This thesis will critically examine the project on globalization as articulated by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) in an effort to uncover the presuppositions and motivations that underlie the project, and to situate them historically and with reference to current North American trends in education and politics. It will argue that the project, as it has been described and defined, comes out of the ethos of Protestant liberalism, particularly as this is embodied in missiology and the 19th century Social Gospel Movement, and that this liberal foundation has been influenced since the 1960's in North America by the Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Movement and the more recent concern related to minorities and North American pluralism. Although lip service is paid to evangelism, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, the globalization agenda is expressed in terms of social ethics, predominantly justice or liberation theology.

1 online resource (388 leaves) / This study examines the intersubjectivity of issues related to pastoral formation. It argues that a local theology of pastoral formation in the African context is most transformative when theological education and development are woven together in a synergistic approach. Such a model of local theology can result from a well thought out synergy between educational theories, developmental theories and theology. It is further argued that equipped pastoral leaders and healthy churches are at the heart of the process for holistic transformation. As such, this study proposes a philosophy and praxis that relevantly addresses the intersubjective context of leadership formation in the African context. It intends to challenge the church in Africa to redefine its task and itself in the face of the social problems posed on all levels of African life. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

In this dogmatic study we develop from a Reformed covenantal perspective a missiological theory which is applicable in missionary praxis. In chapter I we account for our choice of the covenant concept as the cornerstone of our theory. Added to this we explain our hermeneutical approach towards the biblical text in relationship to the context of our research with special attention to the Bible as the canonical Word of God and the own nature of theology as a science. In chapter 2 we start our theological-historical orientation in the covenant concept with an outline of our theological biography highlighting the covenant theology of the Dutch theologian K Schilder and outlining the rise and development of Orthodox-Reformed covenantal theology from the times of the Reformation. In the chapters 3 and 4 we discuss the different covenants in the Old and New Testament in their interrelationship with strong emphasis on their common structural elements, i.e. the unilateral creation, the bilateral continuation and the forensic foundation of covenant. We pay special attention to the relationship between the Old and New Testament with regard to the New Covenant. In chapter 5 we discuss the dogmatic implications of our biblical-theological research in the covenant concept with regard to the Orthodox-Reformed covenant tradition suggesting that this tradition is in need of some adaptation in order to stay in line with Scriptural teachings on covenant. We analyse the implications of interrelating covenant, creation and revelation. In this analysis we pay attention to a covenantal approach towards creation and revelation. This interrelationship is considered structurally from the three basic elements of covenant as well as spiritually from the functions of the cult, the law and baptism in covenant. In chapter 6 we draw missiological relevant conclusions from our biblico-dogmatic study discussing from a covenant perspective several themes topical for a missiological theory which has to be applied in missionary praxis. We round off our study with discussing mission and creation with emphasis on inculturation, ecology and the theology of religions. / In deze dogmatische studie ontwikkelen we vanuit een gereformeerd verbondsperspectief een missiologische theorie, die in de missionaire praxis toepasbaar is. In hoofdstuk I geven we rekenschap van de keuze voor het verbond als hoeksteen van onze theorie. We zetten in aanvulling daarop uiteen wat onze hermeneutische benadering is van de bijbelse tekst in samenhang met de context van ons onderzoek, waarbij we speciaal aandacht besteden aan de bijbel als het canonieke Woord van God en aan de eigen aard van de theologie als wetenschap. In hoofdstuk 2 beginnen we ons theologisch-historisch onderzoek naar het verbond met een schets van onze theologische biografie, waarin we de verbondstheologie van de nederlandse theoloog K Schilder accentueren en de opkomst en ontwikkeling van deze theologie in de orthodox-gereformeerde traditie sinds de Reformatie beschrijven. Wij bestuderen in de boofdstukken 3 en 4 de verschillende verbonden in het Oude en Nieuwe Testament in hun onderlinge samenhang met nadruk op hun gemeenschappelijke structuurelementen, namelijk het unilaterale ontstaan, het bilaterale voortbestaan en de forensische fundering van het verbond. We geven speciaal aandacht aan de verhouding tussen Oude en Nieuwe Testament met betrekking tot het Nieuwe Verbond. In hoofdstuk 5 bespreken wij de dogmatische consequenties van ons bijbelstbeologiscb onderzoek voor de orthodox-gereformeerde verbondstheologie en suggereren aanpassingen van deze traditie, die nodig zijn om in overeenstemming te blijven met de bijbel terzake van het verbond. Om een stevige fundering te leggen voor een verbondsmatige missiologische theorie analyseren we de implicaties van het met elkaar verbinden van verbond, schepping en openbaring. In deze analyse geven we aandacbt aan een verbondsmatige benadering van scbepping en openbaring. De onderlinge verhouding tussen beiden wordt structureel beschouwd vanuit de drie structuurelementen van het verbond en spiritueel vanuit de functies van de cultus, de wet en de doop binnen bet verbond. In hoofdstuk 6 trekken we missiologisch relevante conclusies uit ons bijbels-dogmatische onderzoek en behandelen we verschillende themata die actueel zijn voor een missiologische theorie die in de missionaire praxis toepasbaar moet zijn. We besluiten onze studie met het aan de orde stellen van bet onderwerp zending en schepping, waarbij we aandacht besteden aan de inculturatie, de ecologie en de theologie van de godsdiensten. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

