This thesis argues that any historiography that would contribute to theological knowledge must take into consideration, at a methodological level, the reality of God. This theological claim, in turn, has significant implications for historical knowledge and thus, historiography. The thesis moves ahead in five chapters. The first is an overview and description of N. T. Wright's historical and theological method as they both are grounded in his critical realist epistemology. The second chapter argues for a particular theological epistemology that goes beyond Wright's and corrects it, drawing primarily on the work of T. F. Torrance and Søren Kierkegaard. In the third and fourth chapters an ‘apocalyptic' theological approach is defined and articulated according to a progression from soteriology to Christology to creation. The final chapter builds upon this constructive theological work by articulating an ‘apocalyptic' theology of history which is then used to articulate some key considerations for a theological approach to historiography in critical dialogue with Wright's historical and theological method.

No description available.

Centrée sur une réflexion des droits de l’homme à partir de l’expérience historique de la Shoah, la thèse porte sur l’enjeu fondamental du statut du religieux en modernité. Trois parties la composent, correspondant au génocide, à la modernité politique et à l’histoire du Salut : la première propose une interprétation de l’Holocauste en ayant recours aux catégories empruntées à l’historiographie, à la réflexion philosophique et à la tradition théologique. Elle rend compte de deux lectures concurrentes des Lumières, du renversement de la théologie chrétienne du judaïsme au XXe siècle, de la généalogie idéologique du nazisme ainsi que du contexte explosif de l’entre-deux-guerres. La seconde partie de la thèse avance une théorie des trois modernités, selon laquelle les États-Unis, la France et Vatican II représenteraient des interprétations divergentes et rivales des droits. Enfin, la troisième partie reprend les deux précédentes thématiques de la Shoah et de la modernité, mais à la lumière de la Révélation, notamment de l’Incarnation et de la Croix. La Révélation est présentée comme un double dévoilement simultané de l’identité de Dieu et de la dignité humaine – comme un jeu de miroir où la définition de l’homme est indissociable de celle de la divinité. En provoquant l’effondrement de la Chrétienté, la sécularisation aurait créé un vide existentiel dans lequel se serait engouffré le nazisme comme religion politique et idéologie néo-païenne de substitution. Négation de l'élection d'Israël, du Décalogue et de l’anthropologie biblique, l’entreprise nazie d’anéantissement est comprise comme la volonté d’éradication de la Transcendance et du patrimoine spirituel judéo-chrétien, la liquidation du Dieu juif par l’élimination du peuple juif. Le judéocide pourrait dès lors être qualifié de «moment dans l’histoire du Salut» en ce sens qu’il serait porteur d’un message moral en lien avec le contenu de la Révélation qui interpellerait avec force et urgence la conscience moderne. L’Holocauste constituerait ainsi un kairos, une occasion à saisir pour une critique lucide des apories de la modernité issue des Lumières et pour un renouvellement de la pensée théologico-politique, une invitation à une refondation transcendante des droits fondamentaux, dont la liberté religieuse ferait figure de matrice fondationnelle. La Shoah apporterait alors une réponse au rôle que la Transcendance pourrait jouer dans les sociétés modernes. Mémorial de Sang refondateur des droits de la personne, l'Holocauste rendrait témoignage, il lancerait une mise en garde et poserait les conditions nécessaires d'un enracinement biblique à la préservation de la dignité de l’être humain. Aux Six Millions de Défigurés correspondrait la Création de l'Homme du Sixième Jour. En conclusion, un triangle synergique nourricier est soutenu par l’extermination hitlérienne (1941-1945), la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme (1948) et le Concile Vatican II (1962-1965) comme les trois piliers d’une nouvelle modernité, située au-delà des paradigmes américain (1776) et français (1789). La Shoah inaugurerait et poserait ainsi les fondements d'un nouvel horizon civilisationnel; elle pointerait vers un nouveau départ possible pour le projet de la modernité. L'expérience génocidaire n'invaliderait pas la modernité, elle ne la discréditerait pas, mais la relancerait sur des bases spirituelles nouvelles. Cette refondation des droits fondamentaux offrirait alors une voie de sortie et de conciliation à la crise historique qui opposait depuis près de deux siècles en Europe les droits de l'homme et la Transcendance, Dieu et la liberté – modèle susceptible d’inspirer des civilisations non occidentales en quête d’une modernité respectueuse de leur altérité culturelle et compatible avec la foi religieuse. / As a reflection on human rights focused on the historical experience of the Holocaust, the dissertation looks at the status of religion in modernity. It is made up of three parts; genocide, the politics of modernity, and