Vivir la Gracia de Dios: Un compromiso social metodista permanente. Contribuciones para la identidad del metodismo peruano. La primera parte aborda la manifestación de la Gracia de Dios en la teología wesleyana, sus aspectos centrales y como ésta va delineando la identidad metodista. La segunda parte pregunta por lo que caracteriza a la identidad metodista marcada por las obras de piedad y misericordia y que siendo medios de gracia, señales exteriores, Dios nos provee de ellas para nuestra formación espiritual personal y comunitaria. Como característica también es abordado el espíritu evangelizador como respuesta al mandato dado por nuestro Señor Jesucristo de ir y predicar el Evangelio a toda criatura. La tercera parte aborda la presencia metodista en el Perú. Desde sus orígenes, en el Siglo XIX con la presencia de las Sociedad Bíblica Británica y la Americana, el envío de misioneros colportores; el primer intento de establecer la Misión Metodista con William Taylor (1877-1887); el segundo y definitivo intento por establecer la obra metodista con Francisco Penzotti (1888-1889), el trabajo realizado por el Dr. Thomas B. Wood y la organización de la Misión Metodista, su aporte en el campo jurídico y educacional; el trabajo realizado por los primeros pastores metodistas peruanos como: José Q. Illescas, Manuel Noriega y Adolfo T. Vásquez. La organización de la Obra Misionera del periodo 1904-1939, el auge y desarrollo de la obra en el periodo 1940-1969. La autonomía de la Iglesia en 1970, realizándose cambios en la estructura de la misión y llegando a la Primera Asamblea Constituyente con la elección del primer obispo peruano, el Dr. Wenceslao Bahamonde. El auge de una iglesia autónoma que aprende a caminar con pies propios pero que no siempre vive la Gracia de Dios y entra en crisis de identidad y testimonio. La última parte finaliza con las contribuciones de la Iglesia Metodista para la sociedad peruana hoy a través de la obra educativa, la obra social, el compromiso ecuménico y los desafíos que como iglesia cristiana tenemos para la transformación de la sociedad peruana. Vivir la Gracia de Dios es un compromiso social metodista permanente y la Iglesia Metodista del Perú está llamada y desafiada a transformar la sociedad peruana, a compartir esa Gracia que recibió con aquellos que viven en desgracia, con aquellos a los que se les niega la Gracia de Dios diariamente. Vivir y compartir la Gracia de Dios hoy en el Perú es una misión impostergable. / Living the Grace of God: A permanent Methodist social commitment. Contributions to the identity of Peruvian Methodism. The first part addresses the manifestation of Gods Grace in Wesleyan theology, its core aspects and the way Grace delineates Methodist identity. The second part deals with the question of what characterizes the Methodist identity marked by charitable deeds and works of mercy, and the way these, as means of Grace and external signs, are provided by God for our own and our communitys spiritual formation. Another characteristic that is also addressed in this part is the evangelizing spirit as a response to the mandate given by our Lord Jesus Christ to go out and preach the Gospel to all creatures. The third part addresses the Methodist presence in Peru. From its origins in the Nineteenth Century with the presence of the British and American Biblical Societies, the sending of Colporteur missionaries; the first attempt to establish the Methodist Mission with William Taylor (1877-1887); the second and final attempt to establish the Methodist work with Francisco Penzotti (1888-1889), the work done by Dr. Thomas B. Wood and the organization of the Methodist Mission, his contribution in the legal and educational fields; the work done by the first Peruvian Methodist ministers such as José Q. Illescas, Manuel Noriega and Adolfo T. Vásquez. The organization of the Missionary Work during the 1904-1939 period, the full expansion and development of the organization during the 1940-1969 period. The churchs autonomy in 1970, with the first changes in the structure of the mission up to the holding of the First Constituent Assembly with the election of the first Peruvian bishop, Dr. Wenceslao Bahamonde. The heyday of an autonomous church that learns to walk on its own but not always lives the Grace of God and goes through a crisis of identity and testimony. The last part ends with the Methodist Churchs current contribution to the Peruvian society through educational and charitable work, as well as ecumenical commitment and the challenges that we are forced to face, as Christian church, for the transformation of the Peruvian society. Living the Grace of God is a permanent Methodist social commitment and the Methodist Church of Peru is called and challenged to transform the Peruvian society, to share the Grace that it received with those who live in disgrace, those who are denied the Grace of God on a daily basis. Living and sharing the Grace of God today in Peru is a mission that cannot be put off

