St. Paul wrote 1st Thessalonians around the year 51 C.E. As an early letter of Paul, this document gives us some indication as to Paul's belief about the person and nature of Jesus Christ, i.e. his Christology. This paper explores ten Christological themes found in 1st Thessalonians, including, One who proclaims the Word of the Lord, Suffering Servant, Comforter/Consoler, Light and Darkness, Voice to the Gentiles, Wearer of Divine Attributes, True Provider of Peace and Security, 'Jesus: Lord, Son of God, Son from heaven,' Divine Reconciliation and Restoration, and Sharer in Divine Purpose and Activity with God the Father. These ten themes are seen throughout Paul's corpus and is a good starting point for understanding early Christian views of Christology through the lens of this Apostle to the Gentiles.

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The goal of this dissertation is to examine the texts of the majuscules and papyri of the Pauline corpus from P46 to Ephraemi-Rescriptus plus Claromontanus. The dissertation asks different questions of familiar material to arrive at distinctive insights. While the orientation and methodology of textual criticism are typically diachronic and evaluative, this project is synchronic and non-evaluative. Previous methods of comparison are often hindered by an indelicate linguistic methodological approach. Therefore, two distinct methodological changes are created. First, by adopting Systemic Functional Linguistic, the approach differentiates discrete linguistic elements to enable both the comparison and weighing of textual differences among the manuscripts. Second, using a synchronic orientation permits comparing texts without the bias of a base text. Both methodological changes enable new avenues for the measurement of textual transmission with a more accurate means of textual calculations. The results indicate a textual rate of agreement for direct manuscript comparison ranging from ninety-four percent to over ninety-eight. When the textual variation is weighed rather than merely counted, over ninety-nine percent of the Pauline text is uniform among the early majuscules. The degree of textual uniformity and the lack of patterns in variation serve to challenge previous research regarding text types, scribal alterations, and historical sources. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study contains a thick description of the early Christian communities in Corinth and Ephesus, demonstrating the unique context of each. It explores the Greco Roman context, the historic context of the emergence of Christianity in each city, and the immediate context of the writing of each of the Pauline letters under investigation. It then uses those descriptions as a lens through which to examine the discussion of Christian leadership functions in 1 Cor 12:27-31, Eph 4:1-16, and 1 Tim 3:1-13. By employing methods of social description in an analysis of the Christian communities in Corinth and Ephesus, this study has demonstrated that Paul's discussion of specific leadership functions with respect to each city is rooted in the historical context of each Christian community and therefore Paul mentions leadership functions and promotes attitudes concerning leadership which are in keeping with the circumstances of each community and does not necessarily promote uniform practice in all places. Ultimately, 1 Cor 12:27­ 31 discusses the primary importance of the leadership functions of apostle, prophet, and teacher in building up the Christian church, rather than the gifts of tongues that the Corinthians had been elevating to the highest positions. Ephesians 4:1-16 describes the leadership functions of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor and teacher as gifts from God whose purpose is training the saints, doing works of service, and building up the body of Christ. These leaders are to promote unity in a divided Ephesian church. Finally, 1 Tim 3:1-13 describes qualities for those wishing to fulfill the leadership functions of overseer and deacon (men and women). These qualities are designed to combat false teachers in the midst of the Christian community in Ephesus which had a long history of difficulties. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A great deal of effort has been made on the study of Peter since the thesis of Ferdinand Christian Baur raised the question whether there was a severe conflict between a Pauline (non-Judean) group and a Petrine (Judean) group in the early church. The harmony or dichotomy between the Petrine and Pauline Christianity provides the picture of Christian origins. Scholars have probed into the study of the historical and literary Peter, focusing on past events and the descriptions of Peter in literary works, especially the book of Acts. In addition, the memory of the church about Peter is also indicated in order to reconstruct one’s understanding of this character. What seems to be lacking, however, is a more detailed study of the Petrine text itself. In the New Testament, there are two epistles which are attributed to Peter as the author, and both letters can provide more significant sources than any other books. Nevertheless, the relationship between 1 Peter and 2 Peter is still under debate, although both books are attributed to Peter. Few scholars analyze these texts together due to their literary differences. In the book of Acts, on the other hand, there are also several speeches delivered by Peter. One still needs to consider whether the speeches are from Peter or Luke. The question now arises: the common ground of all studies points to the use of language in the texts within which one can find both similarities and dissimilarities, although they are all attributed to Peter. This study, therefore, aims to employ an analysis from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to demonstrate the components of registers which offers the key to an understanding of the language in use in the texts that are attributed to Peter. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

