The purpose of this project is to explore the historical image of Hell in Medieval Europe as an agent of socialization for illiterate Christian communities. The project focuses on a literary work, Tundale’s Vision, written in 1149 C.E in Cashel, Ireland. Tundale’s Vision came from a genre of vision literature derived from popular oracular folk tradition surrounding the image of Hell that served the purpose of socializing Christian communities to certain social norms and stigmas presented by the author. Vision literature would be used by preachers in vernacular sermons throughout the Medieval period in order to reinforce moral and social messages presented in to their congregations, and it drew much of its themes and imagery from folk traditions in order to be more relatable to local communities. This research provides a historical context from which this genre of literature emerged including a discourse on how it gained power as an agent of socialization in Medieval Europe. Time is devoted to the historical state of what are generally considered primary agents of socialization in human societies throughout Medieval Europe, and research reveals that much of these agents, aside from religion, were inaccessible to the majority of Medieval Europeans, especially those of the lower class. Additionally, this project provides information on the rise in popularity of the artistic image of Hell in the Medieval period. The analysis of Tundale’s Vision, a work that emerged from this environment saturated with artistic depictions of Hell, reconstructs potential social norms and stigmas of 12th century Ireland relating to a contemporary reform movement within the Irish Christian church. This analysis provides the historical origin of many images commonly associated with the popular Medieval conception of Hell as it appears in Tundale’s Vision, and it analyzes the use of the fear of a painful afterlife in order spread and reinforce ideals presented by the Christian Church. Much of this project draws from the scholarly works of Gwenfair Adams and John Seymour who produced research concerning Tundale’s Vision, other works of vision literature, and their impact on Medieval Christian communities. The power of religious artwork in the process of socialization in Medieval Ireland should become apparent throughout this work.

In reformation London, the shift of the governed religion enabled laymen to recognize individuality in their faith, to read scripture in the vernacular, and to exercise their faith outside of mass. Therefore, the overall perception of personal piety took a turn from being exercised communally to becoming something reflective of the individual. Analyzing gender dynamics, language, religious orders, and theology reveal this transition and help gain a holistic understanding of transitioning perceptions of piety. This thesis contributes to the rich historiographical conversation in understanding Reformation studies. By adopting elements from top-down and bottom-up approaches, this thesis further develops on the understanding of perceptions of religious piety in reformation London.

In this paper we will examine, in survey fashion the hermeneutical programs formulated by supernatural orthodoxy,1 the natural religion school,2 and the attempts to find an alternative to these in the post-Enlightenment period of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A preliminary overview is in order to map out the direction of the discussion and to suggest a common uncritical assumption held by all major programs, viz, the use of non-biblical literary models for interpreting the immanent character of the Scriptures. 1. Orthodoxy has reference to the Protestant interpretation of the Bible which accepted the possibility of divine intervention into history. This intervention included the miraculous activity of God on behalf of his people and the communication of information to his inspired writers. 2. The natural religion school denied the miraculous intervention of God preferring a rational description of the world in terms of unbreakable laws derived from science.

Mordecai Fowler Ham, Jr. (1877-1961), a Kentucky bred, Southern Baptist evangelist, was an active participant in both the prohibition and fundamentalist movements. His career was characterized by disagreement and conflict due to Ham's defiance toward anyone who did not profess his style of Christianity. A true product of the period in which he lived, Ham fought modernism and evolution zealously. He also preached against the use and sale of alcohol and dared liquor supporters to challenge his position. He was convinced as well that Jews, blacks, and Haman Catholics posed a potential threat to Christian America, and he monitored their activities cautiously for the majority of his sixty-year ministry. Ultimately ham's Southern audiences grew tired of the evangelist's allegations and stopped listening to him. Ham, however, continued to preach against his opposition until his death in 1961.

Only recently have scholars given particular attention to the development of the racial discourse present in early Christian apologetics. This study is aimed at understanding the Latin and Greek literary antecedents to the development of a Christian discourse on race and identity and examining in detail the apex of this discourse in the work of third century apologist Origen of Alexandria. Origen’s work represented the apex of an evolving discourse that, while continuing to use traditional vocabulary, became increasingly universalizing with the growth of the Roman Empire. By understanding how Christians in the first three centuries shaped their attitudes on race and identity, scholars can better comprehend the place of Christianity within the cultural framework of the Roman Empire.

Scholars have often seen the interpretation of the Son of Man as crucial in discovering Jesus’ self-understanding, given that the expression occurs so frequently and almost exclusively on Jesus’ lips. After ascertaining the authenticity of the Son of Man sayings, I carry out the exegesis in the Gospel of Mark using a methodology consisting of examining Biblical passages within the context of the Bible as a whole and of historical-critical and philological perspectives. Also, the narrative context of the saying is taken into account. I show that the Son of Man is a Messianic title derived from Daniel 7:13, and that the book of Daniel’s content and themes were used as a basis for the Son of Man sayings themselves. In addition to using the Son of Man as a Messianic title, Jesus used the title as a claim for divinity.

