The Christian tradition, both East and West, has developed various models and theories of the atonement as explanations of what it means to speak of the reconciling activity of God in Christ. Central to these has been the claim that God has reconciled the world to himself in Christ. One way of testifying to the reconciling love of God has been the adoption of the metaphor theosis (�divinization�, �deification�) as an explanation of salvation. While central to Eastern Orthodoxy, a doctrine of theosis also has a rich tradition within Western, especially Reformed theology. The Reformed theologian, Thomas Forsyth Torrance, represents an attempt to construct a soteriology that incorporates both Eastern and Western models of the atonement around the controlling metaphor of theosis. A close reading of his theology presents a robust and clearly articulated doctrine of theosis as a key way of expressing God�s reconciling activity in Christ. As the true Man and the last Adam, Christ represents the arche and telos of human existence, the one in whose image all humanity has been created and into whose likeness all humanity is destined to be transformed from glory to glory. Through the Incarnation the Son becomes human without ceasing to be divine, to unite humanity and divinity together and effect a �deification� of human nature, mediated to men and women who are said to be �in Christ� by the work of the Holy Spirit. By means of a �wonderful exchange� Christ takes what is ours and gives us what is his. For Torrance, this is the heart of atonement. The goal of humanity is worship, something Torrance defines as the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son�s communion with the Father. The locus of worship, and thus of theosis, is the church, the communion of saints created by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Throughout Torrance�s doctrines of creation, anthropology, incarnation, reconciliation, and pneumato-ecclesiology, the concept of theosis plays a central and constitutive role in explaining a Christian theology of salvation. Theosis is thus foundational to Torrance�s theology and is one way in which he holds together in systematic fashion his diverse theological oeuvre.

<p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </p> <p align="left">The aim of this research project was to seek a reinterpretation of the Christian motif of' bearing one's cross'. This motif has been widely criticized by feminist theologians as an instrument that exacerbates the oppression of women, since it encourages self-sacrifice and in this way legitimizes abusive relationships.</p>

<p>This study entails a constructive contribution towards a contemporary reinterpretation, within the Akan context, of the classic Christian notion of Christ&rsquo / s person and work as Mediator between God and humanity. Specifically, I endeavour to reinterpret aspects of the Christian confession of faith as formulated by the Council of Chalcedon (451) that, Jesus Christ is &ldquo / truly God&rdquo / (vere Deus) as well as &ldquo / truly human&rdquo / (vere homo). I build on the notion that the relationship between these two claims may also be understood in terms of the one &ldquo / person&rdquo / and the two &ldquo / natures&rdquo / of Jesus Christ. The work of Christ is reinterpreted from this perspective. The thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part, which covers the first four chapters, entail reviews of some of the dominant African Christologies &ndash / with particular reference to divine conqueror and ancestor Christologies. In these chapters, the adequacy of the mentioned Christologies is assessed with reference to the Nicene/Chalcedonian confessional definition concerning the person of Christ. The conclusion reached is that these Christologies do not adequately express the person of Christ as truly divine as well as truly human as defined by the first four ecumenical councils. As a result, these Christologies also express the work of Christ, particularly his atonement in a less adequate way.</p>

Using typologies by Benoit (1995), Seeger (2006), and Heath (2006) this study argues that when an organization encounters multiple complications (e.g., perceived guilt, magnitude of harm, nature of the victims, etc.) compounding a crisis situation, that the organization’s best course of action is to employ atonement rhetoric. Second, this study also argues for the inclusion of a new best practice in crisis communication, which highlights the importance of organizations to recognize the impact visual evidence, especially video footage, has on complicating crisis response while also increasing demand for an appropriate and timely response. To do this the study uses the above typologies as well as Koesten and Rowland (2004) to carry out a rhetorical analysis of the NFL’s response to the Ray Rice crisis. This study finds that the NFL’s crisis response through the first three phases, though using nearly all of Benoit’s (1995) strategies, fails to meet all of Seeger’s (2006) and Heath’s (2006) best practices. It is only through meeting the requirements for atonement set out by Koesten and Rowland (2004) that the NFL meets the recommended best practices and achieves resolution from this crisis.

