In introducing the four novels under discussion as a “History of Confession”, this study explores the resistance to the dominant discourse of ‘history’ offered by the sustained confessions of individuals. In examining Coetzee’s oeuvre it is possible to delineate the outline of a dialogue between cynicism and grace, and the effects of these on the process of confession in each of the works Chapter One, dealing with Age of Iron, draws on Levinas’ theory of ‘the Other’ in order to elucidate the role played by the interlocutor or confessor in the process of confession.The recognition of the passage of the self through the Other is integral to the attainment of a state of grace, without which confession cannot be brought to an end The countermanding claims of the writer's will-to-write and duty to society are illuminated as a source of cynicism which overwhelms the intervention of grace. The Master of Petersburg, discussed in Chapter Two, is a confession of the guilt and despair faced by the writer who sacrifices his soul to answer the urge to write. Chapter Three, which examines Coetzee’s excursion into autobiography, represents a continuation of the confessional trend. The distance between the narrator and protagonist of Boyhood illustrates the convolutions of self-deception in the process of confession. The chapter which deals with Disgrace identifies a new trend in Coetzee’s writing:the concern with animals. Levinas’ theory, which identifies the encounter with the Other as necessary to precipitate an intervention of grace, is again useful in explaining how Coetzee has postulated the unassimilable otherness of animals as primary to human ethical development. This chapter also concludes that Disgrace represents a high point in the recovery of both grace and agency in Coetzee’s oeuvre.The concluding chapter suggests that the accumulation of meanings to the term ‘grace’enables its definition as a semi-religious abstraction. Coetzee suggests that belief in its existence has the power to affect interactions on the physical plane, especially those between the self and the Other.

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This thesis seeks to explore two fundamental theological questions: first, what does it mean for the Christian community to conceive of itself as a community defined by the covenant of grace; and second, what are the implications of this distinctiveness for its socio-political mission in an age of globalization. The project is interdisciplinary in its approach, and seeks to integrate biblical and theological inquiry together with the specific opportunities and challenges found in a globalized world. Our way of organizing this thesis is attuned to the demands of argument and method of research employed. Divided into three parts, the thesis derives from a critical examination of a theology of grace and its ramifications for the mission of the church in addressing contemporary issues. Part 1 commences by surveying broadly Reformational theological scholarship from the turn of the twentieth century, and explores how this thesis will make a distinctive contribution to scholarly discussion of the church's socio-political mission through focusing on the central doctrine of grace. Part 2 constitutes a comparative analysis of three leading contemporary theologians evaluating to what extent a theology of grace is evident in their theological political theories. Part 3 is where we seek to apply our theological investigation with the phenomenon of globalization, and engage with international political theory through concentrating on the concepts of power and justice in an interdependent world. The conclusion reached in this thesis is that the doctrine of grace, by virtue of its theocentric and trinitarian emphasis on revelation, reconciliation, election, and creation, directs the Christian community in an age of globalization to be an agent of God's justice in the socio-political arena through demonstrating servant-leadership to contribute in enabling the world's poorest and weakest citizens to share in the benefits brought by a globalized world.

This dissertation examines the doctrines of effectual calling and regeneration and argues that the biblical view is that God's saving grace is monergistic - meaning that God acts alone to effectually call and monergistically regenerate the depraved sinner from death to new life - and therefore effectual calling and regeneration causally precede conversion in the ordo salutis, thereby ensuring that all of the glory in salvation belongs to God not man. Stated negatively, God's grace is not synergistic - meaning that God cooperates with man, giving man the final determative power to either accept or resist God's grace - which would result in an ordo salutis where regeneration is causally conditioned upon man's free will in conversion and, in the Calvinist's opinion, would rob God of all of the glory in salvation. Chapter 1 introduces the monergism-synergism debate by placing it within the contemporary evangelical context. Chapter 1 not only introduces the debate between Calvinists and Arminians but also introduces the recent attempt of modified views to present a via media between the two. Chapter 1 also presents the thesis and explains the parameters and presuppositions of the dissertation. Chapter 2 examines the doctrine of monergism within the Reformed tradition. Rather than an exhaustive survey, chapter 2 selects some of the most important representatives from the Reformed tradition including: Augustine, John Calvin, the Canons of Dort, and the Westminster Confession. In discussing these figures and confessions, chapter 2 provides the historical and theological context in which the Reformed argued against the synergists of their own day. Chapter 3 turns to a biblical and theological defense of total depravity and effectual calling. Chapter 3 first begins with a biblical defense of total depravity and spiritual inability, as well as a brief discussion and utilization of Jonathan Edwards' understanding of free will (the freedom of inclination). Chapter 3 then seeks to argue for the thesis presented in chapter 1 by showing from Scripture that the Calvinist view of effectual calling is biblical. Chapter 4 continues the argument from chapter 3 by focusing in on the doctrine of regeneration. Chapter 4 argues that regeneration is monergistic rather than synergistic, meaning that God's grace in regeneration is not contingent on the will of man to believe but God's grace works alone. Therefore, faith and repentance are the result not the condition of regeneration in the ordo salutis. Chapter 5 seeks to give an accurate and fair presentation of the Arminian view(s), giving attention to the theological nuances among Arminians. Chapter 5 shows that there is diversity within Arminianism, so that there are those who hold to a "classical Arminian" view and there are those who hold to a Semi-Pelagian view. However, chapter 5 demonstrates that both views end up in the same place, namely, affirming the doctrine of synergism which makes God's grace contingent upon man's will. Chapter 6 is a biblical and theological critique of the Arminian view. Chapter 6 shows that the Arminian doctrine of synergism is not found in Scripture, contradicts Scripture, and robs God of all his glory in salvation. Chapter 7 turns from the Arminian view to examine recent modified attempts to pave a middle way between Calvinism and Arminianism. Chapter 7 shows specifically that attempts at a middle way borrow from Arminianism and consequently fall prey to an erroneous interpretation of Scripture. Chapter 7 shows that a middle way is biblically impossible and it also robs God of all his glory in salvation. Chapter 8 concludes the dissertation by restating the thesis, summarizing the biblical data, and arguing that only the Calvinist view can preserve the glory of God to save sinners. Three appendixes conclude the dissertation. Appendix 1 examines the Arminian and Calvinist views of the love of God and argues that divine love in Scripture is far more complex than the Arminian makes it out to be. God not only has a universal love for all people but a special, particular, and efficacious love only for the elect. Appendix 2 examines the Arminian and Calvinist views of the will of God and argues once again that the will of God in Scripture is far more complex than the Arminian makes it out to be. Scripture shows, it is argued, that God not only has a moral or preceptive will as well as a will of disposition but also a will of decree by which he effectually ordains all that comes to pass. Appendix 3 looks at the relationship between effectual calling and regeneration in the Reformed tradition and the diversity that exists among the Reformed as to how exactly describe this relationship. Appendix 3 presents and critiques each view, but pays particular attention to Michael Horton's recent proposal for "covenant ontology and effectual calling."

