Scholarly study of the biblical book of Ezra-Nehemiah has mainly focused on historical questions. Indeed, the book is one of the most important sources available for shedding light on the history of Persian-period Judea. It has been widely held that Ezra-Nehemiah in its final form reflects a pro-Persian attitude, based on its treatment of the Persian kings within the narrative. The present study seeks to provide a step toward greater precision in this assessment by employing a recognition of the techniques of characterisation used in narrative texts to evaluate the portrayal of the Persian kings in Ezra-Nehemiah. After a review of the techniques of characterisation and their resulting effects, as identified by narrative critics, a close reading of each of the passages in Ezra- Nehemiah contributing to the characterisation of Persian kings is undertaken in order to discover the picture of the kings that emerges. The book is treated as a literary unity, and the influence of earlier passages on the interpretation of later ones (and in some cases, vice versa) is noted. It becomes apparent that it is not the implied author's purpose in the narrative to communicate a particular perspective on the Persian kings. Rather, they function as secondary characters, enhancing the perspective the implied author intends to communicate about YHWH. Nevertheless, it is possible to draw further specific conclusions about their characterisation. The Persian kings in Ezra-Nehemiah merge together into a single character, or a single role played by virtually indistinguishable characters. The implied author constructs them as, in significant ways, both similar to and yet distinct from the Assyrian and Babylonian rulers who preceded them. They are assumed to have motivations similar to those of any non-Judean ruler of their general period. They appear to be regularly unhelpful to the Judean exiles, apart from instances of intervention by YHWH on the Judeans' behalf. These characteristics appear to be reflected consistently in all parts of the narrative, not only in isolated sections. Insofar as the narrative of Ezra-Nehemiah may reflect the views of one or more historical individuals, it is questionable whether it reflects a pro-Persian attitude.

At the heart of this dissertation is an examination of self reflection, self presentation and the experiential self within three Buddhist blogs: The Buddhist Blog, The American Buddhist and ThinkBuddha.org. Based upon this original research, my thesis contributes to ongoing discussions relating to the self online and to the emerging field of media, religion and culture. A number of other scholars have already investigated how the internet has provided a new platform in which to engage with online religious communities, participate in rituals and develop religious identity. Up to this point, however, the place of Buddhism online has been largely overlooked or limited to purely descriptive analysis. As I argue in chapter one, this thesis provides a more developed examination of Buddhism on the internet. In chapters two and three, I demonstrate how my analysis and definition of three aspects of the self, namely self reflection, self presentation and the experiential self, within selected Buddhist blogs (online diaries) provides an innovative contribution to the developing area of study related to new media and religion. In chapter four, I consider my four central research questions and the interdisciplinary approach used which draws from the fields of anthropology, visual cultural studies, media studies, as well as Buddhist studies. In chapter five I present the Buddhist interpretative framework used for the analysis of the experiential self. This focuses on the conceptual issues of the self in early Buddhism as well as the Buddhist Theravada Abhidhamma framework for the analysis of the self (anatta), the components of the self (khandhas) and the senses and sense spheres (ayatanas and dhatus). Through the three ethnographic case studies (chapters six, seven and eight) I demonstrate how the genre of life writing (blogs) is used as a medium for self reflection, self presentation and the experiential self, thus emphasising the experiential aspect of human existence online. In the conclusion (chapter nine), I consider the continuities and discontinuities between the three blogs, and in doing so I illustrate how the detailed examination of Buddhist blogs provides an insight into different aspects of popular culture, of Buddhism on the internet and how new media is being used in the twenty first century.

