This study traces the first steps of how divine simplicity entered into Christian Trinitarian discourse. It is the burden of this thesis to demonstrate that divine simplicity emerged in the ante-Nicene period with a distinctive status quaestionis concerning (a) the meaning of the doctrine, and (b) its function in reflections on the Father-Son relation. The first part argues that simplicity emerged in the ante-Nicene period with two possible trajectories of interpretation, anticipated by Plato’s Republic and Phaedo respectively. In the apologists, divine simplicity emerged as a purely metaphysical doctrine. However, a richer interpretation of the doctrine is also available in ante-Nicene theology, as exemplified in Origen’s understanding of divine simplicity as a metaphysical-ethical synthesis, meaning that (a) God’s nature is perfectly incorruptible, and (b) God’s character is perfectly free from contradictions. The second part argues that divine simplicity acquired a role in ante-Nicene reflections on the Father-Son relation within two significant ante-Nicene contexts: (a) polemic against Valentinian emanation (prolatio/probolē) and (b) polemic against Monarchianism. The genius of Origen is to utilise divine simplicity for avoiding the Monarchian identification between the Father and Son on the one hand, and the Valentinian separation between the Father and Son on the other. Consequently, we find the surprising conclusion that divine simplicity serves as a principle of differentiation as well as unity between the Father and Son. This thesis raises new questions for both modern theologians and patristic specialists. For modern theologians, the ante-Nicene developments suggest the Son’s generation as a fruitful site for further analysis on the relation between divine simplicity and Trinitarian theology. For patristic specialists, ante-Nicene developments highlight the need to account for the transition from the ante-Nicene to the post-Nicene status quaestionis: how did divine simplicity change from being attributed to the Father (ante-Nicene) to being attributed to the divine essence (post-Nicene)?

This thesis argues for a common character of royal self-presentation in the early Hellenistic world, defined in this thesis as the period between the death of Alexander in 323 BC and the accession of Antigonos Gonatas in 276. In contrast to current models of interpretation which analyse it on a predominantly regional or biographical basis, this thesis supports the validity of approaching Hellenistic kingship as a broader phenomenon. Royal self-presentation is defined here as imagery developed by the kings, ideology articulated by them, and symbolic deeds enacted by them. This thesis engages a distinction between local and international perspectives and a wide interdisciplinary view of the surviving evidence in order to demonstrate the common character of early Hellenistic royal self-presentation. This common character is in turn unified by a dominant Greco-Macedonian emphasis: accordingly, it is termed ‘the image of the basileus’ in this thesis. This ‘image of the basileus’ is a composite construction based on six themes of royal self-presentation, each of which is analysed and discussed in a separate chapter; their total character is adduced fully in the final conclusion to this thesis. Chapter 1 covers heroic themes in royal self-presentation, which scholars have generally overlooked in reference to the early Hellenistic kings despite their commonality and significance. Chapter 2 covers the diadem, which became the symbol of Hellenistic kingship par excellence and as such is of pivotal importance to this study. Chapter 3 covers the concept of spear-won land and the foundation of eponymous cities, which can be understood together as part of an image of territorial domination. Chapter 4 covers representations of divine favour and divine will, a crucial basis of support for the early Hellenistic kings. Chapter 5 covers joint kingship and father-son rule, an innovation in the structuring of royal power and thus a vital focus for this thesis. Chapter 6, the final chapter of this thesis, covers common imagery in the funerals of the kings, which is important as a summation of their self-presentation.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-01-12T14:46:50Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Mariana Amorim Romero - 2016.pdf: 5655363 bytes, checksum: 0fd64c5019c42642b345ccfd028af310 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-01-12T14:47:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Mariana Amorim Romero - 2016.pdf: 5655363 bytes, checksum: 0fd64c5019c42642b345ccfd028af310 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-12T14:47:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Mariana Amorim Romero - 2016.pdf: 5655363 bytes, checksum: 0fd64c5019c42642b345ccfd028af310 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Christian society has always imagined a paradisiacal reward in the afterlife and with Dante Alighieri was not different. In this search for paradise in this life, as in the afterlife, the Florentine poet wrote one of the most studied and recited poems in the world, Commedia. Amid political quarrels within Florence, which Dante considered his paradise, the poet was exiled and through his writing roamed the Italian courts in search of a paradise in this life. In this work, we try to demonstrate how this process hapened, either by the political disputes in which Dante became involved, as well as in his defense to the Empire and oposition to the Papacy. The choices of the guides during their imaginary journey and the inspiration in the Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna, were also of fundamental importance for the composition of the Commedia. Thus, we seek to follow the trail and paths traveled by the poet in his incessant search for a paradise, still in this life. / A sociedade cristã sempre imaginou uma recompensa paradisíaca na vida após a morte e com Dante Alighieri não foi diferente. Nesta busca pelo paraíso, tanto nesta vida, quanto na vida após a morte, o poeta florentino escreveu um dos poemas mais estudados e recitados no mundo, a Commedia. Em meio a disputas políticas dentro de Florença, que Dante considerava seu paraíso, o poeta foi exilado e por meio de sua escrita vagou pelas cortes italianas em busca de um paraíso nesta vida. Neste trabalho procuramos demonstrar como se deu este processo, seja pelas disputas políticas em que Dante se envolveu, bem como na sua defesa ao Império e oposição ao Papado. As escolhas dos guias durante sua viagem imaginária e a inspiração nos mosaicos bizantinos de Ravena, também foram de fundamental importância para a composição da Commedia. Assim, procuramos seguir as trilhas e os caminhos percorridos pelo poeta em sua busca incessante por um paraíso, ainda nesta vida.