The purpose of this thesis is to delineate the theological shifts that occurred in Wesley's post-Aldersgate soteriology. To realize this purpose, three distinct soteriological shifts in his thought will be examined. These shifts involve changes in how he understood the following: the conditions of redemption, the state of humanity and the scope of salvation. Through an examination of these shifts, three distinct phases (early, middle and late) were detected. In the early phase there appears to be a distinct Reformed bias; fallen human beings are totally depraved and can be redeemed only through explicit faith in Christ's atonement. In the two subsequent phases, an increasing emphasis is given to Arminian distinctives. Particular emphasis is given to the Arminian understanding of prevenient grace. In the middle phase, the Reformed and Arminian elements appear to co-exist within the same soteriological framework--reconciled through a tenuous and at times tortuous dialectic. This dialectic seems to crumble in the late phase. The Reformed elements are quietly dismissed; the Arminian elements dominate.

Orientador: Oswaldo Giacoia Junior / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T23:21:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Picoli_GleisyTatiana_M.pdf: 1328650 bytes, checksum: cd9fa95eb859b2577edd8431c6f4d3d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Esta dissertação tem por objetivo ressaltar a importância do conhecimento da doutrina crista da graça para a compreensão das doutrinas schopenhauerianas da compaixão e da liberdade moral. Afinal, Schopenhauer faz uso de conceitos cristãos para explicar os principais pontos de sua ética, donde se destaca o papel da graça. Para cumprir o meu objetivo, analiso, primeiramente, a filosofia do "doutor da graça", Agostinho, e, em seguida, avalio suas implicações na filosofia de Schopenhauer / Abstract: This dissertation aims to highlight the importance of the knowledge of the Christian doctrine of grace to the comprehension of the schopenhauerian doctrines of compassion and moral freedom. After all, Schopenhauer uses Christian concepts to explain the key issues of his ethics, in which the role of grace stands out. For achieving this goal, I first analyze the philosophy of the "Doctor of Grace", St. Augustine, and afterward assess its implications in Schopenhauer's philosophy / Mestrado / Filosofia / Mestra em Filosofia

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:12:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marlesson castelo.pdf: 600251 bytes, checksum: 1ba8c350577e790c6321a54af3c7685a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-04-15 / Our aim is to show that, since Augustine, the problem of relation between human freedom and divine grace to pass by occidental historical Christianity. This work attends the problem under three historical perspectives: the dispute between Augustine and Pelagio, in the begining of the fifth century; the polemics of the Protestant Reform, in the Modern Ages, with the Lutheran and Calvinist results; the neopentecostalism, in the present, taking by reference the Universal Church of God s Kingdom founded in 1977 by Edir Macedo, who has self-named Bishop. In this religious-historical conditions, the concept of grace remains connected to manifestation of sacred, whose expression is registered in a systematic theological discourse in both first periods. However, under the actual perspective, the grace is agreed of utilitarian manner without systematic expression, and the human freedom is under persistent menace, in an environment which the forces of harmony and chaos are in conflit. / Nosso propósito é mostrar que, desde Agostinho, o problema da relação entre liberdade humana e graça divina perpassa o cristianismo histórico ocidental. Para tanto, o presente trabalho considera três perspectivas históricas: A controvérsia entre Agostinho e Pelágio, no início do Séc. V; os desdobramentos luterano e calvinista no contexto da Reforma Protestante, na Idade Moderna; os movimentos neopentecostais contemporâneos, tomando-se como referência a Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, fundada em 1977, pelo autodenominado Bispo Edir Macedo. Nessa trajetória histórico-religiosa, o conceito de graça permanece ligado à manifestação do sagrado, cuja expressão é registrada em discursos teológicos sistemáticos nos dois primeiros períodos considerados. Porém, no terceiro enfoque, o contemporâneo, a graça se apresenta de modo utilitarista, sem expressão sistemática, e a liberdade humana é constantemente ameaçada em meio à luta entre as forças da ordem e do caos.

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