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Thesis advisor: Thomas D. Stegman / Thesis advisor: Christopher R. Matthews / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

This thesis investigates the relationship between the portraits of new creation in the Hauptbriefe (specifically, in 2 Corinthians and Galatians) and Ephesians. The thesis partly responds to those scholars who argue for a limited understanding (whether cosmological, anthropological, or ecclesiological) of the phrase kainh; ktivsiV in 2 Cor 5.17 and Gal 6.15. This thesis also partly responds to the lack of attention devoted to the new creation theme in Ephesians by investigating the depiction of new creation in Eph 1–2. Chapters two and three of this thesis investigate the background of new creation in the Pauline tradition through an analysis of various texts in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 1 Enoch, and Jubilees. These chapters demonstrate that new creation and restoration were frequently associated with anthropological and cosmological renewal, the salvation of the Gentiles, and an Urzeit-Endzeit typology. The strong correlation between Isaiah’s new exodus and ANE temple-building traditions is a particularly significant contribution of the inquiry of Isaiah. Chapters four and five of this thesis primarily analyze the depictions of new creation in Gal 6.11–16; 2 Cor 5.11–21; and Eph 1–2. A salient point of this analysis is the suggestion that Eph 1.20–2.22 may be understood as an extended discussion of new creation modeled after Isaiah’s portrait of the new exodus as an act of temple-building. This examination demonstrates that the descriptions of new creation in all three of these texts are strongly linked with anthropological, eschatological, and ecclesiological notions, as well as an Urzeit-Endzeit typology. This thesis also points to a number of other correspondences between the portraits of new creation in the Hauptbriefe and that of Ephesians.

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This study concentrates on the traditions concerning Peter as they evolved in the early church from the New Testament period to the fifth century. It is suggested that there are many ways in which Peter is portrayed by the early church writers, and these portraits of Peter are studied with emphasis on the situations in the church which produced these portraits and which affected their evolution over time. A portrait of Peter considered seminal for the study of the Petrine traditions is that of Peter as apostle. In this portrait Peter takes on the roles of missionary and witness to Christ's earthly ministry and resurrection. Generally the trajectory moves from the "actual" to the "ideal." Thus Peter becomes in the mind of the church the greatest missionary and the best apostolic witness. This process of idealization continued with the result that Peter came to be regarded as the ideal Christian. Peter was also considered pre-eminent among the apostles. As the Gentile church became the most powerful of the churches, Peter was adopted as its figurehead. Thus by the fourth century Peter's primacy over the apostles had become axiomatic. Other groups, often considered heretical by the orthodox church, ascribed importance to other disciples of Christ and compared them to Peter. However, the Peter trajectory tended to overpower these other traditions. Connected to the tradition of Peter as the ideal apostle are the traditions which describe him as the pre-eminent prophet and wonderworker in the church, the ideal bishop and the most eminent martyr. Not only is Peter represented as exercising the episcopacy in a great many places, most noticeably in Rome, but also he came to be viewed as the ideal bishop and the founder of the universal episcopacy. As a martyr, Peter was viewed as the perfect martyr in that he endured a death like that of his Lord. Similarly, Peter came to be regarded as the ideal guarantor of the apostolic tradition, and thus the foundation upon which the church was built. In this capacity, and connected to the idea that Peter was the founder of the episcopacy, he was regarded as possessing the keys of the kingdom, thus having the full authority of Christ for the doctrine and discipline of the church. It is concluded that in all these aspects Peter was idealized and in a sense took the place of Jesus in the mind of the church. It is suggested that as the foremost apostle Peter was conceived as having been sent forth by Christ with His full power and authority, and thus Christ was seen as working in the church through Peter, His delegated representative, and through those who were viewed in succession to Peter. Thus, apostolic succession from Peter connected the beliefs and practices of the church with Christ Himself. / Arts, Faculty of / Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, Department of / Graduate

