Thesis (Ph.D.-Intercultural Studies)--Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 446-467) and index. Also available on the Internet.

Dans la philosophie de Derrida, « déconstruction » signifie, entre autres, découverte de l’autre, négligé, oublié ou poussé à la périphérie. Derrida tient que la justice et le « messianique », en tant que clés d’une transcendance vers tout autre, ne peuvent pas être déconstruits. Cette approche lui permet de traiter d’une manière radicalement nouvelle des thèmes conventionnels comme le pardon, le don, l’hospitalité, etc., souhaitables et impératifs dans un monde déchiré par des divisions de toutes sortes, soutenues par des oppositions binaires où le premier élément de chaque binôme exerce sa domination sur le second. Il est étonnant de découvrir que la tradition sivaïte tamoule que l’on croit remonter au IIe siècle avant J.-C., et qui commença à se formuler philosophiquement au VIe siècle, a un même objectif : un monde ouvert dépassant les frontières. Déjà à l’époque classique de la littérature philosophique tamoule (l’époque du sangam, du IIe siècle), Kanniyan Poonkonranar exprima ce désir sous forme poétique: « Yadhum ouré; yavarum kélir », « nous sommes tous du même village et de la même famille ». Cette vision radicale qui veut briser l’horizon est bien développée par Tirumular, saint shivaïte tamoul (saiva siddha) du VIe siècle, dans son Tirumantiram (prières sacrées) composé de 3000 poésies. Cependant, en soulignant qu’il est important de dépasser les frontières, Tirumular ne cesse d’affirmer le rôle central d’une expérience mystique de l’immanence dans la conscience par les chemins du yoga. Une telle vision « au-delà des frontières » est notamment un point de convergence entre la pensée philosophique de Derrida et celle de la tradition philosophique du sivaïsme tamoul, et particulièrement celle de Tirumular. Cette idée d’un monde ouvert est-elle une utopie ou une invitation à la sagesse ? L'issue serait-elle la « déconstruction » ? Quel pourrait être, en la matière, le rapport entre la tradition indienne et la philosophie occidentale dans sa version contemporaine ? Notre tâche consiste à pénétrer la réflexion philosophique occidentale, en interrogeant la pensée de Derrida touchant cette ouverture. Cela nous permet d’entrer dans les traditions qui l’ont formé et celles qui ont été initiées par sa pensée. Cette recherche est aussi un approfondissement de la philosophie de Tirumular. C’est une étude comparative entre deux pensées, l’une occidentale et l’autre indienne / Derrida’s philosophical understanding of justice and “messianic,” which Derrida considers “undeconstructible,” serves as a hermeneutical key to the transcendence to the singular other. This approach enables him to propose a radically different understanding of certain conventional themes like forgiveness, gift, hospitality etc., which is both desirable and imperative in present day’s global situation. Derrida’s deconstruction is therefore an invitation to transcend all possible and visible horizons in order to ensure a world without boundaries where in every singular other can retain the meaning of his very being. If Derrida’s deconstruction insists on transcendence as that which motivates the “creation” of a world without boundaries, a just world for every singular other, the Tamil Saiva tradition, believed to have its roots already in the 5th century BCE and philosophically established since 6th century CE, surprisingly arrives at the same objective as Derrida, that is, a world beyond boundaries. Already in the classical period of Tamil philosophical literature (Sangam between 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE), Kanniyan Poonkonranar has expressed this desire in the form of poetry: “Yadhum Ouré; Yavarum Kélir,” “Every town is ours and every person belongs to our family.” This radical boundary breaking vision is well-developed by Tirumular, a Tamil Saiva Saint (Tamil Saiva siddha) in the 6th century CE in his Tirumantiram (sacred prayers) consisting of more than 3000 poems. Such a radical vision beyond boundaries is an interesting area of convergence between Derrida’s philosophical thinking and that of Tamil Saiva philosophical tradition, notably that of Tirumular. However, Tirumular, while underscoring the importance of transcending visible horizons has insisted on an inward journey of the consciousness through spiritual means of Yoga. Our task is to first penetrate into Derrida’s philosophical venture: to raise questions with which he grapples and for which he seeks responses, by entering his “life world” to borrow a term from Habermas. This research is an attempt to make a comparative study of two philosophical heritage, one of Derrida and the other of Tirumular

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [191]-209).

