<p>This thesis considers the major social analyses and studies of the Bible undertaken by the French scholar Jacques Ellul -- under the rubric of his understanding of the Christian doctrine of the two realms. The first chapter examines Enull's own perception of his task as an intellectual layman, participating in the work of the Church. Then the rest of the thesis deals with the way in which he proceeds. It is divided into two parts that analyze, in some detail ,his approaches to A) proper sociological descriptions of the technological society and B) the Bible which is the source for his comprehension of what is at stake in this society. The two parts come together in his reflections that the bible does speak to the world that we are currently trying to build.</p> <p>The purpose of this examination is, first, to clarify what Ellul is attempting to accomplish. Secondly, it seeks to demonstrate the underlying unity that anchors the main strands of his thought. Thirdly, although no complete assessment is intended, the thesis suggests that Ellul's main contribution lies in the challenge he presents to the modem world d from the centre of the Protestant sola scripture tradition.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>The thesis considers the complex relationship between contemporary Old Testament studies and theological interpretation of the Bible, by focusing upon a comparative exposition of the accounts of Genesis 1:26-7 given by Walter Eichrodt and Karl Barth. This relationship consists in a certain impasse, a certain failure on the part of each discipline to take the other seriously, a certain conflict of interest concerning the proper task of each discipline. The examination of the foundations of each exegesis illustrates the nature of the conflict and leads to a consideration of the wider implications involved in the use of each method. Ultimately, these implications demonstrate that the adoption of specific foundations in exegesis depends directly upon a prior estimation of the nature of the biblical documents. It is the goal of the thesis to make this point.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>A recurrent theme throughout the writings of Karl Marx from 1841 through 1846 is his attack on religion. This thesis will first explicate the precise nature of his atheism. Then it will detail his critique of religion by means of a chronological analysis of his major early works. Finally, it will indicate some implications of his attack on religion for the "Christian Marxist" dialogue.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The chapters of this report should be read as essays motivated by a single desire--to appreciate the figure of Hanumān as he is revealed in the Hindu tradition. Except for Chapter I, which is an introduction to the matter dealt with in Chapters II and III, the report moves in the manner of an exploration. I read VālmĪki's Rāmāyaņa and it revealed a Hanumān with a dual character, gentle and violent aspects in uneasy tension (see Chapter II). I then read Tulsīdās' Rāmacaritamānasa and found a Hanumān who was basically a servant with vestiges of his former ambivalent self (see Chapter III). Two major questions arose from these discoveries. The first relates to the servile nature of Hanumān in the Rāmacaritamānasa (see Chapter IV). The second focuses on the dual character of Hanuman (see Chapter V). The last two chapters of this report, Chapters IV and V, rely to some extent on my reading of Tulsīdās' Vinayapatrikā and his Kavitāvalī.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis presents an analysis of the Vaişņava temple movement of the Gupta age. The term "temple movement" is used here to denote the spread of a uniform temple type throughout the Gupta Empire at the time when the Gupta power was at its apex. Special reference will be made to the political aspects of the movement: i.e., the promotion of kingship and the celebration of the Gupta Empire.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The introduction of this thesis gives the cultural background of the thousand-year old confrontation between a well sinicized India-born religion, Chinese Buddhism, and the<br />reviving Chinese orthodoxy of the Sung period, Neo-Confucianism. Early Neo-Confucianist philosophers, namely Ch'eng Hao, Ch'eng I and Chu Hsi, attacked Buddhism on four main groilllds: historical and textual formulations, cosmology, metaphysics, and ethics -- both social and personal. The point of the thesis is to give a critical account and a tentative appraisal of their criticism, by examining both their rejection and their assimilations of Buddhist views, and in so doing to propose an answer to why Neo-Confucianism finally succeeded in permanently defeating the still powerful Chinese Buddhism of the time.