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1	Ritual functions of the Book of Relevation: hope in dark times Van Rensburg, Hanré Janse 06 1900 (has links) Through a critical-functional, rather than literal, reading of the text of Revelation, this dissertation hypothesises a move beyond the paralysing constant reduction of hermeneutic meaning to two conventional poles when discussing hope – the early Christian movement’s hope through reversal, and contemporary nihilism. In order to do so in a responsible manner, it is necessary to study other research done on the topics of eschatology and hope – especially as seen in the book of Revelation. For this reason, the most popular and representative scholars of the Book of Revelation are studied. This overall look at current scholarships' views regarding the Apocalypse will help detect any possible missing elements in our approach to Revelation. But no study of this topic can be considered near complete if other disciplines are not involved; in this case especially when moving on to a critical-functional reading of Revelation. This thesis thus features an exploratory study of the functioning of ritual and hope within the human psyche; from archaeological to psychological perspectives. This emphasises the importance of, and leads into, the possibilities of a functional reading of the Book of Revelation. All of the above work leads to a re-evaluation of the success of hope as metanarrative for today. The suggestion is that Christian hope is not imaginary, but is irreducibly imaginative. For “reality is never just the world as it exists; it is the world as it is experienced through the lenses of social perception” (Barr 2010:636). / New Testament / D. Th. (New Testament and Early Christian Studies) Book of Revelation Apocalypse of John Critical-functional reading Cultural archaeology Progress Nihilism Eschatology Science and theology Representative studies Myth Ritual Liturgy Epistemology Theory of relativity Continuity and discontinuity Hope Optimism Metanarratives Psychological perspective Anthropology of experience Creating experience and meaning Resurrection Ritual possibilities 228.06 Bible. Revelation. -- Commentaries Hope in the Bible Symbolism in the Bible John, the Baptist, Saint -- Teachings Nihilism -- Religious aspects Eschatology -- Biblical teaching Religion and science -- Christianity

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Ritual functions of the Book of Relevation: hope in dark times