Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / The problem of the dissertation is to describe, analyze, and evaluate the biblical hermeneutics of the Marburg New Testament scholar Ernst Fuchs, in the light of his own general hermeneutics and with particular reference to parable interpretation. The primary concern of the dissertation is to elucidate and to evaluate the movement in Fuchs' thought from the presuppositions of interpretation to interpretation itself. The nature of the presuppositions, their effect on the object of interpretation, viz., the parables and the historical Jesus, and the implications of these presuppositions for biblical hermeneutics constitute the subject of inquiry. [TRUNCATED]

Thesis advisor: Angela K. Harkins / Thesis advisor: Giovanni B. Bazzana / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

This thesis offers a systematic engagement with the theological hermeneutics of Hans Frei. The two key conceptual categories are “the logic of belief” and “the content of God”. The former refers to the grammatical ordering of theological statements: Frei is concerned to distinguish grammatical logic from ontology, and to establish the actual starting point for any given theological enterprise. Frei’s own preference for a “linear” and “cumulative” method built upon the starting point of a realistic narrative reading of the gospels is unpacked and explored. The second category, “the content of God”, refers to Frei’s search for an account in which God has actual reality, as opposed to a mere metaphysical abstraction. Indeed, for Frei, the arrival – or failure to arrive – at a ‘concrete’ account of God is the test of any theological starting point, as evidenced in the ability or otherwise to do exegetical justice to the narrative shape of the crucifixion-resurrection sequence. The thesis demonstrates that for Frei, the starting point in the logic of belief must be the identity of Jesus Christ as revealed in scripture, and only on that basis can a concrete content of God be posited. In so doing, the intention is to set Frei very firmly within his mid-twentieth century context, in particular his engagement with and ultimate rejection of existentialist and Neo-orthodox theology. Accordingly, the thesis traces the development in Frei’s thinking of these two conceptual categories, from his doctoral thesis on Barth’s early theology up to and including his twin publications, The Eclipse of Biblical Narrative (1974) and The Identity of Jesus Christ (1975). Later works by Frei are also considered in relation to these. The thesis does not stop at the mid-twentieth century, but illustrates the continued relevance of Frei’s hermeneutical theology into this century, putting him in conversation with a number of systematic and biblical theologians. Suggestions are made as to his applicability to modern theological concerns, including the debate surrounding the being and action of God: a field where he has yet to be deployed successfully.

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Psychotherapeutic practice often involves the telling and retelling of a client’s stories of life in collaborative, meaning-making dialogue with a counsellor. This study demonstrates and explores the dynamics of counsellor contribution to this narrative co-construction, particularly the ways in which the counsellor’s inner conversations, reflexivity and interpretive style may emerge in practice and have an influence on the client’s understanding, re-evaluation and cohering of his or her own story. The multi-voiced, multi-layered intersubjective space and time in which this kind of narrative collaboration takes place is a difficult area to access for study but one whose potential impact on the client should make it the focus of respectful, ethical monitoring and careful reflective practice. Using phenomenological theories of reader-response and dialogical play, my research sets up an analogy between the way a reader might reflexively interact with life story episodes in a written text and the ways a counsellor might listen to and interpret a client’s stories of life over the course of a counselling contract. My project uses a comprehensive and episode-rich story of a life, the iconic ‘womb to tomb’ story of Jacob in the book of Genesis. My own hearer/reader response to the story gives rise to the creation of a set of imaginary dialogues between two interlocutors, Jacob as an elderly client reviewing his life story and myself as counsellor, listening to his stories of life. This methodology is used as a means to access an in vivo lived experience, as it might unfold in practice, of my counsellor contribution to Jacob’s story and the interplay of voices and standpoints which characterise it. Attention is drawn to the inchoate, but deeply human, intersubjective aspects of narrative co-construction as a process and the value of this form of reflective practice to surface actual praxis experience for analysis. Insights surfaced by this reader-response methodology point to the significant extent to which the hermeneutical standpoints and dialogical voices of a counsellor are actively involved and implicated in narrative co-construction.

