Magister Theologiae - MTh / This study will assess Stanley Hauerwas's claim that peacemaking is a virtue of the church in which peace exists as a necessary characteristic of the church. Christians are formed by practices of the church and so gain the skills required to live faithfully in the world. Such formation teaches us to be truthful and to be at peace. Peace is not only part of this formation; it is this formation. Such formation is based on the present existence of peace in the church through Christ. Not only is peace a part of the local and catholic church but war has been abolished through Christ. Hauerwas claims theology as a legitimate discourse in relation to social and physical sciences. Theology has its primary locus in the church rather than in ahistorical accounts or the university. This claiming of the language of the church creates space for particularity which is often subsumed under the universalizing assertions of the nation-state. With peace as a characteristic of the church, Hauerwas asserts that peacemaking is a virtue of the church and not merely an optional aspect of its life.

Thesis advisor: Khaled Anatolios / Within the context of his controversy with Eunomius of Cyzicus, Gregory of Nyssa articulated a distinctly pro-Nicene conception of the perfection of God. Gregory identified divine perfection with the philanthropic goodness that is manifested in the economic activity of God and that is witnessed most vividly in the saving incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. Yet, while this particular understanding of divine perfection served Gregory’s defense of Nicene trinitarian theology, its influence was not limited to that element of his theology alone. To the contrary, Gregory’s pro-Nicene conception of the nature of divine perfection finds a perfect corollary in his discussion of the nature of human perfection. Thus, in his anthropological writings, Gregory interprets humanity as a living and active mirror of the characteristic goodness and love of divine power. Similarly, in his ascetical literature, he suggests that the goal of the Christian life is the attainment of godlikeness through participation in divine perfection, and that the form which this participation takes is an imitation of the virtues of Jesus Christ. And in his writings on the spiritual ascent of the soul, Gregory identifies the summit of the virtuous life as active participation in the philanthropic goodness of God. Christian virtue, therefore, is nothing other than imitation of and participation in the perfection of the one whom Gregory calls “the God of the gospel,” the God of Nicaea, the God made known in the person of Jesus Christ. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

St. Paul wrote 1st Thessalonians around the year 51 C.E. As an early letter of Paul, this document gives us some indication as to Paul's belief about the person and nature of Jesus Christ, i.e. his Christology. This paper explores ten Christological themes found in 1st Thessalonians, including, One who proclaims the Word of the Lord, Suffering Servant, Comforter/Consoler, Light and Darkness, Voice to the Gentiles, Wearer of Divine Attributes, True Provider of Peace and Security, 'Jesus: Lord, Son of God, Son from heaven,' Divine Reconciliation and Restoration, and Sharer in Divine Purpose and Activity with God the Father. These ten themes are seen throughout Paul's corpus and is a good starting point for understanding early Christian views of Christology through the lens of this Apostle to the Gentiles.

This thesis makes a unique contribution in the field of New Testament studies with specific attention to New Testament theology and the Christology of Hebrews. It explores the relationship between Sonship and the ascension in the book of Hebrews. It argues that the ascension of Jesus reveals the nature of his Sonship. First, chapters two and three of this study examine the Sonship of Jesus in Hebrews 1. It portrays Jesus as both the Messianic and the divine eternal Son. While recent scholarship has questioned whether the Son in Hebrews is a divine Sonship, this thesis demonstrates that Hebrews portrays Jesus as divine. Second, this study argues that Heb. 2 contains a “Second Adam Christology.” The Son shares in true humanity and is appointed to fulfill the destiny of humanity. In this humanity, he is crowned with glory and honor in fulfillment of Ps. 8. The Son stands in solidaric representation of the people of God. This second Adam function is both kingly and priestly as representative who leads God’s people to this glory. Third, as this eschatological man who is crowned as king and priest the Son ascends into heaven. This is set against the background of apocalyptic literature where heaven is a temple and the dwelling place of God. The Son is portrayed in Hebrews as ascending into a true tabernacle that is heaven itself. He enters heaven as both king and priest of the age to come because he himself has first come to participate in the age to come. Finally, the study demonstrates that the obedience of the Son qualifies him for his ascension and eschatological ‘perfection.’ We argue that the theme of obedient trust and crying out to God is an Adamic-Davidic role with a Psalmic background. We conclude, in the book of Hebrews, Christ is the eternal Son who also functions in the Adam-David role of sonship. His actions as the true human exercising trust and obedience qualify him to ascend up into heaven crowned with humanity’s eschatological glory. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria 2018. / New Testament Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

