The thesis explores the subject of purgatory and its relative value for modern people. It summarises: 1. The manner in which biblical texts used to underpin the doctrine; 2. The history of the doctrine within the Roman Catholic Church and the reaction to it during the Reformation and beyond; and 3. Contemporary formulations of purgatory and purgatory-like ideas. The thesis argues, from several perspectives, that a modern formulation of the doctrine is: 1. Reasonable; 2. Biblically consistent; 3. Meets the criteria of an established Tradition at practice within the Church; and 4. Is capable of assisting people in understanding and appreciating the existential questions of death and the after life. The thesis is approached from the angle of a Legal Counsel presenting an argument for acceptance of the thesis. / SYS THEOLOGY and THEOL ETHICS / MTH (SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY)

L’architecte Claude Jean-Baptiste Jallier de Savault est une figure méconnue dont la redécouverte est relativement récente. Né en 1739 à Château-Chinon, il est élevé dans une famille bourgeoise de culture protestante. Au cours des années 1750, il s’installe à Paris et intègre l’agence de Jacques-Germain Soufflot, alors en pleine effervescence. Le cursus académique qu’il mène en parallèle de cette formation pratique, est couronné par deux seconds Prix en 1758 et en 1760. Soutenu par son maître et par Charles-Nicolas Cochin, il obtient un brevet d’élève architecte de l’Académie de France à Rome et séjourne au Palais Mancini en 1762. À son retour, il poursuit son apprentissage auprès d’Ange-Jacques Gabriel avant d’entamer une carrière au service des financiers d’Ancien Régime. Cette clientèle, à majorité protestante, lui offre l’opportunité de réaliser divers projets à Paris, mais également dans le nord-est du royaume, ainsi qu’en Suisse. Les dernières années du règne de Louis XVI, marquées par l’accession de Jacques Necker à la Direction générale des Finances, constituent le moment fort de sa carrière. Les deux succès publics qu’il remporte à cette époque (Place royale de Brest et hôtel de la Caisse d’escompte) ne voient pourtant jamais le jour, du fait des événements qui agitent le royaume. Après une parenthèse politique dans les premiers temps de la Révolution, il est employé par la Commission des travaux publics avant de devenir architecte des bâtiments civils sous le Directoire. Ce poste, qu’il occupe jusqu’à sa mort, en 1806, lui accorde un statut officiel qui constitue finalement l’aboutissement de la quête de légitimité qu’il mène tout au long de sa carrière. / The architect Claude Jean-Baptiste Jallier de Savault is an unsung figure whose rediscovery is relatively recent. Born in 1739 in Château-Chinon, he grew up in the Protestant milieu of a tradesman family. In the 1750s, he moved to Paris and joined the office of Jacques-Germain Soufflot, then at the height of its activity. The academic course he followed in parallel with this practical training was crowned by two second prizes in 1758 and in 1760. Supported by his master and Charles-Nicolas Cochin, he was accorded the status of a student architect of the Academy of France in Rome and resided at the Palais Mancini in 1762. Upon his return, he continued his apprenticeship with Ange-Jacques Gabriel before starting a career in the service of financiers of the Ancien Régime. This mostly Protestant clientele offered him the opportunity to carry out various projects in Paris, in thenorth-east of the kingdom, as well as in Switzerland. The last years of the reign of Louis XVI, marked by the accession of Jacques Necker to the Directorate General of Finance, was a propitious time in his career. Given thekingdom’s worsening political and financial situation, however, his two public commissions from this time (the Royal square of Brest and the Paris headquarters of the Caisse d’Escompte) were never built. After a brief engagement in political life in the early days of the Revolution, he was employed by the Public Works Commissionand subsequently became an architect of civil buildings under the Directory. With this post, which he held until his death in 1806, he finally gained something of the official status and legitimacy that had long eluded him.

In this research project the research participants and I embarked on a journey through the "desert" of unemployment. I was introduced to the research participants at Jacob's Well, a ministry for people "between jobs" The effects of unemployment on a male's identity were explored, as well as the pastoral response of caregivers to people "between jobs". A phenomenological study was undertaken in which interviews with the participants formed the basis of the research. The structured section of the interviews was guided by the research questions, but the largest part of the interviews was about the participants' personal journeys "between jobs." The role of a ministry like Jacob's Well, catering for people "between jobs", was highlighted and recommendations for practical theology and pastoral praxis were made. / Practical Theolgy / M.Th. (Practical Theology with specialiisation in Pastoral Therapy)

The mission of the Gareganze's Brothers in Christ Church facing the chaos of the socio-political situation in DRC resulting mostly from the question of the Congolese nationality is to dynamise the christian mission and to protect the poor, set free the captives, because God is always at their side. The DRC, though, has enormous natural resources and the competent human resources capabilities. The national institutions seem to be unable to handle this situation because of the lack of political culture, mismanagement and moral untidiness. The successive Congolese crises mostly are the same, the common denominator resides in the causes that brought them about. The main objectives of the antagonist groups are political leadership and material wealth. The findings of our analysis will help the Church of Christ in Congo, to fulfill the prophetic mission and the vision of God, for the positive transformation of the Congolese society. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Div. (Missiology)

