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This dissertation examines Christian attitudes to the Law through the story of Ezra 9-10 and its Torah interpretation, in dialogue with Jewish exegetical tradition, and offers a framework for reading this difficult text from a Christian perspective. The first part of the dissertation juxtaposes some Christian and Jewish approaches to the Law in order to set the scene, followed by the examination of both the wider and the more immediate context of Ezra 9-10. The exegesis focuses primarily on Ezra 9:1-2 and addresses questions such as the pentateuchal source for the nations list in v.1 and the meaning of the ‘abominations’ associated with them, as well as the role the ancient h)erem law might have played in the solution offered to the exiles’ problem. Further, the dissertation considers ‘the holy seed’ rationale for the ban on intermarriages in v.2, its possible legal background and internal logic. Jewish perspectives are drawn into the task of interpretation as appropriate throughout and the Ezran solution is also compared to the similar incident in Neh 13:23-31. The second part of the dissertation assesses the difficulties Christian interpreters often have with the story of Ezra 9-10 and then maps out ways in which various considerations may contribute to a larger Christian framework for reading a difficult text such as Ezra 9-10. I argue that Jewish approaches may create awareness of implicit Christian assumptions, that canon and tradition place constraints on difficult OT texts which need to be spelt out and that analogous NT text(s) can highlight continuities and discontinuities between Old and New Testament. Further, I suggest that insights from fields outside biblical interpretation such as those from anthropology, as well as contemporary answers to analogous problems may put an ancient story and the difficulties connected to it into perspective.

1 Peter 3:18-22 records Christ’s proclamation to the “imprisoned spirits.” Interpreting this passage has challenged even the most competent exegetes. Earliest interpretations understood these imprisoned spirits as the souls of humans to whom Christ preached during his “harrowing of Hades” between his death and resurrection. Augustine identified them as the humans living prior to the flood who were heralded to by the pre-existent Christ through the person of Noah. Scholars from the beginning of the twentieth century through the present have read these verses through the lens of the fall of the watchers tradition first recorded in the Book of Watchers, thus reckoning these spirits as imprisoned angels. Yet contemporary scholarship has failed to acknowledge the development, conflation, and even multiplicity of the fallen angel sin and punishment myths that are found throughout much of early Jewish and Christian literature. This thesis traces the major developments of the fallen angel, giant, evil spirit, and human sin and punishment traditions throughout 1 Enoch, Jubilees, Dead Sea Scroll material, and other relevant works that may have played a role in the formative history of 1 Peter 3:18-22. This thesis also attempts, based upon the conflation of previous traditions, to ascertain the identity of imprisoned spirits, the content of Christ’s proclamation, and the relevance of these questions to the original readers. Finally, this work attempts to ascertain the relationship between baptism in verse 22 and the warding off of evil spirits.

The present study considers the degree to which John’s portrayal of the faithful Christian community in the Apocalypse is informed by Jewish apocalyptic traditions related to wealth in the Second Temple period. Previous studies have attributed the author’s radical stance against wealth and economic participation to an ad hoc response against the idolatry and social injustices of the Roman Empire and imperial cults. This thesis argues that there is reasonable evidence to suggest that the author may have already been predisposed to reject affluence as a feature of the present age for the ideal faithful community based on received tradition. The study begins by delineating the problem in a critical review of how scholars have attempted to deal with this language through either the social world of Roman Asia Minor or the author’s use of the biblical prophets. This discussion demonstrates the need to take a tradition-historical approach that includes an examination of Jewish apocalyptic traditions preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as other Jewish literature not found at Qumran that demonstrate a decided concern over wealth. These Second Temple texts are then examined collectively against the language of wealth and poverty in selected passages of the Apocalypse. The evidence reveals an emphasis on the part of John on the irreversible, eschatological consequences of ethical behaviour directly related to wealth based on a certain cosmological and theological understanding, an emphasis that has close analogies in some Second Temple literature. The study concludes that traditions preserved in the Epistle of Enoch and later Enochic texts have played a formative role in shaping the author’s theological perspective concerning material blessing for the faithful in the present age and the world through which he legitimised the radical stance he imposed on his readers/hearers.

This thesis offers a close reading of two Pauline texts, Philippians 2:5-11 and Romans 13:1-7. Inspired by recent scholarship it asks whether Paul can be read in a politically relevant way. An interaction with the works of political ethicists O’Donovan and Yoder precedes the exegetical part to focus more sharply on relevant issues. In all their distinctive emphases both ethicists hold that the primary result of Christ’s Lordship is the church, which is (socio) political in a broad sense and governed by Christ. Christ’s Lordship is reflected but not mediated by the church and even less so by the state. Political authority with its use of temporal power is still needed by the church. The Christ-event indirectly affects political authority, re-locating and re-enlisting it. The church is both to grant the state some autonomy and to engage it with its evangelical ethos. Like O’Donovan and Yoder, Paul uses the metaphor of Christ’s Lordship with all its variable potential in a resolutely ecclesial way. He portrays the church as a socio-political body constituted and sustained by Christ’s Lordship, which nevertheless does not strive to be fully politicized and still needs structures of political authority. Unlike O’Donovan and Yoder, Paul sees political rule to be unaffected by the Christ event. While Paul’s narrative arguably shifts the center of hope and loyalty to Christ, this is not used to engage political rulers either positively or negatively. The latter’s task is unchanged and given approval as an abiding aspect of the divine work. While it does not match the height of God’s deed in Christ as embodied by the church, it shows the Christ believers that their ‘good’ is perfectly compatible with the demands of political rulers.

