Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons^™

The Sin Against The Holy Spirit In The Writings Of G. C. Berkouwer And E. G. White: A Comparative Study And Ethical Implications, Michael Davey Pearson

Dissertations

While compatibilists claim that divine sovereignty either elects individuals to salvation or inevitably consigns them to damnation without the involvement of human response, non-compatibilism claims that divine love requires both human choice along with a behavioral response. This dissertation examines these respective dilemmas in the context of the sin against the Holy Spirit with the purpose of ascertaining how these views impact the sovereignty and character of God and the resulting ethical implications. Compatibilism is examined through the writings and theology of G. C. Berkouwer, while non-compatibilism is appraised through the writings and thought of Ellen G. White.

This dissertation …

The Eschatological Role Of The Jerusalem Temple: An Examination Of Jewish Writings Dating From 586 Bce To 70 Ce, Eric W. Baker

Dissertations

Topic. This research investigates the relationship between eschatology and the Jerusalem temple within the second temple period. -- Purpose. This research investigates the role of the Jerusalem temple within the second temple Jewish writings to establish whether the Jerusalem temple has any role to play in relation to the end of the exile and the beginning of the eschaton. Previous analyses of second temple Judaism have not focused on the role of the Temple in eschatology. -- Sources. The primary documents investigated in this research were the proto-canonical, deutero-canonical, Qumran writings, and the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. -- Conclusion. The Jerusalem …

Re-Thinking Anthropomorphism Through A Genetic Philosophy Of Time, Carolyn Jo Love

Dissertations

In the classical Christian theological understanding, God and time are tightly interwoven (e.g. time and eternity, the Incarnation, and liturgy) and inform how we comprehend the presence and absence of the Incomprehensible in our day-to-day lives. Yet the classical Christian understanding does not take into account scientific discoveries pertaining to time and how this influences our experience of time. It is within the fabric of God and time that this dissertation will argue that the concept of time contained within contemporary genetics provides a significant and innovative way of considering the Classical Christian theological notion of the presence and absence …

Towards A Roman Catholic Soteriology For The Sinned-Against Creature: An Intercultural Dialogue Between The Soteriology Of Edward Schillebeeckx And Korean-American Theologies Of 'Han', Kevin Patrick Considine

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to point towards a Roman Catholic soteriology for the sinned-against creature that uses 'han' as a fundamental theological source. This dissertation is concerned with two main areas--Roman Catholic soteriology and intercultural theological dialogue--due to their growing importance in the 21st century in which globalization continues to be the driving force that organizes the economic, social, cultural, and political structures of the world, for the benefit of some and the dehumanization of many others.

I argue that Korean-American theologies and anthropologies of 'han' provide one important resource for supplementing and developing the relatively inadequate Roman …

Q 10:21-22 And Formative Christology, Olegs Andrejevs

Dissertations

Q 10:21-22 is the famous "Johannine Thunderbolt," a passage whose precise meaning and role in Q have long been debated by New Testament scholars with seemingly no consensus reached to this date. This crux interpretum presents the readers with a thanksgiving prayer by Jesus that appears particularly puzzling in its present context in the reconstructed Q. In his prayer Jesus appears to express gratitude to God, whom he calls Father, for something that contradicts the very purpose of the immediately preceding mission discourse (Q 10:2-16). In a shocking turn of events, Jesus appears to rejoice over the selective disclosure of …

Hans Urs Von Balthasar And Kenosis: The Pathway To Human Agency, Timothy J. Yoder

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the kenotic motif in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, particularly in light of his concern to protect human agency. This dissertation argues that Balthasar views kenotic spiritual practice as the pathway to achieve true human agency. This kenotic pathway to agency is placed in contrast to Balthasar's concept of original sin as an attempt by humanity to achieve agency on their own terms. The narrative of original sin results in two possible outcomes for Balthasar: a spiritual pathway toward the absorption of the self, which results in the annihilation of …

