This dissertation demonstrates that the Pauline corpus is sufficient to discern a distinction between self-interest and greed. The review of literature in chapter 1 reveals that definitions of greed often rely on such terms as “excessive” and “inordinate,” without defining the terms. Chapter 2 shows Paul’s expectation that believers work usefully in the church, home, and marketplace. Paul exhorted believers to work profitably to bring glory to God, serve others in love, and be self-supporting. Serving others is aided in the marketplace by the information conveyed by prices and profits. This chapter defines “sanctified self-interest” and highlights Paul’s encouragement to generosity. Chapter 3 employs interdisciplinary tools from accounting (income statement and balance sheet) to show greed is manifested as an insatiable desire for more and an unwillingness to give away possessions. The Pauline income statement indicates that greed causes sin at work, such as fraud or neglect. The love of money makes profit the ultimate goal rather than subduing creation and serving others. The Pauline balance sheet represents reasons for holding assets: sustenance, utility, security, and enjoyment. Beyond these assets, maintaining possessions devolves into greedy indulgence and signaling riches. Chapter 4 extends the distinction into standardized categories across cultures and through time by valuing goods in terms of the unchanging standard of hours of human life. Chapter 5 compares the Pauline categories to representative Second Temple Jewish literature to show that Paul’s views of avarice and economics were consistent with, but not identical to, this literature Chapter 6 compares the Pauline categories to representative Greco-Roman philosophical schools to show the fundamental differences with Epicurus, Seneca, and Aristotle. Even when all four superficially agree, the supporting rationale diverges radically. An important conclusion is that the methodology utilized in this dissertation imposes neither modern economic categories nor Pauline categories into every historical text. Chapter 7 summarizes the argument and underscores that the changes facing the church over the next two centuries will be even more rapid than the economic developments of the two centuries since the Industrial Revolution.

The diploma thesis is about the measuring and creating the 3D model of the Church of St. John the Baptist and sv. John the Apostle in Brno – Bystrc. At the beginning the thesis specifies the location of the object and informs about its history. Then it focuses on the measuring of the object. After testing the accuracy of the detailed points, it brings the 3D model of the church in the program AutoCAD, v. 2018.

The thesis offers an interpretation of Paul's political thought and political theology in the context of current philosophy. The first part presents a methodological basis of the work: the concept of political theology is conceived as a methodological tool that enables us to concentrate on interrelations and mutual effects of religion and politics and to expose implicit or explicit political meanings and implications of religious ideas. The second methodological subchapter deals with Max Weber's approach to "economic ethics of world religions": Weber concentrates on historical crossroads and switches which are a result of random chain of coincidences and factors forming a specific relation to values (Wertbeziehung) which enables us to understand further historical development. Paul's missionary activity and theology is seen as such historical crossroad with far- reaching social consequences. Another part elaborately deals with the most important and influential interpretations of Paul in current non-Christian philosophy: Jacob Taubes, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben. The attention is given not only to presentation of their interpretations but also to utilizations and interpretative gaps, which could be observed in the way these authors read and understand Paul. Though for different reasons, for all of them...

Aim of this diploma thesis "The Vocation of the Apostle Paul: Exegesis and Theological Aspects of Acts chs. 9, 22, 26 and Gal 1" is briefly present historical data of the Apostle Paul, present his personality. Especially it is concentrating on his conversion and vocation and New Testament texts that refer about this events (Acts chs. 9, 22, 26 and Gal 1). Part of this work is to analyze four reports of Paul's vocation. Thesis points on difference or conections between them. The thesis exposes vocation in context of biblical theology and symbol of light. This diploma thesis attempt to present St. Paul's personality and to show his merit for present. Keywords the Apostle Paul, the St. Paul, the Damascus, vocation, conversion, light, the Jesus Christ

