This dissertation traces the metaphysical underpinnings of the Protestant Reformation through a close reading of the work of the Protestant reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562). It is premised on the assumption that all theological reasoning is metaphysical insofar as it simultaneously depends on and conveys a vision of how God and the world relate. This opens the possibility to analyse the implied metaphysics of theological work. The study focuses on four areas of Peter Martyr Vermigli’s work: divine and human agency, grace and justification, the Eucharist, and political theology. It analyses Vermigli’s thought by enquiring what structures of being and causality it displays in each of these areas. The key research question is whether Vermigli’s theology implicitly construes ‘being’ as a neutral category, univocally applying to God’s being as well as created being, or whether it conceives of Divine being as transcendent and pre-eminent, with all other being participating in it. Divine and human causation is moreover construed differently in other of these ontological alternatives. The main argument of this dissertation is that the metaphysical framework sustaining Peter Martyr Vermigli’s thought is complex. When examined in terms of its structures of being and causality, Vermigli’s theology simultaneously inhabits two different metaphysical frameworks, one based on ontological participation and the other on the univocity of being. If Vermigli is representative of the Reformation more broadly – an argument which is made based on recent developments in Calvin and Luther scholarship – then this finding is significant for the hermeneutics of the Protestant reformation in two ways. First, it nuances the Reformation’s role in the genesis of modernity, vis-à-vis certain commentators’ suggestion of a causal link between Reformation thought and modernity, while predicating the latter on a univocal ontology. Secondly, the history and development of Protestantism may be better understood by considering possible long-term effects of the metaphysical complexity at the heart of Reformation thought.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta dissertação busca investigar a existência de uma Teologia Reformada brasileira no âmbito da eclesiologia e da relação com a cultura, trabalhando com a Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil como base de dados para tal investigação. Na primeira parte, pesquisa-se como se formou o reformador João Calvino e que relação a sua formação humanista teve com os ensinos que desenvolveu, bem como tais ensinos poderiam ser aplicados à Teologia Reformada brasileira, escolhendo-se a graça comum para entender a relação com a cultura e buscando-se compreender a abrangência de sua eclesiologia. Na segunda parte, calvinismo, puritanismo e neopuritanismo são analisados sob a perspectiva de compreenderem-se possíveis rupturas ou continuidades. Tais situações serão verificadas na influência cultural do silogismo prático dos calvinistas e da relação de Calvino e dos puritanos com a ciência. A terceira parte apresenta Richard Shaull como contraponto ao modo de ser reformado designado como neopuritano, aplicado à boa parte dos reformados brasileiros da IPB, na medida em que tenta construir uma Teologia Reformada da revolução, que seus seguidores, possivelmente seu maior legado, transformariam em Teologia da Libertação. Ele será comparado em sua visão eclesiológica com Ashbel Green Simonton, pioneiro da IPB no Brasil. Por fim, à guisa de conclusão, a quarta e última parte estudará a construção da atual Teologia Reformada da IPB, sua possível relação com o fundamentalismo, a partir dos puritanos ou não, e acima de tudo o grande receio quanto a sua brasilidade, buscando pistas para responder que tipo de eclesiologia afinal tem produzido a Teologia Reformada da IPB. / This dissertation seeks to investigate the existence of a Brazilian Reformed Theology in the area of ecclesiology and its relation to culture by using the Presbyterian Church of Brazil as the object of investigation. The first part investigates how the reformer John Calvin was educated and how his humanism related to the teaching he developed, as also its possible application to Brazilian Reformed Theology, choosing common Grace to understand this relation to culture in seeking to understand how wide was its influence in his ecclesiology. In the second part, Calvinism, Puritanism and Neopuritanism are analyzed toward possible divisions or continuity. Such situations will be studied as a possible cultural influence of the practical rationalization of the Calvinists and of the relation of Calvin and the puritans with science. The third part presents Richard Shaull as a contradiction to the style of being reformed neopuritans, applical to a good part of the Brazilian reformed of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, to the extent that he attempted to construct a Reformed Theology of Revolution that his followers, perhaps his major contribution, could transform into a Theology of Liberation. His ecclesiastical vision will be compared to that of Ashbel Green Simonton, pioneer of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. The fourth and final part will study the construction of Reformed Theology in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil today, its possible relation to fundamentalism, beginning or not with the puritans, above all a real fear as to its Brazilianity, seeking ways to respond to the kind of ecclesiology the Reformed Theology of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil has produced.