The observation is made that the spiritual well being of the church youth - i.e., the covenantal youth -is not healthy. The aim of this thesis is to study this observation. It seems that when children come to the point that they confess their faith they do not grasp the full implications of this undertaking as they do not bear the fruits of faith in their daily lives. There exists empiric evidence that the church youth are well equipped in the knowledge of faith, but when it comes to subjective acts of faith, there is a great lack. The assumption is made that the catechist is not always sufficiently equipped to apply the balance between knowledge of faith and subjective acts of faith in catechises. The focus point of the study is: Catechises as a means through which salvation is secured and appropriated within the context of the covenant and the Kingdom of God. The fundamental question at stake is: How does the believer share in the salvation that Christ has earned on the cross, and in which way can the catechises serves as a vehicle to achieve this goal. Essentially catechises is the official service of the church through which children of the covenant are assured of their salvation. They must also come to the point where they claim this redemption. The church obtains this objective by proclaiming the truths and instructing the doctrines of the Word of God to these children in such a way that each individual should come to confess his/her faith publicly and personally. Catechists must shepherd and guide these children not only to obtain certainty of faith (certitudo fidei) and to be obedient as believers, but also to be convinced of their salvation (certitudo salutis) and to make this redemption their own. The unity between God and man is not a polar one, but an apolar covenantal relation. Within this polar relation the covenant is like a solid foundation in which this oneness is rooted. The monopleuric (one-sided, unilateral) and dipleuric (two-sided, bilateral) character of the covenant proves that God treats man as a responsible associate in this treaty. God's sovereignty or objective salvation, on the one hand, and human responsibility or subjective faith, on the other hand, coexists without any strain or uneasiness whatsoever within this apolar covenantal connection between God and man. There is no contradiction between God's redemptive word and man's responsibility. It is therefore compulsory for man to believe; that man has faith is not something that rakes place without his decision. However, it is through the power of the gospel that faith is created in man - the gospel that Christ was crucified. The grace of God does not cause the believer to be a passive being; it has the effect that he is in active service of the Lord. The requirement to believe and to repent is not set aside; in fact, it remains a condition of the covenant. This means that, in the relation between God and His people, the promises and the demands of the covenant must be operative and active in the personal lives of the people of the covenant. The purpose of this exercise is that the believers will be able to experience the grace of the promises of the covenant as a reality. There is also a call at the address of these people to appropriate the salvation promised in the covenant. The children of the covenant must share in the promises of the pact on a personal basis. The reality of these promises, as well as the urgency of the demands - according to the gospel of God - must be proclaimed to the catechumens. There is a close relationship between certainty of faith and the objective truths of religion. This certainty is built on the truths that form the content of the Word of God. Certainty of salvation links up with the subjective acts of faith. A believer takes part on a personal level in the redemptive work of Christ. The fact that he is saved, through this redemption, forms the foundation of the Christian's life. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Catechetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The observation is made that the spiritual well being of the church youth - i.e., the covenantal youth -is not healthy. The aim of this thesis is to study this observation. It seems that when children come to the point that they confess their faith they do not grasp the full implications of this undertaking as they do not bear the fruits of faith in their daily lives. There exists empiric evidence that the church youth are well equipped in the knowledge of faith, but when it comes to subjective acts of faith, there is a great lack. The assumption is made that the catechist is not always sufficiently equipped to apply the balance between knowledge of faith and subjective acts of faith in catechises. The focus point of the study is: Catechises as a means through which salvation is secured and appropriated within the context of the covenant and the Kingdom of God. The fundamental question at stake is: How does the believer share in the salvation that Christ has earned on the cross, and in which way can the catechises serves as a vehicle to achieve this goal. Essentially catechises is the official service of the church through which children of the covenant are assured of their salvation. They must also come to the point where they claim this redemption. The church obtains this objective by proclaiming the truths and instructing the doctrines of the Word of God to these children in such a way that each individual should come to confess his/her faith publicly and personally. Catechists must shepherd and guide these children not only to obtain certainty of faith (certitudo fidei) and to be obedient as believers, but also to be convinced of their salvation (certitudo salutis) and to make this redemption