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Development Of A Rationale And Methodology For The College-Level Religion Course "Life And Teachings Of Jesus", Loron T. Wade

Dissertations

In this developmental study, basic principles of curriculum development were utilized to prepare a rationale and teaching guide for a college-level religion course "Life and Teachings of Jesus."

In formulating the rationale for the course, current theories of learning and moral development were reviewed together with ideas drawn from Scripture and other sources. The rationale that was developed called for establishing clear objectives while recognizing that some of the most important goals of religious instruction may not be objectively or immediately verifiable. It calls for giving the student an active role in the instructional process, for stimulating his/her faculties for …

Horn-Motifs In The Hebrew Bible And Related Ancient Near Eastern Literature And Iconography, Margit Linnéa Süring

Dissertations

This investigation studies the presence of the horn-motifs on a philological, literary, and iconographical basis in both the ancient Near Eastern context and the Hebrew Bible.

The first chapter is devoted to a review of prior studies, particularly in the twentieth century. Throughout almost all this century, the "history-of-religion" school and the "form-critical" school have taken the lead in archaeological and biblical interpretations. New trends of interpretation developed in the late 1960s on some aspects due to the scientifically and systematically improved archaeological approach. Prior individual studies focusing on fragmentary aspects did not sufficiently elucidate the horn-motif. A comprehensive study …

The Apocalyptic "Son Of Man" In Daniel 7, Arthur J. Ferch

Dissertations

This investigation studies the identity and nature of the manlike figure in Dan 7:13-14 (hereafter referred to as SM). In the first chapter we reviewed the interpretations of the SM in Jewish and Christian literature since the beginning of the second century of our era and noted that with the exception of the seventeenth century study by Carpzov, discussion of the Danielic figure was limited to passing comments. Throughout this period the SM was interpreted mainly messianically or christologically. During the nineteenth century more substantial inquiries attempted to find answers to the identity and nature of the manlike being primarily …

Major Contextual Dimensions And Dynamic Factors In The Transmission Of The Judeo-Christian Religious Heritage According To Selected Writings Of Ellen G. White, Juan Navarro

Dissertations

Purpose. Christianity claims to have directly received by revelation from God a body of knowledge which has been preserved, developed, and handed down through generations. The purpose of this study was to determine what, according to Ellen White, are the major contextual dimensions in the transmission of this religious heritage and the dynamic factors involved in the process.

Method. The approach to this documentary study consisted of (1) carefully reading selected writings of White and collecting every statement related to the investigation; (2) logically arranging the information gathered; and (3) analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, and presenting the findings in an expository …

Substitution In The Hebrew Cultus And In Cultic-Related Texts, Angel Manuel Rodriguez

Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to investigate the presence, function, and meaning of the idea of sacrificial substitution in the Hebrew cultus. The interpretation of the OT sacrifices in terms of sacrificial substitution has been questioned and rejected by a great number of scholars. They have argued that such an understanding cannot be supported by the biblical text or by ancient Near Eastern religious practices.

In this study the ancient Near Eastern texts are first investigated in order to highlight to what degree and where the essential elements of the idea of substitution are present in them. We discuss next the cultic …

The Classification Of The Greek Manuscripts Of The Epistle Of James, Joel D. Awoniyi

Dissertations

Although a significant number of the Greek manuscripts of the Epistles of I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, and Jude have recently received long overdue classification, only a very few Greek manuscripts of the Epistle of James have been given comparable treatment.

In this dissertation, we have sought to rectify this situation by classifying 86 Greek manuscripts of the Epistle of James – primarily according to their phonetic relationships and only secondarily according to their text-types.

In order to accomplish this, we have made use of new computer methods.

In a recent dissertation on the classification of …

Galatians As Dialogical Response To Opponents, Bernard Hungerford Brinsmead

Dissertations

This thesis seeks to discover the center of Galatians, its unique theological statement, by approaching the question from the perspective of the dialogical nature of the letter as a piece of literature, and the theology of the opponents with which it is dialogical. The context of a piece of literature is essential to its being understood. When a letter is as obviously disputative as is Galatians, a vital part of that context must be the opponents who have called it forth. The review of literature reveals that the identity of the opponents in Galatia remains "problematic." Two things in particular …

The Literary Structure Of The Genesis Creation Story, Jacques Doukhan

Dissertations

Exegetical research on Gen 1 has been characterized since the 18th century essentially by a diachronic concern. Thus the Documentary hypothesis and the so-called Tatbericht-Wortbericht theory have been the two main starting points of any relevant scholarly study of this text. Recently, under the influence of contemporary literary studies, attention has been drawn to the validity of the synchronic approach, and more and more scholars have thus become aware of the importance of the liteary structure of this text. The latter has been dissociated from the thematic distribution of motifs; this tension has been explained in terms of different sources, …