Master of Arts (MA)

Bachelor of Divinity (BD)

<p>History has shown story and myth to be powerful communicative tools. This is no less true of modem myths, particularly the genre of science fiction (or "SF"). Isaac Asimov, a major contributor to the genre, used the framework of SF to develop concepts regarding the progress of humanity. In this thesis, two of these concepts will be explored.</p> <p>The first subject is that of godhood, or deity. Christian theology and SF espouse two very different definitions of God. The former is biblically based, while the latter subscribes to Asimov's promotion of "teleological anthropology". This progressive doctrine helps to clarify the source of conflict between Christian theology's view of God, and that advocated by SF.</p> <p>The second concept is that of eschatology. The study of "last things" or "end times" is confusing even when Christian views are the only ones being considered. To alleviate this confusion, many of eschatology's most frequently used terms will be defined from a biblical and theological basis. SF's views of the future and eschatology are also considered, once again highlighting Asimov's contributions. Special attention will be paid to Donald A. Wollheim's model of "future-history", a framework that proves helpful in systematizing Asimov's thought and lasting legacy. Wollheim's model helps to polarize Asimov's implicit ideology of "evolutionary eschatology", a system of thought which provides a context for the doctrine of teleological anthropology.</p> <p>These two areas of discussion hold intriguing ramifications for the Christian gospel and its applications. This thesis will conclude with an attempt to define the gospel as it relates to the task of theology. Building on this foundation, some potential adaptations will be drawn together as responses to the challenges raised by the previous discussion with SF, concluding with suggestions for adapting the gospel to new contexts.</p> / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

<p>This work connects two central texts by Hannah Arendt: <em>The Human Condition</em> and <em>Thinking</em>, volume one of <em>The Life of the Mind</em>. My approach will be to examine the rise of "the social" as outlined in <em>The Human Condition</em>, followed by a consideration of Arendt's response to this rise in <em>Thinking</em>. In doing so we will observe that both action and thought are grounded in the human condition of plurality.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>western India is home to a set of Śaiva and Buddhist rock-cut monuments which, according to several art historians, date to sometime in the sixth century, though the precise circumstances of their creation is a matter of debate. The majority of these cave temples belong to the early period in the development of the Hindu temple and a period of intense creativity in Indian Buddhism. These excavations have long interested both art historians and scholars of Indian religion. In this thesis I propose to look afresh at the problem of who built the earliest Śaiva temples and why, using insights from the study of many medieval inscriptions and an art historical analysis of particular aspects of the caves.</p> <p>I attempt to show that this single stylistic development was not due to the influence of one set of dynastic patrons, as many scholars argue, but might have been due to the migration of groups of artisans from Northwest India to the west coast and then to Central India. I believe that some dynastic patronage was present because several of the caves contain shrines to the Seven Mothers, the embodiment of the power of several prominent Hindu gods, who were also believed to be the protecting deities of Indian kings. Such patronage, however, was more indirect than must be assumed in models which focus on patronage as a function of dynastic history.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This study is comprised of an exegesis and critical assessment of Hannah Arendt's account of modernity in the final chapter of The Human Condition. In this crucial chapter, Arendt contends that behind the manifest changes of the modem revolution is a reversal of the traditional relationship between the vita activa and the vita contemplativa. Particular attention is paid to Arendt's critique of modem science, Cartesian philosophy, and her claim that three axiomatic events stand at the threshold of the modem period and determine its character.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The Ilavas are the largest community in Kerala. They were traditionally considered outside the pale of "varna" and treated as "untouchables' by the higher castes. A member of the community Sri Narayana Guru (1855-1927) and his disciples introduced religious and social reforms that brought in an awakening among the Ilavas at the beginning of the twentieth century. The changes among the Ilavas brought them into a series of escalating confrontations between themselves and the supporters of the caste-structure.</p> <p>This thesis focuses on the transformations of the Ilava community and analyses how they now fit into the larger social structure. It asserts that the awakening of the Ilava community should be understood as a process of "modernization". It is described as modernization because it is an indigenous, historical and ongoing process in which people participate consciously. The Ilavas in their awakening have incorporated the values of modernity into their culture without losing the core-values of tradition. The history of the awakening of the Ilavas is a case of the modernization of a traditional society.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This study is an examination of the evolving concept of mission within The United Church of Canada, and the implications that are presented for the funding of the mission of the church.</p> <p>The roots of the concept of mission are traced from the biblical record of the Greek Testament. The ways in which the early church interacted with, and thrived within, the cultural, social, political, and economic realities of the first centuries C.E. are outlined.</p> <p>The impact of the revolutionary changes implemented in the wake of Constantine's acceptance of (some might say promotion of) the Christian faith are reviewed in detail. While there is clear evidence to suggest that the church thrived and expanded within the Roman Empire in the centuries preceding the rule of Constantine, that emperor did establish a climate for the church to be viewed in a new light. The political and social acceptance of the church brought a new understanding of the relationship between the church and the world. To be a Christian was the accepted norm within society.</p> <p>That understanding shaped much of the missionary activity up to the mid-twentieth century. The desire to preach "to the heathen" or to share the gospel "to the unchurched" was often linked to the expansionist economic interests of western enterprises. Mission for much of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries could be characterized as "from the west to the rest. "</p> <p>After World War II, with the growing influence of the World Missionary Councils, and the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948, a new sense of partnership began to arise within missiological circles. Within The United Church of Canada, a pivotal point in the church's understanding of mission can be traced to the Commission on World Mission, established by the General Council in 1962, and which reported in 1966. Suddenly mission was no longer something we did to others, but mission was a "six continent reality" in which all parts of the inhabited world were considered appropriate sites for the mission of Christ. Encouragement was offered to expand the nature of the mission to include agricultura1 support, social workers, engineers, business advisers, accountants, etc. The report of this Commission on World Mission also urged the establishment of an Interfaith Dialogue position in the General Council office. Suddenly the call of Christ involved working with the very faith groups that the church sought to convert just a generation or two earlier.</p> <p>In the changing realities of the 1990's, where authority of leadership is challenged, and where centralized power is reduced through a new branch-plant mentality, the church also has moved to an understanding of mission that is more local, hands-on, diversified, and concerned with people's basic needs. The final chapters of this thesis examine the views of a sampling of congregations responding to a survey on mission sent to them in the late summer of 1998. The information provided helps to paint a picture of the understanding of mission within the United Church today at the local level, and provides some pointers to the way in which stewardship education and mission promotion must be conducted in the future. Unless the church comes to grips with this movement to a locally-based mission, the mission activities of the denomination as a whole could be in peril in the very near future.</p> / Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

