In this study five individuals who worked in Svenska Israelsmissionen and at the Swedish Theological Institute in Jerusalem are focused. These are Greta Andrén, deaconess in Svenska Israelsmissionen from 1934 and matron at the Swedish Theological Institute from 1946 to 1971, Birger Pernow, director of Svenska Israelsmissionen from 1930 to 1961, Harald Sahlin director of the Swedish Theological Institute in 1947, Hans Kosmala director of the Swedish Theological Institute from 1951 to 1971, and finally H.S. Nyberg, Chair of the Swedish board of the Swedish Theological Institute from 1955 to 1974. The study uses theoretical perspectives from Hannah Arendt, Mahmood Mamdani and Rudolf Bultmann. A common idea among Lutheran Christians in the first half of 20th century Sweden implied that Jews who left Europe for Palestine or Israel were not just seen as refugees or colonialists - but viewed as returnees, to the Promised Land. The idea of peoples’ origins, and original home, is traced in European race thinking. This study is discussing how many of the studied individuals combined superstitious interpretations of history with apocalyptic interpretations of the Bible and a Romantic national ideal. Svenska Israelsmissionen and the Swedish Theological Institute participated in Svenska Israelhjälpen in 1952, which resulted in 75 Swedish houses sent to the State of Israel. These houses were built on land where until July 1948 the Palestinian Arab village Qastina was located. The Jewish state was supported, but, the establishment of an Arab State in Palestine according to the UN decision of Nov 1947 was not essential for these Lutheran Christians in Sweden.  The analysis involves an effort to translate the religious language of the studied objects into a secular language.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:19:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MICHELE EVANGELISTA TEXTO COMPLETO.pdf: 685640 bytes, checksum: f4081e16c0fe7aabc5fa6396bda8701a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-12 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The objective of this work is to discuss the issue of conflict occurred between Paul and the Galatians communities. Through this theme we will discuss the question of Jewish identity in the first century and its relationship with the Gentiles, as well, the apocalyptic context in which these groups were included and the influence of mysticism in the process of constructing identities. With the analysis of this "perícope" in Galatians 2, 15-21, we will present the divergent systems of conviction that different groups defend and we will try through evidentiary method to reconstruct the speech of the opponents group of Paul. Finally, we using a philosophical approach to analyze the religious experiences identified, and we will support in thought of Henri Bergson. / O objetivo desse trabalho é debater o tema do conflito ocorrido entre Paulo e as comunidades da Galácia. Discutiremos a questão da identidade judaica no primeiro século e sua relação com os gentios, bem como, o contexto apocalíptico em que esses grupos estavam inseridos e a influência do misticismo no processo de constituição de identidades. Com a análise da perícope de Gálatas 2, 15-21, apresentaremos os divergentes sistemas de convicções que os diferentes grupos defendem e tentaremos através do método indiciário reconstruir o discurso do grupo de adversários de Paulo. Por fim, utilizaremos uma abordagem filosófica para analisar as experiências religiosas identificadas, e nos apoiaremos no pensamento de Henri Bergson. Palavras-chave: Conflito, identidades, apocalíptica judaica e misticismo, cristianismo primitivo, Gálatas, Bergson.

