This thesis explores the use of spirit-language in technological discourse in order to show that the category of spirit is viable within technological discourse and that spiritlanguage can be a new way for theology to engage with technology. This thesis demonstrates the need for theological engagement with technology, in the first place, by surveying the existence of moral evaluations in current popular and academic discourse about technique and by citing examples of comparable engagement drawn from ethical discourse and from ancient mythologies. Since morality, ethics, and mythology traditionally belong to religion and theology, theological engagement with technology is warranted. Yet, the current state of theological engagement with technology is typically cautious. In this context, the recent introduction of spirit-language into technological discourse opens up a new and important way for theology to engage critically and constructively with technology. This thesis then surveys the use of spirit-language in technological discourse in order to create a context for theological engagement with technology. “Spirit” is conceptualized in various and inconsistent ways in technological discourse. The “spirits” assumed by technological discourse have religious, ethical, and social consequences. Analysis and evaluation of these implicit pneumatologies represent ways for theology to critically and constructively engage with technology.

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The western student of the Qur'ān who attempts to interpret this scripture which is held to be sacred and inviolable by millions of pious Muslims throughout the world must constantly re-examine his methods of study and his principles of interpretation, knowing that he will be challenged from two fronts--from the standpoint of critical accuracy and from the standpoint of religious dogma. One objective of the present study is to begin developing a method of Qur'ānic interpretation which is intended to meet this two-fold challenge. This task has been pursued by following the approach called "phenomenology" as it has developed in the general field of History of Religions during the past two generations. Since this approach has not been applied systematically to Qur'ānic studies, an introductory chapter has been devoted to a survey of the main principles of phenomenology, an application of these principles to the study of the Qur'ān, and an outline of a proposed phenomenological method for the exegesis and interpretation of the Qur'ān.

Thesis advisor: Brian Dunkle / Caius Marius Victorinus (c. 285-c.365CE), the famed professor of rhetoric in Rome who brought Neoplatonic philosophy into the Latin theological tradition, wrote several treatises of trinitarian theology shortly after his conversion late in life. The uniqueness and sophistication of his homoousian trinitarian thought has been recognized. His contribution to pro-Nicene theologies of the Holy Spirit has likewise been noticed in patristic scholarship, but has received little direct scholarly attention. The key contention of my dissertation is that in Book Three of Adversus Arium (written c. 361) Victorinus expounds a sophisticated pneumatology consonant with the developments in pro-Nicene theology. The true purport of his pneumatology is difficult to grasp because of Victorinus’s complex and fluid use of language which has led some scholars to consider his theology incoherent and his argumentation obscure. A careful reading of Adv. Ar. III allows us to assess his doctrine of the Holy Spirit for its precocious and idiosyncratic assertions while making a contribution to scholarship on early Christian thought, especially as relates to pro-Nicene Trinitarian theology and pneumatology before Constantinople I (381). / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

