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This study examines the theology and social ethics of John Howard Yoder with a view toward how creation and redemption are related in his theology. The first chapter examines Yoder's aversion to certain construals of creation and argues that he is not inherently hostile to creation as such, but is cautious with respect to the possible abuse of creation as a theological and ethical category. The second chapter evaluates the nature of the state in Yoder's theology, examines his view of the Powers in this context, and argues that his view of redemption can be seen as a restoration of an eschatologically open creation. The third chapter compares Yoder's theology and social ethics with those of J. Richard Middleton, arguing that there may be a potential for interconnection between Yoder's Anabaptistic focus on the politics of Jesus and Middleton's Reformational emphasis upon the goodness of the power of creation seen in the imago Dei of Genesis I.

Without rejecting the general consensus among scholars that Luke emphasizes the humanity of Jesus, this dissertation attempts to contribute to the field of Lukan Christology by contending that there is more to the Lukan portrait of Jesus than what is generally acknowledged. Through his particular presentation of Jesus as the Spirit-Giver, Luke unveils the divine identity of the Messiah. Chapter 1 provides a history of research of Lukan Christology and highlights the various controlling categories scholars have proposed for analyzing Lukan Christology. It concludes that there is a need for a study on Luke's Spirit-giver motif and its contribution to Lukan Christology. Because the OT provides the conceptual world from which Luke develops his Spirit-Giver motif, chapter 2 examines the eschatological passages in Ezekiel, Isaiah, Joel, and Zechariah to see how that act of giving the Spirit is linked with the unique identity of Yahweh. The primary claim in this chapter is that the OT consistently presents the act of giving the eschatological Spirit as an act unique to the divine identity of Yahweh. This claim is supported in three ways: first, the primary metaphors employed to describe the giving of the Spirit are new creation and new exodus; second, the prophets explicitly link the act of giving the Spirit with Yahweh's identity as Israel's God; third, the act of giving the Spirit is reserved for Yahweh alone. Chapter 3 explores how the act of giving the eschatological Spirit was understood in Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. This chapter highlights the continuity between the OT and Jewish literature: the act of giving the Spirit is linked with God's identity as the creator and redeemer. Despite its diversity, early Judaism associated the act of giving the Spirit with the unique identity of God and no other figure is ever presented as sharing this role. Chapters 4 and 5 examine Luke's Gospel and Acts respectively in the attempt to understand how Luke himself has uniquely developed the Spirit-Giver motif. In drawing upon the OT promise of the outpouring of the Spirit, Luke presents Jesus as participating in a role that was reserved exclusively for Yahweh and unique to his identity as Israel's creator and covenant God. As the Spirit-Giver theme unfolds, the identity of Jesus and the Father overlap in their shared role as the Spirit-Giver. This theme is thus evidence of Lukan divine identity Christology. Chapter 6 concludes the argument and explores implications for Lukan Christology.

