This study is concerned with the process involved in Calvin's consolidation of his power in Geneva and his success in implementing his vision of a Reformed society and structure in the city. The principal aim is to re-evaluate all of the relevant data and to correct, where necessary, the present understanding of this process. This has involved detailed research in the primary, unpublished documentation held in the Genevan State Archives. This material has then been compared with the traditional interpretation of Genevan history which is derived largely from Calvin and his supporters. In an attempt to discover the true reasons which explain Calvin's triumph, particular attention has been focussed on the various groups in Geneva at the time. Thus, detailed examination has been made of the relevant documents to identify the various social, economic, and political links which bound together the opposing factions. In particular, the research in this study has examined the impact which the French religious refugees had on every aspect of Calvin's struggle in Geneva. In addition, the direct effect which the predominantly French pastors had on the city, through their ministerial and political activities, has been detailed. Special emphasis has also been laid upon the personal relationships which existed among Geneva's ruling élite. The results of this study show that the interpretation of Calvin's triumph in Geneva is, in fact, based too heavily on Calvin's own view of the events and personalities involved. Calvin's opponents are shown to be men determined to maintain their magisterial power in the city in the face of the threat posed by the French ministers and their refugee compatriots. The local Genevans who supported Calvin have been found to be men who profited, both personally and politically, from Calvin's defeat of his opponents. Therefore, the study presents a thorough re-examination of Calvin's Genevan ministry and demonstrates the motives and methods which produced Calvin's victory in the mid-1550s.

Text in English / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Church History)

Edward Fisher’s <i>The Marrow of Modern Divinity</i>, first published in 1645 in England, was republished in Scotland in 1718 by Church of Scotland minister James Hog, quickly becoming the focal point of what would be known as the Marrow controversy.  Rival parties developed within the Church of Scotland, the smaller of which were the supporters of <i>The Marrow</i>, or the Marrow brethren.  In the context of the controversy over the book they formulated a defence of it, with particular reference to the doctrines of the atonement, saving faith, and the gospel offer: this was the Scottish expression of Marrow theology. Leading figures among the Marrow brethren included Thomas Boston, Ebenezer Riccaltoun, and Ebenezer Erskine.  In 1733, little more than a decade later, Ebenezer Erskine and several other Church of Scotland ministers separated from the church over the issue of patronage, forming the Associate Presbytery, the beginning of a new Scottish Presbyterian and Reformed denomination.  Historians and theologians, particularly in the 20^th century, have suggested that Marrow theology was characteristic of the Secession church movement; however, no thorough examination and analysis of existing historical evidence (ecclesiastical documents and the published sermons and theological writings of Secession ministers and theologians) supporting or challenging this claim have been made. This dissertation, based on research conducted through the years 2006-2009, argues there is evidence for both a general or thematic continuity of Marrow theology as expressed in the context of the Scottish Marrow controversy, and, at points, for direct historical dependence on the published works and distinctive theology and language used by the Marrow brethren.

