This thesis investigates the influence of second century Gnosticism (Valentinian Gnosticism) on modern systems of thought. It contends that such an influence does exists and that Gnosticism, although often neglected, is one significant hermeneutical approach to understanding influential modern philosophical and theological cultures such as German Idealism and Sophiology. It attempts to demonstrate these claims by broadly adhering to a Foucauldian archaeological methodology that focuses on the historical development of a particular theological theme: Sophiology.

This thesis examines the theological interpretation of the Bible as Christian scripture in the light of the Christian doctrine of hope, with specific reference to hope as a human characteristic. Hope is thus discussed in terms of interpretive virtue, as one human characteristic that leads to good biblical reading. The doctrine of hope is examined with reference to Jürgen Moltmann and James Cone, and in both lines of thought is outlined in terms of grounds, contents and action. Common contours are drawn; hope is grounded in God’s promise and presence, and contains the dignity and transformation of humans in relationship with God and one another. Hope’s grounds and contents directly shape the hermeneutical situation in which scripture is read. The action of hope involves living in accordance with one’s grasp of these grounds and contents, and because these parameters have hermeneutical consequences, so living hopefully will shape the action of reading. The hopeful reader perseveres with the text in a tension between openness to God through the text, and ‘closed’ steadfastness in the reader’s grip on their perspective of hope. By incorporating Garrett Green’s description of the imagination, this steadfastness is described as a hopeful construal of reality that remains alert to alternatives. It is then argued that because Christian hope pertains to the renewal of human community, the hopeful reader seeks to read alongside diverse others. Finally, this thesis is tested by showing how hope is manifest in the reading of Howard Thurman and the South Sudanese People to People Peace initiatives. The thesis describes the hermeneutical circle in terms of Christian hope where hope aids, and results from, good biblical reading. Through this, the thesis creates a framework for theological interpretation which takes seriously the centrality of hope in Christian theology.

The doctrine of divine pedagogy, regarding how God teaches humanity about himself, has suffered neglect in modern theology. Particularly in Protestant theology, its social form, in which certain human beings are used by God to teach others, was foreshortened. Thus, its traditional explanatory function in relation to how one comes to know God through the teaching and learning of theology faded. Recently, some attempts have been made to recover the doctrine in this relation and in its full scope, notably by John Webster. This thesis adds to efforts to reassemble the doctrine by identifying a remaining gap in recent explications, namely, human teachers of theology as agents of God’s teaching, and sets out to give a theological account of their role. In this way it seeks to restore a social view of the economy of the divine pedagogy. To do this, it turns to 1 Corinthians 1-4, and premodern commentary thereupon. It finds there is an ‘economic’ pattern to Paul’s understanding of how God brings people to know him in these chapters, as read by premodern commentators, and develops an analytic schema of five elements by which to diagnose the fullness or the paucity of a doctrine of divine pedagogy. These are: (i) God, the divine teacher; (ii) the history of this teaching; (iii) wisdom as the object taught; (iv) human students and, finally, (v) human teachers. Structuring premodern comments on 1 Corinthians 1-4 around these five elements, it draws out an expansive account of the economy of divine teaching. In concluding, it suggests some areas for further exploration and discusses the significance of the ‘economic’ form of the doctrine for contemporary theology and theological self-understanding.

Arguments for the absence of instrumental music in early Christian worship are commonly founded on a corpus of texts which, in the main, describe the attitudes of their educated,elite authors towards worship within churches and other officially sanctioned venues of the Roman empire. This inevitably ignores much of the popular religious ritual associated with the non-elite Christian(ized) masses. Of equal significance, it ignores huge swathes of the population, beyond the Mediterranean world, who, in more remote locations such as Ireland and Ethiopia, embraced Christianity and expressed it in the context of their own cultures. However important the Roman empire was, the horizons on which any assessment of musical practice is focused, must extend beyond its geographical borders. This not only involves examining a diversity of geographical locations, but a diversity of definitions regarding concepts of Christian worship. It is not only the attitudes of the elite, well aware of the disciplines of their philosophical/theological heritage, but the attitudes of the uneducated masses, whose religious practices were not necessarily in conformity with the desires and demands of Church authority, which provide the groundwork upon which this dissertation is built.