The dissertation underlines an approach towards mission, where the epistemology, hermeneutical key and methodology centre around relationship. This, by tracing trends in the pastoral context, verified through research and an analysis of congregational surveys. The results were then analysed in terms of biblical revelation (the creation narratives, God's covenental relationship with Israel, Christ as the New Israel, Christ's missiological methodology and an understanding of the Holy Trinity). The resulis were then also brought into conversation with recent developments in science, recognising the interdependence of all things, and also exploring recent definitions of mission. The study then grapples with a new way of engaging in theology. This new model simultaneously promotes the symbiotic nature of theologies, while placing them within the framework of relational objectives; using dialogue as medium, Holland and Henriot's Social Analysis and quantifiable relationship goals to engender a theological process accessible to people from all contexts and backgrounds. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

No description available.

Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M.Th (Missiology)

In this study we studied how holistic mission should be accomplished. May we speak about social and evangelical mandates? This search is done through the examination of a Christian relief organisation, the Hungarian Baptist Aid. Our main research question was: Is the work of this service holistic? Although we concluded in the light of David Bosch's mission interpretation that their mission is not yet holistic, the model of Hungarian Baptist Aid is encouraging how we could multiply our resources that are placed in God's hand. How we can see a commission that seemed impossible can become possible, and how we can find our way in God's mission. / Christian Spirituality, Curch History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Text in German / This thesis takes as a starting point the societal change in Germany with its concomitant economic risks for substantial parts of the population. Evangelical churches in Germany have yet to react to this change. While the relationship between social work and mission has been a point of widespread discussion within the evangelical movement internationally, it fails to have any impact on local churches. The question is thus: how can a mission-oriented church benefit from Christian social reform movements? Transformative as well as holistic understandings of mission have already yielded an enlarged vision of mission as encompassing social justice. But how about a missiological paradigm which is practically translatable into cultural and social relevance as far as the local church’s vision for becoming an agent of societal change/reform is concerned? When interpreted missiologically, mediation can be such a useful paradigm, as its essence is conflict as a constant anthropological signifier of human/divine distance on the one side and God’s purpose of redemption as reflected in the church’s mission on the other. Thus mediation could be called a category of the missio dei. This practical implementation into the church’s work as being relevant for its community is reached by reverting to the sciences of social work, namely the concept of community development. As mediative community work, this approach will add to the profile of a mission-oriented church as determined to serve a holistic vision of the gospel. At the focus is thus the immediate social environment of a local church, in which it can trigger spiritual, personal, social, cultural and economic processes of transformation. In the social context of Germany this way of expressing the missiological drive of a local church seems to be a hopeful avenue, since the social and economic risks are likely to remain and are threatening a large percentage of the population with social marginalisation. It is here that the economy of community work will be furnishing useful aspects to help a mission-oriented church develop its mediative-communal thrust into its immediate social context in order to proclaim God’s redemptive purpose. / Ausgangspunkt dieser Arbeit ist die Beobachtung des gesellschaftlichen Wandels in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland samt seiner sozialen und ökonomischen Risiken für weite Teile der Bevölkerung. Eine Antwort auf diesen Transformationsprozess ist seitens der evangelikalen Kirchen in Deutschland ausgeblieben. Die Frage nach der Verhältnisbestimmung zwischen sozialer Arbeit und Mission ist in der evangelikalen Bewegung zwar international breit diskutiert worden, doch hat sie kaum Wirkung auf die Praxis der örtlichen Gemeinden in Deutschland gezeigt. Bearbeitet wird daher die Fragestellung, wie eine missionarisch orientierte Gemeinde in ihrem Sendungsauftrag Initiativen christlicher Sozialreformen umsetzen kann. Transformative und ganzheitliche Missionskonzepte haben bereits ein erweitertes Missionsverständnis hervorgebracht, welches die soziale Gerechtigkeit als missionarischen Auftrag mit einschließt. Die Frage stellt sich nun nach einem missionstheologischen Paradigma, welches praktisch in eine kultur- und gesellschaftsrelevante Tätigkeit einer missionalen Gemeinde umgesetzt werden kann, durch die sie zu einem Träger einer christlich geprägten Sozialreform wird. Das Paradigma, das hierfür erarbeitet und missionstheologisch gedeutet wird, ist das der Mediation. Sie offenbart in ihrem Wesen zum einen den Konflikt als anthropologische Konstante und somit die Distanz zu Gott und zum anderen die Heilsabsicht Gottes, die sich im Missionsauftrag an die Gemeinde widerspiegelt. So stellt sich die Mediation als Kategorie der missio dei dar. Die konkrete Umsetzung dieses Paradigmas in eine die Gesellschaft gestaltende Arbeit gelingt durch die Hinzuziehung des Arbeitsprinzips der Gemeinwesenarbeit aus der Sozialarbeitswissenschaft. In Form einer mediativ-gemeinwesenorientierten Arbeit gibt sie einer missional ausgerichteten Gemeinde die Möglichkeit ihren Sendungsauftrag mit einem umfassenden Heilsverständnis umzusetzen. Dabei steht der unmittelbare Sozialraum der lokalen Kirchengemeinde im Fokus des Interesses, in dem geistliche, persönliche, soziale kulturelle und ökonomische transformative Prozesse eingeleitet werden können. Bezugnehmend auf den Kontext der Bundesrepublik Deutschland erweist sich diese Art den Sendungsauftrag umzusetzen als hoffnungsträchtig, da die sozialen und ökonomischen Risiken in Zukunft weiter bestehen werden und ein nicht unerheblicher Teil der Bevölkerung bereits als sozial ausgegrenzt ist. Hier gibt insbesondere die Gemeinwesenökonomie Anhaltspunkte, wie eine mediativ-gemeinwesenorientierte missionale Gemeinde in ihrem Sozialraum den Heilswillen Gottes verkündigen kann. / Christian Spirituality,Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Missiology)

