The Kingdom of God is wherever the Triune God is worshipped as Lord. It exists beyond time and place, but breaks into our time and place wherever creation worships the Triune God as Lord. The local church, in its present time and geographical place, is the microcosm of the Kingdom of God. As such, the local church contains within it all the resources necessary for the Kingdom of God to be established. Therefore, the local church is called to lead creation to worship the Triune God as Lord. It does this by fulfilling three specific works as specified in Scripture: the work of evangelism; the work of discipleship and the work of reconciliation. The modern day church must start a revolution to discover afresh these works and become what Scripture describes as the ecclesia of the hodos: the local church extending the Kingdom of God. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

Devant la mort qui s’impose comme fin inhérente à tout être humain, le message hermasien, dans la neuvième similitude, évoque une vie après la mort dans une démarche qui séduit son lecteur et l’interpelle en vue d’une conversion immédiate et ponctuelle. Tout en travaillant sur des données préexistantes, Hermas monte une thématique eschatologique, avec un vocabulaire propre : il christianise ses données, en mettant en lumière, la prééminence du Fils de Dieu, déjouant ainsi les difficultés liées, à cette époque (IIe siècle), aux expressions « Messie », « Christ » ou « Jésus ». Il voudrait démontrer aux chrétiens, en général, et aux saints qui sont tombés (lapsi) qu’une possibilité est à nouveau donnée. Ils doivent sortir de la conception de damnation pour enfin bénéficier, de manière ultime, d’une metanoia (postbaptismale) qui favoriserait leur purification, et la grâce de vivre dans la félicité, quand reviendra (d’ici peu d’où parousie imminente) le Maître de la tour en construction en Sim. IX (en Arcadie). Ainsi se dévoile toute la pensée hermasienne : la metanoia ne se réalise pas pour elle-même, elle a un but qui est essentiellement eschatologique. Elle prépare les chrétiens à la venue du Fils de Dieu, à la sunteléia définitive, et leur promet (après l’acquisition du Nom, par le baptême et la vie vertueuse) une place dans la tour, symbole du royaume des cieux dans la Sim. IX. / In front of death which imposes itself as inherent end to all human beings, the Hermasian message (of Hermas) in the ninth Similitude suggests a life after death in an approach that appeals to the reader and calls him for an immediate and timely conversion. While working on existing data, Hermas mounts an eschatological theme, with a proper vocabulary : he christianized its data, highlighting the rule of the Son of God, and thwarting the difficulties related to this time (second century), to the expressions « Messiah», « Christ » or « Jesus ». He would demonstrate to the Christians in general, and the Saints who have fallen (Lapsi), that one new possibility is given. They must depart from the conception of damnation to finally benefit, in an ultimate way, a metanoia (post baptismal) that would favor their purification, and the grace to live in bliss, when will return (shortly where imminent parousia) the Master of the tower under construction in Sim. IX (in Arcadia). Thus reveals all Hermasian thought: metanoia does not occur for itself, its purpose is essentially eschatological. It prepares Christians for the coming of the Son of God at the final sunteleia and promises them (after acquiring the Name, by baptism and virtuous life) a place in the tower, symbol of the kingdom of heaven in the Sim. IX.

