A pastoral theological examination of inner healing
- Authors: Velthuysen, Daniel Nicholas
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Pastoral theology , Healing -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Mental healing -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Inner child -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Primal therapy -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1300 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016248
- Description: Doing a survey of the ministry of inner healing, one is arrested by three salient features: its pragmatic and correlative development, its lay orientation, and the inconsistent and naïve theoretical explanation of the phenomenon. Inner healing, or as it was first known, the healing of the memories, appears to have its roots with Agnes Sanford during the 1940's (Sandford 1982: 3-4). Over a period of time and through a series of events, Sanford experienced what she termed a healing of memories. After some reflection on her experiences she began to teach her views at the School of Pastoral Care started by her husband in 1958, at Camps Farthest Out (CFO), and at numerous churches and conferences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Velthuysen, Daniel Nicholas
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Pastoral theology , Healing -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Mental healing -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Inner child -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Primal therapy -- Religious aspects -- Christianity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1300 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016248
- Description: Doing a survey of the ministry of inner healing, one is arrested by three salient features: its pragmatic and correlative development, its lay orientation, and the inconsistent and naïve theoretical explanation of the phenomenon. Inner healing, or as it was first known, the healing of the memories, appears to have its roots with Agnes Sanford during the 1940's (Sandford 1982: 3-4). Over a period of time and through a series of events, Sanford experienced what she termed a healing of memories. After some reflection on her experiences she began to teach her views at the School of Pastoral Care started by her husband in 1958, at Camps Farthest Out (CFO), and at numerous churches and conferences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
Between freedom and givenness: (a study of the hermeneutical consequences of the concept of canon for the authority of scripture)
- Authors: Latham, Jonathan Cyril
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Bible -- Evidences, authority, etc. , Authority -- Religious aspects , Canon (Literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1216 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001546
- Description: The aim of this thesis is to arrive at an understanding of the authority of scripture that is able to accommodate both a faith perspective and the fruits of the historical-critical approach to the New Testament. Put differently, the aim of this thesis is the pursuit of a specifically christian, faith-promoting, reading of the New Testament whilst still enjoying the benefit, in an as uncompromised a form as possible, of the historical- critical approach. In a sense it may be said that this task, given that the roots of both the historical-critical approach and modern Western culture are deeply imbedded in Rationalism, is equivalent to the basic hermeneutical question of whether it is possible to interpret scripture relevantly from within a cultural web of meaning that does not readily accommodate that embodied in the New Testament. In section one of this dissertation we present a characteristic depiction, based on the historical-critical theory of literature, of the authority of the New Testament. This is followed by a brief assessment that makes explicit why the historical- critical approach is not conducive to the adoption of a faith perspective on these writings. In section two, still and inevitably based on critical foundations, we adopt a perspective that is more sympathetic to faith and that seeks to discover in the concerns evidenced in the canonical process, when traditions about Jesus gradually took on more complex and stable forms, culminating in the canon of the New Testament, guidelines in helping us to deal with the problem with which this study is concerned . In the specific example of the rather ordinary concerns underlying the unusual history of the pericope de adultera (John 7:53-8:11), examined against the background of the interests underlying the canonical process, it becomes clear that christians from the very beginning faced a dilemma not unlike that with which the historical-critical approach confronts us. They had to interpret afresh, and faithfully, the traditions in order to meet the demands of situations that had never been foreseen by earlier tradents. In this respect, therefore, the history of the pericope de adultera presents us with an ongoing struggle to hold in tension the demands of new contexts with the imperative of strict continuity with Jesus. In section three, on the basis of the foundation of the authority of scripture in strict continuity with Jesus combined with the contextual reinterpretation of the tradition, the social sciences are employed. Using the social sciences, it is discovered that the two contradictory approaches that we wish to reconcile form part of two different models for interpreting reality. It is on this basis, and made possible by the common culture underlying these opposing models and by the common contact with an unspecified common core of concrete reality, that a solution is proposed in terms of a complex 'fusion of horizons', promoted by a 'precipitative environment'. In the conclusion our solution is decisively aligned with the concerns evidenced in the canonical process
