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Integrity And Integration In Ecclesiastical Historiography: The Perspective Of Mosheim And Neander, Paulo Buss

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This investigation attempts to apply the motif of integrity and integration in an examination of Lutheran ecclesiastical historiography. This is not a comprehensive survey involving all the significant Lutheran historians of the past but rather focuses on selected Lutheran historians of different centuries to determine possible tendencies in their views of integrity and integration. Although these terms themselves are not employed as such by the theologians/historians analyzed here, this study starts with the hypothesis that the concepts expressed by these terms are not unfamiliar to them.

In a study of Lutheran historiography the question about Luther's view of history deserves …

A Proposed Prolegomenon For Normative Theological Ethics With A Special Emphasis On The Usus Didacticus Of God's Law, John Tape

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The purpose of this study is to examine and organize some of the current contrasting methodologies of theological ethics in an attempt to determine the Biblical method of choosing the moral option. This will be done in two different ways.

In the first part, two common methods in moral philosophy, the deontological method and the teleological method, will be defined and illustrated. It will be demonstrated that Scriptural ethics has elements in common with both rule deontology and rule teleology. In the second part, the Scriptural method of moral reasoning will be examined more closely by comparing three different ways …

The Theology Of Spiritual Gifts In Luther And Calvin: A Comparison, Robert Wetmore

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This dissertation compares and contrasts Luther's and Calvin's theology of ministry because spiritual gifts are in some sense ministry gifts (using the broad definition of ministry as "every form of preaching the Gospel or administering the means of grace" as carried out by Christians in general) which are exercised by believers. Because spiritual gifts are not limited to the priests, this dissertation examines the understandings of both reformers concerning the priesthood of all believers. In turn, because spiritual gifts have often been understood as miraculous, so that it is necessary to explain what Luther and Calvin taught on the miraculous. …

The Home Mission Work Of The Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference: A Description And Evaluation, George Gude

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The scope of this dissertation is to describe, analyze, and evaluate the home mission work5of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference, which was a mission toAfro-Americans.6 The purpose is to expose the various factors which impacted this mission work and either helped or hampered its success. As a result of the study, it is the hope of the author that the church will learn from its past and manage to put fewer obstacles in the path of the Gospel it proclaims.

In making this study of the black mission work of the Synodical Conference, it became apparent to the author that …

Mystical Aspects Of Pentecostal-Charismatic Soteriology, James Breckenridge

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Statement of the Problem

Pentecostal historian Vinson Synan estimates that Pentecostals now comprise the largest family of Protestants in the world. Drawing from the World Christian Encyclopedia) he concludes that Pentecostalism now claims a total of 51,167,000 adherents, not including an additional11,000,000 independent charismatics. This places the Pentecostal/Independent Charismatic movement significantly ahead of classical groups such as the Anglicans (49,804,000adherents), Baptists (47,550,000) and Lutherans (43,460,-This figure grows even larger when the "Third-Wave “phenomenon is included. This term, used by Pentecostals and Charismatics to identify members of traditional evangelical churches who have begun to practice charismatic gifts and worship, indicates a …

Theological Nuance In The Synoptic Nature Miracles, Mark Schuler

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

In a previous work we have questioned such conclusions and argued instead that it is between superstition and skepticism where one meets the world view of most in the first century and further that reported miracle phenomena were hardly "common" when consideration is limited to first-century material.

With this study, we complement our previous work by positing that miracles are essential to the Gospel. A definition of "miracles" would be unnecessary were it not for their essential Gospel traditions (oral and written narratives) and to the Gospel itself (δ ́uναμις γ ̀αρ θεοῦ ’εστιν ε’ις σωτηρ́iαν--Rom.1:16). Miracles are not peripheral.

Presbyterian Missions To Indians In Western Canada, James Codling

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This paper seeks to explain the success and failure of Presbyterian missions to Indians in western Canada. It attempts to discover if there has been an authentic engagement between the Gospel of Christ and the cultures of these Indians. The focus is on the theology of missions and its application. The question of Christian relationship to culture is an important issue.

