There has been much study of the use of the O.T. in the N.T. but Revelation has suffered comparative neglect, especially with respect to its use of Daniel. The same neglect holds true for study of Jewish apocalyptic literature. The dissertation, therefore, studies the use of Daniel in selected sections of the Jewish apocalyptic literature (DSS, I Enoch, Test. of 12 Pat., IV Ez., II Bar.) and of Revelation. We set out to solve the problem concerned with the method of studying allusive O.T. material (particularly from Daniel), especially with a view to ascertaining the validity of this material and its use. The problem is that O.T. allusions are often studied in relative isolation from their contexts. Our procedure is to analyze the broad context of such allusions, both the primary and secondary, in order to discover whether or not they are part of a larger O.T. pattern and to what extent these O.T. patterns dominate the secondary context. The results obtained from the application of this method to Jewish apocalyptic are fairly consistent. Most importantly, whole segments are found to be modelled on Denielio patterns. Most of these models are based on Daniel 7, but are supplemented by other allusions to Daniel from outside the formative Danielic context, as well as from elsewhere in the O.T. There are a number of recurring Danielic features within these models, an ironic use of Daniel being one of the most noticeable. Similar results are obtained in the study of Revelation where Danielic models are also found along with a number of the same features observed in Jewish apocalyptic. The most striking of these features is the use of Danielic irony. In addition to the models being based on Daniel 7, Daniel 4 and 11-12 are important influences. The use of Danielic models by apocalyptic authors shows that they have a tendency to respect the O.T. contexts to which they allude. This usually has implications for our interpretation of the secondary contexts. Finally, the use in Revelation of the Daniel 11-12 idea of the maskilim evidences a Sitz im Leben for the Johennine churches not only of persecution, but also of theological seduction and apostasy.

While monastic identity and ascetic practices such as <i>vipassanā</i> meditation have historically been the preserve of monks, requiring full ordination and celibacy, in contemporary Thailand ‘monastic’ and ‘lay’ are not fixed or mutually exclusive categories: temporary ordination for short periods of time has always been available to Thai men; <i>vipassanā </i>has been propagated to the laity since the 1950s; large numbers of laity now enter monasteries as mediation students for short periods and accept monastic precepts for the duration of their retreat; and finally, the subsequent monasticization of popular Buddhism is enabling Thai Buddhist nuns (<i>mae chee</i>), though outside the ordained monastic community (<i>sangha</i>), to define themselves in ways which are, critically, religious, ascetic <i>and </i> associated with prestige. At the same time, it is providing a vehicle for the actualization of renunciation through the monastic duty to teach and embody the principles of meditation. Monastic identity and practice remain distinct from that of the laity even as lay practice becomes increasingly monasticized. I identify the paradox of will and spontaneity in religious attainment as highlighting the appropriateness of <i>vipassanā </i> practice in the Buddhist ethical project of cutting attachment to ones self. The morality of monastics presents paradox as a process of self-aware reflection on the one hand and, on the other, absence of self in the performance of one’s moral duty to the laity. For meditation practitioners it is through such self-willed practice that the ethical ideals of non-self (<i>anatta</i>) and spiritual attainment may be actualized. Through the performance of mindfulness within a community of practice, monastics cultivate an ascetic interiority, creating the cognitive space in which spiritual development may be actualized. In this context the ethical ideals of monasticism are actualized through the practice of meditation.

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The Jewish Enlightenment (<I>Haskalah</I>) began in Berlin in the late eighteenth century and called for the renewal of Judaism through the adoption of elements of the wider culture. This thesis focuses on the way in which moderate proponents of <I>Haskalah (Maskilim</I>) treated the question of morality. The ethical writings of Isaac Satanov, Naphtali Herz Wessely and Menahem Mendel Lefin are given greatest attention. Children's catechisms, and articles from the <I>Haskalah</I> periodicals (especially ha-Measef) are also examined. Two purposes underlie the study. The first is to demonstrate the manner in which traditional Jewish ethical categories are transformed and turned into vehicles for Enlightenment thought. Through adopting the concern with practical living, the <I>Maskilim</I> were sharing in a process that led to a view of religion as little more than a means to this-worldly improvement. The second aim is to assess how sensitive the <I>Maskilim</I> were to the dangers than modern conceptions of mortality presented to religion. In order to protect religion the <I>Haskalah</I> sought to place limits on the use of reason. In line with conservative thinkers of the <I>Aufklärung</I>, it was argued that basic religious principles lie at the heart of moral behaviour. In order to carry out the above goals the thesis sets the <I>Haskalah's</I> treatment of ethics in the wider contexts of the Jewish ethical writings popular in the Baroque period on the one side, and Enlightenment thought and culture on the other. Enlightenment ideas are only adopted once they have been refracted through the prism of Jewish traditions (most often the rational tradition).

