In his two-volume account of Christian beginnings Luke fills out for already instructed Theophilus Mark’s account of Jesus, and extends it to tell of the bringing of ‘good news’ for all people, offering a tested alternative to the pagan world-view, worthy to be adopted by citizens of the Roman empire. Primarily employing ‘redaction-critical’ methods and seeking narrative patterns with variations within the whole text, we analyse the roles of Peter in the first half of Acts and the influences upon Luke in their making. They portray the pattern of apostolic witness in message, deed and life, and anticipate the extending of the mission to Gentiles, which is taken up in a heroic way by Paul in the second half of Acts. Then analysing Luke’s reshaping of the account of Peter before Easter in his first volume, we show it is done with an eye to how it will be completed in Acts, how Peter will repent from denying Jesus to strengthen his brother apostles and urge repentance on his fellow-Jews. Luke’s captivating narrative is persuasive for its implied reader in the context of the post-apostolic age, that the apostolic kerygma proclaims the divine gift of salvation expected by Israel’s prophets, despite its rejection by much of Judaism. The missions of Paul are to be received as being in harmony with Peter’s. A foundation has been established which will outface Christian rivalries and strengthen believers under persecution. The influence of Luke’s account on other early Christian writers is tested where evidence is available. Luke’s success is that his account became, almost without rival, the canonical New Testament account of Christian beginnings.

This research has focused on the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian suffering. A broad concept of suffering is excluded in the study. Of particular concern to this research is suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ. Methods employed in the study are: 1) Narrative approach, an approach that allows the narratives to tell their story for the benefit of the Christian community and Christian believers. Stories and testimonies are viewed as valuable resources for the development of discussion on this subject matter. 2) Dialogical approach, the approach in which the biblical text, contemporary context, and contemporary theologian's reflections are brought into dialogue to achieve a theological understanding. 3) Synthesis, a way in which biblical data from the investigation on the subject and contemporary church context are incorporated and synthesized to propound an understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian suffering. The second chapter examines the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian suffering by surveying the testimony of the biblical documents of Old Testament prophets and of the New Testament, excluding the Pauline epistles. The third chapter examines the topic according to Paul's personal testimony and his teachings on the Spirit's role in Christian suffering. The fourth chapter examines the topic from a survey of the testimony of the Korean church and Christians. In the fifth chapter, this study has presented some crucial findings of the role of the Holy Spirit in Christian suffering in terms of a synthesis of the testimony of the biblical documents, especially the testimony in Pauline literature, and the testimony of the Korean church, brought into dialogue with contemporary pneumatologies. In this, the topic is discussed in four categories: individual setting, individual and church setting, church setting, and community/society setting. / Dr. M.S. Clark

M.A. (Biblical Studies) / The strong sure biblical leadership so desperately needed in our confused age seems to be conspicuously lacking in our modern society and churches today. There is moral degradation, and World conditions have worsened immeasurably, Church leaders have no willpower and moral decisiveness. There is a great leadership crisis and deficiency. We are facing an acute crisis in church leadership. Crisis succeeds crisis, yet our many church leaders come up with few solutions, and the prognosis is by no means reassuring. The church has not escaped this dearth of authoritarian leadership, and lack of biblical leadership. The voice of the church that once sounded a clarion call of hope to beleaguered influence of the church in the World Community has become minimal. The salt has largely lost its flavour and the light its radiance. This dissertation takes a more constructive approach and strives to discover afresh the biblical principles of leadership and factors that inspire dynamic spiritual leadership. The role of elders and deacons, and more qualifications for Spiritual leadership. Pauline writings display incipient qualities of leadership, and character of a church leader and role of women in church leadership. In Pauline Leadership we find an inspiring prototype of what biblical leadership ought to be like. It will be our purpose in this dissertation to view leadership in the church. We will consider Paul's viewpoints, examine the qualities of leadership, and discover how these traits of qualities contribute to effective church leadership...