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Latham, Jonathan Cyril
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Bible -- Evidences, authority, etc. , Authority -- Religious aspects , Canon (Literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1216 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001546
- Description: The aim of this thesis is to arrive at an understanding of the authority of scripture that is able to accommodate both a faith perspective and the fruits of the historical-critical approach to the New Testament. Put differently, the aim of this thesis is the pursuit of a specifically christian, faith-promoting, reading of the New Testament whilst still enjoying the benefit, in an as uncompromised a form as possible, of the historical- critical approach. In a sense it may be said that this task, given that the roots of both the historical-critical approach and modern Western culture are deeply imbedded in Rationalism, is equivalent to the basic hermeneutical question of whether it is possible to interpret scripture relevantly from within a cultural web of meaning that does not readily accommodate that embodied in the New Testament. In section one of this dissertation we present a characteristic depiction, based on the historical-critical theory of literature, of the authority of the New Testament. This is followed by a brief assessment that makes explicit why the historical- critical approach is not conducive to the adoption of a faith perspective on these writings. In section two, still and inevitably based on critical foundations, we adopt a perspective that is more sympathetic to faith and that seeks to discover in the concerns evidenced in the canonical process, when traditions about Jesus gradually took on more complex and stable forms, culminating in the canon of the New Testament, guidelines in helping us to deal with the problem with which this study is concerned . In the specific example of the rather ordinary concerns underlying the unusual history of the pericope de adultera (John 7:53-8:11), examined against the background of the interests underlying the canonical process, it becomes clear that christians from the very beginning faced a dilemma not unlike that with which the historical-critical approach confronts us. They had to interpret afresh, and faithfully, the traditions in order to meet the demands of situations that had never been foreseen by earlier tradents. In this respect, therefore, the history of the pericope de adultera presents us with an ongoing struggle to hold in tension the demands of new contexts with the imperative of strict continuity with Jesus. In section three, on the basis of the foundation of the authority of scripture in strict continuity with Jesus combined with the contextual reinterpretation of the tradition, the social sciences are employed. Using the social sciences, it is discovered that the two contradictory approaches that we wish to reconcile form part of two different models for interpreting reality. It is on this basis, and made possible by the common culture underlying these opposing models and by the common contact with an unspecified common core of concrete reality, that a solution is proposed in terms of a complex 'fusion of horizons', promoted by a 'precipitative environment'. In the conclusion our solution is decisively aligned with the concerns evidenced in the canonical process
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
Persuasuve conflict: an hermeneutical model for interpreting Galatians in the context of the South African church
- Authors: Holgate, David A
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Bible. Galatians -- Criticism, Textual , Liberation theology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1213 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001542
- Description: This study looks at how to interpret Paul's letter to the Galatians in the contemporary South African church. It aims to provide a Bible study method for doing this which accounts both for the context in which interpretation takes place and for the requirements of exegesis. To this end, use is made of a combination of contextual Bible study methods and a recent multidimensional exegetical model, all of which are currently employed in South Africa. Initially, the study surveys a range of recent critical approaches to the Pauline epistles, particularly as these are employed by South African scholars working on Galatians. The fact that different exegetical approaches focus on different dimensions of the text, reveals the usefulness of a multidimensional exegetical model. The multidimensional exegetical model of Rousseau, which functions within a communication paradigm, is then introduced as an exegetical guide. To meet the second requirement of this study, the question of contextual exegesis is examined. Particular use is made of the hermeneutical approach of liberation theology, with its three mediations of social analysis, theological reflection and practical implementation. The central part of this study explores the implications of contextual interpretation and multidimensional exegesis of Galatians. The pre-canonical, canonical and contemporary contexts which affect the understanding of Galatians are discussed, and the multidimensional exegetical model is used to introduce the Galatian letter as a whole. The last part deals with the practical questions of group Bible study. The exegetical and hermeneutical theory developed earlier is simplified to provide a contextual Bible study method and this method is applied to three pericopes from Galatians. The task of bridging the gap between the university and the church is not an easy one, nor one which is solved by a single Bible study method. The exegetical and hermeneutical questions raised here point to the need for ongoing interaction between South African community of biblical scholars and those involved in the everyday life of the South African church
