http://hdl.handle.net/1842/133 2013-06-13T01:08:03Z 2013-06-13T01:08:03Z Ross, John Paton http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6678 2013-04-19T12:28:44Z 1973-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Cities of the Levites' in Joshua XXI and I Chronicles VI Authors: Ross, John Paton Abstract: The 'cities of the Levites' have left no trace in the historical and prophetical literature of Israel; they appear only in P and Chronicles. They must then be either a fiction of the later compilers of the Law, or an earlier institution which made no great impact in monarchic times. This study therefore begins with a review of the materials of Levite history up to the Exile; the Levite cities must find a place somewhere within this setting, if they ever had any real existence. In the second chapter we turn to survey the development of modern critical study of Joshua and Chronicles, culminating in the classic interpretations of Wellhausen and, for Chronicles, of Rothstein and Rudolph. These provide the presuppositions widely accepted by more recent scholars. We then examine and compare the texts of the two versions of the Levite city list, from a literary standpoint, and conclude that, contrary to previous opinion, the one in Chronicles represents an earlier stage in the development of the tradition than that in Joshua. There are signs that at some time the list has been remoulded, with additions and deletions, to fit the pattern of four cities from each of the twelve tribes. Having recognised the difficulties in supposing the list to be entirely a late invention, in the second half of this study we try to find the Levite cities' place in history. First, the findings of archaeologists, traditio-historians and form-critics are examined, When their proposals appear not wholly satisfactory, we turn in chapter five to those who have attempted to re-appraise the character of the 'Levites' of these contexts. In pursuing this enquiry further, we reach the conclusion that these 'Levites' must be distinct both from the old secular tribe of Levi, and from the sacerdotal Levites of the Deuteronomic and Priestly literature. The 'cities of the Levites' seem to be towns which, in the second millennium, entered Israel by alliance rather than by conquest. Finally, we observe the measure of correspondence between the areas of 'Levite' and Hivite/Hurrian occupation, and raise the question whether the term 'Levite' here may not stem from a textual corruption of 'Hivite' in the Jerusalem archives.

1973-01-01T00:00:00Z Fung, Darren Chung Keung http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6533 2012-12-06T13:53:37Z 2003-12-03T00:00:00Z

Title: Calvin's Critique of the Papacy: a historical and theological study Authors: Fung, Darren Chung Keung Abstract: The objective of this dissertation is to clarify Calvin's thought and attitude towards the papacy by tracing the development of his critique of the bishop of Rome throughout his career. Chapter One introduces the state of research on Calvin's critique of the papacy in the last century. This brief examination reveals that studies on Calvin's critique are hampered by a lack of historical treatment of the development of Calvin's thought as well as biased by the ecumenical assumptions of some of the researchers. Our thesis is that Calvin did reject the pope's primacy absolutely and this is based on the pope's relation to the true doctrine of the gospel and to Christ. This apparently simple conclusion, however, can only be arrived at by studying Calvin's thought in its historical development, exploring his attitude and the themes and reasons of his criticism of the papacy in each phase. Upon reading and rereading of Calvin' s works relating to his critique of the papacy the thesis organises Calvin's critique into five phases in which his conflicts with the papacy progresses from one stage to another. Chapter Two explores the earliest period of Calvin's reform career. It confirms not only that there were already latent conflicts in Calvin' s mind against the papacy, but also that the chief concerns evident in his later critique of the papacy were already present. Chapter Three studies how Calvin came into open conflicts with the papacy through his correspondence with his friend du Tillet and Cardinal Sadoleto. It also recounts how Calvin reshaped the purpose of his 1536 Institutio to enable editions from 1539 onwards to become a theological platform against his opponents. Chapter Four investigates how Calvin's conflicts with the papacy intensified. It demonstrates the importance of Calvin's participation in the colloquies of 1540-41 for leading the reformer to concentrate his effort to refute the primacy of the Roman see. This reaches its fulfilment in his publication of the highly important 1543 Institutio in which Calvin rejects the primacy of the pope comprehensively. Chapter Five examines a stage of climactic conflicts. It culminates in his unforgiving rejection of the pope in his Antidote to the Council of Trent. But this stage also reveals surprising information about Calvin's 'concessions' to the papacy, yet without compromising his consistent rejection of papal primacy. Chapter Six delineates the limits of Calvin's ecumenical vision and recounts the unbending attitude of the reformer towards the pope at the end of his life. In all these chapters we find consistent reasons explaining Calvin's absolute rejection of the primacy of the pope. At the same time we also detect that there is a form of papacy that could have been acceptable to Calvin. Therefore in the last chapter, apart from linking up the connections of Calvin' s criticism of the papacy in its historical development, a theological interpretation is given of the complexities of these seemingly incompatible ideas, and we also attempt to draw out the ecumenical implications of Calvin's criticism.

