<p>The New Testament contains two important and potentially conflicting understandings of resurrection. One integrates resurrection into salvation, suggesting that it is restricted to the righteous; this view is found most prominently in the Pauline epistles. The other understands resurrection as a prerequisite for eschatological judgment and therefore explicitly extends it to all; this view is found most prominently in the book of Revelation. In the former, moral transformation is part of the process that results in resurrection; in the latter, moral transformation only affects what comes after resurrection, not the event of resurrection itself. The New Testament itself provides no account of how to hold together these understandings of resurrection and moral transformation.</p><p>This dissertation is an investigation of the ways in which second- and third-century Christian authors creatively struggled to bring together these two understandings. I select key authors who are not only important in the history of early Christian discussions of resurrection but who also make extensive use of the Pauline epistles. For each author, I investigate not only how they develop or resist the Pauline connection between resurrection and moral transformation but also how they relate that connection to the doctrine of the resurrection of all to face judgment found in Revelation (if they do at all).</p><p>The results are remarkably diverse. Irenaeus develops the Pauline connection between resurrection and moral transformation through the Spirit of God but fails to account for the resurrection of those who do not receive that Spirit in this life (although affirming that resurrection nonetheless). Tertullian begins from the model that takes resurrection to be fundamentally a prerequisite for judgment and struggles to account for Paul's connections between resurrection and salvation. Two Valentinian texts, the Treatise on the Resurrection and the Gospel of Philip, adopt the Pauline model to the exclusion of the resurrection of the wicked. Origen connects resurrection to moral transformation in yet another way, making it an event that pedagogically reflects the moral transformation of all rational creatures--whether for the better or worse. For Methodius of Olympus, the resurrection of the body produces the moral transformation that is the eradication of the entrenched inclination to sin, but the moral transformation in this life that is the resistance of the promptings of that entrenched inclination produces reward after the resurrection. In each case, strategies for holding together the two views found in the New Testament reveal the fundamental theological commitments underlying the author's overall understanding of resurrection.</p> / Dissertation

The purpose of this thesis is to set in perspective, as far as is possible, the eschatology of the Early Church. The work required for it has been undertaken in the conviction that this is a significant area of investigation. It is impossible to gain an adequate picture of Early Church life and theology, if any one facet of thought, which was important to the people of the time, is left out of consideration. It is also felt that the writers and thinkers of the early centuries stood so much closer in their thought forms to those writers who set down the words of the Scriptures, and especially of the New Testament, that what they thought is a probable indication as to how the Scriptural writers themselves thought. It also seems to be true that the Church of Jesus Christ today has little to say concerning eschatology, and when it does speak, does so with an uncertain voice. The recovery of an understanding with regard to the assumptions of hope of the Early Fathers must put Christians today in a better position to make their own assessment in the field of eschatology. The study undertaken for this thesis has presented a constant challenge to the faith and understanding of the writer. It was originally intended to take the study through to the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. The volume of work made this impossible, but it is believed that the conclusions reached about the development of thought up to c.250 A.D. indicates. the trend of thought up to that watershed in the Ancient Church.

The explosive growth of technology today is causing extensive speculation about the future. These ‘technological futurisms’—especially transhumanism—are often imbued with religious value by their adherents. How should Christians respond to the content of technological futurisms and also the way the future is constructed? In this thesis I argue that Christian eschatology has a more robust understanding of the future than technological futurism, as championed by transhumanism, and can allow for radical hope while also maintaining important humanistic virtues which are ultimately lost in transhumanism. Christian eschatology does not only depend on what is actual to create its future. Rather, it is open to the God of possibility and promise who can bring the radically new in the Kingdom of God. This dissertation is broken into three major sections with an introductory and concluding chapter. The first section provides a history of our technological imagination today by looking at visionary approaches to technology and the future in both technological utopias and science fiction. This history provides the conditions for understanding the proposed future of transhumanism. The second section orients the final response by assessing technology and the future in the eschatologies of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Jacques Ellul. Both Teilhard and Ellul agree that the technological future without appeal to the Christian God is dangerous. The final section looks at the theological and philosophical issues surrounding technology and the future. Heidegger’s works are used to sharpen themes related to technology and the future; in particular, how technology is related to ontology and how the future is related to possibility. The final chapters construct a Christian response to transhumanism around the themes of possibility and promise by utilising the works of Richard Kearney, Eberhard Jüngel and Jürgen Moltmann. A Christian notion of possibility allows for the radically new in a way transhumanism does not and the Christian idea of promise safeguards human virtues by emphasising the interpersonal as ultimate rather than self-transcendence as with transhumanism.