O presente estudo é resultado das pesquisas de campo sobre a festa do Divino em Brotas de Macaúbas, Chapada Velha do sertão baiano, realizadas em 2011 e 2014. Neste movimento etnográfico, as questões socioespaciais da Festa, através das visitações durante os cinquenta dias de itinerância, indicaram elementos importantes para a nossa pesquisa. Neste sentido, destacamos a ideia de circuito comunitário, que são as comunidades visitadas anualmente pela bandeira do Divino. Suas espacialidades, conexões, linhas, improvisos e mudanças, bem como os mecanismos utilizados na escolha e exclusão das comunidades, serão os temas abordados. / This study is the result of a field research on the Feast of the Divine Holy Spirit held in 2011 and 2014 in Brotas de Macaúbas, Chapada Velha, in the arid backcountry of Bahia. In this ethnographic movement, the socio-spatial aspects of the feast, which are characterized by the visitations during fifty days of itinerancy, indicated important elements for our research. In this regard, we emphasize the idea of community circuit, which are the communities visited annually by the Divine flag. The approached themes concern spatiality, connections, lines, improvisations and changes as well as the mechanisms used in the choice and exclusion of the communities.

Whether the weakness of the evidence for God’s existence is not a sign that God is hidden, but rather a revelation that God does not exist is the question I will explore in this paper. I will investigate whether the absence of sufficient evidence for God constitutes evidence of his absence. Since it is not clear a-priori that God would be more clearly revealed to humans, reasons must be provided to show the degree of clarity and level of accessibility one would expect to find if God exists and remains hidden.

There is a tendency in modern times for life to be divided into strictly separated categories-our music is divided into bins at the record store according to sometimes arbitrary genre distinctions, courses offered by one university department often cannot be counted towards a degree in another department, and students from middle school through college are outraged when they learn that "spelling counts" in a history paper. These distinctions, which are second nature to us even in childhood, were not as numerous or as strict in the medieval European understanding of life. Even when there were systems of division, such as the classification of scholarly subjects according to the Trivium and Quadrivium, the classifications were seen as interconnected and were meant to be studied together. I don't believe we can hope to truly understand any aspect of medieval culture if we examine these aspects in isolation according to our own categories. My hope is to come to a greater understanding of some part of medieval culture by examining in combination two aspects of this culture that are not normally combined in modern study-sacred architecture and sacred literature. I will explore correlations in the use of sacred geometry, number symbolism, light metaphysics, and optics in Gothic cathedral architecture and sacred literature of the same period. I will also explore the evolution of cathedral architecture from the Romanesque model to the Gothic model in terms of correlations with an evolving approach to popular theology as reflected in the literature of the period. More specifically, I will look at the use of sacred geometry and number symbolism as a central element of sacred architecture regardless of style and period and the increasing importance of light metaphysics and optics in Gothic architecture as a reflection of a changing approach to popular theology culminating in such thirteenth and fourteenth century writings as those of Robert Grosseteste, Chaucer, and Dante, particularly his Divine Comedy, which present to a popular audience a complex theology which would previously have been reserved for a clerical audience.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 313-324).