the history of salvation. The first suggests an interpretation of the Holocaust based upon categories borrowed from historiography, philosophical reflection, and theological tradition. It takes into account two readings of the Enlightment: the inversion of Christian theology towards Judaism in the twentieth century, the ideological sources of Nazism and the explosive time of the inter-war years. The second part of the thesis advances a theory of three ways of seeing modernity: those of France, America, and Vatican II, representing rival and divergent understandings of human rights. The third and final part takes the premises of the previous parts, but in the light of the Revelation, especially that of the Incarnation of the Cross. The Revelation is presented as a simultaneous revealing of God’s identity and human dignity – as an image in a mirror or as the definition of man being inseperable from that of God. In causing the collapse of Christendom, secularization has created an existential vacuum which could be filled by Nazism as a political religion and a neo-pagan ideology of substitution. Negating the election of Israel, the Ten Commandments and biblical anthropology, the Nazi project of destruction is understood as the willingness to eradicate the Transcendence and the Judeo-Christian Tradition, the liquidation of the Jewish God by the elimination of the Jewish people. Judeocide can thus be described as a “Moment in the History of Salvation” in that it conveys a moral message connected with the content of the Revelation which strongly and urgently calls out to modern consciousness. The Holocaust is thus a Kairos, an opportunity for clear reviews of the aporias of a kind of modernity generated by the Age of Enlightment, for an invitation to a transcendent rooting-anchoring of human rights, and for a renewal of theological-political thought, where religious freedom appears as the foundation. As a Memorial of Blood reengaging human rights, the witness of the Holocaust represents a warning and shows the need for of a biblical understanding of the person to preserve human dignity. The six million victims correspond to the creation of man on the sixth day. As a conclusion, a synergy is claimed between Hitler’s extermination (1941-1945), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) as the three pillars of a new modernity, beyond the American (1776) and French paradigms (1789). The Shoah ushers in and lays the foundation of a new understanding of civilization. It points towards a new point of departure for the journey of modernity. The experience of genocide does not invalidate nor discredit modernity, but offers it up towards a new spiritual understanding. This understanding of fundamental rights offers a way of leaving behind and reconciling the historical crisis between God and liberty, human rights and Transcendence in Europe for the last two hundred years – which may equally be of use to non-western civilizations in their quest for a respectful modernity for their own cultures, compatible with their own faiths.

Il Vade mecum in tribulatione, scritto nel 1356 dal frate minore Giovanni di Rupescissa, è un breve testo di carattere profetico-apocalittico, scritto con l'intento di guidare i Cristiani attraverso un'imminente tribolazione, attesa entro il 1370. La tradizione manoscritta latina comprende quaranta codici, divisi in tre gruppi: la versione integrale del Vade mecum; una versione epitomata; altri casi di riassunti del testo. La ratio editionis mostra le caratteristiche di ciascuna di queste famiglie e la struttura complessiva dello stemma codicum ipotizzato. La versione integrale e l'epitome sono edite criticamente, mentre gli altri casi di riassunti sono trascritti parzialmente o integralmente, secondo la loro originalità rispetto alla forma integrale. Lo studio introduttivo, che precede l'edizione, affronta i seguenti argomenti: l'uso delle fonti profetiche e il confronto con la tradizione francescano-spirituale e con le “profezie papali” medievali; la teorizzazione e la struttura dell'ermeneutica storica di Rupescissa; l'evoluzione del genere della “profezia politica”. / The Vade mecum in tribulatione, written in 1356 by the minor friar John of Rupescissa, is a short text, oriented in a prophetical-apocalyptical direction with the aim to lead the Christians across an imminent persecution, expected before the year 1370. The Latin tradition comprehends forty manuscripts, divided in three groups: the integral version of the Vade mecum; the epitome version; other kinds of summary and abstract of the text. The ratio editionis explains the characteristics of each family and the structure of the stemma codicum. The integral version and the epitome are separately edited, while the other summaries are partially or integrally transcribed, according to their originality. The introductory study, that precedes the edition, faces these arguments: the use of the prophetic sources and the comparison with the spiritual Franciscan tradition and the “papal prophecies”; the structure and the finalization of an historical hermeneutic; the evolution of the genre of “political prophecy”.