Hidden Treasure: The Epistemology Of Love According To Hans Urs On Balthasar, Timothy John Squier

Dissertations

Many contemporary thinkers have wrestled with the notion that Balthasar is unwilling to consider modern theology's starting point of the consciousness of the knower. Otherwise stated, some scholars argue that Balthasar's point of departure is the will (love) to the neglect of human consciousness (intellect). The purpose of this dissertation is to demonstrate that a constructive analysis of Balthasar's doctrine of revelation brings to light an intricate epistemology that is critical to postmodern epistemological scholarship. By way of Neo-Scholasticism much conversation has taken place pertaining to the relationship between faith and reason within the human knower. Whereas the Neo-Scholastic tradition …

The Religion Of Consumption And Christian Neighbor Love, Christopher Porter

Dissertations

Loyola University Chicago

THE RELIGION OF CONSUMPTION AND CHRISTIAN NEIGHBOR LOVE

Consumerism is a word frequently used in various disciplines to express the variety of attitudes, motivations, and practices found among the middle and upper classes. It drives the global economy and influences individuals' socio-psychological perceptions. Some have gone so far as to call consumerism a religion, yet they have not substantiated this claim. This dissertation offers a framework that accounts for consumerism as a religion both as a person's ultimate concern and as a structuralized belief system. As such, it prescribes moral values that shape how people respond to …

Down To Earth Ethics: Exploring Relation And Environmental Responsibility, Matthew Gowans

Dissertations

This dissertation is aimed at exploring the question of direct engagement with the natural world as a way of establishing certain moral and ontological truths, particularly those connected to our current environmental struggles. Contrary to the wave of much of modern Western thinking, Albert Schweitzer, Martin Buber and Aldo Leopold demonstrate an ethics that is relational in nature, action oriented, and bound up in inexpressible wonder. Consequently, these thinkers are also critical of a world which bases the whole of reality solely on the logic of rational investigation and the material facts of science. The heart of ethical responsibility in …

John The Baptist And The Jewish Setting Of Matthew, Brian C. Dennert

Dissertations

Although recent discussions on the Gospel of Matthew have emphasized the document's setting within first-century Judaism, these studies have not analyzed how the figure of John the Baptist functions within this setting. The failure to address the significance of the Baptist for the Gospel's Jewish setting is striking because recent study on the historical Baptist has emphasized his ministry and place within first-century Judaism. Therefore, this dissertation places a perennial topic within a new framework, believing that attention to the Jewish setting of the Gospel may prompt fresh observations and explanations of the role of John the Baptist within the …

Religious Pluralism And The Catholic Church: Lonergan's Method And The Jacques Dupuis Controversy, Andrea J. Stapleton Berger

Dissertations

This project applies Lonergan's method to the controversy that resulted from the censure of Jacques Dupuis by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over his book, Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism. The application of Lonergan's method reveals the potential for the resolution of the issues presented by Dupuis in the area of developing a Catholic theology of pluralism as well as the tension between the Catholic Magisterium and the work of Catholic theologians.

"When The Eternal Can Be Met": Bergsonian Time In The Theologies Of C.S. Lewis, T.S. Eliot, And W.H. Auden, James Corey Latta

Dissertations

C. S. Lewis, T. S. Eliot, and W. H. Auden all converted to the Christian faith and, upon conversion, turned to the theme of time in their post-conversion works. Interestingly, these Christian authors employed the secular philosophical framework of Henri Bergson’s theory of duration to construct their theologies of time. As texts fostered by Bergson’s ideas of intuition, the dualistic self, and durative force, Lewis’s The Great Divorce, Eliot’sFour Quartets, and Auden’s “Kairos and Logos” are theological works that depict time as an agent.

