Abstract This study was a case control field investigation of a special population. The psychodiagnostic and personality correlates of 40 Christian Charismatic exorcism-seekers were compared to the correlates of 40 matched c2ntrols and 48 randomly selected controls. The study was guided by a central research question: how do exorcism-seekers differ from similar individuals who do not seek exorcism? Two theoretiäal approaches to demonic possession and exorcism anticipated different answers. A mental illness approach anticipated the report of certain forms of clinical distress among exorcism-seekers. A social role approach anticipated the report of certain personality traits that would facilitate the effective enactment of the demoniac role. Results supported the mental illness approach to demonic possession inasmuch as numerous between-group diagnostic differences achieved statistical significance, especially mood disturbance. The exorcism-seeker’s group produced a modal dependent-avoidant personality disorder profile, although schizoid features best distinguished between exorcism-seekers and control subjects. However, half of the sample did not report significant psychological distress. A cognitive-behavioral model of demonic possession of relevance to both distressed and non-distressed exorcism-seekers was therefore proposed. Treatment implications included a discussion of special treatment problems and collaboration between members of the clergy and the health care professions. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Faculty of the Divinity School, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. A. (Anthropology)) -- University of the North, 1990 / Refer to the document

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1989. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-245).

La littérature de l’entre-deux-guerres est un bouillonnement de genres très différents, et c’est dans cette effervescence que surgit la figure du démoniaque. Atteints d’un nouveau « mal du siècle », de nombreux écrivains – le plus souvent catholiques – mettent en scène le mal sous l’apparence de personnages démoniaques. Si nous nous sommes tournés vers François Mauriac, Georges Bernanos et Julien Green et avons mis l’accent sur quelques-unes de leurs œuvres précises, c’est parce qu’ils représentent particulièrement bien cette mouvance. Nous nous sommes interrogés sur la nature de ce démoniaque et sur la manière dont il s’inscrit et s’écrit dans leurs romans de cette époque. Influencés par la religion, mais aussi par certains auteurs, Bernanos, Mauriac et Green ont su donner aux motifs caractérisant le démoniaque une dimension nouvelle, particulièrement tragique. Nous avons essayé de définir les rapports complexes qui existent entre le tragique et le démoniaque afin de montrer comment les œuvres de Mauriac, Bernanos et Green participent de ce que Jean-Marie Domenach nomme « le retour du tragique ». Situer nos œuvres dans la lignée du tragique nous permet d’osciller entre excès et incomplétude, déconstruction et unité, crise et équilibre. Dès lors, le motif de l’ambiguïté, qui affecte à la fois la dimension narrative et thématique des récits, apparaît comme l’un des fils d’Ariane reliant les œuvres de Bernanos, Mauriac et Green. Le démoniaque devient source d’une esthétique à part entière : de cette tension entre interrogation et compréhension naissent le surnaturel et l’indicible, seules voies d’accès au démoniaque. / The interwar’s literature is known as a frantic and creative period concerning literary forms, and the demoniac’s figure arises from this effervesence. Suffering from a new « sickness of the century », many writers – most of them as catholics – raise the idea of evil under the guise of demoniac. We chose to turn towards François Mauriac, Georges Bernanos and Julian Green and emphasize some of their works in particular, because they embody this sphere of influence. We wondered about the demonic nature and about the way it was part of the novels they wrote in those days and how it could develop in these novels. Bernanos, Mauriac and Green were influenced by religion as well as by some authors and this gave a new dimension – a particularly tragic one – to the pattern of demonic. We tried to define the complex links between tragic and demonic in order to show how Mauriac, Bernanos and Green’s works are part of what Jean-Marie Domenach calls “the return of the tragic”. By setting these novels in the wake of tragic, we are given the opportunity to swing between excess and non-fulfilment, deconstruction and unity, crisis and balance. Therefore does this pattern of ambiguity – both affecting the narrative and thematic dimension of the novel – appear as one of Ariadne's threads, connecting Bernanos, Mauriac and Green's novels. Demonic thus became the root of a full esthetics : from this tension between questioning and understanding, arose the supernatural and the unspeakable, the only ways to lead us to demoniac.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 247-256).

