Magister Artium - MA / In the history of Christianity a number of distinct soteriological models have developed over the centuries. In the Patristic period, victory over death and destruction was emphasised. In late medieval Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation and evangelical circles, the focus was on reconciliation with God through the forgiveness of sins, while modern liberal notions of salvation emphasised the need for education and moral upliftment, if not enlightenment. In the twentieth century, other soteriological motifs became dominant, including development (in the tradition of the Social Gospel), self-actualisation (in existentialist theologies), liberation and emancipation (in liberation theologies, feminist theologies, etc). With the emergence of global Pentecostalism in the 20th century, two other forms of soteriology resurfaced, namely an emphasis on healing and deliverance from evil. This study will contribute to Pentecostal discourse on deliverance as a soteriological motif. In Western forms of Pentecostalism the need for deliverance from evil is recognised, in contrast with evangelicalism where the emphasis is on forgiveness of sins. Deliverance from evil is typically understood in personalist terms as affliction, namely as the need to overcome forces of evil inside the human psyche, typically associated with personal vices. This suggests a ministry of exorcism in order to be delivered from such vices that are then described as “demons”, evil forces, dominions and principalities. In political and liberation theologies, there is likewise an emphasis on evil forces, but these are understood in societal and structural terms, namely with references to ideologies, oppressive structures and forms of exploitation. In African forms of Pentecostalism (as in the case amongst African Instituted Churches) there is a similar emphasis on deliverance and the need for exorcism. However, this is especially understood with reference to witchcraft. Here, the one in need of deliverance is regarded as the victim of (demonic) possession beyond one’s locus of control. Deliverance is thus understood as victory over forces outside one’s own psyche that cause psychological trauma and have medical, social and economic consequences for the victim. This research project will explore a corpus of literature on the understanding of deliverance in the context of West-African Pentecostalism (or neo-Pentecostalism). It will analyse and compare views in this regard emerging from amongst Western African Pentecostals with Western Pentecostal scholars that seek to understand the distinct understanding of deliverance in the context of West-African Pentecostalism. More specifically, it will describe, analyse, compare and assess the contributions of Allan Anderson, Paul Gifford, Ogbu Kalu, J Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, and Opoku Onyunah in this regard.

Esta tese, que provém de pesquisa etnográfica realizada entre os anos de 2013 e 2016 com um coletivo de cristãos que se concentram em um grupo de oração e uma comunidade católica na cidade de São Paulo/SP, tem como eixo o tema da libertação. O problema a que a tese se dedica é descrever um modo de existência no qual libertar não é se afastar, se separar, se emancipar, mas se vincular, se aproximar e se comprometer cada vez mais fortemente com Deus. Com base nas experiências desses católicos, proponho que a libertação não é um evento, mas a manutenção da caminhada com Deus. Em suma, trata-se de um percurso que não visa à liberdade e à autonomia do indivíduo, mas sim à aliança com a divindade. Esta incita a violência do demônio, que busca abrir uma brecha na abertura para Deus que é própria da libertação. A consideração do caráter comungatório da relação com a divindade e da oposição demoníaca a esse vínculo constitui o fio condutor da etnografia, que analisa suas reverberações nas seguintes instâncias: nos modos de falar; na filiação a Deus e em suas consequências no parentesco humano; na cura de mal-estares variados; nos modos de se relacionar com outras pessoas por meio da caridade; e na inevitabilidade da proliferação de intenções desconhecidas nos objetos que fazem parte do dia-a-dia. Todas elas me levam a postular que a onipresença de Deus (que está em tudo) e a quase onipresença do demônio (que pode estar em tudo) só são possíveis em um mundo cuja qualidade fundamental consiste em ser aberto. / This dissertation is an ethnographic study concerning the deliverance from demons among Christians who gather in a prayer group and/or are members of a Catholic community in São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Based on fieldwork developed between 2013 and 2016, its aim is to describe a mode of existence in which to deliver is not to ditch, to separate, or to emancipate, but rather to attach, to become closer, and to commit oneself ever more intensely to God. Predicated on this, I argue that deliverance is not an event, but a life-long commitment to walk with God. Consequently, it is not a path towards individual freedom and autonomy: it is devoted to strenghten the alliance with divinity and, therefore, instigates the Devils efforts to open a breach in the persons openness to God. The communion with God and the demoniacal opposition to it are the thrust of the ethnography, which analyzes its reverberations in the following instances: the ways of speaking; the parental relationship with God and its consequences for human kinship; the cure of various types of malaise; the relationships established through charity work; and the unavoidable presence of unknown intentions in objects that are part of daily life. These analytical steps converge to the proposition that Gods omnipresence (in everything) and the Devils quasi-omnipresence (in almost everything) can only be possible in a world whose defining quality is being open.

