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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 …

Metaphorical Imagery In Colossians: The Narrative Of Christian Living, Paul Muther

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Muther, Paul D. “Metaphorical Imagery in Colossians: The Narratives of Christian Living.” STM thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2019. 114 pp.

Although many recent theologians employ conceptual metaphor theory to the Bible’s imagery surrounding the Gospel, few apply the same theory to the metaphors of Christian living. Although many theologians develop models to demonstrate the overall picture of Christian living, few tease out the implications of individual metaphors throughout a given work.

By applying conceptual metaphor theory and Justin Rossow’s narrative analysis tool of the actantial model to the text of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, this STM thesis examines three metaphors …

My Eyes Have Seen Your Consolation_ Παρακλησις In Luke-Acts, Alexandre Vieira

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Vieira, Alexandre Teixeira. “My Eyes Have Seen Your Consolation: Παράκλησις in Luke-Acts.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 216 pp.

Luke describes Simeon as a faithful Jew who was “awaiting the consolation of Israel.” Many interpreters say that this description conveys Luke’s idea that there is a separate hope for the nation of Israel, which would be made manifest at some point in the future when the Messiah would bring about political deliverance for them. Others argue that, although Luke himself did not think that was the case, Simeon and other Jews in Luke’s narrative did, but the narrative Luke writes …

The Salvation Of The Household In Lukian Theology A Tool For Mission And Evangelism In The West African Church; Acts 16:25-34 As A Case Study, Jean Baptiste Mberebe

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Mberebe, Jean Baptiste. “The Salvation fo the Household in Lukan Theology: A Tool for Mission and Evangelism in the West African Church, Acts 16:25-34 as a Case Study.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2018. 251 pp.

What is the “salvation of the household” in Lukan theology? What does it mean for mission and evangelism in the West African context? These are the questions the author is attempting to answer, and in so doing he hopes to draw the attention of the reader, both in the West, and especially in Africa, on the nature of salvation-that the nature of salvation is not …

Exploring What It Means To Be A Faithful Christian In Twenty-First Century America, Scott Busacker

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Busacker, Scott, M. “Exploring What It Means To Be a Faithful Christian in Twenty-First Century America.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. 187 pp.

This Major Applied Project seeks to explore what it means to be a faithful Christian in Twenty-First Century America. It explores the Biblical and Confessional Lutheran understanding of faithfulness. It then surveys the unique history of religion in America, highlighting the importance of both religious zeal and individual liberty. Christianity in America is going through a period of change. It is no longer culturally established. Thus, Christians need to deliberately consider how to …

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 …

Beyond Appearance: Irony And The Death Of Jesus In The Matthean Passion Narrative (26:1-27:66), Inhee Cho

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Cho, InHee, "Beyond Appearance: Irony and the Death of Jesus in the Matthean Passion Narrative (26:1-27:66)." Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2008. [294] pp.

If the Gospel of Matthew consists of a story about Jesus' life and ministry, the Matthean Passion Narrative (MPN) is not only the literary climax but also the goal of the entire narrative (26:1-27:66). Jesus has come to save his people from their sin and to give his life as a ransom for many (1 :21; 20:28). He will accomplish this divinely-willed salvation through the innocent blood of the covenant (26:28; 27:4, 6, 19, 24).This central theme …

Sin, Sickness, And Salvation From Nazareth To Lake Woebegone, David Schoessow

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

Ours is the ministry of bringing the prayers of the saints to God on behalf of the afflicted. Ours is the ministry of bringing to the afflicted God's healing gifts of absolution and Holy Communion. Our culture of death has little respect or appreciation for claims that such 'common medicines' bestow wholeness and life. So be it, we could expect little else. Let us not doubt the efficacy of these divine gifts in the lives of His people.

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 …

A Study Group Examines The Doctrine Of Election And Its Relation To The Ministry Of Word And Sacraments, Ralph Rokke

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Rokke, Ralph M. A Study Group ermines the Doctrine of Election and Its Relation to the Ministry of Word and Sacraments. Does a pastor’s view of the doctrine of election influence his ministry? Two different forms of the doctrine of election have long been taught among Lutherans. The first form leads pastors to preach the Gospel and to administer the sacraments trusting that God works through them to save sinners. The second form, the intuitu fidei form, encourages pastors to believe that sinners have free wills and that it is a pastor’s job to persuade sinners to become Christians.

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.

