Thesis (MA(Practical Theology)--University of Pretoria, 2006? / Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-94)

This thesis is a systematic study of ideas of salvation in Igbo Primal Religious experience and their influence on the conversion and present religious outlook of Igbo Christians. Chapter one is a critique of representative works on Igbo religious experience by Igbo scholars; including historians, social anthropologists and Christian theologians - clergy and lay. In Chapter two, we discover through the study of various types of Igbo primal prayers that the people seek to experience salvation in terms of Ezi-Ndu, viable life. Chapter three shows that to live according to Ofo-na-Ogu, moral rectitude, as codified in the traditional decorum, Omenala, is the sine qua non for the enjoyment of Ezi-Ndu. But those who fall foul of these demands may recover the situation through the cultic rites of "cleansing and warding off", which may sometimes include the dedication of an osu (Chapter four); though there appears to be no permanent answer for man's guilt. In Chapter five, Ahamefula, the eschatological dimension of Ezi-Ndu is seen to consist of four aspects which imply continuity. Chapter six discusses the various ways through which the Igbo seek to harness the powers inherent in religious forms for the enhancement of life. The viability of a religious form depends on its ability to produce this power or mana which is thought to come from the gods. Thus in Chapter seven, Igbo conversion to Christianity is viewed as an encounter between two systems of salvation resulting in a movement on the part of the people in the direction of power. The determinant factors in this conversion were inherent theological ideas whereas socio-economic factors are important as catalysts. In Chapter eight, case studies among three different "generations" of Igbo Christians reveal the persistence of Primal Religious concepts though sometimes in new or re-defined form. In conclusion, we suggest that the way to eliminate this harrowing contradiction of "two faiths in one mind" is through theological reflection which is at once grounded in Biblicity, historic Christianity and Igbo thought, in such a way that Igbo Christians through a dexterous integration of the 'old' and the 'new' are able to find in Christ power and fullness of life, that is, Ezi-Ndu.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-259).

This essay explores whether the notion of ‘hallowing’ provides a profitable lens through which to read and evaluate the soteriology of British theologian P.T. Forsyth, and it suggests that the hallowing of God’s name is, for Forsyth, the way whereby God both justifies himself and claims creation for divine service. It proposes that reading Forsyth’s corpus as essentially an exposition of the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer is an invitation to better comprehend not only his soteriology but also, by extension, his broader theological vision and interests. Chapters One and Two are concerned with questions of methodology, and with placing Forsyth in the social context of his day, with introducing the theological landscape and grammar from which he expounds his notion of reality as fundamentally moral, and with identifying some of the key but neglected voices that inform such a vision. Chapter Three explores the principal locale wherein the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer is answered: in Jesus Christ, whose confession of holiness ‘from sin’s side’ justifies God, destroys sin and creates a new humanity. Chapter Four examines Forsyth’s moral anthropology – specifically, the self-recovery of holiness in the human conscience – and considers holiness’ shape in the life of faith. Chapter Five inquires whether Forsyth’s theology of hallowing finally requires him to embrace dogmatic universalism, and identifies what problems might attend his failure to so do and consequently threaten to undermine his soteriological program.

This thesis seeks to explore the concepts of humanity within Wesley’s soteriology and African perspectives in response to the call of the leadership of the Methodist church of Southern Africa (MCSA) to develop theology that is informed by our Southern African context. The central problem of the paper attempts to understand how people within the life of the MCSA interact with an understanding of humanity that is formed within the frameworks of Nguni and Sotho culture as well as Christian perspectives. The thesis maps Wesley’s anthropology through his own experience of God and particularly within the trajectory of his soteriology. It also seeks unpack an understanding of humanity within the framework of Ubuntu. In attempt to ground the conversation within the lived experience of the MCSA the paper also draws in data from two focus groups that are comprised of laity and ministers in training, respectively as well as through feedback from questionnaires that the participants in the two focus groups completed. The thesis makes use of an interpretive qualitative approach to explore the interplay of the different world – views in the lives of the participants as they share who they understand themselves to be and why they hold those particular views. The paper concludes with the observation of a pattern within the feedback from the participants that within the lives of the participants there seems to be a difference in their theoretical conception of humanity and their lived experience of their humanity. Within their theoretical understanding the participants were able to draw equally from their cultural perspectives and their Christian understanding, whilst within their lived experience, participants drew their understanding mainly from their Christian perspectives. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-75).