<p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </p> <p align="left">The aim of this research project was to seek a reinterpretation of the Christian motif of' bearing one's cross'. This motif has been widely criticized by feminist theologians as an instrument that exacerbates the oppression of women, since it encourages self-sacrifice and in this way legitimizes abusive relationships.</p>

<p>This study entails a constructive contribution towards a contemporary reinterpretation, within the Akan context, of the classic Christian notion of Christ&rsquo / s person and work as Mediator between God and humanity. Specifically, I endeavour to reinterpret aspects of the Christian confession of faith as formulated by the Council of Chalcedon (451) that, Jesus Christ is &ldquo / truly God&rdquo / (vere Deus) as well as &ldquo / truly human&rdquo / (vere homo). I build on the notion that the relationship between these two claims may also be understood in terms of the one &ldquo / person&rdquo / and the two &ldquo / natures&rdquo / of Jesus Christ. The work of Christ is reinterpreted from this perspective. The thesis is divided into two main parts. The first part, which covers the first four chapters, entail reviews of some of the dominant African Christologies &ndash / with particular reference to divine conqueror and ancestor Christologies. In these chapters, the adequacy of the mentioned Christologies is assessed with reference to the Nicene/Chalcedonian confessional definition concerning the person of Christ. The conclusion reached is that these Christologies do not adequately express the person of Christ as truly divine as well as truly human as defined by the first four ecumenical councils. As a result, these Christologies also express the work of Christ, particularly his atonement in a less adequate way.</p>

The doctrine of the mediation of Jesus Christ in the scientific theology of T.F. Torrance rests on the fundamental scientific axiom, derived from the natural sciences, that knowledge is developed in accordance with the nature (kata physin) of the object as it is revealed in the course of scientific inquiry. As a theological realist, Torrance finds real and accurate knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. To know God through the incarnate Son, who is “of one nature with the Father” (homoousios to Patri), is to know God in strict accordance with God’s nature and hence in a theologically scientific way. Scientific theology will operate on a christological basis, for the incarnation of Jesus Christ is the “controlling centre” for the Christian doctrine of God. Torrance’s holistic theology investigates its object of inquiry within the nexus of “onto-relations,” or “being-constituting” interrelations, that disclose its identity. Because the fundamental aspects of reality are relational rather than atomistic, a scientific theological approach to the doctrine of the mediation of Jesus Christ requires that he be investigated within the nexuses of interrelations that disclose his identity as incarnate Saviour of the world. An examination of Torrance’s doctrine of mediation reveals three specific nexuses of “onto-relations” that disclose the identity of Jesus Christ. These are his interrelations with 1) historical Israel, 2) God, and 3) humanity. In the present thesis, the vast and scattered array of Torrance’s thought on the mediation of Jesus Christ is reduced to a minimal number of basic concepts, or “elemental forms,” that arise from the nexuses of interrelations that constitute the identity of the incarnate Son. These basic, constitutive concepts of Torrance’s doctrine of the mediation of Christ are the Nicene homoousion and the Chalcedonian doctrine of the hypostatic union, as well as the doctrines of incarnational redemption and the “vicarious humanity” of Jesus Christ. These elemental forms provide a basic, organising framework to examine and explain the mediation of revelation and reconciliation of Jesus Christ in the scientific theology of T.F. Torrance. / Thesis (PhD (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The doctrine of the mediation of Jesus Christ in the scientific theology of T.F. Torrance rests on the fundamental scientific axiom, derived from the natural sciences, that knowledge is developed in accordance with the nature (kata physin) of the object as it is revealed in the course of scientific inquiry. As a theological realist, Torrance finds real and accurate knowledge of God in Jesus Christ. To know God through the incarnate Son, who is “of one nature with the Father” (homoousios to Patri), is to know God in strict accordance with God’s nature and hence in a theologically scientific way. Scientific theology will operate on a christological basis, for the incarnation of Jesus Christ is the “controlling centre” for the Christian doctrine of God. Torrance’s holistic theology investigates its object of inquiry within the nexus of “onto-relations,” or “being-constituting” interrelations, that disclose its identity. Because the fundamental aspects of reality are relational rather than atomistic, a scientific theological approach to the doctrine of the mediation of Jesus Christ requires that he be investigated within the nexuses of interrelations that disclose his identity as incarnate Saviour of the world. An examination of Torrance’s doctrine of mediation reveals three specific nexuses of “onto-relations” that disclose the identity of Jesus Christ. These are his interrelations with 1) historical Israel, 2) God, and 3) humanity. In the present thesis, the vast and scattered array of Torrance’s thought on the mediation of Jesus Christ is reduced to a minimal number of basic concepts, or “elemental forms,” that arise from the nexuses of interrelations that constitute the identity of the incarnate Son. These basic, constitutive concepts of Torrance’s doctrine of the mediation of Christ are the Nicene homoousion and the Chalcedonian doctrine of the hypostatic union, as well as the doctrines of incarnational redemption and the “vicarious humanity” of Jesus Christ. These elemental forms provide a basic, organising framework to examine and explain the mediation of revelation and reconciliation of Jesus Christ in the scientific theology of T.F. Torrance. / Thesis (PhD (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Denna uppsats syftar till att analysera den klassiska, den objektiva och den subjektivaförsoningsläran och se hur dessa förhåller sig till den pluralistiska och inklusivistiskareligionssynen. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka huruvida synen på Jesus som vägen till frälsning ide tre försoningslärorna förändras om samma försoningslära ställs emot pluralismen respektiveinklusivismen. I en koherensanalys undersöks huruvida någon av försoningslärorna inte är koherentmed pluralismen eller inklusivismen. Genom denna undersökning följer resultatet attsanningsbegreppet inte används på samma sätt i de olika religionssynerna och försoningslärornavilket leder till problem främst mellan den klassiska respektive den objektiva försoningsläran ochpluralismen. Det framkommer även att en viss form av pluralism - den restriktiva - är mer koherentmed försoningslärorna än andra former. Alla former av inklusivism och dess sanningsbegrepp ärmer lättförenliga med den klassiska och den objektiva försoningsläran än med den subjektiva. Ifallet med den subjektiva försoningsläran kan motiveringen för ett inklusivistisk synsätt ifrågasättasvilket gör den mer koherent med pluralism än med inklusivism. / In this essay the coherence between three theories of atonement are analysed with religiouspluralism and religious inclusivism. The atonement theories analysed are the classical, theobjective, and the subjective theory. The result shows if the role of Jesus as saviour in the Passionchanges if the specific theory of atonement is combined with religious pluralism or religiousinclusivism. Through an analysis of the coherence between the three theories of atonement andpluralism and inclusivism, it is made clear that the notion of truth is not viewed in the same waywithin the theories of atonement and religious pluralism and inclusivism. The classical and theobjective theory meets problems when combined with religious pluralism because of this. Only oneform of religious pluralism, the restrictive pluralism, is compatible with theese two theories ofatonement. All forms of religious inclusivism are coherent with the classical and the objectivetheory but not with the subjective theory wich is much more compatible with religious pluralism.

