The present study is considered to be the first extensive work on the Christology of Swiss theologian Adolf Schlatter (1852–1938). As the title of this study suggests, we argue that Schlatter’s Christology reveals a distinctly relational trajectory. From this claim emerge two hypotheses to be probed, namely, first, whether the aspect of ‘relationality’ (Beziehung) is a correct reading of Schlatter and, if so, one has to demonstrate, secondly, to what extent Schlatter’s relational approach offers a sustainable Christology that adequately describes and explains the person and work of Jesus Christ in relation to God and to humanity. Instead of pursuing the classic two-nature treatment, Schlatter, based on his empirical realist method, develops a relational account of Jesus Christ against the backdrop of a distinct Trinitarian framework. Father, Son and Holy Spirit share a communion of will and of love which creates, shapes and upholds the life-story of the Christ. Based on his New Testament ‘seeing-act’, Schlatter pictures the Son as dependent upon the Holy Spirit and in continual obedience to the Father, who, through his salvific work, invites us to participate in the Trinitarian communion of love. The prime locus to probe the validity of Schlatter’s relational motif is his theologia crucis. Schlatter regards Jesus’ action on the cross as the significant relational movement of Jesus Christ first and foremost towards the Father, as ‘service to God,’ and on this basis, also to human beings, as ‘service to humanity.’ Jesus reveals his divinity on the cross as he is able to maintain fellowship with God in spite of God-forsakenness, mediated by the Holy Spirit, and he reveals his humanity by remaining in close communion with sinners, thus transforming them and gathering the redeemed into the new community of faith. Schlatter’s relational perspective provides not only a balanced view of Jesus Christ’s divinity and humanity, but also offers a highly creative way of investigating Jesus’ being in relation and his being in essence. This work suggests that Schlatter’s Christological approach offers much by way of promise both in its faithfulness to the New Testament witness and in its attempt to achieve a harmonious understanding of Christology and soteriology.

This thesis is a study in the Christology of Alexander of Hales. I chose Alexander as a subject simply because I wanted to become acquainted with a theology not of my own tradition and there is no better period to choose for this purpose than the thirteenth century, the century of the scholastic giants. Having chosen the period the next question to be asked was "who could I study besides Thomas Aquinas"? The fact that there were good new texts available of Alexander's main works and the fact that he was a man of some stature in his own day together with the fact that most Protestants have never heard of him seemed a good reason to discover the source of his great reputation. There were problems about the text of the Summa in that there were doubts as to its genuineness but I hoped that these problems would be solved as I proceeded. However, this was not to be so. Because of the doubts about the genuineness of the Summa this thesis has become a study in the Christology of Alexander which appears in the Glossa on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. Together with this there are discussions of the views of the Quaestiones at the end of each topic in this thesis.

<p>In John's Gospel, Jesus does not cite the Shema as the greatest commandment in the Law as he does in the Synoptic Gospels ("Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" [Deut 6:4-5]; only Deut 6:5 appears in Matthew and Luke). This dissertation, however, argues that, rather than quoting the Shema, John incorporates it into his Christological portrait of Jesus' unity with the Father and of the disciples' unity with the Father, the Son, and one another. </p><p>This study employs historical-critical methodology and literary analysis to provide an exegetical interpretation of the key passages relevant to the Shema in John (John 5:1-47; 8:31-59; 10:1-42; 13:34; 14, 15, 17). After examining the Shema in its Deuteronomic context and throughout the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish literature, the study considers how John's understanding of the divine unity has been shaped by some of these writings. Just as some of the OT prophets and authors such as Philo and Josephus interpret the Shema within their historical settings, John, in turn, interprets the divine unity within the socio-historical realities of his community. </p><p>According to John, Jesus does not violate the unity of God as it is proclaimed in the Shema. Rather, Jesus resides within that unity (10:30); he is therefore uniquely able to speak the words of God and perform the works of God. John depicts the unity of the Father, Jesus, and the disciples as the fulfillment of OT prophecies of restoration. Zechariah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel envision Israel as one people regathered in the Land, worshiping the one God of Israel (11:52; 17:11, 21-23). John filters this eschatological understanding of the Shema through a Christological lens: disciples of Jesus are the one flock gathered to the one Shepherd and testifying to Jesus' unity with the Father (10:16). The Farewell Discourse material confirms this thesis; Jesus models obedience to the Shema and also commands that he receive the love normally reserved for YHWH (14:15, 21, 23, 24). He issues his own commandment of love (13:34; 15:12), which has far-ranging implications for John's view of the Mosaic Law.