Thesis (M.A.E.T.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-107).

This thesis centers on Lutheran theologian Paul Althaus (1888–1966), one of the most contentious figures of twentieth-century Protestant theology and an architect of the Erlangen Opinion on the Aryan Paragraph. Althaus has been the object of a polarising scholarly debate on account of his ambiguous relationship to National Socialism and his ambivalent views on the so-called ‘Jewish Question.’ The investigation of the latter of these two points is the chief research objective of the thesis. That is, how did Althaus understand the ‘Jewish Question,’ especially in its theological dimension, and what did he envision as its solution? In the following pages, I suggest that Althaus fits together two separate but coherent strands of thought—inclusion and exclusion—into a paradoxical socio-theological vision for the Jews. The predominance of the scholarly literature falters on his theology of Jews and Judaism because it interprets the evidence more or less according to a binary model (philosemitism/antisemitism or inclusion/exclusion). But on this point Althaus resists facile classification because his approach to the ‘Jewish Question’ is dialectical. As such, it requires a dialectical interpretive approach to account for the function of ‘Jews’ within the wider logic of his theological system, including his doctrines of creation, the church, and the state. The study’s ultimate conclusion is that Althaus comes to interpret Jewish existence according to a dialectic of pathology and performance (according to which Jews are both a danger to and an indispensable factor for the life of the German Volk), resulting in an inclusive quarantine of Jewish persons within both civil and ecclesial communities. The argument proceeds along four movements. The first movement considers Althaus’ völkisch writings during the Weimar Republic (1918–1933) in order to uncover the basic categories—pathology and performance—through which Althaus interprets Jewish existence. Movement II surveys Althaus’ attitudes toward the Jews under National Socialism (1933–1945), with special reference to the Erlangen Opinion on the Aryan Paragraph, a document which recommended that Jewish men be restricted from pastoral office in the Deutsche Evangelische Kirche. Movement III demonstrates that, even in the knowledge of the Nazi regime’s crimes against the Jews, Althaus relinquished the dialectic of pathology and performance only gradually and incompletely in the postwar period (1945–Althaus’ death in 1966). The dissertation’s fourth movement approaches Althaus as a case study in the viability of Lutheran social ethics in light of his xenophobic articulation of the doctrine of the orders of creation. Insofar as Althaus brought this doctrine to bear on questions concerning the place of Jews in German society and in the German churches, his example raises broader dogmatic questions for a post-Shoah world. The thesis concludes with a proposal for doctrinal repair with resources found within the Lutheran tradition itself, with particular attention to the theologia crucis.

The thesis by William H. Jones examines the dual rituals of tevilah (Jewish ritual washing) and Christian baptism, especially in relation to the New Testament and Second Temple periods. The extent of Jewish ritual washing is apparent in the excavations at the Ophel since 1967 with the unearthing of numerous cisterns and mikve 'ot, the immersion vats used in traditional Judaism at that time as a preparation for entrance to the Temple. It also notes variances in the use of mikve'ot at Qumran among the sect living there and at Masada, the final retreat for some of the sect members. Many observant Jews continue to use mikve 'ot today as a purification ritual. Christian baptism developed in this same time period, introduced by John the Baptist as a proclamation of the arrival of the kingdom of God and as a means of introducing the atoning and eschatological work of Jesus. Jewish ritual washing provides both a backdrop and an analogy for Christian baptism, since it uses the same immersion procedure and some of the same language, i.e., "born anew," and "change of status." The differences, however, such as no "agent" in tevilah but clearly an "agent" in Christian baptism suggest that baptism is not an evolution from tevilah but a revolution. Tevilah is self-immersion; baptism requires a baptizer, a clear understanding that the one being baptized cannot cleanse him/herself but relies on the mediator Jesus Christ. Christian baptism implies a believer's identification in the Holy Spirit with the death and resurrection of Jesus. Moreover, it points to the eschatological hope of the completion of the kingdom of God which has come and is coming. / Thesis / Master of Theology (Th.M)