Centrée sur une réflexion des droits de l’homme à partir de l’expérience historique de la Shoah, la thèse porte sur l’enjeu fondamental du statut du religieux en modernité. Trois parties la composent, correspondant au génocide, à la modernité politique et à l’histoire du Salut : la première propose une interprétation de l’Holocauste en ayant recours aux catégories empruntées à l’historiographie, à la réflexion philosophique et à la tradition théologique. Elle rend compte de deux lectures concurrentes des Lumières, du renversement de la théologie chrétienne du judaïsme au XXe siècle, de la généalogie idéologique du nazisme ainsi que du contexte explosif de l’entre-deux-guerres. La seconde partie de la thèse avance une théorie des trois modernités, selon laquelle les États-Unis, la France et Vatican II représenteraient des interprétations divergentes et rivales des droits. Enfin, la troisième partie reprend les deux précédentes thématiques de la Shoah et de la modernité, mais à la lumière de la Révélation, notamment de l’Incarnation et de la Croix. La Révélation est présentée comme un double dévoilement simultané de l’identité de Dieu et de la dignité humaine – comme un jeu de miroir où la définition de l’homme est indissociable de celle de la divinité. En provoquant l’effondrement de la Chrétienté, la sécularisation aurait créé un vide existentiel dans lequel se serait engouffré le nazisme comme religion politique et idéologie néo-païenne de substitution. Négation de l'élection d'Israël, du Décalogue et de l’anthropologie biblique, l’entreprise nazie d’anéantissement est comprise comme la volonté d’éradication de la Transcendance et du patrimoine spirituel judéo-chrétien, la liquidation du Dieu juif par l’élimination du peuple juif. Le judéocide pourrait dès lors être qualifié de «moment dans l’histoire du Salut» en ce sens qu’il serait porteur d’un message moral en lien avec le contenu de la Révélation qui interpellerait avec force et urgence la conscience moderne. L’Holocauste constituerait ainsi un kairos, une occasion à saisir pour une critique lucide des apories de la modernité issue des Lumières et pour un renouvellement de la pensée théologico-politique, une invitation à une refondation transcendante des droits fondamentaux, dont la liberté religieuse ferait figure de matrice fondationnelle. La Shoah apporterait alors une réponse au rôle que la Transcendance pourrait jouer dans les sociétés modernes. Mémorial de Sang refondateur des droits de la personne, l'Holocauste rendrait témoignage, il lancerait une mise en garde et poserait les conditions nécessaires d'un enracinement biblique à la préservation de la dignité de l’être humain. Aux Six Millions de Défigurés correspondrait la Création de l'Homme du Sixième Jour. En conclusion, un triangle synergique nourricier est soutenu par l’extermination hitlérienne (1941-1945), la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme (1948) et le Concile Vatican II (1962-1965) comme les trois piliers d’une nouvelle modernité, située au-delà des paradigmes américain (1776) et français (1789). La Shoah inaugurerait et poserait ainsi les fondements d'un nouvel horizon civilisationnel; elle pointerait vers un nouveau départ possible pour le projet de la modernité. L'expérience génocidaire n'invaliderait pas la modernité, elle ne la discréditerait pas, mais la relancerait sur des bases spirituelles nouvelles. Cette refondation des droits fondamentaux offrirait alors une voie de sortie et de conciliation à la crise historique qui opposait depuis près