Part of Thesis--Catholic University of America. / Bibliography: p. 65-89.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, 2009. / Title from dissertation title page (viewed Apr. 19, 2010). Includes abstract. "A project report and thesis submitted to the Faculty of Brite Divinity School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry." Includes bibliographical references.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 2, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dr. A. Cooper Drury, Dissertation Chair. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation argues that persecution in Galatians manifests the cosmic conflict between God and the present evil age. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the topic of persecution in Galatians and the history of research. Chapter 2 demonstrates that Paul uses the theme of cosmic conflict to place the crisis in Galatia within a broader context of a conflict between God who has inaugurated the new creation within the present time and this present evil age. Chapters 3–4 examine Paul’s theological context. Chapter 3 investigates a theme of cosmic conflict in Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, and Habakkuk. Chapter 4 examines the theme in other early Jewish texts (Daniel; 1 Enoch; 4 Ezra; 2 Baruch; Jubilees; 1 Maccabees; 2 Maccabees; 4 Maccabees; 1QS; CD; 1QM). This survey reveals that Paul’s iteration of the theme possesses continuity and discontinuity with other authors. Chapter 5 offers a historical reconstruction of the instances of persecution mentioned in Galatians. Four instances of persecution in Galatians are examined: (1) Paul the Persecutor (1:13, 23). (2) Paul the Persecuted (3:1; 4:13, 19; 5:11; 6:17) (3) The Opponents as Potential Targets (6:12) (4) The Persecution of the Galatians (3:4; 4:17–18, 29). Paul uses the theme of persecution to reshape the perception of the Galatian believers and to reveal the danger of the false gospel preached by his opponents. Chapter 6 identifies persecution as a specific manifestation of the cosmic conflict between God and this present evil age. Galatians 4:29 directly connects the phenomenon of persecution with the broader cosmic conflict. Paul does so by identifying typology in Genesis 21:9. In light of this understanding of Paul’s use of Genesis, other significant passages on persecution in Galatians are reexamined to see how they fit within a cosmic conflict reading: 1:13, 23; 3:4; 5:11; 6:12, 17. In conclusion, chapter 7 offers three possible results of Paul’s understanding of persecution as cosmic conflict. It then examines the significance of the thesis for global Christianity today.

P. Angelik František Fišer (1926-1983) is not well known but impressive person of czech catholic church. This priest, dominican, writer and biblicist bravely devoted himself to pastoral activity especially among tramps despite communist persecution and his poor health. He replaced many professions. He worked as a forest worker, archivist or innkeeper. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for a "abolition of the state supervision over churches". After leaving into disability pension he devoted himself to literary activities and participated in the ecumenical translation of the Bible, especially the Psalms. He was also interested in history. In the nineties, his work about Karlštejn castle was published. He did not have the end of totalitarianism, died on 1 February 1983 at the hospital in Varnsdorf. This work, based on available sources, maps his rich life. Keywords: František Fišer, Štěpán Trochta, tramps, persecution, communism

This study describes the public life of Africana religions in New York City, the religions brought to New York City directly from Africa, or from the African Diaspora, particularly from the Caribbean and South America, where traditional African religions brought by the enslaved during the times of the Transatlantic Slave Trade were adapted to the new circumstances. Historically, practitioners of these religions have faced harsh persecution, whether during the time of enslavement when they could face death for their practices or when they came to the United States in the last century, where their religions were seen by many as evil and could lead to persecution by the authorities. Therefore, in the context of the United States, these religious traditions have for a long time been practiced in secret, in basements, and behind locked doors. In the last few decades, however, Africana religious practitioners have been trying to leave their secrecy behind and to become more public and visible. This study suggests that the improvement to the standing of these traditions and their devotees has occurred, and will continue to do so, precisely by occupying space, by actively reclaiming spaces hitherto denied, both physically and metaphorically--a notion that will be understood holistically across several practical and conceptual domains. The first chapter of this study explores the history of Africana religions in the United States and the public attitudes towards them, as they have evolved from facing extreme persecution and stigma to greater acceptance and a more significant public standing. The second chapter discusses in more detail the impact that practicing in secrecy has had on devotees, their rituals, and their religious lives. Also included in this section is an analysis of the ceremonies that are now being practiced in public in New York City and their related spatial reclamation, be it in beaches, in parks, or different types of public venues. The third chapter looks at the way Africana religious presences have manifested through and taken space in the cultural domain, widely defined, and at the way that the diffusion of these presences has impacted on the make-up of the city itself. The fourth and final chapter considers the visibility and popularity Africana religions are now gaining in popular culture and the arts, including in music, concerts, and dance performances; in the visual arts; in public art; and in television and film. This research was conducted from the perspective of a practitioner of Africana religions seeking to advocate for the rights of Africana religious practitioners with respect to equality, visibility, and public presence without discrimination.