In this thesis, the author takes a journey through both biblical and contemporary patriarchal cultures, contemplating the commonality of rape survivors’ experiences across space and time, and, in particular, evaluating the insidious and pervasive influences of patriarchy, which have long served to deny these women a voice with which to relate their narrative of suffering. Consideration is given to some of the common contemporary cultural attitudes and misperceptions regarding sexual violence, commonly known as ‘rape myths’, which appear to be rooted within the deeply entrenched gender stereotypes of patriarchal cultures the world over, and which survivors of sexual violence regard as lying at the very heart of their own voicelessness. The author examines the means by which these rape myths silence victims of sexual violence, then, using these myths as a hermeneutical tool, evaluates whether they are likewise given voice within both the text and interpretive traditions of Genesis 34, a biblical narrative recounting the rape of Jacob’s daughter Dinah. When these myths do appear to be represented within this narrative, consideration is then given to the impact that they may likewise have had upon Dinah’s own experience of her violation and thus, upon her ability to share her story. Moreover, the author evaluates the representations of Dinah in her interpretive afterlife, assessing the ways in which biblical interpreters may or may not appeal to these same myths in order both to attend to her silence and to make sense of her experience. This thesis therefore has two primary aims. Firstly, there is an attempt to paint a picture of the world in which Dinah experienced her sexual assault, by casting light upon the attitudes and ideologies that she would have faced from others within her own community. In addition, consideration is also given to the narrative world, which Dinah continues to occupy in the minds of those who read her story, by looking at the responses she has received and continues to receive from this interpretive community. This thesis therefore attempts to provide a deeper insight into Dinah’s own experience of sexual violence, in order that contemporary readers can better comprehend the meaningfulness and complexity of her silence and grant to it a rich and new meaning.

This thesis is concerned with the strategic plan of the Prophet Muhammad for Islamicjerusalem and the preparations that led to the first Muslim <i>Fath</i> of Islamicjerusalem, which took place after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.  The relationship of the Prophet Muhammad with Islamicjerusalem has been generally limited to the study of the virtues of that region according to the <i>ahadith</i> (traditions) of the Prophet Muhammad.  This thesis concentrates on the actual role of the Prophet Muhammad in paving the way for the Muslims to take over that region after his death.  However, the thesis deals with the Prophet Muhammad, according to the Muslim sources, as a Prophet, and therefore, the relationship of the divinely revelation with these preparations and this plan is not neglected, especially that Prophethood was the main character of the Prophet Muhammad that has been neglected in studying his acts and movements in this context. The stages of the strategic plan for the <i>Fath</i> of Islamicjerusalem can be divided into three stages: first, the divinely preparation and mobilisation of the Prophet Muhammad and the Muslims for the <i>Fath</i> of Islamicjerusalem, which was through Qur'anic concentration on the importance of Islamicjerusalem, and manifest this relationship through praying towards Islamicjerusalem.  Second, the turning point that led the Prophet Muhammad to realise the centrality of Islamicjerusalem, and this was through the Night Journey.  Third, the practical steps taken by the Prophet Muhammad, supported by divine revelation, toward paving the way for the Muslims to initiate the campaigns that led to the <i>Fath</i> of Islamicjerusalem after his death, and this manifested in studying the Prophet Muhammad’s military movements on the route of Islamicjerusalem, in addition to key documents granted or sent by the Prophet Muhammad to numerous parties in or around Islamicjerusalem.

This thesis explores the theme of messianism in the entire corpus of the Old Greek of Isaiah (LXX-Isaiah) as an important piece of Jewish theological literature from (and for) the Jewish community in Alexandria in the Hellenistic period.  This is done through the lens of an intertextual hermeneutic employed by the Isaiah translator as a mode of reading this text. The study looks at the need in scholarship to investigate the topic of messianism in the Greek Bible in general, and in the whole of LXX-Isaiah in particular.  After dealing with a few issues involved in the understanding of the LXX-Isaiah as a translation and the person responsible for it, the study also surveys thoroughly the meaning of the term ‘intertextuality’ from its inception and its use in biblical studies (including LXX research). Chapter 2 re-examines a few arguments pertinent to the scholarly opinion that messianic hopes were not prominent among the Alexandrian Jews in comparison to their co-religionists in Palestine.  It is argued that the unhelpful view that points to one Jewish community to the detriment of the other as witnessing to the rise of messianic expectations should be abandoned. Chapter 3 analyses exegetically nine selected messianic passages within the LXX-Isaiah (7:10-17; 9:1-7(8:23-9:6); 11:1-10; 16:1-5; 19:16-25; 31:9b-32:8; 42:1-4; 52:13-53:12; and 61:1-3a).  In each, the study begins with an exploration of the context of the passage, followed by an analysis of the text in comparison with its Hebrew <i>Vorlage.</i> Then a search for any significant ‘messianic language’ is carried out.  The study argues that any doubt concerning the contention that there is a dynamic messianic thought running through the whole of the Greek Isaiah should be abandoned.

