This dissertation examines the ethics of Santideva, an Indian Mahayana Buddhist thinker of the seventh century CE, particularly through his work, the Sikṣadsamuccaya (Compendium of Teaching). This study therefore helps redress a significant imbalance in the scholarship on Buddhist ethics, which has up to now focused primarily on the morality of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. The dissertation incorporates both descriptive and metaethical analyses to answer three questions: What is Santideva's moral theory, and how does it compare with other characterizations of Buddhist ethics? Can one moral theory adequately describe Buddhist moral traditions? / Through textual analysis and translations, this thesis offers a exegetical account of the moral thought in the Sikṣasamuccaya , beginning with a description of Santideva's understanding of how to become a bodhisattva, the Mahayana spiritual ideal. I provide an analysis of Santideva's understanding of key moral concepts, with a particular focus on virtuous conduct (sila), skillfulness (kusalatva), and merit (puṇya). I then test the assumption that Buddhist moral theory is homogeneous by comparing the results of this study with those of existing secondary literature on Buddhist ethics, and in particular, I respond to Damien Keown's position that Buddhist ethics can be considered a form of Aristotelian virtue ethics. I highlight those features of Santideva's thought that fit the framework of a virtue ethic, and then discuss the implications of those aspects of the tradition that are not well captured by it. In particular, I consider the utilitarian elements in Santideva's morality. In my conclusion, I attempt to resolve these apparently conflicting styles of moral reasoning with the idea that there is a shift over the course of a bodhisattva's career from a straightforward virtue ethic to a kind of utilitarian hybrid of virtue ethics. I conclude the thesis with some reflections on the value of comparative ethics and the effort to develop a comprehensive moral theory to describe Buddhist traditions.

This thesis explores the implications of the thought of Michel Foucault in relation to traditional Systematic Theology. It offers an outline of different types of theology to address the shortcomings exposed in the critique of Systematic Theology. / The first two parts of the thesis are an inquiry into the meaning of an archive. This word identifies an epoch of history, but it is a spatial rather than a chronological emphasis. An archive identifies experiential conditions that limit both the potential and sense of thinking; yet, such limitations simultaneously permit sense and thinking. An archive denies and constitutes possible sense-perception. In relation to knowledge, this calls forward several sociological and historical factors. It was Foucault's uniqueness to place great emphasis on power and on the general sense of the sociology of knowledge. / The focus of Part III rests on the critique of traditional Systematic Theology. In particular, this tradition has tended to presume the correctness of what Schleiermacher called the religious a priori. In this approach, the fact of existence demonstrates the necessity of a pregiven source of existence. But this attempt to transcend existence covered up several important questions related to the experience of the a priori from within the archive. Foucault demonstrates that the transcendental tradition did not sufficiently consider its sociological context or the spatial dynamics involved in its production. / In response, there are different types of theological practices available. The first type (called theology A) arises from the affirmation that knowledge is a dynamic archive location. From this point of view the history of Christian thought can be approached as sets of archives in which certain types of God-sense are produced. The second type of theology (called theology B) arises from the affirmation that a critical theology is possible only when, from its location, it orients itself to non-events and non-being. Theology is accomplished critically when it undertakes to affirm itself as both a product of its archive and an orientation toward the available nothingness of its archive. / The work of Michel Foucault opens to theology two different manners of approaching its history and its contemporary task.

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The majority of commentators have taken Luke 12:5 as a reference to God, while a few well-known New Testament scholars have taken it to be a reference to Satan. Yet neither position has adequately substantiated its interpretation with reference to the setting in Luke's gospel. We argue that taking it as a reference to Satan makes better sense of the passage within its context. The literature is reviewed to show which commentators, namely Conzelmann, Wink and Lampe, have understood this verse as a reference to Satan. A comparison with the parallel text in Matthew reveals the differences in text and context between Matthew and Luke. These are significant enough to allow for different interpretations of the reference in Matthew and Luke. Focussing on $ varepsilon chi o upsilon sigma grave iota alpha$ and Satan shows that Luke uses these concepts in a more developed way, and ascribes authority to Satan in his writings. This interpretation of Luke 12:5 fits in well with the theme of conflict developed in Luke's gospel. The cumulative weight of these arguments points in the direction of Luke 12:5 being a reference to Satan.

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