<p>This dissertation compares the philosophy of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775-1854) and Eric Voegelin (1901-1985). More specifically, it discusses the considerable extent to which Voegelin drew upon Schelling in the formulation of his mature philosophy of consciousness and its supporting historiography. There are three parts to the presentation of my argument. First, I consider why Voegelin's published references to Schelling varied greatly throughout the course of his career. Secondly, I consider the earliest of Voegelin's major works, examining the extent to which they draw upon Schelling's. Initially, Voegelin thought of Schelling as a philosopher who managed to transcend the intellectual extremes of his time--idealism and nihilism--and Voegelin attempted to follow his example. Finally, I discuss how Voegelin distributed aspects of Schelling's post-idealist thought in his own mature works on the philosophy of consciousness and its progressive differentiation in history. I conclude by offering a number of critical reflections on Voegelin's Schellingian view of history as a theogonic process of being itself which tends toward the "immortalizing" transfiguration of humanity</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>This study focuses on the OT citations and major allusions in Luke-Acts, in order to evaluate the conclusion of Traugott Holz (Untersuchungen über die alttestamentlichen Ziate bei Lukas) that Luke was only familiar with the LXX of Minor Prophets, Isaiah and the Psalms, whereas for the Pentateuch and historical books of the OT was dependant on the other sources such as testimonia. In doing so, the study aims to ascertain the extent of Luke's familiarity with the LXX, to ascertain whether Luke's LXX mss may have been Hebraicizing, and to understand how Luke's redactional activity affects the final form citations. The study concludes that Luke demonstrates knowledge of the LXX Pentateuch, but while Luke tends to use to LXX directly, at times he does use sources other than the OT either because he wished to be faithful to a source which he held in high regard, or because the version of the OT material in his source was particularly applicable to the context which he placed the OT reference. The ms of the LXX Minor Prophets which Luke used was likely Hebraicizing, but there is little significant evidence that he was using a Hebraicizing LXX ms for any other OT book. Finally, Lukan redaction is evident in all OT material both in altering the passages in such a way that his christological or apologetic interpretation is embedded in them, and in altering them stylistically (even to the point of summarizing or simply alluding to them) to fit the context of his narrative. The latter is most evident in the references to the Pentateuch which tend to be embedded in the Lukan narrative, and in which there is less material amenable to christological or apologetic interpretation.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>"It is only as an aesthetic phenomenon that existence and the world are eternally justified." This sentence, repeated twice in The Birth of Tragedy, and standing as it does as the essential purpose and motivation of the book, seems to be an intentional turning about of the Lutheran doctrine of sale fide. Here art appropriates to itself what is essentially a religious function; art is the realm of human activity where experiences are ordered and intensified, and subsequently, where redemption is to be gained. In formulating his ideas on art and on Greek tragedy Nietzsche was influenced by Wagner. It was Wagner's music, above all else, that opened up to Nietzsche new problems for art and religion. The musical dissonance or Tristan opened up to Nietzsche the secret key to Greek tragedy. It was the recognition of the Dionysian origin of tragedy, of its origin out of the spirit of music, that enabled Nietzsche to discover the essence of tragedy free from the conventional aesthetics, which expected tragedy to answer the criterion of the plastic arts, that is, of beauty. The Birth of Tragedy announced to the world, as Nietzsche wrote to Wagner, that "practically nothing remains of traditional theories of 'AEsthetics'." In what follows an interpretation of the religious significance of this new aesthetics will be offered by way of a study of the role of Wagner's Tristan and Isolde in The Birth of Tragedy.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis is a study of the adultery theme in the major texts of Bengali Vaisnavism. Using a chronological approach to the literature a study was made of how the adultery, or parakiya, theme was used in various texts throughout this tradition. This was facilitated by focusing on the figure of Rādhā who was considered the favored consort of the cowherd god Krsna.</p> <p>The literature involved is categorized into works which are considered narrative or poetic in character, and texts which are explicitly theological or apologetic. In the former group of literature is included the earliest devotional poetry of the Bengali tradition: the Gītagovinda of Jayadeva (12th century), the padavali of Vidyāpati (14th century), and the padas of Candīdās (14th century). Also included are the Dānakelikaumudī of Rūpa Gosvāmin (16th century) and the Brahmavaivarta Purāna (16th century).</p> <p>What was implicit in the devotional literature mentioned above was made explicit by the Gosvāmins of Vrndāvana. The theological perspectives of Rūpa and Jīva Gosvāmin on the parakīyā issue vary from the earlier literary tradition, (see Chapt. II, sec. 2). The Tantric Sahajiya cult offered an interpretation of Rādhā's adultery in line with the Sahaja practice of taking a woman in sādhanā, (Chapt. II, sec. 3).</p> <p>In the conclusion questions are raised concerning the appeal of the adultery theme in devotional literature. Offered are parallel examples of adultery in the literature of other religious traditions and an analysis of this theme in reference to love in separation. This may offer explanations as to how such a theme persisted in the literature of Bengali literature.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis re-examines Jeremiah's use and understanding of the wilderness motif. The first chapter reviews and critiques the secondary literature on the subject. Since the two major passages referred to in support of the "nomadic ideal" are Hos. 2:16-17 and Jer. 2:2-3, their past interpretations receive special attention.</p> <p>Chapter two is a rhetorical and contextual analysis of Jer. 2:2-4:4. Based on a series of contrasts discovered in this passage, it is concluded that Jeremiah does refer to the wilderness period as a time when Israel responded to Yahweh in a positive manner. It is also suggested that the bases of Jer. 2:2-4:4 is Israel's breach of the Mosaic covenant, and Yahweh's desire to establish a new covenant.