The journal of the Reverend William Impey, 1838-1847 : a critical study of his work and theology
- Authors: Owen, David Rhys
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Impey, William, 1818-1896 Methodist Church of Southern Africa -- Clergy -- Biography Methodist Church -- Missions Missionaries -- Biography
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1243 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009691
- Description: William Impey (1818-1896) came to South Africa as a Wesleyan Methodist Missionary in 1839. He held various missionary and colonial appointments until 1860 when he succeeded William Shaw as Chairman of the Albany and Kaffraria District and General Superintendent of Wesleyan Methodist Missions in South-East Africa. Impey's major contribution was in the provision of education for the indigenous peoples of this region, especially as President of Healdtown (1868-1878). This institution eventually became one of the most highly thought of mission education academies in South Africa. To date little has been known of the life and work of William Impey despite his senior position in South African Wesleyan Methodism. J Whiteside's History of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of South Africa, the last comprehensive history of South African Methodism, published in 1906, only devotes a few lines to Impey. He does however make further reference to Impey's work in his section on education. The Methodist Archive at Manchester University, which contains the personal records of all 19th century Wesleyan Methodist ministers, also has very little information about Impey. The reason for this relative lack of information is that he resigned from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1878 on doctrinal grounds. Impey came under the influence of 19th century liberal theology and eventually drew the conclusion that he could no longer accept the doctrine of 'eternal punishment'. He believed that the only honest thing for him to do was to resign from the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which he believed required its ministers to adhere to this doctrine. He was accepted for ordination by the Anglican Church and served as a deacon in 1878 and then as a priest until his death in 1896. Impey's journal affords the reader an opportunity to have a glimpse into what life was like for a 19th century missionary living and working in South Africa. Perhaps its particular value lies in the many detailed entries Impey made about his personal spiritual experiences. The aim of this thesis is to place the life's work of William Impey in its historical and theological context in the belief that this will enable us better to understand the 19th century missionaries. It is hoped that this study will make a further contribution to our understanding of both 19th century missionaries and the times in which they lived and worked.
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- Date Issued: 1993
The work of the Reverend James Cameron of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society from 1829 to 1835
- Authors: Van Heerden, Gary Paul
- Date: 1993
- Subjects: Cameron, James, 1800-1875 Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society Methodist Church of Southern Africa -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1245 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009726
- Description: The name James Cameron is not a familiar one. Despite being one of the missionary pioneers of Methodism in southern Africa, serving for more than forty-six years in various districts and being elected as chairman of two of these districts, very few people have ever heard of James Cameron. Barnabas Shaw says of Cameron that he "excelled in preaching the great truths of the gospel, and applying them to the heart of sinners".¹ Whiteside describes Cameron as a "remarkable man ... well read in most things".² W.B. Boyce pays Cameron an even greater tribute: In my day, as a preacher and as a theologian, he was unequalled in South Africa; and I do not think that he was second in these respects to any of his brethren in England.³ Notwithstanding the high esteem in which he was held by prominent peers, Cameron is mentioned only in passing in a few secondary sources, and to date has not been the subject of academic research. The reason for this is not clear. He was well educated, read and wrote extensively, and most of his correspondence has been preserved. Cameron's Journal is very well written, containing some beautiful poetic sections. It is a personal record of a missionary coping with peculiar and difficult circumstances, and a record of how determination, courage and faith enabled Cameron to overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Cameron's recording of his struggles help fill out our understanding of missionaries and their tasks and problems in the nineteenth century. I believe that so important a figure in South African Methodism should be examined and deserves a definitive study. The aim of this thesis has been to provide a reference to his work in the western Cape, possibly to form a basis for closer historical scrutiny. ¹ Shaw 1840:232 ² Whiteside 1906:374 ³ Boyce 1874:179-80.
