<p> Hans Urs von Balthasar was one of the most prominent Roman Catholic theologians of the twentieth century and has inspired a thriving ecosystem of secondary scholarship, with impassioned critics and determined defenders churning out a steady stream of scholarship as expansive as Balthasar&rsquo;s own massive body of work. This wealth of secondary scholarship is not, however, without a penumbral character. Due to the controversies that have&mdash;not without reason&mdash;plagued Balthasarian studies, it is often more akin to a war-strewn battleground than a lively and productive dialogue in various areas. By engaging with the work of Gilles Emery and Thomas Joseph White, this thesis explores the ways in which overly rigid interpretations&mdash;due to what I call readerly rigidity&mdash;can impede an attempt to productively read and present (and critique) Balthasar&rsquo;s theology. The goal herein is not to counter their critiques, but rather to challenge how those critiques are made.</p>

<p> This study argues that Lesslie Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture is best seen when viewed through the lens of his theology of missionary encounter. For this point to be made, two important aspects of Newbigin&rsquo;s thought must be systematized and related to each another. First, it will be shown that Newbigin has a theology of missionary encounter. Second, Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter will be shown to function as a lens to view his theology in general and his doctrine of Scripture in particular. Chapter 1 explains the research topic and the limits of the thesis. Chapter 2 shows the presence of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological ambition that led to his theology of missionary encounter. Chapter 3 reveals the formative role that Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter had on his theological method and theological project as a whole. Chapter 4 builds upon the previous two chapters by using Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter as a lens to view his doctrine of Scripture. Chapter 5 considers what the nature of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology reveals about Newbigin as a theologian.</p><p> Chapter 1, &ldquo;Introducing The Research Topic,&rdquo; introduces Lesslie Newbigin and the thesis of this research. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with the research focus, understanding of key concepts, and the delimits of the issues involved. First, attention is given to understanding the place of this dissertation within the literature and the personal journey that led to the writing of this dissertation. This chapter will highlight the importance of the topic by explaining the ways it contributes to the field of Newbigin studies as well as the discipline of theology in general.</p><p> Chapter 2 is an overview of Newbigin&rsquo;s life and work. This chapter demonstrates the presence of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological ambition to engage in a missionary encounter that resulted in his theology of missionary encounter. By examining Newbigin&rsquo;s missionary theology, this chapter outlines the development of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological ambition throughout his life. It is shown that his ambition to engage in a missionary encounter reached maturity later in his life as he articulated his theology of missionary encounter. At its core, Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter is aimed at helping the Church recover the gospel, indwell the biblical story, and challenge the axioms of the culture with the axioms of the Bible in order to live as a faithful witness. The missionary encounter, this challenging of competing stories, takes place within the individual lives of members in a local congregation. </p><p> In order to show that Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter best mediates his doctrine of scripture, consideration must be given to understanding the form and function of his theology as a whole. Chapter 3, &ldquo;Newbigin&rsquo;s Theological Method,&rdquo; explores the structure of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology. After surveying the structure of Newbigin&rsquo;s theological method as a whole, the focus of this chapter narrows on a series of unpublished articles which Newbigin thought of as a sort of Dogmatics of his thought. The contextual nature of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology makes it clear that a robust understanding of what Newbigin believed about anything must be understood in relation to his desire to bring the gospel story to bear on the cultural story. The intended point is that Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter has a permeating presence throughout the form and function of his theology as a whole.</p><p> Chapter 4, &ldquo;Systematizing Newbigin&rsquo;s Doctrine of Scripture,&rdquo; presents a systematization of Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture with the help of his theology of missionary encounter. Building upon the previous two chapters, this chapter utilizes Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter as a lens through which his doctrine of Scripture can be understood. The clarity of Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture emerges as his theology refracted through the lens of his theology of missionary encounter. Newbigin&rsquo;s doctrine of Scripture is presented in one summary sentence followed by seven categorical statements which are intended to exegete the summary sentence. Observing Newbigin&rsquo;s missionary encounter between gospel and culture provides the proper lens for seeing what Newbigin believed about Scripture. </p><p> Chapter 5, &ldquo;Newbigin&rsquo;s Public and Prophetic Theology,&rdquo; raises the question about what the nature of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology reveals about Newbigin as a theologian. This chapter provides a concluding summary of the research involved and clears some paths for future research. While demonstrating the usefulness of Newbigin as a dialogue partner this chapter provides some cautions for appropriating Newbigin&rsquo;s thought uncritically. Combining these different levels of analysis highlights the central role of Newbigin&rsquo;s theology of missionary encounter in his theology.</p>

Inaug.-diss.--Leipzig. / Autobiographical sketch. References: p. [73]-74.

