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“I Said, You Are Gods”: Pastoral Motives Manifest In Patristic Citations Of Psalm 82:6, Charles Schulz

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

The early church fathers frequently cited Ps. 82:6 (LXX 81:6), “I said, You are gods and all sons of the Most High,” a passage Jesus himself quoted (John 10:34) to defend his own title as the Son of God. Scholars agree that the patristic use of verse underwrote the developing doctrine of deification, which promised that Christians would become “gods” in some sense by bearing God’s image and likeness and participating in Christ and his saving work. In order to deepen and focus our understanding of the significance and role of this passage for patristic theology—and particularly for pastoral practice—this …

A Theology Of Religious Change, David J. Zehnder

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Zehnder, David, J. “A Theology of Religious Change.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2011. 218 pp.

This essay sets up a dialogue between the sociology and psychology of religious change (conversion’s human side) and conversion (theologically defined) to prove that empirical research into change experience, ideology as an attracting force to religion, and social networks’ influence on conversion does not threaten theology’s assertions but can help to clarify theology’s tasks in communicating to various audiences. Science helps theology through a correlational model of interaction developed in the study. The correlational method first asks of science: Why do people change religiously? Once …

"These Are Written" Toward A Cruciform Theology Of Scripture, Peter Nafzger

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Nafzger, Peter H. "'These Are Written' : Toward a Cruciform Theology of Scripture." Ph.D. diss .. Concordia Seminary, 2009. 244 pp.

This dissertation is an attempt to ground the Christian theology of Scripture in the trinitarian economy of salvation. Rather than approaching the Scriptures with the assumptions, concepts, and categories that have governed the modem "battle for the Bible," this account locates the Scriptures in the theology of the Word of God. In the biblical narrative this Word is found in three forms: Jesus Christ is the personal form of the Word of God who was sent by the Father …

God's Power For The Believer, Andre Snavely

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

So the questions that will be examined in this paper include the following. Does God manifest His power in any way other than salvation, either through miracles to bring people to salvation or to bless those who are already saved? What is the purpose of God showing His power? What is the connection between God's power and faith and between His power and His righteousness? And finally, how does a biblical theology of God's power give an answer to those who demythologize His power into a social program? These and other questions are very much on the minds of Christians …

ΔιαθήΚη In The Lord's Supper And The Lord's Supper's Liturgy In Luther And The Lutheran Tradition, Chuck Ramsey

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

This paper addresses this question, and in the process reflects on the use and understanding of the word διαθήκη in the writings of Dr. Martin Luther, in the Lutheran Confessions, and in Lutheran tradition.

Postliberal Approaches To The Theology Of Religions: Presentation, Assessment, And Critical Appropriation, Joel Okamoto

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This study focuses on the third type—the postliberal approaches to the theology of religions. In undertaking this, I have two basic purposes. One is to examine these postliberal approaches. This examination will include a description and analysis of selected postliberal proposals concerning issues and concerns in the theology of religions. The second is to assess these proposals on key issues and appropriate certain insights from the postliberal approach for the purpose of developing a Lutheran theology of religions.

While few proposals in the theology of religions have been characterized as “postliberal," there are considerable differences among them. Therefore I shall …

The Organic And Dynamic Relationship Of Justification And Sanctification For Christian Faith And Life In Reformation Soteriology, Seon-Dae Chae

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

For this study of justification and sanctification, the writer divides the fallen state of human beings into three phases of life experientially: sin, sinful life, and eternal death, although they are already dead spiritually (Eph 2: 1) from the beginning in the first Adam Rom 5: 12-21). And the processes of our life in Christ are also distinguished experientially into three phases: forgiveness of sin and justification ("set free from sin"), sanctification (righteous life), and eternal life, as the Word of God says: "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the …

The Arminian Libertarian Doctrines Of Freedom And Responsibility Evaluated According To Biblical-Reformed Doctrine Of Sin, Carlos Heber De Campos

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Now the question to be asked is this: How can the human will decide to perform acts spiritually good, or have the ability of contrary choice, if it is determined by the condition of man's nature? Has man the moral ability to perform contrary to his own nature? Those who try to study man's moral ability without seriously knowing man’s total depravity, make a serious mistake.

