The early Christian text known as the 'Letter to the Hebrews' has presented a riddle to scholarship. Its anonymity and anomalous form are puzzling. Scholars like Norman Perrin and Barnabas Lindars also-find Hebrews enigmatic because it does not appear to represent the views of any early Christian community. / This thesis contends that the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit is due to a conceptual flaw. Beginning with Franz Overbeck (1882), there has been a tendency to assess early Christian texts as nonliterary, unlike later Patristic texts. Deemed nonliterary, they are thereby thought to document the situation within which they were written. For Hebrews, this has resulted in numerous reconstructions of its historical setting. None, however, has proven satisfactory. This lack of consensus casts doubt on the appropriateness of ruling out Hebrews' essential literary character. Moreover, the explanations used to justify the unique nonliterary character of early Christian literature are not compelling. Thus, the probability of Hebrews' literary character increases. / The literary texts written by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian, are more likely comparable to Hebrews. These Patristic texts were produced in the late second century before the shape of orthodoxy became fixed. A survey of representative scholarly literature shows a low expectation of retrieving from these early Patristic texts an unambiguous profile of the author's ideological community, of the text's occasion, or of its audience. Thus, it would be unwarranted to expect Hebrews to be more representative of its situation. / Given the probability of Hebrews' literary character, the thesis demonstrates that it is inappropriate to assume that Hebrews represents ideas that extend beyond those of the author to a specific community or to a particular situation. The burden of proof is reversed. Without evidence to the contrary, Hebrews is best explained as a persuasive literary effort by an idiosyncratic author directed to a general Christian audience. / Thus, the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit dissolves. Furthermore, questions are raised regarding the contemporary scholarly expectation that other early Christian writings (Matthew, James, etc.) were shaped by and for ideologically distinct communities.

This thesis theorizes the conceptual grid upon which discussions of sexuality are based in India's Great Epic, the Mahabharata . The Mahabharata contains complex multilevel taxonomies of sexuality, framed within hierarchies of religious experience. The thesis isolates two categories of religious experience: pravr&dotbelow;tti dharma ("involvement in the world"), and nivr&dotbelow;tti dharma ("renunciation of the world"). Within nivr&dotbelow;tti dharma, discourses on sexuality are inalienable from discourses on the body, and on asceticism. Within pravr&dotbelow;tti dharma, discourses on sexuality are anchored by parallel discourses on the dharmas of caste and stage of life (varn&dotbelow;asrama dharma), as well as on the dharmas based on sex and familial hierarchy. These subcategories are identified and the place of sexuality within them is drawn in detail.

I am writing a feminist theology of music. Feminist musicologists, by studying music's relation to human sexuality (a connection which theologians have neglected, suppressed, or simply ignored), contend that music has always functioned as a metaphor for sexual relations. As such, music constitutes a site where personal and social formation is negotiated and contested. Via repertoires of musical conventions, much like those in film and literature, composers arouse, manipulate, and channel our desires, thereby reinforcing (and sometimes transgressing) cultural norms of sexuality and gender construction. Their compositions become "fabrications of sexuality." (McClary) / Historically, theologians and church authorities vilified music's preeminent worth as an erotic medium, promoting instead its exemplary embodiment of ontic harmony and order. To do so, they clothed their polemic against "illicit" musical practices with the rhetoric of effeminacy, thus veiling male ambivalence toward women and the body in a politics of transcendence. After a critique of these masculinist models, and an exposition of music as a gendered, en-gendering discourse, I will redefine music theologically as abject, fleshly imitatio. To construct a feminist musico-theological model, I shall synthesise a lost trope from the tradition with insights which I have gained from the musical activities of four women musician-composers: Hildegard of Bingen, Bolognese nun Lucrezia Vizzani (and her consoeurs), Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Diamanda Galas. Through this recuperative synthesis, music's theological significance will shift from its incarnation of harmony and order---divine, cosmic, or human to its ineradicable promiscuity, its dis-integrative powers. / My original contribution to the field is fourfold: (1) I document the rhetoric of effeminacy and virility which has influenced and shaped traditional theologies of music, and thereby undermine the latter's privileged status as musico-theological resources; (2) I portray the music of the above women composers as musical imitations of Christ; (3) I enrich revisionist accounts of women in the Christian tradition by giving greater prominence to women's musical activity, the latter previously neglected in, for example, theological studies of mediaeval women, this despite music's centrality to their daily lives; (4) I initiate mutually enriching dialogue between feminist musicology and theology. To date, a feminist theology of music has not been written.

Historians working with texts often experience a tension in their work. On the one hand there are questions raised by ancient documents. On the other, limited data makes it impossible to answer these questions with certainty. Second Peter illustrates both phenomena and as a result there is a proliferation of theories about its origin. It is used therefore as a test case in this dissertation which is primarily concerned with historical methodology. Scholars have questioned the authorship of 2 Peter since at least the second century and there remains to this day no consensus about such issues as date of composition, provenance, and destination. In short, fixing a precise historical location for 2 Peter is impossible because of a lack of evidence. To compensate for such historical gaps, scholarship has developed various theories that allow for tentative conclusions about where this and other writings best fit within early Christianity. / In many cases literary parallels have played a role in both developing and defending such theories. By observing similarities between texts (and put negatively, by observing how texts differ from one another---the absence of parallels) a variety of conclusions may be reached: one writing borrowed from another, writings that share a theological perspective belong to the same period of history, writings derive from a school, and so on. / This dissertation analyses several examples of how 2 Peter specifically is located using parallels as a basis. It is argued for a number of reasons that this 'tool' is not reliable and so, to assist with historical research, a series of criteria are given. These are provided as guidelines to help historians evaluate literary parallels and also to safeguard against inappropriate conclusions based on them. With respect to 2 Peter, it is argued that firm answers are out of reach for various questions given the available data.

