This thesis aims to elucidate the nature of the references to Satan in the undisputed Pauline corpus. Although scholarship has frequently devoted attention to the various “powers of evil” in Paul’s letters—including principalities, rulers, demons, etc.—insufficient consideration has been given to the figure of Satan as an isolated subject matter. Moreover, scholarship on the individual references to Satan has often neglected Paul’s depiction of Satan’s activity vis-à-vis his apostolic calling. This raises the question, how and why does the Apostle Paul refer to the figure of Satan in his letters? In order to address this question, the thesis commences by examining two key areas of background material. First, Chapter Two investigates the various “images” of Satan in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish texts. Instead of delineating a historical sketch of the development of Satan in Jewish thought, emphasis is placed on the various roles in which Satan functions within these writings. Second, Chapters Two and Three investigate two aspects of Paul’s theology which relate to his references to Satan. First, Satan’s place within Paul’s apocalyptic theology is explicated (Chapter Three). Second, the thesis considers Paul’s self-understanding as the Apostle to the Gentiles and, critically, the importance of Paul’s churches for his apostleship (Chapter Four). Chapters Five and Six then utilize the findings of the previous chapters in their examination of the ten clear references to Satan in the undisputed Pauline letters. Chapter Five focuses on the sole reference to Satan in Romans (16:20) and the two references in 1 Thessalonians (2:18; 3:5). Chapter Six then analyzes the several references to Satan in the Corinthian correspondence (1 Cor 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor 2:11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:14; 12:7), including their collective significance. On the basis of the examination of the Pauline references to Satan, it is argued that Paul—while sharing the Jewish and early Christian understanding of Satan as an enemy and tempter of the people of God—fundamentally characterizes Satan in his letters as the apocalyptic adversary who opposes his apostolic labor (kopos). Paul does so, it is argued, because he believed that his apostleship was pivotal in spreading the gospel at a crucial point in salvation history. The final chapter then anticipates the implications of the study for further research.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study comprises a survey of the atheist solution to the problem of evil that has occasionally in the past been suggested by philosophers, but has largely been neglected in the philosophy of religion. Against this background, the study has two main objectives. It focusses in the first place on the reasons upon which philosophers like Mackie and McCloskey regard the giving up of one or more of the attributes of God in theism as an adequate solution to the problem of evil, considered to be the strongest argument against the rationality of theistic belief. What the study however would like to add to this objective, is to point to the existence of an even more fundamental reason upon which it can be claimed that the problem of evil can be solved along this way and that the emotional pressure so typical of this problem can be relieved without any serious implications for the belief in God. Concerning the more negative orientated of these reasons, it is shown that the latter revolves around the concept of the logical inconsistency of the theistic theory that can truly be regarded as the rationale of the atheistic argument known as the problem of evil. Furthermore, this concept also represents the cornerstone of the rejection of theistic solutions to this problem by Mackie and others as inadequate. In focussing on the origins of these reasons, it is shown that although the roots of the problem of evil is to be found in pre-Christian times and it continued to be a point of discussion throughout the whole of the Apostolic Age and the Middle Ages, it was the period of the Enlightenment and in particular the legacy of David Hume that became the strongest inspiration of the atheist rejection of theism in modern times. Concerning the more positive orientated of these reasons, the focus is on the efforts of philosophers that have been following the suggestions of Hume and that have against the background of the deficiencies of the theistic solutions to the problem of evil, started to experiment with solutions wherein at least one of the constituting propositions of the problem of evil is rejected. It is also argued that the way to these experiments has been paved by the contributions of Mill and Geach and that the latter encouraged philosophers to also belabour the problem of evil from an atheistic point of view. Against this background, the final focus is on the second objective of the study, namely to show that there exists an even more fundamental reason upon which it can be claimed that the problem of evil can be solved along this way and that the emotional pressure so typical of this problem can be relieved without any serious implications for the belief in God. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie behels 'n ondersoek na die ateïstiese oplossing vir die probleem van die kwaad wat weliswaar in die verlede al by geleentheid deur filosowe gesuggereer is, maar wat nietemin nog nie veel aandag in die godsdiensfilosofiese debat oor hierdie problematiek geniet het nie. Binne hierdie raamwerk het die studie twee oogmerke. Dit wil in die eerste plek fokus op al daardie redes op grond waarvan filosowe soos Mackie en McCloskey meen dat die skrapping van een of meer van die Goddelike attribute in die teïsme tot 'n toereikende oplossing van die probleem van die kwaad as sterkste argument teen die rasionele houdbaarheid van hierdie teorie kan lei. Wat die studie in die tweede plek egter hieraan wil toevoeg, is om aan te toon dat daar 'n nog meer fundamentele rede bestaan op grond waarvan daar aangevoer kan word dat die probleem van die kwaad inderdaad langs hierdie weg en ook sonder ernstige implikasies vir die geloof in God opgelos en die emosionele druk so eie aan hierdie problematiek verlig kan word. Wat die meer negatief gerigte van hierdie redes aan betref, word daar verduidelik dat laasgenoemde rondom die konsep van die logiese inkonsistensie van die teïstiese teorie sentreer. Laasgenoemde kan met reg as die spil van die ateïstiese argument bekend as die probleem van die kwaad beskryf kan word en verteenwoordig die rasionaal van die argumente op grond waarvan Mackie en andere die teïstiese oplossings vir die probleem van die kwaad as ontoereikend afwys. In 'n nadere omskrywing van die oorspronge van hierdie redes, word daarop gewys dat alhoewel die probleem van die kwaad sy wortels in die voor-Christelike tyd het en dit ook dwarsdeur die Patristiek en die Middeleeue In onderwerp van drukke bespreking gebly het, dit egter die denkklimaat van die Verligting en in die besonder die nalatenskap van David Hume was wat sedertdien die belangrikste inspirasie van ateïstiese afwysings van die teïsme geword het. Wat die meer positief gerigte redes betref, word daar gefokus op ateïsties georiënteerde filosowe se pogings om op voetspoor van die onderskeidings van Hume en teen die agtergrond van die leemtes van teïsties georiënteerde oplossings vir die probleem, met daardie oplossings te eksperimenteer waarin daar van ten minste van een van die proposisies wat die probleem van die kwaad konstitueer, afstand gedoen word. Daar word aangevoer dat die weg tot eksperimentering met hierdie oplossings reeds deur onder meer die opvattings van Mill en Geach gebaan is en dat dit aan filosowe oënskynlik genoegsame rede gebied het om die probleem van die kwaad ook vanuit 'n ateïstiese gesigspunt te bearbei. Teen hierdie agtergrond word daar ten slotte op die tweede oogmerk van die studie gefokus, naamlik om aan te toon dat daar 'n nog meer fundamentele rede bestaan op grond waarvan daar aangevoer kan word dat die probleem van die kwaad inderdaad langs hierdie weg en ook sonder ernstige implikasies vir die geloof in God opgelos en die emosionele druk so eie aan hierdie problematiek verlig kan word. / wa201509

