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1	Why three? : an exploration of the origins of the doctrine of the Trinity with reference to Platonism and Gnosticism Gaston, Thomas Edmund January 2014 (has links) In this thesis I explore the emergence of the Christian triad with reference to two contemporary movements: Middle Platonism and Gnosticism. The earliest Christian writer to enumerate the three constituents of what would become the Christian Trinity is Justin. In addition to his three extant works, Justin’s triadology can be diagnosed from those he directly influenced – Tatian and Athenagoras – who I have (somewhat artificially) grouped under the heading the “school of Justin”. The ontological triad adopted by these Christian thinkers is compared with the triads of Middle Platonism and Gnosticism, both in terms of their structure and in terms of the function and ontological status of the individual constituents of these triads. In this thesis I propose that a liturgical triad of primitive Christianity, the trine baptismal formula, was conflated by the “school of Justin” with the ontological triad of Middle Platonism, resulting in three referents of the baptismal formula being embued with new functions and ontological status. Whilst emerging as a hierarchical triad, the logic of Platonic ontology when combined with Christian tradition required the sharp distinction between God, as Being, and all other things resulting in a Christian triad that was also a unity. This new triad became fixed as a central tenet of Christianity. I find no plausible connection between any known Gnostic triad and the triad of the “school of Justin”. There is some interaction between Gnostic and Platonic thought during this period. It is possible that the Triple-Powered One pre-empted the Being-Mind-Life triad of Neoplatonism. 231
2	Dismemory: On history, the Southern imaginary, and abusing the visual record Shelton, Matthew Pendleton 24 April 2012 (has links) Using the literary device of a fictional interview between the artist and a sympathetic intellectual, I explore concepts relating to subjectivity, pedagogy, memory, “Southernness,” whiteness, the deceptive nature of images, social justice, and 20th century art as they relate to a contemporary artistic practice. photography deconstruction painting collective memory history Southernness apologists slavery Civil War antiracism pedagogy transitional object ghosts inferiority complex New Orleans Katrina Uncanny Valley social justice activism oppressor whiteness appropriation Post Modernism erase pentimento resistance Arts and Humanities Fine Arts

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Why three? : an exploration of the origins of the doctrine of the Trinity with reference to Platonism and Gnosticism

Dismemory: On history, the Southern imaginary, and abusing the visual record