their own. The unity between God and man is not a polar one, but an apolar covenantal relation. Within this polar relation the covenant is like a solid foundation in which this oneness is rooted. The monopleuric (one-sided, unilateral) and dipleuric (two-sided, bilateral) character of the covenant proves that God treats man as a responsible associate in this treaty. God's sovereignty or objective salvation, on the one hand, and human responsibility or subjective faith, on the other hand, coexists without any strain or uneasiness whatsoever within this apolar covenantal connection between God and man. There is no contradiction between God's redemptive word and man's responsibility. It is therefore compulsory for man to believe; that man has faith is not something that rakes place without his decision. However, it is through the power of the gospel that faith is created in man - the gospel that Christ was crucified. The grace of God does not cause the believer to be a passive being; it has the effect that he is in active service of the Lord. The requirement to believe and to repent is not set aside; in fact, it remains a condition of the covenant. This means that, in the relation between God and His people, the promises and the demands of the covenant must be operative and active in the personal lives of the people of the covenant. The purpose of this exercise is that the believers will be able to experience the grace of the promises of the covenant as a reality. There is also a call at the address of these people to appropriate the salvation promised in the covenant. The children of the covenant must share in the promises of the pact on a personal basis. The reality of these promises, as well as the urgency of the demands - according to the gospel of God - must be proclaimed to the catechumens. There is a close relationship between certainty of faith and the objective truths of religion. This certainty is built on the truths that form the content of the Word of God. Certainty of salvation links up with the subjective acts of faith. A believer takes part on a personal level in the redemptive work of Christ. The fact that he is saved, through this redemption, forms the foundation of the Christian's life. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Catechetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:38:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4038.pdf: 2201340 bytes, checksum: e81ba7d0740040195a15afe5f6fe6401 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-04 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / The aim of this thesis is to analyze the Pentecostal discourse focusing primarily on various levels of discourse production of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) and the International Church of the Grace of God (ICGG) in order to answer the following question: Is the structuring of these churches predominantly built on the theology of prosperity or on a more varied a range of discursive elements? Based on the hypothesis that these churches try to offer a full experience of life and religion, in opposition to the idea that has been spread by many non-academic commentators and academic works that these churches are only ―supermarket of faith‖, where the ―customer‖ ―buys‖ religious products that he will use in his worldly life and soon goes away, eventually to become ―customer of another supermarket‖. To this end we analyzed two different national contexts. Church activities were followed in Brazil, mainly in Florianopolis, and the Netherlands, especially in the capital Amsterdam. This work also has the characteristics of case study and comparative study. Information obtained during fieldwork in Brazil brought elements for analyzing the behavior of the church and its parishioners in a very different national context, thus enabling us to see what remains and what changes in the discourse of the church and the attitudes of the followers in the new context. / O objetivo desta tese é analisar o discurso neopentecostal focando principalmente nos diversos níveis de produção discursiva da Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD) e Igreja Internacional da Graça de Deus (IIGD) a fim de responder a seguinte questão: A estruturação destas igrejas é predominantemente construída sobre a Teologia da Prosperidade ou sobre uma gama de elementos discursivos mais variados? Partindo se da hipótese que estas igrejas tentam oferecer uma experiência de vida e religiosa plenas, contrariando a ideia que vem sendo difundida pelo senso comum e em outros trabalhos acadêmicos de que estas igrejas são apenas ―supermercados da fé‖, onde o ―cliente‖ ―compra‖ o produto religioso que terá uso em sua vida mundana e em pouco tempo vai embora, para eventualmente tornar-se ―freguês de outro supermercado‖. Para tanto se analisou dois contextos nacionais diferentes. Foram acompanhadas atividades no Brasil, principalmente em Florianópolis, e na Holanda, principalmente em sua capital Amsterdã. Assim, este trabalho tem também as características de estudo de caso e estudo comparativo. As informações obtidas no trabalho de campo fora do Brasil trouxeram elementos para se analisar o comportamento da igreja e de seus frequentadores em um contexto bem diferente, podendo se perceber o que permanece e o que se modifica no discurso da igreja e das atitudes dos frequentadores diante da nova realidade.