What is the correct way to interpret the relationship between the message of Jesus and the kerygma, a hermeneutic of discontinuity and evolution or a hermeneutic of continuity and development? The Eschatological Jesus will argue for continuity and development. In their portraits of a non-eschatological and non-messianic Jesus J.D. Crossan and Marcus Borg raise questions about the relationship between Jesus and the kerygma but do not answer them. Reginald H. Fuller and Martin Hengel demonstrate that high Christology can be traced directly to the eschatological ministry of Jesus, especially his authority. Fuller describes Jesus' authority in terms of an inaugurated eschatology and a distinctive sonship which he extends to others. Martin Hengel describes Jesus' eschatological authority as one who acted in God's place when he called his disciples the way God called his prophets and imposed on them a divine discipline and in Lk. 13:34 which has parallels in Sir. 1:15 and Deut. 32:11. This is a messianic authority since it was the Messiah who stood in God's place at the end of time. This Jesus who is in control of the end gave rise to a belief in his pre-existence and the claims of the Fourth Gospel. P.M. Casey, on the other hand, rejects such authority as being apparent in Jesus' ministry. Unlike Fuller and Hengel who see the Fourth Gospel as the logical outgrowth of Jesus' use of 'Abbā, Casey sees the Fourth Gospel as a betrayal of Jesus and the synoptic tradition. However, Casey overlooks the synoptic gospels' portrait of Jesus' acting in God's place and Matthew's use of προσκγνεῖν and προσέρχεσθαι. The Eschatological Jesus concludes with the belief that Jesus' ministry was messianic and eschatological and that the authority he exhibits provides the basis for not only his being Christ, but divine Lord and Son of God.

From earliest times Christians have differed among themselves concerning their understanding and practice of baptism. In the early church of the third and fourth centuries there was a remarkable variety of baptismal practices within the 'One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church', including infant baptism, believers' baptism, delayed baptism, emergency baptism and death-bed baptism. In subsequent centuriest diversity of baptismal views and practices was greatly restricted by ecclesiastical and civil repression. In more recent times increasing religious freedom and the growing fragmentation of 'Christendom' have resulted in various baptismal practices developing, usually associated with certain traditions and denominations. Today, three major baptismal traditions can be identified: Catholic, Reformed and Baptistt each with their own particular insights, strengths and weaknesses. Something of a theological stalemate has been arrived at today in the arena of polemical debate for one particular baptismal position. The visible unity of Christians with one another in the world is intimately linked to their divine calling to be a witness to the saving, healing and reconciling work of God in Christ. The ability of Churches to incorporate legitimate diversity within an authentic unity is vital to their ministry in and to a broken and alienated world. Many differences of baptismal understanding and practice constitute just such a legitimate diversity. In any Christian hierarchy of truths the imperatives of lovet reconciliation and unity must rank higher than matters of baptismal rites and doctrines. To allow baptismal differences, therefore, to divide Christians from one another constitutes a failure of Christian love. Empirical research has revealed a widespread and strong desire for a unity that could transcend baptismal differences. The ideal has already been implemented within a number of individual congregations and in a few denominations and found to be workable. The challenge remains to the wider Christian community to allow genuine freedom of conscience in baptismal matters within one united Christian fellowship. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Orientador: Neri de Barros Almeida / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T10:56:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Figuinha_MatheusCoutinho_M.pdf: 975708 bytes, checksum: f5787277caf3073a576ca6e917624299 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Este é um estudo da relação entre ascetismo e poder episcopal no caso de santo Agostinho. Tal relação é avaliada no contexto da controvérsia donatista, que tanto preocupou o bispo católico de Hipona durante longos anos, especialmente ao longo da primeira década do século V. Num primeiro momento, procuro levantar os problemas e as dificuldades que a controvérsia apresentava ao seu episcopado, bem como suas possibilidades de ação. Em seguida, analiso como o emprego de valores ascéticos na organização da Igreja católica e a mobilização de ascetas e monges durante sua campanha anti-donatista criaram novas tendências de expressão do poder episcopal. Por fim, considero seus esforços de desenvolver um modelo mais organizado de monasticismo, centrado na autoridade episcopal, a fim de eliminar as tensões entre ele e os monges ao seu redor / Abstract: This is a study about the relationship between asceticism and episcopal power in the case of Saint Augustine. That relationship is evaluated in the context of the Donatist controversy, which so much concerned the Catholic bishop of Hippo during long years, especially through the first decade of the fifth century. Firstly, I try to point out the problems and difficulties that the controversy presented to his episcopate, as well as his possibilities of action. Then, I analyze how the use of ascetic values in the organization of the Catholic Church and the engagement of ascetics and monks during his anti-Donatist campaign created new tendencies of expression of the episcopal power. Finally, I consider his efforts to develop a more organized model of monasticism, centered on the episcopal authority, in order to eliminate the tensions between him and the monks / Mestrado / Historia Cultural / Mestre em História