Thesis advisor: Margaret E. Guider / Thesis advisor: Thomas D. Stegman / The purpose of this thesis is to present the theme of the New Evangelization from an historical perspective and to propose the Apostle Peter is a good example for priests who are intent on advancing the New Evangelization. The thesis, whose primary audience is the priest, consists of three chapters. The first chapter, "Evolving Understanding of Mission: On the Way to the New Evangelization", focuses on the Church‘s development of understanding of mission and evangelization from the early 20th century to the early 21st century. It draws insights from three major periods in the life of the Church, including the pontificates of Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII, and Pope Saint John XXIII (1914-1963), the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and the pontificates of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul I and Pope Saint John Paul II (1963-2005). The second chapter, "New Times Call for New Approaches: The New Evangelization More Deeply Understood", continues by presenting insights about the New Evangelization as gained from Benedict XVI and the Synod for the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Faith. The third and final chapter, "Peter the Apostle, Disciple and Evangelist: Revealed through Encounters with Christ" focuses on the specific theme of how the apostle Peter serves as an exemplary model for priests as disciples and evangelizers. This chapter analyzes five Scripture passages that describe Peter‘s encounters with Jesus Christ and his evolving self-understanding as disciple and evangelizer. It will also presents reflections on the implications of these passages for priests committed to the New Evangelization. / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

While Pauline studies today are grappling with the question of the core of Paul's thought, the investigation of the apostle's social world is also gaining interest among scholars. The study of Paul's argumentation offers a fundamental contribution to both endeavours. Enthymemes, defined by the rhetorical tradition as the basic building blocks of deductive argumentation, constitute an important part of Paul's argumentation which until now has been relatively unexploited. Study of the manner in which Paul constructs enthymemes gives us insight into his thought world. The premisses that he uses as argumentative proofs can be viewed as a reflection of the common "social knowledge" of the Pauline milieu. / The object of this inquiry is to study Paul's use of enthymemes as a rhetorical and argumentative tool and to evaluate what this reveals about his thought, his teaching, and his social world. The study begins with a discussion of the problem of enthymeme definition, followed by a clarification of criteria for identifying enthymemes in texts. A method of analysis is proposed. The entire corpus of Paul's seven undisputed letters is then "combed" for enthymemes, one epistle at a time. Enthymemes are identified and analysed, and their argumentative premisses are catalogued thematically. This exercise permits a serious consideration of Paul's modes of argumentation, rhetorical aims and social world in the context of each epistle. Results from different epistles are compared as a means to consider, in general, Paul's rhetorical habits. / This thesis argues that enthymeme analysis is a necessary first step in Pauline exegesis. It is also argued that more attention needs to be given to enthymeme study in the research into Paul's social world. The question of how enthymeme study can inform the study of Paul's theology and core convictions is also discussed.

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This investigation is based on a hypothesis in consequent of the following questions: How did the biblical narrators, evangelists, as well as correspondents, such as Paul, communicate or explain theological concepts or the εὐαγγέλιον to their urban, highly politicised, culturally diversified and Roman Law orientated audiences, readers or addressees? How may the word of God be explained to modern communities, urban societies who themselves too are highly politicised, live in a culturally diversified country and whose daily life is controlled by the laws of the country in which they live? In seeking to provide answers to these problematic questions, biblical scholars, past and present, have developed various theories and methodologies. Most of these theories and methodologies, though based on exegetical framework, have to this day not provided an adequate or satisfactory answer. There is in addition no consensus among past and present biblical scholars concerning this problem. Each of these theories or methods is limited. None of them is universal or a panacea (Keegan 1985:7). Since the 1970s new theories and methods in the form of rhetorical analysis following in the footsteps of Graeco-Roman rhetorical criticism have emerged and flourished (Du Toit 1992:465,468,469). These were subsequently followed by further developments, also based on the rethorical criticism approach, though with a different emphasis. Within the past 20 years or so, a new way of analysing the text of the Scripture (primarily the New Testament) has been developed. Recently Vorster (1990:107) stated that an analysis of the New Testament letters can no longer stop at a structural analysis, but has to take cognizance of aspects of conversational analysis and rhetoric; that an interactional model rather than a structural approach should be adopted in the analysis of letters. Theoretically, this is a bibliological research problem because to this day no study has produced a theory or an approach that addresses this problem. This fact also endorses the novelty of this research, because there is no study to date that provides an adequate response or solution to the problem concerning Paul’s contextualisation of juridical imagery with theological concepts in order to explain such concepts to his addressees. The number of different theories and approaches are indicative of the fact that the solution to the problem is not in sight as yet. This problem, though valid, cannot be easily solved. However, as investigations in this field proceed researchers will come closer to a solution. The hypothesis, which is under discussion in this thesis is: that Paul contextualised theological concepts with juridical imagery, which were well – known to his addressees by using rhetorical and logical techniques in order to explain these concepts to them. That this approached may be adopted and applied in contemporary exegesis and homiletics. This research brings into prominence Pauline contextualisation of theological concepts with juridical imagery in Romans. Like most of the other approaches, this new approach has also been developed from methods first used in secular studies (Keegan 1985:2). However, it differs from its predecessors in the sense that it investigates how Paul contextualised theological concepts in Romans by utilizing juridical imagery with which his addressees were knowledgable, in order to connect with his addressees’ frame of reference and explain such theological concepts to them. / Prof. Jan A. du Rand