Esta tese, que provém de pesquisa etnográfica realizada entre os anos de 2013 e 2016 com um coletivo de cristãos que se concentram em um grupo de oração e uma comunidade católica na cidade de São Paulo/SP, tem como eixo o tema da libertação. O problema a que a tese se dedica é descrever um modo de existência no qual libertar não é se afastar, se separar, se emancipar, mas se vincular, se aproximar e se comprometer cada vez mais fortemente com Deus. Com base nas experiências desses católicos, proponho que a libertação não é um evento, mas a manutenção da caminhada com Deus. Em suma, trata-se de um percurso que não visa à liberdade e à autonomia do indivíduo, mas sim à aliança com a divindade. Esta incita a violência do demônio, que busca abrir uma brecha na abertura para Deus que é própria da libertação. A consideração do caráter comungatório da relação com a divindade e da oposição demoníaca a esse vínculo constitui o fio condutor da etnografia, que analisa suas reverberações nas seguintes instâncias: nos modos de falar; na filiação a Deus e em suas consequências no parentesco humano; na cura de mal-estares variados; nos modos de se relacionar com outras pessoas por meio da caridade; e na inevitabilidade da proliferação de intenções desconhecidas nos objetos que fazem parte do dia-a-dia. Todas elas me levam a postular que a onipresença de Deus (que está em tudo) e a quase onipresença do demônio (que pode estar em tudo) só são possíveis em um mundo cuja qualidade fundamental consiste em ser aberto. / This dissertation is an ethnographic study concerning the deliverance from demons among Christians who gather in a prayer group and/or are members of a Catholic community in São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Based on fieldwork developed between 2013 and 2016, its aim is to describe a mode of existence in which to deliver is not to ditch, to separate, or to emancipate, but rather to attach, to become closer, and to commit oneself ever more intensely to God. Predicated on this, I argue that deliverance is not an event, but a life-long commitment to walk with God. Consequently, it is not a path towards individual freedom and autonomy: it is devoted to strenghten the alliance with divinity and, therefore, instigates the Devils efforts to open a breach in the persons openness to God. The communion with God and the demoniacal opposition to it are the thrust of the ethnography, which analyzes its reverberations in the following instances: the ways of speaking; the parental relationship with God and its consequences for human kinship; the cure of various types of malaise; the relationships established through charity work; and the unavoidable presence of unknown intentions in objects that are part of daily life. These analytical steps converge to the proposition that Gods omnipresence (in everything) and the Devils quasi-omnipresence (in almost everything) can only be possible in a world whose defining quality is being open.

Dans le drame de Paul Claudel, l’esprit catholique et l’exotisme bouddhiste se croisent d’une façon bien distinctive. La sotériologie y reste la proposition centrale, mais il ne se limite jamais au dogme traditionnel rédempteur, mais l’enrichit avec celui de la délivrance bouddhiste qui combine avec la philosophie et l'esthétique indienne, chinoise et japonaise. Ce synchrétisme a créé une ambiance littéraire très singulier dans son drame.L’acceptation et la transformation claudéliennes des idées bouddhistes sur la délivrance est une longue histoire personnelle et culturelle. Nous avons combiné les études philologiques externes avec l'analyse intensive des textes, en vue de montrer comment le dialogue entre la théologie catholique et le bouddhisme exerce des influences sur la littérature française du XIXe au XXe siècle. Cette étude tient compte des caractéristiques de l'expérience orientale de Claudel, ainsi que le développement de sa pensée littéraire et sa source bouddhiste. Nous en avons extrait trois système bouddhistes stéréotypés: le Bouddhisme primitif en région indienne, qui prêche la souffrance, le vide et le nihilisme; le Bouddhisme chinois “dégénéré” qui attend le salut du Christ; Le bouddhisme japonais, avec la beauté de la mélancolie agréable, sert d’une guérison spirituelle de l'Occident en crise. Nous choisissons trois ouvrages représentatifs: Tête d'Or, Le Repos du Septième Jour, Le Soulier de Satin. En combinant l'étude historique externe avec l'analyse de texte, nous avons rétabli un processus en trois étapes, qui conforme bien au développement diachronique de l’idéologie buddho-catholique claudélienne. / In Paul Claudel’s drama, the Catholic spirit and the Buddhist exoticism intersect in a very distinctive way. The Soteriology remains the central proposition, but it is never limited to traditional redemptive dogma, but enriches it with that of Buddhist deliverance which combines with the philosophy and aesthetics of India, China and Japan. This syncretism created a very singular literary atmosphere in his drama. Claudel’s acceptance and transformation of Buddhist ideas on deliverance is a long personal and cultural history. We combined the external philological studies with the intensive analysis of the texts in order to show how the dialogue between Catholic theology and Buddhism exerts influence on French literature from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. This study takes into account the characteristics of the Oriental experience of Claudel, as well as the development of his literary thought and his Buddhist source. We have extracted three stereotyped Buddhist systems: primitive Buddhism in the Indian region, which preaches suffering, emptiness and nihilism; the “degraded" Chinese Buddhism awaiting the salvation of Christ; Japanese Buddhism, with the beauty of pleasant melancholy, serves as a spiritual healing of the West in crisis. We choose three representative works: Tête d'Or, Le Repos du Septième Jour, Le Soulier de Satin. By combining external historical study with text analysis, we have re-established a three-step process, in keeping with the diachronic development of Claudel’s Buddhi-Catholic ideology.

