The concept of meaning-as-correspondence is developed and employed to demonstrate how in the modern period the meaning of a narrative is conceived as a separate entity from the narrative itself. Meaning-as-correspondence is manifest in three modes: (1) as a referent to which a narrative points, (2) as an object that a narrative describes or (3) as a content that a narrative contains. As a preunderstanding of narrative, meaning-as-correspondence eclipses the power of narrative. The enervating effect of meaning-as-correspondence on the interpretation of the gospels is demonstrated. The work of the Mythical School, D. F. Strauss and R. Bultmann is assessed. All employed a concept of myth to the gospels which presupposed that the meaning of the gospels was a separate entity from the narrative. Members of the Mythical School conceived of meaning as an ideal or historical content. Strauss understood the gospels as mythical representations of a philosophical content which must be speculatively rendered into the language of idealism. Bultmann believed that the gospels referred to the early church's proclamation of the gospel, the kerygma. The concept of meaning-as-performance is presented as a way to re-conceive meaning as an event which occurs through narrative performance. The critical tools of narrative criticism are employed to understand the way gospel narratives are structured for the experience of reading/hearing. Reader-response criticism shifts attention from the objective critical plane to the pragmatic or rhetorical plane. The story of Jesus' healing of the blind beggar is used as a test case by which to contrast the methods of Strauss and Bultmann with a performative approach.

Ezekiel's Wheel is a tone poem based on the experience of the prophet Ezekiel, as told in the Old Testament. The piece deals with the moment of his vision and the sensations during the course of his experience. The piece manifests itself through an opening chord which is a combination of major, minor and half-diminished triads which are stacked and inverted. Various bits of detail from the desert setting and the vision itself are interspersed through the winds, strings and percussion.

Wolfhart Pannenberg and Karl Rahner argue for an "opening" of theology to broader intellectual input. The similarity of their positions derives from the foundational status accorded anthropology and from common opposition to literal, supernatural and positivist interpretations of Christianity. The critique of Neo-orthodoxy and Neo-Thomism that they reduce theology to anthropology is unjustified. Their anthropologies show a marked difference which derives from two sources. Pannenberg and Rahner have different conceptions of theology's task: Pannenberg writes apologetics for a non-Christian academic audience; Rahner writes philosophical dogmatics for Christians. Pannenberg interrogates secular anthropology for its Biblical foundation. Rahner embraces a Christian anthropology founded upon the experience of grace. Secondly, their doctrines of eternal life evidence their philosophical heritage. Rahner applies the conception of transcendental subjectivity found in Marechal's and Heidegger's reinterpretations of Kant to basic Thomistic commitments. Pannenberg accepts Hegel's understanding of reality as historical expression. This difference in orientation accounts for the underlying structural differences which surface in the individual components of their doctrines of eternal life. Rahner focuses on the hiddenness of transcendental subjectivity; Pannenberg on the unity and expressiveness of history. Rahner links eternity to an analytic of human freedom: eternity is the fruit of time. For Rahner, the surplus of meaning which supports the Christian hope lies hidden in the depths of the experience of grace. Pannenberg begins with time and builds a doctrine of eternity as the unity of history with Hegel's temporalized interpretation of the part/whole distinction. The modern concept of reason implicitly anticipates the whole of eternity. For Rahner, the real is the creative ground behind appearance, an impenetrable mystery which manifests itself in categorical determinations. Truth is disclosure of the transcendental conditions which underlie experience. For Pannenberg, the appearance of the entire temporal span provides the content of eternity. Truth is the coherence and coordination of historical appearances. For Pannenberg, the surplus of meaning upon which the Christian hope is dependent lies in the future. Reality is incomplete and truth provisional until the end of history. Rahner focuses on the vertical dimension of reality; Pannenberg on the horizontal.