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:48:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone Espin de Oliveira Lucena.pdf: 3085002 bytes, checksum: 762d22e7f9825f36a1ed2652d35a1878 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-11 / Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie / The present work is part of a much wider project, which theme is the relation between ethny and religion in Brazil. The so called Christian Reformed Church in Brazil, object of this study, is mostly composed by Hungarians and shows to be the holder of a religious and socio-cultural preservation of the Hungarians reformed ones. The Hungarians who came to Brazil, were from some dismembered territories, as a consequence of the center-European-politic transformation, the economy desorganization and the revolutions, which were not in favor of the Hungarians in that area. We can obseve that this immigration, which used to be temporary, became definitive. When we take into consideration the importance of the Reformed Christian Church in Brazil and the high number if these immigrants, we can understand that it changes to a universal ethnicized religion, in other words, it uses religion to preserve their culture, their background. The religious elements start to compose the ethnic identity of the group. After 75 years of being organized, the Reformed Christian Church in Brazil faces, for many reasons, problems to keep its original characteristics. / A presente dissertação é parte de um projeto de maior abrangência, cujo tema é a relação entre Etnia e Religião no Brasil. A chamada Igreja Cristã Reformada do Brasil, objeto deste estudo, é composta na sua maioria por húngaros, e demonstra ser detentora da preservação religiosa e sócio-cultural dos reformados húngaros. Os húngaros emigrados para o Brasil provinham de territórios desmembrados, sendo a transformação política centro-européia, a desorganização da economia e as revoluções, desfavoráveis aos húngaros daqueles territórios, fatores estes que motivaram a emigração. Observamos que a imigração antes provisória, torna-se definitiva. Considerando a importância da Igreja Cristã Reformada do Brasil na aglutinação desses imigrantes, entendemos que ela se transforma numa religião universal etnicizada, isto é, utiliza a religião para manter a cultura, os elementos religiosos passam a compor o discurso da identidade étnica do grupo. Com 75 anos de organização, a Igreja Cristã Reformada do Brasil enfrenta, por diversos motivos, dificuldade em manter suas características de origem.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:48:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Antonio Lima.pdf: 9528334 bytes, checksum: 56aba09c075b0933555ebcb16dcb7977 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-30 / Approaches the movement called New Calvinism which was established by the North American media as one of the 10 ideas changing the world. Analyses the birth of the movement and its appearance in important North American media outlets such as Time Magazine and New York Times. Relates the main theological and practical points of the movement as well the authors which are most associated with New Calvinism and the main spheres of influence of the movement. Compares New Calvinism with Traditional Calvinism, emphasizing the continuity and the discrepancies the most recent movement with its predecessor. Establish the real backdrop of the movement as well as its main appeals to the modern day and age. Evaluates the psychological and social aspects of the movement and notes the small influence it has on society and culture and seeks to point out the potential that New Calvinism has to dialogue with the modern age. Supplies theological material for complementation in light of Kuyper's ideas. Concludes that New Calvinism has not yet truly influenced the world in a lasting way, but it surely points a possible way to do so. / Aborda o movimento chamado de Novo Calvinismo que foi estabelecido pela mídia norte-americana como uma das dez idéias que estão mudando o mundo. Analisa o surgimento do movimento e seu destaque concedido por importantes mídias norte-americanas como Time Magazine e New York Times. Relata os principais pontos teológico-práticos do movimento e de seus autores representativos, bem como as principais esferas de atuação do mesmo. Compara o movimento denominado Novo Calvinismo com o Calvinismo tradicional, enfatizando a continuidade e as discrepâncias do mesmo em relação ao seu antecessor. Estabelece o verdadeiro pano de fundo do movimento, bem como seu principal apelo à época atual. Avalia os aspectos psico-sociais do movimento, constata a fraca influência sócio-cultural dele e busca estabelecer os potenciais do Novo Calvinismo para dialogar com a época atual. Fornece subsídios para uma complementação teológica do movimento à luz do Kuyperianismo. Conclui que o Novo Calvinismo ainda não é uma influência real e duradoura para o mundo, mas aponta os caminhos para como poderia ser.