The aim of this thesis is to explore whether and to what extent theosis helpfully captures Paul's presentation of the anthropological dimension of soteriology. Drawing methodologically from Gadamer, Jauss, and Bakhtin, we attempt to hold a conversation between Paul and two of his later interpreters--Irenaeus and Cyril of Alexandria--in order to see what light the development of deification in these later writers shines on the Pauline texts themselves. In Part 1 of the thesis, we analyse how Irenaeus and Cyril develop their notions of deification and how they use Pauline texts in support of their conclusions. Drawing from Ps 82 both writers ascribe to believers the appellation of 'gods', and they associate this primarily with Pauline texts that speak of the experience of immortality, sanctification, and being sons of God. As believers experience this deifying move the image and likeness of God is restored through a participatory relationship with God mediated by Christ and the Spirit. In Part 2 we then analyse the anthropological dimension of Paul's soteriology in Rom 8 and 2 Cor 3-5, with excursus on Gal 3-4, 1 Cor 15, and Phil 2-3. In the context of believers' restored divine-human relationship through Christ and the Spirit, Paul speaks of believers being conformed to the narrative of Christ's death and life, which culminates in an experience of divine and heavenly glory and immortality. In Part 3 we offer a comparison of patristic views of deification and Paul's soteriology. While differences are clear, we conclude that Paul's soteriology overlaps significantly with that of these two later interpreters, such that deification is an apt description of the anthropological dimension of his soteriology. At the same time, christosis is probably a better term in today's context to capture his distinct emphasis on embodying Christ's death and life.

The study of the idea of knowledge in the Gospel and Epistles of John raises certain questions, the most important concerning the relationship of Gnosticism to the Johannine idea of knowledge. The problem is complicated by the late date of the Gnostic documents at our disposal. But Gnosticism did not suddenly develop in the second century A.D., though it is important to recognize post-Christian developments. There is a relationship between certain developments within Judaism and pre-Christian Gnosticism, and the important place given to "knowledge" in the Gospel and Epistles of John bears witness to the influence of the Gnostic development. Professors Bultmann and Dodd disagree over the question of the relationship of Gnosticism to the Gospel and Epistles of John with consequences important for the idea of knowledge. The Gospel stands in a different relationship to Gnosticism than the first Epistle. The Epistle is controversial in purpose, the claims of the heretics being used as the structure and basis of the refutation. But no controversy with Gnosticism is apparent in the Gospel, though the language of the Gospel is closely related to that of the Epistle, and would seem to reflect indirect Gnostic influence. In both the Gospel and the Epistles the idea of knowledge is wider than the specific vocabulary of knowledge. The content of, and means through which knowledge is communicated, presupposes the theme of revelation, and the means through which knowledge is experienced presupposes the examination of "seeing", "hearing", "abiding", "believing", "witness", and "love", as well as the specific verbs of knowing. From this examination it is clear that whereas "believing" is central in the Gospel, "love" is central in the Epistle, the change of emphasis being due to the confrontation with the Gnostic heretics.

This thesis is an attempt to add understanding and meaning to the concept of sexual addiction by correlating the clinical observation that sex addicts in particular, and shame-bound people in general, behave in cycles of control and release to the types of the two sons in the Lukan parable of the prodigal. This parable may be understood as shedding light on the equal dangers of patterns of control and release. Additionally, sex addiction is viewed from an Augustinian perspective of sin. It is argued that human vulnerability to shaming is a result of original sin and that sexual addiction can be understood within this framework as one possible reaction to shame damage. It is suggested that at the heart of the Christian gospel is a severe warning that to attempt to hide and deny a distorted and painful perception of oneself presents a particularly deadly spiritual condition. To view sex addicts as shame-bound people poses the question as to whether the church faithfully participates in the continuing mission of the triune God and how far its ministry helps towards the healing of shame. On the other hand, we need to explore whether the church adds to the shaming of individuals and groups, is unaware of the dynamics of shame, or even exploits those affected by this. In the context of the current discourse within the Christian church about human sexuality, and in view of recent scandals of sexual abuse, the question of ministry towards those whose sexuality is wounded is of particular concern.

This thesis seeks to elucidate the role angels play in the narrative of Matthew’s Gospel by investigating how angel traditions have contributed to his portrait of Jesus. Angels have been significant in Christological research due to their primary function as messengers and mediators between heaven and earth. However, their role in the Gospel narratives has been largely unexplored. Matthew, in particular, demonstrates a noteworthy interest in angels through the handling of his sources, his redaction, and addition of unique material. Utilizing the Old Testament and sources from the Second Temple period to illustrate the variety of angel traditions, this study seeks to identify how these traditions are reflected in Matthew’s Gospel and to interpret the passages in which angels appear or are represented. As a result, the majority of this study consists of a detailed exegesis of the passages that specifically mention angels. Each reference is critically analyzed in view of its role in the Gospel’s narrative and in light of Matthew’s redactional hand. In addition, discussion of relevant traditions of angels accompanies each chapter in order to illustrate how Matthew’s use of angels has facilitated his Gospel’s message. The thesis concludes that Matthew’s narrative includes angel traditions for three reasons. First, through his emphasis on the angels’ agency, Matthew advances his portrait of Jesus the Son of Man as an authoritative eschatological judge. Second, angels appear at significant moments in the narrative, expressing God’s presence in the life of Jesus. Finally, angels contribute to the apocalyptic cosmology of Matthew’s worldview.