This dissertation investigates the representation of personal religious experience in the letters of Paul, seeking insight into the nature of the phenomena attested there, and into the communicative purpose of his experiential references. The study aims at helping to redress a habitual scholarly neglect of testimonies to subjective experience in the New Testament, and in ancient religious texts, generally. The thesis combines socio-rhetorical readings of selected Pauline texts with analysis of the resulting experiential data, through contemporary cognitive and ritual theory, and through anthropological models for the comparative study of religious practitioners and practices. In particular, the systematic application of the comprehensive analytical model of divergent "modes of religiosity," by anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse, enhances the comparative project. Whitehouse distinguishes between "doctrinal" and "imagistic" religious practices, involving twelve distinguishing variables, some cognitive, and others socio-political in nature. One central variable is the inverse relationship of sensory pageantry to ritual frequency, which he relates to corresponding differences in ritually mediated subjective experience, building on the prior insights of ritual theorists Robert McCauley and Thomas Lawson. Whitehouse's robust synthesis of social-pragmatic and cognitive-experiential factors strengthens this thesis' central claim that Pauline texts are intentional, competent evocations of meaningful, potentially shared religious experiences.The first main argument of this thesis is therefore that Paul's rhetoric in 1 Corinthians 12 -14 can best be understood as addressing a situation marked by the tension between "doctrinal" and "imagistic" concerns and practices, and that such a reading affords fresh insights into the nature of some of the charismata mentioned by Paul, and particularly of practices of inspired speech in the Corinthian church. The second principal argument concerns various other experiential phenomena in Paul's letters, including visions, altered states of consciousness (or ecstasy), and spiritual indwelling and empowerment. I contend that such phenomena, as attested by Paul, can be more fruitfully studied with the help of Max Weber's "ideal type" of the Charismatic, which has considerable congruence with Whitehouse's theoretical conceptions, than with other models (favoured by some scholars) from the anthropology of religion, especially those of the Shaman or the Medium.Overall, this study seeks to better establish the legitimacy of an experientially focused scholarly investigation of Paul's letters, in light of that author's evident and consistent confidence in what I call the "communicativity" of personal religious experience. / Cette thèse étudie les représentations de l'expérience religieuse personnelle dans les lettres de Paul en essayant de mieux cerner la nature des phénomènes qui y sont évoqués et l'objectif que poursuit leur auteur en y faisant référence. L'enquête voudrait contribuer à corriger une omission fréquente dans l'étude universitaire des témoignages d'expérience subjective dans le Nouveau Testament et dans les textes religieux anciens en général. La thèse marie une lecture socio-rhétorique des textes pauliniens à l'analyse des données expérientielles qui s'en dégagent, en faisant appel à la théorie contemporaine du rituel et de la connaissance et à des modèles anthropologiques pour l'étude comparée des praticiens religieux et des pratiques religieuses. Plus particulièrement, l'application systématique du modèle d'analyse globale des « modes de religiosité » divergents, élaboré par l'anthropologue Harvey Whitehouse, soutient le projet comparatiste. Whitehouse distingue entre pratiques religieuses « doctrinales » et « iconistes» [imagistic] en fonction de douze variables, les unes d'ordre cognitif, d'autres de nature sociopolitique. Une variable fondamentale a trait au rapport inverse entre cérémonial sensoriel et fréquence du rite, qu'il rattache à des différences correspondantes dans l'expérience subjective médiatisée par le rite, en se fondant sur les idées des théoriciens du rite que sont Robert McCauley et Thomas Lawson. La solide synthèse qu'opère Whitehouse entre les facteurs sociaux pragmatiques, d'une part, et les facteurs cognitifs expérientiels, de l'autre, renforce l'idée centrale de notre thèse selon laquelle les textes pauliniens sont des évocations compétentes et délibérées d'expériences religieuses porteuses de sens et susceptibles d'être partagées.Le premier grand point de la thèse pose donc que la rhétorique de Paul en 1 Corinthiens 12 -14 doit d'abord être comprise à la lumière de la tension entre préoccupations et pratiques « doctrinales » et « iconistes », et qu'une lecture de ce genre jette une lumière neuve sur la nature de certains des charismata cités par Paul, notamment sur la nature des pratiques de discours inspiré dans l'église de Corinthe. Le deuxième grand point porte sur différents autres phénomènes expérientiels dans les lettres de Paul, dont les visions, les phénomènes de conscience altérée (extase) ou le fait de se dire habité (indwelling) ou habilité (empowerment) par l'Esprit. Je soutiens que de tels phénomènes, attestés par Paul, gagneraient à être étudiés à la lumière du « type idéal » du charismatique chez Max Weber, qui a une plus forte congruence avec la théorie de Whitehouse qu'avec d'autres modèles (préférés par certains universitaires) tirés de l'anthropologie de la religion, ceux du chaman et du médium.En somme, cette étude cherche à mieux fonder la légitimité d'une étude universitaire des lettres de Paul qui soit axée sur l'expérientiel, à la lumière de sa confiance évidente et constante en ce que j'appelle la « communicabilité » [communicativity] de l'expérience religieuse personnelle.

