Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:12:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Julio_Cesar_Tavares_Dias.pdf: 1406197 bytes, checksum: 7954edd24e3d89b160139db53a6fe228 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-16 / The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) is main example of New Pentecostalism and it presents a big growth, looking to incommode Historical Christians groups and making open war against Brazilian cults of African origin. Invasions to sacred spaces and persecution to African religions leaders occurred in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. Syncretism and bellicosity against African religions are marks constantly pointed like peculiar characteristics to this church. In combat against Devil, this church identified it like entities of religions of African matrix. This thesis results from source that was made at Catedral da Fé and also from analysis of publications of this institution. Our purpose was to analyze the specific demonization of IURD s discourse, which is constructed about afro religions. In elaboration of this thesis, we need to situate historically beginning and developing of IURD, and also of Pentecostal Movement, with which IURD is connected. So, we could to go along our analysis with true safety. Religious intolerance and vilipend were clear in our analysis of publications and exorcism rites by us seen. / A Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD) é a principal representante do neopentecostalismo e apresenta um grande crescimento, aparentando incomodar grupos de cristãos históricos e fazendo franco combate a elementos dos cultos brasileiros de origem africana, já tendo, inclusive, ocorrido invasões de terreiros e perseguição a líderes das religiões afro na Bahia e no Rio de Janeiro. Marcas constantemente apontadas como características dessa igreja é o seu sincretismo e sua belicosidade contra as religiões afro. No combate ao Diabo, a igreja identificou-o com as entidades das religiões de matriz africana. Esta dissertação é fruto de pesquisa realizada sobre tal temática, na Catedral da Fé, no Recife, e da análise de obras evangelísticas da instituição. Nosso objetivo foi investigar a demonização, própria do discurso iurdiano, tecido sobre as religiões afro-brasileiras. Na construção do trabalho foi preciso situar historicamente o desenvolvimento e o surgimento da IURD, bem como do Movimento Pentecostal com o qual ela se relaciona. Na análise linguístico-antropológica que fizemos das obras e dos rituais de exorcismo que presenciamos, ficaram patentes a intolerância e o vilipêndio religioso.

This essay is about how five different exegetical researchers view the historical Jesus teaching about the kingdom of God as present and the possibility for it to be in continuity with his jewish tradition and contemporary context. Jesus announces that the kingdom of God is present and that this present reality is revealed through the miraculous deeds of Jesus. The idea of the kingdom of God as present is in some ways to be found in different texts and certain sects within Second Temple Judaism. Through their work on the historical Jesus the five exegetes shows that, even though the language and the symbol of the kingdom of God is similar, Jesus is in some ways doing something radically new and different in his use of the term “the kingdom of God.” By comparing certain logions with certain texts from Second Temple Judaism, this study shows that there is some continuity, but also that Jesus is presenting a new type of kingdom, a new type of presence and another kind of movement when presenting the kingdom of God as present.

The high value of good health in Africa and the serious threat to life posed by diseases that plague the African continent including South Africa, are highlighted in this thesis. The question whether the church in South Africa as a stakeholder in human development in Africa, contributes meaningfully to the continental and national vision of "a better life for all" or "good health for all" is posed and an attempt made to answer it. Operating from the Western world-view, the Hervormde Kerk in Suidelike Afrika (HKSA) is found not to be contributing meaningfully to the realisation of the African vision of "good health for all". Resistance to cure and healing by means of Western medicine and pastoral care and counselling as well as a lack of spiritual and numerical growth in the HKSA are identified as consequences of the imposition of exclusively Western Christian theological formulations on the African church. The assumption underlying this thesis is that ministry to the sick in the African mainline churches should recognise the role played by supernatural forces in the belief systems of Africans regarding health and illness. This assumption is based on the fact that theological formulations are socially influenced and constructed. Following Zerfass' methodological model, this research examines the principles underlying the ministry to the sick in the HKSA and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA); highlights the core African beliefs with regard to the health and illness discourse and practice; points out the shortcomings of the current ministry to the sick in the HKSA. The findings of the investigation into the theological tradition and the results of the exploration of the literature on the African context are brought into the critical dialogue. On the strength of findings of the critical dialogue between the church's traditional theological theory and the results of the exploration of the literature on the African context, the church's healing ministry is recommended as a necessary part of the church's official task in a black South African context. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