Romans 1:18-2:11 And The Substructure Of Psalm 106(105): Evocations Of The Calf?, Alexander James Lucas

Dissertations

Employing an architectural metaphor inspired by C. H. Dodd and utilizing methodology that draws from Richard B. Hays and Francis Watson, this dissertation presents a primary proposal and secondary sketch. The primary proposal is that both constitutively and rhetorically (through ironic, inferential, and indirect application), Ps 106(105) serves as the substructure for Paul's argumentation throughout Rom 1:18-2:11. Constitutively, Rom 1:18-32 (especially vv. 22-32) hinges on the triadic interplay between "they (ex)changed" and "God gave them over," an interplay that creates a sin-retribution sequence with an a-ba-ba-b pattern (vv. 22-23, 24-25, 26-27, 28-32). Both elements of this a-ba-ba-b pattern derive from …

Divine Sovereignty, Divine Providence, And Prayer In The Thought Of Evagrius Ponticus, Chris Steven Gombos

Dissertations

In the thought of Evagrius Ponticus, we discern an interdependent relationship between prayer and theological belief, particularly between prayer and divine sovereignty and divine providence. We find that Evagrius's teachings on divine sovereignty and divine providence inform and govern his teachings on prayer, specifically the forms of prayer known as petition and pure prayer. And conversely Evagrius's teachings on prayer inform and deepen his teachings on divine sovereignty and divine providence, thereby demonstrating the full interdependence between spiritual practice and theological belief in the thought of one of the early Church's monastic masters.

The first chapter is divided into two …

The Relationship Between Liturgical Practice And Spirituality In The Church Of The Nazarene With Special Reference To John Wesley's Doctrine Of Christian Perfection, Dirk Ray Ellis

Dissertations

The Church of the Nazarene, following the pattern of the American holiness movement that gave it birth, adopted a modified version of Wesley's doctrine of Christian perfection. During the early years of the denomination Christian perfection was promoted feverishly through revivalism and worship structured after the camp meeting model; however, over time the promotion and propagation of holiness began to wane. Currently, the belief in and pursuit of inward holiness among both clergy and laity are rapidly vanishing. For more than a decade scholars and denominational leaders have recognized that this loss of spiritual vitality has placed the Church of …

The Origin Of The Eschatological Feast As A Wedding Banquet In The Synoptic Gospels: An Intertextual Study, Phillip J. Long

Dissertations

The Problem. The problem this dissertation seeks to address is the origins of the wedding banquet imagery in the teaching of Jesus. Frequently, scholars will state that the image of a wedding banquet was a common messianic image in the first century. However, other than Isa 25:6-8, sources for the image of a banquet for the messianic age in the Hebrew Bible are sparse. Yet the image of a banquet clearly appears in the Synoptic Gospels in both the actions of Jesus as well as his teaching. Because the metaphor of a wedding banquet is not found in the literature …

God And Integrity: A Case Study Of Walter C. Kaiser Jr. And Norman L. Geisler, Augustin Tchamba

Dissertations

The God of the Bible is sometimes portrayed as using and condoning deceit to achieve His purpose, especially when human life is at stake. Two evangelical scholars, Walter C. Kaiser Jr. and Norman L. Geisler, with a shared theological heritage, differ in their interpretation of Exod 1:15-21 and Josh 2:1-7 that addresses the ethical issue of lying to save life.

This dissertation not only refutes the claim that God uses and condones the use of deceit to achieve His purpose, but also clarifies biblical argument for His integrity. The study provides answers to a number of questions. First, what causes …

The Meaning And Function Of System In Theology, Timothy Watson

Dissertations

Topic. Due to the nature of the discipline, the importance of our understanding of the meaning of the term "system" in systematic theology cannot be gainsaid. Unfortunately, however, there seems to be little discussion or critique to how this term is being used and its meaning is often taken for granted, even though it seems to mean different things to different authors.