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- Date Issued: 1993
A rhetorical analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 with a special focus on the role of women in the church
- Authors: Williams, Allan Alexander
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. , Women in the Bible , Women in Christianity -- History -- Early church, ca. 30-600 , Women in Christianity , Sexism in religion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1299 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015721
- Description: This thesis investigates the role of women in the early church as portrayed in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 using the recently-developed method of Rhetorical Analysis. It makes use of a rhetorical approach largely based on the method proposed by Kennedy, supplemented by insights from scholars who have emphasised the argumentative element in rhetoric. This method illustrates how the role of women in the church is decisively determined by the argument in the letter as a whole. A brief survey of classical rhetoric is given. The typical structure of a rhetorical discourse is listed with its component sections. The validity of using rhetorical analysis as a means for interpreting New Testament texts is justified. Textual units are identified from the structure of the text. Rhetorical insights are used to explain how the identified units cohere within the overall structure of the letter and how they relate to one another and interact. The thesis is developed that the section on women and teaching can only be meaningfully investigated in the light of the text as a whole and of the motifs in the letter. The thesis has a special focus on 2:9-15. This section is analysed in more detail than the rest of the text with the exception of 1 Timothy 1. As exordium, the latter provides the introduction to the situation dealt with in the letter, introduces the case, and sets the tone for the rest of the letter. The persuasive power of rhetoric in any situation depends to a large extent on its use of common tradition. The socio-cultural setting of the author is consequently analysed. Finally, the role of women in Graeco-Roman society is analysed in terms of motifs found in 1 Timothy 2:9-15.
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- Date Issued: 1992
Paul and Barnabas in Lystra (Acts 14:8-20): the contextualization of the Gospel in a Graeco-Roman city
- Authors: Germiquet, Edouard Ariste
- Date: 1992
- Subjects: Bible. Acts -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1306 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018213
- Description: This thesis will investigate the extensive Graeco-Roman characteristics of the Lystra speech and in so doing convey some clarity in the otherwise widely differing opinions held about it. This will be achieved by showing that Lystra was a Hellenistic city of some importance with a varied population. It will be argued that the initial reaction of the Lystrians to the miraculous healing of the cripple is to be understood as representing typical Graeco-Roman notions. This will include Luke's use of a legend which not only adds local colouring to the narrative but also introduces Graeco-Roman themes such as the blurring of the distinction between humans and gods and the custom of sacrifice. This contextualization immediately portrays the Graeco-Roman nature of the Lystrians' behaviour and attitudes. In addition to these themes it will be argued that the Lystrians are shown to being reliant on secondary notions of God, which when exposed to the proclamation of the apostles will prove to be inadequate. It will also be argued that the speech of the apostles is structured in a typically Graeco-Roman rhetorical form, where the errors are first exposed before the truth is presented. In conjunction with this structure it will be argued that the philosophical concept of which Dibelius has shown to be clearly presupposed in the Areopagus speech, is not only present in the Lystra speech but forms the philosophical basis on which it is structured. This concept explains the insistence by the apostles that they are human and that God has no need of such worthless things as sacrifices. It also explains the presentation of God's activity in creation and providence as an antithesis to a god who is in need. The Graeco-Roman aspects are brought to a close with the discussion of idea that an awareness of God does not depend on secondary notions acquired from legends or customs but that the truth is grasped through a process of reflection on creation and providence. This is an important notion in the speech for it exposes the Lystrians as being in need of a reorientation of their beliefs in God, away from those which are secondary to those which are primary and compatible with the truth.
