Thesis (D. Th.)--University of South Africa, 2002.

This thesis on medieval sermon manuscripts aims to increase our understanding of the Franciscan Berthold von Regensburg, who is considered to be the most significant German preacher of the late Middle Ages. For this reason, I have selected twenty-one Latin and six German codices, dating from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. These codices have been analyzed to identify the writing material, internal structure and paratextual features. The underlying idea is that the codicological and paratextual organisation delivers insight not only into the date and provenance of the manuscripts, but also into their function and actual use. I set out, in my first chapter, with some general thoughts about the specific process of communication involved in sermon manuscripts. The focus of my second chapter is on the structural and guiding elements in manuscripts, such as indices, numbering systems and various types of rubrication. The third chapter is concerned with marginal annotations, which can refer to the content of the text, call for attention, or even aim to deter from reading or copying a particular passage. In chapter four, I discuss a number of current issues in codicology and the complexity of codicological structures, which leads me to the proposition of a new concept of ‘corresponding codicological units’. In the fifth chapter, I argue that the attribution of Berthold’s sermons to his name fades in the late-thirteenth century, in favour of the term Rusticanus, which fills the position of the author for the the most part of the fourteenth century. In my final chapter, I discuss different concepts of book ownership. By demonstrating the significance of material and structural features, I show the strength of a codicological approach in achieving a new, in-depth understanding of Berthold von Regensburg and medieval sermon culture in general.

This thesis analyzes the Apostle Paul’s approach to his own death. The term “approach” is deliberately vague and is intended to encompass a number of questions: What was Paul’s attitude toward his death? How did he act and what did he say and write in view of it? What hopes did he hold for himself beyond death? These questions are explored through a close reading of three Pauline letters that look forward to Paul’s death and other relevant texts in the first two generations after Paul’s death (A.D. 70–160). Thus, this thesis is a study of Paul’s death in prospect and retrospect. Starting with the latter, the first half of the thesis examines portraits of the departed Paul in Acts 20:17–38; 1 Clem. 5.1–6.1; Ign. Eph. 12.2; Rom. 4.3; Pol. Phil. 9.1–2; and the Martyrdom of Paul. It is argued that these portraits exhibit a complicated network of similarities that may be described using Wittgenstein’s concept of “family resemblances.” Viewed as a part of Paul’s early effective history, these early portraits of Paul offer substantial resources for the interpretation of his letters. The second half of the thesis examines portraits of the departing Paul in 2 Cor 1:8–14; 4:16–5:10; Phil 1:18d–26; 2:16b–18; 3:7–14; and 2 Tim 1:12; 4:6–8, 17–18. The “decision of death” referred to in 2 Cor 1:9 is highlighted as a religious experience and one which goaded Paul to formulate his approach to death. It is argued that his death did not primarily present an existential challenge, but a pastoral one. Although touching upon three areas of recent scholarly interest (Paul’s theology of death and beyond; Paul’s religious experience; and Pauline reception), this thesis sets forth a new research question and fresh interpretations of early Christian and Pauline texts.

John Gerstner (1914-1996) was a key figure in the renewal of Reformed evangelicalism in America in the second half of the twentieth century. Gerstner’s work as a church historian sought to shape evangelicalism, but also northern mainline Presbyterianism. In order to promote evangelical thought he wrote, taught, lectured, debated and preached widely. In order to achieve his aims he promoted the work of the great colonial theologian Jonathan Edwards. He also defended and endorsed biblical inerrancy and the Old Princeton theology. Gerstner was a critic of theological modernism and had reservations about the theology of Karl Barth—the great Swiss Reformed theologian. Part of Gerstner’s fame was his active participation in mainline Presbyterianism and in so many of the smaller Presbyterian denominations and in the wider evangelical movement. His renewal efforts within the United Presbyterian Church U.S.A. (later PCUSA) were largely a failure, but they did contribute to the surprising resurgence of Reformed evangelicalism. Evangelical marginalization in the mainline led Gerstner and other evangelicals to redirect their energy into new evangelical institutions, groups and denominations. Gerstner’s evangelical United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) background influenced the young scholar and the legacy of the UPCNA’s heritage can be detected in the popular forms of the Reformed evangelical movement that exist today. It is a central theme of this dissertation that Gerstner’s significance, at least partially, can be observed in the number of Reformed evangelical scholars and leaders who studied with him and play leading roles in the movement today.

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