Pauline theology and Pauline ethics have generally been placed in sharp antithetical contrast to each other. Such a dialectical tension has resulted in a lopsided understanding of the interrelationship that exists between these two components. It is therefore necessary to examine the relationship between Paul¡¦s theology and ethics by providing a basic (and selected) overview of each in an attempt to reconcile them. The interrelationship between these two components will be considered from a narrative perspective in an attempt to restore a sense of coherence within the broad spectrum of Pauline theology. Within Paul¡¦s theological framework several important and selected themes will be considered: „« The Centrality of the Gospel in Paul: It will be proposed that the gospel, understood as the story about Jesus¡¦ death and resurrection, fundamentally shapes and informs Paul¡¦s entire theological and ethical framework. It is the gospel that provides coherence to the Pauline corpus. „« Pauline Soteriology: The concern will be to show that Paul¡¦s understanding of salvation moves from the objective and historical reality of what was achieved in Jesus¡¦ death and resurrection to subjective appropriation. This is profoundly expressed in the variety of metaphors (picture words) Paul employs to speak about what is first and foremost an existential experience for the believer. „« Pauline Ecclesiology: The story of Jesus¡¦ death and resurrection expresses the reality that individuals are brought into an existential experience of salvation, but this is furthermore enhanced by the fact that such an experience is given meaning within the context of the ejkklhsia. The contention is that the church, as the community of faith, is the sphere wherein which individuals mature spiritually. „« Paul¡¦s Eschatological Vision: Christ's death and resurrection was an event of eschatological significance. It portended the end of one age and the beginning of a new age. Pauline eschatology brings into sharper focus the nature of community life and profoundly shapes Paul¡¦s ethological discourses. It is suggested that Paul¡¦s ethological reflections make sense only when understood as flowing out of his theological framework. Furthermore, an examination of Pauline ethics suggests that he persistently brings the gospel to bear on the various contingencies that he is confronted with. Paul¡¦s ethics centres on the cross of Jesus Christ, which functions metonymically to evoke, as the focus, the significance and meaning of the cross. For Paul, the cross and all that it embodies presents a call to cruciformity ¡V life in the pattern of the cross. It is proposed, by way of a theological exposition of 1 Cor. 11.17-34, that Paul¡¦s ethology is a result of an ongoing dialogue, he is engaged in, between the Christ event and the various ethical contingencies he is called upon to deal with. The gospel forms the basis of Paul¡¦s reflective discourses. It provides Paul with an undergirding narrative framework that shapes his worldview. A brief overview of the important role that worldviews perform will show that Paul responds to his communities of faith from the perspective of worldview. That is, Paul is concerned to shape the behaviour of his Christian converts by sculpting their particular frames of reference. The frame of reference he seeks to inculcate within the lives of his converts is based on the story of Jesus Christ. It is this story that becomes paradigmatic for the ethos Paul seeks to set up. Furthermore, it is suggested that it is possible to trace the narrative contours of Paul¡¦s reflective discourses. Such a suggestion is supported by showing that 1 Corinthians as a whole resonates with echoes of a narrative; a narrative that is rooted in the Christ event. The mapping out of these narrative contours in Paul¡¦s letters will reflect the centrality of the gospel story. Moreover, it is suggested that by tracing the narrative substructure present in 1 Cor. 11.17-34, that the reader will gain a deeper appreciation of how the gospel functions within Paul¡¦s theological and ethical framework. Finally, it is proposed that Paul¡¦s reflective discourses shape and conform his ethos in such a way as to provide a meaningful framework out of which he calls the community of faith to live out its witness. In so doing, Paul emphasises the importance of remembering (recalling) the stories that constitute the Christian worldview. / Prof. JA Du Rand

