This thesis situates Matthew's interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures within a Jewish setting. I argue that Matthew uses a Jewish technique that I call 'thematic association'. The technique involves using scriptural quotations to point to themes in the quotations' original scriptural contexts. Evoking the themes facilitates implicit interpretations of the unquoted scriptural contexts. I begin by identifying examples of thematic association in the Dead Sea Scrolls to show how thematic association is used. This discussion not only illustrates the process of implied interpretation, but it also shows that thematic association was used by Jewish sources before the Gospel of Matthew. It is, of course, one matter to show a precedent, but another to demonstrate that Matthew actually uses the technique. To that end, I will attempt to show that Matthew's narrative exhibits the same technique. I argue that Matthew uses thematic association when quoting from the Hebrew Scriptures to point to themes in unquoted parts of the scriptures, implying that these themes are relevant to events during Jesus' life. I analyze Matthew's quotations of Isa 7:14, Mic 5:2, Hos 11:1, Jer 31:15, Deut 8:3, Isa 9:1-2, Isa 53:4, Isa 42:1-4, Ps 78, and Ps 22. Comparing themes in these quotations' contexts to themes in Matthew reveals Matthew's use of thematic association.

abstract: This dissertation project addresses one of the most critical problems in the study of religion: how do scriptures acquire significance in religious communities in ways that go beyond the meaning of their words? Based on data collected during ethnographic work in Maharashtra, India, in 2011 and 2012, I analyze the complex relationship between a religious text and its readers with reference to ritual reading of the <italics>Gurucaritra, a Marathi scripture written in the sixteenth century. I argue that readers of the <italics>Gurucaritra create a self-actualized modern religiosity both by interpreting the content of the text and by negotiating the rules of praxis surrounding their reading activity. In particular, this dissertation analyzes the ways in which members of the Dattatreya tradition in urban Maharashatra ritualize their tradition's central text-- the <italics>Gurucaritra--in terms of everyday issues and concerns of the present. Taking inspiration from reader-response criticism, I focus on the <italics> pArAyaN; (reading the entire text) of the <italics>Gurucaritra, the central scripture of the Dattatreya tradition, in the context of its contemporary readings in Maharashtra. In the process of reading the <italics>Gurucaritra, readers become modern by making a conscious selection from their tradition. In the process of approaching their tradition through the text, what they achieve is a sense of continuity and a faith that, if they have the support of the guru, nothing can go wrong. In the process of choosing elements from their tradition, they ultimately achieve a sense of being modern individuals who work out rules of religiosity for themselves. This dissertation contributes to the study of scriptures in two major ways: first, by bringing forth how religious communities engage with scriptures for reasons other than their comprehension; second, by showing how scriptures can play a crucial role in religious communities in the context of addressing concerns of their present. Thus, this research contributes to the fields of scripture studies, Hinduism, and literary criticism. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Religious Studies 2014

In John 5:39-40 we see a dividing line being drawn over the proper interpretation of “the Scriptures” between the Jewish leaders of the first century and the early Christians of the Johannine community. Both parties agreed that “searching the Scriptures” was essential; however, the two groups disagreed about the nature with which one was to “search the Scriptures” and how one was to possess or lay hold of this eternal life. “The Jews” viewed eternal life as a birthright that was maintained by rigorous study of the law and strict observance of its principles. The study of the law became an end in itself. The Christians of the Johannine community, on the other hand, believed that eternal life was only granted as gift when a person comes to the one of whom the Scriptures testified, Jesus Christ. Eternal life was neither a birthright nor something that could be merited, but rather a gift given to those who truly “search the Scriptures” and truly see the one who they are written of. This disagreement between the Johannine community and the first century Jewish leadership is a reflection of the division between Jesus and the Jewish leaders during his day as well as a reflection of the division between Christians and Jews in our day. But perhaps more importantly, it is a reflection of the complacent attitude that pervades much of the church today. The words of this passage are a warning or wake-up call to us all. We must be careful not to presume that eternal life is ours because of any merit or association. We must be careful to search “the Scriptures” with our eyes wide open and without presuppositions that will hinder of from discerning its true meaning. But most importantly, we must look to the one of whom these “Scriptures” testify, Jesus Christ. If we truly want to live, as we assume all men do, then we must do what is necessary to inherit eternal life. We must heed the words of “the Scriptures” and we must heed Jesus’ words: we must come to Jesus who alone is the source of eternal life. This begins and ends with proper interpretation of the Word of God. / Dissertation (MA (New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / New Testament Studies / MA / unrestricted

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This paper summarizes a design project entitled "Social Scriptures" completed for the AudioVisual Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The Church). The purpose of the design project was to prototype a web-based computer application that could be used by Church members to study the scriptures in an online social context. Originally, the project was designed to be a part of the Facebook Application Platform in order to leverage both the extensive existing social connections of Church members as well as deliver the application in a setting where many Church members already spend a good deal of their time. Through the cyclic design processes of feedback and evaluation, the project was later generalized to not necessarily depend on the Facebook Platform, but rather create a system from the existing member account information coupled with scriptural content that can function inside of a social network or on its own. The evolution of the design process towards using a rapid prototyping methodology allowed for quick revisions, lower stakes testing, and more overall flexibility in the design. The various stages of the design process, including revisions and prototypes, are shown and discussed in this paper.

