The early Christian martyr narrative Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis has been widely debated for centuries. Substantial interpretative quandaries remain about the Passio’s unique account of events surrounding the martyrdom of a group of catechumens in Severan-era Roman North Africa. Predominant scholarly assessment views the Passio as the product of a redactor whose text frames the prison diary of the elite matron Perpetua. Purportedly composed prior to her martyrdom, her account is undeniably exceptional among ancient texts. This thesis counters such views and argues instead that neglected aspects of its contextual dynamics warrant reinterpretation of the Passio. Firstly, ramifications of Perpetua’s identity – elite, abundantly educated, and a catechumen – can inform an alternative reading strategy. Perpetua’s account can be viewed as a sophisticated narrative which displays awareness of the potency of, and strategies for, commemoration in both secular and Christian contexts. Her authorial act is demonstrably in symbiotic relationship with, not subsumed by, the narrative that introduces and concludes the text. Secondly, the Passio arguably is situated within pre-existing commemorative traditions. The Passio’s literary portrayal of events cultivates legitimacy with the aim to be received into these traditions, and its authors utilize rhetorical mnemo-techniques for this purpose. For this reason, the theoretical insights of social memory provide valuable tools for interpreting and classifying the text. This study contends that the Passio account, particularly the narrative section attributed to Perpetua, is more complex than has previously been recognized and, for that reason merits significant reappraisal.

This thesis argues that Christianity exists only as it is embodied in particular cultures. Historically, however, those who brought the Christian message often gave little attention or understanding to indigenous cultures and points of view. The present work compares the Christianization process in two different cultural settings, focusing on the Jukun of central Nigeria and using the early Irish experience as a comparative framework. It elucidates the course of Jukun conversion by looking at the Jukun traditional cultural milieu and the missionaries’ assumptions and attitudes. It then contrasts this with the Irish Christianization experience, revealing a very different missionary attitude and an equally dissimilar indigenous experience. The focus on the Jukun is justified from an anthropological approach, presented, for instance, by Michael Adogbo and Friday Mbon. Following their paradigm of focusing on a specific cultural group, the study of the Jukun point of view is based on in-depth interviews with several elderly Wukari Jukun people. For the early missionary perspective, the thesis incorporates archival records, as well as communications with two retired missionaries who served in Wukari. The dissertation begins with an examination of the scholarly discourse on the inculturation of Christianity, particularly in Africa, and continues by describing the Jukun indigenous culture and worldview. Then it examines how Christianity impacted this society, with a focus on the kinship system. Next, early Irish society is examined, especially how their inculturation process compares and contrasts with the Jukun one. The thesis argues that the Jukun process was less successful than the Irish in terms of pre-Christian cultural practices being permitted to influence the final shape of Christianity; while Irish society shows a high degree of continuity between pre-Christian and Christian times, Jukun society demonstrates a radical discontinuity. It is hoped that the contrast between the two processes of inculturation demonstrated by the comparative nature of this thesis will contribute to the dialogue among religions and facilitate the kinds of respect and adaptability that are needed for peaceful coexistence in a globalized world.

This thesis investigates the social context of the Apostle Paul and the communities to which he preached with the aim of showing that early Pauline Christianity was shaped by a social milieu that included: first, a Greco-Roman and particularly Stoic philosophy, second, a universalizing Jewish movement and third, an overarching Roman political framework. Paul’s philosophy was built on a foundation of Judaism, interpreted with the tools of Stoic philosophy, and communicated to a largely Roman audience. Chapter One presents the figure of Paul as a Jew and Roman citizen with a Greek education, a product of three cultural worlds. Chapter Two argues that through allegory, Paul replaced Jewish nationalistic and ethnocentric aspects with symbolic ones, and communicated its ethical core with Stoic language and concepts to a primarily Roman audience. Chapter Three examines this audience and determines that they were largely Roman citizens who were both steeped in the prevalent philosophy of the time, Stoicism, as well as being associated with the Jewish community as sympathizers, God-fearers, or “Highest-God” worshippers, as a result of the popular Judaizing movement in the first century. Through the study of Paul, his letters, and his audience, this thesis argues that Pauline Christianity was, at its core, a Stoic interpretation of Judaism. / Graduate / 0579 / dcoad@uvic.ca