The spice route around the Cape of Good Hope established links between the refreshment station in the Cape and India. This foreshadowed the official involvement between South Africa and India. By 1700 up to 50% of the slaves in the Cape were of Indian descent. As early as the 17th century, the DRC had been involved in outreach work to the Muslim community in the Cape. It took a considerable length of time after the Indians had settled in Natal in 1860, however, before the DRC became involved in this new field. It was only in 1946 that the church officially began mission work among the Indian people and more specifically the Hindus. A number of factors however hampered the outreach work, such as political antipathy, the English language, fear of economic competition, the foreign culture, and their religion. The Mission Boards of the DRC, in time, acquired not only the necessary funds, but also the manpower for the task. In the sixties they commenced to work in Natal, as well as in the Cape and Transvaal. A number of important issues landed on the desk of the Mission Board, such as membership of ministers, the form of baptism, the period of catechism for older believers, aspects of organizational questions regarding the formation of a new church, the training of evangelists and ministers, and a church order for the newly established church. The first missionaries, being pioneers in the work among the Indian people, were all white ministers either from the DRC, the DRC Missions Church (NGSK) or the DRC Church in Africa (NGKA). These early missionaries were determined to ensure that the Gospel was brought to this neglected community in a clear and forceful way. The challenges involved were obviously enormous. The first evangelists were all Indians and by and large workers belonging to other churches. The appointment of evangelists proved to be a great asset. As co workers of the missionaries, they opened doors to Hindu homes that would have been closed to the foreign missionaries. By 1962 four congregations had been established and in 1968 the Indian Reformed Church was formed. Two years later the use of evangelists in the IRC was discontinued. Six years later the name of the church was changed to 'Reformed Church in Africa', establishing the church as an open community. Strong resolutions were taken against any form of racism. The church was now established as an open church where all races would be welcome. In the seventies it was the RCA that took the initiative to call upon the NG Kerk, the NG Kerk in Afrika and the NG Sendingkerk to consider possible unification. The RCA remained strongly focussed on reaching Muslims and Hindus. The resolution of the WARC in 1982 to suspend the NGK and the denouncement of apartheid as heresy by certain members of the RCA led to a serious confrontation with the NGK and a schism in the RCA. The reconstruction of the RCA began in 1986 and in 1990 the RCA adopted the Laudium Declaration, affirming that the church was Reformed, and an Evangelical Reformed Church. A period of remarkable rebuilding and growth ensued. The Laudium Declaration became the hallmark of the RCA. The specific reformed, evangelical and mission orientated qualities had to be met. Evangelists were again trained and sent out. The RCA offers important insights to all believers in a pluralistic community. In spite of a flood of liberal theological thinking, the RCA holds zealously to her Reformed Evangelical position as expressed in the Laudium Declaration. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The focus of this study is on women's socialization in terms of their position in society and the church, and their roles in the marriage relationship. A brief historical overview is given of how the understanding of marriage and sexuality has developed, with a specific focus on marriage and marital roles in the Afrikaans cultural context and religious communities. The influence of the understanding of women’s place and role in marraige on the self-understanding of women, is demonstrated. Changes in the understanding of marriage and marital roles in contemporary postmodern context are explored. The changing context has caused a crisis in the modern institutional church, which has lost touch with the context in which people work and live. The crisis with regard to the institution of marriage specifically in the context of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa is investigated by means of the 2008 work of Theuns Dreyer, “Die kerk , die huwelik en seks – ‘n morele krisis?” (The church, marriage and sex – a moral crisis?). He demonstrates how cultural traditions often influence the interpretation of biblical passages regarding marriage. Classical pastoral care models are examined for their transformative potential for women’s lives. Rosemary Radford Ruether ‘s eco-feminist family ethics is presented as an alternative to the ethics of hegemonic patriarchal heteronormative monogamous marriage. Because of the fact that patriarchal heteronormative ideology and theology determined (and often still determines) women's place and role in society and in marriage, the phenomena of patriarchy and hegemony are investigated. The place and role of women in biblical cultures are examined from a social-scientific perspective in order to determine the extent to which their lives were influenced by patriarchal hegemony. Finally it is demonstrated that the way in which this kind of power is exercised had and has a negative influence on the self-worth and self-esteem of women. This is one of the reasons why marriage can become a negative experience for women. Life story research was utilised in order to listen to the experiences of six women. Within life story research, the stories of people's lives are reopened, re-evaluated and retold. The social context of the person's life is important for understanding her experience. By means of life story research it becomes evident how the narrator understands her position within the social context. This study focused on women's understanding of marriage, the roles that are prescribed to them and the impact it has on their understanding of marriage and family relationships. The transformative pastoral model of Elaine Graham is applied to the results of the life story research. This demonstrates how practice can be transformed in order to correspond better with the purpose of the faith community, namely an authentic life before God for all people - including women and others who are marginalized on the basis of race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, or any other such category. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