Reformed Epistemology is an influential view in contemporary philosophy of religion, according to which theistic beliefs that are the product of our native, non-inferential cognitive faculties often constitute knowledge if God exists. My aim in this thesis is to ascertain whether Reformed Epistemology is viable in light of contemporary scientific explanations of the mechanisms of religious belief- formation, especially the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR). I argue for a qualified “yes.” To begin with, I attempt to carefully reconstruct and scrutinise some currently popular “debunking arguments” from CSR’s findings, which aim to show that non-inferential religious beliefs are not knowledge, even if true, given the causal origins that CSR ascribes to them. I try to show that in various ways these arguments fail. Subsequently, I attempt to find a better such argument. The strongest debunking argument, I contend, is one that focuses upon the diverse and mutually inconsistent outputs of the religious belief-producing mechanisms described by CSR. However, I go on to argue that even supposing that this argument succeeds in showing that religious beliefs that are partly the product of contingent cultural influences are not knowledge even if true, there remains a body of what I term “core propositions”—propositions concerning the existence of some kind of personal, supernatural creator and moral lawgiver, in which humans are naturally disposed to believe regardless of their particular cultural setting— that can be known if God exists. Finally, I try to show that merely having this core supernaturalistic knowledge would provide someone with the cognitive contact with God that is sufficient for having a personal relationship with God (if God exists), even if only de re relationship. I argue, moreover, that God would have positively good reasons for creating a world in which human beliefs about life’s most important matters, including religious matters, are significantly dependent upon testimony and hence subject to the ebbs and flows of cultural tides.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This thesis investigated the factors contributing to the tense relationship between the congregations of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in Piketberg during 1903-1972. It investigated the reasons why two congregations of colour in a small town as Piketberg were established. The problem that was investigated was a social, historical and religious one of determining which factors contributed to such tension. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The relationship between church and state in the history of the Kingdom of Lesotho is an important yet neglected study. This thesis explores how this relationship has played itself out with particular interest in contributions made by Catholic and Reformed traditions. These particular approaches to Church and State relations are of particular interest because of the closeness of both churches to the state in Lesotho during different eras and how they influenced the politics and shaped the history of Lesotho as a country. Sesotho culture and tradition versus western tradition and Christianity also comes under the microscope as investigation into the effects of Christianity and Culture. To accomplish the aims of the thesis, viz. a survey of the history of church and state from the time of King Moshoeshoe until the newest situation of an emerging democracy under the monarchy, with conclusions about the road into the future, a literature survey of Lesotho’s history from 1833-2007 has been used. The thesis also places the history of the church in Lesotho within the “mainstream history” of Lesotho as a country. A comparison of traditional approaches to church and state relationships from leading Catholic and Reformed theologians and an assessment of how they played out in the history of Lesotho if they were applied at all. Furthermore, the thesis suggests a new way in which the Church and State can work together in the future so that mistakes of the past do not hinder either party from actively staying relevant and unhindered by the other in carrying out its duties.

AFRIKAANS : Sewe kerkregtelike beginsels word in Hoofstuk 1 onderskei vir die beoordeling van die kerkreg en kerkregering van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk (=NGSK), Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika (=NGKA), Reformed Church in Africa (=RCA) en die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika (=VGKSA) te wete: i. Christus as hoof van die kerk, ii. Die selfstandigheid van die plaaslike kerk, iii. Die karakter van die kerkverband, iv. Die karakter van die gesag van die meerdere vergadering, v. Die tugreg ten opsigte van ampsdraers, vi. Die appèlreg ten opsigte van besluite van die meerdere vergadering, vii. Die bevoegdheid van die meerdere vergadering met betrekking tot wanbestuur. Hoofstuk 2 handel kursories oor die kerkregtelike ontwikkeling van die Gereformeerde Kerke in Nederland (1816-1944). In dié hoofstuk word die grondslae en uitgangspunte van die Doleansiekerkreg aangeteken. Die Doleansie beoog nie om ’n nuwe kerkreg te ontwikkel nie, maar gryp terug na die sisteem van kerkregering soos vasgestel deur die Nasionale Sinode van Dordrecht (1618-1619). Beide die Doleansiekerkreg (oud kerkrecht) en die nieuwe kerkrecht het die kerkreg en kerkregering van die sendingkerke onmiskenbaar beïnvloed. Die studie is daarom interaksie tussen die insigte van A Kuyper, F C Rutgers, A F de Savornin Lohman, asook H. Bouwman, J van Lonkhuyzen, W A van Es, aan die eenkant en H G Kleyn, H H Kuyper, M Bouwman en Joh Jansen aan die anderkant. Die ekklesiologiese onderbou in die regering van die kerk asook die verskillende kerkregeringstelsels kom ook in die hoofstuk onder bespreking. Hoofstuk 