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Holgate, David A
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Bible. Galatians -- Criticism, Textual , Liberation theology -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1213 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001542
- Description: This study looks at how to interpret Paul's letter to the Galatians in the contemporary South African church. It aims to provide a Bible study method for doing this which accounts both for the context in which interpretation takes place and for the requirements of exegesis. To this end, use is made of a combination of contextual Bible study methods and a recent multidimensional exegetical model, all of which are currently employed in South Africa. Initially, the study surveys a range of recent critical approaches to the Pauline epistles, particularly as these are employed by South African scholars working on Galatians. The fact that different exegetical approaches focus on different dimensions of the text, reveals the usefulness of a multidimensional exegetical model. The multidimensional exegetical model of Rousseau, which functions within a communication paradigm, is then introduced as an exegetical guide. To meet the second requirement of this study, the question of contextual exegesis is examined. Particular use is made of the hermeneutical approach of liberation theology, with its three mediations of social analysis, theological reflection and practical implementation. The central part of this study explores the implications of contextual interpretation and multidimensional exegesis of Galatians. The pre-canonical, canonical and contemporary contexts which affect the understanding of Galatians are discussed, and the multidimensional exegetical model is used to introduce the Galatian letter as a whole. The last part deals with the practical questions of group Bible study. The exegetical and hermeneutical theory developed earlier is simplified to provide a contextual Bible study method and this method is applied to three pericopes from Galatians. The task of bridging the gap between the university and the church is not an easy one, nor one which is solved by a single Bible study method. The exegetical and hermeneutical questions raised here point to the need for ongoing interaction between South African community of biblical scholars and those involved in the everyday life of the South African church
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
The development of theology at Stellenbosch from 1859-1919
- Authors: Thom, Gideon
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk , Stellenbosch Theological Seminary
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1215 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001544
- Description: This study seeks to give an exposition of the development of theology at the Stellenbosch Kweekskool from 1859 until 1919, a period that coincided with the formative years of Afrikaner nationalism. John Murray (1826-1882) was nurtured in evangelical Calvinism but received his theological training in 'moderate' Utrecht. As Calvinist he emphasized salvation by grace and Christian obedience, as evangelical, union with Christ, and as kenoticist he emphasized the relevance of the humanity of Christ. N.J. Hofmeyr (1827-1909) was converted under an evangelical Lutheran and received his training in Utrecht, in the heyday of Dutch ethical and German mediating theology. He was fascinated by the historical Jesus. In his view, the 'religion of Jesus' was not the moralistic one imagined by the modernists, but an experience of sonship, continually challenged by severe temptations. The central theme of his theology was the huiothesia, the sonship of Jesus being the prototype of our sonship. As he was the spiritual father of many generations of Stellenbosch students, his Christocentric emphasis and his doctrine of huiothesia played an important role in the development of NGK spirituality. Other themes in Hofmeyr's theology bore the marks of mediating theology: The idea that the conscience is the voice of God, the 'natural' compatibility between the human and the divine, the importance of experience in the theological enterprise and the idea that grace must accommodate itself to nature. J.I. Marais (1848-1919) and P.J.G. de Vos (1842-1931), who received part of their training in Scotland, were more conservative in theology than Hofmeyr. By the turn of the century De Vos has fully accepted scholastic Calvinism and premillenniaIism; Marais accepted premillennialism around 1914. The experiences of the Anglo-Boer War precipitated the close relationship between the Afrikaner and the NGK, and the lack of a strong doctrine of the church in Stellenbosch theology added to the blurring of distinctions between church and people. The national church of the Scots and Dutch traditions became the volkskerk of the Afrikaner. Important biblical dimensions of Murray and Hofmeyr's theology were neglected after Hofmeyr's death. The conviction that God revealed himself completely in the human Christ was weakened by fundamentalism and the tendency to see God's will in the history of the volk. Their eschatology - which expected great success for the gospel - was replaced by premillennialism, which expected only limited success for missions before the parousia. Hofmeyr's social gospel, which was applied to the problem of the 'poor whites', was gradually replaced by a negative view of the social relevance of the gospel, especially in racial matters. This gradual change of theological direction involved a growing sympathy with fundamentalism and Kuyperianism, but did not consist in a full revival of reformation theology
