<p>This thesis is based on the recognition that there are similarities and differences between two notions of Christian ministry, that is, a &ldquo / discipleship of equals&rdquo / as defined by Elizabeth Sch&uuml / ssler Fiorenza (1989) and a &ldquo / partnership of both men and women&rdquo / as defined by Mercy Amba Oduyoye (1990).</p> <p><br /> In this thesis, Christian ministry is assessed through the perspectives of both feminist theology and African women&rsquo / s theology. The question which is addressed here is how the similarities and differences between Elizabeth Sch&uuml / ssler Fiorenza&rsquo / s notion of Christian ministry as a &ldquo / discipleship of equals&rdquo / and Mercy Amba Oduyoye&rsquo / s notion of Christian ministry as a &ldquo / partnership of both men and women&rdquo / should be understood and assessed. The main purpose of this thesis is to offer a critical comparison of these two female theologians so as to encourage new visions of Christian ministry in the contemporary church and society.</p> <p><br /> To accomplish this task, a literature survey of books, essays, and articles published on the subject of Christian ministry in feminist and African women&rsquo / s theology by African and Western theologians, between 1960 and 2003, was conducted.<br /> Two notions of how Christian ministry should be understood are offered. Fiorenza emphasizes that both women and men need to be recognized as disciples of Christ who can equally, yet within diversity, minister to God&rsquo / s people by virtue of their baptisms. Oduyoye notes that reciprocity and mutuality is crucial for both men and women who minister to God&rsquo / s people by forming strong partnerships through their respective vocations and ministries, by virtue of their baptisms.</p> <p><br /> This thesis argues that a comparison of the views of Elizabeth Sch&uuml / ssler Fiorenza and Mercy Amba Oduyoye on Christian ministry reveals similarities based on a shared experience of being women within a male-dominated Christian church and differences emanating from the different contexts within which they practice theology, namely, that of Euro-American feminist theology and that of African women&rsquo / s theology. It is argued that there are significant differences between feminist theology and African women&rsquo / s theology, with reference to their context, rhetoric, experiences and modes of expression. A critical assessment of Oduyoye&rsquo / s notion of Christian ministry as a &ldquo / partnership of both men and women&rdquo / reveals that there is an internal problem within African theology. The predicament within which African women theologians find themselves is that they have to struggle not only against patriarchy in church and society but also against the remaining distortions within what is deemed to be a more progressive theology. African women theologians acknowledge their solidarity with African theologians but also identify fundamental flaws within African theology. African women theologians are therefore engaged in a battle on more than one side. They need to unmask and support at the same time. On the other hand, it is clear that Fiorenza is far less critical of the feminist movement, from which she derives the term &ldquo / feminist hermeneutics&rdquo / . She is, of course, quite aware of the various and successive strands of the feminist movement, but she remains at least sympathetic to this movement and seeks to explore its significance for biblical scholarship and especially the Roman Catholic Church, of which she is a member. She recognises the need to complement the (sometimes reductionist) secular manifestations of feminism by highlighting the oppressive but also the potentially liberative role which religious traditions may still have in a secularised civil society.</p> <p><br /> One may therefore conclude that African women&rsquo / s theology remains distinct from other feminist theologies. In a similar way, African-American womanist theologians have insisted that their situation is distinct from that of Euro-American women in what is described as the &ldquo / triple&rdquo / oppression of black women: being women, relatively poor, black and formerly enslaved. This calls for further reflection on the similarities and differences between African-American womanist theology and African women&rsquo / s theology. Important differences which come to mind here are the legacy of slavery, differences in economic status, and military power. African women are often engaged in a struggle to secure a sustainable livelihood in ways that African-American women are not. More importantly, the relationship between American black theology and womanist theology deserves further attention in this regard.</p>