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- Date Issued: 1992
Baptism in the scheme of salvation as understood by St. Luke with special reference to Acts 2:37-3:21
- Authors: Goodyer, Edward Arthur
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Bible -- Commentaries , Baptism , Baptism -- Biblical teaching , Church history -- Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1310 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018219
- Description: The aim of this thesis is to investigate what can be discovered from Luke-Acts about early Christian baptism, recognising that the environment in which Luke's tradition developed was both Jewish and Gentile. The thesis begins with a brief survey of the Jewish practice of ritual washings. The ideas and practices which encouraged the formal rite of John the Baptist and the early church are identified and evaluated. The second chapter focuses attention on Acts 2:37-3:21. Baptism is defined in this passage (Ac. 2:38) in the context of the proclamation by Peter (Ac. 2:14-36) and the life of the community, which includes koinonia (Ac. 2:42-47), the performance of a miracle (Ac. 3:1-1 0), and a further proclamation (Ac. 3:12-26). Using the methods of redaktiongeschichte and narratological analyses, the literary unity of Luke-Acts will be shown in the light of the elements of baptism. In the third chapter the different accounts of baptism recorded in Luke-Acts will be analysed and compared in order to determine how the church tradition which Luke represents understood baptism, and what was the significance of the rite and the practice of baptism in the early church. Finally, in order to emphasise the importance in the Greek world of the ideas and example of the moral philosophers, the meaning of terms related to baptism, such as akouo, metanoeo and pisteuo, is examined in the light of both Jewish and Greek concepts. The community life of the baptised expressed also practices and ideas which appear to owe more to the Greek world than the Jewish. These concepts include parrhesia, koinonia, and the way in which Christianity is described by its members and outsiders- Christianoi, hairesis, hodos. Finally the setting of the Christian meetings in the Gentile context is discussed. The conclusion indicated by the evidence is that Christianity was organised in a form which was scarcely distinguishable from a school under a kathegetes. Baptism initiated the believer into a relationship with a teacher. It was the nature of the teacher as well as the content of the teaching which gave to Christianity its uniqueness.
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- Date Issued: 1991
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.
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- Date Issued: 1990
The Eucharist and history
- 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
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- 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.
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- Date Issued: 1990
A theological consideration of the office, sacrifice, ministry and perfection of Christ as high priest in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and their significance for the believer and the community of faith
- Authors: Furness, Darryl Hilary
- Date: 1989
- Subjects: Jesus Christ -- Person and offices , Bible -- Hebrews -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. , Sacrifice -- Christianity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1219 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001549
- Description: In these last days God has spoken his last and most complete word to man in a Son, Jesus Christ. In his person and ministry Christ is the agent of creation and heir of the spiritual and material estate of God. He is the locus of the fulfilment of the revelatory plan of God, and, as such, is superior to the angels, the ministers of salvation within the created order, and Moses, the faithful minister of God's people Israel. Christ not only fulfils the necessary qualification for priesthood under the old covenant, that of divine appointment, but is appointed by God a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. This establishes and authenticates the high priestly office of Christ. Jesus Christ, Iike the high priests of the old covenant, must offer gifts and sacrifices to God. The sacrifice of Christ fulfils the sacrificial code of Leviticus 1-7, his sacrifice being a gift to God, communion with God, and an expiatory sacrifice. But more than this the sacrifice of Christ fulfils the Day of Atonement ritual of Leviticus 16 as well as the covenant sacrifice of Exodus 24. The sacrifice of Christ is essentially once for all, being that unique action which alone can ultimately deal with sin. The uniqueness of Christ's sacrifice depends on the uniqueness of the person of Christ and his superior high priestly office. In his sacrificial action Christ is also the sin-bearer. The high priestly sacrifice of Christ determines the form of the high priestly ministry of Christ, which is also gift to God, communion with God, has expiatory significance, and is a ministry of the new covenant . The high priestly ministry of Christ is a ministry which is continuous through time and is both contemporaneous with and subsequent to his sacrifice. In this continuity through time the ministry of Christ is the foundation of both the faith of believers and their perfection as sons. In the execution of his high priestly ministry Christ is perfected by God through the learning of obedience. The humiliation of Christ and his learning of obedience becomes the foundation of the perfecting of believers. It is as the One who is perfected through suffering that Christ becomes the pioneer of salvation and the pioneer and perfecter of the faith of the people of God. Through faith in Christ the people of God constitute a pilgrim people who, on the basis of Christ's perfection, are themselves perfected and brought to glory. The pilgrim people of God share in the priesthood of Christ and constitute a priesthood of all believers. In their pilgrimage of faith they are to demonstrate their confidence, endurance, obedience, and discipline, and in their running of the race of pilgrimage are to exercise their own ministry as they progress to glory and the sabbath rest of God. The high priesthood of Christ has implications for the common life of the people of God and is at the foundation of our understanding of the Christian life.