ABSTRACT (deutsch) Das Lukasevangelium ist ein literarisches Werk in Form einer Erzählung. Die Pharisäer spielen darin eine zentrale Rolle als wichtigste Gruppe der Gegenspieler Jesu. Die Methode der narrativen Exegese ist daher geeignet, die Darstellung der Pharisäer zu analysieren und eine literarische Charakterisierung vorzunehmen. Eine Untersuchung aller Texte des Lukasevangeliums, in denen Pharisäer erwähnt werden, ergibt ein komplexes und facettenreiches Pharisäerporträt. Die Pharisäer werden primär negativ dargestellt, als religiöse Führer, die die göttliche Sendung Jesu, seine Vollmacht und seinen Auftrag, nicht erkennen und ablehnen. Die Pharisäer haben eine Kontrastfunktion innerhalb der Gesamterzählung des Lukasevangeliums. Sie dienen als Negativfolie, auf der die Bedeutung der Hauptfigur Jesus umso heller aufleuchtet. Ein Merkmal des Lukasevangeliums ist jedoch, dass dieses primär negative Bild durch die erzählerische Darstellung mehrfach abgeschwächt wird. Der Erzähler zeichnet kein einseitiges Pharisäerbild (flat character), sondern differenziert deutlich (mehr als die anderen Synoptiker). Er verzichtet bei der Präsentation ihres Verhaltens und ihrer Worte weitgehend auf explizit feindliche Aspekte. Er deutet eine relative Nähe zwischen Jesus und den Pharisäern an. Eine abschließende negative Wertung oder Verurteilung der Pharisäer unterbleibt. Auffällig ist die komplette Auslassung der Rolle der Pharisäer beim Prozess gegen Jesus. Die Reaktion Jesu auf die Pharisäer ist geprägt von Milde und Hoffnung, trotz vereinzelter scharfer Auseinandersetzungen. Jesus ist bei allen Begegnungen mit den Pharisäern bemüht, ihnen zur Erkenntnis seiner Person als göttlichem Gesandten zu verhelfen und sie zur Umkehr zu bewegen. ABSTRACT (english) The Gospel of Luke is a literary work in narrative form in which the Pharisees play a central role as the most important group in opposition to Jesus. Thus narrative exegesis is an appropriate method to analyse the presentation of the Pharisees and to undertake a literary characterisation of their role. An examination of all the texts in Luke's Gospel which mention the Pharisees yields a complex, multi-facetted portrait of the Pharisees. The Pharisees, characterised primarily negatively as religious leaders, neither recognise nor acknowledge the divine mission of Jesus, nor his authority nor mandate. Rather the Pharisees function in juxtaposition to Christ and his ministry within the overall narrative of Luke's Gospel. They serve as a negative backdrop against which the central figure of Jesus appears all the more significant, indeed even radiant. However, it is one trait of Luke's Gospel that this primarily negative picture is repeatedly softened by the narrative presentation. The narrator does not paint a one-sided picture of the Pharisees (flat character) but differentiates clearly in his presentation (more than the other Synoptic Gospels do). In his presentation of the Pharisees' behaviour and words the author to a large extent forgoes mentioning explicitly hostile aspects, but rather intimates the relative proximity between Jesus and the Pharisees. There is no final negative evaluation or judgement passed on the Pharisees. It is noteworthy that there is a complete omission of the role of the Pharisees in the legal proceedings and court trials against Jesus. Jesus' reaction to the Pharisees is nevertheless one of gentleness and hope, despite a few acrimonious conflicts recounted in the narrative. In all of his encounters with Pharisees Jesus endeavours to help them recognise himself as divine envoy and to move them to repentance. / New Testament / M.Th.

The maleness of Christ: revelational or cultural? is a biblical-theological investigation of the significance of Christ's maleness. This thesis attempts to answer questions as to the significance and meaning ofJesus' maleness. Is the maleness of Christ revelational of God's being and character; is it foundational for the gospel; is it reflective of an ongoing created order? Is revelation and salvation impossible apart from a male redeemer? Or could Christ have been born a woman in a different time and culture? Chapter one describes the various positions and arguments: complementarian, biblical egalitarian, Christian feminist, and post-Christian feminist. Chapter two examines two related topics to the problem, namely slavery and the Sabbath. This section investigates how the church has decided, regarding other issues, what is revelational or cultural. We consider the various implications that the slavery and Sabbath debates have on our topic. Our subject relating to the significance of Christ's maleness has many interrelated concerns. In answering the questions regarding Jesus' maleness, chapter three organises much of the material under the motif of the sonship of Christ. This structure allows us to remain focused as well as interact with the differing topics affecting our concern, such as innertrinitarian relationships, the relationship between revelation and culture, the so-called subordination of the Son, the truth and status of analogy, inclusive language, and the implications of Christ as the image of God. Also included this chapter is a discussion on the relationship between Jesus and Wisdom and whether we can refer to Christ as "Daughter." The chapter concludes with a section on whether Christ's maleness either relates to an ongoing created order of male headship or allows for the transformation of patriarchy. / Philosophy and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Systematic Theology)