This dissertation examines the role of ethical monism in the theology of Augustus Hopkins Strong. Chapter 1 discusses some of the reasons for examining Strong's theology and some of the difficulties entailed in such a study. Chapter 2 surveys the life of Strong up until the time when he returned to Rochester Theological Seminary and assumed the dual role of president and professor of theology in 1872. Special attention is given to factors which affected or pointed toward his later decision to embrace ethical monism. Chapter 3 explores the writings of several German thinkers who seem to have provided some of the philosophical building blocks which Strong used to construct his ethical monism. It also examines the writings of several English-speaking philosophers who emphasized the doctrine of divine immanence and who appear to have pushed Strong's thinking toward ethical monism. Chapter 4 discusses the various stages in Strong's decision to adopt ethical monism. It also traces his early incorporation of ethical monism into his larger theological system. Chapter 5 examines the impact which ethical monism had on other areas of Strong's theology. In particular, it discusses how ethical monism affected Strong's view of Scripture and experience, evolution and miracles, and sin and the atonement. Chapter 6 explores how other theologians viewed Strong's final theology and how Strong's theological journey affected the institution and people whom he impacted most. It argues that neither Rochester Theological Seminary nor the integrity of his theological system remained unaffected by his decision to embrace ethical monism. It also notes that both theological liberals and theological conservatives were generally critical of Strong's ethical monism, though for different reasons. This work contends that ethical monism was a means by which Strong attempted to reconcile Christian theology and modern thought while also trying to solve tensions within his own theology. In the end, Strong was unable to persuade modernists to embrace ethical monism or to convince conservatives that ethical monism was a legitimate theological option. Strong's attempt at a theological synthesis failed due largely to the contradictions which ethical monism produced within both Christian theology and philosophical monism.

The Reformation was a period of change in which there was a distinct break between the medieval tradition and the Early Modern Period. Divine Right to Rule, the doctrine that states monarchs derive their right to rule from and are only answerable to God, became a central point in Early Modern political theories, such as in The Six Bookes of the Commonwealth by Jean Bodin. Sovereignty was described in absolutist terms that stressed obedience to the ruler and denied resistance under any circumstances. The cultural phenomenon of obedience and non-resistance largely emerged through the doctrines of Reformation writers such as Martin Luther and William Tyndale. This thesis attempts to trace the intellectual origins of the Divine Right theory from the medieval antipapal polemics to Bodin¡¦s concrete definition of sovereignty. This thesis uses a cultural studies approach to trace the ideas which eventually led to the emergence of the Divine Right theory. It finds similarities in the historical circumstance, which influenced the production of each, individual work, and finds similarities between the texts of different historical periods. It also explores the influence each text had on its contemporaries and on later generations. To start, Bodin¡¦s The Six Bookes of the Common-Weale will be examined to determine the definition of absolutism defined by divine right as seen by sixteenth century intellectuals. It is important to note that Bodin did not always support royal absolutism, but like many other political thinkers, the chaos of the French Civil Wars led him to the conclusion that only a strong king has the ability to unify a country. Bodin¡¦s Six Bookes set out to clearly define the meaning of sovereignty and the obligations of the sovereign. He determined a sovereign has to have supreme, unshared power that is not limited by any subject. Moreover, a sovereign ruler recognizes no higher authority, save God. Therefore, Bodin justifies royal absolutism through Divine Right. This becomes clear through his stance on resistance¡Xactive resistance, rebellion and tyrannicide are forbidden under all circumstances. The ideas highlighted in Six Bookes will be compared with the philosophy presented by Marsilius of Padua in Defensor Pacis. It may seem strange to compare thought of Marsilius against that of Bodin, for Marsilius actually had a profound dislike of absolutism (Copleston 310), however Marsilius¡¦ doctrine plays a crucial role in the foundations of divine right. Appalled by papal interference into secular affairs, Marsilius created an antipapal polemic, which attempts to destroy the papacy¡¦s claims on temporal power and places the state above the church in earthly affairs. Both the medieval and modern standpoints will then be compared with the ideas of Reformers. Like Marsilius, both Luther and William Tyndale begin their respective works with antipapal rhetoric. Luther¡¦s An Appeal to the Ruling Class of German Nationality as to the Amelioration of the State of Christendom (1520) attacks the ¡§three walls¡¨ he felt protected the pope¡¦s erroneous actions. In Secular Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed, Luther agrees with Marsilius¡¦ opinion that the pope had no coercive power or jurisdiction in earthly affairs, and identifies the king as God¡¦s representative on earth. Thus a good Christian has the duty to obey the king and not resist his orders. Tyndale¡¦s The Obedience of a Christian Man further developed Luther¡¦s political theory, in particular with the idea of obedience. Tyndale emphasizes the divine right to rule and that usurping a sovereign ruler is equivalent to usurping the will of God. In his eyes, disobedience breeds disobedience and the result of rebellion is chaos. While still based on theology, the political thinking of both Luther and Tyndale act as a bridge between merely attacks against the pope and the sophisticated political philosophies justified by history and civil law. In conclusion, Reformation writers were immeasurably useful in providing intellectual support for secular claims for supremacy, obedience and non-resistance, particularly in the ecclesiastical split between Henry VIII and Rome. The Reformation doctrine of obedience developed from the antipapal polemics of the medieval period and become a defining point in Early Modern political tracts. Obedience and non-resistance also enabled the claim of Divine Right to Rule by sixteenth and seventeenth century rulers.

Univ., Diss.--München, 2006.