Este estudo realiza uma análise de O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo, de José Saramago, partindo do pressuposto de que a obra recupera circunstâncias presentes no trágico grego, lhe oferecendo nova roupagem. Avaliamos, através deste estudo, que determinados fatores pertinentes à época grega, tais como a culpa e a inevitável submissão a um destino inexorável, permanecem intactos. Porém, como as tragédias gregas não mais existem, algumas mudanças no modus tragicus surgiram, tais como as forças que pesam sobre o herói e a sua atual disposição: o protagonista revela-se agora hesitante e questionador, e seu desfecho não é mais prenunciado pela moira implacável, e sim diretamente causado pela ação de um tirano. Para chegarmos a essas conclusões, realizamos um percurso que se iniciou na Grécia antiga, com o estudo de Aristóteles, até chegarmos aos pensadores contemporâneos, tais como Peter Szondi e George Steiner. A partir dessa pesquisa sobre o trágico, percebemos que a obra estudada encaixa-se no modo de ficção trágica formulado pelo crítico canadense Northrop Frye. Não obstante, consideramos que a narrativa recupera imagens, tais como a cruz, o deserto e o nevoeiro, que aparecem como indícios deste mundo obscuro, chamado por Frye de demoníaco. Cabe ressaltar que o mundo demoníaco é considerado pelo crítico como um modo de representação da ficção trágica. Frye em a Anatomia da crítica propõe quatro tipos de crítica, complementares entre si: histórica, ética, arquetípica e retórica. Em nosso estudo, nos embasamos principalmente nos conceitos formulados a partir da crítica histórica e da arquetípica. A primeira analisa os modos de ficção e mostra de que forma ocorre a ficção que se pretende trágica, e a última, por sua vez, privilegia os mitos e as imagens suscitadas a partir deles. Assim, pudemos nos apropriar dessas definições trabalhadas pelo teórico para embasar nossa hipótese, ou seja, para podermos verificar a tragicidade existente em O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo. / This study undertakes an analysis of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, by José Saramago based on the assumptions that the work recovers elements present in Greek tragedy, giving it new treatment. We consider, through this study, that certain factors pertaining to the Greek context, such as guilt and an inevitable submission to an inexorable destiny, remain intact. However, as Greek tragedies no longer exist, some changes in the modus tragicus appeared, such as forces that weigh upon the hero and his current disposition: the protagonist now discloses himself as hesitating and inquisitive and his ending is not dictated by the implacable moira. Instead, it is directly caused by the action of a tyrant. In order to bring off such conclusions we traced a path that started back in Ancient Greece, with the study of Aristotle, and came up to contemporary thinkers such as Peter Szondi and George Steiner. Based on this research on the tragedy, we come to understand that the novel in question fits the mode of tragic fiction formulated by the Canadian critic Northrop Frye. Moreover, the narrative recovers images, such as the cross, the desert and the fog, that appear as indications of the obscure world called demoniac by Frye. It is important to highlight that the demoniac world is considered by the critic as a mode of representation in tragic fiction. In his Anatomy of Criticism , Frye proposes four types of criticism that complement one another: historical, ethical, archetypical and rhetoric. Our study is chiefly based on the concepts formulated in historical and archetypical criticism. The former analyses the modes of fiction and shows how the allegedly tragic fiction works. The latter focuses on the myths and images occasioned by them. Thus, we were able to make use of the definitions worked out by the theoretician to embed our hypothesis, that is, to verify the tragicity present in The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.

Este estudo realiza uma análise de O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo, de José Saramago, partindo do pressuposto de que a obra recupera circunstâncias presentes no trágico grego, lhe oferecendo nova roupagem. Avaliamos, através deste estudo, que determinados fatores pertinentes à época grega, tais como a culpa e a inevitável submissão a um destino inexorável, permanecem intactos. Porém, como as tragédias gregas não mais existem, algumas mudanças no modus tragicus surgiram, tais como as forças que pesam sobre o herói e a sua atual disposição: o protagonista revela-se agora hesitante e questionador, e seu desfecho não é mais prenunciado pela moira implacável, e sim diretamente causado pela ação de um tirano. Para chegarmos a essas conclusões, realizamos um percurso que se iniciou na Grécia antiga, com o estudo de Aristóteles, até chegarmos aos pensadores contemporâneos, tais como Peter Szondi e George Steiner. A partir dessa pesquisa sobre o trágico, percebemos que a obra estudada encaixa-se no modo de ficção trágica formulado pelo crítico canadense Northrop Frye. Não obstante, consideramos que a narrativa recupera imagens, tais como a cruz, o deserto e o nevoeiro, que aparecem como indícios deste mundo obscuro, chamado por Frye de demoníaco. Cabe ressaltar que o mundo demoníaco é considerado pelo crítico como um modo de representação da ficção trágica. Frye em a Anatomia da crítica propõe quatro tipos de crítica, complementares entre si: histórica, ética, arquetípica e retórica. Em nosso estudo, nos embasamos principalmente nos conceitos formulados a partir da crítica histórica e da arquetípica. A primeira analisa os modos de ficção e mostra de que forma ocorre a ficção que se pretende trágica, e a última, por sua vez, privilegia os mitos e as imagens suscitadas a partir deles. Assim, pudemos nos apropriar dessas definições trabalhadas pelo teórico para embasar nossa hipótese, ou seja, para podermos verificar a tragicidade existente em O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo. / This study undertakes an analysis of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, by José Saramago based on the assumptions that the work recovers elements present in Greek tragedy, giving it new treatment. We consider, through this study, that certain factors pertaining to the Greek context, such as guilt and an inevitable submission to an inexorable destiny, remain intact. However, as Greek tragedies no longer exist, some changes in the modus tragicus appeared, such as forces that weigh upon the hero and his current disposition: the protagonist now discloses himself as hesitating and inquisitive and his ending is not dictated by the implacable moira. Instead, it is directly caused by the action of a tyrant. In order to bring off such conclusions we traced a path that started back in Ancient Greece, with the study of Aristotle, and came up to contemporary thinkers such as Peter Szondi and George Steiner. Based on this research on the tragedy, we come to understand that the novel in question fits the mode of tragic fiction formulated by the Canadian critic Northrop Frye. Moreover, the narrative recovers images, such as the cross, the desert and the fog, that appear as indications of the obscure world called demoniac by Frye. It is important to highlight that the demoniac world is considered by the critic as a mode of representation in tragic fiction. In his Anatomy of Criticism , Frye proposes four types of criticism that complement one another: historical, ethical, archetypical and rhetoric. Our study is chiefly based on the concepts formulated in historical and archetypical criticism. The former analyses the modes of fiction and shows how the allegedly tragic fiction works. The latter focuses on the myths and images occasioned by them. Thus, we were able to make use of the definitions worked out by the theoretician to embed our hypothesis, that is, to verify the tragicity present in The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.