Este estudo trata sobre os cristãos, de ontem e de hoje, ante a tentação de se acomodarem ao mundo. Ele toma como ponto de apoio o Ap 2-3. Na primeira parte, a pesquisa estabelece um paralelo entre o Apocalipse de São João, a Apocalíptica judaica e o movimento profético que precedeu o movimento apocalíptico, em Israel. Embora aproximem-se mais da literatura profética, devido ao otimismo demonstrado com relação à história presente, as cartas dirigidas às Igrejas da Ásia Menor, segundo Ap 2-3, são marcadas por uma linguagem simbólica associada a momentos de crise, uma vez que o contexto dessas Igrejas, no final do primeiro século, é marcado pelo conflito com o Império Romano e com o Judaísmo. Assim, na segunda parte, a pesquisa nos mostra que a pressão exercida sobre as populações dominadas pelo Império Romano era muito forte, e a tentação de adaptar-se ao sistema imperial era muito grande. Jogava a favor do Império o movimento gnóstico, cujas teorias penetravam nas Igrejas com o apoio de lideranças e de membros das próprias comunidades cristãs. Ao dirigir-se então às sete Igrejas da Ásia Menor, o autor de Ap 2-3 pretende despertar as comunidades para uma ameaça que não era só externa, mas também interna, a saber: a penetração da heresia gnóstica, que favorecia a adaptação do cristianismo ao ambiente do Império Romano. Na terceira parte, constatamos que essa tentação de adaptar-se ao mundo continua muito presente em nossos dias. Continua muito atual, portanto, a mensagem contida nas cartas dirigidas às comunidades da Ásia Menor, que têm como primeira finalidade despertar os cristãos de sua acomodação e de seus compromissos com a ordem presente. Aos cristãos de hoje, seduzidos pela cultura atual e tão bem adaptados à sociedade, que já não percebem as contradições presentes nelas, o apelo é para que voltem a Jesus Cristo e retomem a conduta de outrora (cf. Ap 2,5), o que significa, muitas vezes, colocar-se na contramão da história, para testemunhar, no seio de uma comunidade cristã, que um outro mundo é possível. / This study deals with Christians from the beginning to today in the presence of the temptation to accommodate themselves to the world. It takes as point of support Revelation, chapter 2 and 3. In the first part, the research establishes a parallel between Apocalypse of John and the Jewish apocalyptic and the prophetic movement that preceded the apocalyptic movement in Israel. Although the letters written to the churches of Asia Minor, according to The Rev. 2-3, due to the optimism shown with respect to the present history, they are marked by a symbolic language associated with a crisis, since the context of these churches, at the end of the first century, is marked by conflict with the Roman Empire and Judaism. Thus, in the second part, the research shows that the pressure on the populations dominated by the Roman Empire was very strong, and the temptation to adapt them to the imperial system was too great. The Gnostic movement was in favour of the Empire, whose theories penetrated the churches with the support of leaders and members of their communities. In addressing the then seven Churches of Asia Minor, the author of Revelation 2-3 intended to arouse interest the communities to a "threat" that was not only external but also internal, namely the penetration of the Gnostic heresy, which favored adaptation of Christianity to the environment of the Roman Empire. In the third part, we found that the temptation to adapt to the world is still very present today. It's still very current, so the message contained in the letters addressed to the communities of Asia Minor, whose first purpose awaken Christians of their accommodation and their commitment to the present order. For today Christians, "seduced" by the current culture and so well adapted to society, they no longer perceive the contradictions in them, the appeal is to come back to Jesus Christ and "resume the conduct of old" (cf. Rev. 2,5), which means often put in the "opposite" of history, to witness, within a Christian community, that another world is possible.

O presente trabalho versa sobre o processo de simbolização da resistência presente no livro do Apocalipse. A pesquisa busca analisar as relações entre o conjunto de símbolos utilizados no livro e a resistência política das comunidades cristãs diante da opressão do Império Romano no alvorecer do Cristianismo. Nesse sentido, a partir de uma metodologia de natureza bibliográfica, fomenta uma reflexão crítica entre o texto e o contexto do Apocalipse, visto como literatura engajada com a oposição às condições opressoras às quais muitas comunidades cristãs estavam sujeitas. O trabalho está dividido em três capítulos: no primeiro, é discutido o contexto sócio-histórico das comunidades cristãs, que favoreceu o surgimento do Apocalipse. No segundo, é feita uma análise do texto de Ap 17,1-18 do ponto de vista exegético e hermenêutico. Por fim, no terceiro, são discutidas as formas através das quais alguns símbolos descritos fazem críticas à opressão política do Império Romano. / This work is about the process of symbolization of resistance present in the book of Revelation. The research analyzes the relationship between the set of symbols used in the book and the political resistance of the Christian community on the oppression of the Roman Empire at the dawn of Christianity. Accordingly, from a bibliographical methodology, this study encourages critical reflection between the text and the context of Revelation, seen as engaged literature with the opposition to oppressive conditions to which many Christian communities were subject. The work is divided into three chapters: the first discusses the socio-historical context of Christian communities that favored the emergence of Revelation. The second is an analysis of the text of Revelation 17,1-18 in terms of exegetical and hermeneutical. Finally, the third discusses the ways in which some symbols are described criticism of the political oppression of the Roman Empire.