How should Christians live so as to set them apart in manner of life from Jews? This is one of the first questions asked by early Christian exegetes as Christians sought separation from Judaism. 1 While it may seem like a simple and obvious question, it caused heated controversy from the second century well into the present. This struggle for orthodoxy, or an orthodox doctrine, connects to both Christianity within the teachings of Jesus, the Pauline epistles and pseudo-Pauline writings, as well as to the culture and philosophy of the East and West. Much of the debate finds itself being addressed in the broad question "how should a Christian live?" Out of this question came the development of asceticism, marking the beginnings of monasticism.

Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis is an important early manuscript of the Greek New Testament, whose Gospel text has received relatively limited attention. Because Matthew was the most widely used Gospel among the first Christian communities, the study of its textual form is of utmost significance for the understanding of the early transmission of the New Testament. The research proposed in this thesis is therefore to take a fresh look at the Bezan text of Matthew. It will challenge the commonly accepted view of its readings as reflecting scribal reworking, albeit performed at an early stage. A principal ground for viewing the text as secondary is the apparently extensive harmonisation between the Gospels. The approach adopted here has been to thoroughly re-examine the Greek text of Matthew, comparing its form in Codex Bezae with that of Codex Vaticanus, a manuscript generally accepted as having a greater claim to authenticity. After noting all the variant readings and classifying them according to the type of material they represent, the study pays particular attention to the significance of word order differences, applying the tools of discourse analysis. Thereafter, the focus of the thesis is on the issue of harmonisation, as all the instances of the feature noted in the current edition of the Greek New Testament are systematically scrutinised. The results of this work suggest that the judgement that the Bezan text of Matthew has a harmonising tendency is predominantly based on external criticism, or on the choice of the particular passage with which there is alleged harmonisation. It will be suggested that the existence of common material in Codex Bezae where it is absent in other manuscripts may not be only a consequence of genuine harmonisation but also of the simple fact that the text was originally in agreement. It is hoped that the research presented in this thesis may serve to advance the study of Matthew’s Gospel, in particular with reference to harmonisation, in the field of New Testament textual criticism as well as in the related field of Synoptic studies.

The focus and aim of this study is twofold. Firstly it strives to ascertain whether the “green” scenarios veneered in the Bible are also ensconced within the Qur’an. Secondly, it is also imperative to determine what the mutual perceptions between Christians and Muslims are in order to enhance the possibility of dialogue in general between the two faiths. It was found that the respective and traditions of both faiths resonates with ecological similarities, amidst the theological and traditional differences. It was further found that mutual perceptions between Christians and Muslims have changed. In the vast expanse of the radical fundamentalist world of the Islam, the voices of moderate fundamentalists with liberal inclinations, however small in numbers, are heard more and more. The reciprocal element between Christians and moderate Muslims promise to secure a co-operative relationship, to inspire religious tolerance and hopefully to formulate a shared ideology. Furthermore, to orientate communities of both faiths at grassroots levels about nature conservation, a practical environmental agenda was proposed. / Prof. H. Viviers