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- Date Issued: 1989
John Chrysostom's understanding of the Eucharist in its relation to the Christian life
- Authors: Amos, Charles Harry
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: John Chrysostom, Saint, d. 407 , Lord's Supper , Lord's Supper -- Biblical teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MTh
- Identifier: vital:1217 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001547
- Description: The aim of this thesis is to reveal the intimate relationship between John Chrysostom's Eucharistic theology and the christian life, and that at the Eucharist Man's true being is demonstrated. It investigates Chrysostom's exegetical and oratorical method in order to ascertain how he approached a text and how he delivered his understanding of it. He is a representative of the Antiochene School of Exegesis and his fame as a preacher was a result not so much of his oratorical construction, but of the underlying spiritual unity within the oration. The purpose of all his preaching and exegesis was to evoke a moral response from his hearers. In the consecration of the elements, Chrysostcm displayed a remarkable openness to the varying traditions. He saw reciting the words of institution and invoking the Spirit as effecting consecration. Not only this, but also the moral life of the congregation played its part in effecting consecration. Once the elements had been consecrated, Christ was sacrificed, symbolically and literally, not again but in memory (Greek letters) of the Passion, which thereby becomes a present reality. In Chrysostom's understanding of the real presence he displays yet again an openness to the traditions. Christ is both present symbolically through the elements and literally through the transformation of the elements. The real presence demanded of the communicant a high degree of morality. To approach the Table on which Christ lay demanded a life of virtue, not only from the individual communicant but from the whole community. Those who partook unworthily imitated Judas and shared his fate. The community had to approach the Table in unity. At the Table, however, the community received its unity from Christ, the community became the body of Christ. Through participation and becoming the body of Christ, the community was united with the Godhead . Schism, therefore, was a very serious sin for it tore the body of Christ apart. For Chrysostom, Christ was also present in and intimately united with the poor. The church had to be able to be aware of Christ's presence in the poor and be responsible toward Him. In giving to the poor, the communiicant acknowledged that he/she had received at the Table and also received his/her salvation from Christ through the poor. The whole Eucharistic feast not only fed the christian with spiritual food, but called the communicant away from gross materialism to a life-giving dependance on God. It called the communicant to give to others as he/she had received from Christ.
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- Date Issued: 1988
Text and context : an examination of the way in which John's prologue has been interpreted by selected writers : Origen, Luther and Bultmann
- Authors: Latham, Jonathan Cyril
- Date: 1988 , 2013-02-28
- Subjects: Bible -- John -- Criticism, interpretation etc.
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:1225 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004612 , Bible -- John -- Criticism, interpretation etc.
- Description: In chapter one of this work, as a preliminary to the formulation of the question that this thesis will attempt to answer, the changing understanding of the part played by the interpreter in the process of interpretation is discussed. This outline begins with the understanding of the role of the interpreter in liberal theology - where he is thought of as one who applies critical methods to the text in a detached and scientific way. After this the hermeneutic spiral is discussed - the formation of this model acknowledges to a greater degree the individual and human part played by the interpreter. This is followed by a brief examination of the most recent theories of interpretation in which meaning is regarded as residing not in the text but in the interpreter himself. The task of this thesis is to determine whether, as these recent theorists suggest, the reader creates meaning instead of reading out what somehow lies in the text itself. The task of this thesis is to ascertain, by studying the interpretationsof John's Prologue by Origen, Luther and Bultmann, whether the text does in fact operate as a series of sign-posts that pOint the interpreter to a destination within his own semantic universe. This may be determined by noting whether or not the contexts, i n the broadest sense, of these interpreters have played a formative part in their interpretations. contextual influences are regarded as existing wherever there is a procedure or meaning in the interpreter's commentary which one expe cts to find there as a result of one's knowledge of the interpreter's life and previous writings. Our research reveals that Orige n, Luther and Bultmann have produced three very different commentaries in which the common denominator is the formative influence of the interpreter's context. Each of these writers has produced an interpretation that is consistent, in both approach and theology, with their