This thesis examines John Napier of Merchiston’s 1593 commentary on the Book of Revelation within the context of sixteenth century apocalyptic thought in Scotland and England. Napier is usually remembered as a mathematician and this study aims to contribute to a more complete understanding of the man. Its most important contribution to scholarship is its discussion of Napier’s identification of himself as a conduit for divine revelation, chosen by God to expose the mysteries of scripture in the final age of human history. This placed him in the tradition of reformers like Knox but he differed from them in two crucial ways. Firstly, he broke from the texts that had influenced him by controversially predicting the approximate date of the apocalypse. Some of these works, and responses to Napier’s conclusions, are considered. Secondly, he did not regard a call to ministry as a facet of his prophetic status. Instead, he saw his biblical commentary as the expression of an intellectual gift from God. He employed grandiose eschatological themes to appeal to the highest echelons of society in an attempt to affect religious change. His dedicatory epistle to James VI was a direct correspondence that revealed shared knowledge and experiences. Napier’s approaches to the apocalypse and alchemy stemmed from a worldview that presented him as belonging to an intellectual and moral elite, preordained by God to receive and disseminate hidden knowledge at appointed times. The impact of historical events on the content of his work, including the Spanish Armada, Scottish Reformation and resulting sense of unity between Scotland and England, are assessed. The current biographical understanding of Napier is critiqued. The unique aspects of the Plaine Discovery, including the explicit chronology of salvation history that framed its conclusions, are discussed in detail.

Thesis advisor: James F. Keenan / This dissertation examines the significance of work and leisure from the perspective of Christian theology and ethics. Specifying work as obligatory activity and leisure as discretionary activity, the dissertation argues that a theological vision for work as a form of service and leisure as a form of peace can challenge some of the most damaging assumptions about paid employment and the use of free time. In the process, the dissertation also identifies the personal and social transformations necessary to make the theological vision a reality, and it proposes a distinct methodology for linking ethics with both lived experience and substantive theological claims. Chapter one outlines the current state of work in the United States, asserting that changes in the nature of work, the demographics of the workforce, and the structure of business have made workers more dependent on paid employment and less secure in their jobs. After discussing the implications of these changes for gender assumptions and family life, this chapter argues that the root causes of dependence and insecurity lie in an increasingly individualistic culture and its concomitant spirit of consumerism. Responding to the problems identified in chapter one, chapter two offers a theological vision for what work could become if Christian theological convictions were integrated more fully into this sphere of life. A critical overview of the traditional language of vocation yields a "charismatic-vocational" understanding of work, which stresses the dynamic nature of both God's call and an individual's response. This vision is further refined with insights about the relational nature of the human person and about Jesus' work for the kingdom of God. Christians, then, are encouraged to see their work as an intrinsic good that uses their particular charisms to serve God and neighbor. Chapter three uses the virtue of justice--biblically defined as right relationship--to pinpoint the structural reforms needed to make the theological vision for work more viable. In conversation with Catholic social teaching, this yields a constructive vision for just remuneration and a necessary critique of executive compensation practices. The result is a more relational understanding of work for employers and employees alike. Shifting to leisure, chapter four notes that the two most common leisure activities (watching TV and using digital media) are defined by superficiality and isolation. The former is described in opposition to depth and "flow," and the latter in contrast to robust community ties. In both cases, relationships are identified as the key casualty. Chapter five distinguishes leisure (flow-like activities) from recreation (non-flow activities) and engages Christian eschatology to insist that leisure is properly a temporary prefiguration of peaceful rest in God while recreation serves as a form of recuperation that helps one fulfill his or her charismatic-vocational responsibilities. Augustine's classic categories of enjoyment and use are then adapted to create a balanced approach to leisure and recreation that avoids idolatrous extremes. Chapter six develops a general ethics for leisure and recreation by relying on the virtue of solidarity. The distinctively Christian notion of this virtue yields a defense of a weekly day of rest for every worker. Parallels with Aquinas then create an ordering of leisure as well as guidelines for the ethical evaluation of particular recreational pursuits. The conclusion addresses the central benefits of the overall project, highlighting the value and necessity of promoting the practice of ethical discernment in everyday life. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