</p><p>This reading of the Shema coheres with the Martyn-Brown hypothesis that some Jewish leaders during the late first century excluded believers in Jesus from the synagogue. The author of the Fourth Gospel reverses the situation, composing a narrative of empowerment for his embattled community. His rendering of the Shema provides legitimation for the Christological claims of the Johannine community, while at the same time excluding unbelieving Jews from God's eschatological people. John's high Christology, intertwined with his expulsion of unbelieving Jews from Israel's covenantal life and eschatological hopes, constitutes a form of theological anti-Judaism which defies mitigation. The Johannine crucifixion and Prologue bear this out: "the Jews" reject Jesus' unity with the Father and thereby cut themselves off from the people of God (19:15; 1:11). </p><p>John's language has all-too-often been used in a pernicious manner against Jewish people in the post-biblical era. One of the aims of this study is to properly situate John's reinterpretation of the Shema in its social and historical setting and thereby to apprehend fully its anti-Jewish potential. In so doing, it sheds fresh light on the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity and creates new opportunities for dialogue and reconciliation.</p> / Dissertation

Thesis advisor: Catherine Cornille / The purpose of this dissertation is to retrieve the early Panikkar's christology of religions, especially in "Meditacion sobre Melquisdedec" and Le mystere du culte dans l'hindouisme et le christianisme. As opposed to the later Panikkar's pluralist, cosmotheandric christology, the early Panikkar privileges the primacy of Jesus Christ amidst a wider considersation of the value and significance of the religions. This dissertation will also situate the early Panikkar's christology of religions against the background of Dominus Iesus and recent systemtatic theologians seeking to move beyond pluralist christologies. The early Panikkar's understanding of Incarnation meets their criteria for an inclusivist theology of religions, but also challenges the asymmetricality of their christologies, expanding the possibilities for inter-religious learning and transformation. Specifically, Panikkar's early dialogue with karman and advaita illuminates the meaning of Jesus' sacrificial existence and the Church's eucharistic participation in that existence through comparison, shedding light upon the centrality of liturgical and paschal transformation in the Christian tradition. This christocentric comparative theology will be constrasted with Panikkar's later, syncretistic appropriation of Hinduism, influenced by Abhishiktananda's quest for Hindu-Christian synthesis, and will conclude by calling for a renewal of interest in neglected aspects of Panikkar's vast corpus. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Boyd Coolman / This study considers the development of Augustine's early soteriology in the years leading up to and including his writing of Confessions. Central to that inquiry is a treatment of his increasing use of the term humilitas. Yet that inquiry necessitates a broader account of the fallen soul and its healing by the Incarnate Savior. The result is a mostly chronological survey that shows Augustine developing clearer connections between his soteriology, Christology, and sacramental theology. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

[pt] A dissertação apresenta um minucioso e atualizado estudo, com bibliografia ainda desconhecida no Brasil, acerca das relações entre os termos da titulação cristológica, que releva-se do v.12, e o desenvolvimento de uma teologia do Tempo, como experiência soteriológica cristã. As conexões com a tradição de Qumran e aquela dos Sinóticos insere o texto joanino no âmbito do proto-Cristianismo. / [en] The present dissertation shows, by means of an unknown bibliography in Brazil, a thorough and up-to-date study on the relations between the Christological terms which emerge from the verse 12 and the development of a Time`s Theology in the scope of the Early Christianity, as a Soteriological experience of the Apocaliptical johannine literature. The connections to the Qumran tradition and that from the Sinotic inserts the Johannine text on the scope of the Proto-Christianity.