O objetivo principal desta dissertação é fazer uma reflexão sobre as implicações pedagógicas, metodológicas e hermenêuticas da leitura da Bíblia, a partir de uma perspectiva popular e feminista. Nos dois primeiros capítulos são apresentadas algumas implicações envolvidas nessa leitura. Nas implicações pedagógicas foram resgatadas algumas das ideias de educação libertadora e conscientizadora presentes na Pedagogia do Oprimido, de Paulo Freire. Nas implicações metodológicas foi destacada a leitura popular da Bíblia como referência de verdadeiro processo de estudo bíblico popular, que parte de uma pedagogia conscientizadora e libertadora. E nas implicações hermenêuticas foi proposto um diálogo com a hermenêutica crítica feminista de libertação, desenvolvida por Elisabeth S. Fiorenza, pelo seu compromisso ético e político com a mulher enquanto sujeito histórico. No terceiro capitulo são apresentados um relato de experiência do grupo Flor de Manacá e o estudo realizado pelo grupo com o texto do Evangelho de João 8.1-12, que buscou visibilizar não só a metodologia da leitura popular e feminista da Bíblia, mas todo o processo do grupo como sujeito da leitura da Bíblia no contexto da cultura nordestina. Essa experiência e a pesquisa são reveladoras da importância dos grupos e da comunidade num processo de uma nova pedagogia para os estudos bíblicos, comprometidos com uma leitura da Bíblia que seja conscientizadora e libertadora e ao mesmo tempo sensível aos contextos culturais nos quais estão inseridos. / The main goal of this dissertation is to consider the pedagogical, methodological and hermeneutical implications of the reading of the Bible, in a popular and feminist perspective. In the first two chapters are presented some implications involved in this reading. Concerning the pedagogical implications we came back to some ideas on liberating education of Paulo Freire‟s work Pedagogy of the oppressed. Concerning the methodological implications we highlighted in the popular reading of the Bible as a reference for true popular Bible study process, starting from a liberating and empowering pedagogy. Concerning the hermeneutical implications, it was proposed a dialogue with the critical feminist liberation hermeneutics, developed by Elisabeth S. Fiorenza, because of her political and ethical commitment with women while historical subjects. In the third chapter are presented a report of the Flor de Manacá group experience, and the reflection conducted by that group on the text of the Gospel of John 8.1-12. It aimed not only to show the popular methodology and feminist reading of the Bible, but also the whole process of the group as a subject of the reading of the Bible in the context of Brazilian Northeastern culture. This experience and research reveal the importance of the groups and of the community in a process of a new pedagogy for biblical studies, committed to a reading of the Bible that is liberating and empowering and, at the same time, sensible to the cultural context in which it is inserted.

MAAS / Centre for African Studies / The link between Africa and the Bible goes back several centuries before the birth of Christ. As most key African scholars such as Mbiti and Mulago once asserted, Africa is incurably religious. This assertion although sounding a bit generalised, somehow provides one with insightful perspectives about how Africa’s religiosity evolved through time. The narrative of the Last Supper is biblically located and has assumed new character, form and function in various church settings. Interestingly (recently) a number of local African Initiated Church (AICs) have adopted the practice of Holy Communion as part of their worship services. In this case special times and sacred spaces are defined to demonstrate the significance of conducting this special part of the worship. Having interacted with a number of leaders and members of some of these local AICs one gets an impression that both the ‘idea of Christ’ is differently conceived and constructed as compared with other so called established or mainline churches. It was this idea or the constructed image of Christ that created the interest to look at how these local churches look or imagine Christ. Christ in this case becomes the owner of the buffet or feast and he epitomises unity, family, reconciliation, values of botho etc. The research site for this study was the St. John Apostolic Faith Mission of Bapong in the North West Province in South Africa. Grounded theory was used in both providing the theoretical framework and methodological foci of the research study. The study recommended that existing images of Christ should be recorded for the purpose of the church life history. These should be recorded from one generation to the next. Also African Christologies should penetrate every church in the community and be utilized. / NRF

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The work deals with the biblical catechesis aimed at the adolescent youth. The first theoretical part describes the adolescence and problems, adolescents usually have to overcome. Next it defines the catechesis and the religions education on the base of the church documents, it characterises present situation of religions education in the Czech Republic and it characterises the present catechetic practice in the church. The work also describes the biblical catechesis: its theoretical processing in the view of the biblical science and its practical processing. In the practical part there is a survey, which provides topics for practical processing of biblical catechesis. The selected topics of biblical catechesis (Ten Commandments, Kingdom of Heaven) are processed theoretically (from the point of view of biblical science). Next they are turned into particular projects of biblical catechesis.