Thesis (Th. M.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-115).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [85]-92).

Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [76-80]).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-173).

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, 2003. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [144]-153).

No description available.

Misinterpretations of John Calvin's theology are legion. It is hoped that this thesis does not add to their number. The basis for this lies in the fact that the task of writing on the subject has of course compelled the writer to do his utmost to comprehend what Calvin had to say concerning the Sacraments both in the Institutions and in the Scriptural Commentaries ... .The attempt has been made to refract Calvin's thought on the Sacrament, using certain key-concepts as prisms, and from the results thus obtained, to draw certain conclusions from which, it is hoped, will not be unprofitable to the life of the Holy Catholic Church. It is thus to be reagrded as an essay in historical theology rather than a whole-hearted attempt to reconstruct Calvin's exposition of the sacrament in the light of what has been revealed to us in the intervening years.

The provision of basic needs such as food, shelter, security, identity and recognition is central in the rebuilding and reconstruction of the war-torn areas of Africa and indeed around the world. The war in northern Uganda, in particular, has taken its toll on the people of that area for more than 20 years and in the process, has witnessed the children facing some of the worst effects of armed conflicts known to man. This study investigated the role played by the Gulu Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO) in the reintegration of former child soldiers in Northern Uganda. GUSCO is however in favour of the term Formerly Abducted Children (FAC) as this is less prone to acts of stigmatisation against those who have faced some of the most horrific abuses known to human kind. It focused on the process of reintegration of the FAC in relation to the human needs theory which has been used as a basis for conflict resolution practices. The researcher conducted extensive face-to-face interviews with the employees of GUSCO who work in various fields as social workers, counsellors, health workers and teachers, who tend to the needs of the FAC daily. The researcher was also able to carryout observations of the activities that take place at the GUSCO reception centre where the children are rehabilitated. The organisation’s official documents were also consulted in order to carryout this triangular study and collect data. The major themes constructed from the study include: the empowerment and development of the FAC through education and skills training; health care provision to meet both physical and psychological needs; community empowerment and development and finally peacebuilding and reconciliation which involves the participation of whole communities to meet their needs and rebuild the war-torn northern Uganda. The researcher highlights some challenges that GUSCO faces in trying to reintegrate the former combatants albeit children into a routine of a community that struggles to recover from a war that continues to persist after twenty years. Several recommendations are made for GUSCO and civil societies who have given themselves the mandate to work towards salvaging the future generations of Uganda and Africa as a whole.

Under the influence of the Christian ecumenical movement, there has been a tendancy to reread the Western theological tradition through the lens of the Eastern idea of deification. The studies of the theology of John Calvin, who is a leading figure in the Reformation tradition, cannot avoid such a tendency, either. Not a few scholars have affirmed Calvin's doctrine of deification, in a way, akin to the Eastern doctrine of deification, by rereading him from the perspective of the Eastern Orthodoxy. However, with the objection to this interpretation by those who deny the presence of the idea of deification in Calvin, the question of deification in Calvin's theology has been a grave issue of an ongoing debate among Calvin scholars. The current debate on the question of deification in Calvin shows that the following three issues form the frame of reference for reasoning the question: Calvin's understanding of the communication of properties between Christ's two natures in the hypostatic union, the nature of his notion of union with Christ, and his idea of the nature of the salvific gift. The observations of Calvin's ideas about the three issues render incapacitate any attempt to find the idea of deification as participation in the intrinsic divine life in his theology. Calvin's rejection of the direct communication of properties from Christ's divinity to His humanity renders impossible the deification of Christ's humanity, which is marked as the basis of our deification by the interpreters who endorse his doctrine of deification as in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Calvin's idea of the spiritual and personal union with Christ, in which the ontological distinctiveness between Christ and us is guaranteed, disapproves the idea that the intrinsic divine life flows to us through the channel of Christ's humanity in our union with Him. Therefore it can be reasonably concluded that as far as deification is construed as the believers' participation in the intrinsic divine life, mediated by Christ's humanity in their union with Christ, it is hard to hold that Calvin teaches deification. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / PhD / Unrestricted

This diploma thesis, entitled "Eucharistic prayer and its reintroduction in contemporary Reformed churches," deals with the historical development and present form of Eucharistic prayer, as well as the possibilities of its application in liturgical orders to the Lord's Supper in the Reformed churches. The aim of the work is to explore the essence of the liturgical and theological contribution of the Eucharistic prayer for the eucharistic liturgy of the Reformed churches. The work consists of six chapters. At first, deals with the Eucharistic prayer as one of the possible elements of the liturgical renewal of the Lord's Supper in Protestant churches, whose liturgical orders do not include the Eucharistic prayer owing to historical development. It also discusses the historical development of the Eucharistic prayer from its Jewish roots, through the emergence of the Roman canon to its removal by the reformers from the liturgy of the Lord's Supper. The work also focuses on the comparison of two particular Reformed churches, the Reformed Church in America and the Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia, on their approach to the use of Eucharistic prayer and on the reflection of the contribution of Eucharistic prayer to the liturgical orders of the Reformed churches in general.