Magistro baigiamajame darbe nustatomos konfesinių rajonų istorinės vietos Vilniaus senamiestyje (nuo pirmojo Vilniaus paminėjimo iki III Abiejų Tautų Respublikos padalijimo) remiantis konfesinių objektų dislokacijos vietomis, gatvėvardžiais, įžvelgiamos konfesinių rajonų ribų kitimo politinės priežastys, ir nustatomas sąryšis tarp kvartalo konfesiškumo ir miesto geografinių bei erdvinių-funkcinių parametrų. Darbe naudojamos K. Lynch „teritorinių žymeklių“ (landmarks) metodika konfesiniams rajonams apibrėžti, istorinių įvykių priežasčių-pasekmių analizės metodika konfesinių rajonų ribų kitimui nustatyti, ir V. Petrušonio diachroninės atribucijos metodika konfesinių kvartalų erdviniams-funkciniams ir geografiniams ypatumams išskirti. Darbe nustatoma, kad Vilniuje konfesiniai rajonai egzistavo, kad jų teritorijų kitimas priklausė nuo valstybės visaus ir tarptautinių politinių įvykių, ir kad skirtingų konfesijų įtakoje esantys kvartalai pasižymi unikaliais, tik tai konfesijai būdingais geografiniais ir erdviniais-funkciniais bruožais. / In this master degree graduation thesis the historical locations of confessional districts in Vilnius Oldtown are defined, in the time limits between first mentioning of Vilnius and 3rd division of Lithuanian-Polish state. Locations are identified on the basis of spread of confessional objects, street names. Work describes political reasons, causing the dynamics of boundaries of confessional districts, and reveals the corelation between districts confessionality and citys geographical and functional-spatial parameters. Thesis uses K. Lynch „landmarks“ method for indentifying confessional districts, cause-reason analysis of historical events to describe the dynamics of boundaries of confessional districts, and dr. V. Petrušonis method of diachronical attribution to discern the geographical and functional-spatial peculiarity of confessional quarters. Thesis reveals, that Vilnius had confessional districts, that dynamics of boundaries of confessional districts has strong cohesion with states and international political events, and that quarters under influence of different confessions distinguishes unique geographical and functional-spatial traits, typical only for one confession.

The gospel according to Matthew has particularistic (i.e. specific to the Jews) as well as universal features. The particularistic features are demonstrated by the Jews included in the gospel, whereas the gentiles (non–Jews) are representative of the gospel’s universal nature. Traditionally, it is said that the gentiles in the gospel often come to confess Jesus as the Messiah, whereas the majority of Jews reject Him. Gentiles who come to confess Jesus will likely become part of the church. However, some researchers doubt whether the gospel according to Matthew does indeed present such a positive picture of the gentiles. This may have implications for the inclusion of the gentiles in the church. The question arises whether gentiles become part of the church by virtue of their confession of Jesus as the Christ. The purpose of this study was thus to determine whether gentiles become part of the church by virtue of their confession. Chapter 1 sets out the background to the research question and the problem statement. Chapter 2 asks whether gentiles do indeed come to confess the Messiah. The birth narratives provide an outlook of gentiles who will come to a confession. In the ministry narratives, the Roman officer and the Canaanite woman acknowledge Jesus’ authority. The Roman officer receives the promise that non–Jews will be part of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Canaanite woman points towards gentiles who will triumph over the gates of hell. When Jesus dies, the Roman soldiers acknowledge Him as the Son of God. This is based on a literature study. Chapter 3 asks whether the Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. The fulfilment citations place the unrighteousness of the Jews in continuity with Israel of old, and the disputations and declaration of woe reveal the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. This is also based on a literature study. Chapter 4 explores the meaning of the word rock (petra) on which Jesus builds His church ? according to Matthew 16:18. In order to establish the meaning of the word, an overview of the word’s interpretation history is provided. Secondly, the meaning of the word is also determined exegetically. Chapter 5 sets out a summary of all the findings of the study. The main findings are: Gentiles often come to confess Jesus; in contrast, most Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus builds the church on Himself as the Rock, but extends the privilege to those, like Peter, who confess Him to become lesser bricks in the church. It can therefore be said that gentiles become part of the church by confessing Jesus as the Christ. / Thesis (M.A. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The gospel according to Matthew has particularistic (i.e. specific to the Jews) as well as universal features. The particularistic features are demonstrated by the Jews included in the gospel, whereas the gentiles (non–Jews) are representative of the gospel’s universal nature. Traditionally, it is said that the gentiles in the gospel often come to confess Jesus as the Messiah, whereas the majority of Jews reject Him. Gentiles who come to confess Jesus will likely become part of the church. However, some researchers doubt whether the gospel according to Matthew does indeed present such a positive picture of the gentiles. This may have implications for the inclusion of the gentiles in the church. The question arises whether gentiles become part of the church by virtue of their confession of Jesus as the Christ. The purpose of this study was thus to determine whether gentiles become part of the church by virtue of their confession. Chapter 1 sets out the