Pauline theology and Pauline ethics have generally been placed in sharp antithetical contrast to each other. Such a dialectical tension has resulted in a lopsided understanding of the interrelationship that exists between these two components. It is therefore necessary to examine the relationship between Paul¡¦s theology and ethics by providing a basic (and selected) overview of each in an attempt to reconcile them. The interrelationship between these two components will be considered from a narrative perspective in an attempt to restore a sense of coherence within the broad spectrum of Pauline theology. Within Paul¡¦s theological framework several important and selected themes will be considered: „« The Centrality of the Gospel in Paul: It will be proposed that the gospel, understood as the story about Jesus¡¦ death and resurrection, fundamentally shapes and informs Paul¡¦s entire theological and ethical framework. It is the gospel that provides coherence to the Pauline corpus. „« Pauline Soteriology: The concern will be to show that Paul¡¦s understanding of salvation moves from the objective and historical reality of what was achieved in Jesus¡¦ death and resurrection to subjective appropriation. This is profoundly expressed in the variety of metaphors (picture words) Paul employs to speak about what is first and foremost an existential experience for the believer. „« Pauline Ecclesiology: The story of Jesus¡¦ death and resurrection expresses the reality that individuals are brought into an existential experience of salvation, but this is furthermore enhanced by the fact that such an experience is given meaning within the context of the ejkklhsia. The contention is that the church, as the community of faith, is the sphere wherein which individuals mature spiritually. „« Paul¡¦s Eschatological Vision: Christ's death and resurrection was an event of eschatological significance. It portended the end of one age and the beginning of a new age. Pauline eschatology brings into sharper focus the nature of community life and profoundly shapes Paul¡¦s ethological discourses. It is suggested that Paul¡¦s ethological reflections make sense only when understood as flowing out of his theological framework. Furthermore, an examination of Pauline ethics suggests that he persistently brings the gospel to bear on the various contingencies that he is confronted with. Paul¡¦s ethics centres on the cross of Jesus Christ, which functions metonymically to evoke, as the focus, the significance and meaning of the cross. For Paul, the cross and all that it embodies presents a call to cruciformity ¡V life in the pattern of the cross. It is proposed, by way of a theological exposition of 1 Cor. 11.17-34, that Paul¡¦s ethology is a result of an ongoing dialogue, he is engaged in, between the Christ event and the various ethical contingencies he is called upon to deal with. The gospel forms the basis of Paul¡¦s reflective discourses. It provides Paul with an undergirding narrative framework that shapes his worldview. A brief overview of the important role that worldviews perform will show that Paul responds to his communities of faith from the perspective of worldview. That is, Paul is concerned to shape the behaviour of his Christian converts by sculpting their particular frames of reference. The frame of reference he seeks to inculcate within the lives of his converts is based on the story of Jesus Christ. It is this story that becomes paradigmatic for the ethos Paul seeks to set up. Furthermore, it is suggested that it is possible to trace the narrative contours of Paul¡¦s reflective discourses. Such a suggestion is supported by showing that 1 Corinthians as a whole resonates with echoes of a narrative; a narrative that is rooted in the Christ event. The mapping out of these narrative contours in Paul¡¦s letters will reflect the centrality of the gospel story. Moreover, it is suggested that by tracing the narrative substructure present in 1 Cor. 11.17-34, that the reader will gain a deeper appreciation of how the gospel functions within Paul¡¦s theological and ethical framework. Finally, it is proposed that Paul¡¦s reflective discourses shape and conform his ethos in such a way as to provide a meaningful framework out of which he calls the community of faith to live out its witness. In so doing, Paul emphasises the importance of remembering (recalling) the stories that constitute the Christian worldview. / Prof. JA Du Rand