Christian life today has been influenced by countless influences from the external world. Although these external factors have a significant bearing on the church of Christ, the greatest challenge however manifests itself from within the latter. Where the core doctrine of the church constitutes issues of theological and Christian importance, they seem to slowly dissipate and the practices of the secular world seem to take ownership of the church of Christ. The Reformed church has within its confines the three marks of the church whose sole purpose is to ensure that the church of God remains and continues to be the true church of Christ. These Three Marks are: (a) the proclamation of the Word; (b) the correct administration of the sacraments, and (c) the correct exercise of discipline. Among the three marks, discipline acts as a catalyst that enables the survival and proper continuance of the other two marks and thus the true church of Christ. These Three Marks prescribe the basic fundamentals of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) as a Reformed Church and thereby serve as a primary tool for this church. Discipline, therefore, forms an intrinsic part of this church. However, as a controlling mechanism, its influence and/or instillation appears to be neglected. This quagmire may very well be attested to the overemphasis of democracy (of/or relating to majority rule doctrine) in preference to theocracy (God as the ultimate authority in our lives), where even matters of high religious stature are being compacted to human decision-making processes. These influences needless to say are key in the regression and/or progression of Christian life and life in general. However, their inclusion within the Christian doctrine should not be cumbersome to the latter. The Christian way of life and doctrines should be holistically adhered to without fear or favour. The main purpose behind the formation of these marks by the Reformed church was to sustain the true church of Christ and the only way to ensure this sustainability, was to be consistent in exercising these marks. The church therefore has an obligation towards God and its members to be consistent in carrying out its mandate from God through the scriptures as the creator and father of the church and the world at large. The premonition that forms the basis of this research is that within the three prevalent marks of the church, there appears to be certain discrepancies in that they are not all carried out in unison and are not consistent with each other. With the over-emphasis of one above the other, the church of God could be heading towards vanity, and all its efforts could be fruitless. It is also my conviction that the starting point for rolling out these three marks lie with the leadership of the church by the General Synod, Regional Synods, Presbyteries, Ministers and their church councils. If found that any of these key adherents are not protagonists of these marks, then they would have neglected their God-entrusted responsibilities and their accountability towards the entire community of believers. It is in this regard that this research seeks to implement a litmus test of where the URCSA stands in terms of executing its mandate with relation to the three marks of the church viz; proclaiming the word, administering the sacraments and more importantly, exercising exercising discipline as these marks form the sinew that binds the entire church together. The church of Christ as an entity is engaged in service, which is not to be haphazard in nature, but must be structured. This service begins with serving God, serving one another and finally serving the world at large. This will ensure that the church of God maintains its holiness. For this holiness to be ensured, the church of God has to be open to discernment and allow God take charge of His church. Such uncertainties can be verified only by looking into discipline as the sinew that brings these three marks together. The reason for this approach is that, the first two marks are prescriptive with more parameters than discipline has, whereas discipline can be easily influenced. It is to the benefit of this task that much attention be given to discipline as the last mark of the three, as it is prone to abuse, because it relies mainly on human behaviour, attitude and/or approach to the Christian life. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to outline the possible disintegration of discipline as the sinew that binds the three marks of the Reformed Church in general and URCSA in particular within the Southern Synod. important to note that discipline in the lower strata of the church is carried out religiously without question. The notion that prompted this topic is that contrarily, those who occupy the highest echelons of the church (leadership in the church, ministers and evangelists) do not appear to be enjoying the same reception regarding discipline. The challenge that faces the URCSA is how to maintain equal treatment of the three marks of the true church in a democratic society in the light of the service of God, one another and the world. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th.(Systematic Theology)

