<p> Peter presents a new exodus framework by inserting throughout the letter quotations and allusions to the OT that reference to the exodus narrative or its theological and eschatological interpretations in Isaiah and selected psalms. Most of these allusions are in key programmatic passages of 1 Peter. Through a redemptive-historical reading of 1 Peter, this thesis seeks to understand Peter's background and motifs. This study carefully examines the structure of 1 Pet 1:1&ndash;2:10 and the function of the OT allusions in their literary context. After analyzing the OT references, this work follows their development in salvation history, beginning in the exodus narratives and then through the Prophets and the Psalms. Finally, we see how the author of 1 Peter applies the Christological fulfillment of such allusions, and what are the eschatological implications for Peter&rsquo;s readers as the new covenant church.</p>

<p> The dissertation explores the Qur&rsquo;anic hermeneutics of Irfan A. Khan (b. 1931), a significant contemporary scholar of the Qur&rsquo;an and modern western philosophy. It demonstrates that Khan&rsquo;s Qur&rsquo;anic hermeneutic is a paradigm shift as compared to classical Qur&rsquo;anic hermeneutic and provides a substantive theory and methodology of Qur&rsquo;anic interpretation. </p><p> For Khan, Qur&rsquo;anic God is perpetually active in new creation and new guidance. Since the sum total of all current existences is new creation, therefore it requires fresh guidance. Therefore, Khan considers the Qur&rsquo;an a primary guide for us, as if it were just revealed. Khan proposes that readers should exert themselves directly to understand the Qur&rsquo;an with their own mind, developing a personal relationship with it. The readers must keep the Sunnah of the Prophet in front of them. The Prophet and his Companions read the Qur&rsquo;an in their existing socio-historic situation, purified themselves, and changed their socio-historic reality. The current readers should also follow the Sunnah in this sense. Finally, for guidance Qur&rsquo;anic God has been systematically guiding humankind through prophets. After the Prophet Muhammad we are in post-prophetic stage. Thus, the Prophetic Movement changed into the Qur&rsquo;anic Movement. Therefore, the responsibility of interpretation rests squarely upon humankind in the absence of any prophet. </p><p> Philosophically speaking humankind&rsquo;s understanding is limited by its epistemic system. The lower bound of our epistemic system is apprehending Reality, but we always fail to apprehend it as an organic whole. The upper limit of our epistemic system is what we can think. Understanding happens between these two bounds. When we understand texts we convert textual symbols into images, manipulate the images, and get insights about the world of the text in front of us. However, it is only when we act upon it that we find the truth of our textual insights. Since our epistemic capacities keep on increasing due to advances in science, technology and the arts, it is possible to understand the same text in a deeper way in future. Thus, Qur&rsquo;anic understanding is a continuous process that requires its new concretization in each historic epoch.</p>

<p> The author of Hebrews is concerned that the persecution of a spiritually immature and discouraged Christian community may cause them to relinquish their mission and lose certain rewards inherent to obedience. He argues that God swears an oath in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 in order to assure his people of the certainty of his promises (Heb. 6:13&ndash;20). He demonstrates that specific elements of the divine oath have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, guaranteeing the eventual consummation of the inaugurated promises of this oath and providing certain benefits that enable Christians to fulfill their divinely appointed mission. These embattled saints can endure attacks from their enemies because Jesus Christ is the anointed king who will utterly defeat his enemies, and he is the promised priest after the order of Melchizedek who grants direct access to his heavenly throne for the power to persevere faithfully in the last days. Therefore, the thesis is that the author of Hebrews views Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 as oaths of God, reassures his audience by proving that God is bringing to completion all the elements of his oaths, and encourages them to take advantage of the benefits provided by God&rsquo;s oaths.</p>

