Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, 1992. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 270-281) and indexes.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-107).

Thesis (Th. D.)--Grace Theological Seminary, 1978. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 236-264).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-107).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Catholic University of America, 1945. / Bibliography: p. 124-130.

Thesis (M.A.T.S.)--Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, 1987. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-61).

Quel rapport entre Petőfi et Martí, deux poètes du XIXème siècle, et l’apocalypse? Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849), poète, écrivain et orateur hongrois, fut le fer de lance de la révolution hongroise de mars 1848, contre le régime des Habsbourg. José Martí (1853-1895), poète, écrivain et homme politique cubain, fut le créateur du Parti Révolutionnaire Cubain, en 1892, en exil, depuis New York, d’où il organisa la lutte armée contre les troupes espagnoles qui occupaient alors Cuba. Leurs écrits, fortement engagés dans le sens commun d’une lutte pour libérer leur peuple opprimé par une force tyrannique - les Habsbourg, en Hongrie, l’Espagne coloniale, à Cuba -, et pour la création d’une « république parfaitement égalitaire », selon les visées de Petőfi, et d’une « république juste », selon celles de Martí, contiennent un grand nombre de termes, d’expressions, de symboles et d’allusions apocalyptiques, dont la majorité appartient en propre au texte de l’Apocalypse mais également à d’autres livres de la Bible. Comment Petőfi et Martí ont-ils utilisé tout ce « réservoir » de mots et de symboles spécifiques, qui forme un « lexique de la fin des temps » ? Les deux poètes se présentent comme des visionnaires et parlent comme des prophètes. Pour son époque, Petőfi a prédit la fin désastreuse de la guerre d’indépendance hongroise en 1849, mais aussi a désigné un point final de l’histoire, quand surviendra le grand combat du bien contre le mal, après une « mer de sang », avec la victoire finale du bien, qui permettra l’avènement de la société idéale. Selon lui, le renouveau ne pourra se réaliser sans effusion de sang : la Révolution française fut le premier pas de la marche de l’humanité vers son âge adulte, quand elle a abandonné ses anciens jouets, les rois ; suivront d’autres révolutions, encore plus sanglantes – on peut penser à la révolution bolchevique de 1917 -, jusqu’à l’arrivée d’une ultime révolution. Martí a prédit la naissance de « Babylone la Grande » d’ Apocalypse 17, 5, la société moderne de consommation où tout va très vite et où l’amour est désacralisé, où la vie n’a plus aucun sens et où l’idée de Dieu devient confuse, ce qu’il a appelé le « démembrement de l’esprit humain » et la « décentralisation de l’intelligence », soit la société désacralisée alors émergente à la fin du XIXème siècle, avec le début de ses dérives actuelles : les monopoles économiques et les premiers démons de la mondialisation. Martí critique même le libéralisme et tous ses excès, déclarant que les hommes, de même qu’ils furent pendant longtemps les esclaves des tyrans, sont désormais devenus les esclaves de la liberté. Ainsi, Petőfi et Martí ont construit une véritable eschatologie, avec trois temps forts : la crise, le jugement et la justification. / What is the relation between Petőfi and Martí, two poets of the 19th century, and the apocalypse ? Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849), hungarian poet, writer and speech-maker, was the spearhead of the hungarian revolution of March 1848, against the Habsbourg’s regime. José Martí (1853-1895), cuban poet, writer and politician, was the creator of the Revolutionary Cuban Party, in 1892, in exile, from New York, where he organized the armed struggle against the spanish troops which occupied Cuba, at that time. Theirs writings, strongly committed in the sense of a fight to free their people oppressed by a tyrannical force, - the Habsbourg, in Hungary, the colonial Spain, in Cuba -, and for the creation of a « perfectly egalitarian republic », according to the designs of Petőfi, and a « right republic », according to those of Martí, contain an important number of apocalyptical words, expressions, symbols and allusions, of which majority belong exclusively to the text of the Book of Revelation but also to others books of the Bible. How did Petőfi and Martí use this « reservoir » of specific words and symbols, which forms a lexicon of the end of the times ? The two poets present themselves as visionaries and speak as prophets. For his time, Petőfi foreshowed the disastrous end of the hungarian independance war in 1849, but also indicated a final point of the history, when will occur the big fight between the good and the bad, after a « sea of blood », with the final victory of the good, which will allow the advent of the ideal society. According to him, the revival can not be realized without bloodshed : the French Revolution was the first step of the march of humanity to its adult age ; others revolutions will follow, more bloody – it is possible to think about the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 -, till the final revolution. Martí foreshowed the birth of « the Great Babylon » of the Book of Revelation 17, 5, the modern society of consumption where everything go quickly and where the love is deconsecrated, where the life has got no sense and where the idea of God is vague, all those early warning signs of the end, which he had called the « dismemberment of the human spirit » and the « decentralization of the intelligence », namely the emergent society at the end of the XIXth century, with the begining of its current excesses : the economic monopolies and the first hellkites of the globalization. Martí criticizes even the neo-liberalism, declaring that the men, like in the past when they were the slaves of the tyrants, are now the liberty’s slaves. Thus, Petőfi and Martí built a true eschatology, with three important times : the crisis, the judgement and, at the end, the justification.

