This thesis attempts an analysis of the role played by Abraham in the religious consciousness of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The first chapter presents a theoretical construct which serves as the basis for subsequent analysis. It is argued that one of the major functions of religious consciousness is the integration of experience into a coherent perception of reality. This involves providing a mechanism for identifying, constructing and crossing various kinds of boundaries. The first chapter then attempts to analyze the role of Abraham specifically in terms of identifying and crossing boundaries. The second chapter attempts to use the figure of Abraham to analyze the coherent perception of reality which is offered by each faith to its believing community. The third chapter takes the figure of Abraham as a means of looking at the problem of conflicting perceptions of reality. The problem of religious versus "empirical" approaches to truth is discussed in relation to the historical problems raised by the figure of Abraham and finally the discussion turns to differing religious perceptions of reality.

Christian Zionism is a complex, controversial and deeply influential movement. In particular, it impacts US foreign policy in the Middle East as well as strengthens the Israeli right-wing. The influence of evangelicals upon the development of Zionism has, however, been consistently underestimated. An exhaustive survey of published works also confirms the relatively undeveloped nature of research in this field. Consequently the assumption, made by advocates as well as critics, that Christian Zionism is synonymous with Evangelicalism has remained largely uncontested. This thesis challenges this assumption through an examination of the historical roots, theological basis and political ramifications of the movement. Chapter 2 traces its historical development since 1800 and transition from British sectarianism to mainstream American Evangelicalism. Chapter 3 assesses seven basic theological tenets that distinguish the various strands within the Christian Zionist movement: an ultra-literal and futurist hermeneutic; a belief that the Jews remain God's chosen people; Restorationism and the return of the Jews to Palestine; the justification of Eretz Israel; the centrality of Jerusalem as the Jewish capital; the expectation that the Temple will be rebuilt; and a pessimistic apocalyptic eschatology. Chapter 4 focuses on the political consequences of this theology and the way in which Christian Zionists bolster the pro-Israeli lobby; facilitate aliyah; sustain the West Bank settlements; lobby for international recognition for Jerusalem; promote the rebuilding of the temple; and oppose a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. A literature analysis of primary historical and contemporary sources as well as interviews together with unpublished correspondence have been used to identify the dominant themes which both define as well as distinguish variant forms of contemporary Christian Zionism. Published findings arising from this thesis have already contributed to the international debate on the significance of Christian Zionism. It is hoped that this thesis will stimulate further research and form the basis for constructive dialogue between proponents and critics in the future.

Social Justice was , from the first , central to Christianity , as it had been to prophetic teaching. By the Middle Ages , all such matters as might call for its being invoked - trade, industry, commerce - had become the concern of the Church. But, in consequence of changes , religious and secular, these matters slipped from its jurisdiction , so that, by the mid-17th century, the Church had abandoned all claim to be concerned in them. The new outlook of the 19th century , however, especially as reflected in the writings of S. T. Coleridge and Robert Southey, brought a renewed insistence upon the National Church ' s intimate concernment in social and industrial matters . The teaching was propagated by the first and second Christian Socialist movements , and much fortified by the enlightened attitude towards Socialism taken by the Lambeth Conference of 1888 . The ensuing wave of socialism, the crest of which was the Pan-Anglican Conference of 1908 , brought in its train a vigorous movement for a greater measure of social justice for the weaker classes . This is traced through the Convocations , t he Congresses , the work of reformers , to its culmination in the Fifth Report of the Archbishops ' Commission , in 1918; and, subsequently, during the inter-war years , in these and the proceedings of the Church Assembly , and elsewhere , until 1940. By that time , a new orientation of the Church' s social concern had become due , and , by 1945 , in consequence of the social revolution , inevitable

In order to be relevant, all theology must relate to context. This study is an example of the complexities encountered in the actual practice of contextualization. I apply and evaluate theoretical tools, and give explicit account of the practicalities and tensions arising in the process that I initiated as a cultural outsider. The research is conducted with reflexivity by which I uncover hidden assumptions that influenced the contextualization process and my interpretation of the collected data. I examine the notion of ‘sin’ in the Kongo culture and evaluate it through the lens of the OT understanding of ‘sin’. The project was undertaken with participation groups in Brazzaville and revealed that in the Kongo context, the place of the kanda (community) was a key element, while Nzambi (God) was strikingly absent from the discussion of ‘sin’. The main conclusions I draw from this practical theology research are twofold. 1) Regarding contextualization: In academic research theological and social studies are often divided into two different fields. The project reveals that the theological and the social disciplines are intrinsically connected which requires contextualization to be an interdisciplinary undertaking. Critical self-reflexivity regarding the cultural background of the researcher and the role she takes in the process is equally important as giving the cultural insiders a voice; contextualization is most fruitful when it is done by cultural insiders and outsiders together. 2) Regarding the understanding of ‘sin’: In the Kongo context, ‘sin’ is understood as any act that breaks the harmony of the community, allowing any kind of evil to enter it. This understanding needs to be transformed by the biblical view of ‘sin’ as always being committed before God, the creator of the world and the one to whom all human beings owe their life. The rich imagery for ‘sin’ in the OT cannot be captured by the one Kongo word disumu; a wider vocabulary must be developed.

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This thesis examines the role of the churches in educating their congregations for political involvement. It does this by examining three aspects of the political thought of three theologians, Augustine, Gustavo Gutierrez and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The first aspect is eschatology, on the grounds that thought on the eschaton influences thought on how to react to the present. The second is ecclesiology, with particular reference to how the theologian expects the church to relate to the civil society in which the church is located. The third is the 'prepolitical' education, or the education of the ordinary Christian for political involvement, in that civil society. The thesis concludes by stating that there is no formula, or curriculum, for prepolitical education, but there is a 'summary grammar' expressed in the form of three inter-related tensions on which all prepolitical education must rest if it is to be a properly Christian prepolitical education. The first tension concerns the 'now' and the 'not yet’ nature of the coming of God's kingdom; the second relates to the idea that that the church should be in the world but not of it; and the third is based on how the church relates to the world in a prophetic and an embodied manner.

Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學. / MS. / Includes bibliographical references. / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue. / 序 --- p.1 / Chapter 第一章 --- 文賦著作年代辨疑 --- p.3 / Chapter 第二章 --- 評Mr. ER. Hughes 之文賦英譯 --- p.85 / Chapter 第三章 --- 評方志彤先生之文賦英譯 --- p.181 / Chapter 第四章 --- 文賦理論管窺 --- p.209 / Chapter 第五章 --- 文賦筆法分析 --- p.356 / Chapter 第六章 --- 文賦之組織 --- p.411 / Chapter 第七章 --- 文賦語譯 --- p.453 / 附錄 --- p.475