The purpose of this thesis is to bring to light and to assemble the history of formal religious instruction by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alberta, Canada, for the period 1890 to 1960.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:27:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Eduardo Bueno Fraguas.pdf: 1282545 bytes, checksum: 31db7b08c8ee2d594216959da9df29c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-10 / The concept of witness (martyr) has enhanced throughout history. This term has been habitually utilized both inside civilian and religious environment, however for Christian language, its root is of the essence of what is "bear witness"; in particular, what presents the Gospel. This paper presents a reflection on the concept of witness and its evolution, beginning with the development of this term in Greek culture, from the Old Testament and Jewish culture to reach the New Testament. The center of this reflection is the Gospel of John, with a focus on chapter 19 verse 35: And he who has seen has borne witness . This has been presented by Johannine Tradition and posteriorly by Church History development. The testimony is the key to biblical language and therefore also becomes something essential for today´s Christians / O conceito de testemunha (mártir) se desenvolveu de diversas formas ao longo da história. Este termo é utilizado comumente nos ambientes civis e religiosos, porém, para a linguagem cristã a sua radicalidade está na essência do que é ser testemunha , em especial, naquilo que apresenta o Evangelho. Este trabalho visa apresentar uma reflexão sobre o conceito de testemunha e sua evolução, iniciando com o desenvolvimento desse termo na cultura grega, passando pelo Antigo Testamento e cultura judaica até chegar ao Novo Testamento. O centro desta reflexão é o Evangelho de João, com um foco no versículo 35 do capítulo 19: E o que viu testemunha . Isso baseado no que é apresentado pela Tradição Joanina e, posteriormente, seu desenvolvimento na História da Igreja. O testemunho é algo fundamental para linguagem bíblica e, por isso, se torna também algo necessário para a vivência cristã na atualidade

