Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Return-To-Origins Motif In Pauline Theology And Its Significance For A Theological Interpretation Of Messianic And Millenarian Movements In Melanesia, John Gerhard Strelan

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The thrust of the present study is not that the return-to-origins motif dominates Pauline theology to the exclusion of all other themes. It is, however, suggested that such concepts as "the body," "image of God," "in Christ," and "the last Adam," should not be treated as unrelated concepts. They should rather be seen as parts of a larger whole. This larger whole is the return-to-origins motif. The frequent use which Paul makes of this particular motif to answer some of the basic questions of human existence is a measure of the important place which the return-to-origins motif occupied in the …