La thèse porte sur la chronique, très peu étudiée, du frère dominicain Francesco Pipino (années 1270-après 1328) consignée dans un manuscrit unique conservé à la Biblioteca Estense Universitaria de Modène (ms. lat. 465). Cette longue chronique (cent quatre-vingt-un folios auxquels s’ajoutent un sommaire en six folios) est structurée en trente-et-un livres qui, à trois exceptions près, sont intitulés d’après le nom d’un empereur, de Charlemagne à Albert de Habsbourg. Le premier volume fournit une analyse en trois parties des derniers livres de la chronique (XXVII à XXXI) qui concernent les années 1250-1320 environ. Le second volume de la thèse regroupe les sources, la bibliographie et les annexes (dont une édition et une traduction des derniers livres de la chronique).La première partie de la thèse fait le point sur la vie et l’œuvre de Francesco Pipino, dont la présence est particulièrement attestée à Bologne et Padoue, où il remplit notamment les fonctions d’archiviste, de vice-prieur et de prieur conventuels. L’itinérance de Francesco Pipino l’a également mené en Orient, une première fois pour un pèlerinage en Terre sainte (1320) et très probablement une seconde fois dans le cadre de la Société des frères pérégrinants.La deuxième partie de la thèse interroge les opérations intellectuelles propres à l’historien en portant le regard sur les sources utilisées et leur traitement. Francesco Pipino peut reprendre ses sources historiographiques verbatim, il peut aussi les résumer. Il recourt également à des sources diplomatiques : bulles et lettres peuvent constituer un chapitre entier ou être remployé sous forme d’extraits. D’autres types de sources sont mobilisées : sources épigraphiques, archéologiques et orales. Francesco Pipino est rarement servile face à ses sources, qu’il critique.La chronique porte également la marque de l’ordre des frères prêcheurs, dans ses choix hagiographiques, par l’exemplarité du récit ou encore par l’insertion de quelques figures dominicaines dans le temps de l’histoire.La troisième partie livre une triple lecture politique de la chronique, qui s’inscrit dans le contexte de la lutte entre le Sacerdoce et l’Empire. La structuration impériale de la chronique donne la précellence aux empereurs. En accordant la qualité d’empereur au roi des Romains, Francesco Pipino minore le rôle du couronnement impérial et, partant, des prétentions théocratiques. Ses positions politiques sont, de manière générale, pro-impériales. Au sein de chaque livre, après un premier ensemble narratif consacré à l’empereur, un deuxième ensemble traite des papes ayant officié sous l’empereur qui donne son nom au livre. Francesco Pipino reste mesuré dans son appréciation des différents pontificats, bien qu’il condamne ici encore les prétentions théocratiques de la papauté. Dans un troisième temps, chaque livre se clôt par les événements survenus dans les cités italiennes, dans les royaumes européens et en Orient. L’analyse prend ici appui sur le cas de la cité de Bologne à la fin du XIIIe siècle, dont les divisions sont dénoncées. / The focus of this doctoral dissertation is a chronicle by Dominican friar Francesco Pipino (1270 CE – after 1328 CE), which has been little studied to date and is recorded in a unique manuscript kept at the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria in Modena, Italy (ms. Lat. 465.) This long chronicle (one hundred eighty-one folios, with an added six-folio table of contents) is organized in thirty-one books, which, with three exceptions, are titled after the name of an Emperor, from Charles The Great to Albert I von Habsburg. The first volume of this dissertation offers an analysis in three parts of the last books in the chronicle (volumes XXVII to XXXI), which focus on the years around 1250-1320. The second volume gathers the sources, bibliography and appendices including an edition and translation of the last books of the chronicle. The first part of the dissertation reviews the life and work of Francesco Pipino, whose presence is most specifically attested in Bologna and Padova, where he notably performed the duties of a monastic archivist, vice-prior, and prior. The peripatetic wanderings of Francesco Pipino also led him to the Middle-East; a first time for a pilgrimage in the Holy Land (1320) and very likely a second time within the framework of the Societas Fratres Peregrinantes. The second part of the dissertation interrogates the intellectual operations specific to historians by looking at the sources used in the research and their handling. Francesco Pipino might reprise his historiographical sources verbatim, or he might sum them up. He might also use diplomatic sources: Papal bulls and letters can constitute a whole chapter or be reused as excerpts. Other types of sources are enlisted: epigraphic, archeological or rural sources. Francesco Pipino was rarely subservient to his sources, which he reviewed critically. The chronicle also bears the mark of the Order of Preaching Friars, with its hagiographical choices, with the exemplary nature of the narrative, or with the insertion of a few Dominican figures inside historical time. The third part delivers a three-pronged political reading of the chronicle, which is inscribed within the contexts of the struggle between the clergy and the Holy Roman Empire. The