Thomas Pynchon’s V. is often criticized for its preoccupation with meaninglessness and the  inability to make sense of ‘who’ or ‘what’ V. is about. The failure to make sense of V. is thematized within the novel particularly during the sacred moments or epiphanies which critics describe as ‘bizarre’, ‘disturbing’ or ‘unsettling’. These sacred moments raise issues that cannot be answered by traditional tools. Yet, critics and readers have responded to the novel with readings that reinscribe conventional modes of making sense and show a resistance to the inadequacy of traditional tools. This dissertation examines how Pynchon undermines modernist notions of the sacred moment as “moments of vision” which yield a higher knowledge or revelation. I argue that the sacred moments in V. allude to George Bataille’s notion of waste within a restricted and general economy. The violence of the sacred moments in V. are examined in relation to waste, sacrifice, the erotic, the inanimate, sovereignty and laughter. I conclude that rather than bringing about death, entropy and apocalyptic endings, the epiphanies’ violence and wasteful expenditure reveal the power structures at work in the literary use of the sacred. Paradoxically, the necessary existence of wasteful expenditure increases sense-making and offers the critic/reader the possibility of confronting waste, “the accursed share”.

This thesis examines the relationship between Western eschatological traditions and Bishop Burchard of Worms' extended exegesis on the subject of ‘speculative theology’ within Decretum, Liber Vicesimus (c. 1012-1025). Its purpose is to explore the influence of eschatological theology upon the composition of canon law and its relationship with the administration of pastoral care in the early eleventh century. This will be achieved by investigating the authorities Burchard employed, and the unique ways in which he structured his interpretation of the subject. Chapter one reviews the scholarship on early medieval eschatological exegesis, canon law, and penance, alongside that on Burchard of Worms. Chapter two provides an overview of the history of early medieval western eschatological exegesis (c. 33-1050) and the general conditions that contemporary ecclesiastics would have experienced in relation to the study and construction of eschatological texts. Chapter three considers the historical context for the composition of the Decretum and the manuscript traditions of the Liber Vicesimus. Chapters four, five, and six, extensively analyse the structures and contents of the Liber Vicesimus: Burchard and his team of compilers are shown to have drawn extensively and developed their interpretation of eschatology from Gregory the Greats’ exegetical works, as well as identifying other unique influences. Consequently the thesis demonstrates how Gregory’s exegetical works played a central role in building the textual foundations which shaped the theological parameters governing the eschatological thoughts, beliefs, and writings, of many ecclesiastics during this period. The thesis concludes that Gregory’s work provided churchmen with an authoritative moral framework and rhetoric for the discussion of eschatological phenomena that could be utilised in a variety of ways. It also suggests new ways in which historians should interpret the written traditions that shaped the structure and content of orthodox eschatological texts in this period.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:12:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 jair_ rodrigues_melo.pdf: 427219 bytes, checksum: 2a3c971d756f9032c281dad0aa377f5b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-12-01 / This work is about the process of symbolization of resistance present in the book of Revelation. The research analyzes the relationship between the set of symbols used in the book and the political resistance of the Christian community on the oppression of the Roman Empire at the dawn of Christianity. Accordingly, from a bibliographical methodology, this study encourages critical reflection between the text and the context of Revelation, seen as engaged literature with the opposition to oppressive conditions to which many Christian communities were subject. The work is divided into three chapters: the first discusses the socio-historical context of Christian communities that favored the emergence of Revelation. The second is an analysis of the text of Revelation 17,1-18 in terms of exegetical and hermeneutical. Finally, the third discusses the ways in which some symbols are described criticism of the political oppression of the Roman Empire. / O presente trabalho versa sobre o processo de simbolização da resistência presente no livro do Apocalipse. A pesquisa busca analisar as relações entre o conjunto de símbolos utilizados no livro e a resistência política das comunidades cristãs diante da opressão do Império Romano no alvorecer do Cristianismo. Nesse sentido, a partir de uma metodologia de natureza bibliográfica, fomenta uma reflexão crítica entre o texto e o contexto do Apocalipse, visto como literatura engajada com a oposição às condições opressoras às quais muitas comunidades cristãs estavam sujeitas. O trabalho está dividido em três capítulos: no primeiro, é discutido o contexto sócio-histórico das comunidades cristãs, que favoreceu o surgimento do Apocalipse. No segundo, é feita uma análise do texto de Ap 17,1-18 do ponto de vista exegético e hermenêutico. Por fim, no terceiro, são discutidas as formas através das quais alguns símbolos descritos fazem críticas à opressão política do Império Romano.

