<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>

The figure of David in the narratives of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles has inspired and fascinated writers, artists and the devout since ancient times. They have been drawn by the complexity of the character, presented as chosen by Yahweh to be king of Israel, exhibiting strong traits of leadership, but as beset by weaknesses in human relationships. Can an "historic" David be discovered amidst the several characterizations? While a definitive answer is not possible, the recognition that the narratives contain differing characterizations frees the student to distinguish between elements that are common, such as David's blamelessness before Yahweh, and those that are unique to certain stories, such as David's anointing by Samuel. / A review of the biblical scholarship on these narratives is followed by a chapter on modern sociological-ethnographic studies of the early Israelite monarchy. The efforts of several scholars to apply modern literary approaches to biblical narrative focuses on the analysis of characterization in literature. (An Appendix presents a review of the work of Russian Formalists and French Structuralist narratologists.) Finally, eight fairly distinct characterizations of David are analyzed in the narratives, according to the degree of human traits presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-03, Section: A, page: 0963. / Major Professor: John F. Priest. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

<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>

No description available.

This dissertation argues that the apostle Paul represents Jesus as the founding hero of the Galatian churches, through whose death the Galatians enter into the inheritance of Abraham and obtain protection from the curse of the law. It draws on the typology of Greek founder cult and the poetics of colonization in order to establish the salient features of hero stories and founder cult, then shows through exegesis and comparison how Galatians reflects those features. "Poetics" refers to certain shared and idealised practices of remembrance that are grounded in broader traditions and rituals, specifically the traditions and rituals associated with the ancient, ongoing practice of worshipping heroes, commonly known as hero cult, and the closely related practice of honouring civic founders, also called founder cult. The death of the founder plays a critical role in ancient Greek colonization stories, both by marking the independence of the colony from the mother city and by linking the citizens of the newly independent city to the past through the cyclical performance of rituals established by or for the founder. In Galatians 1–2 Paul represents himself as a tomb-that-signifies Jesus and a sign for the Galatians to read. / Cette thèse soutient que le récit autobiographique de l'apôtre Paul dans Galates 1–2 s'appuie sur la même poétique ancienne de la colonization qui influence l'histoire de Tlepolemos, le fondateur de Rhodes, comme raconté dans la Septième ode olympique de Pindare. «Poétique» se réfère à certaines pratiques partagées et idéalisées du souvenir qui sont ancrées dans les traditions et les rituels plus larges—à savoir, les traditions et les rituels associés à la pratique ancienne et constante d'adorer les héros, aussi connue comme le culte de héro, et la pratique intimement liée d'honorer les fondateurs civiques, aussi appelée le culte fondateur. La mort du fondateur joue un rôle essentiel dans les histoires anciennes de la colonization grecque comme la Septième ode olympique, à la fois en marquant l'indépendance de la colonie de la ville mère et en liant les citoyens de la ville nouvellement indépendante au passé, à travers la performance cyclique de rituels établis par ou pour le fondateur. L'héroïsation du fondateur représente donc un tournant dans la vie d'une colonie. De même, dans Galates 1-2, Paul raconte une histoire de fondation qui se termine avec sa mort. Dans le récit, c'est son propre corps qui devient un tombeau, un tournant, et un signe à lire pour les Galates.

In this thesis I attempt to demonstrate that the so-called "Johannine problem" is deeply involved in the hermeneutical issues of concealing and revealing, secrecy and mystery. Thus, the "Johannine problem" is re-constituted in a narrative that deconstructs unity and coherence through a dynamic process of concealing and disclosure, disclosure and concealing. With that as the operating thesis, it follows that the goal of this project is to demonstrate that the Gospel of John resists interpretation and understanding when read on its own terms. In Chapter 1 Johannine secrecy is placed in the context of the work of William Wrede who first introduced the notion of secrecy into gospel studies, and in doing so, raised the issue of understanding in biblical hermeneutics. When Wrede applied the secrecy motif to the Fourth Gospel, he concluded that the notion of Jesus as a bringer of truth and light is not fully sustained in the narrative of John's Gospel as an unbroken whole, or as a closely conceived idea. In Chapter 2 Rudolf Bultmann's hermeneutic and exposition of the Fourth Gospel is presented as an example of one who has astutely perceived the central issues with which a specifically modern program for biblical interpretation must wrestle; that is, the alien character of the world views represented in biblical texts. Bultmann observed how the tension between concealing and revealing is implicated in the mythological language used by the Fourth Evangelist. Bultmann, however, was preoccupied with the existential categories of Martin Heidegger and thus missed the turn when Heidegger moved toward a hermeneutic of language. It is only when language is thought of as the disclosure of being that religious texts can be thought of as "vehicles of revelation." In Chapter 3 Martin Heidegger's hermeneutic of concealing and revealing is introduced through his concept of aletheia, or truth as the interplay between concealing and revealing. It is this concept which provides the cornerstone of this thesis. In Heidegger's terms, secrecy is the ground of revelation. Heidegger's philosophical categories open new possibilities for reading gospel narratives because the tension between concealing and revealing is now considered as a hermeneutical obstacle to full disclosure and understanding. Thus, what gospel narratives reveal is also withdrawn again into concealment, thus making the valid interpretation sought by traditional critics extremely difficult to achieve. In the final two chapters of this thesis the Prologue of the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1-18) and the story of the trial of Jesus before Pilate (John 18:28-19:16a) are examined as test cases for the hermeneutic developed by Heidegger. Using Heidegger's hermeneutical categories I show that the Gospel of John is as much a story about concealing as it is about revelation. The narrative pushes toward the full disclosure of Jesus as the truth and the light, but this revelation takes place in concealing. Revelation is promised, but the promise is left unfulfilled. Truth is disclosed in the person of Jesus, and then qualified in ways that leave the reader in doubt about the nature of truth. In the final analysis, this thesis argues that the Gospel of John victimizes the reader by undermining meaning, concealing revelation, and preventing disclosure in ways unforeseen by either traditional historical criticism or the newer literary criticism.