Given the sheer volume of scholarship which has been devoted to examining Paul and his congregations, it is surprising that so little attention has been paid to what the texts portray as the apostle's main concern: not what his congregations were in any 'objective', historical sense, but what they were 'in Christ'. / Building on this observation, my thesis may be stated as follows. Traditional Pauline studies, with their emphases either on the apostle's thought or on his congregations' historical situation, obscure the importance of the 'church in the work', a reality established in the text, structured to engender change, and made real rhetorically for readers. / These, then, are some of the questions posed: What influence should an awareness of Paul's hortatory, theological image of his congregations have on our efforts to reconstruct them historically? May the well-known Pauline 'indicative-imperative' be taken as a rhetorical strategy? And: In what way does the text try to make its portrayal the definitive reality lived out by its readers? / The focus of this thesis is on Paul's congregations as the letters indicated 'they should be', and on the linkage this vision in the letters provides between theology and history, author and reader.

Historians working with texts often experience a tension in their work. On the one hand there are questions raised by ancient documents. On the other, limited data makes it impossible to answer these questions with certainty. Second Peter illustrates both phenomena and as a result there is a proliferation of theories about its origin. It is used therefore as a test case in this dissertation which is primarily concerned with historical methodology. Scholars have questioned the authorship of 2 Peter since at least the second century and there remains to this day no consensus about such issues as date of composition, provenance, and destination. In short, fixing a precise historical location for 2 Peter is impossible because of a lack of evidence. To compensate for such historical gaps, scholarship has developed various theories that allow for tentative conclusions about where this and other writings best fit within early Christianity. / In many cases literary parallels have played a role in both developing and defending such theories. By observing similarities between texts (and put negatively, by observing how texts differ from one another---the absence of parallels) a variety of conclusions may be reached: one writing borrowed from another, writings that share a theological perspective belong to the same period of history, writings derive from a school, and so on. / This dissertation analyses several examples of how 2 Peter specifically is located using parallels as a basis. It is argued for a number of reasons that this 'tool' is not reliable and so, to assist with historical research, a series of criteria are given. These are provided as guidelines to help historians evaluate literary parallels and also to safeguard against inappropriate conclusions based on them. With respect to 2 Peter, it is argued that firm answers are out of reach for various questions given the available data.

The present thesis examines the rhetorical interaction of the narrative (5.21-43; 7.24-30; 9.14-29) and discursive (9.33-37; 10.13-16) instances of child language in Mark, and analyzes how and to what effect Markan child language is figured rhetorically to address distinctly the elite and non-elite tiers of the Gospel's double audience, according to Henderson's dual audience theory. It argues that the narrative child healings construct an inscribed conception of the child and the parent-child relationship that exerts a controlling influence over the reading/hearing experience of the more explicitly argumentative child discourses. This approach seeks to clarify Mark's persuasive project of advancing, on the one hand, a self-sacrificial form of community leadership addressed to proto-Christian elites, and, on the other, an intimate form of personal devotion to Christ, addressed to non-elites. In doing so, I hope to contribute to the growing discussions concerning the nature and understanding of children and childhood in the ancient world and in early Christianity, the make-up of the Markan audience, and the power dynamics and differentials of the proto-Christian community projected by the Gospel. / La présente thèse examine la rhétorique qui sous-tend les cas narratifs (de 5,21 à 43; de 7,24 à 30; de 9,14 à 29) et discursifs (9,33 à 37; de 10,13 à 16) dans la langue de Marc portant sur les enfants, et analyse comment et dans quelle mesure la langue Marcan relative aux enfants est présentée comme rhétorique pour s'adresser clairement aux niveaux élites et non-élites de la double audience à laquelle s'adresse l'Évangile, en se fondant sur la théorie développée par Henderson. La thèse soutient que les récits de guérisons d'enfants favorisent la construction d'une conception inscrite de l'enfant et de la relation parent-enfant, et que cette conception exerce une influence déterminante sur la lecture / l'audition des discours formellement argumentatifs. Cette approche cherche à clarifier le projet persuasif de Marc visant à promouvoir, d'une part, une forme de leadership communautaire fondé sur le sacrifice de soi qui cible les élites proto-chrétiennes, et d'une autre part, une forme intime de dévotion personnelle au Christ s'adressant aux non-élites. J'espère, de cette façon, contribuer au débat d'idées croissant sur la nature et la compréhension des enfants et de l'enfance dans le monde ancien et à l'aube du christianisme, sur la formation de l'audience Marcan, puis sur les dynamiques du pouvoir et des clivages au sein de la communauté proto-chrétienne projetée par l'Évangile.