3 dek kursories die kerkreg en kerkregering van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) in soverre dit betrekking het op die kerkreg en kerkregering van die sendingkerke. Die NGK het aanvanklik die kerkregtelike beginsels, soos veronderstel word in die Algemeen Reglement voor het bestuur der Nederlandsche Hervormde Kerk in het Koningrijk (1816) , onderskryf en het by die daarstelling van die sendingkerke beide die teologiese insigte van Voetius met betrekking tot die sending in onder andere sy Politica Ecclesiastica asook Doleansiekerkregbeginsels geïgnoreer. In Hoofstukke 4 tot 7 word die kerkreg en kerkregering van die NGSK, NGKA, RCA asook die VGKSA gedek. Die onderskeie sendingkerke het sedert die stigtingsjare tot en met 1978, met die daarstelling van die eerste kerkorde, gepoog om hul kerkreg en kerkorde op Doleansiekerkregbeginsels te skoei. Van meet af is klem gelê op die selfstandigheid van die plaaslike gemeente, die konfederatiewe karakter van die kerkverband asook die tugreg van die meerdere vergadering. Gedurende die negentigerjare tot op hede het die meerdere vergaderinge van die NGKA, NGSK en selfs latere VGKSA hul gaandeweg die gesag toegeëien om sonder inspraak van die mindere vergadering ingrypende besluite met betrekking tot kerkeenwording, eiendomsreg en selfs die belydenisgrondslag te maak. In Hoofstuk 8 word die kerkregtelike beginsels wat uit beide die Doleansiekerkregbeginsels en die nieuwe kerkrecht in die voorafgaande hoofstukke onderskei was, in ’n kerkregtelike raamwerk gesinkroniseer. ’n Behoefte aan kerkordelike reëlings dat die meerdere vergaderinge in die geval van wanbestuur, onmag, dwaalleer of skeurmakery oor die reg beskik om in die bestuur van plaaslike gemeentes in te gryp en hul besluite in mindere vergaderinge te implementeer, word aan die einde van die dissertasie aangedui. ENGLISH : Chapter 1 entails the research methodology and theoretical framework of this dissertation. One can discern seven church polity principles in this chapter to adjudicate the church polity and church governance of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church, (=DRMC), Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (=DRCA), Reformed Church in Africa (==RCA) and the United Reformed Church in Southern Africa (=URCSA): i. Christ as head of the church, ii. The autonomy of the local church, iii. The character of the denominational ties, iv. The character of the power of the major assemblies, v. The power to discipline church officials, vi. The appeal right regarding decisions of the major assemblies, vii. The capability of the major assemblies regarding misconduct. Chapter 2 deals cursorily with the church polity development of the Dutch Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (1816-1944). The foundational grounds and main notions on Doleansie Church polity are being drawn in this chapter. The Doleansie did not try to develop a new church polity system, but is rather a regression to a system of church polity as enacted by the National Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619). Both the Doleansie church polity (oud kerkrecht) and the nieuwe kerkrecht impacted the church polity and the church governance of the mission churches. The study is therefore a interaction between the notions of A Kuyper, F C Rutgers, A F de Savornin Lohman, and H Bouwman, J van Lonkhuyzen, W A van Es, on the one side and H G Kleyn, H H Kuyper, M Bouwman and Joh Jansen on the other side. The ecclesiological basis of the governance of the church as well as the different church polity system is also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 3 focuses cursorily on the church polity and church governance of the Dutch Reformed Church, (DRC) in so far it has implications on the church polity and church governance of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church, (DRMC). At the outset the DRC subscribed to the church polity principles as presumed in the Algemeen Reglement voor het bestuur der Nederlandsche Hervormde Kerk in het Koningrijk (1816) and ignored at the inception of the mission churches the theological notions of Voetius about mission in his Politica Ecclesiastica as well as Doleansie church polity principles. The overriding jurisdiction resided in the mission commission of the DRC. In Chapters 4 to 7 an attempt is made to investigate the church polity and church governance of the DRMC, DRCA, RCA and the URCSA. Since their inception the mission churches until 1978 with the acceptance of the first church order tried to base their church polity and church order on Doleansie church polity principles. From the outset the mission churches placed emphasis on the autonomy of the local churches, the confederative character of the denomination and the disciplinary power of the major assemblies. During the nineties up to date the major assemblies gradually usurped power to make decisions on church unification, property rights and even the confessional basis of the church without giving the minor assemblies the opportunity to participate in the decision making. The church polity principles, discerned out of the Doleansie Church polity and the nieuwe kerkrecht in the preceding chapters, are synchronized in Chapter 8 in a church polity framework. A need for church order regulations that give the major assemblies in case of maladministration, impuissance, heresy or schism the right to intervene in the governance of the local congregation and to implement their decisions in minor assemblies are presented at the end of this dissertation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

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.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Church History))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Church History and Church Polity / unrestricted