This dissertation concerns substantives in Deutero-Isaiah (DI) that refer to Yahweh. These include titles, metaphors, similes, active substantives (e.g. “arm”, “mouth”, “anger”), <i>el</i> words, and the divine name. The thesis aims to demonstrate the significance and meaning of these divine substantives for the prophet’s message and theology. Isolated articles and chapters in commentaries touch on this theme, but as of yet, no systematic work has been found. The study begins by questioning the high place of verbs in previous studies of Old Testament theology, such as that by Walter Brueggemann, then uses form-critical and historical-critical approaches to examine the importance of substantives for Yahweh in DI. This includes a study of substantive and verbal patterns in Isaiah 40-55, the wide variety of types, the source of each divine substantive whether from the traditions of Israel or new, their arrangement in clusters in the prophet’s writing, covenant implications of their frequent use with the second person suffix, and how these divine substantives play a foundational role in the genesis of DI’s theological framework.

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No description available.

Greek religion is often said to have been a religion of performance, rather than one of belief. This view achieved its canonical formulation in the work of Arthur Darby Nock in the 1930s, where the contrast was drawn via an explicit comparison with Christianity, and it has been much repeated since then. However, such a formulation easily slips into depicting Greek religion as a religion of (merely) ‘going through the motions’ and there is growing doubt about its ability to reflect Greek religious experience accurately or adequately. One response to these concerns would be to look for ‘belief’ in the Greek religious context. The difficulty with this response is that the concept of ‘belief’ is not just an analytical tool, but has also been a key term in Christianity of all periods. Approaches to religion which emphasise ‘belief’ (as in statements such as ‘the <i>x</i> believe such-and-such’) thus proceed from a distinctively Christian or Christian-influenced viewpoint, the universal applicability of which is open to question. To apply the concept of belief to Greek religion risks swapping one problematic approach for another no less beset with difficulties. The opposition between belief and performance emerges from an underlying opposition between mind and body in Western thought. In my thesis, I attempt to circumvent the difficulties inherent in such a position by adopting a perspective which seeks to collapse this duality. This phenomenological ‘paradigm of embodiment’ takes as its starting point the conscious human body in the world, and focuses on the processes of perception by which the objective world comes to be for the perceiving subject. Concentrating on the role of religion in perception uncovers ways in which Greek religion, though rarely producing explicit statements of belief comparable to the Christian credo, nevertheless established and articulated an implicit practical worldview which gave structure and meaning to experience. This approach also opens up a further dimension of the relationship between religion and society. Greek religion not only articulated society and social structure, as has long been recognised, but also constituted a shared, perceptual life-world or lived reality, something which may lie at the foundation of social life in general.

This study examines Daoist rituals to deal with the recurring concerns in the medieval Chinese religion: the proper sending-off of the deceased, the avoidance of any malevolent effects associated with death, the search for the salvation of the dead. During the early medieval period, Daoism developed rituals that addressed the religious needs unsatisfied by the Confucian ritual framework. One of such concerns was that the newly dead may bring misfortunes to or harm their own family and neighbours. This is often manifested as diseases in the family. Many of the medical texts compiled during the Tang also show a similar aetiology and recommend ritual methods to drive out the pathogenic agents of the malignant ghosts. Likewise, in the popular religious tradition, the main concern was to prevent any malevolent influences from the dead. While exorcistic rituals were performed to the same end in Daoism too, more emphasis was put on the salvation of the dead. Petitioning rituals and <i>zhai-</i>retreats were observed to save the dead from the sufferings in the netherworld and thereby to eliminate their harmful influences on the living. A comparative analysis of the petitioning ritual and the <i>zhai</i>-retreats shows the historical changes during the Tang in which the latter emerged as the most prevalent form of ritual for the welfare of the living and the salvation of the dead, by inheriting the basic ritual structure of the former. By examining anecdotal literature and excavated materials, this study contextualises the prescriptive contents of the sources in the Daoist canon.

This study seeks to analyse and comprehend the concept of emptiness <i>(sūnyatā) </i>in the work of the second century CE Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna. Focussing on is primary text, the <i>Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, </i>but also making reference to other writings generally agreed to be authentic, it will explore the context, structure, and implications of his thought in detail. Nāgārjuna presents scholars with considerable hermeneutical challenges, so we should hardly be surprised to discover that he has been read in many and diverse ways, from nihilism to absolutism. The first section gives a general overview of the doctrine of emptiness. While broadly concurring with the emerging consensus that sees Nāgārjuna as an anti-realist, it will also be argued that he is less of a philosopher than a ‘theologian’ who uses rational arguments to justify his <i>a priori </i>faith commitment. The middle section presents a detailed analysis of emptiness as the absence of intrinsic being <i>(svabhāva), </i>and as the necessary correlate of dependent origination, which in turn, Nāgārjuna takes as implying mutual dependence. Looking closely at the way these concepts are used, both in Nāgārjuna’s writings and in relation to the wider context of Buddhist thought in general, I try to clarify our understanding of <i>dharma </i>theory, dependent origination, and the precise nuances of Nāgārjuna’s ‘ontology of emptiness’. The final section examines the notion of emptiness as the cessation of views - a view that is no view. I maintain that the traditional notion that liberation arises as the result of seeing things as empty is clearly supported by the textual evidence. This is the point of it all, giving emptiness a measure of coherence as an ontological and semantic critique of both the intrinsic nature <i>and </i>the inherent meaning of things.