Bibliography: pages 136-147. / This study analyses the nature and basis of Vernon Robbins' socio-rhetorical criticism and its applicability to Luke 10:25-37. The main purpose of the study is to highlight the usefulness of socio-rhetorical criticism to parabolic interpretation through an assessment of its implications for the analysis of Luke 10:25-37. A comprehensive study of Robbins' approach and its applicability to the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:25-37) is conducted in three parts, in an attempt to derive a more precise understanding of the nature of the approach, and the manner in which Robbins grounds his thought in this interpretative process. Part I elucidates the theoretical basis of the study and its assumptions. Also included is a discussion of previous major trends in parabolic interpretation. This survey is important because it is not possible to commence a study of a parabolic text without presenting a brief chronological orientation of methodological approaches employed by scholars over the years. This section concludes with a consideration of Robbins' socio-rhetorical criticism as a significant innovation by moving boundaries and calling for dialogue among diverse disciplines. Part II gives a demonstration of socio-rhetorical criticism as it explores Luke 10:25- 37. Using tools of analysis from different disciplines as suggested in socio-rhetorical criticism, this study attempts to detect and emphasise a relationship between various approaches that have been applied to the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25- 37) in an interdisciplinary manner. In the first section, attention is drawn to the relationship of various segments of Luke 10:25-37 to other texts, culture and history. It has been concluded that Luke set out to write his own version of a story which is not found elsewhere in the Synoptic Gospels, though a possible relationship exists between Luke 10:25-28 and Mark 12:28-34 (parallel Matthew 22:34-40) and parts of the Old Testament. In the second section, the language in Luke 10:25-37 is described covering the frequency of items, characterisation and voices, structure of the passage, and argumentation. The language employed contrasts the care of the needy and oppressed shown by the Samaritan with the negligence of the leaders of Israel. In the third section, the question of ideology as portrayed in Luke 10:25-37 is discussed in order to understand the political forces, personalities and institutions that shaped the lives and common destiny of the people in the first-century. In the fourth section, Luke 10:25-37 is analysed in the light of eastern Mediterranean cultural values by highlighting the concept of 'hospitality' which is closely related to the social value of 'honour-shame.' It is argued that Luke underscores the honourable position of Jesus as against that of the lawyer and the Temple hierarchy who are depicted as people who possessed great honour but lacked compassion. In the fifth and final section, the concept of the sacred in Luke 10:25-37 is discussed in order to explain the manner in which readers employ texts to convey the relationship between the sacred and the human. Thus, by exploring different methods of reading Luke 10:25-37, this study is concerned with the challenge of developing an integrated, relevant approach towards the understanding of Gospel texts in general and parables in particular. Part III covers the evaluation of the approach and the conclusions that can be drawn. The issues discussed in the evaluation include a critique of socio-rhetorical analysis in the context of its application to Luke 10:25-37, showing its strengths and weaknesses. On the basis of these findings, it has been concluded that, while some weaknesses may be detected in the approach, on the whole the useful insights it provides may be of great value in the understanding of Gospels in general and parables in particular. A final chapter draws some of the themes together from the three parts in formulating a conclusion.

Several years ago the writer became interested in a study of the New Testament concept of the church. Since the major part of the New Testament collection dealing with this concept is made up of the writings of the apostle Paul he felt that the study should begin with these writings. In making a preliminary study it was found that the apostle's concept would be too extensive and too inclusive to incorporate in its entirety within the scope of a thesis written as partial requirement for the Master of Arts Degree. Consequenty this work is limited, being primarily foundational. In order to maintain this foundational character the writer decided to make a study of a representative passage of each variant shade of Paul's concept, and, that only where some form of the term (ecclesia) appears in the text. So that Paul's usage of the term might be more fully understood the first and second chapters are designed to serve as a background. These chapters will show that Paul, when he had become a Christian, had inherited a word that was potent with vital significance for him and for others like him in the new religion. The remainder of the thesis is divided according to the major emphases which Paul makes upon the term 'ecclesia'. This has caused a shift of the Galatian letter from its traditional date of composition which places it shortly after the writing of the Corinthian letters into a closer proximity with the Thessalonian letters. The concept of 'ecclesia' in Galatians is more in accord with that found in the Thessalonian letters than with that in Corinthians and Romans.

In studying the background and origin of meaning for this word [ecclesia], this paper will seek to investigate the pagan, the Jewish, and the Christian literature in this order. Of couse, as the preliminary discussion has so far indicated, the primary weight and burden of study will be upond the Septugintal influence. The three stages to be developed are reminiscent of the comment of R.C. Trench in his opening comments concerning ecclesia. He named them as heathen, Jewish, and Christian. The development of these stages will be united and brought together to make some pertinent conclusions in the final chapter of this thesis. At all points, this study will seek to limit itself to this one Greek word, [ecclesia], and words which have a direct relationship with it, rather than dealing with the many images used by the New Testament and theology to understand and to explain the church.

This thesis investigates how understandings of history in diverse texts of the Graeco-Roman period illuminate Lukan eschatology. Two strands of Lukan scholarship have contributed to an enduring tendency to underestimate the centrality of eschatology to Luke/Acts. Hans Conzelmann's thesis, that Luke focused on history rather than eschatology as a response to the parousia's delay, has dominated Lukan scholarship since the mid-twentieth century, with concomitant assumptions about Luke's politics and understanding of suffering. Recent Lukan scholarship has centred instead on genre and rhetoric, examining Luke/Acts predominantly in relation to ancient texts deemed the same genre while overlooking themes (including those of an eschatological character) that these texts do not share. This thesis offers a fresh approach. It illuminates the inherent connections between Luke's understanding of history and its end, and demonstrates significant ways in which Luke's eschatological consciousness shapes key themes of his account. By extending comparisons to a wider range of texts, this study overcomes two clear methodological shortfalls in current research: limiting comparisons of key themes to texts of similar genre, and separating non-Jewish from Jewish texts. Having established the need for a new examination of Luke's eschatology in Chapter 1, in Chapter 2 I set out the study's method of comparing diverse texts on themes that cut across genres. Chapters 3 to 6 then consider each key text and Luke/Acts in relation to a different aspect of their writers' conceptions of history: the direction and shape of history; determinism and divine guidance; human culpability and freedom; and the present and the end of history. The analysis shows that in every aspect of history examined, Luke/Acts shares significant features of the texts with which, because they do not share its genre, it is not normally compared. Setting Luke/Acts in conversation with a broader range of texts highlights Luke's periodised, teleological view of history and provides a nuanced picture of Luke's understanding of divine and human agency, all of which is affected in fundamental ways by his portrayal of the present time already within the final period of history. As a result, this study not only clarifies Lukan eschatology, but reaffirms the importance of eschatology for Lukan politics and theodicy.