M.Litt. et Phil. / The importance of the Trinity cannot be overemphasised in the matter of salvation. We cannot talk about a salvation if we cannot talk about a Trinity. Paul thinks of salvation only in trinitarian categories. For the purpose of this treatise, we call it a Soteriological Trinity. Paul takes the soteriological trinity as a matter of fact because he ascribes deity to both Christ and the Holy Spirit without denying his monotheistic background or beliefs. For Paul, God's dealing with people in the world is to call a people for his own name. These are called the People of God, and is identified with the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church. The Holy Spirit is instrumental in constituting this People, or Body, or Temple. Because of the death and resurrection of Christ, and the gift of the promised Holy Spirit, this People is defined as an eschatological community, and salvation is an eschatological event. Through these events, the future and the kingdom is present in the here and now ("already"), while there is still a "not yet" aspect to that future. This society, the Church, is therefore a reflection of the Divine Trinity. They reflect God's unity, love, grace, kingdom and more in this world. Because the community of believers is a Spirit-instituted, Spirit-sealed, Spirit-quickened, Spirit-initiated, Spirit-controlled and Spirit-endowed community, they characterise the New Age, which is the age of the New Covenant and the age of the Spirit. That means that our obedience to God is internally motivated rather than by external codes or requirements of law. The Church is, really then, the beneficiaries of God's grace, thus making them a charismatic community. Salvation is by God's grace. Sanctification is by God's grace. Security is ours by God's grace. In fact for Paul, the whole of the Christian life is a matter of God's grace. He calls it "the riches of the glory of God's grace" (Eph. 1:7). Grace is the antithesis of the Law. Paul's own experience of Christ and the Spirit, changed his whole understanding of God, the People of God, and the Law. God was now understood as a trinity; the People of God now consisted of both Jews and Gentiles; and the Law, though holy and good, was weak through the flesh, and unable to bring salvation. In fact, the Law brought death and bondage, rather than life and liberty. The Spirit of life and liberty set us free from the law of sin and death. The Spirit, life and liberty are then gifts of grace. We now have to live as free, not using our freedom as a 'cloak of maliciousness', but to bring honour to God. Freedom was for Paul the mark of sonship, and bondage of slavery. We are sons and not slaves. Through the Spirit we were made sons of God, and are being fashioned after the image of the true Son of God. All of the Spirit's operations in the Church, are to this end. Whether to give us life, or to place us in Christ's Body, or to unite believers to Christ and to each other, or to give gifts for the building up of the saints and for the work of the ministry, or to lead and control us, or to have us bear spiritual fruit, a to reveal to us the mysteries of God, it is so that the Body and the individual believer be conformed to Christ's likeness. All these operations are done in conjunction with the Father and the Son. The Kingdom of God is for Paul the final goal of the relationship between the Spirit, Christ and the People of God. So that God's righteousness and rule be the culmination of it all. The Kingdom of God is nevertheless a present reality, in that righteousness, peace and joy are already the experience of the Church. Yet, the future of the believers' participation in the Kingdom, is guaranteed by their participation with the Holy Spirit in the present. Through this present participation with the Spirit, are we guaranteed of the future bodily resurrection, inheritance and eternal life. Our participation in the "firstfruits" guarantees our participation in the "harvest". When the Holy Spirit is involved in the world, he is involved with the task of the Kingdom; the calling of those who will be the People for God's Name. The Holy Spirit makes the Word understandable and appropriate for salvation through the Gospel. He gives life which opens them up for his work in them to bring about their identification with Christ, the Lord and King. The Holy Spirit is the key to true spirituality and Christ-likeness. The Holy Spirit is the key to the future.