In the year 2000 the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth two millennia ago is celebrated. If Jesus was seen as merely a historical figure, the significance of his life would be no different from that of people like Socrates or Alexander the Great. In Greco-Roman culture Alexander the Great, among other heroic figures and emperors, was regarded as son of God. However, since the first century followers of Jesus have worshipped Jesus as God’s son. This study asks questions as to the importance of Jesus within Hellenistic-Semitic and Greco-Roman contexts and his continued importance today. The first aspect is studied from a social-cultural perspective and the second from the angle of both the (Christian) believing community and the (secularized) university. Chapter one deals methodologically with the fact that, as in the case of Socrates, Jesus did not himself put to pen either the message of his words and deeds or the interpretation of his birth and death. Jesus’ vision should therefore be deciphered from what others said about him. Identifying a research gap with regard to existing Jesus research, chapter two will specifically aim at showing that today a new interdisciplinary frame of reference has come into being in the social sciences within which historical Jesus research is carried out. In chapter three it is argued that the starting point of the quest for the historical Jesus could be the nativity stories, despite all their mythological elements. Yet, in taking such a step, one should be aware of historiographical pitfalls when one studies the process of the “historization” of myth. In chapter four, entitled the “Joseph trajectory”, it is demonstrated that Joseph, the father of Jesus, should probably be seen as a legendary figure. With the help of cross-cultural anthropology and cultural psychology chapter five explains an ideal-typical situation of someone in first-century Herodian Palestine who bore the stigma of being fatherless, but who trusted God as Father. In chapter six the tradition about Jesus’ relationship towards “fatherless” children and “patriarchless” women is studied. Chapter seven shows that the “myth of the absent father” was very well known in antiquity. Ovid’s story of Perseus (who was conceived virginally) is retold. The intention is to show why the second-century philosopher Celsus thought that the Christians unjustifiably mirrored this Greek hero, son of Zeus, in their depiction of Jesus. Other examples within Greek-Roman literature are the myths surrounding among others Hercules and Asclepios. In explaining Hercules’ adoption as son of Zeus (which implies his deification), the Greek writer Diodorus Siculus tells the story of an empty tomb and an ascension to heaven. The Roman writer Seneca also tells the story of Hercules’ divine conception and his adoption as child of Zeus. In the New Testament Paul (Seneca’s contemporary) is particularly known for the notion “adoption to become God’s child”. This notion is explained in the light of the parallels found in Seneca’s tragedies about Hercules, his satire on the emperor Claudius and the references by Diodorus Siculus and in the Carmina Priapea to the notion of “adoption” and miraculous conceptions of god-like human figures. Chapter eight focuses on the origins of the church and the development of the dogma of the “two natures” of Jesus as both human and divine. In the last chapter the continued importance of the historical Jesus today is discussed. One of the most urgent social problems of our time is that millions of children are growing up fatherless. This study is about the historical Jesus who filled the emptiness caused by his fatherlessness with his trust in God as his Father. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

[pt] O Evangelho segundo João desperta grande interesse pelas alusões, em preferência às citações, que faz do Antigo Testamento para anunciar a Boa Nova de Jesus, o Filho de Deus. Localizada na primeira unidade deste Evangelho, que aponta para a hora de Jesus, a perícope de Jo 3,1-12 é a primeira grande seção do diálogo com Nicodemos, um fariseu e um principal dentre os judeus, ali representando seus pares. O anúncio de um novo nascimento necessário de água e espírito, por obra do Espírito, para que se possa participar do escatológico Reino de Deus, é incompreendido por Nicodemos. A repreensão que lhe é dirigida evidencia que na base do anúncio está algum texto das Escrituras de Israel. A presente pesquisa encontrou texto próximo daquele em Ez 36,24-28, onde, ao disperso e desolado Israel, o Senhor promete purificação total e profunda renovação pela infusão do Seu espírito. A dissertação procedeu à análise exegética de Jo 3,1-12, situando-a em seu contexto amplo e imediato, à análise exegética de Ez 36,24-28 e à análise das relações intertextuais entre os dois, segundo os critérios de Markl. Os resultados apontaram significativas correspondências: em ambos se encontra o Senhor em diálogo com o Povo da Antiga Aliança, após o juízo sobre Jerusalém e o Templo, anunciando a salvação escatológica que se cumprirá para o Israel renovado, não necessariamente os descendentes na carne dos israelitas. Mas, o anúncio de João ultrapassa o de Ezequiel: os que recebem o Espírito Santo nascem como filhos de Deus. / [en] The Gospel according to John arouses great interest in the allusions of the Old Testament, in preference to the quotations, to announce the gospel of Jesus, the Son of God. Located in the first unit of this Gospel, which points to the hour of Jesus, Jn 3:1-12 is the first great section of the dialogue with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a principal among the Jews, representing his peers there. The announcement of a necessary new birth of water and spirit, by the Spirit, to participate in the eschatological Kingdom of God, is misunderstood by Nicodemus. The rebuke directed to him shows that there s some text of Israel Scriptures at the base of the announcement. This research found a similar text in Eze 36:24-28, in which the Lord promisses, to the scattered and desolated Israel, total purification and deep renewal by the infusion of His spirit. The dissertation proceeded to the exegetical analysis of Jn 3:1-12, placing it in its broad and immediate context, to the exegetical analysis of Eze 36:24-28 and to the analysis of the intertextual relations between them, according to Markl s criteria. The results point to significant correspondences: in both the Lord is in dialogue with the People of the Old Covenant, after the judgment on Jerusalem and the Temple, announcing the eschatological salvation to be fulfilled for the renewed Israel, not necessarily descendants in the flesh of the israelites. But John s announcement goes beyond Ezekiel s: those who receive the Holy Spirit are born as children of God.