This study is comprised of four chapters and an Epilogue. Chapter 1 treats, by way of historical description, the founding of America's institutions of higher learning as defacto centers of evangelical Protestant indoctrination and ethos. Chapter 2 is a record of the rejection of evangelical Protestantism in the interest of making the colleges and universities nonsectarian. This was accomplished first by a gradual "broadening'' of the curricula. Later, the schools became altogether secularist in disposition. Chapter 3 recounts the factors leading to the changes in the institutions. Chapter 4 is an evaluation of competing truth claims in the aftermath of the demise of Protestantism and a review of the gains and losses that came with the change. Finally, the Epilogue is a case study of one institution that reversed the trend. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo analisar histórias de vida de pessoas que saíram do mundo do crime através de uma relação cultural e espiritual com a Igreja Assembleia de Deus, no bairro do Cavaleiro, Jaboatão dos Guararapes, nos últimos dez anos., estaremos aqui analisando o discurso e o método utilizando na Assembléia de Deus no processo de ressocialização de pessoas oriundas do mundo da criminalidade, concatenando com os testemunhos produzidos pelos ressocializados.estudando as condições do sentido desses discursos entre indivíduos que se converteram, depois de uma vida no mundo do crime. Interessa-nos, particularmente nessa analise, estudar as marcas da memória e das lembranças desses indivíduos, que narram sobre a sua conversão e a transformações ocorridas nas suas vidas / This research aims to analyze the life stories of people who took the crime world through a cultural and spiritual relationship with the Church Assembly of God, in the neighborhood of Knight, Jaboatao dos Guararapes, in the last ten years. We are here analyzing speech and the method using the Assembly of God in the process of resocialization of people from the world of crime, concatenating with the testimony produced by resocializing studying conditions of sense these discourses between individuals who converted after a life of crime in the world . We are interested in, particularly in this analysis, consider the brands of memory and memories of these individuals, which tell about their conversion and transformations in their lives. Keywords: Assembly of God; resocialization; transformations

[pt] O presente trabalho tem objetivo de mostrar o personagem religioso heterodoxo, Lauro Bretones, autor, esquecido pelos batistas brasileiros e pelas pesquisas sobre o protestantismo no Brasil. Ou seja, a vontade primeira da tese é de apresentar o jovem teólogo batista e sua produção inconformada sobre a modernidade, depois, objetiva-se percebê-lo como signatário de uma tendência cristã romântica, na qual migra da Europa para o Brasil de leitores românticos e de cristãos identificados com o romantismo. Levando-o a construir uma visão de mundo distinta a época estilhaçando, por ela, uma produção numinosa diferenciada, impregnada de críticas a Civilização Moderna Ocidental com as seguintes características: anticapitalismo, antiliberalismo, anti-individualismo, antitotalitarismo, antitecnologia, antiguerras e antiestruturas religiosas. Além de propor na sua juventude uma saída à civilização moderna a partir da ideia de profetismo, no qual, entende como chave de articulação em prol da transformação da modernidade capitalista brasileira. / [en] This study aimed to present the unorthodox religious character, Lauro Bretones, an author forgotten by Brazilian Baptists and by the researches on Protestantism in Brazil. The thesis seeks to present the young Baptist theologian and his disagreement over modernity as well as to notice him as an enthusiast of a romantic Christian tendency which migrates from Europe to Brazil of romantic readers and Christians identified with Romanticism. It leads him to set a different world view causing a distinct numinous production imbued with criticism of the Modern Western Civilization with the following characteristics: anti-capitalism, anti-liberalism, anti-individualism, anti-totalitarianism, anti-technology, and against wars and religious institutions. In his youth, he also proposed an alternative to the modern civilization from the idea of prophetism as a key in favour of the transformation of Brazilian capitalist modernity. / [fr] Le présent travail a pour objectif de mettre en exergue le personnage religieux hétérodoxe Lauro Bretones, un auteur inconnu des baptistes brésiliens et des recherches sur le protestantisme au Brésil. De fait, la volonté première de cette thèse est de présenter ce jeune théologue baptiste et son travail insoluble dans la société moderne, puis de comprendre son oeuvre comme partie intégrante de la tendance chrétienne romantique qui, arrivant d Europe, prétends instruire toujours plus de lecteurs romantiques et autres chrétiens identifiés au romantisme. En s affairant à définir précisément une vision du monde se distinguant catégoriquement des bouleversements d une époque dispersée, il parvient au travers de ses ouvrages à atteindre une conclusion numineuse originale, imprégnée des critiques de la Civilisation Moderne Occidentale et de ses caractéristiques les plus pertinentes, à savoir: anticapitalisme, antilibéralisme, anti-individualisme, anti-totalitarisme, anti- technologique, anti-guerre et anti-structures religieuses. Cette issue de secours inédite, entrebâillée au coeur de la civilisation moderne à partir de la réflexion prophétique, saurait sans nul doute montrer la voie à une transformation de la modernité capitaliste brésilienne.