Les objectifs de ce travail se situent à deux niveaux, l'un exégétique l'autre méthodologique.Sur le plan exégétique, les chapitres 27 et 28 de l'évangile de Matthieu sont analysés à l'aide du modèle sémiotique développé par Jacques Geninasca (Université de Zürich). Ce modèle s'inscrit dans le courant de la sémiotique « française », rassemblé autour des travaux de A.J. Greimas. Il se donne pour objet de construire la signification d'un texte dans un parcours interprétatifcompris comme un acte d'énonciation. La comparaison des résultats obtenus avec ceux produits par d'autres méthodes exégétiques (principalement l'approche historico-critique) permet d'évaluer la pertinence des procédures et des concepts introduits par Geninasca. Sur le plan méthodologique, un développement de ce modèle est proposé afin de prendre en charge le caractère particulier des textes étudiés. Depuis l'émergence des méthodes critiques d'analyse littéraire, une séparation existe entre les lectures dites savantes et celles que l'on qualifie de personnelles ou de lectures croyantes de la Bible. L'exégèse historique lit les textes en fonction de leur capacité référentielle à représenter la réalité qu'ils décrivent et le contexte qui les a vu naître : la rationalité qu'elle met en oeuvre a pour effet de détacher l'objet d'étude du lecteur. L'extension proposée du modèle de Geninasca a pour but de définir, dans le cadre d'une lecture sémiotique, une « saisie » et un « croire » aptes à décrire la dimension interpelante des récits bibliques. / Two goals have been pursued in this work : the first one deals with literary exegesis, the second one with methodology. On the exegetical side, chapters 27 and 28 of Matthew's Gospel are analyzed using a semiotic model developed by Jacques Geninasca (University of Zurich). This model fits into the French school of semiotics founded by A.J. Greimas. Itsaim is to build a text's meaning by an interpretive procedure understood as an act of enunciation. Comparison of results with those produced by other exegetical methods (mainly the historical-critical method) assesses the adequacyof the procedures and concepts introduced by Geninasca. On the methodological level, a development of the model is proposed in order to take into account the peculiar status of the texts studied. Since the use of critical methods in the biblical field, the so-called scholarly reading of the Scriptures is disconnected from the believer's reading. Historical exegesisreads texts according to their ability to represent reality and try to determine the context where they originated : the rationality behind this method detaches the object of study from the reader. The proposed extension to the Geninasca's model aims to define, within the framework of a semiotic reading, both a « saisie » and a « croire » fit to describe the interpellative dimension of the biblical stories.

In the thesis, Korean Missionaries in Southern Africa: A discussion and evaluation of Korean Missionary activity in Southern Africa (1980-2006), the researcher discusses the coming of missionaries from Korea to Southern Africa during the period 1980-2006. He evaluates their endeavours, activities, the specific challenges they had to face, various problems that they had to overcome, as well as opportunities and challenges beckoning from the future. Chapter Two describes the history of missions in Korea as well as the coming of Korean missionaries to Southern Africa. By almost any measurement, the growth of Christianity in Korea during the last century is one of the most amazing stories of our time. The Korean church has rapidly changed significantly from being a mission field to a sending field, over a period of 100 years. For the last three decades, over 250 Korean missionaries have committed themselves to the Great Commission of the Lord and are involved in 17 types of ministry in Southern African countries. In Chapter Three it is established that the Korean missionaries did their best to understand the complexities of the context of the country which they were serving. They overcame their mono-cultural background, and tried to adapt to and relate to the Southern African culture. They are still in the process of doing so. The most important matters the Korean missionaries encountered, as reported on in Chapter Four, were understanding the local context, language and cultural acquisition, meeting the expectations of the local people and local churches, as well as those of the sending churches in Korea. On a personal level missionaries have to cope with family concerns, maintaining their spiritual life, health problems, financial concerns, frustration as well as unfulfilled ideals. In Chapter Five, the Korean missionaries reported on their missionary work. Using a comprehensive definition of mission (containing the perspectives of kerygma. diakonia, koinonia and leitourgia) as yard stick, the missionaries contributed in many and creative ways in presenting the gospel of Christ in the country they came to serve. The chapter further discusses the five major challenges missionaries have to face and the seven personal challenges with regards to their attitude towards the people to whom they minister. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Science of Religion and Missiology / PhD / unrestricted

