Whole document restricted at the request of the author / Significant changes have occurred in the Catholic practice and theology of mission since the second Vatican Council (1962-65). To appreciate better the extent of these changes, I have charted major shifts in the story of mission of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, founded in Lyon in 1861. In particular, I have examined the various theologies that informed these shifts. This micro-study of one particular Catholic group offers an entry-point into a consideration of contemporary Catholic theologies of mission and missionary practice. Since Vatican II, there has been a growing awareness of the universal and salvific presence of the Spirit in creation and history. I will seek to show how this has affected Catholic missiological reflection through an examination of the work of selected Catholic theologians. These theologians direct attention to the mission of the Spirit, and to the relation between the Spirit and the Son in the mission of the Triune God. This pneumatological emphasis often has been overlooked in theologies of mission that are more overtly ecclesiological or christological in their orientation. I then examine selected New Testament texts in order to discern the legitimacy of such pneumatological emphases in emerging trinitarian theologies of mission. While New Testament texts indicate that the mission of the Spirit is both antecedent and consequent to the mission of Jesus, the examination of scriptural texts in this research concentrates on the antecedent mission of the Holy Spirit in selected Johannine, Matthean and Lukan texts. My research suggests that an emphasis on the mission of the Spirit permits an understanding of mission that can expand the parameters associated with ecclesiocentric and christocentric models of mission.

In spite of the rapid growth of evangelicalism there is a paucity of reflection on its theological method. The transition from modernity to postmodernity, with the accompanying call for a postfoundationalist rather than a foundationalist method, has provided additional challenges to evangelicalism. Canadian theologian Stanley J. Grenz has proposed a model for evangelical theological construction that utilizes scripture, tradition and culture as the sources for theology, and the Trinity, community and eschatology as its focal motifs. He supplements these with the belief that the Spirit guides the church, and that the community of faith will therefore be pneumatologically guided as it communally attempts to discern truth in a changed context. Grenz believes that his theological method moves beyond foundationalism as it appeals to a trio of interacting sources, rather than to the single source of scripture. In exploring and evaluating Grenz' theological method, this thesis tests the research proposition "that Stanley Grenz' theological method effectively revisions evangelical theology." To ascertain the validity of the proposition, it utilizes four evaluative questions which explore the originality, theological coherence, appropriateness and effectiveness of Grenz'method for evangelical theology. The application of his model in his text, Welcoming but Not Affirming, serves as a test case to determine the implications of his method. Concluding that Grenz' model makes only a modest contribution towards revisioning evangelical theological method, the concluding chapters of the research explore ways to supplement Grenz' model to allow a stronger affirmation of the research proposition. Utilizing Wolterstorff's concept of control beliefs, it proposes that Grenz' model would be more effective if he added a control belief to guide his theological construction, and motivates for adopting the control belief the gospel liberates.ln addition, it argues that Grenz' three focal motifs for theology need to be preceded by the gathering motif of the cross, arguing that if seen outside of this gathering motif, the motifs of Trinity, community and eschatology lack adequate substance. Noting the often acrimonious context in which theological revisioning takes place, the research ends with a plea for the empowerment of imagination in theological construction.

This thesis seeks to interpret Christology from the perspective of tribal people in Mizoram, northeast India, with an objective to help them and their churches to understand Jesus Christ in a way meaningful to them. In this study, historical and socio-theological analysis is used to show that Christology and culture are always related, and that different Christologies have been developed in different cultural contexts. This analysis in turn helps identify the issues that must be addressed in the construction of a contextual Christology for Mizoram context. In this study, Mizo culture and experience are taken into account as essential theological source. The first chapter discusses the need for a contextual Christology and examines the basic issues and methodological approaches surrounding the construction of contextual Christology. In the second chapter, the context of tribal people in Mizoram is analysed. Among the major issues that must be addressed in Christological construction, the thesis identifies the growing disparity between rich and poor within the state and the socio-economic alienation of Mizos from mainland India. The third chapter surveys the Christological tradition in Mizoram from its beginning to the present. It finds that the Christological heritage in Mizoram is largely irrelevant to Mizo people because of its uncritical application of Western theology to this very different historical and cultural context. The idea of Christ introduced into Mizoram is basically individualistic, otherworldly and dualistic. Neither missionaries nor native church leaders have taken the local culture seriously into account in doing Christology. The fourth chapter attempts to recover some major liberating cultural traditions of the Mizos as sources for Christology, including their concepts of pasaltha, humanity, land, God and spiritual beings, and life after death. The study reveals that, despite the Western overlay, there is a significant continuity and influence of traditional culture in Mizo Christianity. On the basis of these findings, the fifth chapter seeks to reinterpret the significance of Jesus Christ in the Mizoram context, using a Mizo conceptual framework. It argues that the idea of the pasaltha incorporates much of the New Testament portrait of the person and work of Christ, Jesus' self-giving life and ministry, incarnation, suffering and death on the cross, can all be seen as manifesting the principle of tlawmngaihna, which is an essential characteristic of the pasaltha. Jesus' resurrection and exaltation can be seen as God's response to Jesus' person and work precisely as pasaltha-tlawmngai. Similarly, the kingdom of God, which defined and summed up Jesus' message and mission, can be perceived in the Mizoram context as exhibiting the qualities of a communitarian society.