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Santo Agostinho e João Calvino são pensadores representativos de dois momentos históricos distintos da cristandade, e figuram entre aqueles que ajudaram a moldar, de forma determinante, os contornos da tradição cristã de pensamento a qual representavam. A despeito do lapso temporal que os separa, João Calvino foi muito influenciado pelo pensamento de Agostinho em virtude da presença marcante da teologia e espiritualidade agostinianas na atmosfera intelectual e religiosa do século XVI, sendo boa parte destes influxos, produto da apropriação direta de Calvino de aspectos do pensamento de Agostinho, por meio do contato in loco com suas obras. Estes influxos diretos e indiretos do pensamento de Agostinho sobre Calvino resultaram em muitos paralelos e similaridades teológico-filosóficos. Um dos temas comuns a estes dois pensadores cristãos foi o da centralidade da doutrina do conhecimento de Deus e do autoconhecimento. Na verdade, ambos definem a natureza do projeto sapiencial e beatífico humano em termos de aquisição deste duplo conhecimento. Portanto, a principal finalidade deste trabalho é apresentar a relevância que a doutrina da cognitio Dei et sui desempenha na proposta teológico-filosófica de ambos os pensadores, bem como estabelecer uma análise de suas fontes, natureza e características. Este trabalho visa demonstrar, também, que apesar de haver similaridades e paralelos estreitos entre Calvino e Agostinho no tocante aos aspectos gerais que envolvem a doutrina do conhecimento de Deus e do autoconhecimento, existem distinções incontornáveis naquilo que concerne aos meandros específicos desta matéria, como aquelas disjunções relacionadas à natureza e às características específicas da dinâmica interna deste duplo conhecimento. / St. Augustine and John Calvin are thinkers representing two different periods in the history of Christianity, remarkably appearing among those who helped to shape up the contours of the Christian tradition of thought they represented. Despite the time gap that set them apart, John Calvin was greatly influenced by the thought of Augustine due to the strong presence of Augustinian theology and spirituality in the intellectual and religious atmosphere of the sixteenth century. Most of these inputs were the product of Calvins direct assimilation of certain aspects from Augustine\'s thought through in loco contact with his works. Such direct and indirect inflows of Augustines thought on Calvin resulted in many theological and philosophical parallels and similarities. One theme common to both Christian thinkers was the centrality of the doctrines of the knowledge of God and self-knowledge. In fact, both Augustine and Calvin define the nature of the human sapiential and beatific project in terms of attaining this dual knowledge. In this context, the present study aims to present the relevant role the doctrine of cognitio Dei et sui plays in the theological and philosophical views of both thinkers, as well as to develop an analysis of its sources, nature and characteristics. In addition, this work demonstrates that although there are close parallels and similarities between Calvin and Augustine with regards to general issues surrounding the doctrines of knowledge of God and self-knowledge, there are compelling distinctions as far as the particulars of this subject are concerned; such as disjunctions related to the nature and specific features of the internal dynamics of this dual knowledge.

Cette thèse en théologie pratique s’intéresse à la prise en compte de la dimension spirituelle des personnes en situation d’exclusion, accueillies par les associations protestantes d’action sociale. Le travail a été conduit sous la forme d’une enquête par entretiens, sur le terrain d’intervention d’une trentaine d’associations en France métropolitaine. Il propose un modèle d’accompagnement spirituel aconfessionnel, adapté au champ de l’action sociale, centré sur la personne en précarité, et mené par une équipe d’accompagnants. Cet accompagnement aconfessionnel garde toute sa pertinence au sein d’une association protestante,en tant que vocation de l’Église à être « aux côtés » des personnes en précarité. Il s’écarte de la poïménique traditionnelle, et se distingue de l’aide sociale. Le modèle propose des voies de facilitation pour l’émergence de la spiritualité des personnes en précarité, et aborde la question de la formation des accompagnants spirituels. / This thesis in pratical theology considers the spiritual dimension of socially-excluded personswho benefit from protestant associations engaged in social action. The research isbased on interviews conducted among about thirty associations in metropolitan France. Itproposes a person-centered, non-confessionnal model of spiritual care adapted to the fieldof social action, and led by a team of caregivers. This non-confessionnal support is particularlyrelevant within protestant associations, considering the vocation of the Church tostand ‘alongside’ people in their vulnerability. It departs from traditional pastoral counselingand from social assistance. The model provides ways of facilitating the emergenceof a spirituality among people in situations of social exclusion, and tackles the training ofspiritual caregivers.