This thesis studies ritual interactions between saints and the landscape, animals and elements during a three-hundred year period from 410 AD. Such interactions include negotiations about and with birds and other animals, exorcism of the sea, lakes and rivers, and immersion in these natural bodies of water for devotional purposes. Although writers of the period lacked a term such as 'nature' to describe this sphere of activity, it is demonstrated that the natural world was regarded as a dimension of creation distinctively responsive to Christian ritual. Systematic study of the context in which these rituals were performed finds close connection with missionary negotiations aimed at lay people. It further reveals that three British writers borrowed from Sulpicius Severus' accounts of eastern hermits, reworking older narratives to suggest that non-human aspects of creation were not only attracted to saints but were changed by and participated in Christian ritual and worship. Natural bodies of water attracted particularly intense interaction in the form of exorcism and bathing, sufficiently widely documented to indicate a number of discrete families of ritual were developed. In northern Britain, acute anxieties can be detected about the cultural and spiritual associations of open water, requiring missionary intervention to challenge pre-Christian narratives through biblical and liturgical resources, most notably baptism. Such a cosmological stretch appears to have informed a 'Celtic' deviation in baptismal practice that emphasised exorcism and bodily sacrifice. Nature rituals were a systematic response to the challenges of the British intellectual and physical landscapes, revealing the shape of an underlying missionary strategy based on mainstream patristic theology about the marred relationship between humans and the rest of creation. St Ambrose emerges as the most influential theologian at the time when the early church was shaping its British inculturation, most notably led by St Germanus' mission in 429.

In many cultures and religions of the world the belief in transcendental realities, like God, the Devil and other benevolent and malevolent spirits are widespread. These realities are constructed in different ways, depending upon context. In light of the development Western industrial societies have undergone, it follows that the belief in transcendental realities may have given way to beliefs that are steeped more, in empiricism. However, understanding the belief in transcendental realities seems to be gaining renewed interest in various social science disciplines in light of the fact that claims of experiences of spirit possession are escalating. The implication this understanding has on the treatment a patient receives is likely to depend upon the training of the practitioner consulted. It follows that the experiences of patients who believe they are possessed by a spirit is as equally important to practitioners of psychology as it is to theologians. Psychologists would likely ascribe a spirit possession to a psychological experience; while theologians will attest to the presence of a spiritual illness. This project focussed on Free Church pastors in Germany and their perceptions of spirit possession and mental illness. To explore Free Church pastors understanding of spirit possession and mental illness is critical in light of the overlap of symptoms. Misdiagnosis may result in a client receiving treatment which may not be appropriate. Interviews with Free Church pastors were conducted. The results were analysed and 4 themes were identified. Based on these interviews conclusions could be drawn which ultimately made it clear that the German free church pastors’ theological training needs to be supplemented in the area of psychology and that the pastors are unable to cope in the area of ‘spirit possession or mental illness’ / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The high value of good health in Africa and the serious threat to life posed by diseases that plague the African continent including South Africa, are highlighted in this thesis. The question whether the church in South Africa as a stakeholder in human development in Africa, contributes meaningfully to the continental and national vision of "a better life for all" or "good health for all" is posed and an attempt made to answer it. Operating from the Western world-view, the Hervormde Kerk in Suidelike Afrika (HKSA) is found not to be contributing meaningfully to the realisation of the African vision of "good health for all". Resistance to cure and healing by means of Western medicine and pastoral care and counselling as well as a lack of spiritual and numerical growth in the HKSA are identified as consequences of the imposition of exclusively Western Christian theological formulations on the African church. The assumption underlying this thesis is that ministry to the sick in the African mainline churches should recognise the role played by supernatural forces in the belief systems of Africans regarding health and illness. This assumption is based on the fact that theological formulations are socially influenced and constructed. Following Zerfass' methodological model, this research examines the principles underlying the ministry to the sick in the HKSA and the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika (NHKA); highlights the core African beliefs with regard to the health and illness discourse and practice; points out the shortcomings of the current ministry to the sick in the HKSA. The findings of the investigation into the theological tradition and the results of the exploration of the literature on the African context are brought into the critical dialogue. On the strength of findings of the critical dialogue between the church's traditional theological theory and the results of the exploration of the literature on the African context, the church's healing ministry is recommended as a necessary part of the church's official task in a black South African context. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