Magister Artium - MA / In the history of Christianity a number of distinct soteriological models have developed over the centuries. In the Patristic period, victory over death and destruction was emphasised. In late medieval Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation and evangelical circles, the focus was on reconciliation with God through the forgiveness of sins, while modern liberal notions of salvation emphasised the need for education and moral upliftment, if not enlightenment. In the twentieth century, other soteriological motifs became dominant, including development (in the tradition of the Social Gospel), self-actualisation (in existentialist theologies), liberation and emancipation (in liberation theologies, feminist theologies, etc). With the emergence of global Pentecostalism in the 20th century, two other forms of soteriology resurfaced, namely an emphasis on healing and deliverance from evil. This study will contribute to Pentecostal discourse on deliverance as a soteriological motif. In Western forms of Pentecostalism the need for deliverance from evil is recognised, in contrast with evangelicalism where the emphasis is on forgiveness of sins. Deliverance from evil is typically understood in personalist terms as affliction, namely as the need to overcome forces of evil inside the human psyche, typically associated with personal vices. This suggests a ministry of exorcism in order to be delivered from such vices that are then described as “demons”, evil forces, dominions and principalities. In political and liberation theologies, there is likewise an emphasis on evil forces, but these are understood in societal and structural terms, namely with references to ideologies, oppressive structures and forms of exploitation. In African forms of Pentecostalism (as in the case amongst African Instituted Churches) there is a similar emphasis on deliverance and the need for exorcism. However, this is especially understood with reference to witchcraft. Here, the one in need of deliverance is regarded as the victim of (demonic) possession beyond one’s locus of control. Deliverance is thus understood as victory over forces outside one’s own psyche that cause psychological trauma and have medical, social and economic consequences for the victim. This research project will explore a corpus of literature on the understanding of deliverance in the context of West-African Pentecostalism (or neo-Pentecostalism). It will analyse and compare views in this regard emerging from amongst Western African Pentecostals with Western Pentecostal scholars that seek to understand the distinct understanding of deliverance in the context of West-African Pentecostalism. More specifically, it will describe, analyse, compare and assess the contributions of Allan Anderson, Paul Gifford, Ogbu Kalu, J Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, and Opoku Onyunah in this regard.

The proliferation of alternative models of atonement in recent academic literature, many of which stand in complete contrast to the traditional teachings of the Church, raises the question of how to determine faithfulness to the Christian doctrine of redemption. This thesis contends that such determination can be made when the alternative model proposed is able to demonstrate sufficient continuity with the meaning that Jesus of Nazareth constituted for his death. To argue this point requires a five stage investigation. Firstly the recent rejection, both academic and popular, of the so-called ‘myth’ of redemptive suffering, insists that it be demonstrated that God can create meaning out of the contingent – and evil – event of the cross without becoming responsible for, or the transcendent cause of, Jesus’ death. Taking a firm classical theistic stance it is argued that God can in no way will the death of Jesus because, as an evil contingent event, the cross falls outside the intelligibility of the divine providential order. Therefore, God is freely able to create meaning (ex nihilo) out of the event without validating and justifying the violence of the event itself. In addition, the upholding of a Chalcedonian Christology requires that the meaning which Jesus of Nazareth constituted for his death be understood to have divine significance, and thus should be investigated for what it reveals to a theological understanding of the cross. This leads to the second stage of the investigation which is to defend the theological right to engage in matters of history. Arguing for the value of critical realism, the point is made that a faith perspective does not negate the possibility of objective historical knowledge since, contrary to postmodernism, such knowledge does arise out of a spiralling dialogue between the knower and the object known. The third stage then follows, which is to argue how historical investigation into the Jesus of history might be done. Building upon James Dunn’s conception of impact, this study appropriates Bernard Lonergan’s understanding of constitutive meaning in order to highlight how the world of meaning that Jesus constituted for his death might actually function to impact the world of meaning of his followers. It is argued that what takes place is the constitution of a new world of meaning in which authentic existence is redefined. This redefinition challenges the disciples’ existing world of meaning and requires that they make an existential judgement of their own. But if such an impact is to occur then the challenge to the existing world of meaning must also be carried and it is here that historical investigation has its place. Drawing once more on the work of Bernard Lonergan, five carriers of meaning are identified, three of which (incarnate, linguistic and symbolic) are highlighted as the most relevant. The fourth stage of the investigation ensues, which is an engagement with recent historical Jesus research particularly that associated with N.T. Wright, James Dunn, Scot McKnight and Ben Meyer. The purpose here is not to develop a portrait of the historical Jesus for ourselves but to engage with existing research in a theologically fruitful way. Here then, we ask what can be known about Jesus’ intention for the cross by means of the incarnate, linguistic and symbolic carriers of meaning. Completing the examination yields the conclusion that Jesus intended his death to have redemptive significance but such significance must be understood within the framework of Jesus’ mission to inaugurate the kingdom of God. The fifth and final stage is to address how a contemporary understanding of that redemptive judgement should be appropriated for a modern atonement motif. Primarily this is a movement from judgement to understanding, the contention being that a ‘faithful’ motif will be one that takes due consideration of the judgement of faith, which seeks fuller understanding.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Logos Evangelical Seminary, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 287-294).