A dissertação em questão procura analisar O sonho de um homem ridículo (1877), de Fiódor Dostoiévski, fundamentalmente a partir de uma aproximação crítica em relação à teoria polifônica erigida por Mikhail Bakhtin, em Problemas da Poética de Dostoiévski. O teórico russo buscou desvelar a poética dostoievskiana não por meio de uma síntese parcial em função do discurso ideológico do escritor ou de uma de suas personagens expediente tradicional da crítica partidária, segundo Boris Schnaiderman e Paulo Bezerra , mas através do modo pelo qual o diálogo deixaria de ser contingente para assumir um papel estrutural essencial. A identidade das personagens não se estabeleceria em si e por si mesma, uma vez que o eu, desde a sua expressão primordial, já apareceria formado, enformado e deformado pela inflexão do outro. A alteridade e a altercação, vozes imiscíveis e eqüipolentes a alicerçarem a polifonia. Bakhtin, porém, não pôde demonstrar o modo pelo qual se daria a apreensão da obra de Dostoiévski como uma totalidade polifônica integral. Haveria um norte em função do qual as vozes relacionais e contraditórias seriam estruturadas? Seria possível apreender a poética dostoievskiana por meio do arcabouço tradicional, monológico e sistêmico? O aporte da teoria crítica de Marx, Lukács, Horkheimer, Adorno e Benjamin passou a trilhar as galerias labirínticas do subsolo dostoievskiano de modo a reconstituir a crítica de Bakhtin à abordagem dialética. A polifonia, a partir de então, transforma-se em um momento dialético para a constituição da poética de Dostoiévski. Totalidade alquebrada, polifonia amordaçada, dialética sem síntese, dialética no labirinto, dialética do labirinto. Labirinto da dialética: dialogo com alguns autores da eslavística norte-americana destacadamente, Joseph Frank, Michael Holquist e Gerald Sabo e com o homem ridículo, o narrador equívoco e inequívoco da estória fantástica que, segundo Bakhtin, é quase uma enciclopédia dos principais temas da obra do escritor russo. Assim, o presente trabalho procura erigir um novo modelo que tensione as cordas vocais da polifonia integral de modo a reconstituir suas aporias e trilhar um caminho outro que restitua a contradição como categoria essencial para a apreensão da obra de Dostoiévski. / This dissertation seeks to analyze Feodor Dostoevskys The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (1877) fundamentally by a critical approach in relation to Mikhail Bakhtins polyphonic theory in Problems of Dostoevskys Poetics. The Russian theorist searched to unveil Dostoevskys poetics not by a partial synthesis in terms of the ideological speech of the writer or one of his characters traditional expedient of partisan critic, according to Boris Schnaiderman and Paulo Bezerra , but through the way by which dialog would leave its contingent form to assume an essential structural role. Characters identity would not be erected in itself and by itself, once the I, from his primordial expression, would arise shaped, formed and deformed by the inflection of the other. Alterity and altercation, immiscible and equipollent voices grounding polyphony. However, Bakhtin could not demonstrate the way by which it would be possible to apprehend Dostoevskys work as an integral polyphonic totality. Would there be a north toward which the relational and contradictory voices would be structured? Would it be possible to apprehend Dostoevskys poetics by the traditional, monologic and systemic background? The contribution from the critical theory by Marx, Lukacs, Horkheimer, Adorno and Benjamin trod the labyrinthic galleries of Dostoevskys underground allowing the reconstitution of Bakhtins critic to dialectical approach. From this point on polyphony becomes a dialectical moment to constitute Dostoevskys poetics. Prostrated totality, gagged polyphony, dialectic without a synthesis, dialectic in the labyrinth, dialectic of labyrinth. Labyrinth of dialectic: I dialog with some authors of North American slavistics specially Joseph Frank, Michael Holquist and Gerald Sabo and with the Ridiculous Man, the equivocal and unequivocal narrator of the fantastic story which, according to Bakhtin, is almost an encyclopedia of the Russian authors work. Therefore the present work seeks to erect a new model which tenses the vocal cords of integral polyphony in order to reconstitute its apories and tread another way which restitutes contradiction as an essential category for the apprehension of Dostoevskys work.