The purpose of this dissertation is to inquire into the application of the Speech act theory in the field of theology. First, philosophical part introduces distinctive topics of language-philosophy found in Wittgenstein, Austin and Searle. The main focus of this summary lies on Searle`s categorization of speech acts. If we approach Searle`s categorization from the perspective of Wittgenstein`s philosophy, we could understand his categorization in functional and not ontological terms and therefore we find a certain liberty to modify Searle`s categorization with regard to analysed phenomenon. In the beginning of the theological part we analyse the limits of the application of the speech act theory in the case of the confession of faith. Consequently we construct categorization of the speech acts of faith discourse based on its communicative and transformative dimensions. Afterwards we focus on one of the main types of faith discourse, namely the petitionary prayer. During analysis of the petitionary prayer in the Old and New Testament we gradually introduce considerable insights of theologians who applied Austin`s and Searle`s concepts in their work. These are followed up by our own observations. Second section of the theological part of the dissertation is concerned with the application of speech act theory in exegesis of particular texts, namely those passages in Mark`s gospel which speak about Jesus as the Son of God. Speech act theory evidently could not serve to settle exegetical disagreements by always locating the precise illocutionary point of every speech act, however it proves itself as a good tool for conceptual orientation and its application brings valuable insights.

Psalm 110 is a messianic psalm, because it has a Judean king as its contents. As such, it is also a royal psalm. As the son of God, every Davidic king was a representative of Gods rule over Israel. His task was to uphold justice and righteousness. In addition, every king was an instrument through which God redeemed his people from their enemies. In this way, the king was a kind of redeemer. As a sign of his authority and the fact that God chose him for a specific task, every king was anointed with oil. This made the king the messiah of God. In co ordinance with his Jebusiete predecessors, every Davidic king also was ‘n priest just as Melgisedek the king of Salem. Israel’s hope as a nation rested upon this line of Davidic priest-kings. The First Testament gives a unique significance to the concept of messiah. The Second Testament reinterprets this significance as being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. However, the unique significance that the First Testament gives to the concept of messiah can only be valued if the unique character of the First Testament and its historical context are taken into consideration. / Dissertation (MTh (Old Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Old Testament Studies / unrestricted

This paper explores the importance of the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son in Basil of Caesarea's Trinitarian writings. In order to judge the importance of the doctrine for Basil, its impact on all of his exegetical and dogmatic writings on the Trinity were surveyed and evaluated. In his writings, Basil repeatedly addresses his belief that the Father and the Son is the one, eternal God. He considered this possible due to the Son's eternal generation from the substance of the Father. Basil considered the eternal generation of the Son to be both a scripturally warranted and philosophically coherent doctrine that explains how the Father and Son are indelibly same in substance and truly distinct persons. This study concludes that the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son is essential to Basil's Trinitarian theology throughout his life. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

This paper explores the importance of the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son in Basil of Caesarea's Trinitarian writings. In order to judge the importance of the doctrine for Basil, its impact on all of his exegetical and dogmatic writings on the Trinity were surveyed and evaluated. In his writings, Basil repeatedly addresses his belief that the Father and the Son is the one, eternal God. He considered this possible due to the Son's eternal generation from the substance of the Father. Basil considered the eternal generation of the Son to be both a scripturally warranted and philosophically coherent doctrine that explains how the Father and Son are indelibly same in substance and truly distinct persons. This study concludes that the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son is essential to Basil's Trinitarian theology throughout his life. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)