<p>In this thesis, I examine the pneumatology of Cyril of Alexandria ( d. 444). Cyril was one of the foremost exegetes and theologians of the patristic period, and so was a figure of considerable importance in the history of the development of Christian theology. Of central concern for Cyril throughout his writings was the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, a fact that is unsurprising given that the archbishop came to prominence shortly after pneumatological controversies in the late fourth century were addressed through the calling of the council of Constantinople in 381.</p> <p> I demonstrate in this study that Cyril's understanding of the Holy Spirit revolves primarily around his identity as the Spirit of the Son and the soteriological ramifications of the unity of the Spirit with the Son. Although Cyril is insistent that the Spirit is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son, it is his relationship with the latter that receives particular attention. This accentuation on the unity that exists between the Spirit and the Son influences Cyril's interpretation of potentially problematic passages of scripture, particularly those that refer to the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ. His emphasis on the unity of the Spirit and the Son also profoundly shapes his perception of the Spirit's person and his role in the salvation of humanity. He portrays the Spirit largely with respect to his likeness to the Son, and ties the Spirit's soteriological operations directly to this likeness. Cyril does not engage in the kind of trinitarian speculation regarding eternal relations as is found in Augustine's De Trinitate. He focuses rather on the interaction of God with the created order and what this interaction tells us about God as triune. Cyril's emphasis on the Spirit as the Spirit of the Son is borne out of his perception that the mystery of God has been revealed to us concretely in the person of Christ, and therefore that our understanding of the Holy Spirit is inextricable from the revelation of the incarnate Word and the soteriological possibilities Christ extended to all humanity. I argue that Cyril constructs a pneumatology wherein the far-reaching soteriological role of the Holy Spirit in relation to Jesus Christ is delineated, and in the process provides a conception of the Holy Spirit that is nuanced and vigorous.</p> <p> My examination of Cyril's pneumatology involves analysis of his understanding of the identity and divinity of the Holy Spirit vis-a-vis the Father and the Son, the role of the Spirit in the incarnation and life of the Son, and the particular soteriological work of the Spirit in the individual believer as well as in the formation, structure, and unity of the church. Primary attention is given to three works: De Trinitate Dialogi (Dialogues on the Trinity), written 423-25; In Joannem (Commentary on the Gospel of John), written 425- 28; and In Lucam (Commentary on the Gospel of Luke), written c. 430. In addition to these writings, I draw on various other commentaries written by the archbishop, as well as on his anti-Nestorian compositions.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis attempts to construct a systematic Irenaean Pneumatology, making a contribution in the history of dogma. The aim of this thesis is to develop a theological system, based on the Irenaean writings, that demonstrates that the area of Pneumatology was one of the central constructs in Irenaeus' thought. The methods employed in this thesis are: An evaluation of the data available in the context of Irenaeus' premise in the light of Scripture's presentation; a detailed analysis of literary contributions on the subject; and a research of the patristic thought and how other Church Fathers have identified and interpreted the Spirit's involvement in its development. This thesis compares Irenaeus' pneumatological writings with biblical and patristic texts, and presents the opinions of various Ireanaean scholars, offering either positive comments or academic disagreements on these opinions. Irenaeus' pneumatological thought is presented and evaluated in five particular chapters: The creation and spiritual destiny of humanity; the fall of humanity; the spiritual redemption of humanity; the Church and the Holy Spirit; and eschatology and the Holy Spirit. The final conclusion of the thesis is that the person and the work of the Holy Spirit governed Irenaeus' understanding of most -if not all- other theological concepts. / PhD (Church and Dogma History), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, in association with Greenwich School of Theology, UK, 2011

This thesis attempts to construct a systematic Irenaean Pneumatology, making a contribution in the history of dogma. The aim of this thesis is to develop a theological system, based on the Irenaean writings, that demonstrates that the area of Pneumatology was one of the central constructs in Irenaeus' thought. The methods employed in this thesis are: An evaluation of the data available in the context of Irenaeus' premise in the light of Scripture's presentation; a detailed analysis of literary contributions on the subject; and a research of the patristic thought and how other Church Fathers have identified and interpreted the Spirit's involvement in its development. This thesis compares Irenaeus' pneumatological writings with biblical and patristic texts, and presents the opinions of various Ireanaean scholars, offering either positive comments or academic disagreements on these opinions. Irenaeus' pneumatological thought is presented and evaluated in five particular chapters: The creation and spiritual destiny of humanity; the fall of humanity; the spiritual redemption of humanity; the Church and the Holy Spirit; and eschatology and the Holy Spirit. The final conclusion of the thesis is that the person and the work of the Holy Spirit governed Irenaeus' understanding of most -if not all- other theological concepts. / PhD (Church and Dogma History), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, in association with Greenwich School of Theology, UK, 2011

My study centres on Karl Barth’s pneumatology with special attention to its inseparable relationship with his vision of the Christian life. Many critics say that Barth’s emphasis upon the gracious God revealed in Christ improperly undermined both the role of the Spirit and the importance of human agency. In contrast, my research will demonstrate that it is possible to read Barth as offering a robust Spirit theology, which resulted in rich reflection upon the Christian life. More specifically, my thesis will first examine Barth’s pneumatology within the context of his incomplete doctrine of redemption. I will show that his unique understanding of redemption was largely shaped by his exegesis of Paul’s Spirit theology, in which he developed central pneumatological motifs, including the Spirit’s incorporation of humanity into the intra-divine fellowship, mediation in the form of pneumatic prayer, and the shaping of moral agency. I will, then, examine these redemptive works of the Spirit within a more comprehensive context of his theology, coordinating synchronic and diachronic approaches. In particular, I will read ‘through’ and ‘across’ Barth, tracing underpinning pneumatological themes, with special focus on the three modes of the Spirit’s work in the opera ad extra – the mediation of divine and human logic in revelation, the drawing of creation into God’s self-glorification movement through beauty, and the calling of individuals through community into God’s drama of salvation. In short, unlike criticisms that Barth reduced pneumatology to the subjective possibility of revelation, my study will show that his pneumatology is mainly about our prayerful participation in God, the constitution of human agency and a new vision of the Christian life under the direction of the Spirit.