La Ceinture des Parques engage un dialogue à mort avec la montée des eaux. Centrée sur les épreuves discrètes et pragmatiques du phénomène, cette fiction post-apocalyptique plonge dans la souffrance psychologique ressassée jour après jour par ceux qui vivent derrière les digues dans l’attente et l’impuissance. Deux rescapés de l’engloutissement planétaire incarnent ici l’idée que, face aux invasions de l’océan, le pire n’est pas dans les tempêtes mais dans ce qui les sépare. Le récit vise dès lors à faire du lecteur un guetteur. Ainsi prend-il la page comme une paroi et le texte comme une faille : chaque lettre est une nouvelle entaille dans le barrage, fissure par laquelle une goutte menace de s’infiltrer. A travers ces brèches, la mer remodèle le langage, balaye toute fixité en imposant le rythme de ses vagues, absorbant les frontières de l’écriture pour les calquer sur l’instabilité permanente qui caractérise le trait de côte et les marées. Plus l’énonciation progresse, plus elle se condamne en ouvrant elle-même ses vannes à une liquéfaction totale où les fins du narrateur, de sa langue et de l’environnement s’unissent dans une dilution commune. L’essai des Neuf gouttes explore le réseau textuel souterrain déployé par le ressassement et la répétition d’une instance narratrice. Roman énigmatique, La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes aligne de nombreuses formules récurrentes, variées et réparties sur l’ensemble de ses 200 pages. A travers ces termes fréquents à priori insignifiants, le texte de Gaétan Soucy propose une dynamique textuelle alternative qui diffère selon le degré de coopération pragmatique du lecteur. Le ressassement s’impose dès lors comme moteur du récit, fonctionnant comme un régulateur de vitesse utilisé par la narratrice pour équilibrer deux fins convergentes, l’une matérielle et l’autre psychologique. Entre ces deux menaces qui se resserrent à chaque ligne, Alice Soissons doit résoudre le mystère familial avant que l’écriture soit rendue impossible, tout en évitant de précipiter sa plume dans une surchauffe émotionnelle. Voir comment l’intrigue gère paradoxalement le retour en arrière comme meilleur moyen d’avancer dans sa résolution constitue toute la teneur de cet essai. / La Ceinture des Parques engages in a deadly dialogue with sea level rise. Focusing on the invisible and pragmatic hardships of that natural phenomenon, this post-apocalyptic fiction dives into the daily psychological suffering haunting those who live behind the dikes and wait in helplessness. Two survivors of the global submergence embody the idea that, when facing the oceanic invader, the worst is not in the storms but in what lies between them. The story then aims to turn the reader into a watcher. It thus takes the page as a wall and the text as its flaw: every letter is a gash in the dam, a crack into which a threatening drop might seep. Through these rifts, the sea reshapes the language, erasing any rigidity in the words, imposing the rhythm of its waves that absorb the usual limits of writing to model them on the constant instability that defines coastline and tides. The more the text is developed, the more it condemns itself to be dissolved, letting the water come into the text to achieve a complete blend when the endings of the narrator, of its language and of the environment mix in a common dilution. Neuf Gouttes is an essay exploring the hidden textual network spread by a narrator’s repetition and rumination. An enigmatic novel, La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes accumulates many frequent phrases throughout 200 pages. These similar words are trivial at first glance, but through them Gaétan Soucy’s text offers an alternate textual dynamic that differs according to the reader’s pragmatic cooperation level. The textual rumination stands out as the main force of the story, used by the narrator to adjust her writing speed in order to reach a safe balance between two converging endings: a material one and a psychological one. Between these two threats that get closer at each sentence, Alice Soissons must solve her family’s mystery before the writing becomes impossible, but also avoid rushing and crashing her testimony in an emotional explosion. The main goal of this essay is to analyse this paradox in which the plot uses reverses as the best way to make progress until its solving.