This thesis aims to elucidate the nature of the references to Satan in the undisputed Pauline corpus. Although scholarship has frequently devoted attention to the various “powers of evil” in Paul’s letters—including principalities, rulers, demons, etc.—insufficient consideration has been given to the figure of Satan as an isolated subject matter. Moreover, scholarship on the individual references to Satan has often neglected Paul’s depiction of Satan’s activity vis-à-vis his apostolic calling. This raises the question, how and why does the Apostle Paul refer to the figure of Satan in his letters? In order to address this question, the thesis commences by examining two key areas of background material. First, Chapter Two investigates the various “images” of Satan in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Jewish texts. Instead of delineating a historical sketch of the development of Satan in Jewish thought, emphasis is placed on the various roles in which Satan functions within these writings. Second, Chapters Two and Three investigate two aspects of Paul’s theology which relate to his references to Satan. First, Satan’s place within Paul’s apocalyptic theology is explicated (Chapter Three). Second, the thesis considers Paul’s self-understanding as the Apostle to the Gentiles and, critically, the importance of Paul’s churches for his apostleship (Chapter Four). Chapters Five and Six then utilize the findings of the previous chapters in their examination of the ten clear references to Satan in the undisputed Pauline letters. Chapter Five focuses on the sole reference to Satan in Romans (16:20) and the two references in 1 Thessalonians (2:18; 3:5). Chapter Six then analyzes the several references to Satan in the Corinthian correspondence (1 Cor 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor 2:11; 4:4; 6:15; 11:14; 12:7), including their collective significance. On the basis of the examination of the Pauline references to Satan, it is argued that Paul—while sharing the Jewish and early Christian understanding of Satan as an enemy and tempter of the people of God—fundamentally characterizes Satan in his letters as the apocalyptic adversary who opposes his apostolic labor (kopos). Paul does so, it is argued, because he believed that his apostleship was pivotal in spreading the gospel at a crucial point in salvation history. The final chapter then anticipates the implications of the study for further research.

A common theme in examining Christian identity focuses on the emergence of that identity, on locating the point in time within the history of the Christian church that one can first observe a clearly identifiable community which can be called ‘Christian.’ There is evidence that a clear sense of a Christian identity existed by the second century CE. This is expressed in several authors from the second century CE, who employ ‘ethnic’ terminology to refer to the Christians as a ‘new’ or ‘third’ race. What allowed these authors to identify the Christians as a distinct ‘race’ so soon after the emergence of the group? This study explores the origins of this ‘race’ of Christians. Examination of the earliest existent Christian texts, the undisputed letters of the apostle Paul, demonstrates a group which exists partially within the Jewish identity group, and yet simultaneously displays features of a unique group identity. Two methods of investigation are employed to explore the origins of a Christian ‘race.’ First, from those authors who describe the Christians as a ‘race,’ a ‘vocabulary of identity’ is identified, and instances of this vocabulary are examined in the undisputed Pauline corpus to demonstrate the continued Jewish identity of Paul and many of his congregants. Second, a series of group identity features which are unique to the Jewish identity group are drawn from the work of John Hutchinson and Anthony D. Smith, James D.G. Dunn, and E.P. Sanders. An examination of these features in the undisputed Pauline corpus shows the beginnings of a distancing between the nascent Christian movement and its Jewish parent body. Continuing the investigation, the study explores the Pauline epistles for evidence of uniquely Christian group identity features. A series of these identifiers are examined, demonstrating the methods by which the earliest Christ-followers were identified as Christ-followers. These Christ-following identifiers served as the basis for the eventual ‘ethnic’ distinction of the Christian movement. The thesis concludes that the Pauline epistles reveal the origins of the later Christian ‘race’, and that during the first century Paul and his congregations simultaneously existed within the Jewish identity group, and alongside this group as members of an identifiable Christ-following identity group.

Diploma thesis DVD "In the Footsteps of Apostle Paul" as a didactic tool in teaching religion in secondary schools. The first part introduces the basic approach to teaching religion in terms of its differences from catechesis. There is also outlined several pedagogical objectives that can follow the teaching of Christianity, and a description of the methodological approach to the evaluation of documentary film as a teaching aid. In the second chapter, the analysis and synthesis document the intellectual content of each chapter, which is the basis for the practical part. The practical part includes an outline of questions for pupils. Use these questions students have to look at the effect Vol. Paul in the individual chapters of the documentary film from the perspective of God's plan of salvation, existential and ethical issues, and possibly also from the perspective of the social issues that are topical even today and which solutions inspired documents. The questions are formulated so that the individual has encouraged the pupils to study the biblical text, he served to critical reflection and led to active discussions. The whole practical part aims to contribute to the use of active teaching methods.

Since the mid 20th century, scholars have paid increasing attention to the anti-Judaism inherent in early Christian writings, identifying John Chrysostom's fourth-century homilies as a particularly hostile example of that heritage. As a "doctor of the church" and an important contributor to Christian orthodoxy as it developed in late antiquity, John is particularly well known for his eight sermons "Against the Jews," which invoke the apostle Paul as a central voice of authority for his thoroughly anti-Judaic Christianity. Yet, as is clear from his broader corpus, he encountered in Paul not only a fellow preacher who warned against Judaizing Christians, but also a self-identified Israelite who preached in Jewish places, observed elements of the Jewish law, and cried out for the salvation of Israel. In this dissertation, I argue that John's engagement with Paul's complex relationship to Judaism offers an especially productive, yet untapped, source for insight into John's anti-Judaic rhetoric. By offering a fresh analysis of John's sermons on Acts and the Pauline epistles, I place John's interpretation of Paul within a trajectory of classical moral philosophy wherein rhetoric was perceived as philosophical therapy for the soul. John frames Paul's persistent participation in Jewish places and practices and amiable rhetoric about his fellow Jews as strategic therapies deployed in order to manage Jewish emotions (pathe) and thus to guide diseased Jewish souls out of Judaism. Paul's own Jewishness is therefore mobilized to bolster a characterization of Jews as diseased and of Paul himself as an exemplary model of non-Jewish Christian orthodoxy. Attention to John's interpretations of Paul's "therapy of the soul" points to a more subtle and pervasive anti-Judaism than previously detected, one that stakes a claim to Christian orthodoxy, and therefore Christian identity more broadly, on the purportedly loving disavowal of Judaism by the apostle himself.

