The internet has brought about a revolution in human communication, unparalleled, because of its ability to communicate instantaneously across the globe. It has transformed our culture and made, what seemed impossible, now achievable with the click of a mouse, from an office in a city or in the comfort of your lounge. The computer networks we use are far more than a means of communication. They are agents of social change. I try to analyse what impact the electronic media have on human worldview and behaviour. I highlight some of the challenges that electronic media pose: we are not sure how these media (and technologies) will continue to shape our lives as they develop at a rapid pace. Jesus of Nazareth spent his incarnate life proclaiming the reign of God and, in doing so, invited humanity into a relationship with God. He commissioned his disciples and, the whole Church in all time, to continue his proclamation of Good News. In obedience to his command the Church has, throughout history, used the communication technologies at her disposal to carry out this command. The internet makes another technology available to the Church. In this thesis I attempt to better understand the impact of communication technologies, specifically the internet, on the Church. I look at the relationship between the Church and mass media. I analyse how the Catholic Church has responded to the advent of the internet and, how the internet has been used for the task of evangelisation. I investigate some of the key documents of the Church on the means of Social Communication, focusing especially on those of the Second Vatican Council, in order to understand how the Church understands and perceives the media. Using the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola I offer an Ignatian Communications Model to help the Church use the internet more effectively for evangelisation. St. Ignatius lived in a time when another communication revolution took place: the advent of the Gutenberg printing press. I show how, using his spirituality, the Church can better use the internet for the task of evangelisation. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Au début de son Traité fondamental de la foi, Karl Rahner avise le lecteur que l’introduction au concept de christianisme qu’il propose se déploie à ce qu’il nomme un « premier niveau de réflexion » (erste Reflexionsstufe). S’il le distingue explicitement du niveau de réflexion des sciences entendues au sens usuel, il n’en donne pas de définition formelle, s’employant plutôt à le mettre en œuvre. Curieusement, eu égard à l’importance que lui accorde Rahner, la question de ce « plan » alternatif de compréhension et de justification de la foi chrétienne est demeurée pratiquement sans écho (un constat formulé par Max Seckler en 1984 et renouvelé par Karl H. Neufeld en 2006). C'est à cette question du « premier niveau de réflexion » chez Rahner que s'attache la présente étude. Après avoir dressé un état de la question, nous y présentons les jalons du déve-loppement du concept chez Rahner, depuis ses articles sur la formation des prêtres en contexte de pluralisme jusqu’au Traité fondamental de la foi. Nous y montrons ensuite en quoi la référence de Rahner à l'illative sense newmanien, contestée lorsqu’elle n’est pas négligée par les commentateurs, peut être une clé d’interprétation de la notion qui nous occupe, le « sens illatif » (et la Grammar of Assent) éclairant le « premier niveau de réflexion » (et le Traité fondamental), et vice versa. Nous y voyons enfin comment cette référence à Newman met sur la voie des Exercices spirituels d’Ignace de Loyola, lequel aura été pour Rahner non seulement un maître spirituel, mais également un maître de théologie. Ce qui paraissait n’être au début qu’une indication d’ordre didactique se révèle dès lors comme une caractérisation fondamentale de la théologie telle que la com-prend Rahner. / At the start of his Foundations of Christian Faith, Karl Rahner informs the reader that his proposed introduction to the idea of Christianity unfolds on a “first level of reflection” (erste Reflexionsstufe), as he labels it. Although he very clearly differentiates this level from that of the sciences in their usual sense, he does not provide a formal definition of the former, opting rather to implement it in his own work. Considering the importance this alternative “plan” for the understanding and the justification of the Christian faith had for Rahner, it is strangely interesting to note that practically no echo of this matter is found in subsequent literature (as stated by Max Seckler in 1984, and again, Karl H. Neufeld in 2006). The present study is devoted, precisely, to this question of the “first level of reflection”. Following our literature review, we will present the key moments in the development of Rahner’s concept, from his articles on the formation of priests in a pluralistic context to his Foundations of Christian Faith. Next, we will demonstrate how Rahner's reference to Newman's illative sense, though challenged (when not neglected) by commentators, could be a means of interpreting the notion this thesis is concerned with, insofar as the illative sense (and the Grammar of Assent) may shed light on the “first level of reflection” (and Foundations), and visa-versa. Ultimately, we will see how this reference to Newman paves the way to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was to be, for Rahner, not only a spiritual master, but also a theo-logical master. Therefore, what appeared to be a simple didactical opening statement reveals itself to be, from then on, a fundamental characterization of theology as understood by Rahner.

