Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Robert D. Linder / Evangelical Christians represented a growing and influential subset of American Protestantism in the northern colonies of British America at the time of the War for Independence. Almost a century later, when southern states chose to secede from the Union, evangelical Christianity embodied the most vital expression of American religion, having been widely spread across the nation by decades of revivals. Central to their faith was a commitment to the authority of the Bible in every area of life, including political life. The New Testament seemed to command Christians to obey civil authorities. So, why did northern evangelicals overwhelmingly support the rebellion against English rule, but later criticize southern Christians for rebelling against the Union? Or why, on the other hand, were both of these actions not equally rebellious against civil authority? This dissertation argues that northern evangelical Christians employed Romans 13:1-7 between 1763 and 1863 as a political text either to resist or to promote submission to civil authority in pursuit of an America whose greatness as a democratic republic would be defined primarily by its religious character as an evangelical Protestant Christian nation. The chronological scope of this project spans the century between the end of French and Indian or Seven Years War (1763)—a crucial turning point in Colonial America’s sense of identity in relation to Great Britain—and President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (1863)—a crucial turning point in America’s sense of identity over the issue of slavery. Thus, the work explores the debate over American identity during the late-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries from a prominent religious perspective in light of changing understandings of the concept of submission to civil authority. The author views Romans 13:1-7 as a pivotal New Testament text informing evangelical Christian political theory in America between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Convictions forged by northern evangelicals in the colonial era regarding America’s status as “chosen” by God, and their attempts to construct a Christian democratic republic on this basis in the nineteenth century drove conscientious adherents of biblical authority to debate and periodically reassess the meaning of these verses in the American context. In this way, evangelicals contributed to the development of a concept that historians would later call “American exceptionalism.” Northern evangelicals, in particular, hoped to define America’s uniqueness by the degree to which those in civil authority reflected and reinforced Protestant Christian values and wedded these to American democratic republican identity. So long as the United States government fostered the attainment of their religious ideal for the nation, northern evangelicals promoted virtually absolute submission to civil authority on the basis of the command, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers,” found in Romans 13:1. But when they perceived the state to threaten their goal of a national Christian identity, highly qualified explanations of Romans 13:1 prevailed in northern evangelical pulpits and publications.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (MA(Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

Dans cette étude, nous avons cherché à comprendre pourquoi les lecteurs de romans, et plus particulièrement de romans pour jeunes adultes (tels que Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent, etc.), décident de se joindre à des communautés virtuelles et d'y participer activement. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes appuyés sur la théorie des usages et gratifications ainsi que sur les fan studies, c'est-à-dire le courant d'études réalisées sur des fans. Afin de répondre à notre question de recherche, nous avons effectué des entrevues qualitatives semi-dirigées. Les résultats de notre recherche indiquent que nos participantes ont joint les communautés virtuelles de fans pour répondre à des besoins non-comblés dans leur vie quotidienne, et y sont toujours actives car leurs interactions en ligne continuent de répondre à ce besoin ainsi qu'à d'autres encore.

Please read the abstract in the section 06back of this document / Thesis (PhD (New Testament))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

No description available.

One of the major issues which continues to receive attention in New Testament studies is the debate over the occasion and purpose of Romans. The present exegetical study enters into the "Romans Debate" by focusing on the text of Romans 14:1. It is our thesis that here Paul appeals to the predominantly Gentile Christian "strong" ones in Rome to exercise vigorous acceptance of the predominantly Jewish Christian "weak in faith" who, although sharing in the righteousness of God in Christ, continue to exhibit scruples about food and calendar laws. Our study contributes to the current debate by confirming the plausibility of a concrete situation in Rome which warranted the address of this text. We also demonstrate how our interpretation harmonizes with the major themes of the letter, which are clearly concerned with the relationship between Jew and Gentile in the redemptive historical moment inaugurated by God's action in Christ. By establishing the existence of a significant dimension of Jewish-Gentile relations in Rome, we enable a clearer understanding of Paul's motivation for writing not only the text in question, and the pericope which it introduces, but the entire letter. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