Purpose. To address this ambiguity, this study takes a close look at the etymological development of this word in its various linguistic forms as it has been used in theology through history. Then, based on this etymological analysis, …

A Study Of Warfare Theodicy In The Writings Of Ellen G. White And Gregory A. Boyd, Martha O. Duah

Dissertations

The problem of evil has been an issue for all religions over the centuries. But it is a crucial issue for theism because of its affirmation of the co-existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God and evil. Theologians and philosophical theologians have developed a plethora of materials in response to the problem. However, according to critics, none of the responses in and of themselves adequately deals with theism's problem of suffering and evil. As a result, this study explores the warfare theodicy, a Christian response to the problem of sin, suffering, and evil, which seems to have been neglected …

The Concept Of Divine Love In The Context Of The God-World Relationship, John C. Peckham

Dissertations

The love of God is central to God's relationship to the world. This dissertation addresses the conflict of interpretation between the transcendent-voluntarist and immanent-experientialist models regarding divine love in the context of the God-world relationship by applying a canonical methodology. Chapter 1 introduces the background, purpose, problem, scope, and plan of study as well as the final-form canonical theological method employed in the investigation. Chapter 2 briefly surveys the historical theology of love, tracing the central conceptions of divine love and the God-world relationship by selected, highly influential thinkers. Chapter 3 presents and analyzes the irreconcilable interpretations of divine love …

A Delphi Study Of The Biblical/Doctrinal Knowledge That Ministers Of Christian Churches/Churches Of Christ Consider Essential For Spiritual Development, Jeffrey D. Derico

Dissertations

Purpose and rationale of the study . The primary role of the minister is to spiritually lead others and facilitate their spiritual growth. Traditionally, biblical and doctrinal teachings have played an essential role in this process. Sadly, two recent trends have worked against this pastoral role. First, research indicates that Americans and many Christians are less and less biblically literate. Second, spiritual growth scholars have observed that church leaders seem less and less prepared to convey biblical knowledge that can systematically and effectively guide others in their spiritual growth.

Christian spiritual growth literature establishes a functional and necessary connection between …

A Fresh Approach To The Miracle Stories In Matthew 8-9: Literary Analysis Through The Literary Technique Of Matthew's Three Stage Progression Pre-Supposedly Adopted By The First Evangelist, Gwan Seuk Ryu

Dissertations

The structure of Mt 8-9 is very complex, and there is no unanimous understanding. If we use Matthew's Three Stage Progression (MTSP), a writing technique that is found frequently in the gospel of Matthew, we can theologicaly explain the intention of Mt 8-9 more clearly than any other existing explanations. Matthew arranged the nine miracle stories progressively in three clusters (8:1-17; 8:23-9:8; 9:18-34). Those three clusters are divided by two intervening pericopae (8:18-22; 9:9-17). The first cluster describes Jesus as the merciful healing Messiah. Jesus heals every disease he encounters. In the second cluster, Jesus is the divine being who …

The Mystery Of God In Situations Of Suffering: Toward The Universality Of Christ And A Reconstruction Of African Identity, Leocretia L. Muganda

Dissertations

During the patristic era, theology dealt with the problem of how to explain the union of the two natures in Christ without losing the impassible nature of God. Today, the understanding of God as impassible is no longer absolute in light of present human suffering. To gain a better understanding of God as passible, the following areas will be examined: the patristic view and the contemporary critique of divine impassibility, the African context and the reconstruction of African Christology via inculturation and liberation. The concept of God as passible can make a significant difference in the lives of Christians. This …

A Portrait Of Christ The Hero In The Epistle To The Hebrews, Jeremy Miselbrook

Dissertations

The Epistle to the Hebrews has been noted as one of the most intricate documents of the New Testament. The author artistically employs a multiplicity of well-known images and ideas which resonate with his audience while simultaneously exemplifying Christ as the paragon of these images. The author of Hebrews presents a portrait of Christ that places him in relation to other figures known to his audience and uses figures to convey his intricate Christology. This dissertation investigates how the author of Hebrews places Christ in the context of Greco-Roman heroic references to portray Christ's superiority over all other heroes.

