Browsing by Subject "Apostle Paul"
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Item Open Access Paul’s Philonic Opponent: Unveiling the One Who Calls Himself a Jew in Romans 2:17(2021) Rillera, Andrew RemingtonThis dissertation offers a solution to several interpretive problems arising at the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans, particularly from Rom 1:18–3:20. Why do these chapters evince a distinct account of the knowledge of God, of the natural law, of sin and human capacity, and of salvation by works of Law. And why do they define a “true” Jew differently from what is found in the rest of the letter? Building on the earlier work of scholars who recognize key dialogical features in Romans that signal the presence of an authorially constructed interlocutor, I analyze these problems in light of the ancient rhetorical conventions for speech-in-character. I argue that the conceptual tensions generated by this text over against what Paul says elsewhere—extending at times to the level of contradictions—were categorized by ancient readers as διαφωνία prompting them to seek a “solution from the character” (λύσις ἐκ τοῦ προσώπου). The reader resolves the tensions, that is, by determining which material was appropriate for each character in a dialogue. This analysis results in (1) a coherent dialogical script for 1:18–3:20 that conforms to the criteria and conventions of ancient dialogues and that resolves the besetting tensions scholars have long wrestled with in this text; and (2) a more reliable body of evidence for the identification of Paul’s interlocutor, the one who “calls [him]self a Jew” (2:17), as a distinctively Philonic Jewish teacher who may also be a proselyte. Numerous Philonic details are recognizable within the argument, and these function in support of the dialogical script proposed.
Item Open Access The Censored Pulpit: Julian of Norwich as Preacher(2014) McCray, Donyelle CharlotteThis dissertation consists of a homiletical reading of Julian of Norwich's life and work. While Julian is often classified as a mystic or theologian, she may be better categorized as a preacher in light of contemporary homiletical theory. Julian becomes decipherable as a preacher on a performative level when one attends to the apostolic dimensions of her anchoritic vocation and the particular ways John the Baptist serves as a model for medieval English anchoriticism. Her writings clearly fit within the ambit of the English medieval sermon genre, but censorship likely reduced her audience and contributed to her illegibility as a preacher. Julian displays proclamatory intent through direct statements and by aligning herself with celebrated preachers like Saint Cecelia, Mary Magdalene, and the Apostle Paul. Like Paul, Julian sees Jesus' body has her primary text, places human weakness at the center of her theology, and uses her confined body as a rhetorical tool. Yet, more than anything else love for the church drives her preaching, and this love enables her to connect with her fellow Christians and counter those forces that would silence her. For the contemporary church, Julian bequeaths a liberative example of preaching outside the pulpit. This dissertation concludes with a contemporary example of a figure engaged in such a vocation, the African-American church mother.
Item Open Access The Practice of the Body of Christ: Human Agency in Pauline Theology After MacIntyre(2010) Miller, Colin DouglasThis dissertation begins a conversation between "apocalyptic" interpretations of the Apostle Paul and the contemporary revival in "virtue ethics." It argues that the human actor's place in Pauline theology has long been captive to theological concerns foreign to Paul and that we can discern in Paul a classical account of human action that Alasdair MacIntyre's work helps to recover. Such an account of agency helps ground an apocalyptic reading of Paul by recovering the centrality of the church and its day-to-day Christic practices, specifically, but not exclusively, the Eucharist. To demonstrate this we first offer a critique of some contemporary accounts of agency in Paul in light of MacIntyre's work. Three exegetical chapters then establish a "MacIntyrian" re-reading of central parts of the letter to the Romans. A concluding chapter offers theological syntheses and prospects for future research.
Item Open Access The Weight of Mortality: Pauline Theology and the Problem of Death(2019) Longarino, Joseph FrancisThis dissertation addresses a long-standing but rarely discussed problem in Pauline studies: given Paul’s understanding of how God has acted in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to overcome death, how do we explain the ongoing existence of death? Through an examination of the Pauline letters, particularly Romans, this dissertation offers two interrelated explanations, one causal and the other teleological or purposive. From the causal perspective, it is argued that sin in the form of the sinful passions remains connected to the body even of Christians, which allows sin to exercise an ongoing corrupting influence on the body. From the teleological or purposive angle, it is contended that God uses the mortal condition to deepen the divine-human and intrahuman relationships.