L’oggetto della tesi di dottorato è l’analisi degli argomenti presenti nell’Antifebbronio, lavoro composto dal gesuita Francesco Antonio Zaccaria nel 1767. Nonostante il testo contiene numerose dissertazioni originali inerenti il primato papale, i poteri dell’episcopato e la censura dei libri, tematiche che furono oggetto di molte discussioni nella Chiesa cattolica, non esiste oggi qualche studio specifico sulle dottrine asserite dal gesuita. Per capire meglio le problematiche presenti nel suo lavoro e per approfondire alcuni aspetti della vita del gesuita è stato importante lo studio del Dello Stato della Chiesa del vescovo di Treviri Johannes Nikolaus von Hontheim, l’Elogio storico dell’abate Francescantonio Zaccaria del teologo Luigi Cuccagni e la Storia polemica delle proibizioni de’ libri scritta dallo stesso Zaccaria nel 1777. I lavori di Zaccaria e von Hontheim sono fondamentali per comprendere che all’interno della Chiesa di Roma esistevano visioni ecclesiologiche caratterizzate da elementi di notevole diversità. Inoltre l’Antifebbronio è un libro molto interessante per capire la mentalità della Compagnia di Gesù rispetto a questioni come i poteri del papa e dei vescovi. Nella tesi ho approfondito le reazioni del mondo cattolico italiano e della Chiesa di Roma inerenti le opinioni sostenute da Zaccaria nell’Antifebbronio. / The object of my thesis of doctorate is the analysis of the arguments present in Antifebbronio, work composed by the Jesuit Francesco Antonio Zaccaria in 1767. Despite the text contains numerous original dissertation inherents the papal primacy, the powers of the episcopate and the censorship of the books, thematic that were object of many discussions in the Catholic Church, it doesn’t exist today some specific study of the doctrines asserted by the Jesuit. To better understand the problematic presents in his work and to deepen some aspects of the life of the Jesuit it was important the study of Dello Stato della Chiesa of the Bishop of Treviri Johannes Nikolaus von Hontheim, l’Elogio storico dell’abate Francescantonio Zaccaria by theologian Luigi Cuccagni and the Storia polemica delle proibizioni de’ libri written by the same Zaccaria in 1777. The works of Zaccaria and von Hontheim are crucials to understand the existence of very different ecclesiological views inside the Church of Rome. Furthermore Antifebbronio is a very interesting work to understand the mentality of the Company of Jesus respect questions as the powers of the pope and the bishops. In the thesis i followed up the reactions of the italian catholic world and the Church of Rome inherents the opinions sustained by Zaccaria in Antifebbronio.

This study is an introduction I to some of the problems found in First Peter. The first chapter will be devoted to the presentation of the traditional view of authorship. Does the epistle come to us with the authority of the chief of the apostles? Tradition says yes. The second chapter questions the traditional view. Some scholars have questioned or rejected the verdict of tradition. In the third chapter the problem of the spirits in prison will be considered. Scholars disagree relative to this interpretation. What is meant by preaching to the spirits in prison? Who are these spirits? What does preaching to the dead mean? The fourth chapter deals with the problems of persecution. Was this a definite persecution or only unfriendliness from their communities? Was the persecution in progress or only imminent? In whose reign did this persecution come; Nero, Domitian, or Trajan?

Proselyting has always been an important part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in recent history the proselyting message has remained primarily the same. But that was not the case in the earliest days of the Church. When Joseph Smith received his First Vision and started to share that experience to others, the proselyting message of the Church was born. But that message, the message of the Restoration, did not linger on that event for too long. In fact the message of the Restoration underwent a series of evolutions and modifications as the Lord continued to reveal His will to the Church. At times these changes were small and seemed to be the next natural step in the development of the Church and its teaching, and at other times the change was more dramatic. But with every change the Lord was directing the work and had a purpose for the change. The members of the Church did not always understand the reason for the change, but God did and because of His careful crafting of the messages of the Restoration, the Church and its message grew in strength and number.

The purpose of this study was to trace the historical development of the Order of Aaron, or Aaronic Order, the governing body of the True Church of God, and to determine its present status in the religions of the world. The study included a summary of the origin of the Order, historical development, present establishment, organization within the Order, including types of memberships, as well as a resume of the theological teachings and practices of this group.Research involved a study of the publications of the Aaronic Order. Information from these sources was supplemented by correspondence and personal interviews with members of the Order of Aaron, namely the Chief High Priest, Dr. Maurice Lerrie Glendenning, and his wife, Dr. Helen R. Glendenning; Robert J. Conrad, First High Priest; and Bliss G. Childs, Second High Priest.The result of this study indicates that all material presented herein is the belief of the leaders of the Aaronic Order and it is printed with their approval as being true and an accurate summary of their history and doctrinal development.