This inquiry provides a narrative on the experiences of white Afrikaner females during 1980 and 1990 in South Africa. The Defence Amendment act of 1967 declared that every white male is to complete compulsory military service, and between 1960 and 1991 an estimated 600 000 white South African men were conscripted into the SADF. The conscription of white males had a profound impact on the experiences of white Afrikaner females in South Africa. Through a narrative inquiry into a familial archive, I trace an unknown local history that finds itself situated in the middle of the SADF’s campaign to a militarised South Africa. I contend that these stories of the ordinary offer up an opportunity to consider themes of whiteness, gender and memory. The inquiry identifies the role of Apartheid institutions such as the Dutch Reformed Church and SADF in the rise of Afrikanerdom and the lives of Afrikaners between 1980 and 1990. After the compulsory military service for white South African men ended in 1993, it became apparent to me that the experiences of the Border War were mainly silenced. I therefore provide a look into the photographs, objects of memory and practices of food making which speaks to the experiences of white Afrikaner women during 1980 and 1990 through the exhibit 'Pakkies aan Boetie’ (2019). The inquiry also considers, through the lens of popular culture, how Afrikaner youth born after 1994 navigate legacies of Apartheid and conscription. / Dissertation (MSocSci)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Historical and Heritage Studies / MSocSci / Unrestricted