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Thom, Gideon
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk , Stellenbosch Theological Seminary
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1215 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001544
- Description: This study seeks to give an exposition of the development of theology at the Stellenbosch Kweekskool from 1859 until 1919, a period that coincided with the formative years of Afrikaner nationalism. John Murray (1826-1882) was nurtured in evangelical Calvinism but received his theological training in 'moderate' Utrecht. As Calvinist he emphasized salvation by grace and Christian obedience, as evangelical, union with Christ, and as kenoticist he emphasized the relevance of the humanity of Christ. N.J. Hofmeyr (1827-1909) was converted under an evangelical Lutheran and received his training in Utrecht, in the heyday of Dutch ethical and German mediating theology. He was fascinated by the historical Jesus. In his view, the 'religion of Jesus' was not the moralistic one imagined by the modernists, but an experience of sonship, continually challenged by severe temptations. The central theme of his theology was the huiothesia, the sonship of Jesus being the prototype of our sonship. As he was the spiritual father of many generations of Stellenbosch students, his Christocentric emphasis and his doctrine of huiothesia played an important role in the development of NGK spirituality. Other themes in Hofmeyr's theology bore the marks of mediating theology: The idea that the conscience is the voice of God, the 'natural' compatibility between the human and the divine, the importance of experience in the theological enterprise and the idea that grace must accommodate itself to nature. J.I. Marais (1848-1919) and P.J.G. de Vos (1842-1931), who received part of their training in Scotland, were more conservative in theology than Hofmeyr. By the turn of the century De Vos has fully accepted scholastic Calvinism and premillenniaIism; Marais accepted premillennialism around 1914. The experiences of the Anglo-Boer War precipitated the close relationship between the Afrikaner and the NGK, and the lack of a strong doctrine of the church in Stellenbosch theology added to the blurring of distinctions between church and people. The national church of the Scots and Dutch traditions became the volkskerk of the Afrikaner. Important biblical dimensions of Murray and Hofmeyr's theology were neglected after Hofmeyr's death. The conviction that God revealed himself completely in the human Christ was weakened by fundamentalism and the tendency to see God's will in the history of the volk. Their eschatology - which expected great success for the gospel - was replaced by premillennialism, which expected only limited success for missions before the parousia. Hofmeyr's social gospel, which was applied to the problem of the 'poor whites', was gradually replaced by a negative view of the social relevance of the gospel, especially in racial matters. This gradual change of theological direction involved a growing sympathy with fundamentalism and Kuyperianism, but did not consist in a full revival of reformation theology
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
The Eucharist and history
- Paterson, Torquil John Macleod
- Authors: Paterson, Torquil John Macleod
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Lord's Supper , History -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1311 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018262
- Description: The thesis delineates an existential view of history, in which the eternal is defined as the ground of authentic human life which underlies true historical action. The historical is the manifestation of the eternal in the unique moment, and redefines the ahistorical conditions of human life. The ahistorical is the social and ideological conditioning of all human knowledge, usually presented in terms of various kinds of myth and ritual . The ahistorical contains both good and bad elements, but always has the tendency to become oppressive and is therefore constantly in conflict with the historical. The life of Jesus is described as the perfect expression of the eternal in true historical action, by which he came into conflict with the ahistorical of his society, as expressed in his death. By his resurrection, his life breaks the limitations of time and becomes transformative enabling all subsequent historical action. The eucharist is described as engaging with each of these dimensions of our existence. By being itself a ritual action containing a myth, the eucharist has an ahistorical form and therefore easily engages with the ahistorical dimensions of society. However, without a constant dialogue with the historical, the eucharist, as an ahistorical medium, can become allied to the dominant forces of society and become a means of