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This essay will look at some characters from the Harry Potter novels, their attitude to deaht and their ability to love. The focus is to look at how their different stances to death and love make them good or evil. Most attention will be given to some key characters: Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, and Albus Dumbledore. Their attitudes to death is first to be dealt with, followed by an investigation of their ability to love. After that, a conclusion by analysing more briefly some minor characters who are part of Voldemort’s Death Eaters. The analysis is mainly restricted to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but there are a few examples from some of the other books in the Harry Potter series as well.

The present study will discuss J. D. Salinger's alienated misfits in direct relation to the psychology of the gifted, creative individual. By analyzing Seymour, Holden and Franny as representatives of a specific intellectual type, this study will provide the reader with a fresh insight into J. D. Salinger's fictional world.

Thesis advisor: Jorge L.A. Garcia / When Odysseus sets sail from Circe’s island, she advises him to stop up his ears and eyes when he passes the Sirens or he will suffer terrible consequences. He makes his crew do it, but keeps his own senses clear, asking only to be tied to the mast so he cannot act on any bewitchments. This story could almost be an allegory about the moral danger of art. In this dissertation, I defend a small part of what I take to be the Odyssean thesis: that art is worth the danger it represents, and, specifically, that what I call "evil stories" are worth the danger they represent. The phrase "evil stories" is a shorthand, for me, for the longer phrase "stories which require us, in order to understand them, to imaginatively simulate the point of view of characters who commit acts of great harm for sadistic, malicious, or defiant reasons." I argue that auditing “evil stories” is not, for most people, and as part of a balanced imaginative diet, so morally dangerous that they ought to be avoided; moreover, I argue that it can be morally opportune to audit them and, in some special cases, morally obligatory. My strategy to defend this thesis is two part. First, I formulate and respond to what I take to be the most serious reasons to suspect that auditing evil stories is too morally dangerous. Those reasons include: the idea that auditing evil stories is itself an immoral action (chapter 3); the idea that it is a virtue to be unable to perform the mental operations involved in adequately auditing evil stories (chapter 4); the idea that understanding evil actions or characters is tantamount to condoning them (chapter 5); and the idea that being fascinated by evil undercuts one's standing to condemn it (chapter 6). Second, I venture several tentative arguments in support of the idea that evil stories can actually provide opportunities for moral growth and education: the idea that evil stories provoke unique and valuable kinds of moral reflection and that we can sometimes be obligated to audit them (chapter 7); and the idea that auditing evil stories is uniquely revelatory of some kind of moral truth (chapter 8). In the course of all this rebutting and reason giving, I propose a way of thinking about the ethics of audition in general which I call "role-centered response moralism," which develops obliquely across the subsections of various chapters. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

The aim of this thesis is to analyse the concepts of good and evil in Henry James&rsquo / s two novels, The Wings of the Dove and The Golden Bowl. The main argument, which is supported with evidence from the novels and several articles and books, is that the conceps of good and evil permeate the novels, that Henry James&rsquo / s use of symbolism and imagery reinforces the illustration of these concepts, that the contextual understanding of these terms cannot be separated from the environmental, financial and contextual factors that influence the characters&rsquo / responses to the world outside themselves and that human relations and the characters&rsquo / relatedness to the world outside themselves constitute the point where good and evil reside.

Thesis (M.A.)--Lancaster Bible College, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-59).

Revised thesis (doctoral)--Monash University, Australia, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-367) and index.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Mary E. Stuckey, committee chair; Greg Smith, Ted Friedman, committee members. Electronic text (220 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Sept. 19, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-220).