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Thesis (M.A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2013

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This thesis aims to restore the balance of modern investigations into Christian asceticism and anthropology by reading the texts of Sts. Irenaeus and Clement within their theological perspectives, and thereby examine the presuppositions determining how we think about sexual difference. In the Introduction I examine the projects of M. Foucault and P. Brown, arguing that they do not remain faithful to the concerns of the texts which they treat. In Part One, I show how asceticism, for Irenaeus, is the expression of the human living the life of God in the body, that which is most characteristically human and the image of God. Sexuality is fundamental to human existence, forming a permanent part of the framework within which humans grow towards God. This growth results from humans acting responsively to the creative activity of God. That God is the source of the life which is lived by humans, demands an openness on their part towards God. Any attempt to avoid the reality of their created nature, for instance, through a self-imposed continence, overturns the basic structure of this relationship. In Part Two, I consider the asceticism proposed by Clement, which strives, through human effort, to achieve a godlike life, buttressing the rational mind, that which is properly human and in the image of God, by the exercise of virtues, so protecting it from disturbances, especially those arising from the body and the vulnerability of dependency. Whilst Clement has a vivid sense of the new life granted in baptism, and praises marriage, this desire for a divine life leads inexorably to the restriction of human sexuality to the function of procreation and its redundancy thereafter. After summarizing, I indicate possible lines for further investigation, and suggest that only within the Irenaean perspective can the issue of sexual difference be raised meaningfully.

Early American Pentecostalism had an ambiguous social witness, which contained both radical and conservative elements. The millennarian-restorationist core of the Pentecostal belief system was prophetic and counter-cultural in that it inspired adherents to denounce the injustices of the status quo and announce the justice of the soon-coming Kingdom of God. Consequently, in the earliest years of the American movement, many Pentecostals, professed and practiced (1) racial equality, (2) gender equality, (3) pacifism, and (4) anti-capitalism. However, this prophetic social witness co-existed, from the very beginning, with a strong conservative ethos, which defended the norms, beliefs, and values of nineteenth-century 'Evangelical America' against the apparent religious and cultural 'anarchy' of modern society. As Pentecostal groups (especially white Pentecostal groups such as the Assemblies of God) organised, institutionalised, and rose in socioeconomic status, the prophetic voices of early Pentecostalism were increasingly ignored, and the conservative ethos grew to dominate Pentecostal social concerns.

This thesis seeks to explore two fundamental theological questions: first, what does it mean for the Christian community to conceive of itself as a community defined by the covenant of grace; and second, what are the implications of this distinctiveness for its socio-political mission in an age of globalization. The project is interdisciplinary in its approach, and seeks to integrate biblical and theological inquiry together with the specific opportunities and challenges found in a globalized world. Our way of organizing this thesis is attuned to the demands of argument and method of research employed. Divided into three parts, the thesis derives from a critical examination of a theology of grace and its ramifications for the mission of the church in addressing contemporary issues. Part 1 commences by surveying broadly Reformational theological scholarship from the turn of the twentieth century, and explores how this thesis will make a distinctive contribution to scholarly discussion of the church's socio-political mission through focusing on the central doctrine of grace. Part 2 constitutes a comparative analysis of three leading contemporary theologians evaluating to what extent a theology of grace is evident in their theological political theories. Part 3 is where we seek to apply our theological investigation with the phenomenon of globalization, and engage with international political theory through concentrating on the concepts of power and justice in an interdependent world. The conclusion reached in this thesis is that the doctrine of grace, by virtue of its theocentric and trinitarian emphasis on revelation, reconciliation, election, and creation, directs the Christian community in an age of globalization to be an agent of God's justice in the socio-political arena through demonstrating servant-leadership to contribute in enabling the world's poorest and weakest citizens to share in the benefits brought by a globalized world.