Persuasion In The Art Of Preaching For The Church, William Matzat

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Throughout the following pages three major themes will be interwoven with the aspects of the preaching ministry mentioned above. The themes are pastoral in nature and have been formulated over many years in the parish ministry. In some ways, they are similar to the themes indicated in an isogogical study of a Scriptural text, as one studies (1) the addressees, (2) the content of the message, and (3) the approach or style of the writer. In a similar way, this paper will study the proclamation of the Word in relation to (1) the hearers, (2) the content of the message, …

Paul's Portrayal Of Judaism: St. Paul's Critique Of Judaism In Romans 3:19-31 And Evidence From Judaism Which Validates His Assessment, Michael Middendorf

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis will address the current debate over whether St. Paul is being fair and accurate in his appraisal of first-century Judaism's teaching on the doctrine of justification. The Apostle is currently being accused of making an unfair caricature of Judaism, especially in regard to its conception of how a righteous standing before God could be attained.1 This first chapter will serve to document these accusations, to lay out the issues and arguments involved in this debate, and then to assess its significance.

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.

‘Righteousness’ And ‘Peace’ In The Pauline Epistles And Ecumenical Missiology, Gregory John Lockwood

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

'Eirene' cannot be fully understood in isolation from the concept with which it is frequently associated, 'dikaiosyne' (for example, Romans 5:1, 14:17; Hebrews 7:2). 'Justification' was the theme for a retreat of Australian missionaries held at Wau, Papua New Guinea, in 1980 - the 400th anniversary of the Book of Concord. Through participation in this retreat I was stimulated to take a greater interest in the 'articulus .stantis et .cadentis ecclesiae' and its continuing significance for mission theology. Accordingly a major part of this paper will be devoted to a study of 'dikaiosyne.'

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 Concept Of Marriage As Found In Doctrine And Covenants, Section 132:1-33 And Matt. 19:3-8 And 22:23-30: A Comparison Of Latter-Day Saint And Biblical Teachings, Thomas Burton

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The purpose in writing this thesis is to attempt to objectively clarify and evaluate the Latter-day- Saint interpretation and application of the doctrinal revelation of marriage for eternity to determine whether it is biblical. The thesis will be divided into three major parts: Part I: The Latter-day Saint Concept of Marriage for Eternity as Derived From Doctrine and Covenants 132:1-33 and Matt. 19:3-8 and 22:23-30: Part II, The Biblical Concept of Marriage Based on Matt. 19:3-8 and 22:23-30; and Part III: A Comparison and Evaluation: of Latter-day Saint and Biblical Concepts of Marriage and Its State After Death.

Evangelistic Preaching In The Missouri Synod, Donald Ehlers

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

I decided, therefore, to look further into this matter of evangelistic preaching. What is evangelistic preaching? After arriving at my own definition of evangelistic preaching, I want to determine if evangelistic preaching, so defined, has Biblical precedent. I also want to determine how my definition squares with Lutheran theology on conversion. Based on my definition, I want to develop criteria for evaluating Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod preaching as to its evangelistic nature. Using these criteria, I propose to study sermons written and preached by Missouri Synod pastors.

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 …

John The Baptist And Elijah: A Study Of Luke 1 In Relation To The Rest Of The Gospel With Special Reference To Conzelmann's Theory, Donald Abdon

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis purposes to serve as a test of Conzelmann’s theory. If Conzelmann is correct, Luke's Gospel modifies the eschatological scheme of two ages, replacing this eschatological scheme with a three stage history of salvation, If it can be shown that the first two chapters of Luke do contain eschatological thinking, Conzelmann’s theory is seriously weakened, If it can further be shown that Luke's conception of "redemptive history" is closely tied to eschatology and the distinction between the Old Age and the New Age, Conzelmann’s definition of Heilsgeschichte must be modified.

Basic Considerations In Understanding The Goal Of Faith In The Sermons Of John Donne, Carlton Riemer

Master of Divinity Thesis

This study comprises an examination of a specific aspect of the art of preaching and a particular preacher who practiced the art of preaching with an unusual amount of success. The preacher is John Donne, an Anglican homiletician of the 17thCentury. He was chosen as a valid object for study in the general field of homiletics because his sermons are receiving renewed attention and analysis in the 20th Century. Contemporary homileticians and theologians are able to study Donne’s sermons because all of his 160 extant sermons have been published in a ten volume edition prepared by George R. Potter and …