Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
A
Toutes les communautés chrétiennes de
l’Eglise Protestante Méthodiste de Côte d’Ivoire.
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REMERCIEMENTS
« Je peux tout en Celui qui me rend fort » (Ph 4 :13). C’est par cette déclaration de
l’apôtre Paul aux Philippiens que nous rendons grâce au Dieu-Créateur qui nous a guidé et
soutenu tout au long de notre formation. Ce travail est le fruit d’efforts conjugués de
nombreuses personnes qui, de près et de loin, ont contribué à sa réalisation. Sans les citer
toutes, nous mentionnons entre autres :
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SIGLES ET ABREVIATIONS
I- Livres bibliques
Ac = Actes des Apôtres
Ap = Apocalypse
Col = Epître de Paul aux Colossiens
Eccl = Ecclésiaste
Eph = Epître de Paul aux Ephésiens
Ex = Exode
Gn = Genèse
Héb = Epître aux Hébreux
Jb = Job
Jd = Jude
Jn = Evangile selon Jean
Jq = Epître de Jacques
Lc = Evangile selon Luc
Mc = Evangile selon Marc
Mt = Evangile selon Matthieu
Ph = Epître aux Philippiens
Ps = Psaumes
Pv = Proverbes
Rm = Epître de Paul aux Romains
Thes = Première Epître de Paul aux Thessaloniciens
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conj. de coord. = conjonction de coordination
conj. de subord. = conjonction de subordination
Dr = Docteur
E.E.P.T = Eglise Evangélique Presbytérienne du Togo
E.P.E.P.N = Ecole Pastorale Evangélique de Porto-Novo
EPMB = Eglise Protestante Méthodiste du Bénin
EPMCI = Eglise Protestante Méthodiste de Côte d’Ivoire
etc. = et cætera (ainsi de suite)
Ibid.= Ibidem = Indication bibliographique déjà mentionnée
indécl. = indéclinable
Loc. Cit. = Loco citato = article déjà cité
masc. = masculin
N.M.R = Nouveaux Mouvements Religieux
N.T. = Nouveau Testament
Op. Cit. = Opus citatum = Ouvrage déjà cité
p. = page
pp. = Pages
PDV = Parole de Vie
pers. = personne
pron. = pronom
RCI = République de Côte d’Ivoire
Rév. = Révérend
sing. = singulier
ss = suivants
UPAC = Université Protestante d’Afrique Centrale
UPAO = Université Protestante de l’Afrique de l’Ouest
v = verset
vv = versets
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RESUME
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ABSTRACT
Faith has led to the birth of many religious movements. This abundance of
trends disrupts the daily life of Christians. It is in this spirit that the post-pascal figure of
Thomas in John 20 is inscribed: a model of spiritual growth for the emancipation of the
African Christian of today. More and more, some Christians in Africa want to see miracles
happen in their lives before they believe despite all the testimonies revealed by the Holy
Scriptures. They thus become Christians who can be easily manipulated and whose faith
remains strained between to the great delight of the so-called prophets and the like. The
question here is how can the post-pascal figure of Thomas be a model of spiritual growth for
today's African Christian? Probably, Thomas' approach in John 20, which goes from "seeing
to believe" to "believing", could help the African Christian to grow in faith. Through the
approaches of historical-critical exegesis, this work focuses on the interpretation and
appropriation of John 20 for a healthy understanding of Thomas' post-pascal figure. From this
historical-critical reading, theological and hermeneutical paths have emerged. It follows that
the process leading to authentic faith cannot ignore doubt. This implies that without doubt and
Thomas' confession of faith, Jesus' resurrection would be a myth. Thus, to be edified, the
African Christian must be any person who is conscious and convinced of the sacrificial death
of Christ and be convinced of his resurrection, like Thomas. He must renounce mimicry and
cease from being a blind religious follower, and know how to wait for God's time. Despite his
expectations in certain crisis situations such as doctrinal, diaconal, ecclesial and even
theological misunderstanding, he can ask himself fair and judicious questions to receive
adequate answers. The examination of the content of what he hears seems necessary in order
not to float in any kind of doctrine. Moreover, the African Christian must not declare himself
a Christian by family, tribal or continental heritage. Finally, Thomas' confession of faith,
which is the fruit of his personal discovery of the Risen One, invites the African Christian to
confess a faith resulting from his Christian experience. This implies that the content of
traditional "crédos" should be explained, instead of being simple ecclesial recitations but
meaningful. Every word of the "creed" must come from the heart of the African Christian. In
short, Thomas can be an original figure who engages the responsibility of the Church in
Africa in the elaboration of a catechesis for the edification of Christians of all ages and ages.
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