[pt] A presente dissertação intitulada: O silêncio em Jesus de Nazaré: redescobrindo o Deus silencioso para o discipulado hoje foi desenvolvida com o objetivo de descobrir o significado do silêncio na vida de Jesus, para então redescobrir uma nova imagem de Deus, a partir do silêncio, à ser aplicada na dinâmica do discipulado hoje. A luz do referencial bibliográfico levantado percebeu-se que as igrejas precisam retornar a prática do silêncio nas suas mais variadas formas de vivê-lo para redescobrir o Deus silencioso de Jesus, porque Jesus pediu silêncio, respondeu com silêncio e ouviu a resposta silenciosa de Deus em sua vida, ensinando que assim deve ser na vida do seu discípulo. / [en] This dissertation, titled: The Silence in Jesus of Nazareth: rediscovering the silent God for discipleship today was developed aiming to understand the meaning of silence in Jesus life, so one can discover a new image of God, based on silence, one that can be applied in the dynamics of discipleship today. Reviewing the bibliographic references one can realize that Christian Churches need to return to the practice of silence in all different forms of living it therefore rediscovering the silent God of Jesus, and why Jesus asked for silence, answered with silence and listened to the muted response of God in his life, demonstrating that this must be the way in his disciple s life.

Text in German with abstracts in German, English and Xhosa / In dieser Foschungsarbeit werden zwei theologische Ansätze auf Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zueinander untersucht. Hierfür wird zunächst die täuferisch-mennonitische Gemeindearbeit auf ihre zugrundeliegende Theologie und Ekklesiologie untersucht. Als nächstes wendet sich der Fokus dem zweiten Ansatz, der Missionalen Theologie zu. Auch hier wird die zugrundeliegende Theologie und Ekklesiologie untersucht. Die notwendige Zuspitzung erfolgt durch die Eingrenzung auf die Entwicklungen in Deutschland. Nach dieser synchronen Herangehensweise können beide entfalteten theologischen Ansätze miteinander verglichen werden. Anschließend werden praktische Folgerungen gezogen, ob und inwiefern beide theologischen Ansätze miteinander kompartibel sind und welche Integrationsmöglichkeiten lohnenswert erscheinen. Hierbei wird die inhaltliche Nähe beider Ansätze deutlich. Die Missionale Theologie scheint der täuferisch-mennonitischen Gemeindearbeit eine Chance zu bieten, durch Ganzheitlichkeit und Kontextualisierung mehr Relevanz für die Gesellschaft zu entwickeln. / In this research, two theological approaches are examined for commonalities and differences. For this purpose, the Anabaptist-Mennonite church work is first examined for their underlying theology and ecclesiology. Next, the focus turns to the second approach, the missional theology. Again, the underlying theology and ecclesiology is examined. The necessary aggravation is achieved by limiting it to developments in Germany. Following this synchronic approach, both unfolded theological approaches can be compared. Subsequently, practical conclusions are drawn as to whether and to what extent both theological approaches are compatible with each other and which integration options seem worthwhile. The content of both approaches becomes clear. Missionary theology seems to offer Anabaptist-Mennonite church work a chance to develop more relevance for society through holistic and contextualization. / Kolu phando, iindlela ezimbini zakwalizwi ziyavavanywa kwizinto eziqhelekileyo kunye nokwahluka. Ukulungiselela le njongo, umsebenzi wecawe yama-Anabaptist-Mennonite kuqala uvavanyelwa isiseko sabo semfundiso yenkolo kunye ne-ecclesiology. Emva koko, ukugxila kugxila kwindlela yesibini, i-theology yobufundisi. Kwakhona, kuyaxilongwa ubuxhakaxhaka besayensi kunye ne-ecclesiology. Ukongezwa okufanelekileyo kufezekiswa ngokunciphisa umda kuphuhliso lwaseJamani. Ukulandela le ndlela ye-synchronic, zombini iindlela ezingachazwanga zenkolo zingathelekiswa. Emva koko, izigqibo ezisebenzayo ziyatsalwa malunga nokuba ingaba iindlela zombini ezi ndlela zenkolo ziyahambelana kwaye yeyiphi indlela yokudibanisa ebonakala iluncedo. Umxholo wezi ndlela zombini ucacile. I-Theology yabefundisi ibonakala ngathi inika icawe yama-Anabaptist-Mennonite ithuba lokuphuhlisa ukubaluleka koluntu ngokubhala izinto nangomxholo. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

PhDr. Jaroslav Mrňa, Ph.D. Katolická teologie Název diplomové práce v anglickém jazyce: Apostle Philip, one of the Twelve. Abstrakt v anglickém jazyce: The life story of Jesus' disciple Philip is still mysterious for our knowledge, for in sources his person appears scarcely as an individual but mostly as a part of the community of the Twelve. Diploma Thesis Apostle Philip, one of the Twelve, deals with the life and mission of the Apostle Philip, as it is attested especially by canonical biblical sources. Besides an overview of the occurrence of the name Philip in the biblical and non-biblical sources, the work offers a literary and linguistic analysis of relevant pericopes from the synoptic gospels, the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles, whose conclusions serve to detailed historical and theological interpretation of individual texts, focusing on topics related in particular to the origin, the mission, the mentality, the social status and the action of the Apostle Philip within the Circle of the Twelve. Attention of diploma thesis is also paid to the presence of this figure in non-biblical sources and also to his connection with the person of the same name, the deacon-evangelist Philip.