Although scholars and Christian leaders have indicated that there is marked separation between morality and spirituality in the Christian praxis of many Africans and that the African worldview, which African Christians still hold is responsible for this separation, there has not been a detailed study of the issue. The aim of the research is to offer an explanation, of a paradox in Ghanaian society where there is enthusiastic Christian spirituality that is separated from social morality, so that a deeper integration of the Christian and Akan traditional moral schemes can be proposed.My research focuses on Pentecostals in Ghana whose appropriation of the African worldview into Christian praxis has generally been considered as a positive response to African religiosity. By the use of a practical theological method of correlation whereby the Christian truth is represented by the moral theology of John Wesley and brought in dialogue with the Akan traditional moral scheme, this research offers reasons for and proposes a solution to the lack of social morality in Ghanaian Pentecostalism. It uses the virtue theory as a heuristic tool for the analysis of morality in a way that provides explanation for the situation and guides an integration of the two moral schemes at a deeper level. The examination of the two moral schemes has been guided by the elements of character, a central theme of the virtue theory. It has been shown that the ‘Deliverance Theology’ of Ghanaian Pentecostals involves significant misrepresentation of the Akan traditional scheme, and that this situation causes many Christians to focus on religion as a means for the supply of existential needs rather than the transformation of inner dispositions for moral character formation. This research shows that reinterpreting the Akan view of humanity and integrating it with the Wesleyan account of the Christian truth, transforms the ‘Deliverance Theology’ by portraying the Christian life as a pneumatological characterology. The moral responsibility that this entails will ensure that African Pentecostals understand social morality as an essential outcome of their Christian spirituality.

Il percorso intellettuale di Italo Mancini può essere considerato sotto l'aspetto del rapporto tra fede e ragione ma anche le tematiche della liberazione, della salvezza e della redenzione sono presenti nei i suoi testi fin dalle origini. L'obiettivo del presente lavoro è stato quello di ripercorrere il percorso intellettuale e culturale di Italo Mancini e mettere in luce come la questione del male, declinata all'interno delle tematiche della salvezza, della liberazione e della riconciliazione, possa essere una chiave di lettura efficace, ovverosia un “filo rosso” in grado di collegare e tenere unite un insieme di opere e di temi che a volte rischiano di sembrare eterogenei. La questione soteriologica messa in luce da Mancini ha valore dal punto di vista della storia della filosofia italiana del novecento ma, a mio avviso, ha ancor più valore dal punto di vista della filosofia teoretica in quanto cerca di prospettare nuove possibilità per il discorso razionale e religioso su Dio. / The intellectual journey of Italo Mancini may be considered under the aspect of the relationship between faith and reason, but also the themes of liberation , salvation and redemption are present in his texts from the very beginning . The objective of this work was to retrace the intellectual and cultural significance of Italo Mancini and shed light on how the question of evil , declined within the themes of salvation, liberation and reconciliation, can be an effective key to understanding the work of the italian philosopher, a "red thread" able to connect and hold together a collection of works and themes that seem mixed at times. The soteriological issue highlighted by Mancini is of grat value from the point of view of the history of Italian philosophy of the twentieth century but, in my opinion, has even more value from the point of view of theoretical philosophy as it tries to envisage new possibilities for religious and rational discourse about God.

