Thesis (B. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1968. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-64).

This dissertation is an inquiry into the relationship between political theology and the philosophical effort to establish a secular and autonomous order in which individuals govern themselves through universal laws. I argue that this project fails and explore how political theologies arise in its wake. In chapter 1, I argue that Kant's philosophy stages a 'trial of reason' to establish the authority and autonomy of reason. To succeed, Kant must give an account of judgement as the reconciliation the universal and the individual. However, the trial of reason suffers two fates: Either legal procedure is flouted the new order is established through a violent act, or the verdict is deferred, and reason's laws are legitimised by referring to an ideal of autonomy that never arises. In both cases, something is sacrificed to support rational order. In chapter 2, I show how F.W.J. Schelling responds to an autonomous and secular order by developing a political theology in which only the Church holds the key to a non-violent judgement. I then argue, in chapter 3, that Carl Schmitt develops his political theology in response to a liberal formalism which hides the sacrifices that sustain political and rational order. Here political theology springs out of the realisation that political and rational judgements always demand a sacrifice. In chapter 4, I discuss the work of Giorgio Agamben, who seeks to suspend political and rational judgement altogether. Both the political and the religious is characterised by the same 'sacred' logic which sustains an omnipotent, but unaccountable power of judgement. Finally, in chapter 5, I discuss the work of G.W.F. Hegel to show how the trial of reason depends on two conflicting accounts of secularisation. I end with raising some critical questions about the trial, and the political theologies that arise in its wake.

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [54]-58).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-226).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-149).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 2003. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 152-155).

This critical English translation of the article on the jinn from the 14th-century zoological work, Ḥayāt al-Ḥayawān al-Kubrā written by the Egyptian al-Damīrī is presented with two primary objectives in mind. The first is to investigate al-Damīrīs sources and scholarship in the context of the Mamlūk period--an era which yielded a profusion of encyclopaedic works covering a wide range of topics. The second goal of this translation and analysis is to reflect on the religious and social significance of the jinn in medieval Islam. An appendix giving biographical data on persons mentioned by al-Damīrī is included. There is also a list of place names and a glossary.

In recent years there has been much debate amongst evangelical Christians involved in pastoral counselling and care surrounding attempts to produce a biblical model of counselling. Related to this debate has been the question of whether the psychological sciences have a place in Christian counselling or not. Currently one of the most prominent evangelicals involved in this debate is Jay E. Adams, Dean of the Institute of Pastoral Studies and Director of Advanced Studies at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia. Adams has developed what he regards to be a distinctively biblical method of counselling. He calls his method Nouthetic counselling. This term is derived from the Greek verb Noutheteo, to admonish and the related noun, Nouthesia, admonition. Adams has sought to develop a counselling model that is not only comprehensive but one which is based on the Bible alone. For this reason Adams insists that the psychological sciences are not necessary in Christian counselling for in the Bible the counsellor will find all he needs to assist people with problems. To promote the principles of Nouthetic counselling, Adams has written many books and publications and has also established The Christian and Counseling and Education Foundation, which publishes The Journal of Pastoral Practice. As a consequence, Nouthetic counselling has developed into an influential movement in the United States and even in South Africa. Not everyone has accepted the counselling principles espoused by Adams. Nouthetic counselling theory has become the subject of much criticism, not only from the more liberal Christian counsellors, but also from those who would share Adams' commitment to the authority of the Bible. The main areas of criticism are, Adams' rejection of the psychological sciences, the dangers of biblicism, his neglect of the psychological aspects of human nature and consequently his simplistic approach to pathology and his confrontational approach to counselling. Adams' rejection of the findings of the psychological sciences and his neglect of the psychological aspects of human nature have resulted in serious limitations in the application of Nouthetic counselling methodology to complex problems. At this point, Adams is out of step with evangelical theology, which, on the basis of the doctrines of General Revelation and Common Grace, recognises the validity of the findings of science. Furthermore, in his attempt to develop a comprehensive, one model approach to counselling, Adams has overlooked the complexity of human nature. Adams' concern for a biblically based counselling model and the stress he lays on the importance of the spiritual dimensions of counselling have been a major contribution to the development of pastoral counselling and care in the evangelical sector of the church. Whilst recognising the need for a biblically based counselling approach, recognition must also be given to the insights of the psychological sciences and the need for a multi-modelled approach to counselling. / Thesis (M.Theol.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1989.