Chow Wai-yin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leave [243]-259). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

by Elizabeth Leung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-86). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Acknowledgments --- p.iii / Abbreviations --- p.iv / Abstract --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter A. --- A Brief Survey of Method of Matthean Studies --- p.1 / Chapter 1. --- Before the 1980s: Redaction Criticism --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- An Example of Transition --- p.4 / Chapter 3. --- Narrative Criticism --- p.5 / Chapter B. --- Method of Study --- p.13 / Chapter C. --- Thesis --- p.14 / Chapter II. --- The Eschatological Theme of Persecution --- p.16 / Chapter A. --- Persecutors & Persecution --- p.16 / Chapter 1. --- "Identity of Persecutions, Traitors and Haters (24:9-10 cf. 10:17-18, 21-22)" --- p.16 / Chapter 2. --- Severity of Persecution (24:9 cf. 5:11) --- p.19 / Chapter B. --- Communal Disharmony --- p.22 / Chapter 1. --- The Lack of Reconciliation (24:10 cf. 5:21-26) --- p.23 / Chapter 2. --- "The Lack of Non-Retaliation (24:10 cf. 5:38-42, 43-48)" --- p.26 / Chapter 3. --- "The Lack of Forgiveness and Non-Judgment (24:10 cf. 6:14-15, 7:1-5)" --- p.28 / Chapter C. --- False Prophets & Lawlessness --- p.30 / Chapter 1. --- "False Prophets (24:11, 24 cf. 7:15-20)" --- p.31 / Chapter 2. --- Lawlessness (24:12 cf. 7:21-23) --- p.34 / Chapter D. --- Perseverance & Purpose --- p.38 / Chapter 1. --- The Way of Persevering (24:13 cf. 7:24-27) --- p.38 / Chapter 2. --- The Circumstances of Persevering (24:13 cf. 10:22) --- p.41 / Chapter 3. --- The Purpose of Persevering (24:14 cf. 10:5-6) --- p.42 / Chapter E. --- Concluding Remarks --- p.46 / Chapter III. --- The Eschatological Theme of Separation --- p.48 / Chapter A. --- "The Time of Separation (24:3 cf. 13:24-30，36-43, 47-49)" --- p.49 / Chapter 1. --- "The Destruction of the Temple and ""These Things""" --- p.50 / Chapter 2. --- The Sign of the Parousia and the End of Age --- p.53 / Chapter B. --- "The Reason for Separation (24:40-41; 25:1-13,31-46 cf. 13:24-30,36-43,47-49)" --- p.56 / Chapter 1. --- The Ones Being Separated in the Parables Speech --- p.56 / Chapter 2. --- The Reasons of Separation in the Eschatological Speech --- p.61 / Chapter C. --- Separation & the Responsibility of Authority (24:45-51; 25:14-30 cf. 18:1-35) --- p.65 / Chapter 1. --- The Leadership Authority to Love --- p.66 / Chapter 2. --- The Leadership Authority to Discipline --- p.70 / Chapter 3. --- Use and Misuse of Authority --- p.73 / Chapter D. --- Concluding Remarks --- p.78 / Chapter IV. --- Conclusion --- p.80 / Bibliography --- p.84