Inaug.-diss.--Leipzig. / Autobiographical sketch. Bibliography: p. [73]-74.

<p>The plethora of contrary doctrines pertaining to salvation, among the variety of religions in the world today, creates a problem for the sincere investigator who seeks to find out if there is such a thing as salvation and, if there is, how to be saved. These contrary doctrines are problematic to the degree that the sincere investigator is unable to evaluate the probability of some of these doctrines over others. In order to aid the sincere investigator with this problem, I explore methods for evaluating doctrines that purport to affect one?s salvation.

<p> Conflicts in Mindanao can be caused by incidents such as adultery, land disputes, even jealousy within dominant clan groups. The incidents may emerge as an interpersonal conflict, but may result in wider aggression, escalating into interclan conflict when the victim&rsquo;s relatives or ethnic group get involved. Though the initial conflict is interpersonal, it might affect the inter-societal level and even the international level. </p><p> The central issue that directed this research was to discover the factors influencing Mindanao tribal students who seek <i>rido</i>, &ldquo;interclan revenge,&rdquo; and to revise &ldquo;Peace Generation&rdquo; from Indonesia in order to implement contextual methods of &ldquo;Training Tribal Students to Be Peacemakers&rdquo; that uses insiders to facilitate tribal students for conflict transformation in Mindanao. </p><p> As a missionary, I have attempted to equip mature Muslim-background believers associated with Yoido Full Gospel Mission in Mindanao to become facilitators of a program of training tribal people to be peacemakers and to mobilize some to become agents for peacemaking in Mindanao. </p><p> In order to implement sustainable peace among the entire Moro ethnic group, I adapted Lederach&rsquo;s conceptual framework to establish the foundation of trust or to restore trust among interclan or intertribal relationships. This process guided the research in light of historical perspectives recognizing colonial factors affecting the population in Mindanao. This research employs narrative interviews to listen to participants and develop deeper interaction regarding the issues that are verbalized in intergroup conflicts. </p><p> In order to train these Christian peace facilitators for the revised process, I chose <i>Tablig</i>: A Compilation of Resources for Understanding the Muslim Mindset. Over about a year and a half in three rounds of field research, I discovered factors in Peace Generation training that might be perceived differently from tribal students&rsquo; perspectives. All three of the facilitators agreed in Training Group interviews that love is always the main factor in conflict transformation. Furthermore, all three of the Tausug villagers affirmed love, justice, and God&rsquo;s guidance as factors in their marital conflict transformation. </p><p> After reflection on these three research periods, I chose to step back as an outsider facilitator and trainer and to empower &ldquo;voluntary insiders&rdquo; and &ldquo;insiders&rdquo; to facilitate tribal students in peacemaker training. I have clearly separated findings&mdash;peacebuilding facilitated by one of the insiders&mdash;that are significant from ones that are not. In my analysis, my leadership has not shifted appropriately in recognition of tribal people groups, which need indigenization. Hence, it is significant to note that transforming conflicts only through scriptural studies is not feasible; it should be conducted by an insider innovator/transformer, rather than by my entrepreneurship. </p><p> Indeed, if I did not step back from being a peace facilitator and did not train insider or voluntary peace facilitators, we would not have seen the remarkable result in the lifecycle of organizational leadership transition. The main factor influencing and equipping tribal students and adults to be peacemakers, as carried out by insider facilitators, is &ldquo;love and forgiveness,&rdquo; as Romans 13:10 says, &ldquo;therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.&rdquo; </p><p>

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on July 29, 2010). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, [Department of] Philosophy, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