Whole document restricted at the request of the author / Significant changes have occurred in the Catholic practice and theology of mission since the second Vatican Council (1962-65). To appreciate better the extent of these changes, I have charted major shifts in the story of mission of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, founded in Lyon in 1861. In particular, I have examined the various theologies that informed these shifts. This micro-study of one particular Catholic group offers an entry-point into a consideration of contemporary Catholic theologies of mission and missionary practice. Since Vatican II, there has been a growing awareness of the universal and salvific presence of the Spirit in creation and history. I will seek to show how this has affected Catholic missiological reflection through an examination of the work of selected Catholic theologians. These theologians direct attention to the mission of the Spirit, and to the relation between the Spirit and the Son in the mission of the Triune God. This pneumatological emphasis often has been overlooked in theologies of mission that are more overtly ecclesiological or christological in their orientation. I then examine selected New Testament texts in order to discern the legitimacy of such pneumatological emphases in emerging trinitarian theologies of mission. While New Testament texts indicate that the mission of the Spirit is both antecedent and consequent to the mission of Jesus, the examination of scriptural texts in this research concentrates on the antecedent mission of the Holy Spirit in selected Johannine, Matthean and Lukan texts. My research suggests that an emphasis on the mission of the Spirit permits an understanding of mission that can expand the parameters associated with ecclesiocentric and christocentric models of mission.

In spite of the rapid growth of evangelicalism there is a paucity of reflection on its theological method. The transition from modernity to postmodernity, with the accompanying call for a postfoundationalist rather than a foundationalist method, has provided additional challenges to evangelicalism. Canadian theologian Stanley J. Grenz has proposed a model for evangelical theological construction that utilizes scripture, tradition and culture as the sources for theology, and the Trinity, community and eschatology as its focal motifs. He supplements these with the belief that the Spirit guides the church, and that the community of faith will therefore be pneumatologically guided as it communally attempts to discern truth in a changed context. Grenz believes that his theological method moves beyond foundationalism as it appeals to a trio of interacting sources, rather than to the single source of scripture. In exploring and evaluating Grenz' theological method, this thesis tests the research proposition "that Stanley Grenz' theological method effectively revisions evangelical theology." To ascertain the validity of the proposition, it utilizes four evaluative questions which explore the originality, theological coherence, appropriateness and effectiveness of Grenz'method for evangelical theology. The application of his model in his text, Welcoming but Not Affirming, serves as a test case to determine the implications of his method. Concluding that Grenz' model makes only a modest contribution towards revisioning evangelical theological method, the concluding chapters of the research explore ways to supplement Grenz' model to allow a stronger affirmation of the research proposition. Utilizing Wolterstorff's concept of control beliefs, it proposes that Grenz' model would be more effective if he added a control belief to guide his theological construction, and motivates for adopting the control belief the gospel liberates.ln addition, it argues that Grenz' three focal motifs for theology need to be preceded by the gathering motif of the cross, arguing that if seen outside of this gathering motif, the motifs of Trinity, community and eschatology lack adequate substance. Noting the often acrimonious context in which theological revisioning takes place, the research ends with a plea for the empowerment of imagination in theological construction.

This thesis seeks to interpret Christology from the perspective of tribal people in Mizoram, northeast India, with an objective to help them and their churches to understand Jesus Christ in a way meaningful to them. In this study, historical and socio-theological analysis is used to show that Christology and culture are always related, and that different Christologies have been developed in different cultural contexts. This analysis in turn helps identify the issues that must be addressed in the construction of a contextual Christology for Mizoram context. In this study, Mizo culture and experience are taken into account as essential theological source. The first chapter discusses the need for a contextual Christology and examines the basic issues and methodological approaches surrounding the construction of contextual Christology. In the second chapter, the context of tribal people in Mizoram is analysed. Among the major issues that must be addressed in Christological construction, the thesis identifies the growing disparity between rich and poor within the state and the socio-economic alienation of Mizos from mainland India. The third chapter surveys the Christological tradition in Mizoram from its beginning to the present. It finds that the Christological heritage in Mizoram is largely irrelevant to Mizo people because of its uncritical application of Western theology to this very different historical and cultural context. The idea of Christ introduced into Mizoram is basically individualistic, otherworldly and dualistic. Neither missionaries nor native church leaders have taken the local culture seriously into account in doing Christology. The fourth chapter attempts to recover some major liberating cultural traditions of the Mizos as sources for Christology, including their concepts of pasaltha, humanity, land, God and spiritual beings, and life after death. The study reveals that, despite the Western overlay, there is a significant continuity and influence of traditional culture in Mizo Christianity. On the basis of these findings, the fifth chapter seeks to reinterpret the significance of Jesus Christ in the Mizoram context, using a Mizo conceptual framework. It argues that the idea of the pasaltha incorporates much of the New Testament portrait of the person and work of Christ, Jesus' self-giving life and ministry, incarnation, suffering and death on the cross, can all be seen as manifesting the principle of tlawmngaihna, which is an essential characteristic of the pasaltha. Jesus' resurrection and exaltation can be seen as God's response to Jesus' person and work precisely as pasaltha-tlawmngai. Similarly, the kingdom of God, which defined and summed up Jesus' message and mission, can be perceived in the Mizoram context as exhibiting the qualities of a communitarian society.