2003-12-03T00:00:00Z Helewa, Sami http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6457 2012-09-26T14:58:06Z 2012-06-26T00:00:00Z

Title: Advisory function of the Tales of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ) Authors: Helewa, Sami Abstract: This thesis examines the advisory function of the tales of three prophets (Joseph, David and Solomon) in al-Ṭabarī’s (d. 923/310 AH) History and al-Thaʿlabī’s (d. 1025/416) Tales of the Prophets within their religio-political contexts in Baghdād and Nīshāpūr respectively. The hypothesis is that by reading the tales through the prism of Islamic advice literature, in particular the works of Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (d. 757 / 139) and Kay Kāʾūs (d. 1084 /476), one sees how these stories convey important ideas about just leadership, friendship and enmity. The thesis, which is based on both a close textual and contextual reading of the tales, contrasts the perspective of the centre (Baghdād), where al-Ṭabarī lived and where caliphal power was situated in the late ninth century, with the view from the edge of the empire (Nīshāpūr), where al-Thaʿlabī lived in a religiously vibrant society. This dissertation, which comprises five chapters, begins by describing the genre of the Tales of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ) as adab (cultivated literature), because such works recapture pre-Islamic values and adapt them to Muslim contexts. Al-Ṭabarī’s view from the centre with respect to leadership is characterized by its deliberate distance from non-Islamic monarchical images and its suspicion of Ṣūfīsm. Al-Thaʿlabī’s position on the edge, on the other hand, weds royal images with Ṣūfī ideas, while cautioning against the excessive asceticism of the mystical tradition in Nīshāpūr. For leaders at the centre friendship relies on receiving good counsel which has the positive effect of creating stability in the Empire, whereas for leaders on the edge friendship promotes social harmony. Lastly, the centre and the edge both view enmity as emerging from the leaders’ family circle, but they advise leaders to practise diplomacy as jihād in order to win genuine converts. The centre promotes ṣabr (patient endurance) when confronting enmity, while the edge recommends prayer in coping with grief over calamities. Overall, the tales of the prophets are more than stories; they are lessons in leadership.

2012-06-26T00:00:00Z Hawksley, Theodora Lucy http://hdl.handle.net/1842/6441 2012-09-24T16:21:37Z 2012-06-26T00:00:00Z

Title: What is ecclesiology about? The provenance and prospects of recent concrete approaches to ecclesiology. Authors: Hawksley, Theodora Lucy Abstract: Over the last fifteen years, a small group of ecclesiologists has been engaged in redefining the object of ecclesiological inquiry and the purpose of ecclesiological reflection. These ‘concrete’ ecclesiologies take the historical, sinful, concrete church of experience as the object of their theological reflection, and understand ecclesiological reflection as practical reasoning in the service of church communities. Concrete ecclesiologies borrow methods from qualitative social science in order to attend to the concrete church. This thesis describes concrete ecclesiologies as a distinct field for the first time, defines the methodological common sense they share, and traces their roots in twentieth century theology and the postmodern cultural context. The theological and methodological tensions underlying concrete ecclesiologies are analysed, and cril attention is focussed on their use of social science. This critical analysis suggests that significant reparative work is needed in order to realise the promise of concrete approaches to ecclesiology. Constructive ethnographic and theological work is required to develop concrete ecclesiologies’ understandings of (a) the object of ethnographic inquiry, (b) the object of ecclesiological inquiry, and (c) the function of ecclesiological reflection. Constructive work commences with a survey of ethnographic understandings of the social real. Pragmatic/relational anthropology’s understanding of the social real is used as the departure point for a creative theological rethinking of the object of ecclesiological inquiry, the church, and the purpose of ecclesiological reflection.

2012-06-26T00:00:00Z