oppression. The eucharist has at its centre the remembrance of the historical action of Jesus. True historical action in the present will result from a proper hermeneutic of the gospels. The eucharistic anamnesis must be regarded as part of the wider search for a relevant contemporary christology. The eucharist remembers the Last Supper, which is a parable of the whole life of Jesus and a prelude to his death and is a sacrifice in that it has a sacrificial form, and leads to our historical action, which will usually take the form of a conflict with the ahistorical and have sacrificial dimensions. The eternal only becomes present in our historical action, but the eucharist, by uniting us with the transforming power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, is a powerful aid to such action. The eucharist also provides the opportunity for resonances between Jesus and the ground of our being, thus enabling deep shifts of attitude and consciousness. Three fundamental prerequisites for human life are isolated and related to the eucharist: belonging, nurturing and giving. In order for the eucharist to ennable historical action is must hold these dimensions in tension. In its actual form it does this through the balance between the Words of Institution and the Epiclesis, which, in turn, provide the christological ground of the eucharist and relate this to the present through a particular pneumatology. The real presence is described by the thesis in a way which connects the eucharistic presence with the historical Jesus and leads to our historical action. Finally, some consequences of the thesis for Eucharistic practice are suggested. The relationship between the ahistorical form of the eucharist and the anamnesis is important. In this way the eucharist objectifies the ahistorical, reflects on this in terms of the historical action of Jesus, and reforms the ahistorical by modelling a response. This should lead to a more authentic expression of the eternal in the contemporary world
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Paterson, Torquil John Macleod
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Lord's Supper , History -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1311 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018262
- Description: The thesis delineates an existential view of history, in which the eternal is defined as the ground of authentic human life which underlies true historical action. The historical is the manifestation of the eternal in the unique moment, and redefines the ahistorical conditions of human life. The ahistorical is the social and ideological conditioning of all human knowledge, usually presented in terms of various kinds of myth and ritual . The ahistorical contains both good and bad elements, but always has the tendency to become oppressive and is therefore constantly in conflict with the historical. The life of Jesus is described as the perfect expression of the eternal in true historical action, by which he came into conflict with the ahistorical of his society, as expressed in his death. By his resurrection, his life breaks the limitations of time and becomes transformative enabling all subsequent historical action. The eucharist is described as engaging with each of these dimensions of our existence. By being itself a ritual action containing a myth, the eucharist has an ahistorical form and therefore easily engages with the ahistorical dimensions of society. However, without a constant dialogue with the historical, the eucharist, as an ahistorical medium, can become allied to the dominant forces of society and become a means of oppression. The eucharist has at its centre the remembrance of the historical action of Jesus. True historical action in the present will result from a proper hermeneutic of the gospels. The eucharistic anamnesis must be regarded as part of the wider search for a relevant contemporary christology. The eucharist remembers the Last Supper, which is a parable of the whole life of Jesus and a prelude to his death and is a sacrifice in that it has a sacrificial form, and leads to our historical action, which will usually take the form of a conflict with the ahistorical and have sacrificial dimensions. The eternal only becomes present in our historical action, but the eucharist, by uniting us with the transforming power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, is a powerful aid to such action. The eucharist also provides the opportunity for resonances between Jesus and the ground of our being, thus enabling deep shifts of attitude and consciousness. Three fundamental prerequisites for human life are isolated and related to the eucharist: belonging, nurturing and giving. In order for the eucharist to ennable historical action is must hold these dimensions in tension. In its actual form it does this through the balance between the Words of Institution and the Epiclesis, which, in turn, provide the christological ground of the eucharist and relate this to the present through a particular pneumatology. The real presence is described by the thesis in a way which connects the eucharistic presence with the historical Jesus and leads to our historical action. Finally, some consequences of the thesis for Eucharistic practice are suggested. The relationship between the ahistorical form of the eucharist and the anamnesis is important. In this way the eucharist objectifies the ahistorical, reflects on this in terms of the historical action of Jesus, and reforms the ahistorical by modelling a response. This should lead to a more authentic expression of the eternal in the contemporary world