The thesis deals with the Jesus' logia about vocation contained in Matthew 8, taking into account the synoptic parallel of the text in Luke. The original Greek text is, first, translated into Czech and then linguistically analyzed. The thesis further examines the original setting of the logia and their foundation in the hypothetical Q source. With the help of selected commentators (France, Hagner, Osborne, Fausti) are the logia and their meaning interpreted within the wider context of contemporary research. These modern interpretations are supplemented by views of the early Church Fathers. The method used in the present thesis is the analysis of the original text and a comparison of relevant commentaries.

[pt] Tende em vós o mesmo sentimento de Cristo Jesus (Fl 2,5) é um convite a uma espécie de seguimento ao Ressuscitado. O modelo se encontra explicitado na vida, ministério, morte e ressurreição de Jesus de Nazaré, histórico, pleno em humanidade e divindade, e no modo como se deu a sua kenosis. Este ato de despojamento do Mestre ocorre em vias de revelação, salvação e serviço abnegado a todo aquele que dele necessitar, e no limite de tal necessidade. Além disso, provoca a esperança de que aquilo que ele viveu poderá ser vivido por toda pessoa de fé, anunciando o Reino de Deus como presente e futuro. Aplica-se, aqui, ao esvaziamento o termo autodoação a fim de conceituar os aspectos de liberdade e gratuidade desta entrega. Em virtude disso, o seguimento radical, discipulado, ocorre nos mesmos moldes do ofertado pelo Cristo, o discípulo atua em sua própria kenosis com o objetivo de revelar, salvar e servir ao outro. Contudo, tal radicalidade somente se tornará possível pelo assumir uma ressignificação da realidade, uma hermenêutica da existência a qual permita viver de modo novo a mesma vida. Esta hermenêutica vem a ser fruto da esperança cristã que, enquanto força escatológica, se origina no agir do Filho na história humana e se orienta para ele mesmo. Por isso, se conclui que o agir da esperança, o viver em autodoação, configura-se enquanto paradigma da cidadania do Reino de Deus, um viver na radicalidade da entrega na direção do outro, e no limite de sua necessidade. / [en] Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus (Phil 2,5) is an invitation of somewhat a follow of The Risen Jesus. The model is clearly found in Jesus of Nazareth s life, ministry, death and resurrection, his history, full humanity and divinity, and in how his kenosis has occurred. This act of bereavement happens in the routes of revelation, salvation and selfless service to all who need him with no limit for such need. In addition, he brings the hope that what he lived could be experienced by every person of faith, proclaiming the Kingdom of God as present and future. The understanding of self-giving is applied in order to characterize aspects of freedom and giving without expecting nothing in return. As a result, the radical and discipleship follow occurs in the same way as that offered by Christ. The disciple acts in his own kenosis in order to reveal, save and serve others. However, this radicalism will become possible only by assuming a redefinition of reality, a hermeneutics of existence, which allows live the same life in a new path. This hermeneutics results from the Christian hope that while an eschatological power, it originates in the acts of the Son in the human history and it is directed towards him. Therefore, it is concluded that the act of hope, the selfgiving practice, appears as paradigm of Kingdom of God s citizenship, a living in a radical giving toward the other and within the limits of their own necessity.