Rhythm is an important dimension of Christian liturgical practice as well as life in the world more generally. Given its significance, this study asks how theology ought to think about the nature and role of rhythm. It puts forward the argument that rhythm is a category of significance for Christian doctrine, particularly the doctrine of salvation, rather than one that pertains only to Christian religious expression (in liturgy for example) or aesthetics. This argument is made on the basis of three factors: (1) the pervasiveness of rhythm in dimensions of human experience that are salient to Christian soteriology, such as relationship and communication, make rhythm a dimension of experience worth theological consideration, (2) the fact that different conceptions of rhythm in various metaphysical accounts have different theological consequences requires theological discussion regarding the nature of rhythm, and (3) the capacity of rhythm to illuminate certain dimensions of the Christian doctrine of salvation such as the nature of participation, the relation between immanent and transcendent, and the relationship between interruption and continuity in Christian soteriology, make it a category that adds to theological understanding. The thesis proposes a definition of rhythm as an oscillation between synchronic form and diachronic experience based in theories of poetic rhythm and supported by theological analysis. The project finds that particular philosophical or theological approaches to metaphysics incorporate either a synchronic or diachronic perspective on rhythm but that both of these perspectives are theologically problematic on their own, the former tending to an illusory perspective on the whole from a God's-eye-view and the latter tending towards a strict division between creature and creator such that the relationship between them is one of rupture and confrontation only and not salvific. The thesis therefore proposes an oscillation on the part of the theologian between these two perspectives after the metaphysics of Erich Przywara and demonstrates this approach to be appropriate to the Christian doctrine of salvation.

Irenaeus has a relationship with two different traditions: the tradition of Valentinian Gnosticism and others such as Marcion, a tradition which he opposed vehemently, and the ecclesiastical tradition which he was intent on defending. In his attack on the one and defence of the other Irenaeus expresses his own theological view-point, a dominant characteristic of which is the concept of Christocentrio salvation history. The present work is a study of the relationship between these three, the two traditions and the Christocentric salvation history. Part one is concerned mainly with methodology. Chapter one is a survey of recent studies of Irenaeus with particular reference to the problems of source materials in Irenaeus, the effect of his polemical task on his thought and writings, and the significance for him of salvation history. In chapter two the two traditions are examined and a sharp division of them into orthodoxy and heresy is rejected. The concept of salvation history is also examined in some detail. Part two is devoted to a study of the ecclesiastical tradition before Irenaeus, in order to see how his predecessors thought of history and of the role of Christ in it. Chapter three is concerned with the Apostolic Fathers, chapter four with some apocryphal writings, and chapter five with the Greek Apologists. While numerous elements of the tradition that are taken up by Irenaeus are to be found in the ecclesiastical tradition, and indeed some outlines of salvation history can also be discerned, the fully integrated concept of a Christocentric salvation history is not present there. Part three is a study of the salvation drama in Valentinian Gnosticism. Chapter six is concerned with the sources, chapter seven with an analysis of the drama, and chapter eight exposes the threat the drama posed to the ecclesiastical tradition, which may be described as the threat of a complete and coherent drama that gives to the believer the security of knowing whence he has come, whither he is going, and where he now is. The task of any opponent is to replace this false knowledge with the true knowledge. In part four we turn to Irenaeus. In chapter nine the Christocentric salvation history of Irenaeus is examined in detail. As a result of this examination we reach the conclusion in chapter ten that in the materials gathered from his own tradition, developed from a number of different sources, and woven together into a coherent and comprehensive historical drama of which Christ is the centre, Irenaeus finds an adequate reply to the coherent and comprehensive drama of Valentinian Gnosticism, and therefore, by his Christocentric salvation history, makes a significant contribution to the polarisation of the ecclesiastieal and Gnostic traditions.

No description available.

When reading the Bible in an independent way, i.e., not through the lenses of any official Church dogma, one is amazed by the many voices that come through to us. Add to this variety the literary finds from Nag Hammadi, as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls, then the question now confronting many spiritual pilgrims is how it came about that these obviously diverse theologies, represented in the so-called Old and New Testaments, were moulded into only one "orthodox" result. In what way and to what degree were the many Christian groups different and distinctive from one another, as well as from other Jewish groups? Furthermore, what was the influence of other religions, Judaism, the Mysteries, Gnostics and Philosophers on the. development, variety of groups and ultimately on the consolidation of "orthodox" soteriology? / Philosophy Practical and Systematic Theology / Th.M. (Systematic Theology)