The question of whether Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, and if so in what sense, is one of the most important in historical Jesus research. Although many factors play a role in answering this question, one has been neglected for far too long: the Christology of Jesus’ disciples. This thesis provides a much needed analysis of the disciples’ view of Jesus. Numerous Gospel passages are evaluated using criteria, such as the criterion of multiple independent attestation and the criterion of embarrassment, to determine their historicity. These passages are then studied against the background of Second Temple Judaism to determine how the disciples viewed Jesus. The analysis demonstrates that from the time Jesus’ disciples first began following him they believed he was the Messiah. Ultimately, this conclusion strongly reinforces the view that Jesus made a messianic claim for himself.

Despite recent scholarship, critics have yet to offer a sustained, interdisciplinary interpretation of John Milton's engagement with millennial ideas that takes into equal account the historical context of seventeenth-century religious and political controversy, the ways in which the pending apocalypse transformed how people imagined and experienced time, and how we see evidence of this cultural shift in Milton's poetry. This dissertation opens new possibilities of understanding Milton's relation to apocalyptic belief in the Revolutionary and Restoration era through an investigation of how millennial thinking cut across a variety of discourses including theology, politics, and science. At its most basic level, my dissertation argues the seventeenth-century anticipation of the apocalypse fundamentally altered the way people imagined time; this new way of conceptualizing temporality changed early modern religious beliefs, conceptions of history, the scientific imagination, and practices of reading philosophy, politics, and literature. My project proposes that the poetry of Milton helps us better understand these extensive cultural transformations. I explore this new understanding of time that is both reflective of discursive changes in the seventeenth century as well as characteristic of Milton's aesthetics, by offering an understanding of Milton's relationship with millennial ideas and their constitutive temporal structure. I argue that, in response to the inevitable and immanent "end of time" suggested by seventeenth-century apocalyptic temporality, Milton's poetry creates an alternative temporality, opening up an experience of time that is not necessarily unidirectional, closed, and speeding towards its end. I suggest that this different experience of time can best be understood through the framework of a temporality explored by contemporary philosophers Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, and Giorgio Agamben--messianic time. Put in its most basic terms, messianic time is a way of thinking about temporality differently, of calling into question our narratives of how time and history function. The messianic invites us to interrogate the notions of closure, certainty, and inevitability that are implicit in our linear, apocalyptic notion of time. Milton's texts continually constitute the possibility of a messianic temporality that can be read as a response to changing conceptions of time in the seventeenth century, millennial anticipation, and the belief that the apocalypse was close at hand. Entering a recent critical conversation regarding Milton's engagement with millennial and apocalyptic thinking, I suggest that we can understand this involvement through the alternative temporality his poetry creates. Each chapter of this dissertation fuses a formalist close reading of the temporality and uncertainties opened up by generic revisions, literary allusions, and rhetorical devices in Milton's poetry with a reading of how ideologically-conflicting interpretations of millennial time are articulated in the text and are reflective of contemporary discourse. I demonstrate how messianic time functions in each text and I prove the importance of this experience as it relates to historical and ideological questions about the millennium. This dissertation contributes to an ongoing conversation regarding how political, religious, scientific, and aesthetic texts are interconnected, and explores the plurality of Milton's ideological positions as they emerge out of the ambivalence and tension in the language of his poetry. In my reading, Milton's texts articulate a way of being in the world--both structural (created through language) and historical (tied to seventeenth-century millennial thinking)--that suggests uncertainty is the condition of knowledge and truth. / English