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T19:30:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luiz Aloysio Mattos Rangel.pdf: 2546504 bytes, checksum: 90e7e302fed779fbe5f590603a07806d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-10-21 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Representations of urban futuristic subject in respect to science fiction narrative genre constitutes the subject of the current study, which is going to be used both for the movie Blade Runner, from 1982, directed by Ridley Scott, and inspired by the book, that shall also serve as a source, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", from 1968, the American writer Philip K. Dick. Having as its central axis articulation theme the research, ways of perception in contemporaneity time, it examines the maintainance of the ancient conception of the eschatological time, updated through the fictional language. From the representation of a scenario of the urban and human decay, it is searched also the theme of finite nature in the time being. To do so, as important as the highlighted elements of the futuristic setting, are the characters of the plot, well known as replicants, androids that metaphorize the condition of accelerated life, driven by the speed due to being pre-programmed with a due date of only four purposely reduced years as well as androids hunters, denominated as blade runners, taking into account the literal translation, they are those who run on the blade. The aim is to introduce to the reader an overview of some characteristical features of this life "the life that runs on the blade" in the major contemporary home cities, questioning a fictional representation on the historical perspective / Representações urbanas futurísticas de narrativas de ficção científica constituem o objeto do presente estudo, que se utilizará para tanto do filme Blade Runner, de 1982, dirigido por Ridley Scott, e inspirado no livro que também servirá de fonte, Do androids dream of eletric sheep?, de 1968, do escritor norte-americano Philip K. Dick. Tendo como eixo articulador da pesquisa formas de percepção do tempo na contemporaneidade, examina-se a permanência da concepção milenar do tempo escatológico, atualizada por meio da linguagem ficcional. A partir da representação de um cenário de decadência urbana e humana, investiga-se também o tema da finitude no tempo. Para tanto, tão importante quanto os elementos destacados da ambientação futurística, são os personagens da trama conhecidos como replicantes, andróides que metaforizam a condição de vida acelerada, impelidos à velocidade, por serem pré-programados com um prazo de vida propositalmente reduzido de apenas quatro anos, bem como os caçadores de andróides, denominados blade runners que, em tradução literal, são aqueles que correm sobre a lâmina. Pretende-se apresentar ao leitor uma visão panorâmica de alguns aspectos característicos desta vida que corre sobre a lâmina nas grandes metrópoles contemporâneas, problematizando uma representação ficcional sob a perspectiva histórica

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:27:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Diones Rafael Paganotto.pdf: 1658443 bytes, checksum: 5363a48387a581804b7fa261e28d9b23 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-26 / ADVENIAT / The parousia of Christ is a biblical and systematic data, which attests the second coming of Christ in the end times. This research aims to examine the eschatological description of the Parousia in the First Letter to the Thessalonians, specifically in the perícope from 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18. The presentation of eschatological basis of Paul s thought, before their encounter with the Risen Christ near Damascus, prepares the literary and theological analysis of the pericope, because the Pauline message is directed to a concerned community about the fate of the deads and in doubt about the course of events in the parousia. The resurrection of Christ is closely linked to his parousia, which is, according to Paul, the reason of Christian hope and the certainty of faith that illuminates the present and the future of every Christian / A parusia de Cristo é um dado bíblico-sistemático, o qual afirma a segunda vinda de Cristo no fim dos tempos. Esta pesquisa pretende examinar a descrição escatológica da parusia na Primeira carta aos Tessalonicenses, especificamente na perícope de 1Ts 4,13-18. A apresentação das bases escatológicas do pensamento de Paulo, antes do seu encontro com Cristo ressuscitado próximo a Damasco, prepara a análise literária e teológica da perícope, pois a mensagem paulina é direcionada a uma comunidade preocupada com o destino dos mortos e em dúvida acerca do curso dos acontecimentos da parusia. A ressurreição de Cristo está estritamente ligada à sua parusia, a qual, segundo Paulo, é a razão da esperança cristã e a certeza de fé que ilumina tanto o presente como o futuro de cada cristão