Project (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1988. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [265]-275).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Theology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-292). Also available on the Internet.

The writer expresses the hope that this treatment of an important subject may be found interesting--he knows this it can scarcely be found pleasant reading. It is our purpose to treat of the "eschatological views of the fate of the wicked"--Hell ideas entertained--"in human history". These are many. While most of them agree at some points, the range of ideas is broad, and "human history" is broad. We wish to emphasize our disinterest, for the purpose of this thesis, in eschatological views of the reward of the "good," save to say that, generally, this is but 'the other side of the shield,' having a definite correspondence to its opposite. We make no claim to give either an exhaustive or erudite treatment of our subject, but attempt rather to outline the major views of the field, relating them to, and in some instances tracing their influence upon, human history.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis examines the phenomenon of numerals as they were written by early New Testament scribes. Chapter 1 briefly introduces the two basic ways that early scribes wrote numerals, either as longhand words or in alphabetic shorthand (e.g., δύο or β̅), and summarizes the fundamental research question: how did early Christian scribes write numerals and why? The need for such a study is described in chapter 2, which reviews past discussions of the phenomenon of scribal number-writing in New Testament manuscripts. While scholars are aware of the feature and have been eager to draw it into a variety of important discussions, this has been done without any systematic or thorough study of the phenomenon itself. After these introductory chapters, the thesis proceeds in two basic parts: the first isolates the relevant data in question and the second aims to examine those data more fully and from several different angles. Part one is a systematic examination of all numerals, both cardinal and ordinal, that are extant in New Testament manuscripts dated up through the fifth century CE (II–V/VI). The principal concern is when and where numerical shorthand occurs in these manuscripts. Can we discern a Christian style of number-writing that can be distinguished from contemporary scribal customs, and, if so, what is the nature of that style? One aim is to discern the function of number-writing within individual codices, and so its relation to other codicological and scribal features is also considered. Chapter 3 examines numerals in papyrus witnesses and chapter 4 examines them in majuscules written on parchment. Part two then comprises a more thorough investigation of some important issues that arose in part one. Chapter 5 approaches the feature of number-writing from the angle of textual genealogy. Did scribes ever mimic the particular numberforms as they were written in their exemplars or did they choose between them at their own leisure? In either case, what implications does this have for our understanding of textual relationships? Chapter 6 takes a brief detour to evaluate a commonly repeated axiom: that, in Greek copies of the Old Testament scriptures, Jewish scribes consistently used longhand numerals and avoided numerical shorthand. I argue that this idea is invalid and has distorted our understanding of the provenance of some early manuscripts. Chapter 7 then considers whether theological reflection ever influenced a scribe’s decision to employ numerical shorthand. In the same way that devotional practice seems to lie at the origin of the nomina sacra, the group of scribal contractions for divine names and titles, can we detect similar patterns of number-writing that relate to theologically significant concepts and/or referents? I argue that, aside from a handful of isolated yet intriguing examples, no coherent system similar to the nomina sacra can be detected—a conclusion that nonetheless sheds a great deal of light on devotional practices among early Christians. In chapter 8, I describe a hypothesis that seeks to make sense of much of the data observed in part one. In our examination of the numerals in the early manuscripts, four curious features are identified that distinguish Christian scribal practice from that found in other corpora, all relating to numerals (or kinds of numerals) that Christian scribes, as a rule, wrote longhand rather than in shorthand. I argue that this unique adaptation of numerical abbreviation in New Testament manuscripts reflects an awareness and intentional policy to avoid forms that were potentially ambiguous in the reading of those texts, and especially in their public reading. The final portion, chapter 9, then summarizes the thesis, draws out some implications of the study, and suggests areas in which more research would be potentially fruitful.

The primary goal of this research is to produce a text-critical evaluation of the Pauline Epistles and Hebrews as represented in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, an early Christian theologian who lived ca. 200 AD. The result of such an undertaking will be a refined understanding of the transmission of the New Testament text at the end of the 2nd century, a time period for which we have very little textual data. Unlike our earliest New Testament manuscripts, the text of the early Church Fathers is preserved exclusively in later manuscripts. These manuscripts are often far removed from the original Patristic documents by both date and location. This results in an added layer of textual complexity for which the text critic must account, especially in the evaluation of a Church Father’s citation of New Testament manuscripts. Because of the multivalent nature of the research, the biblical data extracted from Clement of Alexandria’s writings will undergo several stages of statistical analysis comparing it to other early Greek New Testament manuscripts. The resulting data will reveal if the early text of the Pauline Epistles and Hebrews was stable (controlled) or if it underwent changes due to scribal additions and subtractions. It will also shed light on the citation techniques used by Clement of Alexandria, an early Christian reader. The combined data will allow New Testament scholars to generate a more precise critical edition of the Greek New Testament and come to a better understanding of how the earliest Christian communities transmitted the New Testament text.