The problem that the Presbyterian Church in Canada faced in its missions to Indians was theological. The Christian faith challenged an Indian religion. It was theology that determined how the religion of the Indian should be approached by Presbyterian …

Current Models In Roman, Lutheran, And Reformed Prolegomena: Exposition, Analysis, And Programmatic Assessment, David Lumpp

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The marketplace is currently experiencing no shortage of systematic theologies. At both the popular and academic levels, volumes are published at a rate exceeding the ability of any one scholar to digest or evaluate. The methodological pluralism alluded to above is now a cacophony. Yesterday’s mentors are challenged by process theology, theologies of hope, and seemingly infinite manifestations of liberation theology--to name only several of the most obvious.

With this history and the above cautions in mind, this essay will explore the definition, guiding motif, and methodology of three major contemporary theologians: Bernard Lonergan, Helmut Thielicke, and Edward Farley, representing …

The Hermeneutics Of Liberation Theology: A Lutheran Confessional Response To The Theological Methodology Of Leonardo Boff, Jacob Preus

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Therefore, it is the basic thesis of this study that a theological critique of and response to liberation theology can be done properly only on the basis of its methodology, for it is the theological method of liberation theology and not its theological or political results which serves as its unifying force. Emilio A. Nunez C. says it simply: "Fundamentally, what distinguishes the theology of liberation most from other theologies is its methods"? It is the method, and the hermeneutical presuppositions which accompany it, that shape this diverse and conflicting movement into a unified whole. It is not an oversimplification …

An Investigation Of Contemporary Feminist Arguments On Paul's Teaching On The Role Of Women In The Church, Hershel House Wayne

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

As may be readily seen, mass confusion pervades this problem. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the various approaches interpreters have used to understand the apostle Paul's teaching on the role of women in the church and to offer alternative ways to view the Pauline texts. Not only will I interact with the feminists on their specific perspectives of the pertinent Pauline texts, but I will examine the hermeneutical presuppositions of these writers and also attempt to discern their perspective of Scripture and how that affects the exegetical fruit they produce.

The Hermeneutical Principles Of Theodore Laetsch With A Focus On The Relationship Between The Old And The New Testaments, James Bollhagen

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This dissertation will summarize the findings which resulted from an in-depth study of all the published works of Dr. Theodore Laetsch, professor of practical theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. These writings include a commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations, a commentary on the Minor Prophets, and eighty-six articles which appeared in the Concordia Theological Monthly.

The study was undertaken with the specific goal of ascertaining the hermeneutical principles of Laetsch, particularly those principles that address the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. The phrase "hermeneutical principles" will be employed in this paper in the following sense: an exegete's …

Dr. H. C. J. Leupold, The Man And His Work --Especially His Exegesis, David Schreiber

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Dr. Leupold holds a pivotal position in American Lutheranism, if for no other reason than that theologically he came to be little bit at odds with his own (1960) American Lutheran Church. And because his church went off in a little bit different direction than Dr. Leupold himself, it just makes him stand out in relief that much more.

The Theological Argument Of Hebrews 11 In Light Of Its Literary Form, Merland Miller

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The scope of this study does not end with literary form, however. Too often in the past the study of literary form has been either consciously or unconsciously divorced from the study of theological argument. The hypothesis of this paper is that an understanding of literary form will aid in determining and illuminating theological argument.

The material for the study of literary form will be the texting Hebrews itself, along with the prior extant texts whose literary structure and characteristics are similar to Hebrews 11. The existence of literary material lying behind the present text is conjectural and beyond the …

The Historical-Critical Method- Dividing Wall Between Moderates And Conservatives In The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Controversy, Jose Fuliga

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

There are, without question, theological and non-theological differences between the Moderates and Conservatives which are not directly related to the former's use of historical criticism. The role politics has played in the controversy cannot be denied. The differences regarding the practice of unionism, ecumenism, close communion, church polity, and even Synodical policies toward foreign missions have been controverted issues. But the focus of this study will be confined to verifying whether the use of historical criticism is indeed the dividing wall, between Moderates and Conservatives. This research shall furthermore probe if the Moderates' hermeneutical presupposition -- the Law-Gospel reductionism restrains …

Uemura Masahisa (1857-1925) First Generation Pastor, Christian Leader And Instinctive Proponent Of Indigenized Christianity In Japan, Addison Soltau

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Uemura was an extremely able leader and organizer of men, sophisticated thinker, broad reader, and committed to the Christian faith ashes understood it. Part of the fascination of the study lies in observing how the influence of this towering figure and others like him came so quickly to bear upon the church in Japan. Unlike other countries to which the faith has been taken by missionaries, Japan stands out as one in which missionary leadership and influence were replaced by Japanese within thirty years after its introduction. Uemura was one who helped to bring this about. The Christian church in …