previous exegetical and theological thought. This indicates that contextual factors have played a significant part in determining their interpr etations of John 1 :1-18. It would appear that these interpreters have been led to find the meaning of John's Prologue not with reference to any new, unprecedented set of symbols, but with reference to their own, well-worn semantic universes. In the conclusion it is noted that this research appears to support what many modern theorists have said as to the locus of meaning in interpretation. In the conclusion it is also noted that many of the fears raised by these findings - that readers and writers, or speakers and hearers, may become so isolated and trapped in their own thought worlds that any real contact with the outside is impossible - may be groundless. These findings also point to a certain consistency between the interpreters and their communities. This refutes the fears as to the isolation and solitary development of the individual in that it points to a certain community or corporate aspect which plays a part in the development of the indivi dual's semantic universe . , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 1988
The doctrine of heaven in the writings of St. John of Damascus and earlier Greek tradition
- Authors: Parrish, Christopher John
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: John, of Damascus, Saint
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:1220 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001550
- Description: This thesis investigates the subject of Heaven or Paradise in the De Fide Orthodoxa of St. John of Damascus (c.675 - c.749) , a Greek Father and theologian who gave the Church a definitive heritage of the Greek Fathers' teaching. After a preliminary consideration of the meanings of "Heaven" and Paradise as a state or a place, a substantial part of this thesis is then given to a detailed treatment of the Greek Fathers' teaching on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life in Paradise. The questions of the indispensability of the tree of life to the final bliss of the saints, and the doubtful place of the tree of knowledge also receive attention. The meaning of the trees for St. John of Damascus is expounded in order to show his use of the ideas of Greek Fathers prior to him, for example, Gregory Naziazenus and Maximus the Confessor. After this, the questions of entry into Paradise and the Greek teaching of the intermediate state of the departed are raised. The descent of Christ to Hades precedes discussion of whether St. John of Damascus taught a doctrine of Purgatory or not. The practice of prayer for the departed is examined with respect to its effect on the intermediate state of the faithful departed. Lastly, this thesis explores the necessity of the resurrection for the final bliss of the faithful, and establishes the relevance of this teaching for modern thought on the preservation of integral personality. In conclusion, the writer suggests that St. John of Damascus bequeathed to the Church rich insights into the Greek Fathers' doctrine of Heaven.
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- Date Issued: 1988
The promotion of a racially integrated Catholic community at King William's Town : challenges and opportunities
- Authors: Fahy, Paul
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Apartheid -- South Africa -- Religious aspects -- Catholic Church
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:1218 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001548
- Description: Taking as its point of departure the model of the Church as a sacrament of unity, this study explores its implications for the fostering of a racially integrated Catholic community within an apartheid society. The particular context within which the investigation is conducted is the Sacred Heart Church, King William's Town, where the writer is pastor to a multiracial congregation. A dialogical approach is adopted between theology and praxis, in terms of which the data from a social analysis of the community are brought into a creative dialogue with the Vatican II vision of the Church. Findings from the analysis show that the attitudes of congregants to a racially integrated community are generally ambivalent. Historical, theological, psychosocial and political factors are seen to play an important role in shaping these attitudes. Arising from the dialogue between theology and praxis, the model of a pilgrim Church suggests itself as more relevant and realistic. This model constitutes a proximate goal. The sacrament model of the Church provides direction and focus for the pilgrim Church and is viewed as the ultimate goal. These models must be seen as complementary. The study concludes with a pastoral plan aimed at attaining the goals described. The main thrust of this plan is directed at changing congregants' attitudes to a racially integrated community. The strategies suggested involve the motivation of congregants to become actively involved, the transformation of congregants' attitudes, the promotion of a positive attitude to conflict and the challenging of apartheid structures. A differential approach is suggested in the pursuit of these objectives. A final conclusion to be drawn from this study is that the search for community is never-ending and that the fostering of a racially integrated Catholic community is a slow and painful process.