Chapter …

Theological Plunderphonics: Public Theology And "The Fragment", William Myatt

Dissertations

In response to methodological vagueness in public theology, I construct a theory of "the fragment" that enables the public theologian to respond adequately to contemporary exigencies and appropriately to traditional self-understandings. After surveying four streams of public-theological thought (chapter one), I consider the debate between David Tracy (chapter two) and George Lindbeck (chapter three). The various observations of these three chapters give way to a suggested criteriology for public theology. I then turn to Paul Ricoeur (chapter four) and Walter Benjamin (chapter five) to assist in constructing a theory of the fragment (chapter six). The thesis defended by this dissertation …

Introducing The Common Good Index And A Common Good Immigration Ethic, Ana Bedard

Dissertations

The U.S. and Mexican bishops, in their influential pastoral letter Strangers No Longer, frame immigration ethics through the lens of solidarity with the immigrant. This frame leads them to erroneously interpret the preferential option for the poor and ignore potential harm to poor U.S. citizens caused by recent undocumented immigration from Mexico and other countries. A better framework to immigration ethics is a specified common good approach, which is created in this dissertation. This approach uses the definition of the common good found in Catholic social thought and concretizes it through using a theological anthropology based in Martha Nussbaum's human …

Patriarchy, Christianity, And The African Hiv/Aids Epidemic: Rethinking Christian Marriage In Light Of The Experiences Of Hiv Positive Women In Tanzania, Melissa Danielle Browning

Dissertations

Given that women and girls carry the heaviest burdens of the African HIV/AIDS epidemic, their lived experiences should be the starting point for any pedagogy of prevention. In light of this claim, this dissertation project uses qualitative fieldwork with HIV positive women living in Mwanza, Tanzania to ask why marriage is an HIV/AIDS risk factor. By beginning with women's experience as a hermeneutical lens, this dissertation seeks to establish a creative space where African women can imagine new alternatives to HIV/AIDS prevention that would promote human flourishing and abundant life in African communities. The aim of this dissertation is to …

Spiritual Independence In Finley's Elsie Dinsmore Series, Alcott's Little Women Seriesand Wilder's Little House Series, Rebekka Anna Mehl

Dissertations

This project bridges the academic fields of comparative religion and children's literature by examining depictions of religious experience in children's literature. I specifically discuss how female religious experience and morality are depicted in three single-author series for girls set between 1850 and 1900—the Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley, the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I examine the moral principles of honesty and obedience, longsuffering contentment and industriousness and how they can come together to contribute to the development of a sensitive conscience which can encourage a sense of …

Katapausis And Sabbatismos In Hebrews 4, Erhard Gallos

Dissertations

Problem. Enthusiasm for the subject has not resulted in a general consensus regarding the meaning of “rest” in Heb 4. The dissertation studies the meaning of katapausis and sabbatismos in Heb 4 together with its relation to the neglected gatherings in Heb 10.

Method. The study consists of an analysis of those passages in which the rest motif is found explicitly (Heb 3-4) as well as the unit (Heb 10) which exhibits cohesion to the rest motif in Heb 4, giving special attention to the use of the term katapausis in the Septuagint, sabbatismos in Christian and non-Christian literature, and …

Biblical Sources In The Development Of The Concept Of The Soul In The Writings Of The Fathers Of The Early Christian Church, 100-325 C.E., Thomas W. Toews

Dissertations

The topic of the human soul has seen renewed interest in recent years. Studies have been produced that have looked at the soul in light of modern science and medicine along with a continued focus on the thoughts of the ancients on this topic. The early Church Fathers played an important role in mediating the thoughts of the ancients to more recent times. Because of this role, it is important to understand what function the Scriptures had as a source of authority in this process.

In light of this, the following study researches and analyzes the usage of the two …