background to the research question and the problem statement. Chapter 2 asks whether gentiles do indeed come to confess the Messiah. The birth narratives provide an outlook of gentiles who will come to a confession. In the ministry narratives, the Roman officer and the Canaanite woman acknowledge Jesus’ authority. The Roman officer receives the promise that non–Jews will be part of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Canaanite woman points towards gentiles who will triumph over the gates of hell. When Jesus dies, the Roman soldiers acknowledge Him as the Son of God. This is based on a literature study. Chapter 3 asks whether the Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. The fulfilment citations place the unrighteousness of the Jews in continuity with Israel of old, and the disputations and declaration of woe reveal the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. This is also based on a literature study. Chapter 4 explores the meaning of the word rock (petra) on which Jesus builds His church ? according to Matthew 16:18. In order to establish the meaning of the word, an overview of the word’s interpretation history is provided. Secondly, the meaning of the word is also determined exegetically. Chapter 5 sets out a summary of all the findings of the study. The main findings are: Gentiles often come to confess Jesus; in contrast, most Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus builds the church on Himself as the Rock, but extends the privilege to those, like Peter, who confess Him to become lesser bricks in the church. It can therefore be said that gentiles become part of the church by confessing Jesus as the Christ. / Thesis (M.A. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This thesis is a historical study and evaluation of the form of church government practised by the Particular Baptists of the 17th and 18th centuries, from the years 1650 to 1750. This study is based on confessional statements, the ecclesiological literature, and the extant church books of the Particular Baptists. It is shown that the Particular Baptists practised a definitive form of church government known traditionally as Independency, similar to that expounded by John Owen, minus infant baptism. Under the principle of the autonomy of the church the Particular Baptists practised believer’s baptism, an explicit church membership, and upheld covenant theology. Under the principle of the headship of Christ, they practised the separation of church and state, upheld the divine right of the magistrate, and also believed in the liberty of conscience. Under the principle of rule by elders the majority of the Particular Baptists practised a plurality of elders in which there was a distinction made between the roles of the pastor or minister and the ruling elders, although they occupy the same basic office of rule. However, deviation from a plural eldership took place, leading to the singlepastor- and-multiple-deacons situation, accompanied by the disappearance of ruling elders and the practice of congregational democracy in governance. This arrangement is characteristic of modern Congregationalism. Under the principle of the communion of churches the regional associations of churches accomplished much good, while a number of issues remained unresolved, including open and closed communion, congregational hymn singing, and the training of ministers. In the final chapter, the study attempts to resolve some ecclesiological issues controverted among Reformed Baptists today by applying the lessons learned from the Particular Baptists. To the Particular Baptists, Independency was the jus divinum (divinely ordained) form of church government used by God as the vehicle to carry out the Great Commission with a view to establishing biblically ordered churches, which upheld the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. These three components of church life − mission-mindedness, biblical church order, and the 1689 Confession of Faith − arose from the thorough biblicism of the Particular Baptists. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This work looks at the 2009 Iranian show-trials through modern discourses of biopolitics, sovereignty, and history. I argue that, understood as a theatrical phenomenon, the show trials are situated within the Foucauldian mode of biopower. The latter entails a shift from a politics of death to the preservation of the bios. The show-trials also perform a particularly modern narrative of state sovereignty and teleological history. To consider them in this way requires a rethinking of Michel Foucault’s theory so as to include juridico-philosophical discourse within a biopolitical framework. I propose that, as a performative act, the confessions transform the very thing they are confessing. Through the work of Jean Baudrillard and Jacque Derrida, I argue that the confessions make possible a reconceptualization of the political space of sovereignty as simulacrum and that of the political time of history as hauntology. / Graduate