Traditionally, Paul's phrase "under the law" has been interpreted as a reference to being under a legal/legalistic system of the law, being under the law as a guiding/restraining power, or being under the curse/condemnation of the law. Recently many scholars have avoided the condemning aspect of the law in existence under the law. Especially, James D. G. Dunn and N. T. Wright tend to reject the law’s condemning function as its “negative” function (Dunn) or to minimize it as a "secondary" element (Wright). Thus, they, emphasizing the law's constraining element, understand that with the salvation-historical assumptions they posited, Paul uses the phrase as a reference to Jewish covenantal experience under the law of Moses prior to Christ─Jews’ nationalistic misuse of the law under the law (Dunn) and Israel’s continuing curse of exile under the law (Wright). Here, despite their emphasis on eschatological elements in Paul, Dunn and Wright, from their view of covenantal nomism, emphasizing the law’s guardianship of Israel in salvation history, fail to see the just, eschatological condemning function of the law in the existence under the law apart from Christ, and thereby the forensic, eschatological aspect of freedom in Christ. In this dissertation, I investigate every occurrence of the phrase “under the law,” and develop my thesis that in his view of eschatological situation, Paul uses the phrase to refer to the universal human plight under the law's eschatological condemnation, from which Christ set us into all the eschatological blessings in Christ─sonship, freedom, and new life.

The Image of the Apostle Peter in the Work of the Evangelist Luke. This thesis focuses on examining the character of the leader of the group Twelve in the work of Luke the Evangelist. Introduction outlines the baseline of the entire treatise. The first part of the chapter presents information on the author of two New Testament writings himself, followed by an indication of the circumstances under which the work was shaped. Afterwards the views of experts are presented on the possible sources from which the author composed and edited the final text. This part ends in effort to determine the expected place and time of origin of the whole work. The second part of the first chapter informs on the theology of Luke's writings. This part contains discussion of the authors' intentions and theological accents with regard to the first of the apostles. Due to more complex view there is also mentioned a statistical survey of the character Peter the Apostle in episodes of different New Testament books. The second chapter forms the backbone of the work, and again in two subsections presents information obtained by studying the available literature on all periscopes in Luke's diptych in which the leader of the Apostles emerges as one of the main characters. The first part relates to the stories enrolled in the...

New Perspectives on Paul and Marx: William Blakes œThe Chimney Sweeper in Songs of Innocence and ExperienceLianna Jean Rose ManibogDepartment of English, BYUMaster of Arts This article explores the function of religion in socio-political spheres. Karl Marx is famously against religion in all its various capacities, arguing that it is a tool used by power structures to control the masses. William Blake, the British poet, is also seen as critical of religion, and because of this his works are often read through a Marxist lens. And yet depictions of Blake as a staunchly anti-religious man dont seem to fit with what we know of him and his works. This article reexamines key texts that deal with the question of how faith and society intersect, particularly reading the works of the Apostle Paul through a Jewish understanding. In doing so, we gain a new understanding of religion as a balancing weight that combats the dangers of the oppressive governments that Marx staunchly opposed.

This dissertation brings two recent strands of research together and attempts to contribute to two areas of study: (1) apocalyptic Paul studies and (2) the discipline of intertextuality. When apocalyptic Paul is concerned, many works utilize comparative literature approaches. The present study, however, is different in two respects. First, this study sees intertextuality and apocalyptic as a cultural semiotic that is a meaning potential in culture. Whereas many intertextual studies focus on how later texts employ earlier texts for literary and theological purposes, the present study views culture as a matrix of intertextuality. In addition, this study deems apocalyptic as a cultural discourse that society and culture share to understand transcendent phenomena and events. The second distinctiveness of this study is its analytic method. Instead of word-to-word comparison, we investigate whether Paul’s letters present similar patterns of semantic relations between apocalyptic thematic items. After identifying recurrent thematic formations throughout multiple texts, this study explores Paul’s heteroglossia (different voices) in the thematic formations. As such, the meaning of Paul’s apocalyptic can be construed, when we scrutinize, first, how the apocalyptic languages or themes are used in culture, and second, how Paul differently employs them from others. To paraphrase, the meaning of Paul’s apocalyptic language can be vivid when the same apocalyptic thematic formations in Paul’s letters present different linguistic features from other writings. Through this procedure, the present study argues that though Paul shares similar thematic formations with other texts in the Greco-Roman world, the apostle’s apocalyptic thought is significantly distinctive from others. In Paul’s apocalyptic discourse, Jesus is the primary participant that interacts with other thematic items. Also, the apostle’s peculiar linguistic features in the shared apocalyptic formations converge around one figure that is Christ. In other words, Christ takes the central role in his apocalyptic discourse. Christ, therefore, is the apocalyptic lens for Paul to shape his understandings of transcendent phenomena (i.e., otherworldly journey, resurrection, sin and evil, and the two-age apocalyptic eschatology) through Christ.