<p> This study created a method for measuring the presence of Christian-voodoo syncretism in three Protestant denominations in the north of Haiti. Estimates of voodoo practice among Christians have ranged from 50% to 75%, a;though it is unclear how these percentages were derived. The researcher created a Voodoo-Protestant Scale (VPS), which tests for the presence of fourteen Christian-voodoo syncretistic practices and fifteen Christian-voodoo syncretistic beliefs. The VPS was written and administered in Creole, but the study contains an English translation. A scoring system for the VPS is also explained in Chapter Three, in which four points are counted for "strongly agree" and two points are counted for "agree" responses to <i>syncretistic practice</i> questions (PQs), and two points are counted for "strongly agree" responses and one point is counted for "agree" responses to <i>syncretistic belief </i> questions (BQs). Zero points were counted for "neutral," "disagree" or "strongly disagree." The VPS therefore had scores that ranged from zero to 88. The VPS allowed the researcher to make determinations about the extent of syncretism within the population (the percentage of the participants) as well as the depth of syncretism for each participant (the VPS score itself). The VPS was administered to 218 individuals who attended churches in the Church of God, Baptist, and Evangelical denominations in four urban areas (Milot, Plaine du Nord, Cap-Haitian Petite-Anse and Vaudreuil) and in three rural areas (Grand Bassin, La Jeune, and Maliarette). First, with respect to extent, the researcher discovered that 212 of 218 participants evidenced some syncretism of some kind (97%)&mdash;only 6 of 218 showed no trace of Christian-voodoo syncretism. Second, with respect to depth, the researcher discovered that 84 of 218 (39%) evidenced low syncretism (VPS scores from 1-14), 94 of 218 (43%) evidenced intermediate-level syncretism (VPS scores from 15&ndash;30), 25 of 218 (11%) evidenced high syncretism (VPS scores from 31&ndash;48), and 9 of 218 (4%) evidenced super-high levels (VPS scores from 50&ndash;88). Thus, these results offer a more nuanced picture of Christian-voodoo syncretism in Haiti. The study concludes with recommendations for church leaders.</p>

<p> Problem: This dissertation investigates the first century Greco-Roman cultural backgrounds and the literary context of the motif of the image of the beast in Rev 13:14, 15, in order to answer the problem of the author&rsquo;s intended meaning of the image of the beast to his first century Greco-Roman readers. Method: There are six steps necessary to accomplish the task of this dissertation. These steps are taken in the form of the exegetical studies which are done in six chapters, respectively. Following the introductory chapter, the second chapter is a brief history of the historical interpretations of the image of the beast in Rev 13:14, 15, starting with the interpretations from scholars of the first three centuries and continuing on to the present. This historical survey in Chapter 2 demonstrates that an in depth exegetical study of the image of the beast is much needed. Chapters 3-6 were an attempt to make up for this deficiency by providing an exegetical study of the image of the beast motif in its original cultural and literary context of the book of Revelation. Chapter 3 is a study of the image-of-the-beast motif within its immediate context of Revelation 13. Chapters 4-6 provide a study of the image-of-the-beast motif in the latter half of Revelation, i.e., Revelation 14-20, with Chapters 4-5 studying the image-of-the-beast motif in the chapters (Revelation 14-16, 19, and 20) in which this term occurs, and Chapter 6 studying this motif in the chapters (Revelation 17, 18) in which this term is absent. Conclusion: As I have come to see it, the narrative of Rev 13:14, 15 depicts the attempt of an unholy trinity to counteract God&rsquo;s goal for the plan of salvation, i.e., the restoration of Imago Dei in human beings in the last days by creating the image of the beast on Earth. The image of the beast is an end time entity, comprised of a community of people who reflect the character of the dragon, and has the three-fold religious-economic-political power to impose false worship on Earth. The image of the beast is best identified with the end time Babylon the Great of chapters 17-18.</p>

<p> The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the question, &ldquo;What is the theological understanding of congregational worship in the Bayside Church of Christ, Virginia Beach, Virginia?&rdquo; The Bayside Church of Christ, Virginia Beach, VA is an independent, middle-size church which is conservative in matters of theology, doctrine, and cultural worldview. The church has experienced healthy membership growth in demographic, racial, and ethnic integration, but faces potential challenges in sustaining congregational worship that reflects its diversity. It was the researcher&rsquo;s concern that the issue was due to the absence of an identifiable, articulated, and implemented theology of congregational worship in the context of the church&rsquo;s changing demographics. The church needed to understand and adapt to its evolving membership diversity so that greater participation, vitality, and mutuality in its congregational worship would be ensured. </p><p> The goal of the ministry project detailed herein was to identify the theology of congregational worship in the Bayside Church of Christ and assess whether authentic participation, vitality, and mutuality reflective of the church&rsquo;s diverse membership exist. It was believed that the church would benefit from a theological understanding and evaluation of its congregational worship in light of the church&rsquo;s diverse nature. The ministry project investigated and assessed the worship beliefs, experiences, and perceptions of the members. Formalized instruction was also offered on the role of diversity, inclusion, and vitality in congregational worship. </p><p> The ministry project concluded that a study of congregational worship in the Bayside Church of Christ led to greater awareness of the existing worship theology being shaped by the congregation&rsquo;s changing ethnicity and demographic makeup. It is believed that increased understanding can in turn increase participation, mutuality, and spiritual growth for the membership. This work is offered in the hopes that the Bayside Church of Christ along with other researchers, church leadership boards, and congregations will benefit from the effort to understand and improve congregational worship in Churches of Christ that possess ethnic, racial, and demographic diversity.</p><p>

