Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Creeds'

The Particular Baptists of England emerged in the middle of the seventeenth century around the time of the Revolution. The first half of this thesis looks at the history of the first two London Particular Baptist Confessions of Faith written in 1644 and 1689. It examines the history behind the making of both Confessions as well as the sources from which they drew their material. The second half of the thesis is a comparison study. Firstly, the two Baptist Confessions are compared with each other in the areas of the atonement, baptism, the Church, and religious liberty, to see if Particular Baptist beliefs had changed. Secondly, the 1689 Baptist Confession is compared with the two leading English Calvinistic Confessions of the seventeenth century, the Presbyterian Westminster Confession and the Congregationalist Savoy Declaration, in order to see their similarities and differences in the same four areas.

This thesis argues that Oakeshott's theory of civil association and his reading of modem European history offer a plausible way of comprehending the general historical character of the British Conservative tradition. Focusing on two broad periods, it claims that as different as the facets of 19th-century 'paternalism' and 20th_ century 'libertarianism' are, they can nevertheless be understood as interpretations of the same Conservative core. A novel Oakeshottian approach is suggested whereby its subject is understood as a tradition. This draws on the Conservative structure which consists of two categorically distinct parts - philosophical assumptions and practical politics, a divide only further emphasised by the anti-ideological stance. In order to achieve a holistic view of the tradition, its philosophical and practical layers are tied together by way of considering the Conservative assumptions in terms of their historical implications and by extracting from behind the relatively long periods of Conservative politics their main philosophical positions. Based on this scheme, it is possible to juxtapose Hegel's and Oakeshott's complementary readings of societas with Disraelian Toryism and Thatcherism. It is found that while sharing the idea of civil association, the two creeds still differ significantly since they stem from different perceptions and historical contexts. This works both period-wise but also in parallel since the threat to societas was perceived as multifaceted - both collectivism and radical individualism were considered dangerous by Conservatives. As representatives of the 'paternalist' and 'libertarian' subtraditions, the thesis focuses on some salient general features of the Disraelian and Thatcherite streams and finds them representing the distinguished Oakeshottian assumptions. Likewise, the ideas of some prominent Disraelian and Thatcherite protagonists are considered. Despite the often significant differences in their views, it is argued that their broader understanding of the role of the state relies on the idea of societas.

No início dos anos 90, segundo o Instituto de Economia da Unicamp, o gasto salarial mensal de um grande time de futebol brasileiro era de, aproximadamente, US$ 40 mil. Em 1999, esse custo saltou para US$ 800 mil, aumentando 200%. Nesse período, tanto o salário dos principais jogadores, agora milionários, progrediu geometricamente, como a exploração midiática os tornou heróis dessa pátria de chuteiras. Quais os efeitos dessa hiper-exposição futebolística nos meios comunicativos de massa e nos processos constituintes da subjetividade em adolescentes provenientes das camadas populares? Essa é uma pesquisa sobre crenças e representações nos ritos de iniciação ao futebol, a partir da investigação dialética entre sujeito e contexto, necessidade e satisfação, em que toda representação está ancorada, produzindo sentidos. Ao averiguar o processo de identificação com personagens significantes, ídolos e heróis, bem como, ao analisar, em futebol, as representações sociais de futebol em jogadores aspirantes a profissional e a influência sobre suas práticas sociais, procurou-se desvelar os mitos, crenças e representações que norteiam suas carreiras e interferem no processo constitutivo da identidade. Enquanto referência teórica utilizou-se a abordagem identitária como metamorfose de Ciampa (1993, 1999) e das representações sociais de Moscovici (1978, 1984, 1988), Jodelet (1984), Arruda (2002) e Guareschi (1996, 2000), baseadas na análise das práticas discursivas dos sujeitos envolvidos. Como procedimento, realizaram-se entrevistas semi-estruturadas, com 10 atletas das divisões de base de um clube expressivo do nordeste brasileiro, escolhidos aleatoriamente, tendo como critério único de exclusão não pertencerem às categorias júnior e juvenil. Os sujeitos, em fase de iniciação profissional, eram oriundos das classes média e baixa, com idades entre 16 e 18 anos, na maioria negros, grau de escolaridade entre 1° grau incompleto e 2° grau completo e residentes no clube. A partir da análise qualitativa das marcas discursivas recorrentes, baseada no método de associação de idéias (Spink e Guareschi, 1993), emergiram as principais categorias temáticas: infância/iniciação ao futebol, a aprovação dos pais e o depósito maciço de expectativas no futuro profissional: introdução no universo esportivo através do olhar de um outro (pai, parente ou futebolista) reconhecedor da habilidade e potencial do sujeito e a consciência da não vocação para os estudos; socialização e reconhecimento: clube de referência como legitimador do bom jogador; a auto-imagem, percepção de si como jogador; a ideologia, o processo de ancoragem na representação glorificada e idolatrada do jogador de futebol profissional da elite; a objetivação da ilusão nas justificativas de se conciliar o amor à camisa e os interesses financeiros; a legitimação, sentimento de pertença a uma elite, já que, freqüentador de um clube de expressão - representação social de jogadores iniciantes sobre futebol; a alienação, expressa na falta de alternativas profissionais para possível fracasso, não representado e nunca admitido como possibilidade.
