Thesis (Th. M.)--Reformed Theological Seminary, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-165).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1986. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-104).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1986. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-104).

Roman Catholicism and Srivaiṣṇavism are two religious traditions in which mediation, primarily through the use of images, plays a central role in soteriology. A comparison of various modes of mediation between these two traditions will highlight a dialectic of presence and absence, inherent in mediation, and will examine the various ways of interpreting and dealing with this dialectic in their respective theologies. Three general categories of mediation are identified through which this comparison will take place: God, saint, and priest. / Images of the full presence of God, namely the eucharistic host in Roman Catholicism and the arcavatara in Srivaiṣṇavism, mediate this full presence either through the transformation of substance (as in Roman Catholicism) or through the appearance of materiality and limited form (in Srivaiṣṇavism). Saints and alvars can also be regarded as images or mediatory modes; the saint embodies and mediates Christ's presence, becoming "as if" Christ. This presence is manifested not only in the saint's life but in his or her relics as well. The alvar is regarded as an aṁsa or partial incarnation, thus manifesting a part of God, most notably His ornaments, weapons and companions. / A specific comparison of Mary and Aṇṭaḷ/Sri will further highlight the dialectic of presence and absence in addition to pointing out their unique status within their respective traditions. A comparison of priests and acaryas will show mediation in living images. Priests become "as if" Christ through their ordination, and are seen to embody him particularly in specific ritual acts. The acarya functions in much the same way as Aṇṭaḷ/Sri, mediating between God and the believer as an aṁsa or partial incarnation. / Different theological conceptions of God and incarnation result in the different understandings of mediation and the different ways that the two traditions deal with the dialectic of presence and absence. Images in both traditions also bring to light an "as if" conception in the mind of the believer; saints and priests function "as if" Christ and the various images in Srivaiṣṇaavism appear "as if" material or "as if" human, thus allowing them to mediate the divine presence to the community.

No description available.

This thesis is a comparative analysis of the doctrine of deification in sacramental worship as taught (and practiced) by the Eastern Orthodox and Latter-day Saint (Mormon) churches. The doctrine that man may become like God—known as deification, divinization, or theosis—is a central teaching in the Orthodox and Mormon traditions. Both faiths believe that man may become like God. However, because of doctrinal presuppositions and disagreements regarding the natures of God and man, Orthodox and Mormon teachings of deification do not mean the same thing. This thesis will outline several key distinctions between their respective doctrines. And yet, despite doctrinal disagreements, this thesis will also illustrate how Orthodoxy and Mormonism share several notable similarities regarding the function of sacramental worship in the process of theosis. Mormonism and Orthodoxy both believe that men and women may achieve theosis only as they interact with God. Through the combined initiatives of the Father, his son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, humankind may receive the attributes of divinity and participate in the process of deification. The means whereby humanity may interact with God are through sacramental participation. This thesis will illustrate how institutional rituals and personal worship practices foster man's divine interaction and ultimate deification. Furthermore, Orthodox and Mormon rituals are deeply rooted in the doctrine of deification—each ritual contributing to man's divine transformation. As such, those rituals reflect numerous thematic variations and emphatic differences of their respective traditions. This should not discourage the reader from comparing Orthodox sacraments with Mormon sacraments; rather, as one studies the similarities and differences in the Orthodox and Mormon sacraments, he or she will begin to see how deification is so intricately woven into the worship practices of these two faiths.

This study focuses on the relationship between Hooker's doctrine of law and his concept of "participation," which is an important feature of his sacramental doctrine. In The Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie (V.50--67), Richard Hooker discusses the saving work of Christ and man's participation in him through faith and the sacraments. How does Hooker understand participation in God? Hooker speaks of the Atonement, Justification and sacraments in the vocabulary of the magisterial Reform, but (perhaps uniquely) understands the same doctrines within the framework of law, the instrument by which God orders his creation. Hooker defines law in terms of Aristotelian causes to describe a process of participation: the causes that inform the natures, operations and ends of creatures accomplish a hierarchical process of emanation of being from God and return to God. Law therefore mediates between God and creation. Creatures participate in God through the natural law, but after the fall, man's participation is restored through the divine law. Hooker's account of the Incarnation and Atonement, justification through faith, and sacramental participation---the main features of the divine law---therefore takes into account the idea of law. Hooker's treatment of participation, then, is based on categories in classical physics, and his doctrine of law influences his treatment of specific theological loci.

No description available.

This thesis seeks to show that Charles Williams makes a significant contribution to theology, and it demonstrates the nature of that contribution. A pattern of theological themes centering on the Incarnation, emphasizing the humanity of Christ, is repeated throughout his works. For Williams, human beings are images of the coinherent Godhead. His theological anthropology further develops through his understanding of imaging, as shown for instance in the Incarnation, and in Dante's characterization of Beatrice as a God bearer. His view of images is built from Coleridge's understanding of the nature of a symbol. This picture of imaging is widely applied, first and foremost to relationships of love, seen as potential incarnate images of grace. Williams seeks to extend his picture to all relationships and, further, to whatever man must do to go beyond himself to an encounter with God. He believes that man is responsible for his brother, in practice by bearing his brother's burdens, with substitutionary acts of vicarious love. A further part of his thinking then views people as living in coinherent relationships, and the universe as a web of coinherent relations. He draws his examples of natural coinherent relations from the world of commerce with its exchange and substitution of labors and from the child living within its mother, and builds a picture of what he calls the City, a broader coinherent society. Coinherence begins and flows from the Trinity and the Incarnation and then is found in relationships between God and man: in the Church, in the future City of God, and in all Creation. The Fall brings about the breakdown of the coinherence of God and man and man and man, and that breakdown is a central characteristic of sin. Williams believes that a regenerated coinherence in Christ brings about a renewal of mankind.