de deux siècles en Europe les droits de l'homme et la Transcendance, Dieu et la liberté – modèle susceptible d’inspirer des civilisations non occidentales en quête d’une modernité respectueuse de leur altérité culturelle et compatible avec la foi religieuse. / As a reflection on human rights focused on the historical experience of the Holocaust, the dissertation looks at the status of religion in modernity. It is made up of three parts; genocide, the politics of modernity, and the history of salvation. The first suggests an interpretation of the Holocaust based upon categories borrowed from historiography, philosophical reflection, and theological tradition. It takes into account two readings of the Enlightment: the inversion of Christian theology towards Judaism in the twentieth century, the ideological sources of Nazism and the explosive time of the inter-war years. The second part of the thesis advances a theory of three ways of seeing modernity: those of France, America, and Vatican II, representing rival and divergent understandings of human rights. The third and final part takes the premises of the previous parts, but in the light of the Revelation, especially that of the Incarnation of the Cross. The Revelation is presented as a simultaneous revealing of God’s identity and human dignity – as an image in a mirror or as the definition of man being inseperable from that of God. In causing the collapse of Christendom, secularization has created an existential vacuum which could be filled by Nazism as a political religion and a neo-pagan ideology of substitution. Negating the election of Israel, the Ten Commandments and biblical anthropology, the Nazi project of destruction is understood as the willingness to eradicate the Transcendence and the Judeo-Christian Tradition, the liquidation of the Jewish God by the elimination of the Jewish people. Judeocide can thus be described as a “Moment in the History of Salvation” in that it conveys a moral message connected with the content of the Revelation which strongly and urgently calls out to modern consciousness. The Holocaust is thus a Kairos, an opportunity for clear reviews of the aporias of a kind of modernity generated by the Age of Enlightment, for an invitation to a transcendent rooting-anchoring of human rights, and for a renewal of theological-political thought, where religious freedom appears as the foundation. As a Memorial of Blood reengaging human rights, the witness of the Holocaust represents a warning and shows the need for of a biblical understanding of the person to preserve human dignity. The six million victims correspond to the creation of man on the sixth day. As a conclusion, a synergy is claimed between Hitler’s extermination (1941-1945), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) as the three pillars of a new modernity, beyond the American (1776) and French paradigms (1789). The Shoah ushers in and lays the foundation of a new understanding of civilization. It points towards a new point of departure for the journey of modernity. The experience of genocide does not invalidate nor discredit modernity, but offers it up towards a new spiritual understanding. This understanding of fundamental rights offers a way of leaving behind and reconciling the historical crisis between God and liberty, human rights and Transcendence in Europe for the last two hundred years – which may equally be of use to non-western civilizations in their quest for a respectful modernity for their own cultures, compatible with their own faiths.