Agobard of Lyon has usually been studied because of his writings about Jews. This dissertation likewise began from a desire to understand Agobard’s anti-Jewish writings, their content, motives, and impact. Approaching that topic from the basis of Agobard’s whole corpus of writings, however, forces an acknowledgment that Agobard cannot be reduced to simply “Agobard and the Jews,” although the subject clearly created a great amount of anxiety for him. Also, by beginning with Agobard’s own works, this dissertation discusses him on his own terms first, without relying on the historiographical tradition which defines him as a Visigoth, a tradition ultimately found wanting. This dissertation effectively dismantles the model of Agobard as a Visigoth working in the Carolingian world, and replaces it with a model of Agobard as a Carolingian. As such, this study explores his anti-Judaism in terms of his immediate historical context and links it with his other anxieties and the Carolingian desire for a perfect, Christian, society. Doing so also opens the door for a re-evaluation of the traditional interpretation of the Carolingian period as the last “golden age” of European Jews outside of Muslim Spain. At its conclusion, this study argues that the Carolingians, by deliberately attempting to create a Christian society, however “well” they treated Jews in their own time, laid some of the ideological groundwork for the later isolation and persecution of Jews in Europe. The introduction begins the exploration of Agobard’s historical context by discussing the history of both Louis’s empire and Agobard’s Lyon. The first chapter provides a quick summary of his life and works. From there, the dissertation turns to its in-depth study of Agobard in the second through fourth chapters. An analysis of his main anti-Jewish work, De iudaicis superstitionibus et erroribus in Chapter 3 is prefaced by a study of the character and possible roots of his anti-Judaism in Chapter 2. The last chapter looks at Agobard’s other concerns, how they relate to his writings on Judaism, and finally how his great amount of worry around Judaism can help shape our understanding of medieval Jewish-Christian relations.

Thesis advisor: Ruth Langer / The topic of covenant is perhaps the most fundamental means for humans to think about their relationship to God within a particular religious tradition. Since the time of the Second Vatican Council, the Church has gradually been reconsidering what covenant means for Catholics worldwide, especially in relation to other traditions, namely Judaism. Therefore, this paper initially aims to identify what covenant means for Jews and Catholics on an individual basis and how each tradition has historically thought about the other. Secondly, being written from a Catholic standpoint, this paper aims to redefine what covenant means for Catholicism in terms of how it addresses Judaism. Ultimately, this paper proposes a Catholic model for thinking about Judaism in a non-supersessionist manner. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Theology.

Agobard of Lyon has usually been studied because of his writings about Jews. This dissertation likewise began from a desire to understand Agobard’s anti-Jewish writings, their content, motives, and impact. Approaching that topic from the basis of Agobard’s whole corpus of writings, however, forces an acknowledgment that Agobard cannot be reduced to simply “Agobard and the Jews,” although the subject clearly created a great amount of anxiety for him. Also, by beginning with Agobard’s own works, this dissertation discusses him on his own terms first, without relying on the historiographical tradition which defines him as a Visigoth, a tradition ultimately found wanting. This dissertation effectively dismantles the model of Agobard as a Visigoth working in the Carolingian world, and replaces it with a model of Agobard as a Carolingian. As such, this study explores his anti-Judaism in terms of his immediate historical context and links it with his other anxieties and the Carolingian desire for a perfect, Christian, society. Doing so also opens the door for a re-evaluation of the traditional interpretation of the Carolingian period as the last “golden age” of European Jews outside of Muslim Spain. At its conclusion, this study argues that the Carolingians, by deliberately attempting to create a Christian society, however “well” they treated Jews in their own time, laid some of the ideological groundwork for the later isolation and persecution of Jews in Europe. The introduction begins the exploration of Agobard’s historical context by discussing the history of both Louis’s empire and Agobard’s Lyon. The first chapter provides a quick summary of his life and works. From there, the dissertation turns to its in-depth study of Agobard in the second through fourth chapters. An analysis of his main anti-Jewish work, De iudaicis superstitionibus et erroribus in Chapter 3 is prefaced by a study of the character and possible roots of his anti-Judaism in Chapter 2. The last chapter looks at Agobard’s other concerns, how they relate to his writings on Judaism, and finally how his great amount of worry around Judaism can help shape our understanding of medieval Jewish-Christian relations.

