Sicut scintilla ignis in medio maris: Theological Despair in the Works of Isidore of Seville, Hrotsvit of Gandersheim and Dante Alighieri. Doctor of Philosophy, 2009. Kristen Leigh Allen, Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto. When discussing the concept of despair in the Middle Ages, scholars often note how strongly medieval people linked despair with suicide. Indeed, one finds the most recent and comprehensive treatment of the topic in Alexander Murray’s Suicide in the Middle Ages. Murray concludes that most medieval suicides had suffered from “this-worldly” despair, brought on by fatal illness, emotional or material stress, or some other unbearable circumstance. However, Murray also observes that medieval theologians and the people they influenced came to attribute suicide to theological despair, i.e. a failure to hope for God’s mercy. This dissertation investigates the work of three well-known medieval authors who wrote about and very likely experienced such theological despair. In keeping with Murray’s findings, none of these three ultimately committed suicide, thus allowing me to explore how medieval people overcame their theological despair. I have chosen these three authors because they not only wrote about theological despair, but drew from their own experiences when doing so. Their personal testimony was intended to equip their readers with the spiritual tools necessary to overcome their own despair. The first of my three authors, Isidore of Seville, will be treated in Chapter Two. Isidore’s works provide an excellent synthesis of patristic thought on despair and also hint at his willingness to share his own spiritual struggles in order to help his flock defeat this vice. Chapter Three discusses Hrotsvit of Gandersheim and her understanding of despair and presumption as closely interrelated mindsets that can afflict the repentant sinner. Hrotsvit’s own frequent admissions of presumption in her prefaces strongly suggest that she was also plagued with despair due to her unorthodox appropriation of the role of poeta. My fourth chapter considers Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, a poetic meditation on the ultimate fate of the desperate sinner and how such a fate might be avoided. Dante the Wayfarer will come to realize the necessity of God’s grace for those wishing to overcome sin. Indeed, all three of the writers studied consider this knowledge an important antidote to despair, proven by their own experiences.

Sicut scintilla ignis in medio maris: Theological Despair in the Works of Isidore of Seville, Hrotsvit of Gandersheim and Dante Alighieri. Doctor of Philosophy, 2009. Kristen Leigh Allen, Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto. When discussing the concept of despair in the Middle Ages, scholars often note how strongly medieval people linked despair with suicide. Indeed, one finds the most recent and comprehensive treatment of the topic in Alexander Murray’s Suicide in the Middle Ages. Murray concludes that most medieval suicides had suffered from “this-worldly” despair, brought on by fatal illness, emotional or material stress, or some other unbearable circumstance. However, Murray also observes that medieval theologians and the people they influenced came to attribute suicide to theological despair, i.e. a failure to hope for God’s mercy. This dissertation investigates the work of three well-known medieval authors who wrote about and very likely experienced such theological despair. In keeping with Murray’s findings, none of these three ultimately committed suicide, thus allowing me to explore how medieval people overcame their theological despair. I have chosen these three authors because they not only wrote about theological despair, but drew from their own experiences when doing so. Their personal testimony was intended to equip their readers with the spiritual tools necessary to overcome their own despair. The first of my three authors, Isidore of Seville, will be treated in Chapter Two. Isidore’s works provide an excellent synthesis of patristic thought on despair and also hint at his willingness to share his own spiritual struggles in order to help his flock defeat this vice. Chapter Three discusses Hrotsvit of Gandersheim and her understanding of despair and presumption as closely interrelated mindsets that can afflict the repentant sinner. Hrotsvit’s own frequent admissions of presumption in her prefaces strongly suggest that she was also plagued with despair due to her unorthodox appropriation of the role of poeta. My fourth chapter considers Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, a poetic meditation on the ultimate fate of the desperate sinner and how such a fate might be avoided. Dante the Wayfarer will come to realize the necessity of God’s grace for those wishing to overcome sin. Indeed, all three of the writers studied consider this knowledge an important antidote to despair, proven by their own experiences.

Thesis (Ph. D.); University of Pennsylvania, 1942. / "A selected bibliography": p. 106-108.

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-101).

Thesis (Th. M.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 2008. / Abstract. Description based on microfiche version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-165).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 204-211).

This thesis intends to make a contribution to the understanding of human destiny with reference to Wolfhart Pannenberg. Our research is best described as a theological anthropology in a historical perspective as opposed to Pannenberg's secular anthropology in a theological perspective. We present history as a way to map out the movement of humanity over the course of its history to its common destiny from creation (chapter 2) through sin (chapter 4) and ethics to eschatology (chapter 5). Anthropology has been taken here as only the starting point for our study, which presents openness to the world or exocentricity (chapter 3) as an anthropological constant to historicity. Chapter 2 evaluates Pannenberg's assertion, based on Herder, that the full image of God is realised not from the beginning but only through the destiny of humanity, which lies yet in the future. However, we argue that Pannenberg differentiates himself from Herder in a crucial respect in that Pannenberg grounds Herder's anthropology on a christological foundation in order to present a salvific, rather than a providential, account of the renewal of the imago Dei. Chapter 3 delineates the reasons for the original human state being characterised by openness toward one's supernatural fulfilment, which is already present as a future destiny, and corresponds to the single saving event of Jesus Christ in history. Openness to God becomes, for Pannenberg, the bridge out of the poverty of the natural beginning point of humanity into the full realisation of human destiny. The aim of chapter 4 is to argue the case for defining sin explicitly in relation to human destiny, namely, as passivity to destiny. In our sin, we are robbed of our true identity, and the separation of sinners from God means at the same time our separation from our own destiny, which is communion with God. Chapter 5 opens with a more detailed examination of eschatology, and examines the deep structure of the later Pannenberg's system of ethics, which he now explicitly argues for an anthropological foundation, with a claim of universal validity. The final chapter concludes with arguments leading to the uniting of nature, essence and destiny of humanity as one.

Prom the time of the discovery of the Odes of Solomon relationships to the Johannine Literature have been seen. As during the course of this century new documents were discovered and related to the Fourth Gospel, as for example Mandaean texts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic library from Chenoboskion, so they have also been related to the Odes, The investigation into the relationship between the Odes of Solomon and the Johannine Literature is based on four main areas - Christology, Soteriology, the Holy Spirit, and Eachatology, A study of these four areas reveals that although there is a certain amount of correspondence in terminology and concept, the differences are greater than the similarities. Particularly important for both the Odes and John is Christology, and it can be shown that only in the very basic titles of Christology is there any correspondence in terminology, but these terms are not employed in the same way. The attempt to express the nature of the relationship leads to an investigation of the place of Gnosticism in early Christianity. This is a question beset with difficulties because of the lack of agreed terminology and the problems of definition. Therefore we attempt to define what is meant by Gnosticism, and to draw some conclusions about the relationship between the Odes and John on the one hand, and Gnosticism on the other. In attempting to define the relationship between John and the Odes more closely, we refer to other religious movements to which they axe related - Judaism and the Quraran movement. Gnosticism, Mandaeism, and also to 0, Cullmann's thesis of the relationships of the Johannine circle. We conclude that the area which best provides the link between the Odes and John is Gnosticism, the language and conceptuality of which is seen to be part of the Syrian environment of the Odes and John,

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 198-210).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Nazarene Theological Seminary, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-152).