Este estudo realiza uma análise de O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo, de José Saramago, partindo do pressuposto de que a obra recupera circunstâncias presentes no trágico grego, lhe oferecendo nova roupagem. Avaliamos, através deste estudo, que determinados fatores pertinentes à época grega, tais como a culpa e a inevitável submissão a um destino inexorável, permanecem intactos. Porém, como as tragédias gregas não mais existem, algumas mudanças no modus tragicus surgiram, tais como as forças que pesam sobre o herói e a sua atual disposição: o protagonista revela-se agora hesitante e questionador, e seu desfecho não é mais prenunciado pela moira implacável, e sim diretamente causado pela ação de um tirano. Para chegarmos a essas conclusões, realizamos um percurso que se iniciou na Grécia antiga, com o estudo de Aristóteles, até chegarmos aos pensadores contemporâneos, tais como Peter Szondi e George Steiner. A partir dessa pesquisa sobre o trágico, percebemos que a obra estudada encaixa-se no modo de ficção trágica formulado pelo crítico canadense Northrop Frye. Não obstante, consideramos que a narrativa recupera imagens, tais como a cruz, o deserto e o nevoeiro, que aparecem como indícios deste mundo obscuro, chamado por Frye de demoníaco. Cabe ressaltar que o mundo demoníaco é considerado pelo crítico como um modo de representação da ficção trágica. Frye em a Anatomia da crítica propõe quatro tipos de crítica, complementares entre si: histórica, ética, arquetípica e retórica. Em nosso estudo, nos embasamos principalmente nos conceitos formulados a partir da crítica histórica e da arquetípica. A primeira analisa os modos de ficção e mostra de que forma ocorre a ficção que se pretende trágica, e a última, por sua vez, privilegia os mitos e as imagens suscitadas a partir deles. Assim, pudemos nos apropriar dessas definições trabalhadas pelo teórico para embasar nossa hipótese, ou seja, para podermos verificar a tragicidade existente em O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo. / This study undertakes an analysis of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, by José Saramago based on the assumptions that the work recovers elements present in Greek tragedy, giving it new treatment. We consider, through this study, that certain factors pertaining to the Greek context, such as guilt and an inevitable submission to an inexorable destiny, remain intact. However, as Greek tragedies no longer exist, some changes in the modus tragicus appeared, such as forces that weigh upon the hero and his current disposition: the protagonist now discloses himself as hesitating and inquisitive and his ending is not dictated by the implacable moira. Instead, it is directly caused by the action of a tyrant. In order to bring off such conclusions we traced a path that started back in Ancient Greece, with the study of Aristotle, and came up to contemporary thinkers such as Peter Szondi and George Steiner. Based on this research on the tragedy, we come to understand that the novel in question fits the mode of tragic fiction formulated by the Canadian critic Northrop Frye. Moreover, the narrative recovers images, such as the cross, the desert and the fog, that appear as indications of the obscure world called demoniac by Frye. It is important to highlight that the demoniac world is considered by the critic as a mode of representation in tragic fiction. In his Anatomy of Criticism , Frye proposes four types of criticism that complement one another: historical, ethical, archetypical and rhetoric. Our study is chiefly based on the concepts formulated in historical and archetypical criticism. The former analyses the modes of fiction and shows how the allegedly tragic fiction works. The latter focuses on the myths and images occasioned by them. Thus, we were able to make use of the definitions worked out by the theoretician to embed our hypothesis, that is, to verify the tragicity present in The Gospel According to Jesus Christ.

This dissertation lays out some of the current attitudes and understandings in the Reformed Church in America in regards to the ministry of deliverance. The arguments laid out are supported by what is currently happening in deliverance ministry across the United States and in-depth interviews with Reformed Church in America pastors. Differences in how we understand the terminology involved in this ministry were also briefly looked at. Deliverance ministry within the Reformed church is hampered by issues of fear and uncertainty, lack of knowledge or understanding and issues of world view. Many RCA pastors are open to this ministry although very few have actually engaged in deliverance with a person. RCA pastors tend to lean more toward psychological answers than they do spiritual ones. / Thesis (M. Th. (Practical Theology))