abstract: "The Wicked Man's Portion" uses crime writing as a means to measure modernity in early America. Crime writing does things all too familiarly "modern"; it imagines audiences in need of moral instruction, citizens questioning the decisions of those in power, and men and women seeking reassurance that their community was safe, just, and moral. Crime writing pries open the dialectic between the expectations of authority and individuals' experiences. What emerges is the concept of a moral citizen, a self-reliant individual sharing responsibility for a well-ordered community. The first chapter examines typological interpretations of scripture in execution sermons revealing the interrelation between religion and law. Chapters two and three focus on the interaction between criminal law and beliefs in the supernatural; chapter two looks at supernatural crimes and forensic methods, such as those surrounding witch trials, and chapter three examines arguments for capital punishment that hinged upon divine involvement in human affairs. The fourth chapter discusses gallows publications' functions in the public sphere and contributions to inchoate democracy. The final chapter asks how equity defined punishment in economic terms. This chapter pays particular attention variations of punishment determined by race, class, and gender. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. English 2013

Prédication et propagande : à première vue, ces deux phénomènes n’étaient pas faits pour fonctionner de pair, surtout au Moyen Âge, alors que la prédication avait une activité intense et la propagande ne possédait pas encore d’identité lexicale intrinsèque. Ils parvinrent toutefois à se rencontrer de manière répétée, notamment pendant la guerre de Cent Ans, parce que le souverain, Édouard III, avait besoin de soutien pour ce qu’il appelait sa ‘juste cause’ ; ce soutien lui fut apporté par un grand nombre d’ecclésiastiques qui prièrent et firent prier pour lui.. Les sermons pro rege sont emblématiques de l’époque ainsi que de l’état d’esprit qui régnait alors : les maîtres de la parole, ainsi que l’on a parfois appelés, s’employaient à concilier, du mieux qu’ils pouvaient, les affaires du monde temporel avec celles du monde spirituel. C’était là une tâche ardue en raison des multiples devoirs que leur imposait leur charge pastorale mais le sermon, qui peut être considéré comme un moyen de communication, permettait de suivre les préceptes de Saint Augustin : enseigner, docere, plaire, delectare, mais aussi toucher, flectere, afin de remporter la victoire / Preaching and propaganda : those two phenomena were not originally meant to work together, all the more so during the Middle Ages when the former was very active and the latter did not have a lexical identity of its own. However, they did manage to meet on a frequent basis at the beginning of the Hundred Years war, particularly in the pulpit via enthusiastic sermons preached by men who were trying to reconcile the affairs of the secular as well as the spiritual world. The pro rege sermons were devised according to the strict technical rules of the artes praedicandi of the times and preached by men of the cloth, faithful servants of the State who enthusiastically defended the king’s cause and explained how just his war was. They did so with the tools of their trade, that is the strength of the Sacra Scriptura, whose acute knowledge helped them find the relevant passages so as to convince their audiences. The preachers did their best to fulfil the fundamentals of their task : docere, delectare, flectere. This doctrinal three-faceted tenet was worth remembering in wartime : according to Saint Augustine, teaching is necessary, pleasing is agreeable but winning over is the most important element.

M.A. / Since the 19th century, scholastic biblical hermeneutics mushroomed in competition with other critical disciplines within the human sciences, and this resulted in the emergence of the historical critical approach. This is an umbrella-term which describes a plurality of methods. These approaches include the textual criticism; literary criticism; form criticism; redaction criticism; source criticism and many others. The historical critical approach dominated biblical interpretation for the last one hundred and fifty years. The socio-scientific critics used the expression “context” to understand the importance of the life-situation; the economic; social; political; historical; cultural, gender and psychological “context” to bring back the full picture of “human context" of the Bible. Representatives such as Bruce Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh read and interpret the New Testament from a modernized industrial perspective with certain presumptions and assumptions from the reader’s own culture and background. New Testament scholars have made attempts to use the aspects of the social world of ancient Israel to investigate the origin, development, and/or function of these societal components of the social systems and structures of biblical Israel. The socio-scientific critics feel that every interpretation, giving meaning to a text, derives from a cultural system. They say that using social-science models from Mediterranean cultures is an honest attempt to come to the same understanding, of that of the first century reader and author by applying the same social systems. According to the socio-scientific critics, the modern reader must understand what then made sense to a Mediterranean culture. In this case, they also say that the knowledge of the sociological data of the biblical world is very important for the interpreters. Socio-scientific criticism studies, emphasises the strict relationship between the texts of the Bible and the life actually lived by the early Christian communities. We can therefore conclude by saying that the socio-scientific criticism is indeed that phase of the exegetical task which concerns itself with the social and cultural dimensions of the text and of its environmental context.