In the earlier 90th, according to the Instituto de Economia da Unicamp, the monthly amount with payment in a big soccer Brazilian team was about, US$ 40 thousand. In 1999, this total spent increase to US$ 800 thousand, growing about 200%. On this period, both, the main soccer players earnings, now millionaires, moved on in a geometric progression, and the mediatic exploration make then heroes on this motherland in football shoes. Which are the effects of this soccer hiper-exposition on the means of communication and on the subjective quality component process on teenagers from popular strata of society? This is a survey about the beliefs and representations on rites in the soccer players identification at the beginning of the professional career. The relevance of this study consists of the analysis about psycho-social significance or representation of soccer, making possible the discussion with reference to the part of this sport in the production process of each player, starting from the investigation of the subject-context and necessity-satisfaction interference, in which every representation is anchored. Entering the soccer psycho-social dimension, the intention was to reveal the myths, creeds and representations that bound the players career, interfering in the identity constitution process, examining the identification process with famous person, idols, heroes and analyzing the social representation of soccer in applicant players to be professional and its influence under the social custom. As for the theorical reference the approach used was that of the identity as a metamorphosis from Ciampa (1993,1999) and the social representations of Moscovici (1978,1984,1988), Spink (1993,1996), Jodelet (1984), Arruda (2002) and Guareschi (1996,2000), which are based on the analysis of discursive practice. As a procedure, an investigation was conducted based on the oral report with partially-structured interviews with 10 athletes from base divisions of a popular team in the northeast of Brazil. They were selected under a criterion of exclusion of the beginners coming from working class, between sixteen and eighteen years old, most of then black man, low level of instruction, and on the initial phase of the professionalism. From the qualitative analysis of the recurrent speech, based on the Ideas Association Approach (Spink and Guareschi, 1993), the main thematic categories have arisen: the early period/initiation to soccer, the parents approval and the expectatives on the professional future: introduction on the sportive universe through an outside view which recognize the fellows abilities and potencial and the conscious of doesnt have inclination to study; socialization and prestige: the team legitimating the image of a good player; the auto-image, perception about the self as a soccer player; the ideology, process anchored on the splendour and idolatrous representation of the professional soccer player; the objectification about ilusion on the conciliating justifications between love for the team and the financial interesting; the legitimating, feeling of be among the elite the beginner players social representation about soccer; the alienation, showed on the professional choices deficiency to a possible failure, never represented and accepted as a possibility.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the unintentional learning that happens during the use of computer games. With the use of interviews with students in the ages 13-15 who all have played the game series Assassin’s Creed, and then compared them with students who does not play the game, we have been able to identify that some learning is taking place, but that the student’s attitude towards the subject, and their maturity, also is vital for the learning. Even tough, the students who didn’t really enjoy history as a subject showed better knowledge after playing the game, than the students who hadn’t played at all, which indicates that computer games can be a good source for learning. Another purpose was to investigate the students’ attitude towards using computer games in their education. Interestingly all the students we interviewed, even those who are not interested in computer games were positive to the use of computer games in some form in their education, either themselves playing, or the teacher using it as a form of interactive media to show a certain event or person. Our conclusion shows that computer games are a good source of learning, and the use of computer games as a pedagogic tool in the education definitely should be a subject for further research.