This diploma thesis aims for broad issue religious conversion especially in the case of the Apostle Paul. It is psychological and theological reflection of his conversion to Christianity, as described by the canonical New Testament texts. The forepartof the thesis reports theoretically into the location of the conversion of the Apostle Paul in the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles. For the purpose of this diploma thesis the author describes briefly hagiotherapy method, a technique that combines knowledge of psychology and theology. The author focuses on the psychological perspective on religious conversion, its history and current state of research. The closing section of the thesis combines views of psychology and theology. Special attention aims at Paul's personality, which is described with the help of psychological terminology. Keywords: Religious conversion, The Apostle Paul, psychology of religion, hagiotherapy.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:27:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Elcio Bernardino Correia.pdf: 2026364 bytes, checksum: 2b31eb0bf9d0be23e832ee3444756028 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-27 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The object of this study is the role of the apostle Paul as master of sound doctrine. The main focus states that although the call of the Apostle is comprehensive and highlighted the multiplicity of roles, everything ends converging in the characterization of Paul as a master of sound doctrine to the nations.This master will find a multitude of contexts while the task of exposing the Gospel. Paul is called by God to present a doctrine, but not only once but the doctrine of God, the Gospel. Paul is called to teach the truth of Christianity in a world full of "truths." He is both a receiver and interpreter of biblical revelation.The work presents as foundation first whole biblical picture of the master's role in the Old Testament, with the underlying emphasis that God is the Master, the source of all truth. God is presented as the one who educates mankind and sets his pedagogy directly or intermediate way. Secondly discusses the maximum translation of God's teaching, Jesus Christ himself. This is presented as the Master Teacher. Finally, the Apostle is presented in the exercise of his calling as a master of sound doctrine to the nations / O objeto deste estudo é o papel do apóstolo Paulo como mestre da sã doutrina. O principal enfoque estabelece que embora o chamado do Apóstolo seja abrangente e destacado pela multiplicidade de papeis, tudo acaba convergindo na caracterização de Paulo como um mestre da sã doutrina para as nações. Este mestre irá encontrar uma profusão de contextos enquanto estiver na tarefa da exposição do Evangelho. Paulo é chamado por Deus para apresentar uma doutrina, mas não somente mais uma e sim a doutrina de Deus, Evangelho. Paulo é chamado para ensinar a verdade do cristianismo em um mundo cheio de verdades . Ele é tanto um receptor quanto intérprete de revelação bíblica. O trabalho apresenta como alicerce primeiramente todo um panorama bíblico do papel do mestre no Antigo Testamento, com a ênfase subjacente de que Deus é o Mestre, fonte de toda a verdade. Deus é apresentado como aquele que educa a humanidade e estabelece sua pedagogia de forma direta ou mediatária. Em segundo lugar aborda a tradução máxima do ensino de Deus, o próprio Jesus Cristo. Este é apresentado como o Mestre por excelência. Finalmente, o Apóstolo é apresentado no exercício de seu chamado como mestre da sã doutrina às nações

1 Von Nächstenliebe zu Menschenliebe Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Diplom-Arbeit ist dem Hauptthema der jüdisch-christlichen Ethik gewidmet, und zwar dem Thema der Nächstenliebe, ihrer Reichweite und Bedeutung. Der Ausgangspunkt der ganzen Arbeit ist der Auftrag "die Nächsten zu lieben" (Lv 19,18), der im Rahmen einer isolierten Moral der sakralen Gemeinschaft gleichgerade mit ihrer Rückseite (mit den Aufträgen im Dt 13 einen Götzendienst oder einen Fluch dem Gott mit Tod zu strafen) angesehen wird. Die supranatural gegründete Nächstenliebe, die von der Gottesliebe zu Menschen und von der Menschenliebe zum Gott abgeleitet ist, bezieht sich verständlich nur auf die Gottesfürchtige, die Gott und sein Gesetz aus ganzem Herz miteinander lieben. Nur diese bilden den Kreis von "Nächsten", wobei alle gottlose zu "Feinden" (einschliesslich der Blutsverwandten) gerechnet werden. Die Entstehung solcher Moral versteht man unter der Bedingungen ehemaligen Religiös- Territorialkonflikten. Im Weiteren beobachtet Autor anhand der religiösen Schriften einen Übergang zur allgemeinen Menschenliebe. Dabei wird reflektiert, dass Auftauchen von der Gedanke der universal begriffenen Menschenliebe mit der katastrophalen geschichtlichen Ereignissen Israels korreliert. Diese Ereignisse (vorallem die Eroberungen von Jerusalem, der...