Despite a vast amount of research on Late Antiquity, little attention has been paid to certain figures that prove to be influential during this time. The focus of historians on Constantine I, the first Roman Emperor to allegedly convert to Christianity, has often come at the cost of ignoring Constantine's predecessor, Diocletian, sometimes known as the "Second Father of the Roman Empire". The success of Constantine's empire has often been attributed to the work and reforms of Diocletian, but there have been very few studies of the man beyond simple biography. This work will attempt to view three of Diocletian's major innovations in order to determine the lasting effect they had over the Roman Empire and our modern world. By studying 1) Diocletian's assumption of new, divinely inspired titles; 2)Diocletian's efforts at controlling prices in the marketplace; and 3)Diocletian's Persecution of the Christians in the Roman Empire at the turn of the fourth century CE, we can gain valuable insight into the ways through which Roman Emperors extended their authority throughout different facets of Ancient World, including developments that would shape the future of Western Civilization for the next 1400 years.

During the First Crusade's onset, lay enthusiasm went unregulated. Popular preachers spread Urban II's call to crusade across Europe, and after Peter the Hermit left the Rhineland, religious tension flared and culminated in the 1096 A.D. Jewish massacres. This paper examines Christian crusader motivation during the 1096 massacres. Through textual analysis of contemporary Latin and Hebrew chronicles and medieval eschatological legends, I argue that the conversion of the Jewish communities to Christianity was the primary motivation of the Christian crusaders and neighboring burghers. I suggest that figures such as Count Emicho of Flonheim were likely inspired by the eschatological legend of the Last Roman Emperor and sought to destroy the Jewish communities to bring the second coming of Christ and the End Times. The Jewish communities' destruction was through conversion or the sword, however, I argue through primary source examples that conversion was preferable, and crusaders and burghers went to great lengths to see conversion through. This study is part of a growing body of research on conversion during the 1096 massacres, specifically conversion linked to Christian millenarianism. This study aims to add to the greater literature and offer another voice to the ongoing conversation.

This study is an attempt to contribute to the emerging theoretical literature on state repression. A time-series model was developed to test the hypothesis that state violence in Argentina and Chile is largely a function of four internal political factors and their interactions: 1) the inertial influence of past restrictive policies on the formulation of current policies, 2) the annual incidence of political protest demonstrations, 3) the perceived effectiveness of repressive measures on unrest, 4) and the institutionalization of military rule.

This MA thesis will discuss the reception of common, non-scholarly polytheists (pagans) to the persecution of Christians from the early empire until the Great Persecution (303-313, 322-324). Though modern scholars have addressed this issue and asserted that there was a change in attitude, many have not developed this into anything more than a passing statement. When chronologically analyzing the Christian acts, passions, letters, and speeches recounting the deaths of martyrs deemed historically authentic, and accounting for the literary and biblical topoi, we can demonstrate that the position of non-Christians changed. The methodology of this thesis will chronologically assess the martyr acts, passions, speeches, and letters which are historically accurate after literary and biblical topoi are addressed. These sources are available in the appendix. Throughout this analysis, we will see two currents. The primary current will seek to discern the change in pagan reception of anti-Christian persecution, while the second current will draw attention to the Roman concept of religio and superstitio, both important in understanding civic religion which upheld the pax deorum and defined loyalty to the Roman order through material sacrifices and closely connected to one's citizenship. Religio commonly denoted proper ritual practices, while superstitio defined irregular forms of worship which may endanger the state. As we will see, Christians were feared and persecuted because it was believed that their cult would anger the gods and disrupt the cosmological order. The analysis will begin with a discussion centered on the "accusatory" approach to the Christian church during the first two centuries when the Roman state relied on provincial delatores (denounces) to legislate against the cult. During the first two centuries persecution was mostly provincial, sporadic and was not centrally-directed. We will see that provincial mobs were the most violent during the first two centuries. During the third century the actions of the imperial authority changed and began following an "inquisitorial" approach with the accession of Emperors Decius and Valerian, the former enacting an edict of universal sacrifices while the latter undertook the first Empire-wide initiative to crush the Christian community. It is during the third century that the attitude of non-elite pagans may have begun to change. This will be suggested when discussing the martyrdom of Pionius. When discussing the fourth century Great Persecution under the Diocletianic tetrarchy, it will be suggested that the pagan populace may have begun to look upon the small Christian community sympathetically. The thesis will conclude with the victory of Constantine over Licinius and the slow but steady rise of Christianity to prominence, becoming the official religio of the empire with traditional paganism relegated to the status of a superstitio.