Thesis advisor: Boyd T. Coolman / This dissertation argues that Maximus Confessor conceives the logic of creation from nothing as the logic of the divine Word’s historical Incarnation. It first studies the peculiar features of Maximus’s Neochalcedonian christology in order to understand what he means by “Incarnation” (Chapter 1). It then discovers this same logic operative in Maximus’s protology (Chapter 2) and eschatology (Chapter 3). I therefore conclude that Maximus’s declaration, “The Word of God, very God, wills that the mystery of his Incarnation be actualized always and in all things” (Amb 7.22), ought to be interpreted literally. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Brian Dunkle / The eighteenth-century Enlightenment movement that swept across much of Europe, notably France, England and Germany, came to mean different things to different peoples, embodying different strands and currents of thought. Even with the national and cultural specificities, the common element that cut across national boundaries was the appeal to reason as the point of departure in interpreting individual and communal behavior. The Aufklärung, that is, the German strand of the Enlightenment, was particularly acute in its interaction and more pointedly, its challenge of traditional Christian orthodoxy and doctrines. Given this obvious interest in Christian thought by the Aufklärung, it is quite predictable that Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI became concerned with the perspectives and positions of the Aufklärer. To Ratzinger, the Aufklärung marked an enduring criticism of revealed faith, a critique that the Church is yet to fully engage and respond to. The critique of faith by the Aufklärung has lost nothing of its freshness and attraction, two centuries later. This task of opening avenues of rational engagements with the modes of thought of the Aufklärung is not just the expedient thing to do. There is a more profound reason: Christianity, as Ratzinger has repeatedly pointed out, is a religion of the Logos, a Logos that at the fullness of time (Gal 4:4), entered history. To foster this rapport between faith and the Aufklärung, Ratzinger therefore finds a ready tool in the Johannine appropriation of the Greek concept of the Logos. In Ratzinger, one discerns a five-fold usage of the concept of logos that could be useful in creating a space of interaction and engagement with the Aufklärung: As Creative Reason, Son, Person, Unity of Love and Word. These five appropriations of logos will therefore provide avenues by which Ratzinger will engage the Aufklärung. What this dissertation seeks to achieve by way of moving the needle of knowledge is to study Ratzinger from the philosophical prism of the Aufklärung, that is, how do Ratzinger’s theological ideas, convictions and conclusions place him in dialogue and engagement with the philosophical currents of the post-Aufklärung era, especially the philosophers that emerge from Germany? This thesis therefore places Ratzinger in dialogue with notable Aufklärung figures like Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger around the central Christological and Ecclesiological questions as seen in the multiple appropriation of the concept of logos by Ratzinger. Overall, one gains a deeper appreciation not only of Ratzinger’s Christo-ecclesial hermeneutical framework, but also the philosophical currents and presuppositions that shaped and contextualized the thinking of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, especially from the prism of the dialogue between faith and reason, and the continuous relevance for such a hermeneutical framework for today’s Church, as we continue to grapple with the challenges of the autonomy of reason and science vis-à-vis the traditional claims of Christian orthodoxy. / Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

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This study is a socio-rhetorical approach to the Pauline theology of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians. Scholars generally focus their attention on where καταλλάσσω and καταλλαγή terminology appears in discussing Paul’s theology of reconciliation. This has led to some scholars reducing Paul’s theology of reconciliation to simply referring to God being reconciled to men and vice versa, while other scholars tend to focus on reconciliation between human beings, almost to the exclusion of reconciliation between God and men. The current research argues that reconciliation with God is intrinsically linked to reconciliation between people in the church. Chapter One of this study looks at areas of disagreement amongst scholars concerning Paul’s theology of reconciliation. Chapter Two reviews the current state of research on Paul and his theology of reconciliation, while Chapter Three discusses the question of the Socio-historical use of the καταλλάσσειν and διαλλάσσειν terminology in the New Testament, and its uniqueness in Paul. In Chapter Four both the literary and historical contexts of Paul’s teachings on reconciliation in 2 Corinthians are explored. In Chapter Five the exegesis of 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:10 is performed and the implications for reconciliation are spelled out. / MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study is a socio-rhetorical approach to the Pauline theology of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians. Scholars generally focus their attention on where καταλλάσσω and καταλλαγή terminology appears in discussing Paul’s theology of reconciliation. This has led to some scholars reducing Paul’s theology of reconciliation to simply referring to God being reconciled to men and vice versa, while other scholars tend to focus on reconciliation between human beings, almost to the exclusion of reconciliation between God and men. The current research argues that reconciliation with God is intrinsically linked to reconciliation between people in the church. Chapter One of this study looks at areas of disagreement amongst scholars concerning Paul’s theology of reconciliation. Chapter Two reviews the current state of research on Paul and his theology of reconciliation, while Chapter Three discusses the question of the Socio-historical use of the καταλλάσσειν and διαλλάσσειν terminology in the New Testament, and its uniqueness in Paul. In Chapter Four both the literary and historical contexts of Paul’s teachings on reconciliation in 2 Corinthians are explored. In Chapter Five the exegesis of 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:10 is performed and the implications for reconciliation are spelled out. / MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This thesis seeks an orderly set of theological reflections on the declaration that “God is light” (1 Jn. 1:5). Such talk of divine light, this study argues, must begin with the doctrine of God, namely, with God's light in se and his “shining forth” ad extra towards creatures in the darkness of sin and death. This work therefore follows a precise pathway in expounding this theme. Chapter 1 offers a brief survey of the historical and scriptural uses of the concept of light in order to fix its linguistic and conceptual boundaries. Chapter 2 seeks to reflect upon God's light as the light of his own radiant triune identity, as well as offering a preliminary examination of God's economic, covenantal shining forth to creatures. Chapter 3 gives a much more detailed rehearsal of this act of shining forth by an account of God's light as manifest in the economy of his works with which he lovingly elects, reconciles, and illuminates creatures. Chapter 4 proposes that with the treatment of God's shining forth there belongs a treatment of the light of the church called out of darkness, gathered into the “marvelous light” of God, and set to proclaiming the “excellencies” of God. Chapter 5 concludes this study by examining what bearing the reality of God's shining forth as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit might have on the work and call of theology as an activity of the 'illumined mind'.