The Christian tradition, both East and West, has developed various models and theories of the atonement as explanations of what it means to speak of the reconciling activity of God in Christ. Central to these has been the claim that God has reconciled the world to himself in Christ. One way of testifying to the reconciling love of God has been the adoption of the metaphor theosis (�divinization�, �deification�) as an explanation of salvation. While central to Eastern Orthodoxy, a doctrine of theosis also has a rich tradition within Western, especially Reformed theology. The Reformed theologian, Thomas Forsyth Torrance, represents an attempt to construct a soteriology that incorporates both Eastern and Western models of the atonement around the controlling metaphor of theosis. A close reading of his theology presents a robust and clearly articulated doctrine of theosis as a key way of expressing God�s reconciling activity in Christ. As the true Man and the last Adam, Christ represents the arche and telos of human existence, the one in whose image all humanity has been created and into whose likeness all humanity is destined to be transformed from glory to glory. Through the Incarnation the Son becomes human without ceasing to be divine, to unite humanity and divinity together and effect a �deification� of human nature, mediated to men and women who are said to be �in Christ� by the work of the Holy Spirit. By means of a �wonderful exchange� Christ takes what is ours and gives us what is his. For Torrance, this is the heart of atonement. The goal of humanity is worship, something Torrance defines as the gift of participating through the Spirit in the incarnate Son�s communion with the Father. The locus of worship, and thus of theosis, is the church, the communion of saints created by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Throughout Torrance�s doctrines of creation, anthropology, incarnation, reconciliation, and pneumato-ecclesiology, the concept of theosis plays a central and constitutive role in explaining a Christian theology of salvation. Theosis is thus foundational to Torrance�s theology and is one way in which he holds together in systematic fashion his diverse theological oeuvre.