The present study is a comprehensive examination of the statements about God in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus to redress their neglect and to attempt to resolve questions concerning their nature, their function, and the conception of God which lies behind them. In chaps. 2-4 we make a careful contextual study of the way the author speaks about God. The letters are addressed individually to avoid blurring distinctions between them or neglecting individual emphases. The theo-logical statements are grouped according to common forms or motifs. However, singular statements are also addressed. These letters reveal that the author incorporated OT tradition as mediated via the LXX and wider circles of Hellenistic Judaism, the Jesus tradition, and Pauline Tradition within an overall Pauline soteriological framework. Where statements about God occur, they serve to ground the ethical admonitions; theology interpenetrates ethics. Also, his constant stress upon the nature of God's saving work in Christ counters the heresy which the author understands to be distorting God's saving plan. Thus, the author's focus upon God and Saviour and the way he saves fulfils hortatory and polemical aims. He conceives of God as both transcendent and personal. He sits enthroned over the power structures of the cosmos, yet he is also actively and directly involved in the world toward the execution of his saving purposes. Finally, the examination addresses questions concerning the uniqueness of the author's terminology and its relation to the heterodoxy envisioned. Arguments for the use of traditional concepts selected and molded within the Ephesian community against an Ephesus-based Christian group are presented as a possible basis for the terminology used. Lastly, we suggest that the soteriological focus and the way the author speaks of God's saving work reflect a pointed response to a heresy which was perverting God's saving plan.

The fact of Paul's many and extended imprisonments constituted a great crisis to him, being at once an assault upon both himself and his identity as missionary. Luke is keenly aware of this fact and, in the light of the known and multifarious crises that imprisonment brought upon Paul and his mission, one of his objectives in Acts was to defend or justify the prisoner missionary to his readers. This thesis was tested by means of extensive reference to sources in the Greco-Roman world. The impact of various legal and social factors upon custodial deliberations in the Greco-Roman world were first considered. It was demonstrated that magistrates gave consideration not only to the severity of charges but also to the relative legal and social personae of the accused and accuser. Magistrates were also often open to the negative impact of power, influence and bribery. Various types of custody and degrees of severity in custody were possible and might be assigned on this basis. The matter of Paul's legal and social persona was specified on the basis of NT indications. Despite objections, evidence allows the quite confident assertion that he was indeed a Roman citizen, a Tarsian and a well-educated, well-off and politically well-connected Jew of Pharisaic commitment who had become a Christian. This mix of elements in his persona, however, resulted in serious troubles for him as he was subjected to the various custodial evaluations of which we read in the book of Acts.

This thesis examines the interpretation of Lev 18:5 (".which if a person does he will live by them") in early Judaism and in Paul. The apostle Paul cites the passage on two occasions (Gal 3:12; Rom 10:5) and his interpretation of it is highly debated. While scholars often discuss its meaning in Paul, a thorough examination of Lev 18:5 in the OT and early Judaism has been virtually ignored. This thesis, then, seeks to contribute to our understanding of Paul's view of the law in relation to early Jewish soteriology through the lens of their respective interpretations of Lev 18:5. First, I look at the original context of Lev 18, along with its later interpretations in Ezekiel, Nehamiah, and the Septuagint. Second, I examine its interpretive tradition in early Judaism (200 B.C.E. - 100 C.E.). Many of the documents examined here understand Lev 18:5 along similar lines: obedience to the law is a necessary pre-condition for the attainment of eternal life. Third, I examine the use of Lev 18:5 I Paul, where it is cited on two occasions and each time opposed to other OT passages, Hab 2:4 (in Gal 3:11-12) and Deut 30:12-14 (in Rom 10:5-8). Paul opposed Lev 18:5, we argue, because it expresses a soteriological formulation that is contrary to the gospel of faith. Leviticus 18:5 requires human deeds as a pre-condition for external life, while the gospel of faith testifies to God's unilateral saving action. Following our study of Paul, we conclude with a comparison between early Jewish and Pauline views of Lev 18:5. here, we note the similarities and differences between Paul and his Jewish contemporaries on this passage and offer some implications for Paul's view of the law.