Whole document restricted at the request of the author / Significant changes have occurred in the Catholic practice and theology of mission since the second Vatican Council (1962-65). To appreciate better the extent of these changes, I have charted major shifts in the story of mission of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, founded in Lyon in 1861. In particular, I have examined the various theologies that informed these shifts. This micro-study of one particular Catholic group offers an entry-point into a consideration of contemporary Catholic theologies of mission and missionary practice. Since Vatican II, there has been a growing awareness of the universal and salvific presence of the Spirit in creation and history. I will seek to show how this has affected Catholic missiological reflection through an examination of the work of selected Catholic theologians. These theologians direct attention to the mission of the Spirit, and to the relation between the Spirit and the Son in the mission of the Triune God. This pneumatological emphasis often has been overlooked in theologies of mission that are more overtly ecclesiological or christological in their orientation. I then examine selected New Testament texts in order to discern the legitimacy of such pneumatological emphases in emerging trinitarian theologies of mission. While New Testament texts indicate that the mission of the Spirit is both antecedent and consequent to the mission of Jesus, the examination of scriptural texts in this research concentrates on the antecedent mission of the Holy Spirit in selected Johannine, Matthean and Lukan texts. My research suggests that an emphasis on the mission of the Spirit permits an understanding of mission that can expand the parameters associated with ecclesiocentric and christocentric models of mission.

This thesis is concerned broadly with purported mystics and how the Roman Catholic Church conceives of them theologically, and treats them in practicality. In exploring the dynamics of power at work when an individual claims to have dialogue with God, I identify a very particular process that occurs, namely active abjection, and illustrate this using examples taken from the writings of various purported mystics. I argue that there is a collection of people - the actively abjected - who occupy a very specific role within the Roman Catholic Church, and that this role has not been recognized. I go on to suggest a way in which they can be understood and respected for the role they play. To do this, I draw upon particular philosophical models of understanding from Hannah Arendt and Julia Kristeva. I aspire to encourage a deeper and more complicated understanding of the nature of institutionalized oppression, and to offer a reconstructive model for how those who encounter potentially problematic individuals within communities might work and interact with them in a non-oppressive manner. This thesis is a work of Catholic theology in that it offers a theological and philosophical argument for the recognition of a particular role certain individuals play in maintaining the structure and definition of the Catholic Church. But it is also intended as a work of political philosophy. Both Arendt and Kristeva, whose writing I use as a lens to examine a particular phenomenon found in religious communities are theorists in the tradition of political philosophy and my intention is to expand the application of their models.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este Trabalho busca refletir sobre a proposta de Gianni Vattimo para o Cristianismo contemporâneo, que se fundamenta em uma Ontologia fraca, dentro do processo de desconstrução das estruturas fortes da Metafísica no Ocidente. Analisa, portanto, a possibilidade de uma nova interpretação da Fé Cristã, na Pós-modernidade, tematizada pela Filosofia de uma espiritualidade pós-metafísica e pós-religiosa. A Pesquisa considera as diversas formatações religiosas, contidas no interior da cultura ocidental, desenvolvendo uma avaliação crítica das proposições cristãs de uma espiritualidade, sem Religião, na Contemporaneidade. / This paper reflects on the proposal for Gianni Vattimo to contemporary Christianity, whichis based on a weak ontology, in the process of deconstruction of the strongest structures of metaphysics in the West. Analysis, therefore, the possibility of a new interpretation of Christian faith in postmodern, themed by the philosophy of a post-metaphysical spirituality and post-religious. The research considers the various religious formatting contained within the Western culture, developing a critical evaluation of the propositions of a Christian religion without religion in contemporary society.

abstract: In this thesis, I discuss the philosophical problem of evil and, as a response, John Hick's soul making theodicy. First, I discuss the transformation of the problem. I examine how the problem has shifted from logical to evidential in recent history. Next, I offer a faithful rendition of Hick's position - one which states the existence of evil does not provide evidence against the existence of God. After reconstructing his argument, I go on to exposes its logical faults. I present four main contentions to Hick's theodicy. First, I analyze the psychology of dehumanization to question whether we have any evidence that soul making is happening in response to the suffering in the world. Second, I argue that Hick's theodicy is self-defeating if accepted because it undermines the central point on which his argument depends. Third, I claim that Hick's theodicy is self-defeating given his eschatological views. Finally, I discuss how Hick's theodicy does not account for the animal suffering that widely exists in the world now, and that exists in our evolutionary history. My hope is to show that Hick's theodicy fails to solve the problem of evil. I claim that the amount of gratuitous suffering in the world does provide evidence against the existence of God. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Philosophy 2018