Michael Servetus (1508 - 1553) and Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 - 1772) are both considered heretics. They share many concepts about the nature of God, especially their rejection orthodox Nicene and Chalcedonian theology. This thesis explores their respective theologies relating to the Trinity and Christology, with speculation of what sources they may have had in common. While attention is paid to Ignatius, Irenaeus and Tertullian, particular attention is paid to Tertullian, whose work Adversus Praxean lays the foundation of Servetus' ideas and has much in common with Swedenborg's theology. In light of their similarity to Tertullian, the question is asked if Servetus and Swedenborg would have been called heretics prior to Nicaea. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Church History)

A deep visual analysis of Ludovico Carracci’s 1588 Madonna and Child, Angels, and Saints Francis, Dominic, Mary Magdalene and the Donor Cecilia Bargellini Boncompagni with an emphasis on the role of the patron, the significance of the locality, and the visual semiotics of the Virgin Mary’s gaze in prompting conversion in the repentant prostitutes of the Carmelite convertite convent associated with Ss. Filippo and Giacomo in Bologna, Italy. Including a commentary on contemporary social expectations of modest behavior and the painting’s deliberate incorporation of inappropriate female behavior towards a religious purpose. A discussion of uniquely Carmelite iconography, the use of Ignatian mental prayer in convents, and self-determination in imagery by a Bolognese aristocratic woman.

The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyze the function of the Jesuit order in the royal city of Jihlava in the years 1625-1682 with special focus on the question how the Jesuit college managed to anchor itself in an environment that was mostly Lutheran for almost a century. The thesis is based on sources of both municipal and Jesuit provenance - i.e. mostly of Latin and German provenance, stored dominantly in the Moravian Land Archive in Brno and in the funds of the State District Archive in Jihlava. Thus, the thesis expands the topic of an already defended bachelor thesis, which focused on the establishment and institutional security of the Jesuit college in the context of the political and religious development of Moravia. The thesis thoroughly describes the relationship between the royal city and its burghers and the Jesuit college. From the viewpoint of the burghers, I follow the relationship on a study of pious gifts given to the Jesuit college by the burghers on ground of their testaments. This allows determining the level of attention paid to the Jesuit college by the burghers and whether they preferred it to other church institutions in the city. The next chapter offers an insight into the interaction on ground of the educational activities of the Jesuit order - it ascertains the...

