Thesis (M. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [47-48]).

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-144) and indexes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 305-329).

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The early Christian text known as the 'Letter to the Hebrews' has presented a riddle to scholarship. Its anonymity and anomalous form are puzzling. Scholars like Norman Perrin and Barnabas Lindars also-find Hebrews enigmatic because it does not appear to represent the views of any early Christian community. / This thesis contends that the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit is due to a conceptual flaw. Beginning with Franz Overbeck (1882), there has been a tendency to assess early Christian texts as nonliterary, unlike later Patristic texts. Deemed nonliterary, they are thereby thought to document the situation within which they were written. For Hebrews, this has resulted in numerous reconstructions of its historical setting. None, however, has proven satisfactory. This lack of consensus casts doubt on the appropriateness of ruling out Hebrews' essential literary character. Moreover, the explanations used to justify the unique nonliterary character of early Christian literature are not compelling. Thus, the probability of Hebrews' literary character increases. / The literary texts written by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian, are more likely comparable to Hebrews. These Patristic texts were produced in the late second century before the shape of orthodoxy became fixed. A survey of representative scholarly literature shows a low expectation of retrieving from these early Patristic texts an unambiguous profile of the author's ideological community, of the text's occasion, or of its audience. Thus, it would be unwarranted to expect Hebrews to be more representative of its situation. / Given the probability of Hebrews' literary character, the thesis demonstrates that it is inappropriate to assume that Hebrews represents ideas that extend beyond those of the author to a specific community or to a particular situation. The burden of proof is reversed. Without evidence to the contrary, Hebrews is best explained as a persuasive literary effort by an idiosyncratic author directed to a general Christian audience. / Thus, the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit dissolves. Furthermore, questions are raised regarding the contemporary scholarly expectation that other early Christian writings (Matthew, James, etc.) were shaped by and for ideologically distinct communities.

This study is a critical assessment of the degree of political consciousness of the Zimbabwean Wesleyan Methodist indigenous ministers from 1891 to 1980. It documents the nature of the domination that the Wesleyan Methodist indigenous ministers experienced. It also documents and analyses how the indigenous ministers responded to the domination. The study relies upon primary documents from the National Archives of Zimbabwe, the Methodist Connexional Archives and other private archives. Information found in these archives includes minutes of synods, minutes of quarterly meetings, minutes of conferences, ministers' personal files and many other documents. The thesis also depends on interviews and other secondary material relevant to the study. Additionally, this thesis explores the training of the indigenous ministers. It emerges that the theological training of the indigenous ministers brought about some form of political radicalism. This was strengthened by the fact that the stipends and working conditions were not attractive. This thesis argues that the indigenous ministers had no clear position with regard to the significance of African culture. They oscillated between its rejection and acceptance. When they were politically inspired they rejected African culture to embrace it when it seemed expedient to do. It is further observed that the indigenous ministers contributed immensely to the liberation struggle. Using, Of Revelation and Revolution, Peasant Consciousness, Domination and the Arts of Resistance and Savage Systems as theoretical frameworks, this thesis concludes that the level of political consciousness of the indigenous ministers increased phenomenally in the second half of the 20th century. This was because of a number of reasons including the role played by mission churches in education, the impact of the Second World War, and adherence to certain constructions of John Wesley particularly those with liberation emphasis and many more. It also emerges that, although the political consciousness of the indigenous clergy was high, quite a number of them oscillated between two poles of patriotism and expediency. Put differently, the indigenous clergy were sometimes ambivalent in terms of what they adhered to. This was particularly so in cases to do with African culture. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

This thesis examines the Anglican Church in Northern Nigeria under the episcopacy of Bishop Titus Eyiolorunsefunmi Ogbonyomi from 1976 to 1996. Northern Nigeria is a predominantly Muslim area, with Christians and those involved in traditional worship constituting the remaining of the population. Bishop Ogbonyomi through his charges pointed out that Christians in Northern Nigeria have long complained of discrimination and religious violence. Furthermore, he noted that the economy of the country, corruption, secret societies, creation of dioceses out of the diocese of Northern Nigeria, education, ethnicity in the political life of Nigerians and the issues of women ordination and polygamy were also issues that had effected the Christians in Northern Nigeria negatively. Bishop Ogbonyomi was not happy with the situation the Christians in that part of the country were passing through. During his episcopacy, he saw corruption, religious violence, poverty among the other issues mentioned above as a disgraceful situation the country found itself. He used much space in his charges to speak against those that were the perpetrators of such behaviours. The statistics of the content of the charges show that among the issues he discussed, economic issue was reflected in all his twenty-one charges, except that of 1995, thus making it the bishop's first and most consistent priority during his episcopacy. Though the issue of Islam has the highest space-percentage according to the statistics, it did not appear in the charges as often as the issue of the economy. Again, though the economic issue was his first priority, the statistics show that the amount of space devoted to it in the charges is quite low in some years. This indicated when the bishop had an increased or decreased interest in the topic, and when his focus was shifted to other issues. On the issue of secret societies, though the bishop indicated that these societies were already in existence during his episcopacy and that their effects on Nigerians were destructive, did not give a clear explanation of what such societies mean in Nigeria. The thesis is of the opinion that the very fact that secret societies are so difficult to define and VI thus deal with, highlights the need for a deeper investigation than that provided by Bishop Ogbonyomi. In addition, the bishop's attitude toward the issues of women ordination and polygamy in the Anglican Church in Nigeria indicated the topic to be of the least interest to the bishop. It appeared only in three of his charges (1989, 1994 and 1995) and, whenever it appeared, it did so with less concentration than other topics. The position of the bishop on women ordination was not very clear, though he referred to the non-inclusion of a woman among Jesus' apostles as a reason to approve the omission of women from ordination in the church. However, he was very negative about polygamy in the church. In conclusion the researcher argues that for a peaceful and successful society to be achieved in the area of study, a normative framework based on the concept of social justice needs to be developed, which should form the basis for evaluating the legacies of protracted injustice, and acts of social and moral indiscipline that were rampant in the area. VB thus deal with, highlights the need for a deeper investigation than that provided by Bishop Ogbonyomi. In addition, the bishop's attitude toward the issues of women ordination and polygamy in the Anglican Church in Nigeria indicated the topic to be of the least interest to the bishop. It appeared only in three of his charges (1989, 1994 and 1995) and, whenever it appeared, it did so with less concentration than other topics. The position of the bishop on women ordination was not very clear, though he referred to the non-inclusion of a woman among Jesus' apostles as a reason to approve the omission of women from ordination in the church. However, he was very negative about polygamy in the church. In conclusion the researcher argues that for a peaceful and successful society to be achieved in the area of study, a normative framework based on the concept of social justice needs to be developed, which should form the basis for evaluating the legacies of protracted injustice, and acts of social and moral indiscipline that were rampant in the area. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.