Nicholas of Cusa's (1401-1464, Latin: Cusanus) religious dialogue De pace fidei (1453) presents his unique Christological approach to Islam. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 compelled Cusanus to unfold and elaborate his theological synthesis of religious concordance. To this end the argument in De pace fidei presents a profound dialectical account of the cosmos as actively flowing from, centered in, and returning to the Word and Wisdom of God, Jesus Christ. The dialogue moves within the metaphysical framework of Neoplatonic tradition, from confusion and disunity towards clarity of understanding and thence to affirmation of the inherent relatedness of the world religions through their common participation in the Word of God as emanating into and present in all things. While convergence and substantial unity of the religions is realized at the level of their common participation in the cosmic Word of God, distinctions are nonetheless maintained between the various differing religious and ethical practices of Christians and Muslims, in accord with Cusanus's formulation 'a unity of religion in a variety of rites'. Since De pace fidei proposes a dialectical synthesis of the world's religions, notably of Christianity and Islam, we also consider how this synthesis relates to the Christology of four of Cusanus's other major writings: De concordantia catholica (1433), De docta ignorantia (1440), Cribratio Alkorani (1460-61), and De visione Dei (1453). Hitherto there have been few attempts to examine the relevance of the Christology of De pace fidei to the dialogue's metaphysics of religious unity. Throughout his life Cusanus sought to square the circle, i.e. to reconcile humanity with divinity, the eastern and western churches, council and pope, Christianity and Islam. This study seeks to examine Nicholas of Cusa's conversation with Islam in the light of his constructive Christology and his concomitant conception of the 'concordant' Word of God. / Le dialogue religieux De pace fidei (1453) de Nicolas de Cuse (1401-1464, latin: Cusanus) développe son approche originale et christologique de l'Islam. La perte de Constantinople en 1453 a incité Cusanus à élaborer son synthèse théologique de concordance religieuse. Pour ce faire, De pace fidei est le récit d'un cosmos en relation active avec la Parole et la Sagesse de Dieu, Jésus-Christ, duquel le cosmos provient, sur lequel il est centré, et auquel il revient. Le dialogue se déroule, selon dans la la tradition métaphysique néoplatonicienne, depuis un monde de confusion et de désunion vers la clarté de la compréhension et l'affirmation de la relation intime des religions du monde entre ells grâce à leur participation à la Parole de Dieu présent en toutes choses. Alors que la convergence et l'unité substantive des religions est réalisée au niveau de leur participation commune à la Parole cosmique de Dieu, des distinctions existent néanmoins entre les pratiques religieuses et éthiques des chrétiens et des musulmans, selon l'adage suivant de Cusanus « l'unité de la religion dans la multiplicité de rites.» Puisque De pace fidei propose un synthèse dialectique des religions du monde, notamment entre le Christianisme et l'Islam, on va aussi considérer la façon dont cette synthèse se relie à la christologie élaborée dans quatre autres oeuvres de Cusanus parmi les plus connues: De concordia catholica (1433), De docta ignorantia (1440), Cribratio Alkorani (1460-61), et De visione Dei (1453). À ce jour, peu d'études soulignent l'importance dans De pace fidei, de la christologie pour la comprehension de l'unité religieuse développée dans ce meme écrit. Au cours de sa vie, Cusanus a cherché pour ainsi dire la quadrature du cercle: réconcilier l'humanité et la divinité, l'église orientale et l'église occidentale, consil et le pape, la Christianisme et l'Islam. La présente etude analyse le dialogue de Cusanus avec l'Islam à la lumière de sa christologie constructive et de sa conception concomitant de la Parole de Dieu 'concordant.'