Thesis (Ph.D)--Boston University. / The primitive Christian hope of the immediate coming of the Kingdom of God was based on the memory of the teachings of Jesus. The fact that that hope remained unfulfilled forced a transformation of the Christian faith which enabled it to survive the failure of the original expectation. The place of Paul in this transformation has been uncertain. His early letters show a strong expectation of the Parousia, but scholarly opinion on the later letters remains contradictory. R.H. Charles has suggested that in Paul's later letters there is a noticeable decline in eschatological thought and, in effect, a transformation of Paul's original hope for the immediate Parousia. This transformation may be clearly shown by arranging Paul's letters into four stages on the basis of the diminishing emphasis of declining eschatology. Albert Schweitzer has held that Paul maintains a consistent eschatological hope throughout his letters. The background of Charles' position was rooted in the work of F.C. Baur and the Tubingen School and culminated with H.J. Holtzmann. This background centered about two questions of Pauline doctrine: 1. Its relationship to primitive Christianity, 2. Its relationship to Hellenistic ideas. The Tubingen School explained the decline of eschatology on the hypothesis that Paul introduced Hellenistic thought. Schweitzer regarded this explanation as unfounded and attempted to demonstrate that there were no clear affinities between the thought of Paul and the Hellenistic world. Paul's thought thus did not develop in any Hellenistic direction but remained consistently Jewish eschatological throughout his literary production. The purpose of this dissertation is to outline and criticize the Pauline eschatological theory of R.H. Charles in the light of Schweitzer's thorough-going eschatology with particular reference to the Parousia. The two positions are first compared on the basis of their relationship to critical norms regarding the Pauline corpus. These norms reject the authenticity of Ephesians and the Pastorals and establish the genuineness of nine letters. These genuine letters are chronologically arranged into three groups, each group being separated by a period of three or four years. The eschatological material in the letters is then isolated and analyzed under three headings: the imminent expectation of the Parousia, the immediate resurrection upon death, and the eschatological chronology. This last heading is subdivided into the problem of the temporary Messianic Kingdom and a dual resurrection. The results of this analysis are applied to an evaluation of the two positions with the following results: 1. There is a consistent imminent hope for the Parousia throughout Paul's letters sustaining Schweitzer's basic position. There is no evidence for a correlation of this hope with the dating of the letters. Charles' failure to acknowledge the eschatological evidence of Philippians is a primary objection to his developmental argument. 2. In the light of the possibility of his own death prior to the Parousia, Paul revises his concept of the time of the resurrection in the Imprisonment Letters, arriving at a new doctrine of immediate resurrection. It is uncertain whether or not Paul wishes to apply this new doctrine only to his own death. 3. Evidence for a Messianic Kingdom is limited to a single passage in I Corinthians which does not adequately support Schweitzer's theory, a theory which is based primarily on non-Pauline materials. 4. Paul believes in a single resurrection for the righteous only. Schweitzer's reconstruction of eschatological chronology, which includes a dual resurrection, is based on non-Pauline materials. Insofar as the eschatological evidence is concerned, Paul seems to stand apart from the process of Hellenization and, despite the possibility of his introduction of the doctrine of immediate resurrection, he remains within the Jewish eschatological framework. [TRUNCATED]

The thesis offers an interpretation of Paul's political thought and political theology in the context of current philosophy. The first part presents a methodological basis of the work: the concept of political theology is conceived as a methodological tool that enables us to concentrate on interrelations and mutual effects of religion and politics and to expose implicit or explicit political meanings and implications of religious ideas. The second methodological subchapter deals with Max Weber's approach to "economic ethics of world religions": Weber concentrates on historical crossroads and switches which are a result of random chain of coincidences and factors forming a specific relation to values (Wertbeziehung) which enables us to understand further historical development. Paul's missionary activity and theology is seen as such historical crossroad with far- reaching social consequences. Another part elaborately deals with the most important and influential interpretations of Paul in current non-Christian philosophy: Jacob Taubes, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben. The attention is given not only to presentation of their interpretations but also to utilizations and interpretative gaps, which could be observed in the way these authors read and understand Paul. Though for different reasons, for all of them...

No description available.

This research conducted according to the phenomenological method investigated the Pauline concept of suffering. It traces the historical development in Paul's thinking on suffering. The two lines of Paul's suffering are his personal suffering - his struggle with the thorn in the flesh; and his suffering through persecution for Christ's sake. It is through his personal suffering that Paul endears himself to his readers. 2 Cor.12:1-10 reveals the function of the thorn - it brings vindication. Paul's personal suffering merges with his suffering for Christ, and the note of joy, hope, glory and vindication is emphasized. Just as Paul shares in Christ's suffering, he will share in the victory and glory too. Paul sees his suffering in the light of Christ's suffering and the suffering of his readers in the light of his suffering. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

This dissertation attempts to answer the questions, “What is the most appropriate background for understanding Paul’s views on marriage, celibacy and divorce as found in 1 Corinthians 7?” and “How do we account for the unique features in 1 Corinthians that are not clearly delineated in the Greco-Roman works, Jesus tradition or in other NT writings?” This work argues that Paul derives the substance of his perspective on marriage, celibacy and divorce directly from the Jewish Scriptures (LXX) and the uniquely motivated Jesus tradition to which he was exposed. Paul’s reception of this Jesus tradition can be traced to first generation believers as well as to his own revelatory religious experience. Such a proposal does not preclude Paul from being significantly influenced by his social context, but suggests that he was acutely aware of the philosophical differences between himself and other thinkers of his day. This work follows the contention that Hellenism only affected the ‘outer shell’ of Paul’s brand of Pharisaism (Hengel). What is more, the Apostle openly uses this Jesus tradition when the situations of his missionary churches paralleled those confronted by Jesus and seems to have expanded upon it when he had no explicit tradition from which to draw as new situations arose within his communities. / New Testament / D. Th. (New Testament)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: See full text for the abstract / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sien volteks vir die opsomming