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When reading the Bible in an independent way, i.e., not through the lenses of any official Church dogma, one is amazed by the many voices that come through to us. Add to this variety the literaiy finds from Nag Hammadi, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls, then the question now confronting many spiritual pilgrims is how it came about that these obviously diverse theologies, represented in the socalled Old and New Testaments, were moulded into only one "orthodox" result. In what way and to what degree were the many Christian groups different and distinctive from one another, as well as from other Jewish groups? Furthermore, what was the influence of other religions, Judaism, the Mysteries, Gnostics and Philosophers on the development, variety of groups and ultimately 021 the consolidation of "orthodox" soteriology? / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

According to Walter Stephens, witch-theorists in the fifteenth century developed the witchcraft belief of demon copulation in order to prove the existence of demons and therefore the existence of God. In England, during the mid-seventeenth century, Cartesian and materialist philosophies spread. These new philosophies stated there was nothing in the world but corporeal substances, and these substances had to conform to natural law. This, the philosophers argued, meant witchcraft was impossible. Certain other philosophers believed a denial of any incorporeal substance would lead to atheism, and so used witchcraft as proof of incorporeal spirits to refute what they felt was a growing atheism in the world. By examining this debate we can better understand the decline of witchcraft. This debate between corporeal and incorporeal was part of the larger debate over the existence of witchcraft. It occurred at a time in England when the persecution of witches was declining. Using witchcraft as proof of incorporeal substances was one of the last uses of witchcraft before it disappeared as a valid belief. Therefore, a better understanding of this debate adds to a better understanding of witchcraft during its decline.

Text in German with summaries in German and English / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 350-377) / Die Doktorarbeit hat die Absicht herauszufinden, was Jonathan Edwards unter dem Begriff „Sündenerkenntnis“ verstanden hat und dabei die Frage nach der Bedeutung dieses Verständnisses für die Erweckungsbewegung zu beantworten. Während Jonathan Edwardsʼ Theologie und Philosophie im Allgemeinen gut erforscht ist, wurde dieser Aspekt noch nicht genauer untersucht. Zunächst wird auf der Grundlage einer chronologischen Einordnung seiner Werke Jonathan Edwardsʼ Verständnis von Sündenerkenntnis aus seinen wichtigsten Schriften erarbeitet, wobei eine Entwicklung in seinem Gedankengut deutlich wird (Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse). In einem zweiten Teil wird Jonathan Edwardsʼ Verständnis von Sündenerkenntnis mit der Theologie seiner Vorläufer, Zeitgenossen sowie Nachfolger und Gegner verglichen, wobei sich die Untersuchung auf die Bewegung des Puritanismus, die Epochen des „Great Awakening“ und des „Second Great Awakening“ beschränkt (Diachronischer Vergleich). In einem dritten Teil wird Jonathan Edwardsʼ Verständnis von Sündenerkenntnis systematischtheologisch und theologiegeschichtlich eingeordnet. Mit dieser Studie soll ein weiterer deutscher Beitrag zur internationalen Jonathan Edwards-Forschung geleistet werden. Der Ansatz dieser Forschung ist dabei historisch ausgerichtet, da er den systematisch-theologischen Begriff „Sündenerkenntnis“ auf der Grundlage der Biografie Edwardsʼ und einer chronologischen Einordnung seiner Werke zu ermitteln sucht, um ihn dann in einem diachronischen Vergleich mit Verständnissen aus verschiedenen zeitlichen Epochen zu vergleichen und so den Begriff „Sündenerkenntnis“ in einem theologiegeschichtlichen Kontext einordnet und versteht. / The thesis tries to answer the question, how Jonathan Edwards understood the term “conviction of sin”. The intention is to find out the significance of his understanding of this term for the revivalmovement of his time. While numerous studies have been done on his theology and philosophy, this aspect has not been thoroughly examined yet. Based on a chronological assessment of his works Jonathan Edwardsʼ understanding of conviction of sin is established from his major works (qualitative content analysis). This reveals a development in his thought-system. In a second part Jonathan Edwardsʼ understanding of conviction of sin is compared with the theology of his predecessors, contemporaries and opponents. This examination is limited to the time of the Puritans, the “Great Awakening” and the “Second Great Awakening” (diachronic comparative analysis). In a third part Jonathan Edwardsʼ understanding of conviction of sin is assessed in a systematictheological way and classified historically. The author intends to make another German contribution to international Jonathan Edwards Studies. This research is historically focused, because of the fact, that the term “conviction of sin” is analysed by means of the biography of Edwards and a chronological classification of his works to compare it with meanings of different historical epoches and classify it in its theological historical context by that approach. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church history)