The Naga women in North East India suffer in silence because of the unjust practices of child-birthing in their patriarchal culture, which privileges the birth of sons over daughters. Naga theology narrates suffering largely through Jesus' redemptive suffering on the cross, and Naga Christian women embrace this narrative, seeing in Jesus' suffering both a vision of Jesus as a friend who understands their pain and as a call to share in his suffering. Contemporary theologians have approached the symbol of the Christian cross in order to interpret it anew in light of marginalized communities. This dissertation examines Christology through the lens of the experiences of Naga women. It takes the issue of child-birthing practices within Naga culture as a starting point for re-reading the Christian cross by drawing on the theological writings of Jürgen Moltmann, Serene Jones, Rita Nakashima Brock, and Wonhee Anne Joh. This work turns to the theme of 'natality' in the work of feminist theologian and philosopher of religion, Grace Jantzen. Rooting Naga Christology in the concept of natality, it focuses on three dimensions of the life-bearing work of Jesus: embrace, respect, and nourishment. The central thesis is that a theology focused on natality provides not only a way to affirm the birth of girls in the Naga context, but it also provides a way to re-narrate the story of the cross in Naga Christian theology. In chapters one and two, this dissertation outlines the problem of child-birthing via the term `mascu-surrogacy.' The birthing mother becomes the surrogate for the male who seeks his progeny through dominating the female body. These chapters highlight the poetry and stories of Naga women, ancient and modern, to express the situation of Naga women; they also identify the centrality of the story of Jesus for Naga Christians. Chapters three and four turn to the contemporary theologies of the cross with the question of child-birthing in mind. Chapter five examines Grace Jantzen's philosophy of natality. The final chapter develops three aspects of a life-affirming Christology, based in the work of Mary Elizabeth Moore and concludes by reimagining the practice of the Eucharist for Naga women.

The messiahship of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark has figured prominently in modern New Testament scholarship. With the increasing awareness of the Jewish context from which the gospel traditions emerged, scholars have also paid close attention to the way Mark portrays Jesus in relation to the temple. Within these discussions, it is not uncommon to find claims that the Markan Jesus regards the Jerusalem institution as completely obsolete, some maintaining that the message of the kingdom of God in Mark is fundamentally opposed to the ancient Levitical system. Yet, there is not a single full-length monograph grappling with the question of how Mark presents Jesus as royal messiah on the one hand, and his interaction with the Jerusalem priests on the other. Such a project is now imperative, not least given the recent advancement in our understanding both of messianic expectations in the late Second Temple period and of the role of the high priesthood in Jewish polity at the turn of the Christian era. In this thesis, I argue that Jewish messianism from the mid-second century BCE to the late first-century CE anticipated the culmination of the Jerusalem priestly institution under the rule of the royal messiah. In portraying Jesus as the end-time king, Mark in turn assumes a similar expectation. However, contrary to the majority scholarly view, the earliest Gospel does not repudiate the Israelite worship as such. Rather, Mark depicts Jesus’s stance towards the priests in terms of a call to allegiance and warning of judgement. And it is in the light of its cumulative narrative context that Jesus’s criticism of the Jerusalem shrine should be read. To Mark, that is, the temple will be destroyed because the priests have rejected Israel’s end-time king, placing themselves outside the messianic kingdom. Nevertheless, Jesus will be vindicated over against his enemies as God’s messianic son. Chapter one examines important passages from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and chapter two focuses on texts from the Pseudepigrapha. In chapter three, I argue, against recent critics, that the Markan Jesus is indeed a royal figure. Then, chapter four looks at the relevant passages in Mark 1–10 in which the Jerusalem priests are in view. Finally, chapter five investigates the climactic clash between Jesus and the temple rulers in Mark 11–16 in comparison to my findings in the previous chapters.