This study reflects the belief systems of a nation living their lives as though in exile. It is also an 'echo' of their spiritual journey, stretching from the dawn of humanity until the time of Jesus Christ. It is the testimony of the people who lived in Phoenicia, Antioch, and the holy mountains and valleys of Lebanon. From the time of early Christianity they structured their beliefs according to the general admonition and teaching of the Scripture, and looked forward to the imminent 'return' of Christ. They lived in an atmosphere of preparation for the ready welcome of the 'heavenly Bridegroom'. The background to and the reasoning supporting this study and exposition, is that of understanding the history, spirituality, and the ritual deriving from the beliefs and thought systems of the Christians of the Maronite Catholic Church, and their understanding of the hereafter. It is an attempt to relate the many factors which comprise the 'life' and ritual, the biblical foundation, and the theological and eschatological views of the Maronite Church and its members. / Christin Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (with specialisation in Christian Spirituality)

Text in Afrikaans with summaries in Afrikaans and English / Opsomming In hierdie verhandeling word die ontologie van Eriugena in oënskou geneem, met spesifieke verwysing na sy negatiewe ontologie, oftewel sy opvatting van nie-syn. Ter inleiding word daar na die Latynse en Griekse agtergrond van sy ontologie verwys. Dit word opgevolg deur `n bespreking van die verskillende wyses van syn en nie-syn waarvan Eriugena in die Periphyseon gebruik maak. Klem word geplaas op sy negatiewe ontologie, wat meer gevorderd is as enigiets in die Westerse denke tot heelwat na sy leeftyd. Die historiese konteks van Eriugena se lewe en denke word geskets, met inbegrip van die invloede wat op hom ingewerk het en sy eie nawerking. Sy viervoudige verdeling van die werklikheid word vervolgens bespreek, met aanduiding hoedat die ganse werklikheid gesien kan word as `n wisselwerking tussen syn en nie-syn. `n Dinamiese ontologie word dus deur Eriugena voorgehou, eerder as die statiese ontologie wat kenmerkend van veel Judaïsties-Christelike denke is. Summary In this dissertation the ontology of Eriugena is reviewed, with specific reference to his negative ontology, in other words his concept of non-being. By way of introduction the Latin and Greek background of his ontology is pointed out. It is followed by a discussion of the various modes of being and non-being that Eriugena employs in the Periphyseon. Emphasis is placed on his negative ontology, which is more advanced than anything in Western thought until much later than his time. The historical context of Eriugena's life and thought is sketched, including the influences acting on him and the influence he exerted on others. His fourfold division of reality is then discussed, indicating how the whole of reality can be viewed as an interaction between being and non-being. Eriugena thus postulates a dynamic ontology, rather than the static ontology that is characteristic of much of Judaistic-Christian thought. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

Church growth missiology has been severely criticized by ecumenical, but also by evangelical missiologists. This often led to its rejection as it was considered incompatible with other missiological approaches. But church growth does deal effectively with important issues as other missiologies do. In light of Martin Luther's interpretation of the First Commandment a more general wholistic missiological approach is requested, which considers the full spectrum of human needs, and under which church growth can function with other missiologies together. The treatment of the task of missiology and the unity by attitude of the missiologist contribute to the argument. Therefore four major criticisms brought forth against church growth are dealt with in order to evaluate and finally suggest a potential theological compatibility of this approach with other missiologies. This is further confirmed by a brief introduction to important elements of the present status of church growth theory development / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Th. M. (Missiology)

Text in Afrikaans / Geloof wat in die kategese as deel van 'n to tale geloofsvormingsproses op die tafel kom, moet holisties-ekosistemies verstaan word met die 'hic et nunc'- relevansie daarvan as 'n kwalifiserende maatstaf. Geloof so gesien, behoort in die kategesemateriaal van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk na vore te kom. Die grootste deel van die studie is gewy aan die bree teoretisering in holisties-ekosistemiese perspektief. Vanuit 'n wetenskapsteoretiese vertrekpunt is 'n eie prakties-teologiese teorie oor geloof ontwerp wat geloof enersyds sien as die dinamiese interaksie van gawe, inhoud en respons, en andersyds as 'n aantal perspektiewe daarop. Hierdie teorie het as vertrekpunt gedien om sekere van die kontekste waarbinne geloof funksioneer, te beskryf, naamlik die koninkryk van God, die samelewing, die gemeente, die kategese, die adolessent, die jeugsubkultuur en die skool. In hierdie beskrywing is 'n omvattende teorie oor die kategese daargestel wat dit holisties-ekosistemies sien. Deur middel van inhoudsanalise is fasette van die teoriee getoets aan die lesse in die handboeke van die kategete wat met die adolessente in