What would happen if Christian spiritual life is seen, not as a pilgrimage through a landscape, but as the landscape itself? In order to explore this question, this thesis expands the metaphor of the 'landscape of the soul' into a model of Christian spiritual life. The 'landscape of the soul' is treated as a system; with its input being God's self-revelation of love through Jesus Christ; its transformational process being the re-creation of a person through the love of God; and its output being union with God. In a representational mapping of the model, three interrelated networks of systems are identified: a geology representing physical and psychological processes relating to human experiencing; a geomorphology connected with human growth and development; and an ecology depicting the flow of God's love through various interrelationships present in the 'landscape of the soul'. These systems are considered with reference to three characteristics of landscape: matrix, the area that is most prominent; patches, areas that are different from the common matrix; and corridors, areas that facilitate the flow of information, energy or materials. The 'landscape of the soul' is also thematically mapped using different types of understandings that are associated with mysticism. The geological network is seen as analogous to those discourses that interpret mysticism as a distinct type of altered state of consciousness; the geomorphological network, with those understandings that link mysticism with stages in prayer or psycho-spiritual development; and the ecological network, with those understandings that associate mysticism with the encounter and relationship with God in Christ. From this thematic exploration, the model proposes that the altered state of consciousness in the geology of experiencing be likened to being-in-love with God; that the process represented by stages in the geomorphology of growing be seen as the deepening and honing of attention to God; and the relationship depicted in the ecology of relating be perceived as a mutual selfgiving between God and a person in an exchange of love. The model is tested in an individual case study of the life and writings of Clare of Assisi and through a survey of spiritual directors and therapists. A model of Christian life based upon the metaphor of the 'landscape of the soul' emphasises an encounter with Christ in the present moment and provides a framework in which some different understandings of mysticism can be situated. Moreover, what emerges is a distinctly Christian understanding of a mysticism of everyday in which the apophatic and transformational encounter with God is grounded in Christ.

The study begins with an introduction which defines rhetorical criticism, traces its development from the Church Fathers to the present, examines methodologies, and summarizes the major sources of classical theory and epistolary rhetoric. The classical methodology of Kennedy is chosen, and its five steps constitute the five chapters of the thesis. The objectives are to understand the intent of the author, the persuasive power of the text upon the original audience, and how the author has transmitted his intent through the text. In Chapter one Colossians is established as a legitimate rhetorical unit with definable introduction, body, and conclusion. Theories regarding the integrity of the text and incorporation of traditional materials are examined. Classical theories of arrangement are discussed and commentators' outlines are examined. An Aristotelian outline is proposed. Chapter two defines the rhetorical situation as a complex of persons, events, objects, relations, times, and places which interact to compel the production of discourse to alter an exigence. The relationship of rhetorical situation to argumentation is discussed and the situation proposed by commentators for Colossians is summarized before investigating the letter's rhetorical complex. The question of authorship is treated and Pauline authorship is proposed. Principal characters, recipients, place and date of writing, and general content are examined. The exigence is reconstructed, with emphasis placed not on "heresy" but on the opportunity presented by the return of Onesimus to his master to encourage and instruct the Colossians in mature knowledge and conduct. The rhetorical constraints used are identified, including Paul's personal ethos, tradition, and propriety. Finally, rhetorical problems facing Paul are noted: he did not personally know his audience, lacked first-hand information of the situation in Colossae, and was prevented by imprisonment from a personal visit. Chapter three examines the letter's stasis and genus. Classical stasis theory is summarized and types of stases explained. The proposition of Colossians is examined to discover authorial intent. The causa is complex, consisting of two interrelated rational, definite questions, both exhibiting qualitative stases. Classical theories of genera are discussed and Aristotle's tripartite division is chosen as a model. Colossians' core goals of instruction and modification of behavior indicate a deliberative document which relies heavily upon epideictic. Chapter four contains a detailed examination of the letter's parts, including the author's management of materials and use of style to accomplish his purpose through the argumentation. The prescript is included under the exordium for practical purposes. The causa is identified as honorable, and the exordium is shown to be a principium which acts as an introduction, and in Colossians also resembles a narratio by recounting events which have led up to the present situation. It employs epideictic in a series of encomia to gain the good-will and attention of the audience and further strengthens the ethos of the author. The Apostle declares what he wishes to accomplish in the propositio: that his audience have full knowledge of God's will in order to please the Lord in everything by bearing fruit and increasing in knowledge, being strengthened to persevere, and giving thanks to the Father. The argumentatio treats these objectives in a series of elaborated arguments, first in the Christ hymn which instructs in fuller knowledge and is intended to lead the audience to thanksgiving by its elevated style and epideictic. This is followed by a charge to persevere, supported by the example of Paul's own joyful suffering. The argumentation flows into a warning against certain false teachings, then into a comparison of the old to the new as the author expounds upon proper Christian conduct. The epistle lacks a true peroratio, but the postscript serves as a closing. Chapter five consists of an evaluation of the effectiveness of the epistle's rhetoric and a summary and general conclusion to the thesis. The letter's persuasive strength derives mainly from the ethos of the author, the gospel tradition, and the author's skillful use of epideictic and elaborated arguments. Its weaknesses include vague, verbose style and degeneration of the later argumentation into a series of brief, unconnected imperatives. The most striking result of the analysis is the shift of emphasis from the "heresy" and the Christ hymn to the letter's moral exhortations, which has broad implications for the interpretation of the letter's situation and the author's objectives.