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- Date Issued: 1988
The contribution of William Gurnall (1616-1679) to the puritan concept of spiritual combat, with special emphasis on the role of faith
- Authors: Van Zyl, Frederick William James
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Gurnall, William, 1617-1679 , Puritans , Faith , Spiritual life -- Christianity -- History of doctrines
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:1223 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003916
- Description: The Central figure in this thesis is William Gurnall M.A. (Cambridge) who lived from 1616 to 1679. He was the Rector of the Lavenham Parish church for 35 years, 1644/45-1679. He was one of the few Puritans who remained in the Established Church after the 1662 Act of Uniformity had been promulgated. His 'The Christian in Complete Armour' is one of the greatest practical-pastoral works to come from the pen of any Puritan. It is firmly based on Calvinistic theological principles. While holding common beliefs in many areas, Gurnall nevertheless was at odds with his fellow Puritans over certain crucial issues that directly affected his attitude to the Puritan revolution. His analysis of the person, being, nature, wiles, strategies and weapons of the Christian's great enemy and description of the Christian's resources such as the role of the shield of faith in its multiple uses, which constitute an important contribution to pastoral theory and practice are shown to arise out of Gurnall's theological stance, his own personal history, the history of East Anglia and of Lavenham in particular; his reflections on the 'Days of Great Confusions' and his deep concern for the breakdown in orderly society and the decline of genuine piety in the church. Basically we will concentrate on three issues: First. The real nature and locus of the Christian's spiritual warfare. Second. -- The means used for his investigation, namely, an examination of the person, power, methods and wiles of the Christian's great enemy and the vital role of the shield of faith. -- Third. His conclusions.
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- Date Issued: 1986
A historico-theological study of Pentecostalism as a phenomenon within a South African community
- Authors: Pillay, Gerald J
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Pentecostalism -- South Africa Pentecostal churches -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1222 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001552
- Description: Preface: An attempt is made in this thesis to document the history of Pentecostalism among Indians in South Africa and to study and evaluate its religious character and main theological tenets. Obviously the peculiar socio-political situation of the Indians in South Africa has influenced the character of Indian Pentecostalism, which has in turn been able to address itself to the critical, cultural and religious disjunctions within this community. Hence an investigation of the dynamic tensions that obtain between crises in the Indian community and Pentecostalism will not only clarify the course of its history but will also explain its theological emphases. However, several studies on Pentecostalism in other communities have concentrated on the sociological dimension almost exclusively and many have even concluded that Pentecostalism is the spontaneous result of psychosocial; economic or cultural upheavals . This kind of reductionism has been largely the result of the uncritical use of 'functional-type' theories postulated by sociologists of religion. Indian Pentecostalism, while it has to be examined within the complex context of the South African community, cannot as we shall show, be adequately explained by any of the prevailing 'functional-type' theories because these theories reduce religion to a sociological function. Since the functional theory has the effect of limiting the perspective on religion to such an extent that the basis of religion, that is, the relation between the individual and faith, is either belittled or ignored, it has been jettisoned in this thesis for an approach free of any deliberately formulated 'theoretical framework'. However, it is necessary to critically examine some of the more popular 'functional-type' theories and the way they have been applied to the study of the Pentecostal movement here and elsewhere, so that by exposing the shortcomings of their application and the contradictions inherent in their assumptions, the approach adopted in this thesis could be clarified.
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- Date Issued: 1985
Some aspects of the African mission policy of the Presbytery of Adelaide/Port Elizabeth with special reference to the origin and development of the New Brighton Presbyterian Mission Church, 1898-1962
- Authors: Hunter, Celene Frances Dill
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1228 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007225
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- Date Issued: 1984
A study of the Presbyterian Church mission in the Transvaal from 1903-1960
- Authors: Boyd, Barry Graeme
- Date: 1981 , 2013-03-22
- Subjects: Presbyterian Church -- South Africa -- Transvaal , Missions -- South Africa -- Transvaal
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:1226 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006110 , Presbyterian Church -- South Africa -- Transvaal , Missions -- South Africa -- Transvaal
- Description: The aim of ·this study is to present a picture of the circumstances and the manner in which the mission was undertaken. With this in mind reference has been made to individual men and their particular importance and also to the decislons of the Church Assembly as they affected Mission. In part, the thesis is fuller for the earlier years, for the writer holds that these were the most formative as they established the pattern. Furthormore the writer wishes to make clear that the Mission become the work of black men with the white Mission Secretary of the 1950's filling an administrative role. This does not mean he was unimportant but for the nature of this study and its desire to ·emphasise the role of the black man, the work of these individual administrators has been largely omitted. In the concluding chapters the writer has shown the effects of political changes and African Nationalism on the Mission with a further chapter on the Mission's educational work. , KMBT_363 , Adobe Acrobat 9.53 Paper Capture Plug-in
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- Date Issued: 1981