Unlike other song composers of the 19th century, Pauline Viardot wrote in many languages and national styles. Her songs, "Haï Luli!," "In der Frühe," "Morirò," "La nuit monte/ Già la notte," "Canción de la Infanta," "Юноша и дьва," "Le Rêve de Jésus," are examples of Viardot's ability to compose in many languages and national styles.

The aim of this thesis is to unfold the multilayered intersubjective experience of the author himself, a Chinese pastor. The author postulates himself as the subject in whom the said experience was evident, so that it can be analyzed and interpreted. The author argues for a cultural-linguistic experience of shì勢 as the locus at which the intersubjective experience takes place. He then shows that such experience embodies a Chinese Christian’s ‘two texts’ inheritance, and argues that it is through unfolding or revealing of such experience that the nature of his relationship with them can be demonstrated. The author will show that his relationship to these “two texts” is a continuing appropriation of them. The appropriation is not done through arbitrary readings of the texts, but careful exegetical study of both biblical and Chinese classic. The subjective appropriation will be studied by paying attention to the texts with their literary and historical contexts considered, not simply for the sake of reconstruction but for their relevancy to what the subject experiences. To unfold this experience, the author identifies five key texts that are found in his intersubjective experience: Text A1: Shì勢, Text A2: Yìzhuàn易傳, Text B1: Pauline notion of principalities and powers, Text B2: Pauline Texts I and II: Galatians and 1 Corinthians, and Text 0 (zero), his initial or seminal experience of shì. The author provides the hermeneutical rationale in dialogue with Michael Polanyi and Hans Georg Gadamer, and proposes that a double vision hermeneutic will help interpret the multilayered intersubjective relationships between texts and the subject. The thesis will reveal, through the double vision hermeneutic, a unique way of conceiving Chinese Christian self that embodies fusion, intermingling and layers of understanding of texts and notions from the Bible and Chinese tradition. The author argues that study of this intersubjective experience reveals a vital facet of Chinese Christian self, and significantly enhances the study of Chinese theology. The author also hopes that the double vision hermeneutic as demonstrated will contribute to the understanding of a facet of Chinese Christian way of being.

Side-by-side, surprisingly, in the appendix of the Buffalo Historical Society’s publication Obsequies of Red Jacket at Buffalo, E. Pauline Johnson and Walt Whitman memorialize Red Jacket’s reburial on October 9, 1884, with their respective poems, “The Re-interment of Red Jacket” and “Red Jacket, (From Aloft.).” Through this textual showdown, this report interrogates the usefulness of the vanishing Indians narrative, instead interpreting the event as the locus of a heterogeneous, spiritual contest over bodies and their potential significations. Although orchestrated by Buffalo’s European American elites, the reburial also included representatives from the Six Nations tribes, among them Mohawk Ely S. Parker as well as Johnson. Paying attention to heterogeneity, whether differences in religion, tribal affiliation or class, at the event allows us to understand the varying stakes of the conflict, from debates over Christianity to immigration to the establishment of literary and social relations. While Whitman, nearing the end of his life, contemplates proper memorialization in “Red Jacket, (From Aloft.),” Johnson deploys the elegy to lay claim to her Native ancestry and burgeoning literary career. Monumentalizations often attempt to conceal such heterogeneity by creating the illusion of a dominant, national narrative. Alive within these events, nevertheless, a different image persists, one that preserves the messy debates over religion, land settlement, immigration, citizenship and transforming Native governments that actual memorialization ceremonies create. / text

Teilw. zugl.: Würzburg, Universiẗat, Dipl.-Arbeit.