P.Oxy. 840 is a fragment of a lost Gospel that was published by Grenfell & Hunt in 1908. Prima facie P.Oxy. 840 contains a controversy dialogue between Jesus and a high priest regarding purity set within the temple of Jerusalem. The research history shows that the most controversial aspects of P.Oxy. 840 are its historical plausibility, what inter-texts relate to it, how the text is to be reconstructed, and what kind of Christianity lies behind P.Oxy. 840. This dissertation attempts to classify the Christianity of P.Oxy. 840. In the past three trajectories have been proposed in answer to this problem: orthodoxy, Gnosis and Jewish Christianity. This study attempts to answer this research problem by means of a comparative analysis of P.Oxy. 840's inter-texts. A comparative key for analysing texts is designed in accordance with Smith's comparative approach to religions. 22 Representative texts from the three trajectories are compared with P.Oxy. 840 that show comparable theological positions regarding purity and anti-Judaism, and that utilize the same form (chria). The three trajectories, Gnosis, Jewish Christianity and Proto-Orthodoxy are then described as proper taxonomies that can help us classify texts according to their trajectory. The dissertation's classificatory approach understands the various trajectories descriptively in terms of each other, instead of right or wrong (orthodox or heterodox). At the same time the study is informed by a historical conscience, sensitive to the development of theology within the second century. Chapter 4 is the articulation of the author's reading of P.Oxy. 840. Two theological positions emerge: Firstly, P.Oxy. 840 contains strong anti-Jewish polemic, accusing its opponents of lust. Secondly, P.Oxy. 840 motivates the supersession of immersion by baptism ("living water"). Chapter 5 looks at Gnostic inter-texts comparable to P.Oxy. 840. It emerges that Gnostics had the same symbolic understanding of purity as the Proto-Orthodox had. Bovon's idea of a typical Gnostic anti-baptism is undermined. Bovon underestimates the metaphorical reference of "baptism." The similarities between P.Oxy. 840 and the CMC is judged to be circumstantial. Similar logical methodology and a shared literary canon can account for this. Anti-Jewish polemic is not that common in Gnostic literature. Chapter 6 analyses Jewish-Christian inter-texts comparable to P.Oxy. 840. Problems in Kruger's identification of P.Oxy. 840 with the Nazarene community are shown. By looking at Jewish Christian literature it becomes evident that P.Oxy. 840's argumentation is entirely different. P.Oxy. 840 undermines the whole law, while this literature is at pains to uphold it. P.Oxy. 840 appears ignorant of Jewish theology. Chapter 7 examines Proto-Orthodox inter-texts (or at least inter-texts later absorbed by Proto-Orthodoxy) comparable to P.Oxy. 840. Of all the trajectories anti-Judaism plays the biggest role with the Proto-Orthodox. The accusation of Jewish lust becomes characteristic of the emerging Orthodox movement. In the literature of the Proto-Orthodox (both that written by them and that appropriated by them later on) it becomes ever more important to distance oneself from Jewish institutions. Supersessionism becomes an important tool to do this. One of these institutions that is superseded is purificatory immersion by baptism. This idea develops on a trajectory that can be expressed as Q-Mark-John-Hebrews-Barnabas- Justin/P.Oxy. 840. While Justin makes his point through the invention of abstract Christian philosophy, P.Oxy. 840 is an institutional dinosaur that utilizes the chria (attached to the genre of Gospel) to make its point. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / New Testament Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

While the majority of German Protestant churches were silent in response to the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany, the Deutsche Christen or German Christian movement enthusiastically supported the Nazi regime’s goals and was actively involved in efforts to extract “Jewish” elements from Protestantism in an effort to create a “pure” German religion. Many scholars view the radical form of Protestantism expressed by this group as a by-product of Nazism. However, I argue that ideas promoting the de-Judaization of Protestantism were already existent within Protestant theology and that Hitler’s rise to power merely provided the opportunity for these ideas to come to fruition. I examine this topic by analyzing nationalistic and anti-Jewish ideas in German Protestant theological texts during the early twentieth century, focusing on how these ideas informed the later de-Judaization of certain churches between 1932 and 1945 under the German Christian movement, which included actions like eliminating the Old Testament from the Protestant Bible and refusing to recognize Jewish conversion to Christianity. I approach this topic by situating my analysis of several key Protestant theological texts within broader scholarly discussions about the position of the churches towards the Jews in Weimar and Nazi Germany. / Graduate