[pt] O presente trabalho tem como objetivo refletir sobre o modo de ser da espiritualidade cristã inserida no contexto social ocidental contemporâneo. A proposta é a de que a espiritualidade cristã esteja fundamentada no seguimento radical a Jesus Cristo, em toda sua completude, e refletida em uma experiência cotidiana encarnada no meio das pessoas e vivenciada em uma biografia guiada pelo amor - demonstrando externamente sua relevância à sociedade, ao se oferecer em serviço de amor ao inimigo, promovendo a paz. O contemporâneo da sociedade ocidental é de natureza complexa e plural. Estruturado a partir dos processos de secularização e individualismo, apresenta à espiritualidade cristã o desafio de existir sem ser hegemônica, tornando-se uma dentre outras em um ambiente plural, ao mesmo tempo que passa a ser instrumentalizada para servir a um recorte de bem-estar pessoal. A encarnação pressupõe a historicidade, por isso, deve assumir a realidade plural, secular e individualista atual, religiosa e não religiosa. Para guiar a reflexão, metodologicamente, seguiremos o caminho de um encontro que considere a reflexão filosófica e a teológica. Primeiro, a espiritualidade laica, apresentada pelo filósofo Luc Ferry, em sua proposta do amor-paixão, imanentemente considerado, como o provocador de sentido na vida, sem a necessidade de um Deus ou um ideal metafísico, inserido no período por ele denominado segundo humanismo. Considera-se o papel do “amorpaixão” de Ferry em toda sua extensão e limites. Depois, a teologia encarnada e biográfica de Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a qual oferece uma proposta de amor-ágape que exceda à possibilidade humana, culminando no extraordinário do seguimento do Crucificado, que é o amor ao inimigo como o único discipulado possível para quem se posiciona no caminho da obediência ao seguimento. Após a contextualização histórico-social e das propostas de Ferry e Bonhoeffer, apresentase uma espiritualidade cristã que responda à contemporaneidade, performando-se como integral e integralizadora da vida, recuperadora da memória do cristianismo na sociedade, que ame o inimigo e que se encarne no cotidiano por meio da biografia do seguidor de Cristo. Como resultado, evidencia-se o papel, ainda relevante, do indivíduo cristão na sociedade atual enquanto agente promotor de reconciliação e paz, e de construção de relações comunitárias baseadas no amor. / [en] The aim of this work is to discuss how Christian spirituality is part of the Western social world. We propose that Christian spirituality is based on the radical commitment to follow Jesus Christ wholly, and observed in one s daily life incarnated in the world among people and guided by love – externally demonstrating its relevance to society, by offering oneself in loving service towards the enemy, promoting peace. The notion of being contemporary in an occidental society presents a complex and plural nature. It is structured based on the processes of secularization and individualism, and presents a challenge to Christian spirituality: to exist without being hegemonic, to become one among others in a plural environment, while it is exploited to serve to a segment that pursues its personal well-being. Incarnation implies historicity, then, it must assume today s reality that is plural, secular and individualistic, religious and non-religious. To guide the discussion, methodologically, we will follow the idea of an encounter that will consider both philosophical and theological issues. First, lay spirituality , as presented by the philosopher Luc Ferry, in his argument for passion-love , immanently considered, as the provocateur of the meaning in life , without the need of a God or a metaphysical ideal, inserted in the period he defines as second humanism . We discuss the role of Ferry s passion-love in all its extension and limits. Then, we focus on Dietrich Bonhoeffer s incarnated and biographic theology, which offers the possibility of agape-love that exceeds human possibility. It reaches its climax in the extraordinary represented by the decision to follow Christ, which means having love for one s enemy as the only possible commitment for those who set themselves on a journey to follow, as a disciple, Christ s teachings. After that social-historical contextualization and Ferry and Bonhoeffer s proposals, we present a Christian spirituality that answers the issues of contemporarity, acting as integral and integrating element in life, and recovering the memory of Christianity in society, which loves the enemy and incarnates in daily life by means of the biography of those who follow Jesus. As a result, we focus on the still relevant role of Christians in today s society as promoting agents of reconciliation and peace, and builders of community relationships based on love.

<p>The ancient themes of Sabbath and Jubilee are woven throughout the biblical narrative and form the basis of the Israel's identity under Yahweh. Four threads in particular - the release of slaves, the forgiveness of debts, the fallowing of land, and the redistribution of capital - create the ethical backbone of God's people. These themes were amplified by the prophets and assumed by Jesus Christ himself as the content and thrust of his kingdom proclamation. Following Jesus, the early church implemented these Sabbath and Jubilee practices in their communities. Thus, the challenge today is for Christians to recapture these ancient laws as a guide to contemporary discipleship. As well, churches must be willing to envision their ministry and mission in light of this long overlooked Sabbath-Jubilee vision.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)