<p> Nicholas Wolterstorff, working within the context of Reformed Epistemology, has come to an understanding of knowledge which more accurately reflects the process of knowledge and belief that people experience than the foundational system to which he responds. He reacts to Immanuel Kant and John Locke, using arguments put forward by Thomas Reid, and building on these arguments with his own understanding.</p> <p> Kant, Wolterstorff argues, had put distance between a person and what she could perceive about and attribute to God. Since she cannot have an experience of God, she experience5what Wolterstorff calls the 'Kantian agony'-she cannot discuss God without first discussing God's existence.</p> <p> Locke, Wolterstorff argues, had put distance between a person and what she could believe. Locke, to whom Wolterstorff responds quite extensively, had argued that a person must use reason to govern her beliefs, and base her system of knowledge on propositions which can be known with certainty. </p> <p> Reid responded to this system, which he called the 'theory of ideas', arguing that it entailed a skepticism about the world which no one could live by. He argued that people must assume things about the world, such as that it exists, in order to be able to live and work in it. Responding directly to the way that the way of ideas theorists understood perception.</p> <p> Wolterstorff takes this understanding of perception and Reid's notion of belief-producing dispositions, and sets up a non-foundation account of knowledge which has room for religious faith. His system is a situational system, in which every person must govern their beliefs based on the system of beliefs in which they find themselves. This system, he argues more accurately reflects the way in which people come to knowledge, rather then the Kantian or Lockean (foundational) system.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (DTh (Practical Theology and Missiology))-- University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The research starts with a descriptive study of the traditional missionary model used by the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in South Africa in planting what is now known as the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ). The purpose of this descriptive part is to understand why certain mistakes are constantly repeated in cross-cultural outreach work and to prevent it from happening again. The RCZ is challenged to develop intercultural missionary theory and practice. The outreach towards the Tonga communities living in the Binga district in Zimbabwe.s North-Western province is used as an extended case study in developing a new missional framework for the RCZ. The research question is thus: How is the RCZ appropriately, meaningfully and relevantly to express the missional praxis of God within the context of the Tonga people? The research argues that meaningful missional reflection has to start with knowing and understanding the Tonga people. The RCZ would then not fall in the same trap of the European missionaries who had an ethnocentric superiority attitude. This calls for a paradigm shift in the RCZ.s thinking and doing mission. The RCZ needs to participate in the Mission of God with love and humility. The research argues that there is a need for the RCZ to revisit and carry out a critical analysis concerning her thinking and strategies of mission today. The RCZ is to develop a relevant framework that will allow the Tonga people to be conscious instruments of their own transformation in their own socio-cultural context. The goal of the study is to have a shift in the RCZ towards a missiological approach that is appropriate, meaningful and relevant in order to facilitate the transformation of the community she serves and ministers to. This framework for doing Christian mission should be Biblical, communal and contextual in the RCZ and at the same time encourage reflective involvement of the faith community in the missio Dei. The research proposes an intercultural mission as appropriate in our context, not a cross-cultural one. The research concludes that the DRC.s traditional mission model profoundly influenced the identity and present mission practice of the RCZ. A better understanding of the identity of both the DRC and the RCZ will enlighten the members of the RCZ to accept the missio Dei as their vocation and challenge. Now and in future, it will help the RCZ members who are participating in intercultural mission to make more informed plans and decisions. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsing begin met beskrywende studie van die tradisionele sendingmodel wat deur die Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) gebruik is in die totstandkoming van wat nou bekend is as die Reformed Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ). Die doel van die beskrywende deel is om te verstaan hoekom bepaalde foute gemaak is in die kruis-kulturele uitreike van die verlede en om nie daardie foute te bly herhaal nie. Die RCZ moet interkulturele missionale teorie en praktyk leer ontwikkel. Die uitreik na die Tonga gemeenskap in die Binga distrik in Zimbabwe se Noord-Westelike provinsie word gebruik as uitgebreide gevallestudie in die ontwikkeling van nuwe missionale benadering vir die RCZ. Die navorsingsvraag is: Hoe moet die RCZ, binne die konteks van die Tonga volk, die missio Dei toepaslik, betekenisvol en relevant uitdruk? Die navorsing aanvaar dat as die RCZ gepaste en betekenisvolle sending-benadering wil ontwikkel, hulle die Tonga volk moet ken en verstaan. Die RCZ moet nie die foute van die Europese sendelinge met hul etnosentriese meerderwaardige houding herhaal nie. Dit benodig paradigmaskuif in die RCZ se denke en sendingwerk want hulle was op pad om dieselfde foute te maak. Die RCZ moet met liefde en nederigheid deelneem aan die missio Dei. Haar optrede moet nie meerderwaardigheid teenoor die Tonga mense weerspieel nie. Die navorsing stel dus voor dat die RCZ se herbesin en kritiese analise doen van haar huidige denke en strategiee. Die RCZ moet relevante raamwerk ontwikkel wat die Tonga volk sal toelaat om bewustelike instrumente van hul eie transformasie in hul eie sosio-kulturele konteks te wees. Die doel van hierdie studie is skuif in die RCZ na missionale benadering wat gepas, betekenisvol en relevant is ten einde die transformasie van die gemeenskap wat gedien en bedien word, te vergemaklik. Hierdie studie is poging om 'n raamwerk te ontwikkel vir die doen van sendingwerk wat Bybels, gemeenskaplik en kontekstueel binne die RCZ is en wat denkende betrokkenheid van die geloofsgemeenskap in die missio Dei sal aanmoedig. 'n Interkulturele benadering tot sending is in die konteks gepas, en nie 'n kruis-kulturele sending benadering soos voorheen deur die NGK gevolg nie. Die navorsing konkludeer dat die NGK se tradisionele sendingmodel die RCZ se identiteit en benadering tot sendingwerk integraal beinvloed het. Daarom is die geskiedenis van die RCZ en die werk en invloed van die NGK op die RCZ eers ontleed. Die navorser wil die RCZ oortuig om haar eie identiteit missionaal te herontdek om sodoende in haar uitreik na ander kulture interkultureel te kan werk. In die proses wil die RCZ nie proseliete van die Tonga mense maak nie maar hulle bemagtig om self in die lig van die evangelie hulle kultuur te transformeer.

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of the North, 1997 / Refer to the document

Thesis (M.Ed.) --University of the North, 1992 / Refer to the document / University of Venda's Research Council