The study of Ezra-Nehemiah has been revolutionised in recent years by a growing rejection of the long-established belief that it was composed as part of the Chronicler's work. That shift in scholarly paradigms has re-opened many questions of origin and purpose, and this thesis attempts to establish an answer to the most important of these: the question of authorship. The first part deals with preliminary questions, reviewing the relationship with Chronicles and the unity of the work, and investigating current theories of origin. It affirms that Ezra-Nehemiah should be considered a single, independent composition, to be dated to the late fifth century B.C., and establishes that the author most probably belonged to one of the clerical groups of priests or Levites. The second part examines the attitude toward Levites in Ezra-Nehemiah, and compares it to the treatment of Levites in other, more or less contemporary literature. This comparison shows that the work is unlikely to have been a priestly composition, since priestly texts of the period show a consistent determination to portray the Levites as clerus minor, subordinate to the priests. On the other hand, the portrayal in Ezra-Nehemiah is quite compatible with that of the Levitical stratum in Chronicles. The third part explores the ideology of Ezra-Nehemiah in the context of Persian rule. It establishes that the author was pro-Persian, despite good reasons for Jewish discontent with Achaemenid policies, and shows that this would not have been inappropriate for a Levitical author by the time the work was written. It also explores the socio-political ideology of the book, concluding that its concerns with decentralisation, cooperation and reform are unlikely to have been voiced by a priestly writer. The dissertation concludes, therefore, that the most probable origin for Ezia-Nehemiah lies in Levitical circles, and that it was composed at a time when Levites had established an improvement in their status and authority, following Persian disenchantment with the priesthood. The implications of this conclusion, literary and historical, are explored briefly in the final chapter.

This thesis places the Wisdom of Solomon and Paul’s letter to the Romans in conversation. While the lexical and thematic parallels between Wisdom 13-15 and Romans 1.18-2.5, and to a lesser extent Wisdom 10-12 (or 10-19) and Romans 9-11, have often been noted, comparisons between these two texts have typically identified points of continuity and discontinuity without enquiring into the hermeneutical rationale and theological basis for the observed similarity-in-contrast. This thesis attempts to deepen the dialogue between Wisdom and Romans, not primarily by an examination of Paul’s use of or dependence upon Wisdom but by attempting to consider and compare the essential theological grammar of both texts. Part one offers a reading of Wisdom without reference to Romans. In this way, this thesis both fills a scholarly gap – as no large scale comparison of Wisdom and Romans provides a complete reading of the former text – and allows the terms of Wisdom’s theological description to be configured on the basis of its own basic theological structures. It will be argued that Wisdom’s absolute distinction between the righteous (Israel) and the ungodly (non-Israel), its emphatic articulation of divine grace and its rereading of Israel’s scripture are consistent with and comprehended within a fundamental theological conviction: the God of illimitable love is immutably just. Part two considers pivotal sections of Romans in dialogue with Wisdom. Taking Wisdom’s central concerns and motifs as topics of conversation, chapters six, seven and eight compare and consider the relationship and respective soteriological status of Jew and Gentile (chapter six), the meaning and relationship of divine righteousness and grace (chapter seven), and the hermeneutical logic that shapes the respective rereadings of Israel’s scripture (chapter eight). These multiple points of comparison reflect a common conversational pattern: while Wisdom and Romans share much in terms of theme, vocabulary and theological mode, the theologies they articulate are ultimately incommensurable. The central thesis of part two is that the anthropological, semantic and hermeneutical differences between Wisdom and Romans point to and are generated by a material contrast at the level of the texts’ essential theological logic: Wisdom’s theology is governed by and reflective of the nuclear significance of the protological order σοφία fashioned, sustains and reveals; the theology of Romans is determined by and radiates from the generative and centrifugal significance of the divine act that is the event, impact and proclamation of Jesus Christ.

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This dissertation is a theological comparison on the themes of justification and union with Christ in the thought of Bernard of Clairvaux (1153) and Martin Luther (1546). Primarily, the sources considered are Bernard's Sermons on the Song of Songs: Sermones super Cantica Canticorum (1135-1153) and Luther's 1535 Galatians Commentary: In epistolam S. Pauli ad Calatas Commentarius, for these biblical exegetical sources enable comparison for the way in which these thinkers intend justification and union with Christ to be understood pastorally. Various emphases or trends in scholarship on these two thinkers are considered: the emphasis in Luther scholarship on an external notion of justification away from notions of union or indwelling, and an emphasis in Bernadine scholarship away from Cross-centred notions of justification and towards ones of union, likeness, or ascent. The outcome of the dissertation challenges such trends. For it finds - in addition to notions of union, likeness, or ascent - a clear theology of justification through faith in Christ in Bernard's teaching, with Christ's death on the Cross standing as a key element within this, and here language of unlikeness is also used. It finds both themes of union and indwelling - in addition to forensic and external notions of justification - present and central to Luther's thinking even in his later thought at a time when his Reformation theology had become more sharply defined.