Nikolai Il`minskii, a specialist in Arabic and the Turkic languages which he taught at the Kazan Theological Academy and Kazan University from the 1840s to 1860s, became in 1872 the Director of the Kazan Teachers’ Seminary where the first teachers were trained for native-language schools among the Turkic and Finnic peoples of the Volga-Urals and Siberia. With the help of these teachers and their pupils, as well as those of other schools set up on his model, Il`minskii created alphabets and oversaw biblical and liturgical translations into their languages, thus paving the way for native-language Orthodox parishes with indigenous clergy. The thesis explores the context in which Il`minskii’s ideas arose and their impact on the Turkic Chuvash people of the Volga region from the 1870s to the 1920s. It traces how teachers and graduates of the Simbirsk Chuvash Teachers’ School laid the foundations of Chuvash-language Orthodox parishes and liturgical life, leading to the indigenization of Orthodox Christianity among the Chuvash and the transformation, rather than the annihilation, of their traditional religious worldview and rites. The increased sense of Chuvash national consciousness narodnost` resulting from the creation of a Chuvash literary language used in schools and churches, was accompanied by a desire for recognition of their obshchechelovechnost`, their common humanity with all other peoples, which led after the 1917 Revolution to the pursuit of Chuvash political and ecclesial autonomy. The thesis argues that it was Il`minskii’s own writings and practices, defended from the 1880s as a continuation of Orthodox tradition rather than an innovation, which laid the foundation for what became known as the Cyrillo-Methodian Orthodox missionary tradition in the late 20th century.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, is described in DSM-IV as ‘The presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states’. The diagnosis is controversial and some mental health professionals were against its inclusion in DSM-V, which was published in May 2013. The concept of DID has its roots in beliefs about possession, hypnosis and hysteria, and it is these three different theoretical origins which shape current theories of DID and which underlie the fierce debates which surround it. Parts of the Church still adhere to the pre scientific view that multiple personalities indicate demonic activity, and mental health professionals can be divided into those who see DID as a product of hypnosis, and so are likely to view it as an iatrogenic condition, and those who view it as a dissociative disorder and believe it to be caused by severe abuse in childhood. Failure to reach agreement about the nature and cause of DID has led to misdiagnosis and mistreatment. Through an application of the Mimetic Theory of René Girard, this paper will propose a theory of multiple personalities which could be utilised by all disciplines. Mimetic Theory is often studied in three parts: psychological, sociological and theological. Maintaining that tripartite structure, principles of interdividual psychology will be used to explain the creation of new identities, the Scapegoat Mechanism will explain why those who have been abused continue to be victimised, and a theological engagement will produce a model of care which is safe, effective and appropriate for both church and clinical settings.

This thesis investigates the process of spiritual borrowing between the emergent church (EC) and the Christian mystical tradition. From its inception, the EC has displayed interest in mystic practices, but the exact nature of this interest or how these practices are appropriated and reinterpreted in the EC context has not been researched. My research shows that the emergent church is appropriating Christian mystic practices by investing these practices with their own theological content. After introduction to areas of inquiry and the historical development of the EC in the USA, I proceed to prove my point through literary and empirical strategies. Close scrutiny of EC literature shows a lack of connection with historical provenance of mystic practices. Rather than a historical connection, mystic practices are viewed as neutral containers which can be invested with a great range of theological content. Consequently, EC authors tie the appropriation of practices to the theological content which they are also investing into the practices. Several theological values, or ‘anchors’, are evident as primary investments in EC literature. Empirical research through phenomenological case studies displays less of a tidy relationship than the literature portrays. Principally, spiritual borrowing of mystic practices is tied to a high theological value on experimentation with lesser value tied to other anchors. The practices themselves are changed to fit in their new context with new theology, showing that EC belief shapes EC behavior. My study contributes notably to the sociological examination of the process of spiritual borrowing, especially through close inspection of how a spiritual practice changes to fit a new theological context. Additionally, my thesis contributes to the study of the complex relationship between belief and behavior.

This thesis seeks an exegesis of Numbers 11:16-17, 24-25, the so-called “elders story,” within a larger wilderness episode involving Moses’ bitter complaint, the people’s great craving for meat, and the enigmatic Eldad and Medad. While most recent interpreters have considered the elders a curious side-show, occurring nearly inexplicably in both their narrative setting and pentateuchal position, pre-modern interpreters have often drawn more from their configuration. As the first full-length study into the elders of Numbers 11, this thesis seeks to explore what the elders contribute to their own biblical setting by tracing their impact on later generations of Jews and Christians. In particular, it explores the possible links between these seventy elders and the seventy translators of the Legend of the Septuagint in its Hellenistic versions in Letter of Aristeas, Philo, and Josephus. The first two chapters examine the recent history of interpretation of the passage and re-appraise typical interpretative stances toward both the elders’ climactic activity as “speaking in ecstasy (ויתנבאו)” and their designation as not only elders of Israel but “their officers (שטריו).” “Prophesying” and “scribes” are presented, respectively, as preferred terms, both philologically and contextually. The next two chapters critically examine the relationship between Moses and the elders of Numbers 11, vis-à-vis their symbolic presentation as “seventy (שבעים)” (or, with Eldad and Medad included, as “seventy-two”) and their potential ability to inherit, represent, and interpret Moses’ law-giving authority. In both cases, Moses’ burden and cry for his own death in Numbers 11:11-14, brings the necessity of inheritors of his authority closer to the concerns of Numbers 11 and Exodus-Joshua. The final main chapter examines the many ways the seventy elders of Numbers 11 may be understood as foundational to the framing of the Legend of the Septuagint. As those drawn closer to Moses than any other biblical persona, the seventy elders are uniquely imbued with Moses’ authority, biblically and beyond.

This thesis is generated in response to the significant decline in membership of the Anglican Church of Canada in the latter half of the twentieth century. Based on a reflexive understanding of the interaction of theology and culture, it proposes a local Christology in response to the local (post-modern) culture of the Anglican Church of Canada and Canadian society, as a way to strengthen the proclamation of Christ in contemporary cultures. The development of the notion of culture is explored, particularly utilizing the work of Kathryn Tanner. Building on the work of Clifford Geertz in describing cultures, a semiotic approach based on Robert Schreiter’s work on local cultures is used to establish the premise that all theology is contextual and that culture and theology dynamically interact in a reflexive relationship. In the context of theology being expressed through liturgical texts, the notion of inculturation is introduced and some contemporary examples offered. The typology of H. Richard Niebuhr is used as a contemporary starting point to examine the interaction of Christ and culture, and the description of Christ as the transformer of culture is utilized. This understanding is then examined in light of the culture of the Anglican Church of Canada and the Eucharistic Prayer texts are explored for evidence of being in a reflexive relationship with that culture. Using the work of Hans Frei, a Christology is developed which is congruent with the need to express the person and work of Christ within a cultural frame. The Christologies of the existing contemporary Eucharistic Prayers of the Anglican Church of Canada are examined in light of Roger Haight’s criteria for building local Christologies. The ‘Frei-inspired’ narrative Christology is employed and new Eucharistic Prayer texts are proposed for the Anglican Church of Canada in response to its local culture.

The Movement for Reform Judaism [MRJ] - has been undergoing substantial changes in its style and patterns of worship. The introduction of a new prayer book has been accompanied by a pronounced focus on the music of the various synagogues, as a key element in the re-envisioning of prayer and spirituality in 21st century congregations. These have taken place within the context of the wider context of synagogue renewal, which surfaced first in the USA as Synagogue 2000 (now Synagogue 3000), entailing study, reflection and implementation of a variety of different changes in the hope of attracting and retaining Jews in synagogue services. This thesis focuses on the relationship between forms of liturgical and ritual music and patterns of spirituality and identity within the UK Reform Jewish world during a period of significant social change. ‘Getting the music right’ is, for some, a major aspect in synagogal renewal and commands a central place in the focus on Judaism into the twenty-first century. Focusing on attitudes towards and experiments with music afford a distinctive manner to access the complexities involved in the interplay of diverse community traditions and contemporary pressures for change. The complexities of this examination are mirrored in the interdisciplinary perspective of this thesis, as it encompasses the theoretical resources of theological, historical, and social scientific disciplines. Through the historical expansion of the movement, and the synagogues in which I have engaged in ethnographic research, we will note the shifts in movement and synagogal musical cultures, each affording a unique perspective on music in worship. Each helps to elucidate a little bit what constitutes the perspectives and preoccupations of the Anglo-Reform Jewish world.