This work examines the patterns inherent to the understanding of the nature of the forbidden fruit in an attempt to demonstrate parallels between the reasoning of biblical interpreters, on one hand, and of artists, on the other. / While the biblical text, in Gen. 2:16-17, offers an abstract portrayal by vaguely employing the word "fruit," visual representations inevitably present a more concrete and less generic image by illustrating a specific fruit. / My research presents this phenomenon of abstraction and concretization through five chapters that exhibit the juxtaposition of the biblical text to its illustration: first, the representation of the Garden of Eden; second, the portrayal of the two trees, the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life; third, the presence of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in those visual depictions; fourth, its absence; and fifth, typological references to the Forbidden Fruit within New Testament scenes. / Cet ouvrage examine les motifs inhérents à la compréhension de la nature du fruit défendu en tentant de démontrer des parallèles entre le raisonnement des interprètes bibliques d'un côté, et celui des artistes de l'autre. / Alors que le texte biblique de la Genèse 2:16-17 offre une représentation abstraite en employant vaguement le mot «fruit», les représentations visuelles, elles, présentent inévitablement une image plus concrète et moins générique en illustrant un fruit spécifique. / Ma recherche présente ce phénomène d'abstraction et de concrétisation à travers cinq chapitres qui manifestent la juxtaposition entre le texte biblique et son illustration: en premier, la représentation du Jardin d'Éden; en second, l'image des deux arbres, l'Arbre de la Connaissance et l'Arbre de la Vie; en troisième, la présence du Fruit de l'Arbre de la Connaissance dans ces représentations visuelles; en quatrième, son absence; et en cinquième, les références typologiques du Fruit Défendu à travers des scènes du Nouveau Testament.

The aim of this paper is to introduce the reader to Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's Derech Hashem and Luzzatto's thought process. It begins with an analysis of the introduction to the work and then examines three major themes: Fundamentals, Prophecy, and the importance of the Shema prayer. Where applicable, comparisons will be made to other Jewish thinkers. Themes will be explained within the Kabbalistic framework that influenced Luzzatto's work. By the end of the paper the reader should be able to grasp the key elements and reasons that inspired Luzzatto to write this book. / Le but de ce document est de présenter le lecteur processus de Moshe Chaim Luzzatto de Derech Hashem et de Luzzatto à pensée. Il commence par une analyse de l'introduction au travail et puis examine trois thèmes importants : Principes fondamentaux, prophétie, et l'importance de la prière de Shema. Là où applicables, des comparaisons seront faites à d'autres penseurs juifs. Des thèmes seront expliqués dans le cadre de Kabbalistic que le travail de Luzzatto influencé. Vers la fin du papier le lecteur devrait pouvoir saisir les éléments clé et les raisons qui a inspiré Luzzatto écrire ce livre.

The Mishnah depends on the Bible for its authority, vocabulary, and much of its contents. Nearly six hundred Bible citations are distributed in fifty-three of the Mishnah's tractates and are quoted from all but six biblical books. Most citations are from the Torah and are used for proof-texting. The Mishnah uses thousands of words derived from or related to the Bible (e.g., Shabbat, Peah, Kohen). Its content is unquestionably tied to that of the Bible (e.g., Seder Moed is based on the discussions of the various holy days in Exodus). Finally, the Mishnah contains multiple discussions of Biblical characters and events, of Bible reading, interpretation, and teaching. / The works of Georg Aicher, Samuel Rosenblatt, Peter Acker Pettit, and Jacob Neusner help examine the Bible-Mishnah relationship. The first three discuss the use of Bible citation in the Mishnah. Neusner uses form-analysis to examine its historical development and describes the Mishnah by viewing it as a whole. Our approach, an examination of the Mishnah's details, is more in line with those of Aicher, Rosenblatt, and Pettit. The dependence of the Mishnah on the Bible is demonstrated by examining the distribution and use of Bible citations, comparing the content of the Mishnah to that of the Bible, and analyzing various Mishnaic passages.