The author of dissertation considers that dependence of behavior of people on their attitude toward God the Creator is perhaps the first and the most important topic that comes to mind during the study of the present passage of the most fundamental Paul's epistle. We believe it is necessary to explore "false foundations" as we see as Paul opposes to them his ideology - ideology of worship to God the Creator. We affirm that Paul sees the main reason of immoral behavior in such area of man's activity as thinking that, in its tum, denies the Creator of every living thing of Earth and because of its incapability to rule over human passions is forced to look for an ideological basis for its acts. This thesis has also practical meaning because it demonstrates Paul's methodology of disproval of false theories of that time revealing their illogicality and senselessness. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M. Th (New Testament)

This thesis examines whether the theological method currently known as inculturation was used in the Supper Narratives of the New Testament. A methodology is set up in which texts are examined against the backdrop of Graeco-Roman, Judaic and early Christian cultures. This methodology focusses on family resemblances and analogies, rather than genealogy or causal dependence to examine the links between text and context. It also avoids claims for orthodoxy dependent on claims about origins. Engaging with the claims of writers from Schweitzer, through Jeremias and up to the present, three themes are identified: meals, sacrifice and eschatology. The manifestations of each are examined against the three cultural groups:Judaic, Graeco-Roman and early Christian. The Supper Narratives (Mk 14:12-26, Matt. 26:17-30 and Luke 22:7-23 and 1 Cor 11:17-34) are then mapped against these themes. Analogies to the cultural groups are then traced. This process leads to conclusions that the New Testament writers did use a methodology which can be identified as inculturation. It manifests itself particularly through patterns identified by anthropologists as bricolage and re-accentuation. A notable example is "sacrificialisation", in which events and items are invested with a fresh sacrificial significance. Judaic concepts (e.g., covenant and Atonement) and rituals (e.g., sacramentals and Passover) dominate the interpretations of Jesus' last meal with his disciples. This does not mean that inculturation only took place in relation to Jewish culture. Many of the concepts used (e.g., sacrifice and sacrament) share commonalities with Graeco-Roman thought which allows them to engage with such world-views. This process sees Judaic understandings used as correctives to Graeco-Roman thinking about sacraments. It also sees Jewish concepts used to address Graeco-Roman values, and give an added historical depth (antiquitas) to a comparatively recent event. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D.Th. (New Testament)

This work is concerned with the word berith (covenant) in the historical and wisdom books of the Old Testament, and continues research done in previous articles on berith in the Pentateuch and the prophetic literature. The main aim is to discuss in some detail the texts containing the word berith in the historical and wisdom books of the Old Testament and to examine the meaning and use of the word in these writings. The interrelationships between berith and other words in the contexts in which they appear are explored and explained. Finally, berith in the historical and wisdom books usually refers to one of the covenants of the Pentateuch, and which of these is applicable in each case will also be discussed. / Old Testament & Ancient NE / M.Th. (Old Testament)

Text in German / This dissertation is a contribution to cybernetics, a sub-discipline ofPractical Theology. It is a dialogue between theology and management science. The first part discusses whether such a dialogue is reasonable at all. There are a lot of parallels between wisdom theology in the Old Testament and modern management theory. We discuss the benefits and the limitations of wisdom, and the way Israel took advantage of wisdom knowledge of the surrounding peoples. Finally, we draw conclusions for the way how church leadership could integrate knowledge from management theory. The main part of this dissertation is on anthropology and leadership. McGregor invented 1957/60 the so-called theories X andY. He demonstrated that leadership styles of managers are affected by the way they look at their subordinates. Leaders who regard people as lazy (theory X) will try to movitate people by extrinsic factors. Theory Y assumes that human beings have intrinsic motives to work. This assumption is an implicit basis of modem leadership concepts. The background and influence of these theories are explained. Especially, we follow the way from the anthropology of the reformators to theory X and from theory X (Taylorism) to theory Y. Limitations of theory Y are also discussed. In the next step we describe various facets of Old Testament anthropology dealing with man's willingness and capacity to work. The significance of the imago dei in this context is discussed by and large. Finally, we compare these facets with the theories X and Y. Result: The reformators emphasized one-sidedly the undignity of human beings implying that many Protestants consider theory Y as too positive, too humanistic. Old Testament portrays both the dignity and the undignity of human beings. Old Testament anthropology correlates better with theory Y. Thus theory Y is not an antibiblical theory. / Practical Theology / D.Th (Practical Theology)

