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The primary task of this dissertation is to demonstrate from the Old and New Testaments that given the creation and fall of man, the moral character of God will necessarily express itself in retributive justice so that God will impartially and equitably judge and punish sin. Chapter 1 introduces briefly the subject of God's retributive justice by presenting the current theological climate in which the topic exists. Numerous opponents of retributive justice are cited in an effort to clarify the relevence of current work. Finally, the subject of retributive justice is linked to God's holiness in an effort to show its theological relevence. Chapter 2 catalogues the various arguments against God's retributive justice. The major objections to retributive justice are discussed in detail in order to better understand those who opposes it. In addition, the discussion is classified into exegetical, theological, and practical objections to God's retributive justice. Chapter 3 unfolds God's retributive justice as it appears in the Old Testament. After drawing the exegetical connections between God's holiness and retributive justice, biblical examples from the Pentateuch are cited in order to show that the concept of retributive justice appears early and often in Scripture. From here, the study examines numerous Psalms in an attempt to demonstrate that God's retributive justice is apparent in this genre of Scripture as God, the just judge and king, imposes his just rule upon the earth. After treating the Psalms, I show that God's retributive justice is apparent in the covenant curses of the prophets, which come to fruition as a result of Israel's rebellion. In chapter 4, I argue that the New Testament Gospels adopt the Old Testament's doctrine of God's kingdom but combine it with the Old Testament concept of the priesthood. God imposes his justice in a twofold manner. First, in the inaugurated kingdom, Christ, as the suffering servant and perfect sacrifice, bears the burden of man's sin at the cross as he suffers the wrath of his Father. Second, to consummate the kingdom, Christ promises to return as the Messiah of Psalm 2 and impose his final judgment upon mankind. In chapter 5, I extend the argument by concentrating on the writings of Paul. I argue that the idea of God's retributive justice is on display in both the realized and future aspects of Christ's kingdom. Focusing on the book of Romans, I show the sustained emphasis on God's wrath that is exhibited at the cross. As in the Gospels, however, the resurrected Christ will return to judge mankind. Chapter 6 is devoted to the eschatological themes of God's retributive justice in the rest of the New Testament writings, especially those themes in the book of Revelation. Finally, in chapter 7, I conclude by recounting briefly the various arguments in favor of God's retributive justice in order to summarize the persuasive case for my dissertation. / This dissertation is under embargo until 2014-12-14.

SPEECH ETHICS IN THE HEBREW PSALTER Samuel Onchonga Asuma, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2012 Chairperson: Duane A. Garrett This dissertation examines the use of speech terminology in the Hebrew Psalter in order to find out why the terminology is used frequently and what it teaches about speech ethics. Also, it seeks to determine the Psalter's contribution to the study of Old Testament ethics in general. Chapter 1 discusses the problem, purpose, thesis, and the methodology of the study. Chapter 2 briefly looks at the history of the study of Old Testament ethics during the modern era beginning from the nineteenth century to the present, paying special attention to how it developed into an independent discipline and the key issues that have dominated scholarly discussion along with the underlying philosophical ideas that inform that discussion. Chapter 3 examines the occurrence of speech terminology outside the Hebrew Psalter, using select passages from the Pentateuch, prophetic and wisdom literature in order to determine what these passages teach about the proper use of speech. Chapter 4 discusses briefly whether or not the Psalter contains ethical instruction. In answering the question, it takes into consideration the approaches taken by pre-critical interpreters and form and canonical critics. Chapter 5 examines the use of speech terminology in the Hebrew Psalter with the aim of finding out why it is used frequently and what the Psalter teaches about speech ethics. Chapter 6 summarizes the findings of the study and proposes an answer to the question as to why the Psalter has more references to the use of speech than any other book in the Old Testament. It suggests the contribution the Psalter makes to the study of Old Testament ethics. Finally, proposals are made regarding areas for further research. This work contends that speech terminology features prominently in the Psalter not only because the Psalter places strong emphasis on truthful speech but also because speech is used by the wicked as a weapon of oppression. The powerful members of society devise evil schemes and put them into effect using false accusation, false testimony, false oaths, slander, and humiliation against the weak. Since the weak do not have any human being or institution to protect them, they appeal for justice from God as the righteous king and judge. / This dissertation is under embargo until 2014-12-14.

This dissertation addresses methodological problems in causal inference in the presence of time-varying confounding, and provides methodological tools to handle the problems within the potential outcomes framework of causal inference. The time-varying confounding is common in longitudinal observational studies, in which the covariates and treatments are interacting and changing over time in response to the intermediate outcomes and changing circumstances. The existing approaches in causal inference are mostly focused on static single-shot decision-making settings, and have limitations in estimating the effects of long-term treatments on the chronic problems. In this dissertation, I attempt to conceptualize the causal inference in this situation as a sequential decision problem, using the conceptual tools developed in decision theory, dynamic treatment regimes, and machine learning. I also provide methodological tools useful for this situation, especially when the treatments are multi-level and changing over time, using inverse probability weights and $g$-estimation. Substantively, this dissertation examines transitional justice's effects on human rights and democracy in emerging democracies. Using transitional justice as an example to illustrate the proposed methods, I conceptualize the adoption of transitional justice by a new government as a sequential decision-making process, and empirically examine the comparative effectiveness of transitional justice measures --- independently or in combination with others --- on human rights and democracy. / text

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Emerging work in moral psychology challenges our confidence in our moral judgment. Our moral intuitions have been attributed to automatic, emotionally laden processes and are alleged to be accordingly deficient. Intuitive moral judgments apparently neglect some of the most basic concerns of moral decision-making; for example, they purportedly disregard relevant information, fail to balance competing considerations, and ignore social costs and benefits. Some moral psychologists propose an evolutionary explanation, suggesting that our moral sensibilities track matters of adaptive, rather than moral, significance.These findings are disconcerting and might naturally be taken to unsettle our philosophical practice. An empirically-informed moral psychology seems to discredit moral common sense as well as prevailing accounts of method and justification in moral and political philosophy. In turn, it threatens to undermine substantive conceptions of matters such as virtue, rights, and distributive justice.I argue that contemporary moral psychology does not, as is often supposed, necessitate radical revisions to our conception of morality. Recent research does oblige us to reevaluate many of our views in moral and political philosophy; however, I argue that it also gives us the opportunity to supply these views with new and stronger support.

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