Amphiloque d’Iconium contribue à l’élaboration de la théologie du 4ème siècle en précisant la terminologie christologique, en particulier avec l’expression «un Fils et deux natures». Selon Amphiloque, la nature humaine du Christ est «passible, mortelle et intelligible». La nature divine est «impassible, immortelle et invisible». Le Logos de Dieu, affirme Amphiloque, a été enfanté «à cause de l’Économie». Selon l’expression propre d’Amphiloque, «le Logos de Dieu est né charnellement, pour que nous soyons réengendrés spirituellement». Il a supporté la forme d’esclave, pour que nous profitions de la gloire de la filiation. Pour Amphiloque, le Père est «incréé» et le «le créateur de toutes choses», le Fils «a été engendré hors du temps et sans principe» et «existe depuis toujours avec le Père selon la divinité» et l’Esprit, Amphiloque dit qu’Il «procède de Dieu le Père éternellement». Amphiloque parle clairement de la coexistence éternelle de trois personnes divines, de l’incréé du Père, de l’engendrement du Fils et de la procession de l’Esprit. / Amphilochius of Iconium contributes to the development of the 4th century’s theology by specifying the Christological terminology, especially with the phrase "one Son and two natures". According to Amphilochius, the human nature of Christ is "liable, deadly and intelligible". The divine nature is "impassible, immortal and invisible". According to Amphilochius, the Logos of God was engendered "because of the Economy".According to the particular expression of Amphilochius, "the Logos of God was born carnally, so as we will be regenerated spiritually". Christ put on the form of a slave, so that we can take advantage of the glory of adoption.For Amphilochius, the Father is "uncreated", "the creator of all things", the Son "was created out oftime and without principle" and "has always existed with the Father according to the divinity" and the Holy Spirit, Amphilochius says that It "eternally proceeds from the Father". Amphilochius speaks clearly for the eternal coexistence of the three divine persons, for the uncreated of the Father, the begotten of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:48:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vitor Augusto Andrade Albiero.pdf: 857839 bytes, checksum: c0e25238fa968155fb8e8ec30b5b6310 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-24 / Francis Schaeffer is considered by many one of the greatest Christians of the 20th century. Upset by the divorce between nature and grace provoked by the preeminence of irrationality contained in contemporary thought, the author encounters the decline and lack of hope that imprint the modern man regarding the concept of objective and universal truth. In defiance of this very declaration, Francis Schaeffer tries to rescue the balance that should involve the elements in the relation faith and reason without, however, inclining towards rationalisms nor even, on the other hand, toward a religious existentialism. Verifying the crisis and dilemma in which the modern man finds himself in philosophy, arts, general culture and theology, engendered by the respective abandonment of universal concepts and by the adoption of a post-modern perspective of a fragmented reality, Francis Schaeffer proposes a confrontation of this crisis from an epistemic source found only in the Sacred Scriptures. Herewith, the objective of this research is to demonstrate that the author tries to compose his proposed solution exclusively aligned with the Biblical Christianity, keeping in mind the influence that he received from the presupposition and principles of the reformed thought. Thus, one tries to identify how Francis Schaeffer applies the reformed view regarding the unified field of knowledge in his diagnosis and proposal for confronting the paradigm crisis, to the point of claiming the inexistence of the epistemological crisis for the reformers, as well as for the biblical. Nonetheless, in order to solve the actual epistemological crisis in which the modern man finds himself, the author highlights the vital and imperious importance regarding the epistemic response emerging from the reformed concept of Biblical Revelation, which ends up, wherefore, offering an answer equally metaphysical and moral, also necessary for dissolving the paradigm crisis. / Francis Schaeffer é considerados por muitos um dos maiores cristãos do século XX. Contrariado com o divórcio entre a natureza e a graça , provocado pela preeminência da irracionalidade que envolve o pensamento contemporâneo, o autor se depara com o declínio e a desesperança que marcam o homem moderno quanto ao conceito de verdade objetiva e universal. Em oposição a esta constatação própria, Francis Schaeffer busca resgatar o equilíbrio que deve envolver os elementos da relação fé e razão sem, contudo, inclinar-se para o racionalismo ou, por outro lado, polarizar-se para o existencialismo religioso. Ao constatar a crise e dilema em que o homem moderno se encontra nas áreas da filosofia, artes, cultura geral, e teologia, gerados pelo abandono do conceito de universais e pela adoção da perspectiva pós-moderna da realidade fragmentada, Francis Schaeffer propõe o enfrentamento desta crise a partir da fonte epistêmica encontrada somente nas Escrituras Sagradas. Deste modo, é objetivo desta pesquisa demonstrar que o autor compõe sua proposta de solução exclusivamente pautada no Cristianismo Bíblico tendo em vista a influência que recebeu dos pressupostos e princípios do pensamento reformado. Assim, busca-se identificar como Francis Schaeffer aplica a visão reformada acerca do campo unificado do conhecimento em seu diagnóstico e proposta de enfrentamento da crise de paradigmas, a ponto de afirmar a inexistência da crise epistemológica para os reformadores, bem como para os cristãos bíblicos. Todavia, a fim de solucionar a atual tensão epistemológica em que o homem moderno se encontra, o autor ressalta a importância imprescindível e imperiosa quanto à resposta epistêmica partir do conceito reformado de Revelação Bíblica, o que acaba, por conseguinte, fornecendo igualmente a resposta metafísica e moral, também necessárias para o esvanecendo da crise de paradigmas.

Background: This thesis aims to show that the narratives of the Nag Hammadi Apocalypse of Pauland First Apocalypse of James are written for a Valentinian audience. The purpose is to broaden the field of research on Valentinianism by showing how the authors and their implied readers composed and perceived the texts in question. Method: Comparing the mythological language of the two narratives and their description of a hero’s journey in a transcendent reality it is possible to disentangle the Valentinian material from the imaginative world of the reader, a world consisted of ancient Egyptian and Greek mythology as well as Jewish apocalypticism and early Christian legends and traditions. The texts are also compared with new research in the field, other related Valentinian scriptures, the New Testament, and Christian Apocrypha. Results: The texts are pseudepigraphic and written within a Jewish apocalyptic genre sometime during the late second or early third century. The symbolism and the diverse metaphors of the narratives indicate that the texts incorporate a specific soteriological message through embedded Valentinian mythology. The implied reader is to understand that the material world is an illusion and that the purpose of the initiate is to awaken the mind and acquire knowledge about the truth. By doing so the redemption of the believer’s spirit from its human body and soul leads to the spirits reunion with God. Conclusion: The analysis of the texts points toward the fact that the narratives could very well have been used for catechetical or other educational purposes within a Valentinian community. The language and form of the two narratives fit to serve this purpose. In many ways, the reader has to be initiated within a Valentinian context in order to grasp the intended message. / <p>Godkännande datum 2019-06-10</p>