Justification In The Eastern Orthodox Churches (A Comparative Study), Eshetu Abate

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The topic of this Thesis, Justification in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, is prompted by the document which recently came out of the U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue on the doctrine of Justification by faith alone, work which took more than five years ending in September 1983. To one who comes from the East, especially from Ethiopia, a country where half of the population is Orthodox, the reading of the publicity on this dialogue and its outcome raised the question: "How do the Orthodox Churches in the East think about justification by faith alone?" The incubation of this idea yielded the present …

Contemporary Roman Catholic Approaches To Non-Christian Religions, Jacob A. Preus Iii

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The purpose of this study is to explore, in greater detail, the final three stages in the evolution of Roman Catholic theology of religions. In order to do this, it will first be necessary to trace the historical background of the current Catholic approaches to non-Christian religions, from exclusive to inclusive ecclesiocentrism.

The Conflict Of Krishna And Yahweh As Warrior: A Comparison Of The Conflicts Of Krishna In The Puranas And Of Yahweh As Warrior In The Old Testament, With Special Emphasis On The Themes Of History, And Salvation, And Their Relevance To Human Life, Arockiam Rajaian

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The conflicts of Krishna cannot be understood simply as stories or interpreted as isolated events. They have to be understood within the framework of Vaishaava theology as exemplified in the Puranic literature. Viewed from this perspective, one will find that they have profound theological significance. In the Old Testament also we find the motif “Yahweh as Warrior." The question arises whether a comparative study of the conflicts of Krishna and the battles of Yahweh is feasible, and what is the distinctiveness of the Old Testament message. Therefore, an attempt is made in this paper to analyze the conflicts of Krishna …

"Jesus And Japan" In The Thought Of Kanzo Uchimura: A Study In A Theological Interpretation For The Indigenization Of Christianity In Modern Japan, Akio Hashimoto

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The reason for our choosing salvation as the central topic of this study is to be found in the fact that a theologian's concept of salvation, whatever it might be, is in the last analysis the surest index to what he regards as the ultimate issue of the Gospel. Then, it goes without saying that·the other aspects of Uchimura's theological thought will be taken into consideration as far as they have bearing on our attempt to understand Uchimura's soteriology.

The Cosmic Christ Of Colossians, Victor Raj

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This study was undertaken as an attempt to evaluate and possibly correct some recent interpretations of Christ's person and work. Much of theology today has left the impression that Christianity is just another agency of good will to fight against social, political and eco­ nomic injustice in the world. Accordingly, the motive behind much of contemporary theological discussions has been to challenge the church to join in what is often called the "humanization" of man.

It is our position that Christology occupies the pivotal position in any facet of Christian theology. In fact, it performs normative functions for the rest …

Billy Graham’S Theology Of Conversion In The Light Of The Lutheran Confessions, Wilhelm Stoll

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The broad aim of the author was therefore to prepare a comprehensive summary of Graham's theology of conversion and to offer a comparative and critical analysis of it in the light of the Lutheran Confessions. The aim was not to deal specifically with the obvious question of the sacraments and their serious omission from his theology. In any case, the study was to be based only on Graham's own published writings, and they hardly refer to the sacraments. The more specific goal within the broader context that had to be considered was to discover and come to grips with the …

An Examination Of The Lutheran Doctrine Of Conversion, George Volkert

Master of Divinity Thesis

Having summarized the doctrine of conversion and its relation to the various articles of faith, it becomes incumbent upon us in a paper of the scope of this one to focus our attention on one aspect of this vast topic with the present prominence of "decision theology,” popularized by such as Billy Graham and asserted in many evangelism programs, notably Dr. James Kennedy's Evangelism Explosion, one particular aspect of Lutheran teaching stands out as deserving our special attention. That point on which we wish to concentrate is Luther's understanding of man as pure passive (purely passive) or mere passive(merely passive) …

The Message Of Salvation: A Comparative Study Of The Theology Of Karl Rahner And Of The Lutheran Confessions On The Relationship Of Faith And Unbelief To The Word Of God, Thomas Manteufel

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The problem proposed for investigation in this study is the same as that raised in the last clause: Is the theory of anonymous Christianity compatible with the Lutheran Confessions? A negative answer would seem to be indicated by the statement in the Confessions that all who are outside the Christian Church:

••• remain in eternal wrath and damnation, for they do not have the Lord Christ, and, besides, they are not illuminated and blessed by the gifts of the Holy Spirit (LC, 2:66).