The aim of this study is to develop a homiletic theory for the upbuilding of the church in transition. This dissertation investigates the validity of the hypothesis that in order to build up the church in a transition, the theory and practice of preaching must achieve a dynamic relationship with a faithful and relevant ecclesiology. At the same time, the theory and practice of preaching in the Korean church, where these are linked with a dominant accommodated ecclesiology can not form a faithful and relevant ecclesiology. To test these two hypotheses, this study defines the methodology use in practical theology to develop a homiletic theory (Chapter 1). The research develops a homiletic theory from a hermeneutic-communicative perspective, which bears a dynamic relationship to a faithful and relevant ecclesiology. Firstly, this study identifies a faithful and relevant ecclesiology from a missional perspective. Secondly, Ricoeur’s model of collective narrative identity is articulated. From these two understandings, a homiletic theory as a hermeneutic-communicative act is developed. The homiletic theory for forming a faithful and relevant ecclesiology is composed through preaching as an act of translation, an act of exchange, and an act of forgiveness (Chapter 2). The next aspect of this study is an empirical study. It links the question of the connection of a contemporary homiletic theory of the Korean church with an ecclesiology. The object is to try to explain a preaching praxis that relates to ecclesiology. In this study it is found that the praxis of preaching is closely related to an accommodated ecclesiology (Chapter 3). This section develops a hermeneutical interaction between the results of the empirical research and those of the literature study. This chapter reflects the interplay of information from the empirical research and information from the literature study. It produces new or modified ideas for a relevant theory of practice that guide and direct preaching praxis. This is a regulative activity that aims to change the current praxis (Chapter 4). / Thesis (DPhil (Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Dr P.W. Marais was an influential preacher in the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church) in his ministerial career during 3 April 1954 until 5 May 1995. He was an evangelistic par excellence with may people who became converted Christians as a result of his preaching. He worked with a preaching theory of observation, information, progress in thought, self-expression or the heuristic method which he attained from the greatest teacher of all times, Jesus Christ. The pedagogue, H.J.J. Bingle, had a great influence in the development of this theory. The research question is: How does Marais’ theory of preaching agree with his preaching practice? The study shows that there seems to be a large agreement between the two. Another question is: What effect should Marais’ preaching have in the contemporary context which differs by far from the context in which he preached. Will he today be able to reach the postmodern person with his preaching approach? In two instances it would have been a problem for Marais to reach the postmodern listener in this context. On account of the lack of Scripture knowledge of the postmodern listener Marais’ use of texts would not be effective. A proper exegesis would have to be done for the postmodern listener. In other words the context of the text and the context of the listener would have to be brought together. Marais’ theory is lacking in knowledge to implement this. Due to his passion for the Scriptures, his sincerety and his logical reasoning, he could have contributed immensely to the modern preaching. / Dissertation (MA (Reasearch in Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / MA / unrestricted

The large number of xenophobic attacks that broke out in different places in South Africa during 2008 is still continuing unabated ten years later. We are still under pressure to come to terms with the reality that this occurred in a country that is globally considered to be an example of reconciliation. In this article the primary causes of these xenophobic outbreaks stemming from fear are scrutinised and placed within the wider framework of a culture of fear. Finally, the impact of violence and fear on practice of preaching within a Christian context is discussed, asking the question: How do we go about preaching within this fearful context?

“Preaching is boring,” is the expectation for most who sit in the pews Sunday after Sunday. The dominant paradigm for that preaching is “preaching the gospel” as the truth that listeners need to hear - a message delivered with certitude and directiveness. This presentation of the Good News of Jesus Christ has the marks of hegemony and violence visited on both listeners and the preacher. This paper explores an approach to preaching which eschews certitude and hegemony by providing a reflective and invitational approach; using five categories: What is God doing?; What is the aim and intention of preaching; Preaching and the preacher; Preparation and Delivery; and Evaluation.

The practice of Military Chaplains has been studied from various angles (sociological, historical, ethical) except from an empirical homiletical perspective. What do military chaplains do when they preach, if ‘preaching’ is the correct label for their (religious) speeches. This paper provides a first introduction to study the actual sermons of military chaplains in order to contribute to homiletical theory. It presents the outline of a research design and presents some of its initial results. The paper is based upon 10 sermons by army and naval chaplains within the context of peacekeeping missions. Three concepts emerge from these data, focussing upon the homiletical activity of military chaplains. They redefine the liturgical conditions for preaching, they witness to sources of wisdom, and they dignify the individual soldier in the presence of Christ. The paper closes with a proposal to understand religious discourse in the military context by presenting a tentative typology that is based upon the ceremonial setting of discourse and its religious referentiality.

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