The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), drawn up in London in the 1640s, has been one of the most influential confessions in the history of Reformed theology. It has occupied a very significant place in the life of a great many Protestant churches since the seventeenth century, and continues to serve as a chief subordinate standard in several major denominations today. In the opening chapter of the Confession, the divines of Westminster included a clause which implied that there would no longer be any supernatural revelation from God for showing humankind the way of salvation. Means by which God had once communicated the divine will concerning salvation, such as dreams, visions, and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, were said to be no longer applicable. However, many of the authors of the WCF accepted that "prophecy" continued in their time, and a number of them apparently believed that disclosure of God�s will through dreams, visions, and angelic communication remained possible. How is the "cessationist" clause of WCF 1:1 to be read in the light of these facts? Was it intended as a strict denial of the possibility that any supernatural revelation for the purposes of salvation could take place after the apostolic period, or did its authors, as some modern scholars have argued, allow for a more flexible view, in which such divine revelation through extraordinary means might still take place? This thesis explores these questions in the light of the modern debates over the interpretation of the Confession�s language and its implications for the church today. It considers the difference between "mediate" and "immediate" revelation as understood by the Westminster divines, and attempts to show that only "immediate" revelation was considered to have ceased, while "mediate" revelation, which always involved Scripture, was held to continue. A detailed analysis of the writings of the Westminster divines reveals that these churchmen possessed both a strong desire to maintain the unity of Word and Spirit and a concern to safeguard the freedom of the Holy Spirit to speak to particular circumstances through the language and principles of Scripture. God still enabled predictive prophecy and spoke to individuals in extraordinary ways, but contemporary prophecy was held to be something distinct from the prophecy of New Testament figures. In the minds of both the Scottish Presbyterians and English Puritans, prophecy was considered to be an application of Scripture for a specific situation, not an announcement of new information not contained within the Bible. The Scriptures always remained essential for the process of discerning God�s will. The Introduction to the thesis considers the debate over WCF 1:1 in its modern setting. Chapter One outlines the socio-political and theological context of the Westminster Assembly, and discusses the question of how to assess the respective contributions of the divines to the documents it produced. Chapter Two investigates the Westminster view of the necessity and scope of special revelation, and discusses the nature of the "salvation" which was conveyed by this means. Chapter Three surveys the exegetical traditions underpinning the teaching that former modalities of supernatural revelation had ceased. Chapter Four seeks to respond to modern claims that Puritan theology allowed for a "continuationist" position, by canvassing evidence both from seventeenth-century Reformed thinkers themselves and from their critics, who maintained that Westminster orthodoxy was indeed cessationist in style. Chapters Five and Six explore the claims to and explanations for "prophecy" in Reformed theology in both England and Scotland in the seventeenth century. Chapter Seven examines the question of the theological status of the Westminster Confession in its own time. To what extent were subscription requirements envisaged by the Assembly and the governments of the day, and what form did these requirements take? The thesis concludes that the Westminster divines intended the cessationist clause to affirm that there was to be no more extra-biblical, "immediate" revelation for any purpose now that the church possessed the completed Scriptures. The written Word of God was fully capable of showing the way of "salvation" in its wider scope as either temporal or eternal deliverance. At the same time the divines did not intend to deny that God could still speak through special providences that might involve dreams or the ministry of angels, for example, but such revelation was always to be considered "mediate". The primary means was held to be the written Scriptures, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. The unity of the Word and Spirit was maintained, and God�s freedom to address individual circumstances remained intact.