<p> Recent writers on the priesthood of all believers have challenged the doctrine&rsquo;s biblical warrant, historical pedigree, and value for contemporary ecclesiology. This dissertation responds to these challenges in three ways. It first identifies the priesthood of all believers as a canonical doctrine based upon the royal priesthood of Christ and closely related to the believer&rsquo;s eschatological temple-service and offering of spiritual sacrifices (Chs. 1&ndash;3). It secondly describes its catholic development by examining three paradigmatic shifts, shifts especially associated with Christendom (Chs. 4&ndash;6) and a suppression of the doctrine&rsquo;s missional component. Finally, the dissertation argues that a Christian doctrine of the priesthood of all believers should be developed with a Christocentric-Trinitarian understanding of the <i> missio Dei</i>. This suggests there are especially appropriate ways for the royal priesthood to relate to the Father (<i>latreia</i>), to the Son (<i>diakonia</i>), and to the Holy Spirit (<i>martyria </i>). A canonically and catholically informed priesthood of all believers leads contextually to particular ecclesial practices. These seven practices are 1) Baptism as public ordination to the royal priesthood; 2) Prayer; 3) <i> Lectio Divina</i>; 4) Ministry; 5) Church Discipline; 6) Proclamation; and 7) the Lord&rsquo;s Supper as the renewal of the royal priesthood.</p>

Thèse (M.A.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2007. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 1 février 2007). In ProQuest dissertations and theses. Publié aussi en version papier.

<p> Theological interpretation of Scripture has been ascendant in recent decades, and theologians and biblical scholars from a variety of backgrounds, areas of expertise, and ecclesial commitments have rallied around it. Increasingly, however, divisions are fraying the heretofore united front against historical criticism's dominance in academic biblical interpretation. This dissertation is an exploration of the reasons for these divisions. Its motivating thesis is that differences in ecclesiology lie behind disagreements about bibliology, which manifest in turn as divergences over theological interpretation. Prior to and operative within judgments about the nature, authority, and interpretation of the Bible stand judgments about the being, mission, and authority of the church. But the relationship between the two is not so linear as that. For the connections between them are direct and materially operative, and only more so when they remain implicit and therefore unexamined. Every account of the Bible both assumes and implies an account of the church, and vice versa: the lines of influence are reciprocal and circular. The Bible is always the church's book, the church always the community under the Bible's authority. </p><p> This dissertation responds, diagnostically and constructively, to this situation through engagement with particular figures. Specifically, it expounds one specific strand of bibliology influenced by the great Protestant theologian Karl Barth: the work, respectively, of John Howard Yoder, Robert Jenson, and John Webster. Each of these theologians is a contemporary Barthian <i> of a sort</i>, a student but not a disciple of the Swiss master. Given Barth's influence over the development of theological interpretation, this commonality is helpful both genetically (all three trace their thought to the&ndash;proximate&ndash;source) and substantively (their proposals share enough to make disagreement intelligible, and interesting). Moreover, Jenson, Webster, and Yoder represent, between them, the three great traditions of western Christendom: catholicism, the magisterial reformation, and the radical reformation. The specific ways in which their ecclesial commitments shape, inform, and at times determine their theological treatments of Scripture provide ideal examples of the phenomenon at issue in this dissertation.</p><p> Across five chapters, the project's principal aim is to demonstrate as well as examine the inseparable relationship between theology of Scripture and theology of the church. Along the way, the positions and proposals represented by Yoder, Jenson, and 'Webster come to light, and critical analysis of each highlights their respective strengths and shortcomings. In fulfilling these tasks the dissertation serves both as an initial reception of these theologians' bibliologies and as a critique of a feature&ndash;at times a problem&ndash;endemic to the current renewal of theological interpretation of Scripture.</p><p>

<p> Ezekiel the Tragedian&rsquo;s Exag&omacr;g&emacr;, a circa second-century BCE play, incorporates Jewish traditions that may associate Moses with resurrection and that describe Moses as having a vision in which he ascends to heaven, where he is elevated above the angels to a cosmic kingship. The extra-biblical traditions in this drama present Moses as more similar to the Jesus of the NT than does the biblical tradition of Moses. New Testament depictions of Jesus&rsquo;s ascent to heaven and portrayals of Jesus through a Moses typology may be influenced by these traditions. This study will focus on traditions represented in the ascent-to-heaven scene (Ezek. Trag. 68&ndash;89) and in the scout&rsquo;s report (Ezek. Trag. 243&ndash;69) and will examine the likely influences of such traditions in the Letter to the Hebrews.</p><p>