The thesis consists of a detailed examination of the contents of Oxford, Trinity College, MS 86, (Trinity), with particular attention being given to several lengthy English confessional items which it contains. This is complemented by a more general consideration of late Middle English prose forms of confession and the manuscripts in which they occur. Part One consists of a survey of all surviving independent prose forms of confession preserved in late Middle English manuscripts. I divide the texts into groups according to their probable audience and readership, assessed from both internal and external evidence. This is preceded by a brief introductory section on the background to late Middle English guides to preparation for confession. In three appendices, I provide: a full description of London, British Library, MS Sloane 1584, with transcriptions of three confessional texts; a transcription of a form of confession from London, British Library, MS Harley 2383, with variants from all known manuscripts; a transcription of a form of confession from Yale, University Library, MS Beinecke 317. Part Two consists of a close study of Trinity: a full description of the manuscript, supplementing existing catalogues; editions of four confessional texts from the manuscript, accompanied by detailed discussions of their form and probable function; an analysis of a series of short devotional texts which, taken together, constitute an elementary manual of religious instruction. I include full critical editions, with variants from all known manuscripts, of two of these texts, The Sixteen Conditions of Charity and The Eight Blessings of God, both of which originate in passages extracted from the Wycliffite Bible, and which survive, in varying versions, in thirty-four and nine manuscripts respectively. The thesis concludes with a summary of the probable origin and function of this manuscript collection.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), drawn up in London in the 1640s, has been one of the most influential confessions in the history of Reformed theology. It has occupied a very significant place in the life of a great many Protestant churches since the seventeenth century, and continues to serve as a chief subordinate standard in several major denominations today. In the opening chapter of the Confession, the divines of Westminster included a clause which implied that there would no longer be any supernatural revelation from God for showing humankind the way of salvation. Means by which God had once communicated the divine will concerning salvation, such as dreams, visions, and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, were said to be no longer applicable. However, many of the authors of the WCF accepted that "prophecy" continued in their time, and a number of them apparently believed that disclosure of God�s will through dreams, visions, and angelic communication remained possible. How is the "cessationist" clause of WCF 1:1 to be read in the light of these facts? Was it intended as a strict denial of the possibility that any supernatural revelation for the purposes of salvation could take place after the apostolic period, or did its authors, as some modern scholars have argued, allow for a more flexible view, in which such divine revelation through extraordinary means might still take place? This thesis explores these questions in the light of the modern debates over the interpretation of the Confession�s language and its implications for the church today. It considers the difference between "mediate" and "immediate" revelation as understood by the Westminster divines, and attempts to show that only "immediate" revelation was considered to have ceased, while "mediate" revelation, which always involved Scripture, was held to continue. A detailed analysis of the writings of the Westminster divines reveals that these churchmen possessed both a strong desire to maintain the unity of Word and Spirit and a concern to safeguard the freedom of the Holy Spirit to speak to particular circumstances through the language and principles of Scripture. God still enabled predictive prophecy and spoke to individuals in extraordinary ways, but contemporary prophecy was held to be something distinct from the prophecy of New Testament figures. In the minds of both the Scottish Presbyterians and English Puritans, prophecy was considered to be an application of Scripture for a specific situation, not an announcement of new information not contained within the Bible. The Scriptures always remained essential for the process of discerning God�s will. The Introduction to the thesis considers the debate over WCF 1:1 in its modern setting. Chapter One outlines the socio-political and theological context of the Westminster Assembly, and discusses the question of how to assess the respective contributions of the divines to the documents it produced. Chapter Two investigates the Westminster view of the necessity and scope of special revelation, and discusses the nature of the "salvation" which was conveyed by this means. Chapter Three surveys the exegetical traditions underpinning the teaching that former modalities of supernatural revelation had ceased. Chapter Four seeks to respond to modern claims that Puritan theology allowed for a "continuationist" position, by canvassing evidence both from seventeenth-century Reformed thinkers themselves and from their critics, who maintained that Westminster orthodoxy was indeed cessationist in style. Chapters Five and Six explore the claims to and explanations for "prophecy" in Reformed theology in both England and Scotland in the seventeenth century. Chapter Seven examines the question of the theological status of the Westminster Confession in its own time. To what extent were subscription requirements envisaged by the Assembly and the governments of the day, and what form did these requirements take? The thesis concludes that the Westminster divines intended the cessationist clause to affirm that there was to be no more extra-biblical, "immediate" revelation for any purpose now that the church possessed the completed Scriptures. The written Word of God was fully capable of showing the way of "salvation" in its wider scope as either temporal or eternal deliverance. At the same time the divines did not intend to deny that God could still speak through special providences that might involve dreams or the ministry of angels, for example, but such revelation was always to be considered "mediate". The primary means was held to be the written Scriptures, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Word and Spirit was maintained, and God�s freedom to address individual circumstances remained intact.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-45).