In response to the argument that Paul seeks to dominate his audience through his discourse, I join the current conversation about Paul and power by exploring language and power in the Pauline Epistles. By analyzing Paul's use of power embodied in his use of language, I argue that Paul seeks to empower the Corinthians to think and act according to Jesus Christ's cruciform authority. I work within a postmodern hermeneutical paradigm of diversity. My study acknowledges the personal interest and subjectivity of any interpreter but seeks to avoid subordinating the notion of understanding to that of self-interest. Thus, it approaches the topic as a dialogue with the author-other Paul and, at the same time, a conversation with other interpreters of Paul. To achieve a dialogic interpretation, I begin by reflecting on my social location and personal interests concerning power and authority and then complete the circle by reflecting theologically on using power in my context. At the core of the dissertation, I appropriate a socio-linguistic approach to analyze, first, the power structure embedded in Paul's discourse and, second, the influence enacted via Paul' s discourse- i.e., power in words and power via words. I present my argument in this way owing to my conviction that social structure and power relationships shape linguistic behaviour, and conversely, discursive practices influence social (and personal) formation. After a thorough analysis and comparative study of 1 and 2 Corinthians, I critically evaluate Paul's use of power, engaging in dialogue with diverse perspectives on various power-related issues, and theologically reflect on ethics of power. Overall, Paul represents himself as a leader authorized and empowered by God and also as a steward accountable to his Lord Jesus Christ. Although he shows little interest in changing unjust social structures, his discourse indicates an effort to foster a culture of empowering less privileged members within Christian communities. When handling unjust criticisms against him, he stands firm to defend his apostleship and mission. But I suggest that his defense should not be regarded as selfish but as a means to a better end, namely, the protection and upbuilding of the community. Moreover, Paul represents himself as having long-term responsibility to care for the congregations he (and his team) has planted without necessarily seeking permanent control over them. In conclusion, I argue that given his social context, Paul, as God's accountable steward, seeks not to dominate the Corinthians but to empower them to mature in their understanding and to conduct themselves appropriately under the cruciform authority of Jesus Christ.

<p>This study presents an investigation into and reassessment of the theological frameworks within which traditions of anthropogony, or the origin of humankind, are best comprehended in the Qumran Hodayot and the letters of Paul. The dominant framework in which such traditions are usually comprehended is that of the creation, fall, and restoration of humankind. The argument put forward is that this framework does not adequately account for the manner that both the Hodayot and the apostle Paul severely problematize created human nature and anticipate a transformation of human ontology as determined by its initial creation by God.</p> <p>The study of anthropogonic traditions in the Hodayot demonstrates that the creation of Adam from dust presents an obstacle to the fulfillment of “all the glory of Adam/<em>adam.</em>” Through a deconstruction of the <em>adam</em>-of-dust motif that is inspired by the book of Job and assisted by the equation of creation from the earth and gestation in the womb, the Hodayot severely problematize the moral integrity and innate impurity of the human condition as represented by the creation of Adam. In this way, the creation of humankind from Gen 2:6-7 is put into tension with the accounts of creation in Gen 1:26-29 and Psalm 8, which stand behind exalted depictions of humankind in the Hodayot. This is shown to be an adaptation of the theodicy contained in the Treatise on the Two Spirits.</p> <p>The study of anthropogonic traditions in the apostle Paul is undertaken in two parts. In the first, which deals with letters outside Romans, Paul is found to be preoccupied largely with the category of the “image of God.” It is argued that Paul assumes the continuing operation of Adam’s creation in the “image of God” in his descendants and that conformation to the heavenly image of Christ is, therefore, modeled not on fall-restoration but the duality of heaven and earth, reflected in the creation of humankind after a heavenly prototype.