The renewal of interest in religious healing methods in the past few decades, in response to various perspectives of illnesses, is ‘blowing’ through the PCC-one of the reformed churches in Africa. There are two underlying assumptions in this project: the first is that sickness constitutes a major threat to good health and the second is that the ministry of healing in the PCC is not contextual in view of respecting and incorporating the cultural, social, religious beliefs and values of its people in the formation of meaningful healing ministry. The healing ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon is lacking in efficacy and essence because it does not make much meaning in the lives of the sick and their relatives. This project gives an overview of some of the causes of tensions that exist in the PCC concerning its ministry of healing. It critically analysis, interprets and discusses the empirical results of 26 (20 laity and six clergy) members of the Musang congregation alongside some theological reflections. The project explored and highlighted the importance of the traditional worldview regarding health, illness, healing and defines healing as the work of God and that it is imperative for the Church to focus on a more meaningful healing ministry that includes physical, spiritual, social and psychological aspects, thus healing needs to be holistic. Putting together the results of the literature review, the empirical research and the critical and theological reflections, the project suggests and affirms that there are theological, practical and socio-cultural reasons for the PCC to rethink, reformulate and reshape its healing ministry in the light of Jesus’ healing ministry. The project points out the theological, practical and cultural basis for a more meaningful ministry of healing within the PCC. These results reveal that the PCC has no choice but to embrace this emerging biblical healing ministry if it truly wants to remain faithful and in obedience to Jesus’ three but inseparable ministries of preaching, teaching and healing. Finally, the project proposes an integrated healing service as one of the ways towards a more practical and meaningful ministry of healing in the PCC at home and in the diaspora. Some objective comments and recommendations are also made. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

My dissertation explores Shakespeare’s negotiation of Reformation controversy about theories of salvation. While twentieth century literary criticism tended to regard Shakespeare as a harbinger of secularism, the so-called “turn to religion” in early modern studies has given renewed attention to the religious elements in Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Yet in spite of the current popularity of early modern religion studies, there remains an aura of uncertainty regarding some of the doctrinal or liturgical specificities of the period. This historical gap is especially felt with respect to theories of salvation, or soteriology. Such ambiguity, however, calls for further inquiry into historical theology. As one of the “hot-button” issues of the Reformation, salvation was fiercely contested in Shakespeare’s day, making it essential for scholarship to differentiate between conformist (Church of England), godly (puritan), and recusant (Catholic) strains of soteriology in Shakespearean plays. I explore how the language and concepts of faith, grace, charity, the sacraments, election, free will, justification, sanctification, and atonement find expression in Shakespeare’s plays. In doing so, I contribute to the recovery of a greater understanding of the relationship between early modern religion and Shakespearean drama. While I share Kastan’s reluctance to attribute particular religious convictions to Shakespeare (A Will to Believe 143), in some cases such critical guardedness has diverted attention from the religious topography of Shakespeare’s plays. My first chapter explores the tension in The Merchant of Venice between Protestant notions of justification by faith and a Catholic insistence upon works of mercy. The infamous trial scene, in particular, deconstructs cherished Protestant ideology by refuting the efficacy of faith when it is divorced from ethical behaviour. The second chapter situates Hamlet in the stream of Lancelot Andrewes’s “avant-garde conformity” (to use Peter Lake’s coinage), thereby explaining why Claudius’s prayer in the definitive text of the second quarto has intimations of soteriological agency that are lacking in the first quarto. The third chapter argues that Hamlet undermines the ghost’s association of violence and religion, thus implicitly critiquing the proliferation of religious violence on both sides of the Reformation divide. The fourth chapter argues that Calvin’s theory of the vicarious atonement of Christ, expounded so eloquently by Isabella in Measure for Measure, meets substantial resistance, especially when the Duke and others attempt to apply the soteriological principle of substitution to the domains of sexuality and law. The ethical failures that result from an over-realized soteriology indicate that the play corroborates Luther’s idea that a distinction must be maintained between the sacred and secular realms. The fifth chapter examines controversies in the English church about the (il)legitimacy of exorcising demons, a practice favoured by Jesuits but generally frowned upon by Calvinists. Shakespeare cleverly negotiates satirical source material by metaphorizing exorcisms in King Lear in a way that seems to acknowledge Calvinist scepticism, yet honour Jesuit compassion. Throughout this study, my hermeneutic is to read Shakespeare through the lens of contemporary theological controversy and to read contemporary theology through the lens of Shakespeare. / Graduate / 2023-11-20