</p> <p>Chapter three examines the history of the marriage metaphor as a means of illustrating Yahweh's relationship with Israel. It is concluded that there are two sources of the metaphor. The first originates with the incident at Beth Baal Peor. There Israel participated in sexual intercourse as a means of worshipping Baal Peor, and this event was interpreted and described as religious harlotry. Both Hosea and Jer. 2:2-4:4 reflect this tradition. The second is grounded in the old Canaanite idea that capital cities were royal goddesses. This concept was adopted by the Judeans after David's conquest of Jerusalem, and is visible in the writings of the southern prophets, Isaiah, Micah, and Ezekiel.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis examines the conception of "nien-fo" (literally, "thinking of the Buddha") in the Ching-t'u-shih-i-lun, an eighth century Chinese text on the Buddha Amitābha and his Western Pure Land.</p> <p>Nien-fo has always been an important part of religious practice for many different schools of Buddhism in China, especially for the T'ien-t'ai and Pure Land schools. In T'ien-t'ai Buddhism, the nien-fo samādhi is considered as a means to accomplish concentration and insight; it is but one among the various methods of mediatation. Considered as such, the nien-fo practice implies that salvation is achieved through the practitioner's own diligent cultivation of mind. On the other hand, the Pure Land nien-fo samādhi is essentially devout invocation of tho name of Amitābha Buddha. Nien-fo as invocation emphasizes salvation as an act of the Great Compassion of Amitābha. The concern of this thesis is to clarify the link between these fundamental meanings of nien-fo in the context of one particular text in which both forms or the practice appear.</p> <p>The first chapter gives an overview of the T'ien-t'ai and Pure Land practices of nien-fo based upon a careful analysis of relevant passages taken from standard works of the two schools.</p> <p>The second chapter undertakes a thorough examination of the nien-fo concept in the Ching-t'u-shih-i-lun.</p> <p>The thesis concludes with a look at the relationship between the meditational and devotional paths to salvation in Chinese Buddhism. The two paths are essentially related, expressing two aspects of the bodhisattva path.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis explains the earliest years of Quakerism through perspectives and theories provided by contemporary sociological research on millenarian sectarianism. Chapters One and Two are devoted to critical reviews of the social scientific literature on millenarian sectarianism, particularly relative deprivation theories and community-building theories. In Chapter Three, aspects of these theories are applied to Quaker history, and in Chapter Four a modified version of Bryan R. Wilson's "dominant responses to the world" categories are used heuristically to explore the internal dynamics within the early Quaker movement.</p> <p>The methodology employed by the study, that of testing millenarian sectarian theory against early Quaker history, allows several important theoretical facts to emerge. Among the most important is the clarification of distinctions between a religious movement and a social movement. Furthermore, the complexities of Quaker history highlight the heuristic viability of using a sixfold classification when analyzing group leadership variables.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This study examines in detail thirty of the extant paintings illustrating the Kuan-wu-liang-shou-fo Ching ("The Sūtra of Visualizing the Buddha of Immeasurable Length of Life"). As a result of the detailed analysis of these paintings dating from the early T'ang Dynasty to the late Sung Dynasty, three categories of paintings emerge: 1) those which appear to stress meditation, 2) those which stress meditation but also have faith references, 3) those which stress faith primarily and place little emphasis on meditation. This study is the first of its kind in English concerning the Chinese cave paintings and banners of Tun-huang. It is also the first to examine such a large sample of the extant work illustrating the sūtra, be they the Chinese originals or the Japanese renditions, as to religious significance. Since only one version of this text is extant, purely textual criticism yields but limited findings. An examination of the paintings, other rich sources of information about the text, supplements the limited findings of textual criticism. The result of this examination is a far more comprehensive understanding of the Kuan-wu-liang-shou-fo Ching's teachings, especially in regard to the means to release, teachings gleaned both from the text and its visual forms. The paintings, at various times stress meditation, faith or a combination of both, as the means to release. This artistic evidence strongly suggests shifts in emphasis in the means to release expounded within the Pure Land Buddhist tradition during the time period this study spans.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis is an examination of Marx's use of the term fetishism in the context of an analysis of the theory of value and Marx's views on the relationship between social being and consciousness. It is argued that this contextualization is necessary in order to understand the genesis and development of Marx's use of the term. For this reason, the examination of Marx's theory of commodity fetishism in Capital is preceded by an outline of the theory of value in Chapter One and by an analysis of Marx's approach to the problem of the relationship beween being and consciousness in the years 1842-7 in Chapter Two.</p> <p>It is a argued that the theory of fetishism is not a theory of ideology. It is a description of what is represented to occur when commodities are exchanged. It is a mystification which is internal to the structure of the commodity economy. It is not a psychological theory. Confusion on this point has led certain contemporary Marxists to assert that the theory of fetishism is an explanation of how people think in capitalist society. The thesis examies the sources of this confusion in Marx's writings.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine in detail the teaching of the ninth century Ch'an master, Hsi-yun of Mt. Huang-po, whose ideas were instrumental in determining the eventual course Ch'an Buddhism was fated to take. In this study, the teaching of Huang-po is considered within the context of the debate over the nature of "mind" current in Ch'an circles at this time. Within this context, Huangpo's understanding of "mind" is revealed, and the practice of "no-mind" is established. The thesis attempts to unravel the internal logic of Huang-po's thouqht, shedding some light on the central teachings attributed to him.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)