The thesis compares the Hebrew used in the hook of Isaiah with Ugaritic (also Phoenician, Aramaic and Akkadian) with respect to language and poetry. The classification of Ugaritic, especially in relation to Hebrew is discussed. The section on language includes a study of grammar, syntax, expressions and vocabulary. Examination of theories on Hebrew poetry is followed by comparison of Hebrew and Ugaritic stichometry and poetic devices. Four passages are translated, with notes and after brief remarks on transmission, problems of dating and finally, conclusions, are indicated. An appendix lists parallel and repeated word-pairs common to Ugaritic and Hebrew.

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It is commonly claimed that certain tenets and doctrines of the Christian faith are <i>paradoxical, </i>that is, they give the appearance (at least) of logical inconsistency. In addition to alleged conceptual problems with classical theism, certain distinctively Christian doctrines – most notably, the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of the Incarnation – have frequently been thought to suffer from serious internal logical difficulties. As such, question are naturally raised about the rationality of Christian beliefs. Since the earliest days of the church, sceptics have marshalled such considerations in defence of their stance of unbelief or outright disbelief with respect to the Christian faith. More remarkable, however, is the number of Christian thinkers who have concurred with their conclusions. Some have conceded not only the charge of paradoxically but also the charge of irrationality, shrugging it off or even championing it as a virtue. Others have granted that certain doctrines are paradoxical, but reject the accusation of intellectual impropriety. These differing stances indicate that there are two key questions to be answered concerning paradox in Christian theology. (1) Are any essential Christian doctrines genuinely paradoxical? (2) Can a person to rational in believing a paradoxical doctrine? In the first part of the thesis I develop a case for answering (1) in the affirmative, arguing that the orthodox Christian doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, as reflected in the creeds and confessions of the early church, are indeed paradoxical. This conclusion is supported by (i) the history of the early Trinitarian and Christological controversies and (ii) the failure of contemporary theologians and philosophers to identify interpretations of these doctrines which avoid paradox while preserving orthodoxy. I also consider a range of strategies for responding to the problem of theological paradox, concluding that each is inadequate on either philosophical or theological grounds (or both). In the second part of the thesis I develop a case for answering (2) in the affirmative: even if certain Christian doctrines are paradoxical, Christians can nonetheless be rational in believing them.

The historical part of this dissertation documents the hermeneutical landmarks of the modern quest for the Sermon's meaning from the writings of Leo Tolstoy, Wilhelm Herrmann, Leonhard Ragaz, Friedrich Naumann, Johannes Weiss, Albert Schweitzer, Johannes Müller, Otto Baumgarten, Karl Bornhäuser, Georg Wünsch, Carl Stange, Gerhard Kittel, Rudolf Bultmann, Hans Windisch, Martin Dibelius, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eduard Thurneysen, Joachim Jeremias, and of Walter Städeli. The theological presuppositions and ethical implications peculiar to each position are analyzed and evaluated. Numerous less determinative points of view are dealt with in footnotes. A summary of perspectives affirming the Sermon's practicability is appended together with a review of the current state of research. Following a comparative summary analysis of the major positions in their order and interrelation, the systematic part of the thesis develops in historical perspective three aspects of the Jewishness of Jesus that constitute the fundamental problem of the Sermon's Christian interpretation. These are (1) Jesus' view of the future and its implications for our faith and life, (2) Jesus' relation to the Mosaic tradition and the extent to which Christian ethics fulfills the intentions of the Torah, and (3) Jesus' expectation of his followers and the sense in which his teaching is practicable and relevant for us today. This treatise intends to fill an omission in the intellectual history of Christian self-understanding and to contribute to Jewish-Christian dialogue on the intentions of Jesus.

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It is generally acknowledged that Protestant churches in the United States have over the centuries played an almost negligible role in the struggle of the Negro toward legal and social acceptance in American life. Historians, sociologists, novelists, and religious writer have recorded the fact. In most instances the explanation given for this fact has been of an economic, political, or sociological nature. While each of these has its place and importance, it seems possible that there is an equally important question which has not been dealt with in detail or from a historical point of view. This is the question of whether the theology of Protestantism in the United States has been determinative to any extent of the life of Protestantism in the area of race relations. It is possible that one will discover that there has been no relationship between the theology of the American churches and their social ethics. It may be true that the role of theology has been to provide a rationalization of attitudes based on prejudice, economic conditions, and social factors. But such a theory is not self-validating. What seems more plausible is that one may discover in the theology of the churches at least a clue to their ethics - that on closer examination of the history of American Protestantism's attitudes on race relations some pattern may emerge.

The title of our study indicates the main subjects that must be investigated. Before we can speak of life after death we must know what is meant by life and what is meant by death. We are to speak of these in terms of man who is the subject of life, death and life after death. Biblical man is seen as being basically a psychosomatic unity. Body and soul do not denote parts of man but man's entire being from different perspectives. This view of human nature profoundly influences the concept of the future life after death in its anthropological dimension. Human life here is an embodied existence and the life after death was described as an embodied existence. Resurrection of the body was the form of expression used by Biblical man of the future life. Life, here or hereafter, requires a body. Life is not simply duration, but rather means the quality and content of the life that is lived. A basic part of life is that it is lived in fellowship with God and His people. Man breaks this fellowship through sin. Death is not only the divine boundary placed on life but also is the enemy of life and the divine judgement on sin. The life of Jesus is seen as a struggle against and victory over the evil and hostile forces opposed to God and man (esp. a victory over sin and death). Thus the death and resurrection of Jesus is the victory which has won our redemption and "brought life and immortality to light" (2 Tim. 1:10). The believer's life, though still lived in the midst of the evil powers, even now experiences in Christ the new life that overcomes death. Fellowship, the community of life with God and those who are His, is restored in Him. The beginnings of this hope for a life of fellowship with God and Christ is found in the OT when men of faith reached out longingly for unending communion with God (Ps. 73:23ff.). Later developments added to this hope the concept of the resurrection of the body. The body that is to be raised is a body transformed into the likeness of the Body of Christ — a spiritual body. The fundamental faith of the NT for a life after death is that it is a life of unending fellowship in and with Christ (resp. God). This is the Christian's life: (1) we live now in Christ; (2) we will, in some way, be with Him after death; (3) we will be with Him in full fellowship at the Parousla-Resurrection, when our now hidden lives will be revealed (Col. 3:1-4).

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