Diploma thesis DVD "In the Footsteps of Apostle Paul" as a didactic tool in teaching religion in secondary schools. The first part introduces the basic approach to teaching religion in terms of its differences from catechesis. There is also outlined several pedagogical objectives that can follow the teaching of Christianity, and a description of the methodological approach to the evaluation of documentary film as a teaching aid. In the second chapter, the analysis and synthesis document the intellectual content of each chapter, which is the basis for the practical part. The practical part includes an outline of questions for pupils. Use these questions students have to look at the effect Vol. Paul in the individual chapters of the documentary film from the perspective of God's plan of salvation, existential and ethical issues, and possibly also from the perspective of the social issues that are topical even today and which solutions inspired documents. The questions are formulated so that the individual has encouraged the pupils to study the biblical text, he served to critical reflection and led to active discussions. The whole practical part aims to contribute to the use of active teaching methods.

Since the mid 20th century, scholars have paid increasing attention to the anti-Judaism inherent in early Christian writings, identifying John Chrysostom's fourth-century homilies as a particularly hostile example of that heritage. As a "doctor of the church" and an important contributor to Christian orthodoxy as it developed in late antiquity, John is particularly well known for his eight sermons "Against the Jews," which invoke the apostle Paul as a central voice of authority for his thoroughly anti-Judaic Christianity. Yet, as is clear from his broader corpus, he encountered in Paul not only a fellow preacher who warned against Judaizing Christians, but also a self-identified Israelite who preached in Jewish places, observed elements of the Jewish law, and cried out for the salvation of Israel. In this dissertation, I argue that John's engagement with Paul's complex relationship to Judaism offers an especially productive, yet untapped, source for insight into John's anti-Judaic rhetoric. By offering a fresh analysis of John's sermons on Acts and the Pauline epistles, I place John's interpretation of Paul within a trajectory of classical moral philosophy wherein rhetoric was perceived as philosophical therapy for the soul. John frames Paul's persistent participation in Jewish places and practices and amiable rhetoric about his fellow Jews as strategic therapies deployed in order to manage Jewish emotions (pathe) and thus to guide diseased Jewish souls out of Judaism. Paul's own Jewishness is therefore mobilized to bolster a characterization of Jews as diseased and of Paul himself as an exemplary model of non-Jewish Christian orthodoxy. Attention to John's interpretations of Paul's "therapy of the soul" points to a more subtle and pervasive anti-Judaism than previously detected, one that stakes a claim to Christian orthodoxy, and therefore Christian identity more broadly, on the purportedly loving disavowal of Judaism by the apostle himself.

The Full Armor of God is a musical composition based on the apostle Paul's comparison in Ephesians 6:10-20 between armor for physical combat and armor for spiritual warfare. The instrumentation consists of the following: oboe/English horn, bassoon, two violins, viola, cello, and bass. Texts on Roman armor as well as commentaries and sermons on the scriptures were consulted for the basis of the musical materials. The piece combines imagery and historical associations with abstract renderings of both the physical and the spiritual.

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A charismatically created organization works to tear down the routine and the norm of everyday society, replacing them with new institutions. Max Weber has stated that a charismatic organization can only exist in the creation stage, after which it will either collapse under the weight of the changes it has made, or begin a move towards the routine, making it as well-established and routinized as the society it sought to replace. The changes to the seniority of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints demonstrate the movement of the church from charismatic to routinized leadership. They also show how the charismatic attributes of the first leader of the church were institutionalized in the office of President of the Church. The first change occurred in 1861, reversing the seniority of John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff. The second change occurred in 1875, making Taylor and Woodruff senior to two original members of the Quorum of the Twelve, Orson Hyde and Orson Pratt. The final change occurred in 1900, making Joseph F. Smith senior to Brigham Young, Jr. The few scholars who have addressed these changes tend to focus on either the official explanations or personal relationships and motives of those involved. This thesis moves beyond these to explore the broader institutional motives. It also discusses the effects of changing the rules determining who would succeed to the presidency of the church. The 1861 and 1900 changes have not been examined in any substantial way before. All three changes affected who became president of the church, thus changing the direction of the church. More than satisfying personal vendettas or righting obvious problems in the rules of seniority, the three changes highlight difficult choices church leaders made that moved The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from a charismatically led organization to a highly routinized bureaucracy.

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