<p>This dissertation begins a conversation between "apocalyptic" interpretations of the Apostle Paul and the contemporary revival in "virtue ethics." It argues that the human actor's place in Pauline theology has long been captive to theological concerns foreign to Paul and that we can discern in Paul a classical account of human action that Alasdair MacIntyre's work helps to recover. Such an account of agency helps ground an apocalyptic reading of Paul by recovering the centrality of the church and its day-to-day Christic practices, specifically, but not exclusively, the Eucharist. To demonstrate this we first offer a critique of some contemporary accounts of agency in Paul in light of MacIntyre's work. Three exegetical chapters then establish a "MacIntyrian" re-reading of central parts of the letter to the Romans. A concluding chapter offers theological syntheses and prospects for future research.</p> / Dissertation

This work is an investigation to uncover the apologetic framework used by the Apostle Paul and discuss how it might be applied to current evangelistic efforts in Postmodernism. To be certain, there are a number of issues that face Christianity in the twenty–first century. I will give particular emphasis to the philosophical teachings and arguments that are characterized as being postmodernist in nature. Although within Postmodernism numerous individual challenges to Christian thought are present, I have selected four core issues to examine: (1) relative truth; (2) relative language and meaning; (3) philosophical pluralism; (4) a perceived lack of authenticity in the lives of professing Christians. The first three have been chosen because I believe there to be a meaningful downward progression from the first to the third, which culminates in what I believe is a relegation of the Christian Gospel to the realm of opinion and not truth. The fourth challenge has been selected because of recent research that argues it has perhaps become the single biggest obstacle for postmodernists in considering Christianity as a valid belief system. Once each of these evangelistic challenges is explored in detail and traced from its point of origin, attention is then given to uncovering the apologetic framework used by the Apostle Paul in the first century. This process is basically two–step in nature. Step one involves gaining an understanding of the Apostle Paul's world and discovering the factors that molded him into God's first century apologist. This involves examining Paul's culture, the competing religions and philosophies of the first century, the background and education of the Apostle, and his conversion and commissioning by God while on the road to Damascus. The resulting information allows us to build a bridge between the first century world of the Apostle Paul and today's postmodernist age. The second step in uncovering Paul's apologetic framework is to examine the biblical texts that describe the Apostle's evangelistic efforts and thoughts regarding the delivery of an apologia for the Christian faith. This equates to an investigation of the book of Acts and the Pauline corpus. The conclusions of this inquiry result in a new apologetic classification - that of tria martus or 'three witness' apologetics - with the cornerstone verse of the framework being 1 Thess. 1:5, which says: "for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake." Labeling each component of Paul's apologetic framework results in an analysis being performed of the message of Paul, the method of Paul, and the manner of Paul. After this has been done, one last question with respect to Paul's framework needs to be answered: Is the Apostle's apologia prescriptive or descriptive? While the book of Acts describes Paul's evangelistic and apologetic method in action, does Paul prescribe his method in his writings? Answering this question is pivotal in deciding whether to take Paul's framework and apply it to today's postmodernist culture. I believe the evidence points to Paul's framework being prescriptive, so the task then becomes how to apply the Apostle's apologia to Postmodernism, and how it addresses the challenges to Christianity that were identified earlier. As Paul's apologetic framework consists of three components, it becomes sensible for modern day apologists to take each part of the Apostle's framework and apply it to the various dimensions of the postmodernist unbeliever. This application results in an evangelist speaking to the rational, spiritual, and moral dimensions of non–Christians, with each challenge of Postmodernism being appealed to amongst the various dimensions. When applied, I believe three–witness apologetics represents a strong framework for giving honest and robust answers to the postmodernist unbeliever. While the postmodernist culture certainly poses some threats to Christianity, I firmly believe that the Apostle Paul would have thrived in today's climate and eagerly sought out converts from Postmodernism. I also believe that those who choose to use his apologetic framework will enjoy a harvest that enlarges the body of Christ and brings glory to the Creator of all humankind. / Thesis (Ph.D. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.