In this study, I worked with an ensemble of teenagers from Ayts Chayim Messianic Synagogue in Boca Raton, Florida to develop an original Purim play to be presented for the congregation and the public. I specifically explored "What is theatre's role as a worship tool in a Messianic Jewish Synagogue?" My ultimate goal in this process was to honor God through the creative arts, and I used the process of creating the play to discover the specific ways that theatre can be used as a worship tool, from script development to theatrical presentation. I hypothesized that theatre could be used as a worship tool if both the attitude of the artists is one of worship and the artists strive for excellence because it is ultimately for God. I furthermore hypothesized that worshipping throughout the process by way of the group's teamwork, attitude, and quality of work would be an integral part of producing a successful product. I sought to discover specifically what theatre as a worship tool looks like in the context of a Messianic Synagogue and what practices I glean from models of Christian drama ministries and what practices emerge from my process that are unique to Messianic theatre when used as a worship tool. How can I infuse my spiritual foundation with my artistic training? The majority of this project focused on the process of creating the play, from writing the script to dress rehearsals. The ensemble met weekly to explore the themes of the biblical story of Esther, brainstormed ideas for our adaptation, developed a script, and executed production aspects such as acting and design elements. Simultaneously, I kept a rehearsal journal with reflections on each lesson and the process as a whole. I completed research on contemporary theories and practices of Christian theatre artists in order to compare and contrast different approaches to faith-based theatre; these approaches are described in this thesis and conclusions are made as to how this research can be applied to my study. At the end of the presentation, I conducted interviews with members of the ensemble and the leaders of the congregation to receive feedback about the process, final presentation, and their perception of how theatre may be used as a worship tool. In this thesis, I write about the experience as a whole, evaluating our ability to use theatre as a worship tool for this specific presentation. I then process the implications this project has for future Messianic Jewish theatre, as well as the project's impact on my growth as a theatre artist. My final conclusions based on this experience are that theatre's role as a worship tool is to create an atmosphere where people are comfortable worshipping. Furthermore, the process of creating the play helped the youth and I discover how to be effective "ministers" and artists that create an atmosphere of worship. Based on my research, I posit that theatre can play many "roles" in the context of a Messianic synagogue: a bypass, sandpaper, or light, to name a few. Finally, artists and places of worship have something to contribute to one another, but both parties must move forward with the understanding that the Scripture provides a theological framework from which to base artistic choices and that artists need to develop their own specific approach to theatre while suiting the mission, vision, and values of the host congregation.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2011 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: What stimulates the emergence of messianic expectations or messianic figures in a society such as ancient Israel? Messianic expectations emerged as prophetic responses to social, economic, political and religious crises. This could be traced from the historical background of the pre-exilic, exilic and post-exilic periods. Messianic expectations in pre-exilic Israel were triggered by the failure of the Davidic dynasty to uphold Yahweh’s instructions and they depict the shift in focus from the anointed kings to the birth of a new Davidic prince (Isa. 9:1-7).The exilic period drew attention to a gentile king, Cyrus as Messiah (Isa. 44:28-45:1-8) who would restore Israel from exile. However, messianic expectations in Daniel 9:25-27 came about as a response to the extended subjection to foreign rule after the return from exile. The expectation for a messiah therefore changed from focusing on a historical figure to an apocalyptic figure in the post-exilic period. This approach is triggered by the situation in Zimbabwe where messianic rhetoric is now being used in an attempt to address the fragile socio-economical situation. It is shown that recent characterization of President Robert Mugabe as a messianic figure based on his role as a former liberator is a skilful propaganda and manipulation of the expectations of a messiah to legitimize his leadership amidst growing opposition. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Wat stimuleer die verskyning van messiaanse verwagtinge of messiaanse figure in 'n samelewing soos die van ou Israel? Messiaanse verwagtinge het ontstaan as profetiese antwoorde op sosiale, ekonomiese, politiese en godsdienstige krisisse. Dit kan histories teruggelei word na die tydperke voor die ballingskap en na die ballingskap. Messiaanse verwagtinge in voor-ballingskap Israel is aangewakker deur die Dawidiese dinastie se onvermoë om Jahweh se opdragte te handhaaf, en dui op die fokus-verskuiwing van gesalfde konings na die geboorte van 'n nuwe Dawidiese prins (Jes. 9:1-7). Die ballingskap het die aandag gevestig op 'n heidense koning, Kores, as die messias (Jes. 44:28-45:1-8) wat Israel uit ballingskap sou red en herstel. Messiaanse verwagtinge in Daniel 9:25-27 het egter ontstaan as 'n reaksie op die voordurende onderwerping aan buitelandse bewind na die terugkeer uit ballingskap. Die verwagting van 'n messias het dus verander van 'n fokus op 'n historiese figuur na 'n fokus op 'n apokaliptiese figuur in die na-ballingskap-era. Die benadering tot Messianisme in hierdie navorsing is na aanleiding van die huidige situasie in Zimbabwe, waar messiaanse retoriek gebruik word om die brose sosio-ekonomiese situasie aan te spreek. Die studie dui aan dat onlangse uitbeelding van President Robert Mugabe as 'n messiaanse figuur op grond van sy rol as 'n voormalige bevryder, is knap propaganda en manipulering van die verwagtinge van 'n messias, met die doel om sy leierskap te legitimeer te midde van toenemende teenkanting.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T12:06:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A tese analisa as representações sociais construídas sobre os Mucker, no período compreendido entre o desfecho do conflito, em 1874, e os dias atuais. O conflito Mucker marcou de forma definitiva a história do atual município de Sapiranga - RS no qual ocorreu o conflito. Tendo esta questão como ponto de partida, investigamos como em diferentes épocas e contextos se produziram representações sobre os Mucker, o surgimento de diferentes versões sobre eles, bem como a construção e manipulação dos imaginários sociais sobre o episódio e seus personagens por parte da comunidade sapiranguense. Detemo-nos, especialmente, nas representações construídas e difundidas sobre o cenário do conflito, o Morro Ferrabraz, e sobre dois de seus personagens principais, Jacobina Maurer e Genuíno Sampaio. Consideramos os diferentes meios de difusão dessas representações, tais como a historiografia, a literatura, a imprensa, o cinema e também a arte, vinculando-as ao seu contexto de produção e aos interesses dos diferentes grupos soci / The thesis analyzes the social representations on the Muckers, in the period of time between the outcome of the conflict, in 1874, up to current days. The Mucker conflict definitely marked the history of the current town of Sapiranga/RS, in which the conflict happened. Having this question as a starting point, we investigated how representations on the Muckers have been produced at different times and contexts, the appearance of different versions on them, as well as the construction and manipulation of social imaginary on the episode and its characters by the community of Sapiranga town. We especially focused on the representations which were constructed and spread out on the scene of the conflict, the Ferrabraz Hill, and on two of its main characters, Jacobina Maurer and Genuíno Sampaio. We considered the different diffusion ways of these representations, such as historiography, literature, press, cinema and also art, connecting them to their production context and to the interests of different social group

This thesis covers the status of the Jewish law in the messianic era as it was anticipated in Jewish texts from the biblical period until the seventeenth century. Although the predominant perspective is the law's perpetuity, a future idealized version was particularized in each age and stylized by various groups. The view of the law's continuity was challenged by streams of thought and ambiguities in the texts that allowed for changes and cessations in the law in messianic times. Concrete messianic movements, such as that of the New Testament in the first century and the Sabbatean movement of the seventeenth century, brought some of these underlying currents to the forefront with their reinterpretations of the law and their antinomian behaviour.

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Western Seminary, Portland, OR, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-131).