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this study, the researcher studied the Belhar Confession of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), which gained shape following the social injustices that resulted from the policy of apartheid. The researcher argues that the Belhar Confession, especially Article 4 of the said confession, forces URCSA to establish a Theology of Development within their structures. While URCSA‟s role (Dutch Reformed Mission Church and the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa pre-1994) during the apartheid era was that of resistance, the church‟s role in a post-apartheid South African context was supposed to change to reconstruction and assistance. But was this the case? The researcher compared the South African socio-economic context before and after apartheid, and judged whether or not the ANC‟s “better life for all” campaign of 1994 made a significant difference in the post-apartheid South Africa. Did the new constitution make a difference in terms of the socio-economic situation of the country? Did the ANC campaign honour their word and did it result in a better life for all? Although the researcher argued that certain areas did change and differences were achieved, the researcher is convinced that poverty in South Africa is still a real problem – in the country and the rest of the world. Based upon this judgment, the researcher is of the opinion that given the current socio-economic situation of the country, the Belhar Confession is now more than ever relevant and exactly therefore should be the basis and motivation for the church to serve and be involved in the fight against poverty in South Africa. This motivation for the church to be involved is also justified according to the Bible. Through this justification and Biblical cry the church is challenged to not only rely on welfare projects in their role as poverty combaters. Here the researcher uses the generation theories of David Korten as support to make it clear that although welfare projects (generation one/two modes of engagement) address the immediate needs of the poor, they do not however address the root of the real poverty problem. The researcher also proposed a third/fourth generation mode of involvement from the church to combat poverty through systemic and asset-based systems and influence policies at various levels of government to address the poverty problem. Yet, even a third/fourth generation approach would not be sufficient on its own. The researcher suggests that the church should simultaneously implement generations 1 to 4 modes of engagement in order to be able to play an active role. Nonetheless, the intriguing questions are, is the church not already doing all of this? What role does Badisa play in all of this? Don‟t local churches, presumably, hide behind Badisa as an answer in their own involvement in the fight against poverty? Even if the church is involved in various modes of engagement, is it Belhar Confession driven? The researcher is convinced that the church is forced to stay involved in the fight against poverty at all levels. The Belhar Confession is an ecclesial theological response to the poverty and injustice context of South Africa because of the theological content of the confession as well as the context in which it originated. The confession originated in a context of racial segregation, religious apartheid and the theological justification of apartheid as well as large scale socio-political and socio-economical wrongdoing. Currently, there is still widespread poverty and socio-economic injustice in South Africa that make the Confession of Belhar relevant. Therefore, URCSA cannot help but to be involved because a church that belongs to God and confesses a confession like Belhar is called to stand where God stands, amongst the poor. This means that the church must witness and act against injustice and against all the powerful who selfishly seek only their own interests.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie bestudeer die navorser die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika (VGKSA) se Belydenis van Belhar, wat beslag gekry het na aanleiding van die sosiale ongeregtighede wat die gevolg van die beleid van apartheid was. Die navorser argumenteer dat die Belydenis van Belhar, maar veral Artikel 4 van die genoemde belydenis, die VGKSA noop om ‟n Teologie van Ontwikkeling in die betrokke kerk te vestig. Waar die VGKSA in die apartheidsera (toe die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk en Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika, onderskeidelik) se rol tydens die apartheidsera dié van weerstand was, moes die kerk se rol in ‟n post-apartheid Suid-Afrikaanse