This thesis has three major objectives which are inter-related. Firstly, it investigates some important aspects of the traditional history of the Malay Archipelago, the early development of Islamic thought, culture and the religious traditions which is represented by the Kitab Jawi. The history and development of the Kitab Jawi and its contribution to the traditional Islamic heritage are explored. This development was accompanied by the emergence of traditional scholars ('ulamā') such as Nūr al-Dīn al-Rānīrī (d. 1666, Acheh), Shams al-Dīn al-Sumatrānī (d. 1630, Sumatra), 'Abd al-Ṣamad al-Falembānī (d. 1764, Palembang), Raja 'Alī al-Hājī (d. 1784, Johor-Riau), Muḥammad Arshad al-Banjārī (b. 1812, Banjarmasin), Dā'ūd b. 'Abd Allah b Idrīs al-Faṭānī (d. 1840, Patani), 'Abd al-Ṣamad b Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ (Tuan Tabal) (d. 1840, Kelantan), Sayyid 'Uthmān b Yaḥyā al-Betāwī (d. 1886, Batavia or Jakarta), and their contribution to the Kitab Jawi tradition is examined in detail. Secondly, the theological discussion among the traditional scholars became a dominant factor in intellectual circles as a result of the popularity of and high demand for theological disciplines among the masses, the high position accorded to these scholars and their close relationship with the sultans or rajas. Among the disciplines of theology is the 'ilm al-Tauḥīd (the Unity of Allah) in which Sanūsī's Umm al-Barāhīn played a very vital role. The most notable feature of this creed is the teaching of Sifat Dua Puluh (the Twenty Attributes of Allah) as the result of which this teaching became the basic religious teaching among the people of the Malay Archipelago. The present study attempts to show how strong the effects of this teaching have been and how it has survived through the centuries. Finally, an annotated translation of a Jawi text of Umm al-Barāhīn is followed by a detailed analysis of the text in relation to the Twenty Attributes. A brief conclusion attempts to draw these strands together and to assess their importance for Islam in the Malay Archipelago.

This thesis aims to give an account of Amos' specific contribution to the Old Testament's theology of land. It seeks to explore the theme of land as a key aspect of the background to Amos' prophecy, and also of the book's overall theology of the relationship between YHWH, Israel, and the world. In Amos, the language about land is extensive, including terms and ideas such as Zion, Carmel, YHWH's bringing of Israel into the land, references to various sanctuaries and places, harvest and famine, other geographical indications, the relationship between the northern kingdom and Judah, and references to the land of other nations. The topic of land, however, has often been studied incidentally to other themes, but less often as a theological topic in its own right. This thesis shows how deeply embedded the topic of land is in Amos, and argues this by showing its relation to other theological themes, including Zion, the covenant-election tradition, Israel, creation, salvation, Sabbath, justice, and eschatology. That is, the study of land in Amos has wider dimensions. The study is therefore set in a wide context in the Old Testament, and raises questions about the relation of Amos to other important theological traditions about land. The study is essentially theological analysis. The argument will follow an essentially synchronic reading. It will also employ textual, literary and historical criticism, and the thesis analyzes carefully the text of Amos 7-9 for its literary coherence and inner relationships. It attempts to demonstrate what theological assumptions are made about the land in each section in Amos 7-9, and the relationship of Amos' land-theology to other Old Testament theological traditions. While the findings are set in the context of the book as a whole, the study focuses on this one section of the book, chapters 7-9, in order to explore the topic in close detail.

Hinduism has always been noted for its ability to absorb potentially schismatic developments. The assimilation of heresies (pākhaṇḍa- dharmas) was made possible in part by the open-ended quality of the religion itself but also by the vagueness of the Hindu definition of heresy. The two primary, ostensible criteria of orthodoxy are the acceptance of the Vedas as the sacred canon and adherence to the basic law of society -- varṇāśrama dharma, the regulation of class and stage of life. By these criteria, heresy would seem to be a fairly straightforward matter, separating Hindus from non-Hindus, but this is not the case. To the Hindus as a whole, Buddhists arid Jains (and Cārvākas or Materialists, with which these two religions are often confused) are heretics. To most Hindus but Śaiva Kāpālikas, Kāpālikas are heretics. To the Brahmin Kāpālikas, the Śudra Kāpālikas, are heretics. To most non-Tantric Hindus, Tantrics are heretics. Levels of heresy and hierarchical concepts of status cloud the issue and invalidate any single definition. [Continued in text ...]

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