Thesis (D. Min.)--Erskine Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-116).

The thesis is a study of the political relevance of the views of Karl Barth on Church and State as they relate to the apartheid State in South Africa. In other words, the thesis deals with the part that should be played by the Church in opposing the demonic power of apartheid. Barth's allembracing theology could be used as a catalyst to expose the evil of apartheid and the way in which this evil could be eradicated, in preparation for a democratic order. In Chapter 1, the investigator argues in favour of the use of a methodology which takes praxis as its focus. This suggests that praxis develops theory and the latter informs praxis. Praxis and theory affect each other, thus creating a circular movement wherein both theory and praxis are both individually necessary (or the development of the other). In Chapter 2, the investigator again describes Barth's early theology. A predominant characteristic of Barth's early theology is its concern about the Word of God as incarnated in Jesus Christ, and the attempt to focus its attention on the plight of workers in the employ of the capitalistic system. As the thesis develops in chapter 3, the researcher further shows Barth's contributions to the struggle between the Church and National Socialism and between the Church and communism, more especially in the countries falling within the communistic bloc. In Chapter 4, the investigator focuses strongly on the struggle of the Church against the tenets of apartheid ideology, using Barth's theology as a mediating voice. At the end of the thesis in chapter 5, the investigator deems it necessary to make suggestions and recommendations to round off the argument begun in the first chapter. The suggestions and recommendations are subjected to what obtains in Barth's theological ethics on the relations between the Church and State. By so doing, the investigator suggests ways and means by which South Africans can successfully work out a constitution which will enable all people in South Africa to prepare themselves for a new dispensation. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Theological Ethics)

The practice of reading Christian Scripture is at the heart of the Christian faith and its spirituality. This dissertation is a theological exploration of what “spiritual reading” might mean in the context of the western church today. I begin with a brief consideration of the term “spiritual reading” and its connections with practices of theological interpretation and lectio divina, and note how this type of reading has been intrinsic to the Christian faith. Chapter two considers the role of the church in reading the Bible spiritually, and it contrasts the setting of the church with the settings of modern biblical scholarship and of reading the Bible as a classic work of literature. Chapter three then turns to literature more broadly, and explores the spiritual dimensions to the practices of reading classical works. In contrast to a general method of religious reading, I argue that the Christian faith profoundly shapes the practice of the Christian spiritual reading of Scripture, and I turn to Karl Barth and Henri de Lubac in chapters four and five as two modern theologians who explore the theology behind spiritual reading. Barth profoundly sets out the reality of God, and de Lubac makes the centrality of Jesus clear. In chapters six and seven I look at Ellen F. Davis as one who exemplifies the kind of spiritual reading I am exploring; chapter six sets out Davis’ reading principles, while chapter seven examines four examples of her exegesis: Psalm 109, Psalm 149, Numbers 11, and the book of Ruth. In the conclusion I link these strands of spiritual reading together and note areas of further research, and give a sketch of a spiritual reader of Christian Scripture today.

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The Evangelical Reformed Church is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary. This study investigates this church's unique view of Scripture and places it within the broader context of a Reformed approach. To this end, a literary study is conducted, whereby the Evangelical Reformed conviction is compared to that of Calvin and Barth, as put forward in their Institutions and Church Dogmatics, respectively. This procedure allows for a collation of the Evangelical Reformed stance and the Reformed view. Since the belief regarding Scripture has an effect on many aspects of the traditional reformed dogma, several bibliological facets are singled out, namely, revelation, authority, inspiration, and the inception of the canon. By way of illustration, these details are considered with specific reference to the Reformed doctrine of Predestination. The goal of this exercise is to evaluate the application of the bibliological dogma in the formulation of theology. / Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics / M.Th

This thesis provides an historical and intellectual summary of the role of the concepts of 'substance,' and 'participation,' in the making of the doctrine of the Trinity. In the concluding chapter, a study is made of the assumptions of deconstruction, which are somewhat hostile to a substance paradigm. We argue for an appreciation of the importance of both substance and participation for the Trinity, and philosophy generally. Chapters are dedicated to individuals who have in some way contributed to perceptions of these two terms, as they pertain to the Christian notion of the Trinity. Additionally, we seek to define some philosophical problems that accompany a Trinitarian metaphysics of 'substance,' and 'participation.' The problems include those of deconstruction: issues such as 'Logocentrism,' and 'Presence.' Finally, we investigate how Trinitarian ontology can provide answers to many of the questions Derrida raises conceming the problematic future of metaphysical thinking. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Systematic Theology)