A Critical And Exegetical Analysis Of Exodus Twenty-Four With Special Attention To Covenant Ratification, Peter Talia

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The discussion employed in this treatise, first, sets forth the original text of Exodus 24 in its original languages, in order to present the evidence for the traditional view and to test it by an examination of these languages. This rather fresh procedure has been done in order to put the case in its most favorable light, reduce the limits of uncertainty proportionally in favor of the traditional view and support the originality and integrity of the chapter in question. In this way the internal tests of the trustworthiness of these texts will be exhibited and the historic character of …

The Passion Predictions In The Light Of Hebrews 2:5-9, E Clark Copeland

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

There has, however, not been a serious tracing of the passage in Heb. 2:5-9 to Jesus' use of Son of Man in the predictions of His suffering. Nor, has there been a biblical theological development of the Son of Man concept from Psalm 8 through Psalm 80, Daniel 7, the teaching of Jesus, and on to its use in Hebrews. The present study would undertake this task in order to relate the findings to the “world to come" over which Jesus is enthroned, according toe. 2:5.

The view of Scripture guiding this study is that of the Reformers; namely, that …

The Relation Of The Servant Songs To Their Contexts In Isaiah 40 To 55, Gyoji Nabetani

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This dissertation seeks to answer the question: In interpreting the materials and describing the theology of the Deutero-Isaiah, should the "Servant Songs" be isolated from or considered in their contexts?

Movements In The Church Of England As Reflected In English Prose Fiction Of The Eighteenth Century, William H. Traugott

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The eighteenth century, known as the Age of Reason in England, saw the effect of intellectual pursuits in the Church of England. Yet, prose fiction presented Anglicanism in an overtly active, working form rather than in a rational system of theologically-oriented statements about Christian teachings. The didacticism of the century's fiction was conducive to reflecting such an image. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate this prose fiction in terms of movements within the Church.

Division And Reunion In The Presbyterian Church In Korea 1959-1968, Bong Rin Ro

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This study is basically a historical investigation based on sources from both Korea and America. Since the controversial matter in the thesis can be problematical, the writer attempted to select source materials which give a fair representation of both opposing factions. Most of the primary sources in Korean were brought either directly from Korea or made available from Presbyterian missionaries in America who worked in Korea. A brother of the writer, a Presbyterian minister and a seminary student were also instrumental in Korea collecting necessary materials such as the minutes of the General Assembly meetings, official statements of various church …

Paul's Source And Use Of Tradition As Reflected In His Writings To The Corinthians, Paul Andrews

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The present study seeks to explore the question whether an adapted form of the Jewish concept of tradition constituted a significant part of Paul's work as a Christian apostle in the congregation at Corinth.

Walther, The Preacher, Henry Eggold Jr

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Together with all of his other achievements, Walther is remembered today also as a preacher of the first rank. And it is to an examination of Walther's preaching that this thesis addresses itself. In the course of the following pages I shall endeavor to demonstrate the validity of the thesis suggested by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Jr. that Walther as preacher represents a synthesis of Orthodoxy and Pietism.

A Historical Critical Analysis Of Rudolf Bultmann's Form Criticism As Related To His Demythologization, Lorman Petersen

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

The primary purpose of this thesis is to delineate Bultmann's method or hermeneutics in treating the New Testament, in particular his principles of Form Criticism and Demythologization. Bultmann is a many-sided man. He has been concerned with almost every topic and emphasis which theology has to offer today. He is an exegete, theologian, historian, linguist, philosopher, preacher, lecturer, and professor. As one man has said, "He knows everything and seems to have written on most everything." A. list of his works, appended to this thesis, will support this statement. Moreover , he has never stood still, and even now some …

The Concept Of Education In The Light Of The Theology Of D. Martin Luther, Won Yong Ji

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

This thesis is a study of the theological implications of Luther’s emphasis on “education” and an examination of the contributions if any, which Luther made to education, eventually derived from such an emphasis, to his subsequent generations. Its purpose is to survey briefly his theology in order to determine the theological significance or implications of his underlying pedagogical principles and practices. “What is Luther‘s view on education?” is the final goal of this study.

This study should prove to be a value to Lutheran educators in particular in that attempts to bring Lutheran educational practices into harmony with the educational …