O presente trabalho procura analisar a relação entre judeus e cristãos no segundo século a partir dos elementos apresentados por S. Justino no Diálogo com Trifão. Para tanto, julgamos necessário contextualizar a obra no conjunto de transformações ocorridas no interior do Império Romano e na atuação do Estado frente às duas religiões. Desta forma, as Guerras Judaicas na Palestina e as perseguições aos cristãos repercutiram na relação entre judeus e cristãos. Além disso, pensamos que o judeucristianismo e algumas características do cristianismo na cidade de Roma nos ajudam a compreender melhor as intenções de Justino com sua obra. Discutiremos as principais teorias a respeito dos destinatários do Diálogo. Acreditamos ser possível investigar pontos de encontro e de aproximação entre judeus e cristãos, a partir daquilo que Justino demonstra conhecer sobre o judaísmo de seu tempo. No entanto, também é possível perceber no texto as tensões e rivalidades entre os dois grupos de crentes gestadas em um ambiente polêmico. Ambos os casos requerem uma análise mais crítica das palavras do apologista. / The aim of this essay is to analyze the relationship between Jews and Christians in the second century from the evidence presented by S. Justin in the Dialogue with Trypho. For this, we deem necessary to contextualize the work in the set of changes within the Roman Empire and the state action against the two religions. Thus, the Jewish War in Palestine and the persecution of Christians affected the relationship between Jews and Christians. Furthermore, we believe that Judeo-Christianity and some features of Christianity in Rome help us better understand the intentions of Justin with his work. We will discuss the main theories about the recipients of the Dialogue. We believe it is possible to investigate points of contact and rapprochement between Jews and Christians from what Justin knows about the Judaism of his time. However, the text also reveals the tensions and rivalries between the two groups of believers, gestated in a controversial environment. Both cases require a more critical analysis of the apologist´s words.

Cette thèse d’histoire sociale, fondée sur « l’individualisme méthodologique », donne à l’individu et à l’action individuelle une place considérable dans la société entre le début du IVe siècle et la fin du VIe siècle, et ne s’intéresse pas en soi à la communauté des chrétiens. À partir d’un échantillon constitué de cent quatre-Vingt-Dix-Huit personnages d’Italie et d’Afrique, cette thèse se propose de mettre en lumière les manifestations de l’être-Chrétien, en étudiant le faire, le croire et le dire des chrétiens, ce que nous avons regroupé sous le nom de christianité, d’après le néologisme das Christlichkeit, fondé par le philosophe F. Nietzsche. L’analyse des sources mettant en lumière la foi de ces individus a conduit l’auteur à procéder à des classifications, retenant quatre catégories de gestes et deux modes d’expression. Les gestes primaires sont ceux qui sont typiquement chrétiens et qu’on ne retrouve pas sous cette forme, dans les autres religions. Les gestes secondaires sont des réappropriations chrétiennes de gestes qui existent déjà dans le monde romain. Les gestes à caractère social traite des réseaux sociaux du chrétien et le geste militant met en lumière les actions que le chrétien peut effectuer pour défendre sa religion. Le chrétien exprime sa foi de deux façons différentes, soit par l’expression écrite, soit à travers son corps. Deux parties, constituées au total de huit chapitres, composent cette thèse. Elles s’intitulent dans l’ordre d’apparition : « Les chrétien et le monde. Vivre en chrétien dans la société romaine » et « Les chrétien, les clercs et l’Église ». / The approach of this dissertation is based not on the Christian community but on social history, and focuses on the issues of “Methodological individualism”, of which individuals form the social dynamics between the beginning of the 4th century and the end of the 6th century. Based on a sample of 198 individuals from Italy and Roman Africa, this thesis highlights the social manifestations of the Christian-Being by studying the Christians’s ways of doing, believing and saying, grouped together in what we have called their Christianess, according to the neologism das Christlichkeit coined by F. Nietzsche. In this dissertation, the author carried out the analysis of primary sources highlighting the faith of the Christians, which helped him to draw up a classification, comprising four different actions and two forms of expression. Primary actions are those deemed to be typically Christian, since this kind of behavior cannot be found in this form in any other religions of the Roman World. Secondary actions are those which already existed in the Roman Society, and are re-Used by Christians. Social actions deal with the networks of the faithful Christians, and lastly militant actions demonstrate the ability of Christians to stand up for their beliefs. The fellow Christians express their faith into two different ways, in writing and with their body. Two main parts compose this dissertation, made up of eight chapters, entitled - in order of appearance - as follows : “The Christians and the World. Living as a Christian in the roman society”and “The Christians, the Clerics and the Church”.