Contemporary developments in cognitive neuroscience are having a profound impact on the philosophy of mind as philosophers work to understand the implications of these advances for appreciating what it means to be a human person. At the same time, a recent consensus has formed among contemporary theologians around the thesis that Jesus Christ is the revelation of what it means to be truly human. Unfortunately, very few thinkers have made any concerted effort to bring these two developments into dialogue with one another. This study addresses this lack by drawing on the anthropological insights of Karl Barth and bringing them to bear on certain aspects of the contemporary discussions regarding the mind/brain relationship. The thesis thus comprises two major sections. The first develops an understanding of Karl Barth’s theological anthropology focusing on three major facets: (1) the centrality of Jesus Christ for any real understanding of human persons; (2) the resources that such a christologically determined view of human nature has for engaging in interdisciplinary discourse; and (3) the ontological implications of this approach for understanding the mind/body relationship. The second part of the study then draws on this theological foundation to consider the implications that understanding human nature christologically has for analyzing and assessing several prominent ways of explaining the mind/body relationship. This study, then, is an exercise in understanding the nature of a christocentric anthropology and its implications for understanding human ontology. While it will devote significant attention to the theology of Karl Barth and various contemporary philosophers of mind, its fundamental aim is to draw together these apparently disparate fields of inquiry by engaging both theology and philosophy in a vital dialogue on the nature of the human person as revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This study is an exercise in understanding both doctrinally and pastorally the nature of knowledge of God for persons with intellectual disabilities. Its central question is: “How might one know the Word of God without words?” At present, no extended theological systematical consideration has taken place of this question, and confusion arguably exists in the church and wider disability circles as to if/how persons with high support needs, such as intellectual disability, should be afforded pastoral care. This study addresses this need in dialogue with Karl Barth’s theological insights, and by developing an account of knowledge of God for persons with intellectual disabilities that is at once theologically informed and pastorally effective. In the last thirty years theological reflection considered in light of the situation of disability has seen tremendous growth and change, as the discipline has budded and blossomed. In particular, theologians of disability have reflected on the significance of disability in relation to the Christian doctrines of creation, anthropology, Christology, the imago Dei, ecclesiology and eschatology, amongst others, with rich and varied results. Similarly, this project suggests that consideration of the doctrine of revelation and the discipline of pastoral care in light of the situation of intellectual disability will yield unique and valuable outcomes for the disability community, but also for the wider church. Karl Barth will be the primary dialogue partner in these preparatory, theological stages. His thought regarding the incarnation of the Word in various forms, perhaps surprisingly, opens new avenues for our reflection. By engaging Barth’s theological anthropology as well as his theology of co-humanity of being with others in encounter, this project aims to demonstrate that knowledge of God is possible for all persons of all abilities.

This thesis consists of an original translation, annotation, and analysis of Karl Barth’s Academic lectures on Ephesians, delivered in Göttingen, winter semester, 1921-1922. The translation is composed from a typescript of Barth’s handwritten manuscript, located in the Karl Barth Archives, Basel, and is annotated for scholarly research, including complete bibliographical information on Barth’s sources. Barth’s exposition is a detailed exegesis of the Greek text of Eph. 1:1-23, comprising 13 lectures, with a summary of Ephesians 2-6 in the final chapter. Materially and formally, the exposition strongly resembles Romans II and Barth’s 1919 sermons on Ephesians, which the study examines. It also exhibits the theological objectivity of the Göttingen period, chiefly because of Barth’s explication of gnosis in Ephesians and his appropriation of Calvin’s theology of the knowledge of God. Barth made a material discovery in his study of Ephesians that fundamentally shaped his subsequent theology. He observes in Eph. 1:3-14 a train of thought which witnesses to God’s action to the creature in Christ and the creature’s subsequent movement to God. He concludes that we have come from God, who has chosen us in eternal election, and we are moving toward the glory of God, our divinely appointed goal. The exposition’s central theme is expressed in Barth’s claim that “the knowledge of God is the presupposition” and “the goal” of human existence. The distinguishing mark of Barth’s theological exegesis is its concreteness, that is, his ability to speak about the text’s contemporary meaning without lapsing into theological abstraction. This concreteness is the consequence of his theological hermeneutic. He describes the interpretive event as a field of action, consisting of the biblical text, the activity of the interpreter, and the divine speech act.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Engiish. / This dissertation grapples With the activity of critical production. It answers not to an interpretation which would constitute the writer within the institutionalised category of effect and object of knowledge, but rather to an explosion, a proliferation of critical paths at the limit of the doxa: a veritable labyrinth. The terms of my title open up a methodological field within which I enact the play of associations, contiguities, relations among four texts: The Name of the Rose, lost. in the Funhouse, The Naked Lunch and 'The library of Babel'. The terms themselves disseminate across the text argument in citations, references, echoes. The labyrinth is used throughout as a trope which deconstructs its own performance within the text. Legends are myths, inscriptions on maps, legenda or "things for reading" (through an etymological supplement), "lesser libraries." Barthes cites the biblical words of the man possessed by demons: "My name is Legion for we are many" and demonstrates how the demonlacal plural brings with it fundamental changes in reading strategies. The notion of the demoniacal plural is used to problernatlse the debates around subjectivity. The belief in unitary, rational selfhood is debunked and the subject is Seen to be plural, irreducible, heterogenous. Subjectivity is further problernatlsed by demonstrating the slippage among the labyrinthine multiplicity of discursive positions occupied by readers: the monoloqlcal models of meaning developed from each reading position constantly shift. The discursive position recuperated and sanctioned by the Law or the institution is impossible to maintain as Subjects are seduced by language into confrontation with other positions through their continuous renarnings of each other. Subjectivity and discursive positioning form .their own labyrinthine intentionality. The argument then moves towards an exploration of the current calculation of the subject for the writer. (Distinctions between author and critic begin to collapse here since meaning is shown to be governed by neither). The reading\writing subject strolls in a vast labyrinth of text - a postmodern flaneur who frustrates the work of exegesis by enacting the play of the signifier. The line traced by this hypothetical traveller does not engender a definitive theoretical or discursive map of the domain but rather a contingent and highly provisional, backward turning path. The demoniacal plural is also used to problematise notions of an original and innovative critical voice which "speaks" the dissertation. The logic regulating the argument is the already-written, The dissertation plavs with each text (both critical texts and fictions) looking for a practice which reproduces them but in another place. My imagined (ideal?) reader wmtreat the argument as that Which. lt was not simply meant to be,will. follow.the argument and be seduced by it: an echoing. structure with dead ends, wrong turns, false entrances fictitious exits; misleading threads and deceptive lines, / AC 2018