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Using social-rhetorical hermeneutics, this study examines Jesus’ statement “Do this in remembrance of Me” during the last meal He had with his disciples before He went to the cross – both in the light of the Lucan context and our/modern present context. A careful examination of the text in Luke 22:14-30 poses a challenge to Lucan scholarship as it delves into the reason of the insertion of the phrase in the context of this meal. In the first place, different views as regards the meal are examined so as to present the motif of the meal. It has been discovered that Luke wanted his community to use this meal as a medium of remembering what Jesus was to humanity during his time on earth. Socio-rhetorical analysis helps to appreciate Luke’s rhetorical nuances in presenting this meal scene to his audience. In Chapter two it is revealed that Luke used his sources rhetorically in different textures and patterns to present to his audience that Jesus was the Saviour and a servant-leader. The intertexture of Luke’s material of the meal shows that Luke appealed to his community using Ancient Near Eastern, Greco-Roman socio-cultural rhetoric in order to reiterate what his audience needed to know about Jesus. It reveals Jesus as a broker, patron, and benefactor to his community with the aim of restoring the dignity of humanity. The sacred texture of the Lucan meal shows the ever abiding presence of Jesus in the midst of the community whenever they meet due to the divine power of Jesus. Socio-rhetorical hermeneutics of Luke 22:14-30 explicates that the phrase “Do this in remembrance of Me” in the context is Luke’s rhetorical strategy of encouraging his audience to remember Jesus with the view to imitate his lifestyle and his inclusive approach to the marginalised and the outcasts of society. It is when the community eats the meal concomitantly with the imitation of his lifestyle, especially his approach to God and humanity, that the community will truly remember Jesus and thus restore human dignity in society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die ondersoek van die uitspraak tydens die laaste maaltyd wat Jesus met sy dissipels gehad het voor sy dood aan die kruis, met behulp van sosio-retoriese hermeneutiek, toon die belangrikheid van die stelling, “Doen dit tot my gedagtenis”, in die lig van die Lukaanse gemeenskap en die moderne konteks. ’n Deeglike ondersoek van die teks in Lukas 22:14-30 bied ’n probleem aan die bestudering van die Nuwe Testament, veral vir Lukas-spesialiste, as gevra word na die rede vir die invoeging van die frase binne die konteks van hierdie maaltyd. In die eerste plek word daar gevra na die motivering vir die plasing van die maaltyd binne die teks. Dit blyk dat Lukas sy gemeenskap wou motiveer om hierdie maaltyd te gebruik as ’n middel om te onthou wat Jesus vir die mensdom beteken het gedurende sy tyd op aarde. Sosio-retoriese analise help ons om te bepaal watter retoriese nuanses Lukas gebruik het in die aanbieding van hierdie maaltydtoneel aan sy gehoor. In hoofstuk twee word aan die lig gebring dat Lukas sy bronne in verskillende retoriese teksture en patrone aanbied aan sy gehoor om te toon dat Jesus die Verlosser en ’n dienaar-leier was. Die intertekstuur van die Lukaanse weergawe van die maaltyd toon dat Lukas met behulp van Ou Nabye Oosterse en Grieks-Romeinse bronne, asook sosio-kulturele retoriek ’n beroep op sy gemeenskap doen om Jesus regtig te leer ken. Dit toon Jesus as ’n bemiddelaar, beskermheer, en weldoener aan sy gemeenskap ten einde die herstel van die waardigheid van die mensdom te bewerk. Die heilige tekstuur van die Lukaanse maaltyd toon die ewigblywende geskenk van Jesus aan die gemeenskap en die feit dat die gemeenskap alles te danke het aan die goddelike krag van Jesus. Sosio-retoriese hermeneutiek van Lukas 22:14-30 maak dit duidelik dat die frase, “Doen dit tot my gedagtenis”, binne die konteks ’n retoriese strategie is waarmee Lukas sy gehoor wou leer om Jesus se leefstyl na te boots en sy inklusiewe benadering ten opsigte van die gemarginaliseerdes en uitgeworpenes van die samelewing te onthou. Dit is wanneer die gemeenskap die maaltyd eet en sy lewenstyl naboots, veral sy handelinge en benadering tot God en die mensdom, dat die gemeenskap werklik vir Jesus sal onthou en so menswaardigheid in die gemeenskap sal herstel.

Contemporary developments in cognitive neuroscience are having a profound impact on the philosophy of mind as philosophers work to understand the implications of these advances for appreciating what it means to be a human person. At the same time, a recent consensus has formed among contemporary theologians around the thesis that Jesus Christ is the revelation of what it means to be truly human. Unfortunately, very few thinkers have made any concerted effort to bring these two developments into dialogue with one another. This study addresses this lack by drawing on the anthropological insights of Karl Barth and bringing them to bear on certain aspects of the contemporary discussions regarding the mind/brain relationship. The thesis thus comprises two major sections. The first develops an understanding of Karl Barth’s theological anthropology focusing on three major facets: (1) the centrality of Jesus Christ for any real understanding of human persons; (2) the resources that such a christologically determined view of human nature has for engaging in interdisciplinary discourse; and (3) the ontological implications of this approach for understanding the mind/body relationship. The second part of the study then draws on this theological foundation to consider the implications that understanding human nature christologically has for analyzing and assessing several prominent ways of explaining the mind/body relationship. This study, then, is an exercise in understanding the nature of a christocentric anthropology and its implications for understanding human ontology. While it will devote significant attention to the theology of Karl Barth and various contemporary philosophers of mind, its fundamental aim is to draw together these apparently disparate fields of inquiry by engaging both theology and philosophy in a vital dialogue on the nature of the human person as revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The argument of this paper is that certain salient passages in the New Testament concerning Christology, as it was defined in the Nicene creed in A.D. 325, reflect such orthodoxy better in the Textus Receptus Greek texts and the English translations made from them than do the Alexandrian texts. Arian theology, which was condemned as heretical at Nicea, is examined. Patristic quotations, historical texts, and arguments of the scholars are cited and traced, along with a comparison of Christological verses.