Sous l’instigation des leaders religieux, les fidèles des Églises et ministères de délivrance considèrent la sorcellerie comme responsable de toutes sortes d’infortunes. Nganga, pasteurs et prêtres exorcistes, se sont progressivement approprié la chasse aux sorciers, faisant de la dénonciation de sorcellerie, jadis l’apanage des prophètes, la méthode de prédilection. Au Cameroun, dans un contexte d’effervescence religieuse, les leaders opposent à ce phénomène la violence anti-sorcellaire. Basée sur des enquêtes effectuées de 2010 à 2015, cette thèse, met l’emphase sur la radicalisation du discours anti-sorcellerie par les pentecôtistes fondamentalistes ; rhétorique qui génère plusieurs formes de violence, y compris des tensions familiales. L’adhésion populaire à cette grille d’interprétation sorcellaire s’explique par le fait qu’elle repose sur un terreau culturel familier. Les résultats interpellent d’autant que l’action procède d’une surinterprétation des faits et du phénomène, dont la compréhension et l’explication restent discutables, eu égard à la place qu’occupe l’imaginaire sorcellaire dans la pensée des acteurs. / Instigated by religious leaders, the believers of the Churches and deliverance ministries consider witchcraft as being responsible for all sorts of misfortunes. Nganga, pastors and exorcist priests, have gradually committed to hunt witchcraft, by the means of denunciation of witchcraft, formerly privileged and defended by the prophets, their preferred method. In Cameroon, in a context of religious effervescence, the leaders oppose to this phenomenon an anti-witchcraft violence. Based on conducted surveys from 2010 to 2015, this thesis focuses on the radicalization of anti-witchcraft discourse performed by fundamentalist Pentecostals; rhetoric that generates multiple forms of violence, including family tensions. The fact that people massively follow this interpretation of witchcraft is explained according to its focus on the familiar cultural context. The results are challenging as the action puts emphasis on over-interpreting the facts and phenomenon, whose understanding and explanation remain questionable, as the mindset of the actors is influenced by imaginary witchcraft.

This thesis examines Hamlet and Measure for Measure as related “problem plays.” In these plays, Shakespeare uniquely combines the genre of parable and the literary device of irony as a means to involve his audience in the experience of ordeal and deliverance that both reorients the protagonists’ personal, political, and ultimately theological assumptions and prompts spiritual insight in the spectator. As in a parable, a spiritual dimension opens subtly alongside each story to inform the play’s action and engage the spectator in the underlying theological discourse. Irony invites the audience to see the disparity between pretended or mistaken reality and the spiritual truth—between what “seems” and what “is.” As these complex dramatized parables unfold, potent tapestries of multilayered thematic irony coalesce into providential irony that exalts, rather than defeats, the protagonists and ultimately determines the outcome.

Este estudo versa sobre a contribuição do aconselhamento cristão para o desenvolvimento da conscientização e exercício da cidadania junto aos nordestinos da periferia da cidade de São Paulo. Para tanto o, trabalho divide-se em três partes. A primeira analisa a formação do perfil sócio-econômico e religioso dos nordestinos das periferias de São Paulo; as influências de suas origens migratórias; as principais características intrínsecas à formação e modificação de sua identidade cultural e pessoal. A segunda caracteriza o tipo de aconselhamento cristão atualmente oferecido, identifica referenciais aplicativos que propiciem a recuperação da identidade pessoal, cultural e a promoção da integralidade humana desses indivíduos, bem como o perfil mais adequado do conselheiro à tarefa. A terceira e última parte avalia as possibilidades do consequente desenvolvimento da conscientização e exercício da cidadania, para o indivíduo e para a igreja, apresentando limites e perspectivas futuras para ambos. Nas considerações finais, ressalta os aspectos de importância do aconselhamento cristão para o desenvolvimento da conscientização em cidadania junto aos nordestinos das periferias de São Paulo, mediante a utilização de referenciais aplicativos específicos e as consequências para o futuro da igreja cristã no atual contexto brasileiro. / This study focuses on the contribution of Christian counseling to develop social consciousness regarding the Northeastern Brazilian population living in the outskirts of the city of Sao Paulo. For that matter, this research is divided into three parts. The first part analyzes the socio-economic and religious profile of the Northeastern Brazilian population living in the outskirts of the city of Sao Paulo and the influences of their migratory origins and the main characteristics intrinsic to the formation and change of their cultural and personal identity. The second part outlines the type of Christian counseling that is currently offered and identifies applicable benchmarks to recover personal and cultural identity and provide these individuals with human integrity, and it also recognizes the most appropriate kind of counselor to develop such task. The third and last part evaluates the possible development of social consciousness regarding both the individual and the church, and it establishes limits and future perspectives for them. The final consideration highlights how important Christian counseling is in the development of social consciousness regarding the Northeastern Brazilian population living in the outskirts of the city of Sao Paulo by specifically using applicable benchmarks and what future consequences there will be for the Christian church in the current Brazilian social context.

This diploma theses focuses on the issue of game studies and examines its connection with the news media. The relationship between these areas is analysed on the case study of the computer game Kingdom Come: Deliverance that reached international success. This study uses content analysis to identify the presence and way of presentation of this game project in the Czech Television news since 2014 to 2019. Regarding the international success of the game, I presume that not only the game itself but also the gaming industry as such might been more captured in the news. In addition to the analysis of media mentions of the game, the work also focuses on their contextual framework and context in which the Czech project was discussed. In addition to quantitative research on Czech Television news, the work is supplemented by a comparison of Czech and foreign reviews, which provides a broader view not only of a different approach to the game in the Czech Republic and the world, but also outlines the importance and relevance of the game itself. Key Words Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Game studies, Czech PC Games, media analysis, quantitative research