It is necessary, however, to inquire carefully whether this statement and others related to it in the …

The Theology Of The Wisdom Of Solomon, Walter Rast

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

We are justified in supposing that for a Jew, living in Egypt and yet preserving the foundation of his religious heritage, this problem was poignant indeed. And, at the risk of oversimplification, our writer's personal confrontation with Hellenism would seem to be his chief problem, and the problem at the bottom of our own quest into The Wisdom of Solomon. As an outgrowth of this problem, it would seem that the question underlying our concern with The·Book of Wisdom would be: How does this writing compare theologically with those which hold a safe place in the canon?

The Way Of Salvation Under The Old Covenant As It Is Revealed In The Psalter, Richard Hoyer

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

It is not enough--if not untrue--simply to say that the faithful of the Old Testament were saved by faith in the Christ to come as we are saved by faith in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ who has come, without answering the- problems that their incomplete revelation raises. What exactly did they mean by “salvat1on?” If they knew of no heaven, was their concept of salvation limited to a deliverance from the evils of life or did it go beyond? What was the answer to sin? In what manner did they, or could they receive the mercy and forgiveness of …

The Doctrine Of Salvation According To The Minor Prophets, W W. Bentrup

Bachelor of Divinity

A complete and thorough study of the doctrine of salvation presented in the Old Testament is beyond the scope of a Bachelor of Divinity thesis. Several factors made it advisable to restrict the research to the Minor Prophets. Nevertheless, to complete the picture, a brief survey of what the Old Testament has to say on the subject of salvation is naturally in place in order to supply the necessary background for the thesis.

The Concept Of Salvation In Mormonism, Ralph A. Plautz

Bachelor of Divinity

The purpose of the thesis is to make clear the Mormon concept of salvation. The development of this concept necessitates a complete discussion of the Mormon philosophy of life. The thesis will show the unchristian character of this philosophy.

The Relationship Of The Universal Grace Of The Election Of Grace, Paul Juergensen

Bachelor of Divinity

A study of this subject will have its direct value for ourselves. After this study, we ought to have a clearer view of the matter than ever before, and if nothing else, we will have a better appreciation for the GRACE of God, one great distinguishing mark of the Christian religion.

Predestination, John Herzog

Bachelor of Divinity

The questions which press themselves upon us as we approach the problem are these: Without distinction in us, why did not God save all or damn all? Cur alii, non alii? Why was I converted while another who was no more sinful was not? Is unbelief the cause or result of "non-election"? If cause, then "intuitu fidei"; if result, then decreta alsoluta. What is to be held of the faith of the "Zeitglaeubigen? etc., etc.

Aspects Of Pragmatisim In Relation To Christian Theology, Frederick Gumz

Bachelor of Divinity

The pragmatism of Dewey and James is doubtless responsible to a large degree for the general tendency in modern theology of subordinating Scripture to the ends of practical life, and of accepting as true only those of its doctrines which can be translated into tangible consequences contributory to the welfare of society or the individual. Believing that theology in the past has been concerned too much with the mere “intellectual interrelations of certain concepts,” churchmen are today advocating a greater emphasis on the “functioning of the religious consciousness.” This movement has aroused a wide-spread aversion to doctrine and a passion …

The Roman Catholic Doctrine Of Infused Grace Examined And Refuted, Herman W. Gockel

Bachelor of Divinity

How this doctrine of work-righteousness, technically known as the doctrine of infused grace, or Gratia Infusa, can presume to claim any vestige of Pauline authority, may at first seem an exceedingly difficult task to demonstrate. It is for his purpose that the writer has chosen to devote the entire first chapter of his thesis to a treatment of the gradual growth and steady evolution of this doctrine from the days immediately after the Apostle Paul until the sixteenth century, when the conception of infused grace was definitely formulated and laid down as a dogma of the Church in the Canons …