<p> Mount Zion has long been a focal point for followers of Yahweh, and central to the cultic practices of the Israelites in the Old Testament. A diachronic examination of the spatial significance of Mount Zion in scripture is undertaken along with its contribution to Zion theology. In the Psalter, Mount Zion is a present reality representing the presence of Yahweh and his established kingdom. Isaiah affirms the inviolability of Mount Zion, concluding that Zion will again be the center from which Yahweh will rule. Scripture depicts Mount Zion as the iconic example of Yahweh's desired place to gather the nations, rule and execute his justice and peace that subsequently spills to the whole earth. In Hebrews, the earthly Mount Zion is seen as an archetype of the heavenly reality. Hebrews reminds its audience of the eternal heavenly city of the living God. In this way, the Mount Zion portrayed in the NT points us to our eschatological hope that recalls the images in the Psalter, Isaiah, and other OT passages. The purpose of this work is to bring a better understanding of the biblical references to "Mount Zion" in relation to its geographical location and the implications for the way we think about Zion in the church today.</p> / Thesis / Master of Theological Studies (MTS)

Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology

Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology

The present work examines the crossroads of social transformation from the contextual standpoint of the "Second World" - a political and socioeconomic term descriptively pointing to the unique location of the Former Eastern-European Block countries - in between worlds. The work involves in a dialogue some of the major trends within the contemporary Eastern-European philosophical environment: dichotomized between Neo-Marxism and Neo-Freudianism on the one hand, and Postmodernism on the other. While examining the most significant elements between the dialectical paradigms for social change of the above theories (and their ethical foundations), the text strives towards a theological paradigmatic formulation for an authentic social transformation that draws its dialectical content and passion from the hopeful eschatological vision of Christ and the Kingdom as an embodiment of the Christian alternative for human emancipation and liberation. In light of this, the work attempts to establish the following thesis: the radical Christian praxis of the eschatological reality of the Kingdom in light of the Cross is the Church’s alternative to contemporary philosophies and initiatives for social transformation. This praxis affirms the revolutionary, history-shaping force which makes Christianity relevant to the problems of Modernity and Postmodernity through its self-identification with the Crucified God. It marks the moment of conception of an authentic, liberating, life giving, transforming hope as a source of humanization and redemption of social order. Christianity is concerned with the birth and formation of a new socio-political reality - the Kingdom of God, and its embodiment on earth (through the Holy Spirit) in a new ethnos: the Church, the Body of Christ, the communion of the saints. Therefore, it is the Church's calling and obligation to exemplify the reality of the Kingdom, being a living extension of the living Christ and thus, the incarnation of the eschatological future of the world and its hopeful horizon in the midst of the present. Recognizing the vital need for a relevant Christian response to the spiritual demands of the Post-modern human being and his/her desacralized, pluralistic socio­ political context, the work concludes with a conceptual outline offering a strategy for the Church in the Postmodern setting. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)

The present work examines the crossroads of social transformation from the contextual standpoint of the "Second World" - a political and socioeconomic term descriptively pointing to the unique location of the Former Eastern-European Block countries - in between worlds. The work involves in a dialogue some of the major trends within the contemporary Eastern-European philosophical environment: dichotomized between Neo-Marxism and Neo-Freudianism on the one hand, and Postmodernism on the other. While examining the most significant elements between the dialectical paradigms for social change of the above theories (and their ethical foundations), the text strives towards a theological paradigmatic formulation for an authentic social transformation that draws its dialectical content and passion from the hopeful eschatological vision of Christ and the Kingdom as an embodiment of the Christian alternative for human emancipation and liberation. In light of this, the work attempts to establish the following thesis: the radical Christian praxis of the eschatological reality of the Kingdom in light of the Cross is the Church’s alternative to contemporary philosophies and initiatives for social transformation. This praxis affirms the revolutionary, history-shaping force which makes Christianity relevant to the problems of Modernity and Postmodernity through its self-identification with the Crucified God. It marks the moment of conception of an authentic, liberating, life giving, transforming hope as a source of humanization and redemption of social order. Christianity is concerned with the birth and formation of a new socio-political reality - the Kingdom of God, and its embodiment on earth (through the Holy Spirit) in a new ethnos: the Church, the Body of Christ, the communion of the saints. Therefore, it is the Church's calling and obligation to exemplify the reality of the Kingdom, being a living extension of the living Christ and thus, the incarnation of the eschatological future of the world and its hopeful horizon in the midst of the present. Recognizing the vital need for a relevant Christian response to the spiritual demands of the Post-modern human being and his/her desacralized, pluralistic socio­ political context, the work concludes with a conceptual outline offering a strategy for the Church in the Postmodern setting. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Theological Ethics)