本論文針對基督宗教宗徒教父作品之《十二宗徒訓誨錄》、《克來孟致格林多人前書》、《依那爵主教七封書信》，與早期天師道之經書《老子想爾注》、《大道家令戒》、《陽平治》中的蒙選思想，進行經典分析與比較研究。研究方法除了縱向的經典分析之外，亦採橫向主題討論與比較。在個案分析方面，本論文指出︰《十二宗徒訓誨錄》的蒙選思想特點是「遵守規範與誡命以確保選民身分」、「呈現出猶太基督徒的信仰跳躍」；《克來孟致格林多人前書》特點是︰「蒙選標準的改變︰義人vs.惡人」、「蒙選者的神祕數字」、「教會︰集體式的蒙選思想」；《依那爵七封書信》特點是︰「殉道與磨難是基督徒蒙選的記號」、「基督徒是天主之愛的果實」、「基督是唯一的天父之門」；《老子想爾注》特點是︰「道是有意志的至高神，祂的旨意是創造與救援」、「蒙選之人與偽技」、「恪遵道誡就是守約」；《大道家令戒》與《陽平治》特點是︰「天人盟約︰正一盟威之道」、「種民︰道教式的『選民』」、「種民︰與男女合氣或黃赤之術無關」。在橫向主題式的比較方面︰一、「盟約與蒙選」指出盟約是神（或道）的旨意與人的意願二合一的結果，這個觀點不僅見於三件宗徒教父作品中，也同見本研究分析之早期天師道經書中，同時，均明確強調「至誠之心」的重要性，而盟約也是祝福、並且神（道）與人雙方自願受束縛的表示。二、「罪與蒙選」指出宗徒教父時期延續以色列信仰傳統中創造、犯罪、盟約、蒙選的思想，但是「克來孟」或依那爵均高舉耶穌基督之血建立的新約的重要性。「種民」則是在罪惡世界中因奉法有功且積極行善，蒙老君揀選獲救的道民，儘管了不可得，但「道」並沒有放棄救援的意願。三、「蒙祝福的種嗣」方面，基督徒的「選民」具有濃厚的「種嗣」思想，而「種民」辭彙中亦有「罪惡世界中蒙祝福的種嗣」的意思，在天人符應過程中，是使天地再度出現太平氣的關鍵角色。 / This research focuses on the ideas of ‘the divine election’ in the following documents: the Didache, 1 Clement, 7 Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch, Lao-Zi Xiang’er Zhu(The Xiang’er commentary of the Dao-de Jin,老子想爾注), Dao-dao Jialing Jie (The Rules Governing the Family of the Dao,大道家令戒), Yiang-ping zhi ( The Diocese of Yangping, 陽平治). Both scriptural analysis and thematic comparative analysis are applied as the method of the research. The findings are as followed. In the scriptures, ideas of the ‘divine election’ are expressed with different distinguishing features: in the Didache, they are:’ keeping commandments for ensuring the chosen identity,’ ‘the leap-of-faith of the Jewish Christians;’ in 1 Clement they are: ‘righteousness vs. wickedness as the boundary of the election,’ ‘mysterious number of the elected,’ and ‘ecclesia: a collective idea of the divine election;’ in the Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch, they are: ‘persecution as a sign of the divine election,’ ‘Christian as a fruit of God’s Love,’ and ‘Christ, the door of the Father.’ In the Xiang’er Zhu, they are: ‘Dao, the supreme God, who’s will is to create and to save,’ ‘the elected people and the false skills,’ and ‘compliance to Dao’s precepts is to keep the Covenant;’ in the Jialing Jie and Yiang-ping zhi, they are: ‘ “Zhengyi mengwei zhi dao(正一盟威之道)” is the Covenant,’ ‘Zhong-min(種民), a Daoist expression of “the elected people”,’ and ‘zhong-min, a dignified and extraordinary identity and status unrelated to sexual rites.’ In the thematic analysis: 1. Covenant and the Election: (1) covenant as a union of wills of God and of man; highly emphasizes on whole-heartedness and sincerity; covenant as a divine blessing as well as an expression of the both sides’ willingness of being constrained. 2. Sin and the Election: (1) although clear inheritance of Israel’s faith tradition can be found in the Apostolic Fathers’ writings, 1 Clement and Epistles of Ignatius highly emphasis on the Blood of Christ and Jesus’ New Covenant. Whereas zhong-mins are the divine elected in the sinful world; though they are extremely rare, the Dao does not give up searching them for the purpose of saving the world out of the depths. 3. The Blessed Seeds: Christians’ ‘the elected people’ densely connotes ‘the seed people;’ both ‘zhong-min’ and ‘the elected’ connote ‘the blessed seed in the sinful world.’ Zhong-mins not only can survive eschatological catastrophe, but also function as the ones inducing Tai-pin Chi (太平氣) in the post-catastrophe world. They are the ones through which the Dao bestow the divine blessings upon the world.