imperial structuring of the chronicle gives the emperors precellence. By lending the quality of Emperor on the king of Romans, Francesco Pipino downplays the role of the imperial coronation and from there, theocratic contentions as well. His political stance is generally supportive of the Empire. Within each book, after a first narrative part devoted to the emperor, a second one deals with the Popes who have officiated under the emperor whose name is given to the book. Francesco Pipino remains moderate in his appraisal of the various pontificates, even though he once again condemns the theocratic pretenses of the Papacy. In a third and final stage, each book closes with events that have happened in Italian cities, in European kingdoms, and in the Middle-East. Here, the analysis is based on a case study of the city of Bologna at the end of the 13th Century, and on the denunciation of its divisions.

Christian life today has been influenced by countless influences from the external world. Although these external factors have a significant bearing on the church of Christ, the greatest challenge however manifests itself from within the latter. Where the core doctrine of the church constitutes issues of theological and Christian importance, they seem to slowly dissipate and the practices of the secular world seem to take ownership of the church of Christ. The Reformed church has within its confines the three marks of the church whose sole purpose is to ensure that the church of God remains and continues to be the true church of Christ. These Three Marks are: (a) the proclamation of the Word; (b) the correct administration of the sacraments, and (c) the correct exercise of discipline. Among the three marks, discipline acts as a catalyst that enables the survival and proper continuance of the other two marks and thus the true church of Christ. These Three Marks prescribe the basic fundamentals of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) as a Reformed Church and thereby serve as a primary tool for this church. Discipline, therefore, forms an intrinsic part of this church. However, as a controlling mechanism, its influence and/or instillation appears to be neglected. This quagmire may very well be attested to the overemphasis of democracy (of/or relating to majority rule doctrine) in preference to theocracy (God as the ultimate authority in our lives), where even matters of high religious stature are being compacted to human decision-making processes. These influences needless to say are key in the regression and/or progression of Christian life and life in general. However, their inclusion within the Christian doctrine should not be cumbersome to the latter. The Christian way of life and doctrines should be holistically adhered to without fear or favour. The main purpose behind the formation of these marks by the Reformed church was to sustain the true church of Christ and the only way to ensure this sustainability, was to be consistent in exercising these marks. The church therefore has an obligation towards God and its members to be consistent in carrying out its mandate from God through the scriptures as the creator and father of the church and the world at large. The premonition that forms the basis of this research is that within the three prevalent marks of the church, there appears to be certain discrepancies in that they are not all carried out in unison and are not consistent with each other. With the over-emphasis of one above the other, the church of God could be heading towards vanity, and all its efforts could be fruitless. It is also my conviction that the starting point for rolling out these three marks lie with the leadership of the church by the General Synod, Regional Synods, Presbyteries, Ministers and their church councils. If found that any of these key adherents are not protagonists of these marks, then they would have neglected their God-entrusted responsibilities and their accountability towards the entire community of believers. It is in this regard that this research seeks to implement a litmus test of where the URCSA stands in terms of executing its mandate with relation to the three marks of the church viz; proclaiming the word, administering the sacraments and more importantly, exercising exercising discipline as these marks form the sinew that binds the entire church together. The church of Christ as an entity is engaged in service, which is not to be haphazard in nature, but must be structured. This service begins with serving God, serving one another and finally serving the world at large. This will ensure that the church of God maintains its holiness. For this holiness to be ensured, the church of God has to be open to discernment and allow God take charge of His church. Such uncertainties can be verified only by looking into discipline as the sinew that brings these three marks together. The reason for this approach is that, the first two marks are prescriptive with more parameters than discipline has, whereas discipline can be easily influenced. It is to the benefit of this task that much attention be given to discipline as the last mark of the three, as it is prone to abuse, because it relies mainly on human behaviour, attitude and/or approach to the Christian life. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to outline the possible disintegration of discipline as the sinew that binds the three marks of the Reformed Church in general and URCSA in particular within the Southern Synod. important to note that discipline in the lower strata of the church is carried out religiously without question. The notion that prompted this topic is that contrarily, those who occupy the highest echelons of the church (leadership in the church, ministers and evangelists) do not appear to be enjoying the same reception regarding discipline. The challenge that faces the URCSA is how to maintain equal treatment of the three marks of the true church in a democratic society in the light of the service of God, one another and the world. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

This thesis sets out to provide what is perceived as the nature of Islam and background that inform the interpretation of the two novels ofMariama Ba as well as that of selected works by fellow Muslim writer, N awal El-Saadawi. Although the question of gender is carefully addressed, the principal viewpoint is Islamic theocratic rather than purely feminist. This study surveys the struggle of these two women writers to claim public space in a dominant patriarchal society. It examines the socio-political conditions affecting women in the Arab peninsula before the rise of Islam, also called Jahiliyyah, from Islam's inception (622 AD). It notes that the principle of equality of all the believers was established by the injunction in the Qur'an, and endorsed by Muhammad, the Prophet, after whose death, manipulation of the sacred texts, especially of the Hadiths, took place. This led to opposition to gender equality; while fitna (civil war) in Medina, led the Prophet to re-institute the hijablveil, in order to protect women from being sexually harassed. The significance of the hijab is then explored, and Fatima Mernissi's text Women and Islam (1987; 1992) is used as seminal to the argument that the hijab was not instituted to put a barrier between men and women. The question of how the Islamic tradition succeeded in transforming the Muslim woman into a submissive, marginal creature, one who once buried herself behind a veil, is considered in the light of feminist theory and practice in both the Third and Arab worlds as well as in terms of the postcolonial notion of 'writing back'. The works of Ba and El-Saadawi, chosen for discussion in this thesis, examine these common issues, and underscore the entitlement of women to equality. The proposition, that Muslim women talk/write back, is epitomized in Ramatoulaye's forceful wordsuttered after thirty years of silence and harassment: 'This time I shall speak out' (So Long a Letter, 1980; 1989: 58). This study also shows that both Ba and El-Saadawi (by employing the journalisme-verite approach) move beyond gender and cultural issues to explore the universal nature of man and woman, and that in accordance with Muslim theocracy, these writers ultimately advocate the notion of redemption through humanity, coincidentally expressed in the Wolofproverb: 'Man, man is his own remedy!' (Scarlet Song, 1981; 1994: 165). Furthermore, within the context of these concerns, a few speculative remarks on the likely future ofMuslim women in the Arab and African world are made, arguing that had Ba's life not been cut short so tragically, it is reasonable to suppose that she would, like ElSaadawi, have continued to advocate a holistic, healthy Muslim society, in which the humane treatment of women would prevail. Finally, in terms of the title Beyond the veil: Muslim women write back, an attempt has been made to show how both Ba and El-Saadawi strive by 'writing back' to move 'beyond' the veil, speaking out on behalf of fellow Muslim women in Africa. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 1999. / gm2014 / English / unrestricted

This thesis is concerned with the world of The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and The Testaments (2019), works of Margaret Atwood. The dystopian theocratic totalitarian regime featured in these novels invites a socio-historical and anthropological analysis and interpretation from the perspective of the subjugated female characters. The theoretical part, introduced by an overview of Atwood's work, provides the reader with crucial information regarding the historical parallels which inspired the narrative, as well as a delimitation of relevant anthropological concepts, such as liminality or status reversal. Subsequently, using both the knowledge gathered in the theoretical and in Atwood's works, the rise of the fundamentalist cult of the Sons of Jacob and their project, the Republic of Gilead, is explained, and their ideology is uncovered in the first section of the practical part. Second part of the interpretation focuses on the position of women within the system that subjugates and oppresses them. The analysis is performed by the means of comparing and contrasting the ideal models of the positions of women as designed by the architects of the system with the actual application on the example of selected characters. The ultimate aims of this thesis are to prove the innate sexism and misogyny of the...