This thesis investigates references to Paul's Christophany in the undisputed Pauline letters. Paul's Christophanic experience has been the subject of much scholarly analysis. However, treatments of this phenomenon, while widely varied, have primarily concentrated on reconstruction of the cause, event, and effects of this phenomenon, discovery of the foundation of Paul's Christology and/or reconstruction of his Christology, and on conversion/call in general. Few have focused on the purpose behind Paul's employment of his Christophanic references in their particular literary and socio-historical contexts and none have undertaken a full-length study of each Pauline Christophanic references seeking to discover the extent to which Paul uses these references in context to shape his various communities. This is the task of this thesis. It begins by setting criteria for establishing which of the many proposed references can be deemed a Christophanic reference and based on these criteria confirms five pericopae for further evaluation: Gal 1:11-17; 1 Cor 9:1-2, 16-17; 1 Cor 15:1-11; Phil 3:4-14; and 2 Cor 3:1-4:6. Each of these confirmed references is then evaluated within their specific literary and socio-historical contexts. Special attention is given to possible intertextual links which aid in interpreting Paul's larger purposes within the epistles as well as more specific purposes behind his employment of the Christophanic reference. A significant reliance on Isaiah, especially Isa 40-66, is highlighted. Through this assessment, the importance of Paul's Christophanic references as part of his larger arguments is established. It is shown how Paul uniquely shapes the various Christophanic references to fit the needs of his argument and through it, the needs of the community. Furthermore, it evidences that Paul's Christophanic references are not primarily used to establish his apostolic status or to assert his apostolic authority. Through this study, the corporate nature of Paul's Christophanic references becomes increasingly evident and multiple general conclusions are drawn, which provide a possible glimpse into Paul's understanding of his Christophanic experience. Specifically, it is argued that Paul's Christophanic references primarily functioned in three ways. They functioned didactically, providing an avenue for instruction within Paul's overall argument. They functioned paradigmatically, offering the various communities a model of correct identity and action that should be imitated. Lastly, a few of the references also functioned analogously, illustrating Paul's understanding of the shared elements of their conversion, calling, and identity, which are made possible through a revelation of Christ/Spirit to all believers.

This thesis seeks to demonstrate the Apocalypse of Paul's position within the broader Valentinian literary corpus from the Nag Hammadi codices. Previous scholars, notably William Murdock and Michael Kaler, have gestured in this direction, but no attempt has been made to systematically situate the Apocalypse of Paul in relation to other Valentinian sources. Quite possibly this desideratum exists because although the Apocalypse of Paul's debt to Jewish apocalypticism is self-evident, scholars of Valentinianism have generally neglected those ideas in Valentinian literature which are derived ultimately from Judaism, often received via Paul or other New Testament writers. These would include the notion of the Name of God as a saving power, even a soteriological agent, and the image of a surrogate heavenly temple through which favoured adepts may ascend in the present. These come to be combined in Valentinian thought through a high-priestly Christology in which it is by virtue of bearing the Divine Name that one may enter this ideal temple in the fashion of the old Jewish high priest, and now Christ. On the other hand, Valentinians downgrade the biblical creator-God to the level of an imperfect demiurge, placing him in an inferior heavenly temple while supplanting the Pleroma atop him as the true spiritual temple housing the Father of Christ. The development of this constellation of ideas is traced principally from Valentinus himself, through the Gospel of Truth and the Excerpts from Theodotus, to the Gospel of Philip, where it receives its most extensive explication. It is argued that the Apocalypse of Paul consciously builds on this intellectual current using the apostle's image in order to construct an ideal authoritative account of how such ascent ought to appear among Valentinian initiates and thereby contribute to the rhetorical and psychological construction of future experiences among the elect community.

[pt] Literatura e cultura popular no cristianismo primitivo são apresentadas como temas com o objetivo de analisar, a partir da literatura, cultura e práticas mágicas no Mundo Antigo, a inserção das comunidades cristãs nesse ambiente vital, no geral e, da comunidade de Gálatas, no particular. O objetivo é, através da transdisciplinaridade (teologia, história, antropologia e arqueologia) reconstruir o contexto mágico originário da comunidade gálata, entender as tensões em seu interior e perceber que implicações existem em vincular essa comunidade com o ambiente da magia. O elemento mágico observado é a crença e prática do mau-olhado (baskaíno) que, por conta de processos históricos, como o Iluminismo Europeu, foi obscurecido nas modernas traduções bíblicas e comentários exegéticos. Desvelar, pois, esse filtro de leitura construído pela Modernidade, consiste em redimensionar as frágeis fronteiras entre magia (primitivo) e religião (civilizado), de acordo com a leitura racionalista do século XIX em diante. / [en] Literature and popular culture on the early christianity are presented as subjects and aims to examine, from literature, culture and magical practices in the ancient world, the participation of Christian communities in this vital environment, in general, and the community of Galatians, in particular. The goal is, through transdisciplinarity (theology, history, anthropology and archaeology) to reconstruct the original magical context in Galatian’s community, understand the tensions among them and realize that there are many implications in this community link with the environment of magic. The magical element observed is the belief and practice of the evil eye (baskaíno) that, because of some historical processes, such as the European Enlightenment, was obscured in modern Bible translations and exegetical commentaries. Unveiling, therefore, this filter in built by modernity, is to resize the fragile boundaries between magic (primitive) and religion (civilized), according to the racionalist reading of the nineteenth century onwards.