The concept of love abounds in the Bible but it is questionable whether the same un-derstanding that the antique audiences of the biblical documents could have had of this concept is prevalent in our time. The reason for such doubt lies, simply, in the noticeable absence of regard for each other among (even devout) people. The study was directed towards an investigation of theological and popular views on biblical love as well as a brief overview of lexicographical works by known scholars as regards the noun  and the verb . It was found that, despite the vol-ume of entries, not much in the way of clarification of the meaning of  and re-lated words is available. There is, indeed, a dire lack of contemporary social-scien-tific related data as regards this important concept and related matters. The world of the New Testament differs widely from the one we live in and a brief overview was given from social-scientific sources on the historical-cultural aspects of the first century Mediterranean world. This was done from the perspective of making use of such data in the exegesis of three shorts text-segments selected from the Gospel of John. The text-segments John 3: 16; 13: 34-45 and 21: 15-17 are well-known for the bear-ing they have on the noun  and the verb  in the Fourth Gospel as well as the popular meaning/s that is quite commonly ascribed to the texts. Exegesis was done from a grammatical-historical paradigm with joint usage of applicable historical-cultural data. / Biblical and Ancient studies / D. Th. (New Testament)

This thesis evaluates the nature and role of `the glory of the Lord,' hwhy-dwbk, in Ezekiel 1-24. The introductory chapter will present the relevance of the topic as well as purview the scope of the thesis and the structure of its presentation. Chapter two lays an interpretive foundation for the glory pericope within a central theme in the book of Ezekiel. The intended impact on the exilic audience is discerned through examining the characteristic features of the hwhy-dwbk in Chapter 3. Chapter four identifies three functions of the hwhy-dwbk . A final function of the hwhy-dwbk is explored in its relationship to `the son of adam' in chapter five. A summary of the hypothesis is provided in chapter 6 along with a conclusion. / Biblical and Ancient studies / M. A. (Old Testament)

This study is an exploration into female discipleship. Its primary aim is to compare and contrast Mark's portrayal of male and female followers of Jesus respectively, while its secondary aim is to establish what lessons there may be for the social status of Christian women in the kingdom of Swaziland. These ends will be pursued by looking at Mark's portrayal of male disciples and the contrast he draws between them and the female followers of Jesus. This study then concludes that Mark has a more positive view of female followers than he has of male disciples, and this may stem from the conduct of male disciples he has observed in the Church of his time. / New Testament / M.TH. (New Testament)

In this Master's dissertation, I would like to explore a symbolic reading of John 11 (The raising of Lazarus) from the perspective of the church's mission to bring about the liberation of the poor. I believe that as one does so, one might discover that in the Gospel writer's original intention, the figure of Lazarus may never have been intended as a literal historical person, but rather as a symbolic representation of the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed. Such a reading of John 11 might throw new light on the Fourth Gospel's understanding of Jesus and his mission. In doing so, I believe that John 11 might become a foundational text to guide and motivate committed Christian mission in favour of the poor. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has provided an opportunity to reexamine the formation of the Gospel of John. This study will utilize Dead Sea finds coupled with other Second Temple literature to examine how the Gospel of John portrays Jesus as being a king. The approach of this study to use a narrative approach that builds on the Gospel of John as a finished text. The contribution of a source critical approach is not disparaged but the narrative approach will allow the Johannine community to be seen in the context of the immediate post-Second Temple era. The limited literacy of the probable first audience of this text suggests that a narrative approach will best be able to understand the background to the formation of the Gospel of John. A central contention of this study is that the Gospel of John was composed after the Jewish Revolt and after the Synoptics. Thus it deserves the appellation of the Fourth Gospel and is called such in this study. The Fourth Gospel was composed at a time when Roman interest in anything connected to Judaism was sure to attract special interest. Thus the portrayal of Jesus as the Davidic Messiah needed to be handled carefully. The imagery of the new David found in 4Q504 compared with the imagery of Jesus being the Good Shepherd becomes an important part of the argument of this study on whether this Gospel portrays Jesus as being the Davidic Messiah. Jesus as the Good Shepherd showed Jews that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah without overtly offending Roman sensibilities. Furthermore evidence from Christian and Jewish sources indicates that an interest in a Third Temple was still stirring between the Jewish and Bar-Kochba Revolts. The Fourth Gospel shows Jesus as the Davidic Messiah who replaces the Temple because the Good Shepherd was the perfect sacrifice. / New Testament / D. Th. (New Testament)

Chapter One contains a lengthy discussion of tafsír, outlining its meaning, its need to the present study and the different forms in which it exists, whilst at the same time clarifying its obscurities and commending it as an indispensable science. Chapter Two offers a concise overview of five Qur'ánic commentators selected for this particular study. This assessment is based on the eras from which they emerged which has a definite bearing on their commentaries. Chapter Three is a résumé of my subject's biography adopted primarily from Qur'ánic sources. As a frequently mentioned prophet in the Qur'án the story of Músá [p.b.u.h] is drawn from various chapters highlighting substantial aspects of his life. Chapter Four concentrates on two frequently mentioned events in the life of prophet Músá [ p.b.u.h], namely, his call to prophethood and the proclamation to the pharaoh and his people. Chapter Five concludes this work by presenting an overview of the perspectives of the different commentators. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A.