konteks na een van rekonstruksie en bystand verander. Is dit egter die geval? Die navorser vergelyk die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-ekonomiese konteks voor en na die apartheidsbestel en oordeel of daar na aanleiding van die ANC se “better life for all” veldtog van 1994 ʼn wesenlike verskil in post-apartheid Suid-Afrika is. Het die nuwe grondwet ʼn verskil gemaak in terme van die sosio-ekonomiese situasie van die land? Het die ANC-veldtog hulle woord gestand gedoen en ʼn beter lewe vir almal tot gevolg gehad? Alhoewel daar op sekere gebiede veranderinge en verskille bewerkstellig is, is die navorser oortuig dat armoede in Suid-Afrika steeds ʼn wesenlike probleem in die land, maar selfs ook in die wêreld is. Op grond hiervan oordeel die navorser dat, gegewe die huidige sosio-ekonomiese situasie van die land, die Belydenis van Belhar stééds relevant is en dit juis as grondslag en as beweegrede vir die kerk moet dien vir daadwerklike betrokkenheid in die stryd teen armoede in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie motivering word ook Bybels geregverdig en die kerk word uitgedaag om nie net op welsynsprojekte staat te maak in hulle rol as armoedebestryders nie. Hier gebruik die navorser die generasieteorieë van David Korten ter ondersteuning en maak dit duidelik dat alhoewel welsynsprojekte (generasie een/twee modusse van betrokkenheid) die onmiddellike nood van armes aanspreek, dit nie die wortel van die kwaad aanspreek nie. Die navorser hou wel voor dat die kerk na die derde/vierde generasie modusse van betrokkenheid moet beweeg wat sistemiese en bategerigte stelsels vir die verligting van armoede tot gevolg het en beleide op verskeie regeringsvlakke moet aanspreek. Tog kan dit ook nie alleen gebeur nie. Die navorser stel voor dat die kerk tegelykertyd op generasie 1 tot 4 modusse van betrokkenheid moet fokus om sodoende ʼn daadwerklike rol te kan speel. Die vrae is egter: Doen die kerk dit nie reeds nie? Watter rol speel Badisa hierin? Skuil plaaslike gemeentes nie dalk agter Badisa as antwoord in hulle eie betrokkenheid tot die stryd teen armoede nie? Die navorser is oortuig dat die kerk, in alle gestaltes waarin sy haar bevind, genoodsaak word om betrokke te bly in die stryd teen armoede op alle vlakke. Die Belydenis van Belhar is ‟n kerklik-teologiese respons op die armoede en ongeregtigheidsituasie in Suid-Afrika vanweë die teologiese inhoud van die belydenis sowel as die konteks waarin dit ontstaan het. Die belydenis het sy ontstaan gehad in ‟n konteks van rassesegregasie, kerklike apartheid en die teologiese regverdiging van die apartheidsbeleid asook grootskaalse sosio-politieke/ekonomiese ongeregtigheid. Vandag heers daar steeds grootskaalse armoede en sosio-ekonomiese ongeregtigheid in Suid-Afrika wat die belydenis steeds relevant maak. Daarom kan die VGKSA nie anders nie, want ‟n kerk wat hierdie belydenis bely en ‟n kerk wat aan God behoort, is geroep om te staan waar God staan, saam met die armes. Dit hou in dat die kerk sal getuig teen onreg en teen alle magtiges wat uit selfsug slegs hulle eie belange sou soek al word ander daardeur benadeel.

Edward C. Fritz was one of the most influential environmentalists in Texas history. Although he took a circuitous route to environmental activism, Fritz evolved into a powerful force fighting on behalf of Texan nature. Participating in substantial actions throughout the second half of the twentieth century, Fritz's contributions to environmental activism resulted in the successful preservation of thousands of acres and multiple wildlife species. Fritz parlayed his legal background into effective activism, beginning his career with a successful lobbying campaign for protection of Harris Hawks. He led the campaign to stop a decades old plan for canalization of the Trinity River. The creation of COST combined Fritz's environmental focus with the concerns of economic conservatives to prevent a billion dollar government funded project that would have significantly altered the river. Fritz then led a cadre who took over efforts to establish a preserve in the Big Thicket national forest. He oversaw the foundation of a protected area far larger than original expectations, capitalizing on the growing awareness of environmental issues in the 1970s. Fritz's interest in the Big Thicket led to a fight against the Forest Service's practice of clearcutting and its effect on Red Cockaded Woodpeckers. Through litigation and legislation, Fritz fostered a grassroots movement aimed at reforming management of the national forests, saw the establishment of the state's first wilderness, and saved the declining population of the woodpeckers. For his tireless approach and lifelong achievements, Fritz was given the title of "Father of Texas Conservation."