ABSTRACT (deutsch) Das Lukasevangelium ist ein literarisches Werk in Form einer Erzählung. Die Pharisäer spielen darin eine zentrale Rolle als wichtigste Gruppe der Gegenspieler Jesu. Die Methode der narrativen Exegese ist daher geeignet, die Darstellung der Pharisäer zu analysieren und eine literarische Charakterisierung vorzunehmen. Eine Untersuchung aller Texte des Lukasevangeliums, in denen Pharisäer erwähnt werden, ergibt ein komplexes und facettenreiches Pharisäerporträt. Die Pharisäer werden primär negativ dargestellt, als religiöse Führer, die die göttliche Sendung Jesu, seine Vollmacht und seinen Auftrag, nicht erkennen und ablehnen. Die Pharisäer haben eine Kontrastfunktion innerhalb der Gesamterzählung des Lukasevangeliums. Sie dienen als Negativfolie, auf der die Bedeutung der Hauptfigur Jesus umso heller aufleuchtet. Ein Merkmal des Lukasevangeliums ist jedoch, dass dieses primär negative Bild durch die erzählerische Darstellung mehrfach abgeschwächt wird. Der Erzähler zeichnet kein einseitiges Pharisäerbild (flat character), sondern differenziert deutlich (mehr als die anderen Synoptiker). Er verzichtet bei der Präsentation ihres Verhaltens und ihrer Worte weitgehend auf explizit feindliche Aspekte. Er deutet eine relative Nähe zwischen Jesus und den Pharisäern an. Eine abschließende negative Wertung oder Verurteilung der Pharisäer unterbleibt. Auffällig ist die komplette Auslassung der Rolle der Pharisäer beim Prozess gegen Jesus. Die Reaktion Jesu auf die Pharisäer ist geprägt von Milde und Hoffnung, trotz vereinzelter scharfer Auseinandersetzungen. Jesus ist bei allen Begegnungen mit den Pharisäern bemüht, ihnen zur Erkenntnis seiner Person als göttlichem Gesandten zu verhelfen und sie zur Umkehr zu bewegen. ABSTRACT (english) The Gospel of Luke is a literary work in narrative form in which the Pharisees play a central role as the most important group in opposition to Jesus. Thus narrative exegesis is an appropriate method to analyse the presentation of the Pharisees and to undertake a literary characterisation of their role. An examination of all the texts in Luke's Gospel which mention the Pharisees yields a complex, multi-facetted portrait of the Pharisees. The Pharisees, characterised primarily negatively as religious leaders, neither recognise nor acknowledge the divine mission of Jesus, nor his authority nor mandate. Rather the Pharisees function in juxtaposition to Christ and his ministry within the overall narrative of Luke's Gospel. They serve as a negative backdrop against which the central figure of Jesus appears all the more significant, indeed even radiant. However, it is one trait of Luke's Gospel that this primarily negative picture is repeatedly softened by the narrative presentation. The narrator does not paint a one-sided picture of the Pharisees (flat character) but differentiates clearly in his presentation (more than the other Synoptic Gospels do). In his presentation of the Pharisees' behaviour and words the author to a large extent forgoes mentioning explicitly hostile aspects, but rather intimates the relative proximity between Jesus and the Pharisees. There is no final negative evaluation or judgement passed on the Pharisees. It is noteworthy that there is a complete omission of the role of the Pharisees in the legal proceedings and court trials against Jesus. Jesus' reaction to the Pharisees is nevertheless one of gentleness and hope, despite a few acrimonious conflicts recounted in the narrative. In all of his encounters with Pharisees Jesus endeavours to help them recognise himself as divine envoy and to move them to repentance. / New Testament / M.Th.

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