William Warham, Lord Chancellor of England (1504--1515) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1503--1532), was Desiderius Erasmus's most generous and consistent patron; in Erasmus's words a "sacred anchor" for him. The relationship between the two men connected with and contributed to a complex process of historical change. First of all, Warham and Erasmus were both associated with the paradigm shift which we now call the Northern Renaissance. Warham's academic background and his travels on the continent motivated him to support the study of Greek, new research in theology and the revival of classical learning. His money and political support acted as a force enabling Erasmus to get his New Testament work completed and published. Erasmus's New Testament research in turn facilitated the biblical scholarship of the Reformation and definitely motivated William Tyndale, among others. The reform which the collaboration of Warham and Erasmus helped to unleash was hence more radical than either had ever anticipated. Once religious reform started, neither man could control its pace although each made an effort to do so. The aim of this thesis is to show the significance of their relationship to the two individuals themselves, and also, more importantly, to analyze the dynamics of their collaboration and to demonstrate how and why it acted as a catalyst for religious change in England. Books have been written about More and Erasmus and Colet and Erasmus; the absence of a book about Warham and Erasmus has meant that the nature and significance of their relationship have not, as yet, been fully understood.

While Pauline studies today are grappling with the question of the core of Paul's thought, the investigation of the apostle's social world is also gaining interest among scholars. The study of Paul's argumentation offers a fundamental contribution to both endeavours. Enthymemes, defined by the rhetorical tradition as the basic building blocks of deductive argumentation, constitute an important part of Paul's argumentation which until now has been relatively unexploited. Study of the manner in which Paul constructs enthymemes gives us insight into his thought world. The premisses that he uses as argumentative proofs can be viewed as a reflection of the common "social knowledge" of the Pauline milieu. / The object of this inquiry is to study Paul's use of enthymemes as a rhetorical and argumentative tool and to evaluate what this reveals about his thought, his teaching, and his social world. The study begins with a discussion of the problem of enthymeme definition, followed by a clarification of criteria for identifying enthymemes in texts. A method of analysis is proposed. The entire corpus of Paul's seven undisputed letters is then "combed" for enthymemes, one epistle at a time. Enthymemes are identified and analysed, and their argumentative premisses are catalogued thematically. This exercise permits a serious consideration of Paul's modes of argumentation, rhetorical aims and social world in the context of each epistle. Results from different epistles are compared as a means to consider, in general, Paul's rhetorical habits. / This thesis argues that enthymeme analysis is a necessary first step in Pauline exegesis. It is also argued that more attention needs to be given to enthymeme study in the research into Paul's social world. The question of how enthymeme study can inform the study of Paul's theology and core convictions is also discussed.

The political modernization of Quebec in the 1960s meant that the close identification of French Canadian identity with the Roman Catholic faith was replaced by a new secular nationalism. Using David Martin's A General Theory of Secularization, I examine the reaction of the Catholic Church to its own loss of power and to the rise of this new secular nationalism. Conservative Catholics first condemned the new nationalism; by 1969 some conservative accepted the new society and even supported its state interventionism. Most important Catholic groups, including the hierarchy, the most dynamic organizations, and largest publications came to accept the new society. Inspired by the religious reforms of the Second Vatican Council and new papal social teaching, they affirmed the right of Quebeckers to self-determination and social justice. The Church created a sustained ethical critique of nationalism as a means of redefining its public presence in Quebec society. The consensus around this ethical critique and redefinitions of the Church role is evident in the participation of Catholic groups in the 1980 referendum on sovereignty-association.

This dissertation explores ideas about human agency and conduct as these are expressed in the Indian epic known as the Mahabharata (the "Great Bharata"). Two concepts in particular retain our attention: daiva, the power that comes from the gods, and purusakara, the power that comes from human beings (purusas). One current of thought holds that human life and the course of history are governed exclusively by external agencies ("the gods" or chance). On the other hand, the epic also carries the commanding message that the lives of individuals and societies may be changed for the better through human initiative (purusakara) in accordance with the dharma, the moral order sanctioned by religious tradition. The issue is finally reduced to the question: who is the real agent of action? / The analysis concludes that the question can only be resolved in the context of epic ideas about the nature of the human being. But humanity is simply a stage in the spiritual evolution of all life towards the realization of the unity of existence as the manifestation of a Supreme Person (paramapurusa; purusottama) or a Supreme Self (paramatman). Souls (atmans) are embodied as human beings at the stage when consciousness develops into the self-consciousness of an ego (ahamkara), which arrogates to itself the notion of self-determination or "freedom." In reality, however, the soul is not free but trapped in a cycle of rebirth, which can be broken only by the abandonment of all notion of agency, action and control over the fruits of the action. The epic therefore operates at two levels. In terms of the mundane tasks and responsibilities of daily life, particularly the responsibilities of the king, the human being is regarded as enjoying a modicum of freedom and self-determination to chart the course of his or her future evolution. From the higher perspective of the unity of all life, however, this self-concept is inherently flawed. The actions of such a being spring from unconscious motives prompted by the higher purposes that govern the course of the cosmos as a whole.

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