Pro-anorexia (or pro-ana) is an intertnet-based eating disorder (EiD) movement committed to supporting and encouraging or advising those who wish to initiate or maintain (Gavin et al. 2008) an ED, i.e. those who are not yet ready to recover (Dias 2003). The aim of this thesis is to explore interdiscursivity (ID) in pro-ana discourse, showing how members of the pro-ana community draw on the discourse of Evangelical Christianity in their online interactions. The analysis examines two bodies of data. The main focus is on the data taken from a proana website, comprising 219 message threads collected over a period of 47 days from a proana message board. The data taken from the discussion fora of several Christian websites serves as the evidence base, or empirical defence, for the study. By drawing on discursive psychology (DP) and the concept of ID, the analysis considers the way in which pro-ana site users display a marked orientation to each of the main aspects, or components, of Evangelical Christian discourse in their interactions on the website. Part of the thesis is also dedicated to reviewing current research in ID and explaining the rationale behind the use of both ID and c)'P. The primary analytical focus is on the construction of Ana as god(dess), and so the first empirical chapter considers orientations in the data to the notions of committing to Ana, following Ana and failing Ana with respect to the ways Christians orient to their relationship with God. It examines the construction of Ana's voice, and it deals with the contradictory depiction of Ana as both a loving and a cruel god(dess), drawing parallels with the orientation to the voice of God in the Christian discourse, and the construction of the Old Testament God of wrath and the New Testament God of love. It also accounts for potentially competing constructions of Ana, noting their place in the data and the impact they have on the construction of Ana the deity. The secondary analytical focus is on the construction of all the other religious components in the discourse, and so the second empirical chapter considers how speakers construct food as the devil, hunger or craving as temptation, and eating as sinning. It also explores the speakers' orientation to fat as punishment (or the wages of sin), and to cutting/selfharming, exercising, fasting and purging as penance (or atonement) for sin.

Thesis (DTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2002
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The problem investigated in this thesis entails ordinance articles of the Dutch Reformed Church (1998) pertaining to the relevance of offices in the church in the modern world, and more specifically the office of the minister of the Gospel. During the past 30 years several authors doubted and questioned the authenticity of these offices as far as relevance, origin and content are concerned. Questions concerning the offices and especially the office of the minister of the Gospel, are posed because the Dutch Reformed Church ordinance is, allegedly, not based on the Scriptures and the ordinance also is accused of not providing explicit answers to these problems. The literature review clearly reveals that this questioning of the offices and more specifically the office of the minister of the Gospel, is not new in overseas literature.This tendency is also lately encountered in South Africa. The literature review also reveals that these questions are mainly driven by the authority crisis and ideologies such as pragmatism, functionalism, secularism, and post-modernism that leads to secularisation and democratisation. This fact emphasises the urgent need for the Church offices to be accounted for and investigated afresh in order to measure (test) its relation to the Biblical principles as found in the Scriptures, in the articles of faith and as they are formulated in the Dutch Reformed Church Ordinance. A large part of the study is dedicated to the investigation of the principles underlying the Church Ordinance and in chapter two an account is also given of the Scripture readings that are relevant to and justify the institution of the church offices according to the New and Old Testament. The ordinance articles pertaining to church offices, are analysed and evaluated in historical context to establish validity and to account for the natural historical development of the ordinance articles. The articles of faith to which the Dutch Reformed Church subscribes, are also scrutunized for evidence of basic Biblical principles in order to determine the extent to which these articles of faith support and are reflected in the rulings contained in the Church Ordinance. A critical, analytical, theological and historical investigation of the ordinance articles and the articles of faith reveals that they abundantly account for Christian principles and that the Dutch Reformed Church ordinance is based solidly on the Scriptures. in accepting and declaring that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Master of his church on earth, that He instituted and still maintains the church offices as instruments through which he, himself rules. Attention is also given to the need for reformulation of redundant or ambiguous articles on the order in the church regarding the clergymen preaching the Word of God.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorsingsprobleem van hierdie proefskrif is die vraag na die Skrifmatige, belydenismatige en historiese agtergronde van daardie artikels in die Kerl