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-03-26T12:27:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Renato Gomes Alves.pdf: 908106 bytes, checksum: ddf64732b7bc02be2ec1ffc4bc11153d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-26T12:27:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renato Gomes Alves.pdf: 908106 bytes, checksum: ddf64732b7bc02be2ec1ffc4bc11153d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-21 / This dissertation contemplates an investigation into the scope and unfolding of the concept of incarnation on the theological horizon of contemporary french theologian Joseph Moingt. The object of study, the concept of incarnation, is seen with the proper look of theology, in order to contribute to respond to the challenges of contemporary times. Moingt's academic career is long and vast. Between professor and researcher, he publishes a great number of books and articles that the present research is worth as a field to be unfolded, in order to bring new understandings to christology and indicate new possibilities of action in the contemporary world. The hypothesis of research is based on the way in which Moingt presents the concept of incarnation, recovering in the evangelical narratives the story of Jesus of Nazareth. The old dogmatic formulation proves incapable of responding to the demands of evangelization of the present time. For this reason, the resumption of apostolic kerygma and the return to the announce based on resurrection show that contemporary christology needs a new foundation and new method, which should no longer be attached to the dictates of dogma, nor do they exclude the truth revealed in Christ. For this purpose, a first flight over the theological horizon of Moingt is carried out in a discursive and descriptive way, from works translated into portuguese. Next, the concept of incarnation appears as the central object of study. Fruit of the dogmatic reflection of the first centuries, the development of the idea of incarnation is seen in the unfolding of the history until arriving at the contemporaneity, where will be seen of more detailed way in the work of the french theologian. However, the best understanding of the conceptual extension will be through the practical unfolding of three specific axes: the Spirit, the Church, and the signs of the times, which denote the incarnation for the redemption of man. The results of this research point to the practice of humanization that the incarnation provides. The recovery of redemptive action, such as the promotion of full life, is the great call that systematic reflection promotes. The journey that begins with the restorative practice reveals the practical understanding of the christological dogma of the incarnation. And although in a different context, Joseph Moingt's reflection provides a return to the narrative, rich not in words, but in humanizing actions that reveal the authentic face of Jesus Christ / A presente dissertação comtempla uma investigação acerca do alcance e desdobramento do conceito de encarnação no horizonte teológico de Joseph Moingt, teólogo francês contemporâneo. O objeto de estudo, o conceito de encarnação, é visto com o olhar próprio da teologia, a fim de contribuir para responder aos desafios da contemporaneidade. A carreira acadêmica de Moingt é longa e vasta. Entre docente e pesquisador, ele publica grande número de livros e artigos que a presente pesquisa se vale como campo a ser desbravado, a fim de trazer novas compreensões para a cristologia e indicar novas possibilidades de ação no mundo contemporâneo. A hipótese de pesquisa apoia-se na maneira como Moingt apresenta o conceito de encarnação, recuperando nas narrativas evangélicas a história de Jesus de Nazaré. A antiga formulação dogmática mostra-se incapaz de responder às demandas de evangelização do tempo presente. Por essa razão, a retomada do kerygma apostólico e o retorno ao anúncio baseado na ressurreição mostram que a cristologia contemporânea precisa de novo fundamento e novo método, que não devem ser mais presos aos ditames do dogma, tampouco excludentes da verdade revelada em Cristo. Para tal feito, um primeiro sobrevoo pelo horizonte teológico de Moingt é realizado de forma discursiva e descritiva, a partir das obras traduzidas para o português. Na sequência, o conceito de encarnação aparece como objeto central de estudo. Fruto da reflexão dogmática dos primeiros séculos, o desenvolvimento da ideia de encarnação é visto no desenrolar da história até chegar na contemporaneidade, onde será vista de modo mais detalhada no trabalho do teólogo francês. No entanto, a melhor compreensão da extensão conceitual se dará pelos desdobramentos práticos feitos sobre três eixos específicos: o Espírito, a Igreja e os sinais dos tempos, que denotam a encarnação para a redenção do homem. Os resultados dessa pesquisa apontam para a prática de humanização que a encarnação proporciona. O resgate da ação redentora, como promoção de vida plena, é o grande chamado que a reflexão sistemática promove. A caminhada que se inicia com a prática restauradora, revela a compreensão prática do dogma cristológico da encarnação. E, embora em um contexto diferente, a reflexão de Joseph Moingt proporciona um retorno à narrativa, rico não em palavras, mas em ações humanizadoras que revelam o rosto autêntico de Jesus Cristo