standerd 5 tot 8 werk. Daar is bevind dat die geloofsbeeld wat na vore kom steriel kognitief-vertikaal is. Oor 'n tydperk van meer as twintig jaar is weinig samelewingsrelevante kwessies aangeraak. Die belangwekkende dokumente Ras, Volk en Nasie en Kerk en Samelewing het nie gefunksioneer nie. In terme van die teorie oor geloof fasiliteer die kategesemateriaal nie relevante geloof midde-in die wereld waarin die adolessente moet glo nie. Dit het ook geblyk dat die inhoudsanalise as werkwyse en die meetinstrument wat ontwerp is, bruikbaar was. Die studie formuleer vanuit die teoriee en die empiriese ondersoek 'n aantal perspektiewe van waaruit die kategese en die lesmateriaal daarvan die kritiese hantering van die verhouding kognitief-affektief-konatief en die gerigtheid individueel-vertikaal, horisontaal-ekklesiaal en horisontaal-sosiaal kan hanteer met die oog daarop dat die kerk sigself en die adolessente as deel daarvan, nie in 'n dogmatistiese ghetto in perk nie, maar vorm met die oog op 'n selfstandige en relevante geloofsfunksionering op die geloof stog in die woestyn van die wereld met die oog op die realisering van die Ryk van God. / Faith which is handled in catechesis as part of the total process of the formation of faith should be understood in a holistic-ecosystemic way with its 'hic et nunc' relevance as a qualifying criterion. It should also appear in this form in the material for catechesis in the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk. The greater part of the study focuses on broad theorising from a holistic-ecosystemic perspective. An independent practical-theological theory on faith is developed from a scientific-theoretical basis. This theory sees faith as a dynamic interaction of gift, content and response on the one hand and a number of different perspectives on the other. It serves as the point of departure for describing some of the contexts in which faith functions, namely the kingdom of God, society, the community, catechesis, the adolescent, the youth subculture and the school. In the process a comprehensive theory about catechesis is developed which sees it holistically ecosystemically. Content analysis is used to test aspects of the theories against the lessons in the manuals for catechists working with adolescents in standards 5 to 8. The resultant image of faith is found to be cognitively-vertically sterile. Over a period of more than twenty years few socially relevant issues were touched on. The important documents Ras, Volk en Nasie and Kerk en Samelewing did not function. In terms of the theory of faith this material for catechesis does not facilitate relevant faith in the world in which the adolescent has to have faith. It is also apparent that content analysis as a method and the measuring instrument used were suitable. Using the theories and the empirical investigation the study formulates a number of perspectives from which catechesis and the lesson material can deal with the critical handling of the relationship cognitively-affectively-conatively and the directedness individually-vertically, horizontally-ecclesially and horizontally-socially so that the church does not imprison itself and its adolescent members in a dogmatistic ghetto, but shapes them so that their faith can function independently and relevantly on the way of faith through the desert of the world with a view to realise the kingdom of God. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / Th. D. (Praktiese Teologie)

Brevard Childs argues for the inner logic of scripture’s textual authority as an historical reality that gives rise to the material condition by which the church apprehends and experiences God in Christ. The church’s use of (or by) scripture thus has a larger interiority: the shaped canon of scripture, Old and New Testaments, is a rule of faith which accrues authority in the church, through the vehicle of the sensus literalis. Childs’ work has been misplaced, however. Part one locates it internationally, attending to the way it has been read in English and German and finding that it has enjoyed a more patient reception in Europe than in Britain or North America. To illustrate, Childs’ definition of biblical theology is contrasted with that of James Barr. Their differences over gesamtbiblische theology involve opposite turns toward and away from Barthian dogma in biblical inquiry. Part two examines Childs on biblical reference, introducing why intertextuality is not midrashic but deictic—pointing to the res. This coincides with an understanding of the formation of biblical literature. Childs’ argument for canonical shaping is juxtaposed with Hermann Gunkel on tradition history, showing “final form” to be a deliberate inversion of form critical principles. Childs’ interest in the Bible as religious literature is then set alongside his studious confrontation of Judaism, with implications for inter-religious dialogue. Barr and Childs are compared again in part three, which frames their respective senses of indirect and direct biblical reference in terms of allegory. Both see allegory at work in the modern world under certain rules (either biblical criticism or the regula fidei). Their rules affect their articulations of trinitarian dogma. Finally, Psalm102 highlights divergences between modern and pre-modern interpreters. If scripture comprehends the present immediately, some postures of the church toward the synagogue may be excluded.