain how the understanding of sacredness is developed among the participants in inner healing activities but elaborate the relation between self secredness and healings.

Spirituality is a word in frequent use in contemporary society. In a broad sense it refers to the 'raison d'etre' of our existence, the meaning and values to which we ascribe. Everyone embodies a spirituality in this wider sense, whether it be nihilistic, materialistic, humanistic or religious. The present study evaluates the phenomenon of the Toronto Blessing in the light of spirituality in general and Christian spirituality in particular. By means of a broadly-based phenomenological methodology, the manifestations accompanying the Toronto Blessing are evaluated firstly, with respect to the Bible; secondly, with respect to the Hindu experience of 'Kundalini awakening'; and thirdly, in terms of neuroscience and certain psychological processes, such as hypnosis, mass hysteria, and the role of body and mind in creating spiritual experiences. Although Charismatics claim that the Toronto Blessing has a sound biblical foundation, no evidence to support this claim has been found. However, striking similarities are found between the manifestations of the Toronto Blessing and the techniques used in the 'Kundalini awakening' for the transference of energy. Finally, the major findings of this study support the conclusion that the Toronto Blessing is largely the result of psychological techniques. The possibility of Godly intervention is not totally excluded, but caution is urged, so as to be aware of extraneous factors that create similar manifestations. While it is agreed that the Toronto Blessing can be seen as an expression of spirituality in a broad sense, nevertheless it cannot be viewed as an expression of Christian spirituality in the Charismatic Movement. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Christian Spirituality)

Prophecy is a major theme in Scripture and in contemporary practice in Pentecostal and charismatic settings. At its simplest, prophecy can be understood as a message from God delivered through a spokesperson to an audience, usually in the form of a revelatory experience. Despite the significance of prophecy in the history of Pentecostalism, the experiential coherence between modern-day charismatic prophets and Old Testament prophets has not been directly examined. Consideration of the literature shows conflicting messages. The application of biblical and historical studies tends to emphasize the divide between the Old Testament prophets and modern-day charismatic prophets while practical theological studies emphasize coherence. The heart of this practical theological study is a phenomenological investigation of the practice of charismatic prophecy in the Canadian context. Five textural and three structural elements are identified: Prophets recognize the presence of God, receive the prophetic impulse, discern the source and recipient of the message, release the prophetic message or act, and experience attendant physical and emotional sensations. The way that prophets experience this phenomenon is impacted by their mentoring, setting, and response to failure. This phenomenological description was then compared with the experience of Jeremiah to evaluate the level of coherence. Aside from uncertainty regarding the distinction of the first two textural components and the issue of discernment, a strong level of coherence was discovered between the Old Testament prophets and modern-day charismatic prophets. Jeremiah and modern-day Canadian prophets experience the phenomenon of prophecy in very similar ways. This high level of coherence leads to three conclusions. First, the application of biblical and historical studies that emphasize the discontinuity between the Old Testament prophets and modern-day charismatic prophets should be resisted in light of the data. This application—often based on a concern to safeguard the unique authority of Scripture from contemporary prophetic messages—is unnecessary since Canadian prophets hold a high value of Scripture that can be seen in the experience of Jeremiah himself. Second, Pentecostals should expand their narrative understanding backward in time to include the Old Testament prophetic lineage. Third, modern-day charismatic prophets should be encouraged to return to the Old Testament prophets for a deeper understanding of their practice.