Long before the writings of the New Testament gospels, where Jesus was being proclaimed as the Son of God, and Savior, the world existing under the influences of Hellenism resulting from the conquests by Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, had already been well acquaint ed with and expected to hear certain symbolic language in determining titles for their divine ruler the emperor. Living within a cosmological framework, i.e., a sacred cosmos, the citizens of the empire accepted the emperor as the manifestation of divinity in the world. This belief existed for centuries prior to Christianity as a reality that was taken for granted. In fact, this belief system was never questioned until the time of the emperor Constantine, during the middle of the fourth century C.E. (MacMullen, 85) The Julio-Claudian dynasty, beginning with the reign of Julius Caesar in the year 62 BCE, through the end of the Flavian Dynasty, beginning with the emperor Vepasian in 69 CE through the year 117 CE, will be the timeframe of this work. It represents the period of time when the writers of the Synoptic gospels were writing their accounts of the life of Jesus and also for those writing for and about the imperial court reporting on the lives of the emperors. The geographical location in this work will include the territories of the Mediterranean regions, since this was where the extant texts used in this study originated. This particular time period in and around the area of the Mediterranean was commonly referred to as the early Roman Empire. Within the empire, a worldview that influenced and shaped a belief that the emperor as understood in terms of divinity were already well-established beliefs in the minds of the people. Living within a worldview shaped by imperial theology,the writers of the Synoptic gospels would borrow the existing symbolic language already in use by the imperialistic writers in their legitimating of the emperor as a divine representative of the gods on earth, and then apply these same terms in legitimating Jesus as the Son of God. My purpose is not to ignore the Jewishness of the gospel texts, since it is quite obvious that Jewish symbols appear throughout all of the gospel, indicating that members of the existing community of Jews are presenting these writings. However, I am suggesting that the Jewish community living in the Mediterranean area during the period of empire building existed as a minority culture. Hellenism and a Roman imperialistic form of government, which was dominating and oppressing the majority of the membership of the community including the Jews, shaped the prevailing social milieu of the empire. In my thesis, I will support the work of these scholars by showing how Hellenistic and Roman traditions, alongside of Jewish traditions, shaped the way in which these writers attempted to legitimate Jesus as the Christ. Furthermore, I will argue that the existing symbols already established within a Roman imperial theology were used to legitimate the superiority of the emperor as ordained through the will of the gods, and as an object of favor by the gods. In other words, imperial theology would support a belief that the emperor and the gods were in special relationship. This ideology will develop through the Julio-Claudian and will also prevail in the minds of the believers through the early years of the Flavian Dynasty. By the middle of the Flavian period, the emperor will be perceived as the sole representative of a sovereign, father/god whose main function will be to unite the people as one community under one god. Meanwhile, the writers of the Synoptics will borrow these same symbols used under imperialism in their own search for meaning in a world oppressed by Roman authority. These writers will also assign power to Jesus, with the purpose of legitimating him as the sole representative of the one, sovereign god over all people. Writers such as Cassius Dio (40-110 CE), Suetonius (69-140 CE) and Tacitus (54-117 CE) historians reporting on the lives of the emperor from this period will be presented as examples of the view that existed within Roman imperialism. These writers and the writers of the Synoptics were, perhaps, writing in reaction to one another's claims in defining their heroes in terms of divinity. I am also suggesting that the symbols used by all of these writers understand the purpose of their hero-figures in terms of power. The writers of the gospels will claim to have the ultimate word, in their effort to override the old political/religious system found within imperial theology and replace it with a new form of power offered by their hero-figure, Jesus of Nazareth. This new ideology sought to legitimate not only Jesus in terms of power, but also assigned power to the marginal members of society. The terminology that the gospel writers used in legitimating Jesus as the Son of God is understood as the Christology of the gospels in this work.