<p>The goal of this study is to add to our knowledge of Paul's notion of apostleship, and to perhaps say something new about early views of the apostle-concept in general. I begin to present my original research in Chapter Two, where I attempt to offer a better description of Paul's definition of apostleship than the ones that came before it. Previous descriptions unanimously mention and give equal weight to a vision of Christ, and a charge to carry out certain activities as the two main components to apostleship. However, Paul's words on the matter suggest that he and his contemporary Christ-believers regarded the activities-component to be of greatest significance to the identity of the apostle. For this reason, I state that we must take a serious look at Paul's words on his apostolic activities if we seek to understand his notion of his apostleship. Yet, very little work has been done in the past to organize our first-hand data on Paul's actions. In the interest of launching this initiative, I compile an inventory of all actions that Paul claimed to perform in the past, present, and future. I call these passages "statements of action." Such an inventory has never been published, and I view it as this study's major contribution to NT scholarship. In Chapter Three, I place all statements of action into one or two of four categories. The categories are: (1) authenticating his authority; (2) converting; (3) establishing congregations; and (4) maintaining congregations. I argue that the four categories represent Paul's four apostolic objectives, and that Paul thought it necessary to fulfill them in order to prepare his "converts" for imminent eschatological events.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>In the mid-eighth century, Emperor Shōmu ordered the creation of provincial national protection monasteries and convents (kokubunji and kokubun-niji, respectively) connected to the Golden Light and Lotus Sūtras. The monasteries were called the "Temples of the Golden Light Four Deva Kings for the Protection of the Country" (konkōmyō shitennō gokoku no tera) and the convents were the "Temples of the Lotus for the Atonement of Sin" (hokke metsuzai no tera). Emperor Heizei added the Sūtra for Benevolent Kings to the kokubunji half a century later; by the end of the ninth century the three texts were known collectively as the "three national protection sūtras" (sangokokukyō). While the Golden Light Sūtra and the Sūtra for Benevolent Kings both contain passages related to national protection, the Lotus Sūtra does not. Nor does the Lotus Sūtra include the theme of atonement that could suggest why it was connected to the kokubun-niji.</p> <p>examine what the three sūtras say with regards to protection, kingship and atonement to determine if their specific messages might be responsible for their becoming Japan's official national protection sūtras. I also look at King Aśoka, Sui Wendi and Empress Wu's relic distributions as forebears to Emperor Shōmu's kokubunji system, where he may have spread sūtras as relic replacements. Finally, I examine the relationship between atonement and national protection. I propose that Kūkai and Saichō, both looking to promote their sects' protective powers, made use of these three sūtras, which were already seen as particularly potent protective texts on account of their association with the kokubunji and kokubun-niji.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>In this thesis I provide a critical exposition of the theme of the reform of the image of God in human beings (Gen. 1:26) in Augustine's De Trinitate, a theme that has hitherto been neglected in Augustinian scholarship. I argue that this reform is a trinitarian process in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit seek to remedy the defects in their image in the human mind -- defects that Augustine believes were introduced by original sin. I emphasize the psychological character of this process of reform, focusing on how Augustine argues the persons of the Trinity improve the operations of the human mind in order to make it fit for the knowledge of God (sapientia), which he believes is the source of well-being for the divine image. Insofar as Augustine believes the divine image is reformed through the knowledge of God, my thesis also criticizes the opinions of some modern interpreters of Augustine's theology who argue that his method for coming to understand the Trinity in the De Trinitate departs from the external economy of salvation through what they believe is his excessive focus on introspection as a means to the knowledge of God. Against these scholars, I argue that for Augustine human beings are always dependent on divine grace and faith to advance in their understanding of God, even at the most seemingly introspective level. I also contend that for Augustine the reform of the divine image, although focused on the individual, incorporates the interests of the community through his emphasis on the necessity of the love of God and the neighbour (Matt. 22:36-40) for this reform.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>What doesn't exist, be it knowledge, the deceased, or an object, is of concern to us. By tracing the position of non-existent things trough some of the Śaṅkarite literature, the explanation of their occurrence and acknowledgement is uncovered. Non-existent things in general are seen to be absent. Under this analysis of absence all non-existent things may be subsumed by the character of being-away. Advaita Vādanta explains that absent objects are known by a unique means of knowledge. They are attended to as positive entities by non-apprehension. Ignorance and the solution to problems are known by other means even though they have an equally absent character.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The thesis is a positive evaluation and outline of Paul Tillich's theology of the Holy Spirit. Included in this evaluation are Tillich's views on the method of correlation of divine Spirit and human spirit is presented with with emphasis on his attempt to recover the dimension of spirit in a doctrine of man. Important to this thesis is Tillich's emphasis on "the freedom of the Spirit." It was an emphasis which led Tillich to adopt definite views about the relation of the sacred to the secular realms of life. Finally, Tillich's theology on the Spirit is found to have contributed to him growing concern for a new boundary situation between Christianity and the world religions in "The Religion of the Concrete Spirit."</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>I was encouraged to undertake this project in preparation ,for the teaching profession, both in the High School and in t he ministry of the Church, on my return home to my native Ghana, West Africa. This project is a combination of my own insights and those I have acquired since my 'arrival here in Canada, two winters ago.</p> / Bachelor of Religious Education (BRE)

<p>This thesis examines Hebrew and Greek lexical analyses in commentaries that were written after the publication of James Barr's The Semantics of Biblical Language in 1961. Commentaries used by evangelical pastors and that discuss one of the following four biblical passages are examined: Gen 15:1-6; Isa 53:1-6; Luke 18:1-8; Rom 3:21-26. Using a modem linguistic approach, it is demonstrated that Old and New Testament commentaries evidence many lexical fallacies. In addition, statements are regularly made by commentators which do not evince linguistically-nuanced language, and thus could easily lead pastors to make errors in their statements from the pulpit about Hebrew and Greek words. In the hope that evangelical pastors can become more ably equipped to exegete the Scriptures, suggestions are made for how Bible colleges and seminaries can prepare students to incorporate the knowledge which has been gained from modem linguistics into lexical analysis.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis treats the theories of communication and dialogue and their application to preaching. It is contended that preaching as a two-way encounter is an effective means of communicating the gospel for the renewal of the local church. Chapter I is confined to an examination of the theory of communication as it applies to preaching. Chapter II expounds the principles of dialogue and indicates the relevance of their application to the preaching process. Chapter III discusses Robert A. Raines' experiment in church renewal at Germantown Methodist Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania, in which preaching has been employed extensively. Chapter IV presents the positive evidence for the important place of preaching in church renewal taking place under the leadership of Wallace E. Fisher, minister of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.</p> / Bachelor of Divinity (BD)

Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The thesis aims to analyze the thought of Paul Tillich with a view to finding out the meaning and meaningfulness of his understanding of the religious and the secular. Specifically, this has been done through three steps: (1) by an analysis of Tillich's notion of the secular in terms of variations of his broad definition of religion; (2) by a look at the secular in its strongest cultural expression - autonomous culture; and (3) by a discussion of the chief sources of confusion and disagreement in his views of the religious and the secular. The thesis concludes with the author's views on the extent to which problems surrounding Tillich's broad definition of religion do, or do not, undercut the meaningfulness of that definition.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)