</p> <p>In the second part, which deals with Romans, Paul is found to be preoccupied with Adam’s relationship to creation and his proven inability to carry forward God’s ordering work of creation, a perspective Paul introduced in 1 Cor 15:20-28. Here it is argued that the framework that comprehends Adam’s initial state is not that of a supernatural condition of grace or glory, but of initial innocence and immaturity and yet also innate corruptibility, not only materially but morally. Consequently, it is only in assimilation to the heavenly image of Christ that “Adam” can exercise dominion over creation.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Paul's citation of an early baptismal tradition in Gal 3:28, 1 Cor 12:13 and Col 3:11 is as notable for its prominence in the Pauline corpus as it is for its ambiguity. A survey of the variety of views as to what Paul is denying and, conversely, affirming by this formula highlights the importance of identifying both the broad mythic vision into which Paul has set it as well as the social arrangements he advocates by means of it. This attention to how cultural symbols and stories correlate with social praxis is prompted by insights from the sociology of knowledge. This thesis argues that in each instance Paul deploys the formula to support his vision for social unity in his churches that are composed of members from various social strata and subcultures who in Christ gain a new social identity that they are to express as family-like solidarity. The predominance of kinship terminology and expectations in Paul's exhortations to ecclesial unity lead me to propose a model of ethnic identity construction as appropriate for assessing the role of the baptismal unity formula in its Pauline usage. A reading of each epistle in which the formula occurs demonstrates how the formula serves in each case to epitomize Paul's vision for social unity. Furthermore, the proposed model of ethnic identity formation serves to highlight how Paul warrants that social solidarity by appeal to the believers' fictive, genealogical connectedness and presumed shared origins and essence. Such contextualization of the formula within the social vision expressed in each epistle highlights how Paul patterns the believers' identity on Israel as reconfigured through the story of Christ Jesus' death and resurrection. This assessment of Pauline social identity formation depends on and contributes to apocalyptic understandings of Paul's gospel as well as the social emphasis of the so-called new perspective on Paul.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the “clothe-” metaphor in the Pauline literature in terms of its contribution toward a Pauline baptismal theology. The relevant “clothe-” terms are identified via an analysis of the semantic domain of cloting, which are then grammatically analysed for specific tendencies. This poses certain constraints to the meaning of the metaphors on the way to exegesis. An exegetical study of nine Scripture portions that are identified via the semantical study follows: Gal 3:19-29; Col 2:11-15; 3:8-17; Eph 4:22-25; 1 Cor 15:49,53-54; 2 Cor 5:2-4; Rm 13:12-14; 1 Thes 5:8 and Eph 6:11-15. These texts are analysed exegetically with a specific focus on the theological meaning of the “clothe-” metaphors in Pauline theology. The usage of the “clothe-” metaphor is also considered in the non-Pauline and non-biblical texts, and the social and cultural context in which the metaphors are employed. The main meanings of the “clothe-” metaphor that emerges from the semantic, exegetical and contextual study, can be summarised as follows: 1) it is mostly used in close connection with baptism, 2) it mainly has a reciprocal function as a result of the middle voice in which it is typically used, and functions within a theologically imperative context where the subject of the action is personally and consciously involved, 3) it is used as a metaphor to resist evil, 4) it is used in an eschatological context, 5) it is closely related to the actualisation of the new identity in Christ, and 6) the socially participating character of the baptismal candidate at baptism is constituted by the “clothe-” metaphor. The meaning of the “clothe-” texts does not only contribute to a better understanding of Paul’s baptismal theology, but also to a better understanding of baptism from the perspective of the believer’s baptismal tradition. The suggestions towards the discussion about baptism focus on the deeper theological meaning of baptism, a better understanding of the points of departure in the respective baptismal traditions, and the contribution that the study of the Pauline “clothe-” metaphors make to the debate. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die “beklee-” metafoor in die Pauliniese literatuur met die oog op die bydrae wat dit lewer tot ’n Pauliniese doopteologie. Die relevante “beklee-” terme word geïdentifiseer deur ’n analise van die semantiese domein van kleding, waarna dit grammatikaal ontleed word en sekere tendense uitgewys word. Dit stel bepaalde grense aan die betekenis van die metafore op weg na eksegese. Hierná volg ’n eksegetiese studie van nege skrifgedeeltes wat aan die hand van die semantiese ondersoek geïdentifiseer is: Gl 3:19-29; Kol 2:11-15; 3:8-17; Ef 4:22-25; 1 Kor 15:49,53-54; 2 Kor 5:2-4; Rm 13:12-14; 1 Ts 5:8 en Ef 6:11-15. Hierdie teksgedeeltes word eksegeties ontleed met ’n spesifieke fokus op die teologiese betekenis wat die “beklee-” metafore het in Paulus se teologie. Die gebruik van die “beklee-” metafoor word ook oorweeg in buite-Pauliniese en buite-Bybelse tekste, asook die sosiale en kulturele konteks waarin die metafore gebruik word. Die vernaamste betekenisse van die “beklee-” metafoor wat vanuit die semantiese, eksegetiese en kontekstuele studies na vore kom, kan soos volg saamgevat word: 1) dit staan meestal in ’n noue verband met die doop, 2) dit het meestal ’n wederkerige funksie as gevolg van die mediumvorm waarin dit hoofsaaklik gebruik word, en figureer binne ’n teologiese imperatiewe konteks waarby die subjek van die handeling persoonlik en bewustelik betrokke is, 3) dit word gebruik as metafoor om weerstand teen die bose te bied, 4) dit word in ’n eskatologiese konteks gebruik, 5) dit staan in ’n noue verband met die aktualisering van die nuwe identiteit in Christus, en 6) die sosiaal deelnemende karakter van die doopkandidaat tydens die doop word deur die “beklee-” metafoor gekonstitueer. Die betekenis van die “beklee-” tekste lewer nie net ’n bydrae om die doop by Paulus beter te verstaan nie, maar ook om die verstaan van die doop vanuit die perspektief van die belydenisdoop-tradisie sterker toe te lig. Die voorstelle wat gemaak word ten opsigte van die gesprek oor die doop fokus op die dieper teologiese betekenis van die doop, ’n beter begrip vir die vertrekpunte in die onderskeie dooptradisies, en die bydrae wat die studie van die “beklee-” metafoor by Paulus tot die debat maak.

Amid the recent turn to Paul’s reading of Scripture, the role Deuteronomy plays in his letters has generally been examined in individual citations without regard to the larger role Deuteronomy plays in Paul’s letters, or with an exclusive focus on either the theological or the ethical importance of Deuteronomy for Paul. In contrast, this study argues that Paul read Deuteronomy with three interlocking construals (as ethical authority, as theological authority, as an interpretation of Israel’s history), each equally basic. These construals can be combined to achieve a sense of the shape of Paul’s Deuteronomy as a whole. In order to ascertain and specify these construals, Paul’s engagement with Deuteronomy is examined as an instance of Jewish engagement with the book. Part I, therefore, supplies the historical conditions of Paul’s and other Jewish authors’ encounter with the scroll of Deuteronomy (Chap 2). On this basis, Part II proceeds to survey the major Jewish interpreters of Deuteronomy from the 3rd c. BCE to the 3rd c. CE (Chaps. 3-8). Because Paul is himself a Jewish author, this study foregoes the traditional bi-partite thesis division into “background” and Paul, opting instead to see Paul as one in a chain of Jews who turned to Deuteronomy to make sense of the present. These chapters thus also provide a sustained analysis of Deuteronomy’s broader effective history in Second Temple Jewish writings – and, in a few cases, beyond. In light of the range of interpretations to which Deuteronomy was susceptible, the concluding chapter examines what is distinctive about the shape of Paul’s Deuteronomy and what contribution this may make to debates on Pauline theology and to the study of Second Temple Jewish biblical interpretation.