<p> The subject of this thesis is Paul's statements about homosexual behaviour in Romans 1:26-27. The thesis has a two-fold focus. First, it is concerned with the interpretation of Paul's words in the light of their historical context, using the methods of traditional historical criticism. Second, it attempts to evaluate the impact of recent debates in Christian churches about the ethics of homosexual behaviour on the interpretation of this text.</p><p>The differing interpretations of John Boswell and Richard Hays are treated as paradigmatic of recent debates over the text In the light of Boswell's and Hays' interpretations this thesis argues that Paul's words in Rom. 1:26-27 do a negative evaluation of all hormosexual behaviour, that Paul objected to homosexual behaviour because he believed it violated God's will for human life, that the objection was fundamentally gender-based, condemning sexual relations between persons of the same gender as "against nature." Furthermore, Paul's claim that homosexual behaviour was an expression of passions and desires is stressed, and it is argued that Paul believed, with other Jews, that homosexual behaviour was a vice characteristic of Gentile culture.</p> <p> The thesis begins with an introductory discussion of the interpretations of John Boswell and Richard Hays and an overview of methodological issues. Following this, Chapter One deals with the modern context in which interpretation of Rom. 1:26-27 takes place, focusing on theories about homosexuality and Christian responses. Chapter Two reviews recent work on Rom. 1:26-27 and highlights basic issues and questions. Chapter Three focuses on Paul's historical context, dealing with homosexual behaviour in the Graeco-Roman world, and Jewish and non-Jewish responses and attitudes. Chapter Four, the core of the thesis, deals in detail with Rom. 1:26-27 and presents the major arguments of the thesis. An outline of major conclusions follows, including a discussion of the relevance of the thesis for modern debates.</p> <p> The thesis both contributes a review of recent scholarship and attempts to advance understanding of the text by considering the relationship between historical interpretation of the text and its use in ethical debates.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The funerary grave stelae of the Roman cavalrymen are large, impressive monuments set apart from their military counterparts by the ornate relief carvings which they exhibit. The two most common motifs featured on these tombstones are the rider relief motifs and the totenmahl motifs. Aspects of both the reliefs and the inscribed epitaphs are distinctly characteristic of the Roman military. Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, men in the auxiliary cavalry units were recruited from non-Roman allied tribes. These recruits brought with them foreign languages, customs, and beliefs. Through a comparative study of Roman cavalry tombstones found in Great Britain, Germany, and Syria, I have attempted to identify iconographic and epigraphic elements that are evidence of the ethnic origins of the cavalrymen who are commemorated on these funerary monuments.

<p> Paul, the author of Gal 3:23-4:7 and Rom 8:14-25, demonstrates in these two passages a new thing for all believers in Christ-a clear movement from slavery to adoption as sons to the status of heirs. This movement occurs through the process of adoption into God's family and is characterized by inclusiveness regardless of race, socioeconomic status, or gender. This study will explore the promise that the marginalized can participate in a full, new creation inheritance. According to the promise of Rom 4:13, the dispossessed will "inherit the world." This concept of the new creation so clearly seen in Rom 8-expressed also as inheriting the world in Rom 4:13-is critical for correctly interpreting Gal 3:28, framed as it is in a discussion of inheritance and adoption. For this reason, it is of great benefit to study Gal 3:23-4:7 and Rom 8:14-25 together.</p> / Thesis / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

<p> Romans 9-11 has been investigated through varied methods during the past two decades. One of the most prominent approaches is an intertextual reading of Rom 9-11. However, most discussions of intertextual studies do not adequately treat the discourse in Rom 9-11 by closely investigating Paul's discourse patterns and that of his Jewish contemporaries regarding God, Israel, and the Gentiles due to lack of an appropriate intertextual methodological control. Therefore, this study adapts Lemke's linguistic intertextual thematic theory as a methodological control to analyze Paul's intertextual discourse patterns in Rom 9-11. Paul's unique way of using Scripture as one part of his discourse pattern will be investigated as well. Through the intertextual thematic study of Paul's discourse in Rom 9-11, we demonstrate the divergence of Paul's viewpoints on some typical Jewish issues, which suggests that the discontinuities between Paul and his Jewish contemporaries are obvious and-sometimes-radical.</p> <p> We conclude the findings of our investigation of Rom 9-11 as follows: First, we have adjusted Lemke's intertextual thematic analysis, as an indispensable tool, to analyze Paul's viewpoints of the relationships of God, Israel and the Gentiles in Rom 9-11 within the backdrop of Second Temple Literature. Second, Paul re-contextualizes the Jewish discourse patterns regarding the topics of intercession, Israel, God's promise, God's people, righteousness and law. It can be seen that Paul's discourse patterns share some continuity with his Jewish contemporaries, but the core of his value regarding how to include the Gentiles as God's people stands in a discontinuous relationship with contemporary Judaism(s). Third, this study has demonstrated that although Paul uses Jewish styles of scriptural hermeneutics, and though his discourse patterns resemble some Jewish literature in important aspects, Paul's viewpoint on the relationship of God, Israel and the Gentiles in Rom 9-11 is dissociated from his Jewish contemporaries in key ways. In other words, the core value of early Christian discourse has been embedded in Rom 9- 11. Paul's viewpoint on the relationship of God, Israel and the Gentiles takes a divergent stance away from his Jewish contemporaries since Gentile inclusion is rooted in the Gospel of Christ. Finally, Rom 9-11 not only provides Paul's self-presentation as a Mosaic prophet figure, but also its overall discourse patterns appears as a prophetic discourse: In each section (Rom 9:1-29; 9:30-10:4; 11:1-36) Paul designates his identity or his concerns of lsrael (Rom 9:1-3, 10:1; 11:1-2) before he enters into the argumentation, which demonstrates the relation between Paul's self-understanding and his message in these three chapters; also, the overall discourse pattern in Rom 9-11 resembles a prophetic discourse pattern, which expresses the idea that Paul's self-understanding as a prophetic figure serves to confirm that his word comes from divine authority.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)