<p> The movie Dogville (2003) provides viewers with a rare and provocative twist on differences between on the one hand the rigorous, Old Testament Jehovah, characterized by rules, and by rewards or punishments in this life, and on the other hand the loving, forgiving Christ and God of the New Testament and later Christianity who are characterized by forgiveness, and by rewards or punishments in an eternal afterlife. The movie, especially its ending, challenges the forgiving nature of the New Testament God and Christ, and makes a case that the Old Testament, rigorous Jehovah is more appropriate, at least for humans who respect themselves as responsible grown-ups. Earlier than these two views of God and man, and still alive and kicking, is a third view, the "Heroic." God is irrelevant here, either as a source of rules or as a source of forgiveness and redemption. Rather, man generates his own meaning by accepting his fate and struggling to do the best he can; this life is all there is and the struggle, i.e. living it is the only meaning. The three views can be seen on a continuum with the Heroic on one end and the forgiving Christ on the other, and the rigorous Jehovah in between and closer to the heroic than to the forgiving. The Dogville point of view, preferring a rigorous God to a forgiving one, is very rarely found in literature (the Grand Inquisitor episode in The Brothers Karamazov is similar to some extent) but both the Heroic and the forgiving Christian views appear everywhere, in all kinds of non-fiction, and either explicitly or as metaphors or parables in fiction. The Heroic view is taken here to include not only classic Greek and Roman heroic writings (e..g. those of Homer and Virgil) but also more modern schools of thought including Nietzsche, the existentialists, and other "God is dead" points of view. The paucity of the first view in literature is mirrored by the small number of its followers: all self-identifying Jews are less than 0.5% of the world's population and the orthodox are a minority within that. In stark contrast, about one-third of individuals world-wide self-identify as Christian. Followers of the Heroic view, roughly measured by self-identifying atheists and perhaps including agnostics, are between 15 and 20 percent of the population of the USA. Focusing on the United States, the data show that the number of adherents of each of the two extremes of an expanded continuum, i.e. the Heroic view on one hand and the born-again Protestant version of the forgiving view on the other, has been growing while the numbers of followers of everything in the middle, i.e. Judaism (excluding its New Age, non-religious variants), Roman Catholicism, and mainstream Protestantism have been declining. The waxing and waning of these different views are evaluated in the lights of literature, philosophy, psychology, marketing, and the idea that ideas ("memes" as coined, described and popularized by Richard Dawkins) evolve, endure or disappear according to the Darwinian principle of natural selection. The conclusion is that there are important, long-term reasons for the observed trend, and that therefore both born-again Protestantism and atheism are likely to continue to take market share from their competitors in the middle.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1933.

L‟objectif de mon mémoire se concentre sur la notion d‟altérité émanant des philosophies d‟Emmanuel Lévinas et de Paul Ricoeur ; je m‟intéresse plus précisément au concept clé d‟éthique et de savoir en quoi enrichit-elle le dialogue judéo-chrétien. Le point initial de ma réflexion est l‟herméneutique biblique, qu‟Emmanuel Lévinas et Paul Ricoeur articulent, d‟après moi, différemment selon leurs héritages religieux respectifs à savoir juif et chrétien. Néanmoins, la signification éthique des Textes Sacrés perdure pour chacun d‟eux comme lieu commun même si la signification leur est différente et propre à leurs traditions religieuses. Ainsi, dans ce mémoire l‟altérité développée par Lévinas, talmudiste reconnu, sera comparée avec la pensée de Ricoeur dont la conception est davantage chrétienne, en référence à son travail exégétique. Quand bien même Lévinas et Ricoeur ont tenu à distinguer leurs philosophies de leurs théologies, l‟hypothèse de départ prend une liberté herméneutique qui oscille souvent entre philosophie et théologie et qui tend à retracer au mieux l‟altérité et son lien intrinsèque avec l‟éthique. Cette lecture comparatiste m‟amènera donc à penser et à intégrer l‟altérité comme une prémisse éthique au dialogue judéo-chrétien. Mon travail en sciences des religions qui prend racine depuis l‟herméneutique même, s‟oriente vers une perspective éthique et dialogique et c‟est cette visée de médiation interreligieuse qui lui confère une appartenance à cette discipline. / The Otherness is the focus of my thesis, a notion that emanates from Emmanuel Levinas’ and Paul Ricoeur’s philosophies; I’m interested more precisely about the concept of ethics and to discover how it improves the reflection upon Jewish and Christian dialogue. The initial point of my reflexion is the biblical hermeneutics that Emmanuel Lévinas and Paul Ricoeur structure, to my point of view, variously depending their religious background: Jewish for Lévinas and Christian for Ricoeur. Nevertheless, the ethical signification of the Bible perpetuates for both of them as a commonplace, even if the signification is different and inherent to their own religious traditions. In my thesis, the Otherness, as elaborated by Lévinas, will be compared with Ricoeur’s thoughts, whom conception is more Christian as his biblical works let us guess. Even if Lévinas and Ricoeur have tried to distinguish their philosophical work from their theological one, claiming a neutrality about theology, my initial hypothesis take an hermeneutical freedom which often oscillates between theology and philosophy and which try to recount the alterity and its intrinsic link to ethics. A comparatist reading will lead me to think that the ethics of the Otherness is the basis of Jewish and Christian dialogue because of Levinas’ and Ricoeur’s works. My work in religious studies is based upon hermeneutics and turns toward an ethical and dialogical perspective; it is this interreligious mediation aim which confers to my thesis a belonging in this discipline.