博士(神学) / Doctor of Theology / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

Les intellectuels iraniens ont toujours été un groupe social important au sein de la société civile iranienne. Depuis 1990, ce champ d’intellectuels aux vois discordantes, s’élève face à la tentative d’islamisation de la société enclenchée par le pouvoir politique. Constitué en différents groupes, ces penseurs se penchent sur la potentialité d’instaurer Etat-Nation démocratique iranien. Cette recherche rend compte des différentes mouvances qui traversent la sphère intellectuelle iranienne actuelle et prend le parti de réfléchir à quatre groupes importants : les intellectuels "religieux", le cercle des philosophes, les historiens et enfin les sociologues politiques. Tous reconnaissent le risque d’une politisation du religieux et conjointement d’une certaine sacralisation du politique. Leurs réflexions construites autour d’un axe commun questionnant les notions «Etat » et « religion » révèlent un profond souci de changement. A travers cette étude qui met en parallèle les différents discours et les arguments de chacun, ce projet aborde les rapports qu’entretiennent ces intellectuels avec d’autres groupes de la société civile tels les femmes ou les étudiants. L’ambition de cette thèse est d’offrir un panorama théorique des interrogations actuelles en réfléchissant aux stratégies de ces intellectuels. / The Iranian intellectual has been always an important part of civil society. Since 1990, this intellectual field with conflicting voices, rising against islamization of society which has been enforced by political power. This intellectual stream is constituted of different groups bend over study of potentiality of establishment of democratic Iranian Nation-State. This study examines various spheres which crossing the actual Iranian intellectual domain and deliberates over four important categories: religious intellectual, philosophical circle, historians and political sociologists. All these thinkers conjointly consider the risk of politization of religion and the sacralization of politics. Their reflections are constructed around a common axe of two notions “State” and “religion”, which reveal the crucial question of change in political system. Through this approach which puts in a parallel direction different discourses and arguments beside each other, this study looks into the relations between the intellectual field and the other units of civil society. The ambition of this research is offering a theoretical panorama on present problematic of intellectual society with probing their strategies.