In this dissertation, I describe social, economic and political relations between Jews and Christians in medieval Europe before presenting the intellectual and religious context of Jewish life in Christian Spain. The purpose of this endeavor is to provide the framework for analyzing two works, one in Hebrew and one in Castilian, by the Spanish Jewish author Sem Tob de Carrión (1290- c.1370). Proverbios morales (1355-60), the Castilian text, is important to the Spanish literary canon because it is one of the first works of Semitic sapiential literature to be transmitted, in the vernacular, to a Christian public. However, it has generally been read by scholars of medieval Hispanic literature in isolation from his Hebrew writings. Given that Ma’aseh ha Rav (c. 1345) reveals essential aspects of his thought structure and intellectual milieu not found in Proverbios morales, it should be required reading for a thorough understanding of his worldview. In the Hebrew work, I draw parallels between the polemical language used by Sem Tob and historically documented ideological conflicts that took place among Jews in late medieval Spain and Provençe. Because it is written in a style that involves the weaving together of biblical quotations and allusions, the polemical language must be read in relation to the biblical contexts to which these allusions refer. When analyzed in this way, allegory pertaining to the ongoing dispute among Jews about philosophy and scriptural interpretation, and rebuttals of Christian truth claims, become apparent. Additionally, kabbalistic references and messianic allusions lend the work an esoteric character that sharply distinguishes it from Proverbios morales. This analysis of Ma’aseh ha Rav is used as a basis for comparing rabbinic and philosophical concepts that appear in both works. The general movement from opposition to unity that characterizes each text, and the ubiquitous “golden mean,” link the two works conceptually, and underscore Sem Tob’s preoccupation with harmonizing contradictions on both the spiritual and social levels of existence. This aspect of his thought reflects the general intellectual climate of his milieu, which is characterized by the blending, or intertwining, of the main doctrines of medieval Judaism--philosophy, mysticism, and Talmudic-traditionalism. / text

Christian faith turns on the claim that God revealed Himself in Jesus of Nazareth and that he is the Lord and Saviour for all humanity. This exclusive claim raises many questions in a pluralistic and multi-cultural world. In particular it seems to be both excluding and therefore to presuppose various kinds of violence towards others. This research endeavors to address such questions by seeing what can be learned from the Swiss theologian Karl Barth. Barth is a good test case because of his famous Christological concentration. He is often taken as a paradigm ‘exclusivist’. Situating Barth in his historical and intellectual context I shall argue that Barth formulates a Christologically inclusive humanism that addresses the supposed tolerance of Liberal theology, the actual violence of anti Semitism, secularizing understandings of community and the imperial mentality of Western Christendom towards non-Christian religions. By adapting a scripturally informed rationality which is cultivated in the Christian community, Barth expounds (1) a Christologically based tolerance towards non-Christian others (Chapter one); (2) a covenantal understanding of Jewish-Christian solidarity (Chapter two); (3) an ethic of the neighbours which grounds solidarity with poor, marginalized and oppressed communities (Chapter three); (4) a Christological anthropology which respects the irreducible otherness of others (Chapter four); (5) a politics of community which celebrates the community of near and distant neighbours (Chapter five); and, based on the above understandings, (6) a self-critical theology of religion for grounding interfaith encounter (Chapter six). By way of conclusion, I argue that Barth’s theology should not be understood on postmodern lines but that it accentuates the universal in the particular. For this reason, I claim that Barth’s theology, though Christologically based, is capable of contributing to a global responsibility for building a society of love and justice. As a Chinese scholar, I also argue that Barth can contribute to a burgeoning Chinese theological tradition, advancing a Christologically based humanism in a multi-religious and cultural society.