The main aim of this dissertation is to understand the function of the text The Parables of Enoch (PE) in its ancient context. Despite the complicated and composite nature of this text, I have tried to explain the internal logic of this text, especially with an emphasis on understanding the different timelines with which the author of the text works. A critical evaluation of the limits of working with the preserved Ethiopian translations, as well as with the composite nature of the extant form of the text is the essential prerequisite for the interpretation of PE. In the exegetical part, I seek to demonstrate the main thesis that the purpose of PE is to offer a complex symbolic universe through ancient authoritative visions of the ancestor Enoch that serves to legitimize the shared social reality, which is in danger due to the difficult situation of persecution and oppression. I take the theoretical framework for this research over from the sociological constructivism. While the shared social reality is often in crisis, the symbolic universe as a complex level of legitimation intends to explain this discrepancy between the assumed social reality and the reality of the everyday experience. In the case of PE, it is a discrepancy between the experience of oppression and persecution of the addressees...

This dissertation on “Climate Change, the Ruined Island, and British Metamodernism” proceeds from the premise that a perspectival shift occurred in the early 2000s that altered the tenor of British climate fiction published in the decade that followed. The release of a third Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), less than a month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, prompted an acute awareness of the present as a post-apocalyptic condition bracketed by catastrophe and extinction. In response, British authors experimented with double-mapping techniques designed to concretize the supranational scope of advanced climate change. An increasing number of British authors projected the historical ruination of remote island communities onto speculative topographies extrapolated from IPCC Assessments to compel contemporary readers to conceive of a climate-changed planet aslant. Given the spate of ruined-island- as-future-Earth novels published at the turn of the millennium, this dissertation intervenes in extant criticism by identifying David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas (2004), Will Self’s The Book of Dave (2006), and Jeanette Winterson’s The Stone Gods (2007) as noteworthy examples of a metamodernist subgenre that makes a distant future of a “futureless” past to position the reader in a state of imagined obsolescence. This project consequently draws on metamodernist theory as a useful heuristic for articulating the traits that distinguish metamodernist cli-fi from precursory texts, with the aim to connect British post-apocalyptic fiction, climate-fiction, and literary metamodernism in productive ways. As the body chapters of this dissertation demonstrate, metamodernist cli-fi primarily uses the double-mapped island to structurally discredit the present as singular in cataclysmic consequence and, therefore, deserving of an unprecedented technological fix. Ultimately, in attempting to refute the moment of completion that would mark history’s end, metamodernist cli-fi challenges the givenness of an anticipated future through which to anchor the advent of an irreversible tipping point. Given the relative dearth of literary scholarship devoted to metamodernist cli-fi, this project posits that this subgenre warrants greater critical attention because it offers potent means for short-circuiting the type of cynical optimism that insists on envisioning human survival in terms of divine, authoritarian, or techno-escapist interventions. / Graduate / 2021-08-08