D.Litt. et Phil. / South Africa is a culturally diverse country, which is becoming more and more complex due to secular influences like globalisation and the influx of African migrants. As different ethnic groups are integrated in South African communities, pastors are faced with new challenges to develop multicultural congregations, that reflect the demography of the community. Pastors also face challenges with regards to the interaction of men and women, as well as the interaction of various age groups. The handling of current challenges will however not be effective without an understanding of the painful exclusion of various ethnic groups and women from certain ministry and leadership positions that characterised the Pentecostal history. The lack of mentorship from generation to generation also led to generation gaps. In order to provide pastors of multicultural Pentecostal-Charismatic congregations with guidelines to handle these challenges, it was necessary to give a rich description of the challenges that pastors themselves experiece with regards to the interaction of various ethnic groups, men and women as well as the interaction of various age groups in multicultural congregations. The description of the challenges that pastors of multicultural Pentecostal- Charismatic congregations face, as well as giving guidelines in handling these challenges, formed the research goals of the study. The qualitative model of practical theological reflection developed by Swinton and Mowat (2006), was used to guide the research process. In the first stage of the research process, a literature study was done to describe the multicultural context of Pentecostal-Charismatic congregations. The study took place against the background of the Pentecostal history. This led to a description of the DNA of Pentecost, that explained how unity in the initial Pentecostal movements gained momentum through the work of the Holy Spirit. A description of the Pentecostal history also explained how the introduction of formal structures, as well as a shift from the missionary task of Christ to an inward focus on the vii preferences of certain people and groups led to the division of believers, based on ethnicity, gender and age. Challenges are also faced with the current integration of various ethnic groups, men and women, as well as different age groups. In the second stage of the research process, qualitative research was used to explore and to describe the challenges that pastors of multicultural congregations face. The themes that were identified by the study, were compared to current literature as well as Scriptural guidelines in the third stage of the study. In the final stage, new practices were given to aid pastors in handling the challenges of multicultural Pentecostal-Charismatic congregations. These practices include a return to the original DNA of Pentecost, a strong theological and cultural grounding, as well as the implementation of practical guidelines under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The study was concluded with the unique contributions of the study to the field of Practical Theology and by making recommendations for further research.

No description available.

Training incumbents have long worked to support and train new clergy for ministry in the Church of England and the Church in Wales. Often unacknowledged and uncelebrated, their skill, expertise and dedication has been one of the key elements in preparing junior ministers for the demands and challenges of the role of 'Vicar' in the Church. Employing quantitative data gathering, this thesis seeks to break new ground in investigating the reality of the life of the training incumbent today: their understanding of the role they undertake; their motivation for taking on or persevering in a training role; their profile from ethnicity to psychological type; their priorities and the resources available to them. This research recognizes the importance of context and so traces the history of training incumbency while offering an analysis of the mind of the wider Church on the role of the training incumbent as expressed in various reports. The verdict of those curates on the receiving end of the training is also to be weighed very carefully, acknowledging their unique insights and recognizing that the reality of the training experience for them will be different from that of their trainers. These insights will be treated as equally valid and prized for the way in which they illuminate the training dynamic from an alternative perspective. Psychological type theory will be employed to explore that dynamic further as the project seeks to understand to what extent approach to the training task is born out of theological conviction, personality type, prior experience or Church directives. Above all, this project seeks to celebrate the skill and dedication of an unheralded group of talented ministers; thereby disseminating their learning and pleading for further resources to enable them to continue to serve the Church.

This thesis examines the hypotheses that modern historians have developed about the religion of the emperor Constantine I. Its aim is to elucidate the different methodologies historians have employed to interpret the contemporary evidence, which has often led to the development of conflicting hypotheses. The first chapter will discuss interpretations of the contemporary evidence that has led Barnes, Drake, and Bardill to hypothesize that Constantine converted to Christianity after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. This chapter will primarily discuss possible familial and political influences and the narratives of Eusebius and Lactantius in order to elucidate the circumstances surrounding Constantine’s conversion. Then Constantine’s military insignia and his possible sacrifice after battle will be discussed in order to demonstrate any alterations in his religious mentality. The second chapter will examine the different interpretations of Constantine’s religious policy and legislation in order to clarify why Barnes proposes that Constantine became intolerant of religious diversity after his conversion, while Drake, Potter, and Bardill believe that he had remained as tolerant as he had been as a pagan. The third chapter will present the interpretations of the contemporary evidence that has led Burckhardt and Kee to assert that Constantine never converted to Christianity. This thesis will demonstrate that the vague and sometimes contradictory contemporary evidence supports multiple and even competing hypotheses. For this reason, there can be no “correct” answer about the religion of Constantine.