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>George Grant sees Nietzsche as the foremost thinker of what it means to conceive time as history, and so discount the notion of eternal truth. In Time as History (1969), he presents a reading of Nietzsche's thought in tandem with a critique of the modern self-conception of humanity as maker of history and dominator of nature. Yet Nietzsche is not merely an expositor of what it means to be modern but, like Grant, a critic of modernity's politically and spiritually fragmenting consequences. Although Grant is an avowed Christian Platonist, and Nietzsche an avowed anti-Christian and anti-Platonist, they share a positive appraisal of the necessity of mythic consciousness to counterbalance the relativizing effect of historicism. While both believe a healthy social order requires myths to communicate humanity's proper place in the cosmos, they differ in that Nietzsche sees the supra-historical character of the cosmos as tragic in the classical sense, while Grant affirms the existence of a dimly perceivable but ultimately redemptive supernatural order. Therefore their respective cosmologies imply sometimes overlapping, but ultimately divergent, prescriptive guidelines to conduct and thought.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis examines the relationship between Catholicism and Lithuanian national identity, focusing on Kryziu kalnas (the Hill of Crosses), a Catholic pilgrimage site.<br /><br />The historical link and symbiosis between religion and nation in Lithuania shape Lithuanian Catholicism and identity, as well as the discourse and experience of the Hill of Crosses. The dominant narrative about the site draws upon and adds to this connection. It is narrated as a locus for simultaneously religious and politico-nationalist dissent against foreign occupation.<br /><br /> The ethnographic reality at the Hill of Crosses reveals the production of religious and political meanings for present-day pilgrims at multiple levels. Behaviors at the site are expressed in an idiom and through symbolism largely dictated by the parameters set by the amalgamation of the dominant narrative and the visitors to the site. For all visitors the production of meaning takes place within the context and constraints established by the dominant narrative, the behavior of other visitors, visitors' own preconceptions, and other factors. The site itself is constantly (re)constructed and (re)produced. <br /><br />Analysis suggests that the post-Soviet era has opened the way for more plurality in meaning-making and that there has been gradual but incomplete loosening of the bonds between religion and nation, but the two remain inextricably linked for most Lithuanians and inextricably linked at the Hill of Crosses. <br /><br />This work contributes to an understanding of meaning-making at this pilgrimage site. It also contributes to our understanding of how the relationship between religion and nation has been molded by history. Furthermore, by examining the narrative about Lithuania's Soviet legacy, this thesis sheds light upon the post-Soviet transition. Finally, in exploring the interactions and relationships between "religion" and "nation" in changing socio-political contexts, this thesis offers a corrective to our tendency to think of the two as separate or separable.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>While most analyses of Be mar d's allegory of the two swords frame the discussion from the perspective of Bernard's overall political theology, this approach often ignores the allegory's connection to the Knights Templar. This thesis examines Bernard of Clairvaux's allegory of the Two Swords from a literary and historical perspective. By examining each of Bernard's uses of the allegory separately and in their own contexts, this thesis aims to identify the various ways in which Bernard used the allegory. As well, this work seeks to understand what the allegory can and cannot tell us about Bernard's overall political theology. This thesis argues that Bernard employed the allegory in order to describe the authority by which the pope may protect the Church when it is threatened, but that the allegory's effectiveness for determining Bernard's political theology outside the context of the Church's defence remains limited.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The body of this work consists of the study of the notion of language in Rg Veda, Sarikara, Pali Suttas, and Nagarjuna with perhaps the main emphasis of the work falling on the two philosophers mentioned. In each instance I have attempted to come to an understanding of the notion of language in terms of its relation to what might be described as "ultimate concerns", or in other words, those of metaphysical inquiry and soteriological endeavour. The main sceme that I work towards is a heuristic one, revolving around the bifurcation of language conceived of as "divine" in the Brahmanical traditions studied, and as "diaboligcal" in the Buddhist ones. However, this distinction, since it is an heuristic one, should not be pressed too far.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)