<p>This thesis explores two bodies of evidence that are relevant to the question of Paul's Hellenistic education: historical and literary. Part One attempts to engage the historical dimension by exploring evidence that contributes to the reconstruction of the sociohistorical situation for Paul's upbringing and exposure to education in the Greco-Roman world. The literary evidence for Paul's Hellenistic education is taken up in Part Two. This portion of the thesis assesses Paul's use of Greek language, letter writing, literature, rhetoric and philosophy. The methodological relation of the two major parts of this thesis is framed by a 'hypothesis-verification' historical method. Historical data is gathered and explained by the formation of a hypothesis regarding Paul's relationship to Hellenistic education in Part One. Part Two then seeks verification for this hypothesis through a literary analysis of Pauline literature.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The thesis begins with an exegetical review of the Our Father as word of the historical Jesus. It progresses through exegetical reviews of the same prayer in the Matthean and Lucan traditions respectively. In all three analyses, the focus is on the sixth petition: "Lead us not into temptation." By focusing on the sixth petition, the study brings maximum attention, first, to the difficulties raised by this text from early in the life of Christianity to the present time. Some of the incentive of the study derives from C. F. D. Moule's treatment of "An Unsolved Problem in the Temptation - Clause in the Lord's Prayer," Reformed Theological Review 33 (1974): 65-75. The study offers an answer to this "unsolved problem." Second, it attempts to answer the question of what is meant by the sixth petition not only at three phases in the tradition (Jesus, Matthew, Luke), but by reflection on the petition in all its parts, e.g., examining each of the words "and lead us not into temptation" and how each functions in the whole petition. (Hence, treatment of the verb εỉσεvεykῃs, the preposition εἰs, and the noun πεipασμόv, their relationship to each other, and their collaboration to form one idea will be necessary.) In part two the object of reflection will be God's role in temptation as perceived in the Bible, and the point of praying "lead us not into temptation." The study does not neglect treatment of temptation in the Old Testament, nor does it fail to deal with the reasons accounting for why this theme has the distinct contour that it assumes in the New Testament.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)