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
Towards a spirituality for authentic liberation in South Africa
- Authors: Pretorius, Jacques Gerhard
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Church of the Province of Southern Africa , Liberation theology -- South Africa , Latin American -- Church history -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1214 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001543
- Description: A spirituality which facilitates authentic liberation is one which intuits the evolutive nature of human development. Justice and compassion are biblical descriptions of a liberation effected by the Holy Spirit in and through persons. The development of persons towards being able to embrace such qualities is set within three interconnected paradigms: a theological paradigm, a psychological paradigm, and a socio-historical paradigm. The theological paradigm sees the creative process as continuing an evolutive movement towards the wholeness of persons, society and the cosmos. Within this, persons are defined as created co-creators with God, and are given the responsibility of participating in the process which will achieve this goal. This paradigm is reflected in the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin concerning the evolution of consciousness within each material form, towards union in God. The psychological paradigm suggests that the evolution of consciousness within persons gives rise to the probability of the emergence of levels of consciousness capable of initiating and sustaining the manifestation of justice and compassion. In this evolutive process a boundary is perceived by persons between the ego-body as 'self' and the environment as 'not-self'. This boundary prohibits the emergence of the qualities of justice and compassion in human consciousness. The developmental process is constituted by the integration of the 'not-self' into the 'self' at each stage, facilitating the emergence of a consciousness which takes responsibility for the environment as 'self'. The socio-historical paradigm is defined by the perspectives on the world held by the poor. The spirituality emerging from within this paradigm is initiated through encounter with Jesus. It is concretized in a preferential option for the empowerment of the poor, which facilitates and sustains the integration of 'self' and the environment. An examination of the Latin American base Christian communities shows the characteristics of Church life and structure which facilitate the Church becoming the locus of development towards authentic personal and social liberation. The structure of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa is evaluated in this light, in order to encourage clergy and laity to rise towards their full personhood in God.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Pretorius, Jacques Gerhard
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Church of the Province of Southern Africa , Liberation theology -- South Africa , Latin American -- Church history -- 20th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1214 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001543
- Description: A spirituality which facilitates authentic liberation is one which intuits the evolutive nature of human development. Justice and compassion are biblical descriptions of a liberation effected by the Holy Spirit in and through persons. The development of persons towards being able to embrace such qualities is set within three interconnected paradigms: a theological paradigm, a psychological paradigm, and a socio-historical paradigm. The theological paradigm sees the creative process as continuing an evolutive movement towards the wholeness of persons, society and the cosmos. Within this, persons are defined as created co-creators with God, and are given the responsibility of participating in the process which will achieve this goal. This paradigm is reflected in the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin concerning the evolution of consciousness within each material form, towards union in God. The psychological paradigm suggests that the evolution of consciousness within persons gives rise to the probability of the emergence of levels of consciousness capable of initiating and sustaining the manifestation of justice and compassion. In this evolutive process a boundary is perceived by persons between the ego-body as 'self' and the environment as 'not-self'. This boundary prohibits the emergence of the qualities of justice and compassion in human consciousness. The developmental process is constituted by the integration of the 'not-self' into the 'self' at each stage, facilitating the emergence of a consciousness which takes responsibility for the environment as 'self'. The socio-historical paradigm is defined by the perspectives on the world held by the poor. The spirituality emerging from within this paradigm is initiated through encounter with Jesus. It is concretized in a preferential option for the empowerment of the poor, which facilitates and sustains the integration of 'self' and the environment. An examination of the Latin American base Christian communities shows the characteristics of Church life and structure which facilitate the Church becoming the locus of development towards authentic personal and social liberation. The structure of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa is evaluated in this light, in order to encourage clergy and laity to rise towards their full personhood in God.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
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