From Preface: This study has a two-fold nature. In one sense the focus of attention is on the Apologists. The chapters on Clement and Athanasius attempt to follow through the basic questions raised by the Apologists. But in the other sense, what I have presented is four independent studies dealing with Justin, the other Apologists, Clement and Athanasius's Contra Gentes. Although much the same questions have been asked in all four sections, there has been no rigid attempt to systematize the answers. This may well be one of the strengths as well as one of the weaknesses of the work.

Abstract This work deals with the four final chapters of the Second Letter to Corinth, which are considered for their difference as a separate letter. The apostle Paul defends his apostolic mission here against "adversaries." The first chapters aim to bring closer the life of the Apostle Paul, his missionary journey. In abbreviated form, they also describe the individual leaves that St. Paul also wrote the so-called catalogs of suffering that these letters contain. The next section deals with Corinth. A brief outline of the history of this city-state is followed by a chapter on the local church community. After a short historical approach to Corinth, the characteristics of the local ecclesial community follow, followed by a description of the problems in this community as recorded in the letters that Paul addressed to Corinth. Behind this list is a brief introduction to the meaning of the word "apostle". At the end of this section, the work deals with the issue of Corinthian correspondence, ie the number of letters written in Corinth and their contents. After this general introduction to the problem, the work is devoted to a more detailed analysis of individual pericopes 2 Cor 10-13, which could shed light on what could be the reasons for this Great Paul's apology.

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My thesis examines relations among practitioners of various religions, especially Christians and Jews, during the era when Jesus’ project went from being a Galilean sect, to a persecuted minority, to religio licita status, and eventually to imperial favor, all happening between the first century resurrection of Jesus and the fourth century rise of Constantine. There is an abiding image of the Church in wider public consciousness that it is unwittingly and in some cases antagonistically exclusionist. This is not a late-developing image. I trace it to the period that the church developed into a formal organization with the establishment of canons and creeds defined by Church councils. This notion is so pervasive that an historical retrospective of Christianity of any period, from the sect that became a movement, to the Reformation, to the present day’s multiple Christian iterations, is framed by the late Patristic era. The conflicts and solutions reached in that period provided enduring definition to the Church while silencing dissent. I refer here to such actions as the destruction of books and letters and the banishment of bishops. Before there emerged the urgent perceived need for doctrinal uniformity, the presence of Christianity provided a resilient non-militant opponent to and an increasing intellectual critique of all religious traditions, including that of the official gods that were seen to hold the empire together. When glaringly manifest cleavages in the empire persisted, the Emperor Constantine sought to use the church to help bring political unity. He called for church councils, starting with Nicaea in 325 CE that took no account for churches outside the Roman Empire, and many within, even though councils were called “Ecumenical.” The presumption that the church was fully representative without asking for permission from a broader field of constituents is just that: a presumption. This thesis studies the ancient world of Christianity’s growth to explore whether, in that age of new and untested toleration, there was a more advisable way of responding to the invitation to the political table. The answer to this can help us formulate, and perhaps revise, some of our conduct today, especially for Christians who obtain a voice in powerful places. / Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology / D. Th. (Church History)