Summary in German and English / This thesis aims at the integration of the concept of habitus, as introduced by Pierre Bourdieu, with the concept of worldview as defined by Paul G. Hiebert develop implications for the missiological discipline and the analysis of the human condition. In a first step the concept of worldview is introduced and integrated into the anthropological discipline from within the life and work of Paul G. Hiebert. The confinement of the concept within the cognitive realm is worked out subsequently and the necessity of a complimentary concept is underlined. In a second step the concept of habitus as defined by Pierre Bourdieu is introduced and explained within his biography, research tradition and his sociological framework. In the concluding chapter a synthesis is provided to integrate habitus with worldview building upon the complimentary nature of the concepts. The cognitive bias of worldview is amended through the incorporated nature of habitus. This leads to an augmented research methodology which includes practical analysis of habitus. / Ziel dieser Masterarbeit ist es, das in der Missionswissenschaft gebräuchliche Konzept der Weltanschauung, vorgestellt von Paul G. Hiebert, durch das Konzept des Habitus, vorgestellt von Pierre Bourdieu, zu ergänzen und Schlussfolgerungen für die missiologische Disziplin und die praktische Analyse menschlicher Wirklichkeit zu ziehen. Zunächst wird das Konzept der Weltanschauung anthropologisch verortet und am Leben und Werk Paul G. Hieberts konkret dargestellt. Die kognitive Engführung des Begriffs wird dabei herausgearbeitet, die Notwendigkeit einer Ergänzung zur vollständigeren Beschreibung menschlicher Wirklichkeit herausgestellt. In einem zweiten Schritt wird Pierre Bourdieu seiner Tradition und Biographie nach eingeordnet, sein Habituskonzept eingeführt und innerhalb seiner soziologischen Konzepte erklärt. In der abschließenden Synthese wird auf die vorher ausgearbeitete Komplementarität der Konzepte aufgebaut und die kognitive Engführung von Weltanschauung durch das Habituskonzept ergänzt. Die Zusammenschau von Habitus und Weltanschauung ermöglicht eine breitere Darstellung menschlicher Wirklichkeit. Erweiterte Forschungsmethoden und -gebiete, welche den Habitus mit einbeziehen, werden im Abschluss definiert und vorgestellt. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / M.Th. (Missiology)

The growth of the Church in Africa, namely at numerical level, is tremendous. However, we notice that her impact on society and public life is not so visible as the growth is, since Christian values are embodied by Christians. Yet, the Church has huge human resources, pastors, missionaries, lay leaders and theologians. The challenge for the Church in Africa is to incarnate and inculturate these values and the living message of the Gospel. In this thesis we question the co-operation between the Church and mission agencies, between native pastors and western missionaries. We notice that since 150 years, there has been a huge gap between these two entities. This is due to the fact that Theology and Missiology look like two lines that never meet. This situation leads us to revisit not only the current paradigm Church-Mission but also the current link between Theology and Missiology. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology)