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From amongst modern inquiries into what constitutes the political, and within the current environment of hostility towards what the field of theology can offer to its study, Oliver O’Donovan emerges with his unique brand of political theology. His method of inquiry, resourced by Scripture and Christian tradition, and predicated on Christology, offers a construal of authority distilled from the Bible’s own account of God’s kingly rule as understood within the biblical narrative of salvation history, with momentous implications for the realm of the political, in particular as relates to the categories of authority and society and their interplay. Given O’Donovan’s manifest interest in the Book of Revelation and the centrality within the book’s narrative of themes intrinsic to O’Donovan’s political theology, the Apocalypse, we argue, offers the ultimate ground for a discussion about the political in the terms suggested by O’Donovan. In undertaking this exercise we find that the Apocalypse’s own construal of authority is in fact about divine authority conceived around the throne of God, the seat of divine power, which has undergone a Christological shift brought about by the exalted Jesus. We then go on to argue that throughout the Apocalypse a correlation gradually becomes apparent between the divine authority and a liturgical sociality defined by the presence of the exalted Jesus. This correlation of divine authority and liturgical sociality which is mediated by the very same exalted Jesus we have called the Fellowship of the Throne. And it is this Fellowship of Throne, we argue, which must now become the ultimate horizon of the political.

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This study is an examination of the dynamics of the Ananias and Sapphira episode in Acts (5:1–11) and its role in the narrative of Luke-Acts. The study begins by locating the passage within its literary context, emphasizing the framing of this divine judgement discourse by its literary surroundings, and the manner in which it is embedded in a discourse on the life of the Christian community expressed through shared goods. The study then moves on to examine the dynamics in the verbal encounter between Peter and the couple. Utilizing Speech-Act Theory, I argue that Peter’s words, divinely sanctioned, directly execute the divine judgement upon Ananias and Sapphira. This thesis is argued by appealing to the social processes and conventions of language-use within the context of community-of-goods discourse as manifest in the Lukan narrative. Appeal is made to the socio-cultural repertoire of community-of-goods discourse in contemporary traditions sharing the socio-cultural milieu of Luke-Acts. I look at both a Hellenistic example (the Pythagoreans) and some Jewish examples (the Essenes and the Qumran covenanters). Next, I appeal to the conventions deployed in the narrative world of Luke-Acts which undergird the efficacy of prophetic speech to effect divine judgement. This includes the patterns established by prophetic figures in the Scriptures of Israel and Luke’s own characterization of Jesus as Prophet-King. Attention is also given to Luke’s strategy of preparing his audience to see the character of Peter as an apostolic-prophetic successor to Jesus, deputized to speak on behalf of God. Finally, there is an examination of the successful execution of the speech-act of divine judgement.

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The study of emotion in psychology and philosophy has seen major advancements in the last twenty years. This has included a new emphasis on the strong cognitive element that is present in all emotions. In large part, this dissertation is an attempt to bring the valuable findings of recent research to our understanding of emotion in the New Testament. The stated goal is to understand, in a broad sense, the use of emotion in the New Testament and how the writers perceived it. To this end, the writer surveys the ideas about emotion that were present in the Greco-Roman world, the Old Testament, and Intertestamental Judaism. The understanding of emotion by some important figures in church history is also studied. This background is then used to gain insight into the use of emotion in the New Testament. Specific, basic emotions are analyzed in the text; including love, joy, hope, jealousy, fear, anger, hatred, and sorrow. This is not a series of articles in the pattern of TDNT, but rather an analysis of emotion in general that uses specific emotions to study the subject in the New Testament. Interwoven into this study is a critique of the understanding of emotion that is predominant in New Testament studies. It is concluded that the New Testament has an appropriate and vital place for emotion in the Christian life. New Testament ethics, interpretation, and theology have often de-emphasized emotion, and this has been a mistake. A strong argument for the importance of emotion in the interpretation of the New Testament is made.

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No description available.

No description available.