This dissertation presents a contribution to measure the church order and ecclesiastical law in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Church of Africa against the Presbyterial-synodal understanding of church government. The latter forms the canonical outline of Biblical Reformative Theology as an indication of the theology currently practiced in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Church of Africa. At the outset a historical overview is given on the origin and development of the Presbyterial-synodal church government that was mainly shaped by Calvin in Geneva and later elaborated upon in Paris, and then further developed in the Netherlands. Reference is also made to the Algemeen Reglement of 1816, the 1951 church order of the Nederlandse Hervormde Church, as well as the 1951 church order of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Church of Africa. A description is given of what is understood by Biblical Reformative Theology as a revelation theology, which objectively assesses man as a sinner redeemed by grace through Jesus Christ. In this regard the church is willed by God and exists in eschatological expectation when Jesus will be everything in everyone. An exposition of Presbyterial-synodal church government calls attention to the church's existence from the beginning of time, founded by God, and it is therefore of a covenantal nature. Offices are seen as gifts from God to mankind to bring those who had been saved by Jesus Christ to faith in Him. Office bearers gather together in an assembly of offices to govern the church according to the Word of God. The church is a confessing church who confesses its faith with the church of all ages, as summarized in the ecumenical creeds and the three formularies of unity. Reference is also made here to the sacraments, ceremonies, church festivals and days of remembrance. The chapter concludes with a reference to church discipline as well as the relationship between church and state. Finally the church order and ecclesiastical law in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Church of Africa is measured against the previous definition of the Presbyterial-synodal understanding of church government. / Thesis (PhD (Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted

L’État peul du Macina a été fondé en 1818 par le pasteur Sékou Amadou (m. 1845), qui a entretenu des relations épistolaires avec la prestigieuse famille kunta de Tombouctou. Les informations rapportées de la tradition orale considèrent le rapport entre ces deux parties comme conflictuel. Selon cette dernière, les Kunta auraient été agitateurs qui tentaient de soulever les Touaregs contre les souverains peuls du Macina. Or, d’après leur diffèrent échanges épistolaires, il nous semble que leurs relations ont connu deux périodes distinctes La nature de leur rapport varie selon les époques : celle qui s’étend de la prise du pouvoir par Sékou Amadou jusqu’en 1847, puis celle qui s’ouvre avec Aḥmad al-Bakkāy al-Kuntī, notamment à partir de 1851/2, jusqu’à la victoire d’al-Ḥāğğ cUmar Tall sur le dernier émir, Amadou Amadou, en 1862.L’un des chefs kunta de la première période fut le cheikh al-Muḫtār aṣ-Ṣaġīr (m. 1847). Il a accompagné la dynastie peule du Macina, entretenu les bons rapports que ses prédécesseurs avaient noués avec les Peuls et entrepris des bons offices entre ces derniers et les Touaregs de Tombouctou. Cependant, au cours de la médiation du cheikh kunta entre les Peuls et les Touaregs, quelques difficultés sont survenues, des divergences d’avis et d’interprétation se sont révélées sans pour autant avoir des conséquences notoires sur leurs rapports. Ses correspondances avec les souverains peuls du Macina ont permis de traiter les sujets brûlants de son époque, dont certains sont toujours d’actualités au Mali.Notre travail se propose d’éditer, de faire le commentaire, de traiter les quelques épîtres manuscrites que ces hommes, religieux et politiques, ont échangées, de montrer à quel point les deux traditions, orale et écrite, convergent ou divergent, et de faire une étude historique de la question touarègue au Mali, qui devient un conflit cyclique ! / The Fulani state of Macina was founded in 1818 the shepherd Sékou Amadou (1845), who had epistolary relations with the Kunta family of Timbuktu. The reported information from the oral tradition considers the relationship between these two parties as conflictual. According to the latter, the Kunta were agitators attempting to rise up the Tuaregs against the Fulani rulers of Macina. Now, according to their different epistolary exchanges, it seemed to us that this relation had known two distinct periods the nature of which varies, according to that which extends from the rise to power of Sekou Amadou until 1847, or that which opens with Aḥmad al-Bakkāy al-Kuntī, especially from 1851/2 until the victory of al-Ḥāğğ cUmar Tall on the last emir, Amadou Amadou, in 1862.One of the Kunta chiefs of the first period was Sheikh al-Muḫtār al-ṣaġīr (1847). He accompanied the Fulani dynasty of Macina, maintained the good relationship that his predecessors had forged with the Fulani and undertook good offices between them and the Touaregs of Timbuktu. However, during the mediation of Sheikh Kunta between the Fulani and the Tuaregs, some difficulties arose, differences of opinion and interpretation without having noticeable consequences on their mutual relations. His correspondences with the Fulani rulers of Macina made it possible to treat the burning topics of his time, some of whichare still relevant in Mali.Our work proposes to publish, to comment, to treat the few handwritten epistles that these men, religious and political, have exchanged, to demonstrate to what extent the two traditions, oral and written, converge or diverge, and to make a historical study of the Tuareg question in Mali, which has become a recurrent conflict.