As one of seventeenth century England's premier Reformed theologians, John Owen drew upon his rich sixteenth century inheritance to develop a theology of the Eucharist which addressed the unique challenges of his own generation. The following thesis analyzes Owen's contribution to Reformed Sacramental theology during the era of Reformed Orthodoxy in England. Instead of capitulating to a highly subjective and pragmatic theology of the Supper, Owen went beyond many of his Puritan contemporaries in reasserting its objective efficacy in uniting the believer with the ascended Christ, and in strengthening faith. A careful analysis of Owen's Works shows that he consistently affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Supper and stressed the efficacy of the elements in sealing the Covenant of Grace and uniting believers to Christ in a unique way. The first chapter sets the Eucharistic writings of John Owen in historical context, tracing Owen's development from his student years at Laudian Oxford, through his rise to prominence during the English Interregnum, to his mature ministry as the Pastor of an illegal Congregationalist conventicle in the years following the Act of Uniformity (1662). Whereas previous analyses of Owen's Eucharistic theology have tended to stereotype him as either 'Zwinglian' or 'Calvinist', chapter two presents Owen as the benefactor of a rich and highly nuanced theological inheritance. In this chapter the sixteenth century Eucharistic theology of Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, John Calvin and Peter Martyr Vermigli is outlined as the foundation for a more accurate analysis of Owen's contribution as a Reformed theologian in the next century. The third chapter probes the influence of Peter Ramus on the Puritan theology of the Eucharist, arguing that the anti-Aristotelianism of the Ramist method lends itself to the memorialist theology of the Eucharist which was promoted by many seventeenth century Congregationalists. Finally, chapter four analyzes the development of Owen's mature theology of the Lord's Supper from primary source documents. This chapter shows how Owen made use of his Aristotelian training at Oxford to assert a more objective view of the Sacraments than many of his Congregationalist contemporaries. Two collections of Owen's Eucharistic Sermons that were edited, compiled and published posthumously were transformed by eighteenth century Orthodox non-Conformists into powerful pieces of deliberative rhetoric that were used to wage war against a new generation of Socinian 'memorialists'. Through the posthumous republication of Owen's Eucharistic sermons, his theological influence on the Eucharist extended well into the eighteenth century. / En tant qu'un des théologiens réformés de l'Angleterre du dix-septième siècle, John Owen a puisé de son héritage riche du seizième siècle pour développer une théologie de l'eucharistie qui adressait les défis uniques de sa génération. La thèse qui suit analyse la contribution d'Owen à la théologie réformée relatifs aux sacrements lors de l'ère de l'orthodoxie réformée en Angleterre. Au lieu de capituler à une théologie de la Sainte Cène hautement subjective et pragmatique, Owen a surpassé plusieurs de ses contemporains puritains dans la réaffirmation de son efficacité objective à unir le croyant avec le Christ et à augmenter la foi. Une analyse du "Works" d'Owen démontre qu'il affirmait d'une manière cohérente la réelle présence du Christ dans la Cène et mettait une emphase sur l'efficacité des éléments à sceller l'Alliance de la Grâce et unir les croyants au Christ de façon unique. Le premier chapitre place les écrits eucharistiques de John Owen dans leur contexte historique, retraçant son développement dès ses années étudiantes à Oxford, à travers son ascension pendant l'interrègne anglais, jusqu'à son ministère mature en tant que pasteur d'un conventicule congrégationaliste illégal dans les années suivant l'acte d'uniformité (1662). Alors que les analyses antérieures de la théologie eucharistique d'Owen avaient tendance à le conformer aux stéréotypes "zwingliens" ou "calvinistes," le deuxième chapitre présente Owen comme bénéficiaire d'un héritage théologique riche et très nuancé. Dans ce chapitre, la théologie eucharistique du seizième siècle d'Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Jean Calvin et Pierre Martire Vermigli est exposé en agissant de fondation pour une analyse plus exacte de la contribution d'Owen en tant que théologien réformé du prochain siècle. Le troisième chapitre sonde l'influence de Pierre de la Ramée sur la théologie puritaine de l'eucharistie, avec l'argument que l'antiaristotélisme de la méthode ramiste se prête à la théologie mémorialiste de l'eucharistie qui était promu par plusieurs congrégationalistes du dix-septième siècle. Finalement, le quatrième chapitre analyse le développement de la théologie mature eucharistique d'Owen à partir de sources primaires. Ce chapitre révèle comment Owen a utilisé sa formation aristotélicienne à Oxford pour affirmer une vue plus objective des sacrements que beaucoup de ses contemporains congrégationalistes. Deux collections des sermons d'Owen sur la Cène qui ont été éditées, compilées et publiées à titre posthume ont été transformées par des non-conformistes orthodoxe du dix-huitième siècle en de puissantes pièces de rhétorique délibérative. Ces collections ont été utilisées pour mener une guerre contre une nouvelle génération de 'mémorialistes' socinienne. À travers la republication posthume des sermons eucharistiques d'Owen, son influence théologique sur la Cène s'étendra jusqu'au dix-huitième siècle.